Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

Gao Zhendong didn't respond to this, but he was genuinely itching to try it.

What man wouldn't want to handle a gun? Let Section Chief Li do it himself.

The matter was settled, and the two parted ways, each returning to their respective offices.

Fang Jie arrived right on time for her afternoon shift.

A stack of record sheets was shoved into Gao Zhendong's hands. Fang Jie's mouth didn't stop either: "Team Leader Gao, I've screened all these high-temperature materials in the factory, just the rough screening, and the results are all here."

Gao Zhendong flipped through the pages without looking up: "Tell me about the overall situation."

Fang Jie was very familiar with these numbers and rattled them off: "Ninety-nine percent of them can't hold on before 1300 degrees, let alone 1300, their various indicators drop drastically before 1000 degrees."

She tapped her finger on the record sheet and added, "These are the only types. They can last a little while at 1300 degrees Celsius, and their mechanical properties are passable at that temperature. But once they return to room temperature, their properties become very different, and the antioxidants are useless."

Gao Zhendong carefully scanned the records.

Yes, it's all iron-chromium alloy, the kind with over 10% chromium content.

It's more familiar when you call it by a different name—stainless steel.

Chromium is something that later generations have actually encountered, but they just didn't think about it in that way.

In the past, when people praised metal objects for being wear-resistant and rust-free, they would say, "They're coated with chrome."

Chromium is chromium.

Later on, almost everyone who went online had encountered this term.

The Google Chromium open-source browser project; Chromium is the English name for chromium.

Later, most browsers on the market used this open-source engine.

Far away.

Gao Zhendong considered it for a moment and assigned the task to Sister Fang: "Pick the one that's the most durable so far, and tell Master Yi to use it to machine the protective pipes and flanges first. It's enough for the experiments. Right now, the immediate thing to verify is the installation protection and temperature response. Other properties, such as oxidation resistance, are not a problem for the time being."

Sister Fang nodded to indicate that she had made a note of it.

Gao Zhendong continued, "For mass-produced protective tubes, we'll try to refine the alloy ourselves. I'll give you a materials list; you can get Liu Weiguo to help you gather the necessary components."

I quickly listed a series of entries, and halfway through writing, something flashed through my mind—the historical video I won in the lottery last Friday.

He moved the pen a few more times, added a few more ingredients, and handed the list to Sister Fang.

Busy as ever, in the blink of an eye, King Zhou arrived.

Gao Zhendong had a persistent misconception that things would finally be over after the reign of King Zhou.

But the reality is that I still have to work a full day on Saturdays. Ugh, don't even mention it.

In the afternoon, Gao Zhendong was engrossed in his work when Deputy Section Chief Zhao and Xiao Yu, clutching a stack of forms, beamed with joy as they rushed in.

"It's done! It's done!" Deputy Section Chief Zhao waved the stack of papers in his hand with a rustling sound. "The experimental data is excellent."

Gao Zhendong put down his pen and stood up: "Section Chief Zhao, is the test of the return blast furnace finished?"

Deputy Section Chief Zhao grinned from ear to ear: "We've finished the work! With thermometers placed in the same room, the temperature rises evenly. The return-air furnace saves more coal than the old-fashioned iron furnace—more than 10% less. The furnace chamber is larger, so the heat dissipates more evenly, the outer wall is less likely to burn people, and the firepower is easier to control. Once the secondary combustion kicks in, the gas smell is much less. When you urgently need fire, the flames leap up quickly. All in all, the extra two cents are worth it. Your design may seem insignificant, but it truly shows you've thought of the people. However, those two Type B furnaces are a disaster."

Upon hearing that Type B had failed, Gao Zhendong almost couldn't hold back his laughter, but he swallowed it back down.

He went through the data from beginning to end, then gestured towards Deputy Section Chief Zhao with his chin towards the next room: "Section Chief Zhao, how about we talk to Chief Engineer Chen about this?"

After saying that, he stuffed the record sheet back into Deputy Section Chief Zhao's hand.

The meaning is obvious: it's a good thing. You're the team leader, so you should take the lead and say it.

Deputy Section Chief Zhao took the form: "Let's go, Zhendong, we're going right now!"

The two men, carrying the data, arrived at Chief Engineer Chen's office, knocked, and went inside.

There was another person sitting on the sofa inside, a very imposing figure, who clearly knew Chief Engineer Chen very well.

Gao Zhendong took a closer look and recognized Director Yang, the one who had appeared in the TV series.

Upon seeing Factory Director Yang inside, Deputy Section Chief Zhao quickly shrank back, saying, "Oh, Factory Director Yang, General Manager Chen, you two are discussing business? You've come at an inopportune time. I'll come back later."

Factory Director Yang waved to him, "Don't go, don't go. We've finished our business a long time ago. Come and sit down. Look at you two, you're practically beaming with joy. What good news has happened that I can share in your happiness?"

Chief Engineer Chen glanced at it and guessed most of it: "The results for the return-air secondary combustion type energy-saving solid fuel daily boiler project?"

Factory Director Yang was sitting to the side when Chief Engineer Chen immediately rattled off that long and intimidating full name.

Deputy Section Chief Zhao nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, Mr. Chen, the effect is excellent."

Upon hearing this, Director Yang asked, "What furnace?"

Those in the steel rolling industry are extremely sensitive to this term: "What kind of furnace did you guys set up? Is it for the production line?"

Chief Engineer Chen looked somewhat smug: "It's not on the production line; only one household uses the heating stove. Section Chief Zhao, tell the factory manager the whole story."

Deputy Section Chief Zhao quickly spread out the materials, pointing out the cause and effect, and the experimental data to the two leaders one by one, explaining as he pointed.

After understanding the situation, Director Yang took the data and materials and looked at them for a while.

In Gao Zhendong's eyes, this thing wasn't particularly technologically advanced.

But Director Yang didn't see it that way—it's practical, easy to promote, something the factory developed itself, and it even carries the name of serving the people. To put it grandly, it could even be a groundbreaking achievement.

After looking at it for a while, Factory Director Yang slammed the materials on the table: "Good! Good stuff! This is something we genuinely came up with for the people. It doesn't have much to do with our main business, but we've truly seen the difficulties people face, taken the needs of the masses as our target, and worked together to come up with this great thing that can solve real problems. Here's the name—"

Factory Director Yang clicked his tongue.

Chief Engineer Chen, quick-witted as ever, blurted out, "I named it 'return air furnace'!"

It's obvious they're not giving Director Yang a chance to come up with a name.

Chief Engineer Chen saw through Director Yang's little scheme, smiled, pointed at him with his finger, and turned to continue, "You, Gao Zhendong, the chief designer?"

Gao Zhendong smiled and replied, "I just drew some diagrams; the entire process of making and testing it was done by Section Chief Zhao and his team."

Factory Director Yang lightly patted the cover of the test record twice: "I'd heard about it before. We got a college graduate from Wudaokou College assigned to the factory; he's both academically and physically capable, quite skilled for such a young age. He truly lives up to his reputation! Everyone's worked hard; everyone got a share!"

Chief Engineer Chen asked with a smile, "Old Yang, how's my apprentice doing?"

Factory Director Yang was taken aback: "You old geezer, you're quick on the uptake."

Chief Engineer Chen took the test records, flipped through them, and casually remarked, "Hmm, the Type B test didn't work. Deputy Section Chief Zhao, later you should find out how much those two Type B machines cost. Zhendong and I will buy them out of our own pockets; we can't let the factory bear this loss."

Old Chen and his apprentice Xiao Gao knew exactly what was going on with Type B.

Old Chen mentioned it again in front of Director Yang, just to get some endorsement.

Director Yang has been a seasoned veteran for many years. What are these two up to?

I've never heard of someone doing research for the government and then having to pay for the experimental subjects themselves.

Even if a project fails, it's still an experiment. As long as the project has all the necessary permits, there's no rule against private individuals contributing money to it.

He immediately turned to the page for type B of the material and glanced at it.

He understood perfectly what those two cunning little devils, one big and one small, were hiding.

His eyes darted around, and he immediately rejected the idea: "That won't do. I've never heard of having to pay out of pocket for normal research work for the factory. This loss—no, it can't even be called a loss—the factory will cover the cost of the experimental materials!"

Seeing Old Chen's face fall, Director Yang felt incredibly satisfied, as if he had successfully gotten his revenge. He then changed the subject: "However, to encourage our research staff, these two pieces of junk will be awarded to you two, master and apprentice."

After making that clever remark, Director Yang felt completely relaxed, his face beaming with a smug satisfaction, as if to say, "You want both fame and fortune, don't you? I'll make sure you don't get it all. You can take the stuff, but you'll leave me with your reputation."

Chief Engineer Chen was both amused and annoyed: "Fine, fine, then I'll save money."

The two have been playing this game for most of their lives, and they still enjoy it to this day.

Factory Director Yang stood up: "Coming here really brings good news. I'll go back to the publicity department; this needs to be publicized properly. Old Chen, let's meet at the factory meeting later and see how to get some rewards for those guys."

He then turned to Deputy Section Chief Zhao and said, "Section Chief Zhao, when the publicity department, sales company, and logistics team come to you, please cooperate fully. This stuff is good; the sales company can sell it externally, and logistics can also make a batch for use in the factory."