Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

We started working on electrodes as soon as we decided to.

The research team then plunged headfirst into the trial production work.

The bulk of the work was done by the team members. It wasn't that Gao Jianguo was slacking off; the tasks were there, and even if he wanted to, it wouldn't be his turn.

First of all, when it comes to manual skills, Gao Jianguo, who came from an automation background, was a complete novice in the steel rolling mill. Compared to people like Liang Jianguo, Fang Xiufang, and Yi Zhonghai, who had been working in the factory for over ten or twenty years, his accuracy was far inferior, let alone proper fitter work.

Secondly, those who lead scientific research actually only do three kinds of work.

First, you need to be able to find projects and attract resources; second, you need to be able to come up with solutions when things go wrong; and third, you need to make clear arrangements for people, ensuring that everyone does what work and when they do it.

Most of the specific operations are not things that the person in charge should be doing in the first place, especially when the operation expands.

Thirdly, even if Gao Jianguo wanted to do it, others would have already taken all the jobs.

If you do all that, how can everyone else put in the effort for the project?

Every drop of sweat shed is a ticket to the distribution of the cake.

Ordinary employees don't have many cake vouchers, so when it's time to distribute the cake, they can only watch others eat it with envy.

That being said, Gao Jianguo didn't simply wash his hands of the matter.

He was always on the front lines, spending all his time with his team. When problems arose, he would step in to solve them; when there were no problems, he would learn from the sidelines.

He absorbed all the secrets and tricks of the steel rolling mill masters into his mind.

I wouldn't say I fully understand everything, but at least I have a better grasp of things when problems arise, and I can't let anyone fool me with shady dealings in the steel rolling mill business.

The trial production is progressing quite well so far.

Nothing went wrong, the time limit wasn't exceeded, no one wasted time getting sick, and no one collapsed from exhaustion.

A few small problems arose in the middle, but they were resolved by doing a little work.

At 2 p.m., a technician in the office brought over Section Chief Wang from the Security Department's Training Section.

Gao Jianguo was busy working in the small vacuum induction furnace laboratory.

In a workplace, you can sometimes tell how important a person is just by how others treat them.

He wasn't anyone's direct supervisor, yet the technicians would put down their work and lead customers all over the factory to find him, which speaks volumes.

Most people would simply say, "He's over there in the vacuum induction furnace," or just "I don't know," and that would be the end of it.

Those people in the office, putting aside everything else, have at least placed their bets on Gao Jianguo.

They started burning the stove.

To be honest, Gao Jianguo's stove isn't even cold right now; the fire has already been blazing up.

Gao Jianguo wiped his sweat, his mouth still running: "Section Chief Wang, or should I call you Captain Wang? Haha, did you need something?"

Section Chief Wang replied crisply, "Deputy Captain Gao, this is a big deal."

Gao Jianguo chuckled, then stopped joking and asked seriously, "What is it?"

Section Chief Wang pulled out something that looked like a project plan and handed it over: "So, the militia training starts tomorrow. You're the deputy captain, and you're from our factory in this area—" Section Chief Wang gave a thumbs-up, "You absolutely have to show up for the training. Here, this is the training plan; you're involved in it too. Take a look."

Gao Jianguo was taken aback: "No, Section Chief Wang, we agreed on this beforehand, it wasn't supposed to be like this. I'm just putting my name on the signboard."

Section Chief Wang chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "Of course, but this time is different. It's so significant; it would be a real shame if you didn't attend. I know how busy you are, and I haven't been bothering you all the time. Look, I even took over your duties at today's militia training mobilization meeting. Did I disturb you? Come on over. Once the formal training starts, you can do whatever you want; I won't bother you anymore."

Having been told this much, Gao Jianguo understood that with the title of deputy captain hanging over his head, he couldn't simply refuse.

He mentally reviewed the research group's progress and assessed the abilities of the group members, concluding that taking half a day or a full day off wouldn't be a problem.

He reached out and took the training plan: "Okay, I'll be there on time tomorrow."

Section Chief Wang knew he was busy, so after finishing his business, he didn't linger, said goodbye, and left.

I was busy all afternoon until I got off work.

In preparation for his duties as a militia member the next day, Gao Jianguo made a special trip to Chief Engineer Chen's office to ask for leave before leaving get off work.

I rode my bike back to the yard, and just as I pushed it in, I bumped into Yan Bugui standing in front of his own door.

Yan Bugui's eyes fell on his car: "Hey, Jianguo bought a car? A Phoenix? Phoenix is ​​great, my Flying Pigeon is always giving you a hard time."

Gao Jianguo was secretly delighted.

The cars on the street right now are either Flying Pigeon or Forever, or Phoenix.

The products from these companies were just like the mainstream industrial products of the time, so no one could laugh at anyone else.

However, there is one advantage: with a little hammering, welding, and patching, it can always be put to use again, which means that people these days end up with a pile of junk at home just to save up a few spare parts.

To put it bluntly, this is a problem that was forced upon us.

Gao Jianguo smiled and said, "It's inconvenient to go to work without a car. Luckily, the factory gave me a ticket, so I quickly got one."

Yan Bugui seized the opportunity to press his advantage: "Buying a car is a joyous occasion! Shouldn't we invite the neighbors to celebrate?"

Gao Jianguo thought to himself, "You old comrade, you're always trying to squeeze some money out of me."

Will you treat me to a meal?

A few years later, the winds of change will blow, and this matter will be brought up again. Liu Haizhong will jump out and accuse me of extravagance and exploitation of the masses, and Yi Zhonghai will gather the entire hospital together for a big meeting to educate me.

The three managers each made a quick buck, and in the end, I was the only one lying on the ground getting beaten up.

The people and events in this courtyard seem a bit eerie.

It wasn't that Gao Jianguo was delusional about being persecuted; there was just something indescribable about it.

Gao Jianguo waved his hand and pushed it back: "It's such a trivial matter, why bother the neighbors? There's no need."

Yan Bugui probably knew in his heart that what he said was outrageous, so he didn't press the matter.

He lowered his voice, a furtive look on his face: "Got a girlfriend, huh? Buying a car in preparation for the wedding?"

Gao Jianguo waved his hand dismissively: "That's baseless nonsense. Where did you hear all this rubbish?"

Yan Bugui narrowed his eyes: "Don't pretend with me, I saw it clearly. That girl went into your room yesterday afternoon, the one who came out of the courtyard with you."

Gao Jianguo thought to himself, "Oh right, you didn't know Lou Xiao'e back then."

I never expected that you, an old comrade, would have such a solid foundation in eavesdropping.

He casually made up a couple of lines: "Oh, you've taken the wrong turn. You came in to ask for directions, and since my door was open, you went into the wrong place."

After finishing speaking, he went inside.

As I closed the door, the image of Yan Bugui from earlier resurfaced in my mind.

Stingy, inquisitive, and concerned with saving face—that's exactly like Yan Bugui from the TV show.

Thinking about this, Gao Jianguo suddenly felt something was amiss.

Didn't he set a sixteen-character policy when he came to the courtyard house?

One of the comments reads, "I'm definitely going to watch this."

He's been in the hospital for several weeks now, where's the melon?

Where did all my piles of melons go?

I barely managed to take a few bites.