Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

Gao Jianguo brought up the little bit of knowledge he had gleaned in his previous life: "I was thinking, if we hollow out the turbine blades and the disk, fill them with cooling air, and let the air spray out from the surface of the blades, coating them with a layer of cold air film, maybe we could cool the blades down."

This is the hollow turbine blade technology that was first used on the Kunlun engine in the mid-1980s.

Chief Engineer Wang didn't think Gao Jianguo's words were unprofessional; instead, he immediately started to ponder them.

Gao Jianguo noticed his tightly furrowed brows and felt a little guilty, realizing he might have gone too far with his words. He quickly tried to backtrack, saying, "I was just speculating, don't take it seriously, hehe."

Chief Engineer Wang pondered for a long time before looking up at Gao Jianguo: "Your approach isn't entirely without merit, but unfortunately, we're currently doing imitation. Making such significant changes to the turbine disk and blades carries too much risk. However, if it were a completely new device, it would be worth considering."

Forty years later, Chief Engineer Wang wrote in his memoir: "Comrade Gao Jianguo's words were like a bucket of water poured over me. For the first time, the idea of ​​a hollow turbine took root in my mind. His keenness and talent for technology were innate and outstanding. Later, on the fully self-developed LYP-7 engine, I finally brought his idea to fruition. Combined with the high-temperature alloy materials he developed, we significantly increased the engine's thrust."

That's all for later; let's leave that aside for now.

After pulling his attention away from Gao Jianguo's words, Chief Engineer Wang finished writing the letter to borrow thermocouples from the No. 3 rolling mill manufacturer. Gao Jianguo personally led him through the formalities in a flash, and they took away ten type n thermocouples.

As he was leaving, Chief Engineer Wang said to Gao Jianguo, "Jianguo, if you have time, come visit our institute. The Northeast is quite an interesting place."

There was a hint in those words that they wanted to recruit Gao Jianguo to their institute.

Gao Jianguo smiled and replied, "Definitely, definitely. I'll come visit you when I have time."

When Gao Jianguo returned home that evening, he had just finished eating and tidied up when there was a knock on the door.

Upon opening the door, I saw Yan Bugui.

Gao Jianguo let him in, and casually grabbed a plate of peanuts from the table to serve as a gesture of hospitality.

Gao Jianguo asked Yan Bugui directly, "Teacher Yan, you never visit unless there's a reason. What brings you here today?"

Yan Bugui nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I've come to congratulate you."

"Congratulations?"

"Of course! I heard from Jia Dongxu today that you skipped two levels and became an eighth-level engineer. As soon as he saw you come back, he came over specifically to congratulate you."

Gao Jianguo found it amusing. When it comes to congratulating someone, even cutting a piece of red paper and writing a few auspicious words is enough. It doesn't look like a congratulatory gesture to come empty-handed.

However, he couldn't say it aloud: "Thank you so much, Teacher Yan. It's all thanks to the factory's kindness. Here, have some peanuts to share in the good fortune."

The two chatted like this for a while. Gao Jianguo saw that Yan Bugui was very persistent and had no intention of leaving. He roughly knew that Yan Bugui wanted to ask something, but he couldn't guess what Yan Bugui wanted to say. So he simply continued to talk to him.

Finally, Yan Bugui couldn't hold back any longer: "Jianguo, I heard you not only got a promotion, but also a change in position? You became some kind of team leader?"

This situation is all too familiar. When Gao Jianguo transferred Yi Zhonghai and his apprentice to the thermocouple research group, Yan Bugui did the same thing.

Gao Jianguo waved his hand: "Nothing like that. It's just that the equipment is about to go into production, so a few of us from the department put together a temporary team to help out with production. Even though the team leader has the word 'leader' in their name, their words are like farts—they don't carry any weight."

This time, Yan Bugui didn't immediately back down. He still pleaded with Gao Jianguo, "Jianguo, no matter what, you're really making waves in the factory. Look at my eldest son, he still doesn't have a proper job. As his father, I'm really worried."

Gao Jianguo didn't mince words: "Teacher Yan, it's not that I'm making excuses, but firstly, I'm really not a cadre, so I can't really get involved in recruitment. Secondly, the only area I'm familiar with is the technical department, and as you know, with Jie's background, he can forget about anything in the technical department; it's a tough nut to crack. So, I really can't help him with anything at the factory."

Even though Gao Jianguo had already found out about the joint defense team members from Wang Dezhu, he never told Yan Bugui. The main reason was that Yan Jiecheng was already a steel mill worker at the beginning of the TV series, earning more than thirty yuan a month.

This path is far better than being a member of the joint defense team. If Gao Jianguo were to introduce him to the joint defense team, it would be a complete hindrance, but this is something that can't be said openly.

Yan Bugui, a keen listener, immediately seized upon the hint of hesitation in Gao Jianguo's words: "Jianguo, you just said the factory can't help, does that mean those outside the factory can?"

Gao Jianguo felt an urge to slap himself twice. Serves you right for being so cheeky! This Yan Bugui is as cunning as a monkey.

He thought about it for a moment and decided that since Yan Bugui was so eager to owe him this favor and suffer in silence, he might as well let him owe him. Maybe after a while, his family's steel mill would find a way to get Yan Jiecheng back from the joint defense team, and he might not lose anything.

Gao Jianguo was at his wit's end: "Teacher Yan, here's the thing, I know a couple of people at the local police station. If you and your child are willing, I might be able to get you some jobs as community security guards."

Yan Bugui was overjoyed. In his eyes, even a fly's leg was meat, and any job was acceptable: "Really? Jianguo, thank you so much."

"Teacher Yan, let me be frank: being a community security guard is a legitimate job, but it's not a permanent position. The pay is very low, the workload is heavy, and there's no long-term security. You should think it through. Also, recommending someone is no problem, but I can't control what happens after that. Whether they do a good job or a bad one is entirely up to them."

The joint defense team members only earn about ten yuan a month, but Yan Bugui doesn't care. His family used to have some savings, but with so many children, they were overwhelmed. He wanted to feed one person as much as possible.

Besides, being a member of the joint defense team isn't entirely without hope. Thinking of this, Yan Bugui readily agreed, as long as Gao Jianguo was willing to help.

Seeing his expression, Gao Jianguo had no choice but to agree: "Alright, as long as you don't mind. I'll make a trip there this weekend, and I'll let you know as soon as I have confirmation."

Yan Bugui knew that Gao Jianguo was extremely busy, and that it was already a great favor that he agreed to do it this weekend, so he thanked him repeatedly.

And so, amidst Yan Bugui's profuse thanks, Gao Jianguo saw him off at the door. Just before leaving, he quickly grabbed a handful of peanuts and stuffed them into his pocket. Hey, that was brilliant!