Major Heavy Industry: Starting with a Fake Marriage

The Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant sent a jeep to pick them up. The person who came was a middle-aged man in his forties, surnamed Liu, the plant's chief engineer. He shook Jiang Cheng's hand and looked him up and down: "You're Jiang Cheng? Old Zhou said he sent a formidable person. I thought it would be an old man, but I didn't expect you to be so young."

Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "Chief Engineer Liu, I may be young, but I'm not young when it comes to work."

Chief Engineer Liu smiled and said, "Okay, I like straightforward people. Let's eat first, and we'll look at the machines tomorrow."

That evening, Chief Engineer Liu treated them to dinner at a small restaurant. It was local Shanghai cuisine, rich and flavorful, and Jiang Cheng ate with great effort, sweating profusely. Chief Engineer Liu served him food while explaining the factory's situation. When he mentioned the hydraulic press, his expression became serious.

"This machine is our factory's prized possession, but also our biggest worry," he said. "It was imported from the Soviet Union in 1958 and has been in use for twenty years. In the last two years, it's developed more and more problems, and each repair only lasts a few months. If this continues, it's bound to break down sooner or later."

Jiang Cheng asked, "Have you consulted any other experts?"

Chief Engineer Liu smiled wryly: "We've invited people from Beijing, Shenyang, and Harbin. Some said it was a design problem, some said it was a material problem, and some said it was an operational problem. They said all sorts of things, but no one could come up with a reliable solution."

Jiang Cheng nodded, understanding the situation. He'd see the machine tomorrow and then decide.

The next morning, Chief Engineer Liu led them into the workshop.

The workshop was enormous, roughly half the size of a football field. The massive 10,000-ton hydraulic press stood in the very center, like a colossal steel beast. Jiang Cheng stood before it, looking up at it, utterly awestruck—seeing it on paper and seeing it in person were completely different things. Every part of this machine was larger than a person, and every weld was as thick as an arm.

He circled the machine several times, touching the key parts and climbing up and down to examine it from various angles. Chief Engineer Liu followed behind, saying nothing, just watching silently.

Two hours later, Jiang Cheng got off the machine, covered in sweat.

"How is it?" Chief Engineer Liu asked.

Jiang Cheng didn't answer, but instead asked, "Chief Engineer Liu, could I see the machine's operating logs?"

Chief Engineer Liu had someone bring over a thick stack of notebooks.

"There's a lot of data here. Why don't you come to my office to take a look?"

"Alright."

Jiang Cheng flipped through the pages one by one, starting with the records from the last six months and continuing all the way back to three years ago. He looked very carefully, circling every abnormal data point with a pen.

Apart from the rustling of pages turning, the entire office was almost completely silent. After reading for the entire afternoon, he finally looked up.

"Chief Engineer Liu, we've found the problem."

Chief Engineer Liu's eyes lit up: "Tell me about it."

Jiang Cheng pointed to a string of data in the notebook: "Look at this. Before each malfunction, the pressure in the hydraulic system fluctuates. This indicates that the problem is not in the mechanical part, but in the hydraulic part."

He returned to the workshop, walked to the machine, and pointed to the main cylinder: "The sealing structure of this main cylinder is a Soviet design. This design has a flaw—the pressure on the seals is uneven, which will lead to localized wear over time. When the wear reaches a certain level, the seal will fail, the hydraulic oil will leak, the pressure will drop, and the machine will malfunction."

Chief Engineer Liu leaned over to look, his brow furrowed: "But the experts who came before all said the problem was in the mechanical parts—"

"They were fooled by appearances," Jiang Cheng said. "The mechanical failure is a result of the hydraulic problem, not the cause. When the hydraulic system malfunctions, the pressure is unstable, causing uneven stress on the mechanical parts, which leads to deformation and wear over time. That's why every time you repair the mechanical parts, they work for a few months before breaking down again. Because the root cause wasn't addressed."

Chief Engineer Liu remained silent for a long time before asking, "How confident are you?"

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Seventy percent. If I do a few tests, it can reach eighty percent."

What tests are needed?

"A comprehensive hydraulic system inspection is needed, measuring the pressure, flow rate, and temperature at every critical point. This will take time and requires the necessary equipment."

Chief Engineer Liu gritted his teeth and said, "I'll find the equipment, and I'll give you the time. How long do you need?"

"Three days."

For the next three days, Jiang Cheng hardly left the workshop.

He, along with Chen Siyuan and several technicians from the factory, conducted a comprehensive inspection of the hydraulic system of the water press. Every valve, every pipe, and every seal was thoroughly examined. Chen Siyuan was responsible for recording the data, while Jiang Cheng was responsible for analysis and judgment.

On the afternoon of the third day, all the data came out. Jiang Cheng summarized the data, drew a chart, and then called Chief Engineer Liu over.

"Chief Engineer Liu, look at this."

He pointed to several peaks on the chart: "The pressure fluctuations are most pronounced at these points, indicating that the wear on the seals is concentrated in these areas. If the sealing structure is redesigned to distribute the stress at these locations, the problem will be solved."

Chief Engineer Liu stared at the charts for a long time before asking, "Redesign the sealing structure? This is no small project."

Jiang Cheng said, "No major modifications are needed. Only the shape and material of the seals in a few key areas need to be changed. After the modifications, pressure fluctuations can be reduced by more than 60%, and the machine's lifespan can be extended by at least five years."

He pulled a drawing from his bag and spread it out: "This is my preliminary design. The seals will be made of polyurethane, which is three times more durable than the original rubber. The shape will be changed to an asymmetrical structure for more scientific stress distribution."

Chief Engineer Liu's eyes gleamed as he looked at the blueprints. He patted Jiang Cheng on the shoulder: "Good lad, you've got it!"

He turned to the worker beside him and said, "Go, call all the experienced workers in the factory here for a meeting!"

That evening, the conference room at the Shanghai Heavy Machinery Plant was packed with people. There were elderly engineers with gray hair, experienced master craftsmen, and young technicians. Chief Engineer Liu introduced Jiang Cheng's plan, and the conference room buzzed with discussion.

An experienced engineer stood up: "Chief Engineer Liu, I've reviewed this plan. It makes sense in theory, but there's a problem—there are no domestic manufacturers producing polyurethane seals. Importing them from abroad is time-consuming, expensive, and impractical."

Jiang Cheng stood up: "Engineer Zhao, I've thought about this problem. There aren't any readily available polyurethane seals in China, but we can manufacture them ourselves. I've checked the information, and the Shanghai Rubber Factory has the capability to produce polyurethane products, but they haven't made such large sizes before. We can cooperate with them to make molds and produce in small batches."

Engineer Zhao frowned: "Making a mold? How much will that cost?"

Jiang Cheng said, "I've calculated it, it's about 20,000 yuan. Compared to buying a new hydraulic press, this amount of money is nothing."

The meeting room fell silent. Twenty thousand yuan sounds like a lot, but a new 10,000-ton hydraulic press is worth over a million yuan. Anyone could do the math.