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

Li Huaide immediately waved his hand, his voice rising a few decibels: "Chief Engineer Liu, you are a distinguished guest our factory has been waiting for for a long time! We must not skimp on the proper etiquette." He personally picked up the wine pot and filled Liu Guangqi's empty glass, his enthusiasm bordering on eagerness: "As long as you can help us clear the technical hurdles and get our production targets soaring, what is this little bit of hospitality?"

Factory Director Yang, standing to the side, appeared relatively composed and replied with a smile, "Old Li is right. Chief Engineer Liu, let's just enjoy the food and drinks today; we can discuss work matters later."

Having said all that, it would seem pretentious to refuse any further.

Liu Guangqi raised his glass and stood up: "In that case, I shall gladly accept your invitation. This first toast is to the two factory directors, and also to wish our steel rolling mill a smooth and successful technological innovation!"

"Great! Everything went smoothly!"

The wine glasses clinked lightly, producing a crisp sound. No one discussed work; they chatted casually about factory anecdotes and recent ministry events, creating a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere. Liu Guangqi occasionally chimed in, neither interrupting nor letting the conversation falter, his tact and timing impeccable. He knew perfectly well—as a newcomer, some personnel relationships were far more intricate than technical blueprints. Getting the people sorted out first would pave the way for smoother progress later.

In the end, everyone enjoyed the meal.

A large procession marched toward the factory workshop.

Factory Director Yang strode ahead, followed half a step by Li Huaide, both wearing measured smiles. Behind them followed a group of solemn-looking factory leaders, who surrounded Liu Guangqi in the center, their steps cautious and orderly. To an uninformed observer, this scene would likely have been mistaken for a high-ranking official's personal inspection.

Liu Guangqi was no stranger to this steel rolling mill. He had previously presided over worker skills assessments and later came to conduct research for the development of electric ovens, so he knew every corner of the factory by heart. Therefore, this time—rather than coming to familiarize himself with the situation, he came to verify several nascent ideas in his mind.

Before even stepping into the workshop, a unique smell, a mixture of hot grease, rusty metal, and coolant, hits you. Then, the deep rumble of old-fashioned machine tools, the piercing whirring of parts being cut, and the intermittent shouts of workers... all intertwine to form a distinct and powerful rhythm of labor within the workshop.

When the workers in the workshop saw the leaders enter, they slowed down their work slightly, but no one stopped. After all, ever since those two precious CNC machine tools were installed in the factory, the leaders seemed to have taken root in the workshop, coming to inspect every few days, and everyone had long been used to it.

An elderly welder, engrossed in polishing parts, heard the noise and habitually looked up. He happened to see Liu Guangqi in the crowd, and his eyes lit up immediately: "Hey! Chief Engineer Liu?"

The young apprentice beside him leaned closer and asked curiously, "Master, which one is Chief Engineer Liu?"

"That one, the youngest and best-looking one!" The old welder raised his chin, his tone tinged with pride. "You kid, you don't even recognize Chief Engineer Liu? He was the chief examiner for last year's factory-wide skills assessment! A top engineer sent down from a top department! The new batch of CNC machine tools that arrived at our factory were also developed under Chief Engineer Liu's leadership!"

"So it was him!" The young apprentice exclaimed in sudden realization, his gaze instantly filled with admiration. "He looks so young!"

"Who says otherwise! Guess why he came today? Even so many factory leaders came with him." "Who knows? Anyway, it must be something big!"

Liu Guangqi paid no attention to the hushed conversations around him and continued walking towards the other workshops. He chatted side-by-side with Factory Director Yang, and apart from Li Huaide occasionally interjecting, the others barely joined the conversation. In the end, only Liu Guangqi, Factory Director Yang, and Li Huaide remained, chatting and laughing. Clearly, the other leaders and accompanying personnel of the steel rolling mill were also extremely interested in the potential technological innovations Liu Guangqi might bring, their faces beaming with smiles and their eyes filled with anticipation.

Reputation is like a tree, and prestige is like a shadow—Liu Guangqi's achievements in the past two years are truly remarkable. This department is now showing signs of becoming a leader in the industrial field; especially after the mass production of high-precision machine tools, its technological influence will undoubtedly become even more significant. And all of this is closely related to Liu Guangqi. Therefore, everyone is hoping that he can inject new technological vitality into the steel rolling mill this time.

Accompanied by Factory Director Yang and others, Liu Guangqi walked through several workshops before finally focusing his attention on the fighter jet parts production area. A quick glance revealed a problem: in the rough machining area on the left, several relatively new but actually inaccurate Soviet-style lathes were still humming away, with piles of golden iron filings accumulating beneath them, failing to be cleaned up in time, wasting materials and posing a safety hazard.

The atmosphere in the precision machining area on the right was much more somber. Two of the factory's most skilled level eight master craftsmen were frowning at a piece of steel with a peculiar luster. One of them repeatedly measured it with calipers, muttering to himself—clearly, he had encountered a thorny problem.

"Comrade Guangqi," Factory Director Yang said, seeing Liu Guangqi stop, he quickly stepped forward and pointed to the area, his voice slightly hesitant, "Look... this is the section in the factory that processes bearing parts for fighter jets."

He sighed, the wrinkles on his forehead seeming to deepen: "Even the most skilled level eight workers in our factory, working together, take at least two hours to process a single bearing component. And the yield rate... is less than 70%."

As Liu Guangqi walked through the workshop, he heard the old master craftsman complaining in a low voice that the workload was too heavy, and he was almost exhausted. He didn't answer, but stopped directly in front of the scrap bin, bent down, and picked up a scrapped bearing. The part felt heavy in his hand, gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster. He slowly rubbed the inner ring with his fingertips, his eyes slightly narrowed—the tolerance was indeed small, imperceptible to the average person. But this was something that would be installed in a fighter jet engine; even the slightest deviation was unacceptable.

His gaze shifted to the old machine tool beside him. The spindle spun rapidly, creating a barely perceptible tremor.

That's the problem.

Liu Guangqi put down the parts, turned to Factory Director Yang, and said in a calm tone as if he were talking about the weather: "I understand." Several factory leaders gathered around, and even the head of the technical department, who had been unable to get a word in edgewise, quietly approached—this was the problem that was giving them the biggest headache.

"There are two most pressing issues right now," Liu Guangqi said. "The equipment precision is lagging behind, and the production process isn't streamlined." He called over the factory manager and the technical staff, and only after everyone had gathered did he continue, "I suggest adjusting the production schedule. Of the more than forty existing plans in the factory, eleven machine tool models are too old, with technology stuck more than ten years ago. They're just taking up space without producing anything, so it's better to just eliminate them."

The workshop fell silent for a moment.

"The manpower and electricity saved will all be invested in the new machine tools," Liu Guangqi said in a low but clear voice. "With the same resources, the output value can be increased several times. The production line also needs to be changed—the old machine tools can't be mixed with the new CNC machines. From now on, we will only do one thing: high precision, high requirements, and cutting-edge work."

He almost blurted out "broken-down machine tools," but swallowed the words back and chose a more appropriate term. Everyone present understood. There was no way around it; precision machine tools were being held hostage by the technology, money couldn't buy them, and each one was incredibly valuable. Even the barely functional old machines were the foundation of industry.

Although the steel rolling mill was a key plant of the ministry with substantial resources, the workshops still contained a considerable amount of outdated equipment. In Liu Guangqi's view, some of these machines didn't even qualify as "industrial waste." Using them was inefficient, produced a lot of scrap, and would need to be melted down in a few years anyway. Rather than dragging it out, a complete overhaul was necessary. With limited resources, every effort had to be focused on crucial areas.

Factory Director Yang hesitated, not immediately responding. He wasn't from a technical background, but he had one advantage: he didn't give orders blindly. In his heart, he had long agreed with Liu Guangqi, but on the surface, he had to maintain the demeanor of a factory director, making it appear as if the decision had been made after careful consideration. Otherwise, how could he gain the respect of his subordinates?

The entire workshop was quiet, save for the low hum of the machine tools in the distance. Everyone was looking at Factory Director Yang. After a long while, he finally raised his head as if he had finished his deliberation: "I think it's fine." Those three words set the tone.

"The ministry has long emphasized the need to pursue a technological path, and our proactive elimination of outdated equipment is precisely in response to the call from higher authorities." In the past, he would never have dared to say such a thing—even the oldest machine tool is still a mother machine, and which factory would be willing to throw it away? But things are different now.

Standing before him were the designers of CNC machine tools and the technical leaders designated by their superiors to provide full support.

Within their professional field, his opinions carried more weight than the factory director's. With Liu Guangqi, a leading technical figure, supporting them, no pressure would fall on their shoulders. "I agree with Comrade Guangqi's view!" Li Huaide immediately followed up, his tone resolute. "Such measures should have been taken long ago! Instead of wasting energy on outdated equipment, we should concentrate our resources on tackling key tasks."

"We fully support it! We firmly support it!" The head of the technical department was so excited that his face flushed and his voice trembled slightly.

The situation is clear—both the factory director in charge of factory affairs and the deputy factory director in charge of production have expressed their opinions, so how can the technical department have any objections?

Immediately, voices of approval rang out.

At this point, the steel rolling mill management reached a consensus, and the resolution was finalized. The gloom on the faces of the technical staff gradually dissipated, as if they had found their direction.

This was followed by a shift in the entire factory's focus. All manpower and resources began to converge on the same goal—a comprehensive upgrade of the machine tools. Of course, Liu Guangqi was not a reckless person. He knew that the steel rolling mill was a large-scale operation, and production could not be interrupted for even a day. Therefore, he proposed a phased implementation plan: to promote technological innovation while maintaining production. First, existing technology would be used to make preliminary modifications to some key machine tools to improve their performance. Once the new machine tools from the Hongxing plant were put into mass production, they would be introduced immediately for complete replacement.

This phased approach ensures production continuity while also providing a buffer for technological upgrades.

Modifying machine tools was not a problem for him. Early machine tool technology, originating from the north, had limited technical barriers and only required technical staff to assist with auxiliary tasks, unlike the development of CNC machine tools which required a large team.

Then, Liu Guangqi pointed out the problem of metal filings to the precision workshop staff: "Section Chief Zheng, please look at the metal filings on the ground." The technical section chief glanced down and smiled dismissively: "It's inevitable that some of this will remain after daily cleaning; the workers are used to it."

"Habit doesn't equate to rationality." Liu Guangqi lightly brushed away a small pile of shavings with the tip of his shoe. His calm voice was particularly clear in the noisy workshop. "These seemingly insignificant shavings actually pose numerous hidden dangers. First, there are safety hazards. Second, if the flying iron filings enter the machine tool guides and bearings, they will cause continuous wear, and long-term accumulation will inevitably affect the precision and lifespan of the equipment. Today, if we want to promote precision machining, we must pay attention to every detail."

He paused, his tone gentle yet incisive: "The most direct manifestation is that the more metal filings accumulate, the more frequently the machine tool will jam."

Upon hearing this, the technical director's smile instantly froze, then he suddenly realized: "So that's it! No wonder the machine tools in the factory kept jamming; I never even thought of that! I just had the workers do a simple cleaning, completely ignoring the issue of equipment wear and tear!"

Li Huaide chimed in at the opportune moment: "I didn't expect this problem to affect the operation of the equipment. I will immediately arrange for the logistics department to implement rectification."

Section Chief Zheng quickly took out his notebook and wrote down the key points: "On-site management must be standardized! From now on, each machine tool must be equipped with a dedicated waste bin, which must be cleaned up immediately after processing." His decisive and efficient manner seemed to make up for all past oversights.

As they left the workshop, the setting sun cast a soft golden glow on the machine tools inside. Factory Director Yang patted Liu Guangqi on the shoulder and remarked, "Comrade Guangqi, our factory's technicians patrol the workshops all day, yet no one noticed such a huge problem hidden beneath their feet. You've just arrived, and in just a few words you've pointed out the key issue and offered a practical solution—truly a timely help."

Liu Guangqi responded with a smile, "This is my duty. Let's work together to get the production line up and running efficiently as soon as possible."

He knew it perfectly well.

These are just the beginning.

Laying things out on their face is always the simplest approach.

The toughest part is yet to come – we have to modify all those old machine tools in the steel rolling mill one by one, we have to help the veteran workers who have been handling these old machines for decades to get used to them, and we have to personally train the young people who have just entered the factory and can't even hold a wrench properly.

This reform cannot be accomplished simply by shouting slogans.