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

As the car slowly pulled up to the alley entrance, a crowd had already gathered inside and outside the courtyard. Several families who rarely showed up on ordinary days had moved low stools to sit in the front row, craning their necks to look in this direction.

"Guangqi is back!"

The schoolteacher from the Yan family was the first to come forward, his face beaming with a familiar smile, each wrinkle perfectly curved.

"I heard he was transferred to a leadership position at the steel rolling mill? He's really young and promising!"

As he spoke, his gaze kept sweeping over the black sedan, and his fingers were fidgeting inside his sleeve, as if he were plotting something.

Aunt Jia also squeezed out from the crowd, rubbing her plump hands together, her voice loud and clear:

"Damn it! Guangqi! Dongxu just parked the car in the backyard, and I just wiped the dust off—look how bright it is!"

Strangely enough, as soon as I stepped into this courtyard, I was greeted by warm smiles all around me, and all the petty squabbles of the past disappeared without a trace.

Her gaze suddenly fell on Meng Yun, and her voice rose a few decibels:

"Oh my, Xiaoyun's figure—is she pregnant? Look at you two, your child is sure to be successful!"

Who would have thought that this woman, who was known for her sharp tongue, could utter such comforting words?

Under the moon gate of the central courtyard, Master Yi stood quietly, holding an enamel mug.

He looked at Meng Yun's slightly protruding belly, then at his father surrounded by people, and slowly took a sip of water from the jar. The plain water flowed down his throat, yet he tasted an indescribable astringency.

Although his apprentices were promising, they were not his own flesh and blood. Looking at the Liu family, the three sons stood in a row: the eldest had a bright future in the ministry, the second was studying at a vocational school, and now the eldest grandson was coming—the family line was being continued so perfectly.

Comparisons are inevitable.

Master Yi looked away and twirled the rim of the vat in his palm.

In the backyard, I smiled and responded to the neighbors' hospitality. Before long, I took Meng Yun back to my own house.

The relationship between neighbors is enough to maintain appearances.

Some things are better left unsaid.

By dinnertime, the table was filled with the aroma of dishes, and the house was even more lively than during the New Year. My second brother, Guangtian, was not home from school, so besides my parents, my wife and I, only my third brother, Guangfu, was at the table.

The boy sat by the table, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at the meat dishes spread across the table, a smile playing on his lips.

He knew that since his elder brother and sister-in-law had returned, there would always be plenty of oil and fat on the dinner table.

Liu Guangfu was already used to his marginal position in the family. After all, compared to the Yan family's other unpopular sons, his situation wasn't the worst.

"Xiaoyun, quickly sit down and rest."

Aunt Erda's face was full of ingratiating smiles as she steadily pushed the pot of stewed chicken soup, so tender it was almost falling off the bone, in front of Zhao Mengyun. Then, she deftly picked up a plump, oily chicken leg and gently placed it into Zhao Mengyun's bowl.

"It's good for pregnant women to eat more chicken drumsticks, which are very nutritious."

Liu Guangfu noticed the stark difference in treatment but didn't take it to heart, focusing instead on quickly shoveling rice into his bowl.

Even today, Liu Haizhong unusually refrained from behaving like an elder and didn't scold his youngest son as usual. He picked up the wine bottle, poured Liu Guangqi a full glass, and every wrinkle on his face smoothed out.

"Guangqi, this chicken was simmered by your mother for several hours, it's very flavorful. You should drink a couple more bowls of soup. No matter how important work is, you can't neglect your family. Family is always the most important thing."

Throughout the meal, Aunt Er's words almost never left Zhao Mengyun's stomach.

"Xiaoyun, have your tastes changed lately? Do you crave something sour or spicy? Tell Mom and I'll get it for you."

"Once the baby is born, I'll have your dad find some good wood and make a crib by hand. It'll definitely be more sturdy than the ones sold outside."

Liu Haizhong took a sip of his drink and cheerfully replied:

"You're both busy with work, so from now on, the child will stay at home. Your husband and I will help take care of him; we promise we won't mistreat him. We'll treat my grandson the same way we raised you!"

Liu Guangqi almost burst out laughing when he heard his father's resounding guarantee. It was true; the old man's unwavering favoritism towards his eldest son was genuine.

Even Liu Guangfu, who was eating silently next to him, couldn't help but twitch his lips. He had to admit that compared to the treatment his eldest brother received, he and his second brother were living completely different lives.

It seems that before long, my status in this family will probably be moved down again.

Seeing his father's serious expression, Liu Guangqi joked, "Dad, you're too impatient. The child isn't even here yet, and you've already made plans."

Liu Haizhong, however, said solemnly, "How can we not be anxious? This is the first grandchild of our Liu family!"

The laughter at the dinner table was filled with the most genuine warmth of ordinary families.

After dinner, Liu Guangqi carefully helped Zhao Mengyun back to the ministry's dormitory building. The elderly couple escorted her all the way to the alley entrance, standing there looking around until the car's taillights completely disappeared into the night before slowly turning to go home.

At 8 p.m., the car stopped downstairs in the tenement building.

Liu Guangqi carried the things his mother had given him in one hand and held Zhao Mengyun's hand steadily with the other, his steps slow and firm.

Upon opening the door, the house was neatly organized. On the desk lay Liu Guangqi's unfinished machine tool drawings.

As soon as Zhao Mengyun sat down, Liu Guangqi handed her a glass of warm water: "Soothe your throat first. I'll make you a cup of malted milk powder."

When he came out of the inner room with a cup in his hand, he saw Zhao Mengyun staring at the blueprints on the table, so he smiled and walked over: "Don't worry about the factory's technological innovation. I have a plan and won't neglect taking care of you."

He sat down beside Zhao Mengyun, gently massaging her lower back with his palm:

"You must be tired today. Let's decline all the social obligations in the backyard as much as possible and just live our lives peacefully."

Zhao Mengyun smiled slightly, gently resting her head on Liu Guangqi's shoulder, her voice carrying a hint of weary warmth:

"My parents are really happy to see this today."

Liu Guangqi nodded and smiled, "Knowing that we'll soon be able to hold our grandson, how could we not be happy? My dad looks like he can't wait to play with the baby right now."

Under the soft light, the two figures nestled intimately together, exuding the peace and contentment of ordinary days.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

The Volga sedan came to a smooth stop outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gate. Zhao Mengyun picked up her briefcase, turned around, and whispered, "You're busy at both the ministry and the factory, so take care of yourself and don't overwork yourself."

Liu Guangqi smiled and agreed, watching her figure disappear into the building before saying to the guard in the front seat, "Let's go too, to the ministry."

Inside the research lab of the First Ministry of Machine Building, a bustling scene was unfolding.

In front of three brand-new CNC machine tools, technicians dressed in light blue overalls were busily making various adjustments. As soon as Liu Guangqi entered, several people instinctively straightened up: "The section chief is here."

"Director, please take a look at the operating parameters that were just measured for these devices..."

To be fair, the machine tool projects that Liu Guangqi was in charge of were already on track, and the researchers he had trained had fully grasped the core technologies of those general-purpose machine tools.

Time flows.

Even without Liu Guangqi's supervision, the researchers in the technical team are already able to handle various technical challenges in their daily work.

Today, Liu Guangqi is more like the unwavering pillar of the team.

Researchers would only bother him if they encountered a truly insurmountable technical bottleneck.

It is precisely for this reason that Liu Guangqi was able to devote most of his energy to the technological innovation projects of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

of course,

The shift in focus did not mean that research by the First Ministry of Machine Building would come to a standstill.

Liu Guangqi returned to his own desk.

Spread out on the table is a stack of blueprints far more complex and precise than those for general-purpose machine tools—a five-axis linkage heavy-duty machining center.

This is the real tough nut to crack in cutting-edge fields.

He picked up the pencil.

Beside an inconspicuous transmission structure in the corner of the drawing, he wrote down a series of calculation formulas, his brow furrowing slightly.

It's indeed quite difficult for one person to tackle this challenge alone.

Once the situation at the steel rolling mill stabilizes, we'll probably have to transfer some more people from Tsinghua University.

Although doing so will inevitably involve the flow of academic resources.

But the situation is pressing.

This is a crucial period for the emergence and development of CNC technology.

He must seize this opportunity to ensure that the country's industrial development embarks on the most solid and cutting-edge path from its very inception.

From the machine tool manufacturing industry,

From semiconductors to integrated circuits and other electronic components, the entire industry chain...

A grand industrial landscape was gradually taking shape in his mind.

however,

You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to walk one step at a time.

The starting point of all this—

They all had to wait until he actually manufactured that nine-axis large machine tool, which was like a steel behemoth, before they could begin.

"Director Liu."

A young researcher approached, holding blueprints, looking somewhat hesitant.

"The data from this joint test has always had a slight deviation... We've been racking our brains for a long time, but we still can't find the root cause."

Liu Guangqi took the blueprints.

His gaze swept quickly across the drawing, and his fingertips then landed on a tiny gear structure on the drawing.

"Let's adjust the heat treatment process for the materials here, and use quenching combined with low-temperature tempering to increase the hardness by two points."

The young man was taken aback at first.

Then a flash of realization struck him: "So the problem lies in the material stress! How come I didn't think of that!"

"Thank you, Director!"

Watching the young researcher's hurried departure, Liu Guangqi smiled faintly and turned his attention back to the world of blueprints in front of him.

A morning passed quietly by.

As noon approached,

As usual, Liu Guangqi made a round of inspections in the experimental workshop, and after confirming that the newly assembled machine tools were running smoothly, he nodded to the guard at the door.

"Let's go, it's time to head to the steel rolling mill."

The black Volga sedan slowly drove out of the gate of the First Ministry of Machine Building.

In the office building,

Many colleagues saw this scene through the window and couldn't hide their envy.

"Look, it's Director Liu's car again. He's really young and promising."

"That's right. I heard it was specially approved by the ministry to facilitate his travel to and from the steel rolling mill for technical upgrades."

"Going to the steel rolling mill? Is he on secondment from the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry?"

"You're way out of the loop! He's currently on loan to the Ministry of Metallurgy as the chief technical engineer, specifically in charge of technological innovation there!"

"I heard it was a direct transfer order from a higher-level ministry..."

"That's just how it is, Director Liu really is!"

……

at the same time,

Near the gate of the steel rolling mill,

Several workers who had just finished lunch were squatting by the wall smoking when they saw the familiar car drive straight into the factory area.

One of them nudged the person next to him with his elbow:

"Hey, Lao Zhou, a car just drove by. Guess who was in there?"

"Who is it? I just came out and didn't see anyone."

"Master Liu's son is our factory's new chief technical engineer!"

"Oh—it was him!"

……

Not long after returning to the steel rolling mill,

Liu Guangqi then gathered the members of the technical department and assigned them learning tasks related to the upgrade of machine tools.

He wanted to take advantage of this one-month secondment period.

Make sure the factory's technicians acquire as much core knowledge as possible about machine tool upgrades—if the learning progresses smoothly, they should be able to handle the vast majority of similar technical problems in the future.

In the technical department,

At first, some of the young technicians were unconvinced.

In heavy industry systems

Most of them are graduates of regular universities, with only a very small number coming from vocational schools.

That's right,

There are indeed not many technicians with vocational school diplomas in steel rolling mills.

the reason is simple:

Most vocational school graduates were assigned to the light industry sector.

That steel rolling mill, which belonged to the Ministry of Metallurgy, was a pillar of heavy industry with a departmental or bureau-level status.

Unless a vocational high school graduate possesses exceptional professional skills, it's almost impossible for them to be assigned to such units. Therefore, the narratives of arbitrarily placing vocational high school graduates in steel rolling mills are somewhat detached from the realities of the era—in that time, the roles of university graduates and vocational high school graduates were drastically different. Vocational high school education aimed to cultivate mid-level technical personnel, and job assignments emphasized practicality and grassroots coverage. For example, mechanical engineering graduates mostly entered local small and medium-sized factories as technicians, rarely stepping into the core of heavy industry like steel rolling mills.

University graduates were regarded as high-level national construction talents and were given priority in being sent to key construction projects. Units at the level of steel rolling mills naturally relied heavily on university graduates as their main technical force.