Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

Gao Jianguo returned to his office, greeted the people in the room, and plopped down in his seat to continue flipping through the documents.

There are twelve people in this office, all of them technicians.

Sitting opposite him was a woman in her early thirties, a level 11 technician named Fang Xiufang, a name that sounded like it was changed after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Although he was not young, the factory was only established after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and there were many older people with low professional titles in the technical department.

Sister Fang is a straightforward person who doesn't mince words. In the week since Gao Jianguo joined the factory, everyone has gotten to know him.

Compared to the other college students who were assigned here with him, Gao Jianguo had previously worked at the grassroots level in the army and had some basic skills in dealing with people, so he was much more adept at adapting to this environment than the others.

Those guys weren't putting on airs or looking down on people; they just wanted to get together, but they hadn't quite grasped the feel and rhythm of working in a factory or mine yet, so they were still a bit reserved for the time being.

Sister Fang seemed to have finished her work and wanted to take a break. She tapped the table with her fingers and asked in a low voice, "Jianguo, you've been whispering in Old Chen's room for so long, what good thing did you get up to?"

Gao Jianguo couldn't say it outright at the moment, so he simply grinned and made up a story: "Chief Engineer Chen said he'd introduce me to someone, haha."

Sister Fang's face clearly showed disbelief: "Who are you trying to fool? Chief Engineer Chen doesn't even have a daughter. If you don't want to talk about it, fine."

Gao Jianguo then laughed, "Can't Chief Engineer Chen have two sets of relatives?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qiang, who was sitting at the table behind him, immediately perked up, turned around, and asked, "What are the conditions? Tell me."

Liu Qiang is about the same age as Gao Jianguo, and he takes this kind of thing very seriously.

He entered the factory through the high school to junior college route. He came two years earlier, but he is still a level 13 technician, several levels lower than Gao Jianguo.

Gao Jianguo laughed even harder: "You, you're not as quick-witted as Sister Fang."

Liu Qiang wasn't angry: "Hey, Lao Gao, so you were just making things up? That's boring."

Gao Jianguo thought for a moment, glanced around to make sure no one was looking their way, and lowered his voice to say to the two men, "If you two trust me, don't back down when Chief Engineer Chen comes over to assign tasks later."

The two of them had noticed last week that Old Chen took Gao Jianguo seriously. His eyes lit up when he heard this, and when he saw that Gao Jianguo didn't want to say anything more, they exchanged a glance and nodded.

Gao Jianguo had considered the consequences before he told these two people the truth.

These two have different temperaments, but they are both good people and hardworking. They may not be clever or resourceful, but they are truly capable of following orders and charging forward.

In addition, since his professional title is lower than Gao Jianguo's, he won't have to compete with him in the future.

Just then, someone from a corner of the office complained: "What are you three doing? Are you working or out at the market? This is an office, not a marketplace. Don't bother others."

Gao Jianguo tilted his head and saw that it was Yuan Gang, a level 10 technician.

This guy is a typical example of someone with mediocre skills but not much ambition. He's around forty years old and worked his way up from the steel mill before the founding of the People's Republic of China. He's basically reached level ten through years of hard work, and that's about it. If he wants to become an engineer, it would be like a stone falling from the sky and creating a hole.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't be the only senior technician like this, but this one is known for being arrogant and making a fuss, always arguing with people based on his seniority.

Gao Jianguo had run into him countless times, but he had just started working at the factory recently and hadn't been scolded by him, so there hadn't been any conflict.

This time, Gao Jianguo wasn't going to tolerate him. He turned his face away and said, "Old Yuan, we're discussing work here. If you really find it noisy, then—"

He paused deliberately at this point: "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. This is a really big deal for us. You'll have to bear with it for now."

Liu Qiang didn't dare to openly confront Yuan Gang, but Sister Fang wasn't intimidated at all; she immediately burst out laughing.

Just as Yuan Gang was about to respond, Chief Engineer Chen led two deputy section chiefs in and pushed the door open. Yuan Gang immediately shut his mouth tightly.

Chief Engineer Chen walked up to Gao Jianguo's desk, cleared his throat, and said, "Comrades, put aside your work for now. I have something to tell you."

Once everyone looked up at him, Chief Engineer Chen waved the few pages of paper in his hand: "The department has discussed it and decided to start two new projects. We need to select a few people. The initiator is in this room, so let's start with the people in this office."

He then gave a brief overview of the two topics, and without further ado, immediately began assigning tasks.

"Corey has finalized the details of these two projects; this is the arrangement."

"Deputy Section Chief Zhao will be the group leader for the return air furnace, and Gao Jianguo will be the deputy group leader. He will be in charge of the main design work. However, Jianguo has already done a good job in the design. Next, Section Chief Zhao, you should find a technician to assist you and carry out the trial production and testing according to the data provided by Jianguo."

The three section chiefs had clearly met beforehand. Seeing this golden opportunity fall from the sky, Deputy Section Chief Zhao's face crinkled with a smile: "Alright, I guarantee I won't let you down. Um—Old Yuan—"

He had barely uttered the words when he seemed to remember something and changed his mind: "Never mind, Lao Yuan, your job is too important. Yu Wei, you come and do this with me."

Yuan Gang's eyes lit up at first, then dimmed again.

Yu Wei was a level twelve technician. He was thrilled to receive such a good opportunity where his achievements would be immediately apparent, so he happily accepted the job.

With that matter settled, Chief Engineer Chen began making arrangements for the second one: "For the thermocouple group, I'll be the group leader, Gao Jianguo will be the deputy group leader, and he'll oversee everything. Section Chief Wu will also be the deputy group leader, responsible for dealing with external matters. We'll also need three technicians. Has anyone volunteered?"

Thermocouples are a new thing for many technicians, and Chief Engineer Chen explained it simply, so most people didn't quite understand.

When everyone heard that Gao Jianguo was in charge, they all became a little suspicious.

The reason for their hesitation might be a lack of confidence, envy, resentment, or fear of wasting their efforts. In any case, no one responded to their first shout.

Taking advantage of this lull, Sister Fang and Liu Qiang seized the opportunity and jumped out, shouting together, "President Chen, I'll do it!"

As soon as Chief Engineer Chen saw someone rushing forward, he immediately made the decision: "Okay, it's the two of you. We're still one short—"

Before he could finish speaking, a voice came from the office doorway: "Mr. Chen, count me in!"

Everyone turned to look and saw Liang Jianguo, a level nine engineer in the department.

This guy's name is Jianguo, but he's really not good at inventions.

Fortunately, most of the work done by the technical staff had nothing to do with inventions. By working diligently and honestly, he finally became a level nine engineer in his forties.

In terms of seniority, he is an enhanced version of Yuan Gang, but their personalities are completely different. Engineer Liang is the kind of person who is quiet, unassuming, and kind to everyone.

However, like Yuan Gang, if they don't have anything special, their basic professional skills will remain the same until retirement.

The problem is that although he earns 102 yuan a month as a level nine engineer, his wife is a rural resident without a grain ration certificate and has a chronic illness. The couple had struggled together in the same village before liberation, and Liang Jianguo never even considered abandoning his wife.

With the elderly and children on both sides also included, the Liang family has a large number of people and a heavy burden, so they are always thinking about how to take another step forward.

Just now, having overheard these two projects as he passed by the door, he felt that the miracle might be just around the corner.