Courtyard House: I'm an engineer, and a fairy godmother transferred me to a different position.

*??*??*

Under the same twilight, Wang Jianguo stood at the entrance of the technical department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, clutching a thin sheet of paper. The few sketches and instructions on the paper were Liu Guangqi's new task for him—to develop a household washing machine. The task fell on his and Hongxing Mill's shoulders; when the finished product would be available was a problem the technical department needed to solve.

Wang Jianguo wasn't worried. He came from a technical research and development background and knew the intricacies of the business. The factory's technical department was now well-equipped, especially after the merger with the Third Electrical Appliance Factory last year, which brought in many experienced senior technicians. Combined with the existing group of Tsinghua University graduates, he felt quite confident that they could work together to develop a washing machine.

This was a novelty these days. In Beijing, many working-class families still crammed into courtyard houses in alleyways, sharing a single water tap and carefully budgeting their electricity bills. Washing machines were a distant dream for them. But the ministry compounds were a different story—each household had its own courtyard, complete with water and electricity. Those were the perfect places for a washing machine. Thinking that it might one day relieve his wife from the drudgery of washing clothes in the freezing winter, Wang Jianguo felt a glimmer of hope.

Things progressed even faster than he had anticipated.

A few days later, Wang Jianguo stepped into the technical department again. The merged technical department now had over a hundred people, the offices packed to capacity. These days, merged factories always had to streamline staff, but technical backbone personnel were invaluable. Factory Director Li and he agreed that none of them should be let go. These experienced veterans, with a little training, became the pillars of the workshop, far more useful than fresh graduates.

"Deputy Factory Director Wang!" Someone saw him and immediately stood up. This call caused everyone else in the office to look up, and greetings rose and fell.

Wang Jianguo waved his hand, his gaze sweeping across the room: "Is everyone here?"

"All here, Deputy Factory Director Wang." The one who answered was the head of the technical department, a level 10 technician and a veteran of the Red Star Factory, who had participated in many projects with Liu Guangqi in his early years.

"Okay!" Wang Jianguo walked to the large blackboard at the front and turned to face the crowd. Although he was now in charge of production, the same drive he had when he led the research team back in the day was still there. He cleared his throat and calmly looked at each face—the young ones were eager to try, and the older ones were steady and determined.

"Comrades," he said in a low but clear voice, "the ministry has always had high hopes for our Red Star Factory. This year, we need to produce something truly remarkable."

Before the words were even finished, a chorus of responses erupted from below:

"Deputy factory manager, just point us in the right direction, and we'll definitely follow!"

"Yes, without a doubt!"

Seeing the fire ignited in everyone's eyes, Wang Jianguo nodded and smiled, "It's good that you have confidence. Then let's talk about this year's number one task—" He turned around, picked up a piece of chalk, and began to draw neatly on the blackboard. The lines gradually formed the outline of a box, with brief descriptions of its internal structure.

"This is a new project I brought from Chief Engineer Liu," he said, finishing the last stroke, dusting off his hands, turning around, and speaking slowly and deliberately:

"What we're going to build is a washing machine."

*??*??*

The news that "Hongxing Factory is going to manufacture washing machines" spread like a trickle of fresh water flowing quietly beneath the ice on a river in early spring. It appeared out of nowhere and spread silently throughout the vast industrial system.

At first, most people who heard it just laughed it off and didn't take it seriously.

The status of Hongxing Factory is extraordinary.

As a benchmark enterprise jointly supported by the Ministry of Machinery Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Trade, this factory can earn nearly 200 million US dollars in foreign exchange for the country every year, making it a banner of export earnings.

Therefore, any move it makes regarding new product development will attract widespread attention.

What started as scattered rumors was quickly confirmed.

The news spread like wildfire, and not only were various departments within the industrial system discussing it, but many sister factories were also talking about it.

Some were excited and looking forward to it, while many others had doubts.

"Is Hongxing Factory developing another new product?"

"Is another foreign exchange harvesting machine about to be created?"

"This time it might be different—Chief Engineer Liu's secondment period ended last year, and he has already returned to the First Ministry of Machine Building as a division chief."

"Without him at the helm, can the Red Star Factory continue its previous technological miracles?"

Many people had a question mark in their minds.

However, just as the doubts were growing, another version of the rumor quietly spread.

The story was told in great detail:

Deputy Factory Director Wang once made a special trip to visit Chief Engineer Liu, hoping that he could design a few more export-oriented products for the factory.

Chief Engineer Liu was busy with major projects and simply waved his hand, saying, "I can't worry about these small things." In the end, he casually tore off a page from his notebook, wrote down a set of technical principles and core ideas, and handed it to Deputy Factory Director Wang to take back to the factory for self-study.

This page contains the information about the washing machine project that Hongxing Factory is currently focusing its efforts on.

As soon as the rumor came out, the winds of change immediately shifted.

"Have you heard? The technology for those washing machines at the Red Star Factory was obtained by Deputy Factory Director Wang from Chief Engineer Liu!"

"Chief Engineer Liu? Isn't he swamped with work at the ministry?"

"You don't understand—even though they didn't have time to get involved themselves, they wrote out a whole page of technical principles!"

"One page? How can that be written clearly? Wouldn't it be like writing in a foreign language?"

"You think the title of 'Chief Engineer' is just for show? What we see as a difficult problem is nothing more than a basic framework that they sketch out casually."

The initial doubts gradually turned into amazement and anticipation.

The argument that "they can't do without Chief Engineer Liu" has quietly died down.

It turns out that this core technical staff member did not abandon his responsibilities; he simply found a more effortless way to support his old unit.

This made the other sister factories uneasy.

Many people in charge began to inquire through various channels:

"Director Wang, do you think... we could ask Chief Engineer Liu to give our factory some pointers? It's all for the sake of generating foreign exchange for the country!"

When the news reached Wang Jianguo's ears, he simply laughed it off:

"That won't do—that was a 'friendly support' from Director Liu specifically for our factory; I can't make that decision."

In short, this not only elevated Liu Guangqi's status but also highlighted the uniqueness of the Hongxing Factory, drawing envy from its peers.

---

In the office of the Research Department of the First Ministry of Machine Building, Liu Guangqi was bent over a table covered with blueprints.

These are not design sketches, but precise drawings concerning actual production. Every line and every annotation is related to the subsequent production and export layout.

He held a pencil, the tip lightly tracing the parameter column of the transmission gear.

Suddenly, the old telephone on the table rang with a piercing sound, breaking the silence of the room.

Liu Guangqi picked up the phone without hesitation, and Wang Jianguo's loud and excited voice immediately came through the receiver:

"Guangqi! Good news!"

"The factory's technical department has thoroughly understood the washing machine principle on that page you gave us—we'll start production on the parts immediately, and the first prototype will be assembled in about half a month at the latest!"

Liu Guangqi put down his pen, leaned back slightly, and calmly raised the corners of his mouth: "The progress is acceptable. It wasn't a waste of time."

"How could we dare to delay?"

Wang Jianguo's laughter came through the receiver. "When the technical team saw the washing machine blueprints, they were like they'd drunk a stimulant. They stayed up until late at night, saying they absolutely couldn't let you, the chief engineer, get away with it."

As Liu Guangqi listened to the lively conversation on the other end of the phone, his back pressed against the solid wood chair back, a barely perceptible smile flickered in his eyes.

"It's good that you're willing to put your heart into it."

"Of course!" Wang Jianguo immediately chimed in. "Everyone's on edge. They're saying that if we can't even understand your blueprints, how can we ever face anyone in the ministries again?"

This is prestige.

It is through Liu Guangqi's groundbreaking technological breakthroughs over the years that he has silently etched an indelible mark on people's hearts.

It's more powerful than any rousing mobilization.

In fact, after figuring out the basic principles and structure of the washing machine, the technical department of Hongxing Factory completed the sorting out three days ahead of schedule.

The parts list was delivered to the production workshop just as dawn broke.

After all, the technical threshold for these types of home appliances is not actually that high.

The fully automated design concept is essentially the same as the operating system of a CNC machine tool.

After reporting on the progress of the washing machine, Wang Jianguo changed the subject—after all, he was a technically skilled deputy factory director in charge of production—and then raised several unresolved questions, wanting to hear Liu Guangqi's insights.

Firstly, John Bull launched a fully automatic washing machine last year. If the product is similar, its own advantages will not stand out. How can it strengthen its unique features in order to catch up in the subsequent export competition?

Liu Guangqi did not hesitate to do so.

He used the rice cooker as an example: Although Japan invented it first, we have now completely surpassed it. The key lies in the rich variety of products, the detailed functions, and the energy consumption advantage.

The appearance and functional configuration of washing machines

You can refer to this approach to design multiple styles, differentiate different functions and price points, and create a product tier list.

Wang Jianguo, on the other end of the line, suddenly understood and quickly pulled out a piece of paper to jot down the key points; his thoughts immediately became clear.

After hanging up the phone with Wang Jianguo, Liu Guangqi's gaze fell back on the table—which was covered with a set of blueprints for a five-axis machine tool specifically for export.

The last set of parameters for the transmission gears had just been marked, the ink still fresh.

He picked up the blueprints and examined them line by line. All the core five-axis linkage technologies had been properly adjusted, and the accuracy was controlled above that of existing three-coordinate CNC machine tools, but was significantly lower than that of a complete five-axis system.

He circled several key locking mechanisms in red to ensure they would be ineffective once disassembled.

Even if the exporter later discards these export models, his researchers can repair them effortlessly, with absolutely no risk of waste.

"Send the drawings to the Technical Department of the Foreign Trade Division."

Liu Guangqi handed the organized files to the technician who came in to change the water, and gave him concise instructions: "Please have them coordinate with the machine tool workshop at Hongxing Factory and prioritize production. The first batch should consist of five trial units, and each unit must pass a complete test before shipment."

The technician took the stack of densely labeled drawings and couldn't help but exclaim, "Director, your speed is astonishing! You've even finalized the export version of the production drawings in less than three days!"

This pace is far beyond what is typical for ordinary people.

After all, production drawings are different from preliminary designs. Every piece of data and every line is related to actual manufacturing and cannot be ambiguous.

Liu Guangqi simply smiled calmly:

"Export orders wait for no one. The sooner we start production, the sooner we can earn real foreign exchange from Western markets."

half a month later.

Just as Liu Guangqi was making every effort to advance preparations for the export of machine tools, good news indeed came from Wang Jianguo's side—

The washing machine prototype has been assembled.

In the compound of the First Ministry of Machine Building, Wang Jianguo personally escorted the truck from the Red Star Factory, delivering the first prototype as if presenting a precious treasure.

The commotion attracted many people to lean out of the office windows.

When the red cloth covering it was removed, the eyes of the several ministerial leaders watching immediately lit up.

It was a machine with a faint silver-gray sheen.

Its smooth, curved contours were completely different from the square iron cabinets from across the ocean described in the archives; it resembled a static work of art. Wang Jianguo, his face flushed with excitement, spoke loudly to the gathered crowd:

"Distinguished leaders and comrades, please look—this is the report card that our Hongxing Factory has submitted!"

His finger traced the three rounded knobs on the control panel, pointing out in turn: "Timer, water level, spin dry—the functions are clearly defined and easy to operate. There are illustrations next to them, so even an illiterate auntie can understand them by looking at the pictures."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and lifted the top cover.

The inner stainless steel rollers were clean and shiny, and the water inlet and outlet at the bottom were cleverly concealed within the structure, making it both neat and practical. Director Lin and several colleagues from various ministries silently walked around the machine twice, their initial doubts gradually turning into silent nods.

After connecting the power and water pipes, Wang Jianguo turned to the crowd and asked, "Does anyone have any dirty clothes they just changed out of? Oily or sweaty ones would be best, perfect for trying this out!"

The scene immediately became lively.

"Use mine, Deputy Factory Director Wang! This uniform was covered in machine oil yesterday!"