Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

Li Weidong shook his head after reading it, and Xu Damao's heart skipped a beat.

"Li Weidong, you're a miracle doctor! You must have a solution! I'm a factory worker, you can't—"

Before Xu Damao could finish speaking, Li Weidong interrupted him: "This is different from the illness I treated you with. This is a real injury. Unless a god descends to earth, you'll be unable to live without crutches for the rest of your life."

He said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Your kneecap is shattered like dumpling filling, beyond repair. You'll have to use crutches for the rest of your life, and you can't work as a projectionist anymore."

He sighed after saying that.

Xu Damao became agitated: "You're definitely getting revenge on me! I want to be transferred to another hospital! I want to go to a big hospital!"

At this point, the painkiller took effect, and Xu Damao felt the pain lessen, and his voice became louder.

"Sure, why not?"

Li Weidong smiled and said, "I'll call an ambulance for you right away."

The ambulance arrived quickly and took Xu Damao away.

Dr. Meng stood to the side, fuming, and said, "This person is really ungrateful. He doesn't even trust Section Chief Li's medical skills. His kneecap is shattered like that; he'll be using crutches for the rest of his life."

Li Weidong smiled, looking quite relaxed.

He was confident he could cure Xu Damao, but why should he save that bastard? That guy should stay in a wheelchair; even using a cane would be too lenient for him.

Turning back to his office, he had just picked up his teacup when he saw Li Huaide standing smiling at the door.

Li Weidong had no choice but to get up and greet him: "Director Li, if you need anything, just have your secretary call me."

Li Huaide closed the door behind him and said with a smile, "No way, we're brothers, I have to give you face."

Li Weidong waved his hand, inviting him to sit down, and personally brewed a cup of jasmine tea for him.

"You've come to ask about Xu Damao?"

Li Weidong spoke first.

Li Huaide was taken aback: "What happened to Xu Damao? Why would I need to see him?"

"His leg was broken, and he'll have to use crutches from now on."

Li Weidong said calmly, "He didn't believe me and insisted on going to a big hospital. He was just taken away by an ambulance."

No wonder I heard an ambulance siren earlier.

Li Huaide thought for a moment, "Then he can't be a projectionist anymore. I have to get involved in this."

He paused, then said, "I came to see you to buy some of those pills. Do you have any left?"

Li Weidong shook his head: "No more. That stuff is complicated to make, and the herbs are hard to find. The ones I had before were brought back from the south."

"If you want it, you'll have to wait. We'll talk about it after I've gathered all the medicinal herbs."

Li Huaide casually asked, "What kind of medicinal herbs do you use? Tell me, and I'll help you think of a solution."

"Gecko, that is, the giant lizard."

Li Weidong said, "They're only found in the south. You can buy them in traditional Chinese medicine shops, but those aren't very effective. What I need is a bit special—the longest tail is 12 centimeters, but I need one that's over 15 centimeters, which is difficult to obtain. I've already written to a friend in the south to ask him to help me collect them."

He was deliberately trying to appease Li Huaide, making the other party feel that the pills were hard-won.

"Oh, I see. Then I'll ask my friends over there to look for it too."

Li Huaide nodded. "Are there any other medicinal herbs? I also—"

"You can buy it at other pharmacies."

Li Weidong interrupted him, "All you need to do is get the geckos."

"Okay, I promise to deliver the geckos in three days at most."

Li Huaide patted his chest.

Li Weidong laughed and joked, "Wow, you've got some pretty wild ideas."

Li Huaide smiled reservedly: "Of course. My brother-in-law wants this medicine; he's quite capable. I'll introduce you to him another day."

Li Weidong understood that these words were meant to get him to take sides.

He didn't respond, but smiled and said, "Director Li, I'm going to take a look around the workshop. Want to come along? I'll pick up some materials while I'm at it."

"What new gadget are you tinkering with now?"

Li Huaide became interested.

But I felt a little disappointed—the kid didn't respond, which meant he didn't want to take sides. Come to think of it, he's on the technical path; there's no need for him to get involved in this mess.

As Li Weidong walked out, he casually remarked, "No matter who takes over in the future, skilled workers will be indispensable. These people must be treated like treasures."

"I'm going to make a homemade gun this time."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I have the material for the barrel, but some parts can be made with ordinary materials."

"We still need to go to the forging workshop to heat treat the springs."

Li Huaide knew in his heart that this matter had little to do with the factory anymore. But he still followed Li Weidong to the workshop. At least it could be considered that he cared about production, and it would look good on the surface.

As soon as the two entered the workshop, they saw Yi Zhonghai working hard, his brow beaded with sweat. It was rare for that guy to be so focused.

Qin Huairu was originally assigned to be Yi Zhonghai's apprentice, but now she's instead seeking advice from a level-five female worker. She's being guided by that worker and is doing her work quite well.

Ever since Li Weidong gave the public lecture and offered a lot of suggestions, Qin Huairu understood—Yi Zhonghai said, "It would be good if I could get a permanent position in three years."

However, after being given some pointers by Li Weidong, she developed real skills. She was perfectly aware of Yi Zhonghai's intentions.

In the past, if anyone dared to bypass Yi Zhonghai and ask someone else, he would cause a huge uproar in the workshop. But ever since a learning atmosphere has taken hold in the workshop, no one cares who you ask for help anymore.

Li Weidong rummaged through the small warehouse and found two round steel bars, each less than a meter long and about the thickness of a wrist.

As soon as he came out, Li Huaide, with his sharp eyes, immediately beckoned to two apprentices: "You two come here and carry the things to the door of the research room."

One of them was Meng Jianguo.

Li Weidong ignored Meng Jianguo, borrowed the fitter's bench, twisted out a few springs, and then walked towards the forging workshop.

Li Huaide jogged up to catch up. While Li Weidong was making the springs, he had gone over and whispered a few words to Cui Dake.

"Was Cui Da Ke transferred here by you?"

Li Weidong spoke in a nonchalant tone.

"Yeah, didn't you ask for ten slots at the branch factory? I thought we shouldn't waste them, so I brought over two people."

Li Huaide smiled slyly, "These two are quite sensible..."

He didn't spell it out explicitly, but the meaning was clear—he had accepted a bribe.

Li Weidong didn't reply, but after taking two steps, he spoke up: "Cui Dake is a dishonest person."

"I'm going to teach him a lesson, but I'm afraid you'll lose face."

"It's okay, it's okay, do whatever you want with it."

Li Huaide quickly waved his hand, "He just slipped a jade pendant into my hand."

"I've already transferred the person, the money and goods are settled, and neither of us owes the other anything."

Li Weidong sneered inwardly. He didn't want to offend Li Huaide, after all, the latter had powerful backers. But he couldn't just let Cui Dake go.

His memories from the original work told him that Cui Dake was vengeful and might suddenly turn around and bite him one day.

The two entered the forging workshop. Liu Haizhong was standing at the door enjoying the breeze, but as soon as he saw them, he quickly turned around and slipped back to his workstation.

Li Weidong stood at the workshop entrance, a smile playing on his lips. He was very confident in his forging skills; he hadn't earned his level seven forging skill for nothing. After practicing for the past couple of days, his feel for it had returned. An exam? That was just a formality.

He glanced at the spring that had just undergone heat treatment, and an idea popped into his mind.

Liu Haizhong, all he ever thinks about is becoming an official. Fine, let him sit there for a while. Just as he's settled in, we'll kick him down. That feeling of falling from the clouds to the mud will be enough to give him a hard time. That's the way to deal with a crazy official—make him go completely insane.

Li Weidong turned to Factory Director Li: "Is the forging workshop still short of a team leader?"

Factory Director Li was taken aback: "Old Yang is in charge of overseeing production, while the appointment of team leaders is the responsibility of the workshop director."

After he finished speaking, he added, "But Chief Engineer Li, if you want to recommend someone, just let the workshop director know. Do you think he'll refuse you?"

"become."

Li Weidong nodded. "I'll treat that workshop foreman to lunch. By the way, what's his name?"

"Shan Dahai".

After Director Li finished speaking, he sent someone to call for help.

Li Weidong stood at the gate waiting for someone. After a short while, Factory Director Li led over a man who looked to be around fifty years old. This man wore glasses and looked scholarly; he didn't look like a foreman of a forging workshop at all, but rather like someone who sat in an office.

"Chief Engineer Li, you wanted to see me?"

Dan Dahai was very polite.

"It's just a small matter."

Li Weidong said with a smile, "Come to my office at noon, let's have something to eat together. We won't drink alcohol, just tea."

"Okay, I'll be there on time."

Dan Dahai answered readily.

Li Weidong returned to the entrance of the research lab, where two round steel bars were still leaning against the wall. Factory Director Li had already left, and two soldiers were currently training in the yard. Upon seeing him return, the two immediately ran up to him.

"Hello, Consultant Li!"

The two men simultaneously gave a military salute.

Li Weidong waved his hand: "Don't salute anymore, it feels awkward. You guys practice all you want, I'll tinker with a few guns and see how they work."

"Please feel free to tell me if you need anything."

One of the young men, Xiao Tang, quickly expressed his opinion.

Li Weidong thought for a moment and said, "Could you report this to me? I'm researching a new type of pistol, and we'll have a finished product soon. However, I need to change the caliber to 7.62mm."

He had already thoroughly studied the blueprints. The original version used a 9mm round, but the 7.62mm round was more powerful and had stronger penetrating power, still accurate even at 100 meters. Although its stopping power was slightly inferior, who cared about that on the battlefield?

After listening, Xiao Tang winked at Xiao Han next to him: "When will you be able to finish? We'll have someone send the ammunition over."

"This afternoon."

Li Weidong said with a smile, "Make four or five. I'll keep one for myself for self-defense, and return the rest."

Xiao Han was trapped inside and couldn't go out, so he could only call to report the situation. A telephone line had been specially installed in the small room they were staying in.

Li Weidong finished making all the parts by 11:30. He had strong mental strength, the physical strength of a martial arts master, and max-level fitter skills, so making parts for five guns was no problem at all.

"Take these five gun barrels and have them chrome-plated; I can't do that here."

"I'll bring the equipment back this afternoon to test its performance."

Li Weidong made two extra barrels. Not plating them with chrome would at most affect the barrel's lifespan, but wouldn't cause any problems with the new gun's performance.

"I'll go right away! I'll definitely bring the gun barrel back before I leave work."

Xiao Tang straightened up.

"Do you have a car? If not, take mine."

Li Weidong asked.

"Yes, yes, they also have engines installed."

Xiao Tang quickly answered.

Li Weidong locked the door, and Xiao Han stood guard at the entrance. He then went back to his office in the infirmary.

As soon as he entered the office, Li Weidong pulled out a bunch of food from the system's warehouse.

On the table were a can of sardines, a can of braised pork, and a can of spiced beef. Each item weighed a full pound.