Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

The cave on the back mountain was finally completed after three months of digging.

He Yuzhu stood at the entrance and looked down. The stairs spiraled down, and the lights illuminated the interior as bright as day. It was 3,000 square meters, four stories high, and made of reinforced concrete, far superior to the original warehouse.

Ma Yuejin stood to the side, his expression as if he were dreaming.

"Dean, this place... is it really ours?"

He Yuzhu nodded.

"It's ours."

Ma Yuejin took a few steps down, then turned back.

"What about our original place?"

"Convert it into a dormitory."

Ma Yuejin gave an "oh" and continued walking down. His footsteps thumped on the cement steps.

He Yuzhu followed behind. When they reached the corner, he suddenly stopped.

In the corner lay a few old wooden planks, charred black. Upon closer inspection—it was the old warehouse's small iron door, the scars from molten steel still visible, and half of the doorknob burned away.

Ma Yuejin noticed his gaze and scratched his head.

"I thought it would be a waste to throw it away, so I moved it over to use as a partition."

He Yuzhu didn't speak, but reached out and touched the scar. The sheet metal was cold and the texture was rough. Half a year ago, there was a pile of scrap behind this door, and behind that was the old rolling mill.

He withdrew his hand and continued walking down.

The system interface flashed through my mind.

He didn't look at it.

The reporting day is Monday.

As dawn broke, the foot of the mountain came alive. Trucks drove in one after another. People jumped out of the trucks—young, bespectacled, carrying suitcases. They chattered like a flock of sparrows just hatching.

He Yuzhu stood at the laboratory entrance, watching them walk up the mountain.

Ma Yuejin counted them from the side.

"One, two, three... how many people are there?"

"three hundred."

Ma Yuejin was stunned for a moment.

"Three hundred? Can we fit all that in?"

He Yuzhu did not answer.

More and more people gathered, quickly filling the open space in front of the laboratory. Some squatted on the ground, some leaned against trees, and some stood there looking around. A young man wearing glasses glanced at the row of brick buildings and curled his lip.

"this one?"

The girl next to him with braids tugged at his sleeve.

"Don't talk nonsense."

He Yuzhu walked over.

The man with glasses saw him, froze, and stood up straight.

He Yuzhu walked past him without looking at him.

The meeting will be held in the warehouse.

There were too many people and not enough chairs. Those in the back stood, and those in the front squatted. He Yuzhu stood in front of a table, looking at the faces below—young, pale, some still carrying the arrogance of city dwellers.

"Have they all arrived?"

Ma Yuejin nodded.

"We've arrived. Three hundred and seven. Three are on their way."

He Yuzhu hummed in agreement and put down the list in his hand.

"My name is He Yuzhu, and I'm the director here. You're here to work, not to visit. It's not as comfortable as in the city; there's no hot shower, no canteen, and no theater. If you can't stand it, leave now."

There was silence for a few seconds.

The man with glasses spoke up again.

"Dean, we're not here to enjoy ourselves. We're here to learn."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"What's your name?"

"Li Zhiming. Graduated from Northern Institute of Technology."

He Yuzhu nodded.

"Okay. Li Zhiming, I have a question for you."

He picked up a piece of steel from the table and held it up.

"This is high-speed steel. For rolling mill rolls. Its current lifespan is eight hours. I need to increase it to sixteen hours. How do I do that?"

Li Zhiming opened his mouth.

He Yuzhu was waiting for him.

One second, two seconds, five seconds.

The silence was suffocating. Some people looked down at their shoes, some exchanged glances, but no one looked at the piece of steel in He Yuzhu's hand.

Li Zhiming blushed.

"That... depends on the ingredients and the heat treatment process..."

"What are the ingredients? What temperature was the heat treatment?"

Li Zhiming fell silent.

People below began to whisper among themselves.

He Yuzhu put the piece of steel down.

"Who else wants to try?"

No one said a word.

A voice came from behind.

"Dean, may I give it a try?"

He Yuzhu looked up.

Ma Yuejin squeezed through the crowd and walked to the front. He took the piece of steel, looked at it, and then handed it back.

"Dean, this steel is chromium-molybdenum based, with about 4% chromium and less than 1% molybdenum. It requires two quenching processes: the first at 1100 degrees Celsius and the second at 900 degrees Celsius, followed by tempering at 550 degrees Celsius. This results in fine grains and good wear resistance."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

How did you know?

Ma Yuejin scratched his head.

"You taught me."

The crowd started talking again, but this time the voices were different.

From the back of the crowd, a voice, though low, still reached He Yuzhu's ears: "A steel mill worker, he's better than all of us."

The one who spoke was the young man who had just pouted. The girl with braids next to him glared at him.

He Yuzhu put the piece of steel down.

"Ma Yuejin, from the steel rolling mill, worked for me for half a year. What he just said is something you can't learn in school. Because what's written in books is different from what you actually do."

He looked at the people below.

"You have diplomas and education. But here, diplomas are useless. What matters is your ability to work."

No one spoke.

Li Zhiming kept his head down. His knuckles were white as he gripped the notebook tightly.

The division into departments began in the afternoon.

He Yuzhu stood in front of the blackboard and read out the list one by one. Materials group, process group, testing group, equipment group. As each name was read, someone stood up and walked to their designated spot.

After the reading was finished, the more than 300 people split into several groups and stood in the warehouse.

He Yuzhu put down the chalk.

"Start work tomorrow. The materials group will study the formula, the process group will test the heat treatment, and the testing group will keep a close eye on the parameters of each furnace. The equipment group will figure out those new machines, fix them if they break down, and if they can't fix them, come to me."

He looked at Ma Yuejin.

"You will be the head of the materials group."

Ma Yuejin was stunned for a moment.

"Dean, I..."

"If you don't do it, who will?"

Ma Yuejin fell silent.

He Yuzhu looked around again.

"That's all for now. Meet here at seven tomorrow."

People started to walk out. The chattering started again, but it was different from when they came in.

Li Zhiming walked to the door and stopped. He glanced back at the chalk markings of the groups on the blackboard, then at He Yuzhu standing by the window. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he was pushed out by the person behind him.

That evening, He Yuzhu was alone in his office organizing materials.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Ma Yuejin pushed open the door and came in, carrying two enamel mugs. He placed one in front of He Yuzhu.

"Dean, have some water."

He Yuzhu picked up the glass and took a sip.

Ma Yuejin sat down opposite him and remained silent for a while.

"Dean, those college students today were pretty arrogant."

He Yuzhu nodded.

"normal."

Ma Yuejin looked at him.

"Aren't you angry?"

He Yuzhu put the jar down.

"Why should I be angry? They're arrogant because they've never seen the real thing. Once they have, they won't be arrogant anymore."

Ma Yuejin thought about it.

"That high-speed steel you mentioned, can we really develop it?"

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"You don't want to do it?"

Ma Yuejin smiled.

"think."

He Yuzhu stood up and walked to the window.

It was pitch black outside, with only a few lights in the distance. That was the direction of the new dormitory—that row of old brick houses, now full of people. Through the windows, I could see shadowy figures moving about, unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar voices.

"Three months," he said. "Within three months, you need to train ten people who can conduct independent research."

Ma Yuejin was stunned for a moment.

"Ten?"

"Yes. Materials science or process engineering, either is fine. Someone who can figure out problems independently, find solutions on their own, and mentor newcomers."

Ma Yuejin remained silent for a while.

"Dean, I'll give it a try."

He Yuzhu turned around.

"It's not a trial. It's a necessity."

Ma Yuejin stood up and drank the water in the jar.

"OK."

He walked to the door, then turned back.

"Dean, your choice of steel today was spot on."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything.

The door closed.

He turned back to the window. One by one, the lights in the distant dormitories went out. The newcomers were asleep. They would start work first thing tomorrow morning.

The voice in my head rang.

[Side Quest: Activating the First Mentor]

[Mission Objective: To train ten key personnel capable of independent research within three months]

[Mission Reward: +6,000,000 points]

He closed the interface.

Footsteps came from outside the door, very hurried.

There was another knock on the door.

"Come in."

Old Zheng from the security department rushed in, his face covered in sweat.

"Dean, something's happened."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"explain."

Old Zheng swallowed.

"Someone was secretly filming the area around the lab on the eastern hillside. They were spotted by the patrol, tripped and fell while running, and we caught them."

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment.

Where are they?

"He's in the security department. He's a young man, looks like he's from the city. He won't say anything when you ask him anything."

He Yuzhu picked up his coat and walked outside.

He stopped at the door. He glanced back at the stack of files on the table—three hundred and seven files, collected that afternoon and still under the lamp.

"Where are the photos?"

Old Zheng shook his head.

"We couldn't find it. He threw the camera down the mountain when he fell."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything, pushed open the door, and walked into the darkness.

The last light in the dormitory in the distance went out.