Sold into a ghost marriage? Four-year-old and his thuggish father go on a killing spree.

The wooden tables in the machine repair station were wiped clean.

Master Sun sat at the other end of the table, still wearing his old work clothes stained with mud.

Zhao Xiaoyun laid out the drafted agreement on the table. It was three pages long and clearly marked with red and blue pencils.

Master Sun picked up his reading glasses, put them on, and began to read the pages line by line, pressing his fingers against each one.

"The first batch of thirty sets of coastal transmission components."

Master Sun read it aloud and looked up at Gu Niannian.

"Delivery will be in three batches. The first batch of ten sets will be delivered and installed, and a receipt will be issued after three days of operation. The second batch of ten sets will be delivered after improvements are made according to the receipt. The third batch of ten sets will be delivered after all autumn plowing is completed, with the final 20% payment settled based on the total failure rate."

Master Sun put down the paper and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Director Gu, you've done a very cautious job. Thirty sets of goods, and you've broken them into three pieces, essentially tying yourself up with ropes."

Gu Niannian sat opposite, holding the enamel teacup that Zhao Xiaoyun had handed her.

The steaming tea reflected the bloodshot veins in her eyes.

"Station Chief Sun, Haifeng has unique geographical conditions. If we order all thirty sets at once, and even one isn't assembled properly, it will ruin our reputation, and I won't be able to enter this coastal market again."

Gu Niannian turned to the second page of the agreement and pointed to the supplementary clauses.

"Therefore, I must add conditions."

"First, each set of components must be issued with a special red box packaging, which must include a foolproof retaining ring pressed by Shen Cuifen. The use of ordinary oil seals is strictly prohibited."

"Secondly, Tianhai sent Wang Qiang to be stationed at the station for seven days to provide blind assembly training to all the repairmen. Those who fail Lao Feng's assessment are not allowed to pack boxes independently."

When Zhao Qiming heard the words "Old Feng's assessment" from the side, the corner of his mouth twitched.

He remembered Old Feng's half-foot-long plum blossom wrench and his hands, calloused from thirty years of work.

"Master Feng's hurdle is probably even harder than assembling the machine," Zhao Qiming muttered to himself.

Master Sun snorted, "That's what makes it difficult. If you install one part wrong, you'll be out of commission within five minutes. Old Feng's hands are more precise than calipers; if you can't get past him, nobody can touch a wrench."

Gu Niannian nodded and then went on to the third point.

"Third, and most importantly."

Gu Niannian took the blue register out of her briefcase and placed it next to the agreement.

"The Haifeng machine repair station must continue using the five-column verification and registration book. For each machine, the working gear, mud depth, working hours, and wear data must be copied and sent to the industrial street weekly."

The workshop fell silent.

Zhao Qiming, standing at the back, couldn't help but swallow.

In the early 1980s, when people were buying and selling agricultural machinery parts, it was always a cash-on-delivery transaction.

Goods leave the gate, each to their own fate.

You won't find another company like Gu Niannian in the entire provincial agricultural machinery system that includes maintenance training, foolproof parts, and even daily usage records in the contract.

Master Sun ran his fingers around the hard cover of the register.

He had been a machine repair station manager for twenty years and had seen too many good parts worn down to scrap metal in less than a month because of the rough handling by machine operators and the haphazard assembly by repairmen.

"Well written."

Master Sun slammed his hand on the table, nearly knocking his reading glasses off.

"Without rules, even the finest steel will be ruined by these greenhorns!"

Master Sun picked up the red inkpad, pressed his thumb on it, and firmly pressed his red fingerprint into the "Party A" column of the three agreements.

Then, the repair shop's official seal was heavily stamped above the fingerprint.

A crisp snap.

"The 800 yuan deposit I paid is non-refundable," Master Sun said, pushing the agreement towards the customer. "It will be directly converted into a prepayment for the first batch of ten sets of materials. I want to see the first batch of new parts with anti-mistake markings at the station next Monday."

Gu Niannian signed her name in the "Party B" column, her handwriting neat and tidy.

Zhao Xiaoyun immediately pulled over the abacus and quickly moved her fingers across the beads, producing a series of crisp clicks.

"The initial batch of ten sets of components cost 380 yuan in raw materials. Including shipping and labor costs, the net profit per set was less than eight yuan."

Zhao Xiaoyun looked up, adjusted her glasses, and lowered her voice to say to Gu Niannian:

"Profit margins are very thin."

"Low profits don't matter."

Gu Niannian put the signed agreement into her briefcase and zipped it up.

"We're not after a huge profit this time. Thirty machines running on the Haifeng mudflats represent thirty living data sources. The register records everything: how much wear on each gear, how long each bearing will last."

Gu Niannian stood up and looked out the window at the smooth ridges of the Xitan fields.

"With this data, the transformation of all the former light cavalry in the coastal counties must be carried out according to our standards."

Zhao Qiming's heart burned with excitement, and he rubbed his hands together repeatedly: "Then I'll arrange for Lin Xiaobei to send an urgent telegram right now, instructing Old Li to start the No. 2 furnace in the rear and pour billets overnight!"

"Wait."

A series of heavy footsteps suddenly came from the workshop entrance.

A middle-aged man wearing a faded Zhongshan suit and carrying a briefcase stepped across the threshold.

Two serious-looking technicians followed behind him.

Chen Jianhua, who was huddled in a corner tidying up his toolbox, saw the person coming and dropped the wrench in his hand with a clatter to the ground. He froze as if he had been electrocuted.

"Section Chief Liu? You...you came all the way from the provincial capital in person?" Chen Jianhua's lips turned pale.

The visitor was none other than Section Chief Liu from the Technical Department of the First Agricultural Machinery Parts Factory in the provincial capital.

Section Chief Liu ignored Chen Jianhua and went straight to the test bench at the machine repair station.

He took a document stamped with the red seal of the Provincial Agricultural Machinery Bureau from his briefcase and placed it on the table.

"Chen Jianhua."

Section Chief Liu turned around and his gaze fell on Chen Jianhua's face.

"Where is the delivery slip for this batch of goods?"

Chen Jianhua opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't make a sound.

Outside the repair shed, a Jeep painted in dark blue slowly pulled up at the gate.