I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

In the second semester of fourth grade, all graduating students at North No. 1 Electric School are required to prepare their graduation theses.

Yan Jiefang was no exception.

He integrated the knowledge in his mind, applied to visit Factory 774 several times, and finally wrote a paper on production process improvement.

After reading the paper, the school teachers felt that it was substantial, so they invited engineers from Factory 774 to study it together.

Finally, they conducted Yan Jiefang's thesis defense ahead of schedule.

Yan Jiefang's defense was well-reasoned and highly feasible, and the teachers were very satisfied.

After submitting the defense report, it caught the attention of the factory leadership. (At that time, it was entirely possible for this type of technical defense report to be sent to Factory 774.)

Therefore, Yan Jiefang entered Factory 774 at the end of April to participate in the production process improvement project.

Of course, although he provided the technical theory, as a recent vocational school graduate, he naturally could not be the project leader.

Here, he's just a roadside worker, an apprentice technician following the engineer.

My monthly salary is 37.5 yuan, which is negligible. (32 + subsidies)

Even so, someone like him is the envy of countless people.

As those who have watched the TV series know, in 1965, Sha Zhu, an 8th-level chef, earned 35.5 yuan a month plus a 2 yuan subsidy from the canteen supervisor, for a total of 37.5 yuan.

He had the same amount as Yan Jiefang now, but back then he was incredibly proud.

In the words of old Beijingers, that's having face.

After Yan Jiefang joined the factory, the factory also arranged a single room for him.

This house is located in the Wanhongli staff dormitory area on the west side of Factory 774.

Inside a three-story Soviet-style brick and wood sloping-roof dormitory building, all the residents are interns or young technicians.

The room is small, only about 13 square meters, and it is shared by two people.

My roommate is Li Qingbo, a senior from the same school who graduated in 63.

Li Qingbo is a typical science and engineering student.

Aside from his profession or things he's interested in, he doesn't care about anything else.

I basically live a life of going back and forth between my dormitory and the factory every day.

He had never heard of Yan Jiefang, a prominent figure on campus.

Or perhaps they heard it but didn't pay any attention.

Yan Jiefang likes to be friends with classmates who are simple-minded.

They are mostly sincere and straightforward, have low guard, and think in a relatively linear way.

The most important thing is that there's less work involved.

To put it bluntly, they're just simple-minded and easily fooled!

My senior colleague was officially hired last year and was classified as a level 15 technician with a monthly salary of 42.5 yuan.

Trainees like Yan Jiefang, who have just graduated, do not have formal administrative or technical grading.

After you become a full-fledged employee, you'll all have the same level 15 technical skills.

If you want to pursue an administrative career, you must have at least two years of technical work experience to be eligible to switch to an administrative position.

Yan Jiefang knew the true nature of his small business owners; even though they had separated their households in 62 and no longer had any contact, it couldn't change much.

When faced with an investigation, it can be easily exposed.

Therefore, there is absolutely no intention to transfer to administration.

His plan was to stay in the technical position until after the reform and opening up, after which he would leave.

By 80 to 00, Factory 774 would likely face the same problems that state-owned enterprises face.

It is very likely that a restructuring will occur.

It will definitely be a complete mess by then, so it's better to leave sooner rather than later.

While participating in process improvement, Yan Jiefang, on the recommendation of the factory leaders, also led the basketball team of Factory 774 to participate in the employee basketball league organized by the Beijing Municipal Industry Sports Association of the Beijing Electronics Industry System.

If you can get a top two or three finish in this competition, you will qualify for the Beijing Municipal Workers' Basketball Team.

This is to select athletes for the second National Games, which will be held in September this year.

Although Yan Jiefang only participates in each game for a very short time, usually less than 10 minutes.

However, the basketball team from Factory 774 swept all the strong teams every time, racing all the way to easily win first place.

During this process, some athletes did try to use underhanded tactics to bring Yan Jiefang down.

But with Yan Jiefang's physical condition of 14 points, plus his own extreme caution, how could he possibly let these people succeed?

Several unscrupulous individuals were even struck by him, resulting in fractures on the spot.

Yan Jiefang is not without temper either.

As for the 100-meter sprint, given his previous world record-breaking performance...

He directly qualified to represent the Beijing team in the competition.

Few would disagree with this.

In July, Yan Jiefang officially graduated and received his diploma.

The old principal held his hand for a long time, unwilling to let go.

Students as outstanding as Yan Jiefang are extremely rare.

If it weren't for his lack of formal education, he would have wanted Yan Jiefang to stay at the university and teach.

Finally, the former headmaster gave him a piece of advice:

"Work hard and contribute to the country's four modernizations!"

In this era, this is a very simple, yet incredibly real, expectation.

Many predecessors have devoted themselves wholeheartedly to this goal, burning the midnight oil.

The prosperity of later generations is inseparable from the contributions of these predecessors.

Just like on October 16th last year, China successfully detonated its first atomic bomb. (1964)

It is the culmination of the wisdom and technology of countless scientists and workers.

For the three months of May, June, and July, Yan Jiefang spent all his time in the workshop of Factory 774, except when he went out to compete.

After a period of renovation, the process improvement project he proposed was finally completed.

Through employee testing, the quality of the related products improved significantly by 20%, and efficiency also increased by about 50%!

After the visit, the leaders gave verbal praise to everyone who had worked hard for three months.

He was subsequently commended and awarded various prizes via radio broadcast.

Like Yan Jiefang, he received an outstanding employee award certificate stamped by the factory department and recorded in his personal personnel file, a fan ticket, an enamel mug and a washbasin printed with the words "advanced worker".

In this day and age, this is an extremely generous reward.

Although Yan Jiefang's house had already installed electric fans in all three rooms, those were all secondhand items that he had repaired and modified.

Compared to a new electric fan, it's not bad, but it's not as pretty or brand new!

Who wouldn't want a brand new electric fan?

In early August, after more than three months, Yan Jiefang returned to Mianhua Hutong.

His house was cleaned diligently by his siblings Yan Jiekuang and Yan Jiedi, and it looked very clean and tidy.

"Second Brother, you're finally back! I thought you'd disappeared!"

She greeted everyone first, and then immediately continued speaking.

"By the way, we ran out of snacks and soda at home last month. Take a break and go buy some more."

Yan Jiedi is still so bad at speaking; this girl is becoming less and less likable!