Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

The next morning, Gao Jianguo, as usual, stretched his muscles, ate breakfast, washed his face, and tidied himself up before heading to the factory.

To be honest, in nearly thirty years across two lifetimes, this is the first time Gao Jianguo has ever seriously sat in an office to work.

The work schedule in the military is completely different from that in factories and mines.

Gao Jianguo was still feeling a bit excited as he walked along the road toward the factory area.

The streets were packed with people rushing to their early morning shifts, a huge crowd.

They were all dressed simply, but they were all full of energy and walked with a brisk pace.

After entering the factory gate, Gao Jianguo went straight to the technical department without turning around.

The technical department is under the management of the factory's chief engineer, who also serves as the department head.

This arrangement, on the surface, shows that the factory values ​​technology, but fundamentally, it reflects the severe shortage of capable technical personnel these days.

The chief engineer also took on the position of section chief, leaving a string of cadres below him who couldn't get promoted.

It's not that we don't want to promote someone, it's that we really can't find anyone who can hold their own.

Managing technical matters requires more than just administrative skills. Without real practical abilities, your subordinates won't respect you, and you won't be able to maintain overall control.

The No. 3 Rolling Mill has over 10,000 employees, and the technical staff is divided into three parts: the Technical Department, the Quality and Safety Department, and a Maintenance Plant.

The technical department is the core of the company, the quality and safety department is separated to avoid being both the referee and the player, and the repair shop is responsible for the repair and maintenance of all the equipment in the factory.

The technical department has about forty people who are in charge of critical tasks such as process improvement, new product development, and technological innovation. They also handle equipment procurement and selection, cooperate with quality and safety inspections, support the maintenance of major equipment, and help the factory leaders formulate technical plans.

Corey has four large offices and one small one. The small office is where the chief engineer works, and the rest of the staff are distributed among the four large offices.

There are several warehouses and laboratories, and a room has been specially set aside to store technical documents.

The space isn't large, but most of the archived materials have been transferred to the administrative archives, so it's sufficient.

All things considered, it took up the entire small building.

The first thing Gao Jianguo did upon arriving at the department was to report to the chief engineer.

He had inquired beforehand and learned that the chief engineer's surname was Chen, he was a level three engineer, in his early fifties, with a bit of gray hair, wore glasses, was thin, and of medium height.

Gao Jianguo knocked on the door and entered, standing with his legs together like a javelin, his voice booming: "Reporting to General Manager Chen! Gao Jianguo reporting for duty."

Engineer Chen smiled, looked him up and down, and began to praise, "I'd heard that Wudaokou College had assigned a college student who had led troops and fought in battles, good at both academics and martial arts. Seeing him today, it's true. Xiao Gao, have a seat. By the way, just call me Engineer Chen."

Upon hearing this, Gao Jianguo understood: this Engineer Chen valued his technical identity far more than his administrative one. "Alright, Engineer Chen."

Gao Jianguo noticed cigarettes on Chen's desk and knew he was a heavy smoker.

Honestly, right now, eight out of ten tech people are out of commission.

He took out his cigarette, lit it for Engineer Chen, and sat down casually, without smoking any himself.

Engineer Chen chatted with him for a while, and the more they talked, the more comfortable he felt.

This new college graduate has real work experience, has been tempered in university, and has even tinkered with small inventions. He is clear-headed, has a solid foundation, a broad vision, and some practical experience. If he is properly trained, he will soon be able to work independently.

Seeing that the conversation had progressed sufficiently, Engineer Chen asked him, "How do you plan to proceed with the work? Don't hold back, just say what's on your mind. I wouldn't ask this of any other college graduate, but I can tell you already have a plan."

Gao Jianguo sorted out his thoughts: "Engineer Chen, my idea right now is to thoroughly understand the documents. I'm going to study the factory rules, the department's regulations and requirements, and the technical data of the existing equipment and products carefully."

"Yes, that's right." Engineer Chen nodded, and a bit of the cigarette ash he was holding fell down.

Gao Jianguo added, "Another thing, I plan to go down to the workshop and take a good look around. I just graduated and haven't even touched the work of a steel rolling mill yet. I'm severely lacking in practical experience. As a student, I won't feel at ease unless I go to the site and learn something solid to recharge myself."

"Charging?" Engineer Chen pondered the word for a moment, then chuckled. "That's an interesting way to put it."

After thinking for a moment, Engineer Chen said to Gao Jianguo, "Your idea is good. I'll give you a week to get a general idea of ​​what I just mentioned, and you can learn the rest as you go. After that, you can work with me."

The meaning of these words couldn't be clearer: experienced mentors guide newcomers, with Engineer Chen personally providing hands-on training.

Gao Jianguo stood up and then stood at attention with his legs together: "Understood, thank you. I guarantee I'll complete the first task upon entering the factory on time."

For the next week, Gao Jianguo was immersed in his busy studies.

Every morning I would study the factory's documents, in the afternoon I would visit the main production workshops one by one, and at night I would go home and continue to look through the materials I could bring out.

The workers in the workshop were all very warm towards him.

The main thing is that he himself is unpretentious, always smiling at everyone he meets, and always ready to greet men as "Master" and women as "Big Sister."

Besides, college students were still a rarity at that time. Even a fresh-faced college graduate had a certain status. When they saw him lower his head to ask for advice, they didn't act arrogant or boss him around. The factory workers basically told him everything they could.

He didn't pay much attention to the troubles in the yard this week. He just occasionally went to Sha Zhu's house for a couple of meals, gave the kids in the yard a couple of fruit candies, and even took half a pound of cornmeal to sit with the deaf old lady.

On Sunday morning, Gao Jianguo, who had been busy all week, sat at his desk, tapping his pen lightly on his notebook, pondering the week's results and how to proceed.

Engineer Chen said he'd give us a week to assess the situation, and there's probably more to that than meets the eye. We need to see what he actually finds out in that week.

Based on what he had heard and seen in the workshop this week, what the frontline workers were muttering, what was written in the technical documents, and the little skill he had accumulated, Gao Jianguo devised something that he could learn immediately and get things done quickly.

The research and development of electroslag remelting technology is no small project. Although the equipment and principles are relatively simple, I am not yet capable of handling it myself.

The root of the problem is that he's a novice technician with no achievements to speak of right now, yet he's talking about electroslag remelting. It sounds too far-fetched to others, so it's normal for the department to have doubts.

This thing looks quite impressive at this time of year. You can't call it cutting-edge technology, but it's at least high-tech. It's not reliable to bring this up right away.

So Gao Jianguo decided to start with something simpler.

This thing also requires technical expertise. Currently, the technology, materials, and equipment are sufficient. Once it's made, not only will the steel rolling mill itself need it, but upstream steel mills and a large number of other factories will also need it.

Thermocouple.