Major Heavy Industry: Starting with a Fake Marriage

In the afternoon, Huang Deqing and Jiang Cheng, along with several apprentices, began disassembling the rolling mill rolls. This was a delicate task; without blueprints, they had to learn by trial and error. Jiang Cheng, drawing on his modern knowledge, guided everyone step-by-step, and they successfully disassembled the rolls.

When the rolls were fully exposed to the sunlight, everyone gasped – there were several cracks, the longest of which was two centimeters long.

Factory Director Zhou's face turned ashen: "If this really breaks, the consequences will be unimaginable. Xiao Jiang, Lao Huang, you've done a great job!"

Huang Deqing waved his hand: "Factory director, it's all thanks to Chengzi, he's the one who discovered it."

Factory Director Zhou looked at Jiang Cheng with admiration in his eyes: "Jiang, you usually seem so carefree, but you really know what you're capable of when it matters."

Jiang Cheng scratched his head and chuckled, "Factory manager, that's just on the surface. Actually, I'm quite ambitious."

Factory Director Zhou chuckled: "Alright, I'll remember this. Continue your investigation and see what's going on."

Over the next two days, Jiang Cheng and Huang Deqing meticulously recorded the dimensions, material, and crack condition of the rolls. Jiang Cheng also used his knowledge to calculate the theoretical bearing capacity of the rolls. He discovered that the design rolling force of this mill was indeed too high, possibly because the steel billets used abroad were of better quality and had more uniform temperatures.

"Master, if we reduce the rolling force by 10%, the cracks should stop appearing," Jiang Cheng said.

"Reduce it by 10%? Won't that reduce production?" Huang Deqing frowned.

"It's better than the machine breaking down," Jiang Cheng said. "Besides, we can improve the billet heating process to make the temperature more uniform, which will stabilize the rolling force."

Huang Deqing seemed thoughtful: "That's a good idea. But we'll have to discuss it with the technical department."

Just then, an unexpected person appeared.

That afternoon, Jiang Cheng was discussing repair plans with Huang Deqing in the machine repair workshop when Old Liu, the gatekeeper, came in and shouted, "Jiang Cheng, someone's looking for you!"

Jiang Cheng went outside and was stunned.

The man was in his fifties, wearing glasses and a faded blue Zhongshan suit, and had an air of scholarly refinement about him. He sized up Jiang Cheng, his gaze scrutinizing him.

"Are you Jiang Cheng?" the man asked.

"I am. And you are...?"

"My name is Zheng Huaiyuan," the man said.

Jiang Cheng's heart skipped a beat—Zheng Huaiyuan, Zheng Yanxi's father, a professor at Shenyang Institute of Technology! But why does this name sound so familiar?

"Hello, Uncle Zheng." Jiang Cheng quickly greeted him.

Zheng Huaiyuan nodded: "Yanxi wrote to me saying you got married. I came to see."

Jiang Cheng didn't know how to respond and could only stand there dumbfounded. Zheng Huaiyuan then said, "I heard that the imported rolling mill in the factory has a problem, I'd like to take a look. Take me there."

Jiang Cheng led him towards the steel rolling workshop. On the way, Zheng Huaiyuan asked, "Are you a fitter?"

"Yes, Level 4 fitter."

"Level four, that's quite high for a young person," Zheng Huaiyuan said. "But I heard from Yan Xi that you... had a bad reputation before?"

Jiang Cheng smiled awkwardly: "That's all in the past. I've changed now. I promise to treat Yanxi well with all my heart."

Zheng Huaiyuan didn't say anything more.

Upon arriving at the workshop, Huang Deqing was surprised to see Zheng Huaiyuan: "Professor Zheng? What brings you here?"

"Old Huang, long time no see." Zheng Huaiyuan shook hands with Huang Deqing. "My daughter married into your factory, so I came to visit."

Huang Deqing glanced at Jiang Cheng, his expression complex. He knew Zheng Huaiyuan and knew that this professor was very famous in the industry.

Zheng Huaiyuan walked to the rolling mill, carefully examined the dismantled rolls, and looked at the records made by Jiang Cheng and the others. His brows gradually furrowed.

"Did you find this?" he asked.

Huang Deqing said, "It was Chengzi who discovered it. At first, we also thought it was a bearing problem, but he insisted on checking the rolls, and that's when we found the crack."

Zheng Huaiyuan looked at Jiang Cheng, a change in his expression: "What made you conclude that the problem was with the rolling mill?"

Jiang Cheng knew this was a test. He carefully said, "I observed the position of the stuck steel during rolling and compared it with the marks of normal rolling. I found that the stuck steel was always in the same area. If it were a bearing problem, the position of the stuck steel should not be fixed. So I suspect that there is a defect in the roll itself."

Zheng Huaiyuan nodded: "That makes sense. Anything else?"

"And..." Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, "When I tap different parts of the roller, the sound is slightly different. The sound is more muffled where there are cracks."

Zheng Huaiyuan walked up to the roller, tapped it with a wrench, then tapped other spots, and looked at Jiang Cheng: "You have pretty sharp ears."

Jiang Cheng chuckled: "Maybe it's because he's young, his hearing is good."

Zheng Huaiyuan didn't laugh, and asked again, "So what do you think we should do now?"

Jiang Cheng glanced at Huang Deqing, who gestured for him to speak up. Jiang Cheng then shared his ideas on reducing rolling force and improving the heating process.

After listening, Zheng Huaiyuan remained silent for a while. Then he said to Huang Deqing, "Old Huang, your apprentice is quite good."

Huang Deqing smiled and said, "It's alright. He used to be unreliable, but now he seems to have figured it out."

Zheng Huaiyuan turned to Jiang Cheng: "Do you have any basis for these ideas? If we reduce the rolling force, the output will decrease. Can the factory accept that?"

"Whether we accept it or not, it's better than the machine breaking down," Jiang Cheng said. "Besides, we can increase output in other ways, such as increasing the rolling speed or reducing downtime. Of course, this requires adjusting the entire production process."

Zheng Huaiyuan seemed thoughtful: "That's a novel idea. What books have you read?"

Jiang Cheng said guiltily, "It's just some mechanical books left by my dad, and some I found myself."

"Your father is...?"

"My dad used to work in the factory too, and he died in the line of duty," Jiang Cheng said.

Zheng Huaiyuan's expression turned solemn: "Child of martyrs? Then you should work even harder."

"Yes, Uncle Zheng is right."

Zheng Huaiyuan looked at the rolling mill rolls again and said to Huang Deqing, "Old Huang, if this matter can be handled well, it will be good for the factory and for you. I suggest you write a detailed report, clearly outlining the cause analysis, repair plan, and subsequent improvement measures, and then submit it to the factory. If needed, I can take a look."

Huang Deqing was overjoyed: "That's great! With Professor Zheng overseeing things, we can rest assured."

Jiang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. He had passed the first hurdle—his father-in-law.

That evening, Jiang Cheng returned to his new home. Zheng Yanxi was busy in the kitchen, the fumes making her cough. Jiang Cheng quickly went in: "Let me do it."

Zheng Yanxi stepped aside, looking somewhat embarrassed: "I tried to stir-fry a dish, but it seems to be burnt."

Jiang Cheng glanced at the charred mess in the pot and laughed, "It's okay, it's always like this the first time. Watch, I'll teach you."

He heated oil in the wok again, cracked in two eggs, quickly stir-fried them, and then set them aside. Using the remaining oil, he added scallions and tomatoes, stir-fried them evenly, and then added salt and soy sauce.

Jiang Cheng felt like something was missing.