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

He immediately summoned his assistant, his tone calm yet chilling, and ordered that the workers who had spread rumors in the canteen at lunchtime be severely punished. Those nonsensical and absurd words had almost unjustly tarnished his reputation and nearly tripped him up the ladder of advancement—would he let it go so easily? The factory's notice was an official matter for everyone, but the score Li Huaide wanted to settle was a private grudge. Given his temperament, how could this matter be lightly dismissed? Perfect, let those people see what true abuse of power looks like.

As dusk fell, the end-of-work bell rang again at the steel rolling mill.

Liu Guangqi finished packing on time and was about to get on the bus when He Yuzhu strode over, his face flushed with anger, his voice booming: "Guangqi, don't take this to heart. Tomorrow I'll definitely get revenge for you!" He cursed under his breath, his anger blazing, "That bastard Zhao Qiang dared to talk about you like that! Just wait until tomorrow, I'll teach him a lesson. A coward trying to act tough, I won't be satisfied until I've smashed his spoon in! From now on, he won't be able to eat a peaceful meal in the cafeteria!"

Although He Yuzhu is usually impulsive and reckless, and often led by the nose by Qin Huairu, he does possess a certain amount of chivalry at heart. He might be domineering and unreasonable towards outsiders, but he genuinely respects Liu Guangqi—his childhood neighbor who excels in both character and talent. Given Liu Guangqi's current status and position, He Yuzhu has always considered him one of his own.

Liu Guangqi watched He Yuzhu's agitated expression, as if he were standing up for him, and a faint smile flickered in his eyes. Everyone else who transmigrated to this courtyard ended up getting spooned by He Yuzhu, but here he was, He Yuzhu was actually standing up for him and flipping other people's spoons. It has to be said, being surrounded by so many "good people" was indeed a pleasant feeling.

However, in public, appearances must be maintained, and the image one should project cannot be ambiguous. "That's not necessary," he said gently but firmly. "Since the factory has already dealt with the person who spread the rumors, let's leave it at that."

Although he said that, Liu Guangqi knew in his heart: what he said was one thing, and what He Yuzhu listened to was another—but when it came to actually fighting, that was a different story. Given He Yuzhu's stubborn temper, he most likely wouldn't listen and would turn around and do something reckless. But so what? What did that have to do with Liu Guangqi? He only needed to maintain his own dignity. As for anything else, what did He Yuzhu's actions have to do with him, Liu?

After chatting with He Yuzhu for a few more minutes, Liu Guangqi again had his guard give his father, Liu Haizhong, a ride home. As the car slowly drove out of the factory gate, the eyes of the workers leaving get off work were filled with nothing but admiration; their earlier suspicions and speculations had vanished. Liu Haizhong sat upright in the car, his back ramrod straight, his earlier frustration completely gone—his son was indeed capable. From beginning to end, Liu Guangqi hadn't uttered a single word, and the factory had taken the initiative to deal with those who had been spreading rumors. Only then did he truly understand the weight his son carried in the factory.

Monday arrived in the blink of an eye.

Several black Volga sedans drove into the steel rolling mill gate one after another, and finally came to a smooth stop in front of the office building. Before the car doors even opened, Director Yang, the Party Secretary of the factory, Li Huaide, and other leaders were already waiting in an orderly fashion at the bottom of the steps in front of the building.

A similar scene played out again. Factory Director Yang, Party Secretary, Li Huaide, and several other factory leaders were already waiting in front of the building. As soon as Director Tian alighted from the car, Factory Director Yang rushed forward, beaming, "Director Tian, ​​hello, hello! Welcome to our factory for your guidance, we—"

"Old Yang, don't be so polite," Director Tian interrupted him.

As he spoke, Director Tian's usually stern face suddenly softened, even showing a faint smile. "By the way," he asked, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, "Where's Comrade Guangqi? I haven't seen him."

This question caused the atmosphere to freeze subtly. The smiles on the faces of the steel mill leaders instantly froze—this Director Tian from the ministry seemed to have two faces. When speaking to them, he was detached and businesslike, not bothering to say a single extra word; but when Liu Guangqi was mentioned, his expression and tone were completely different.

The familiarity and care in his tone made it sound as natural as if he were talking about his own nephews or nieces.

Fine.

They even skipped the superficial formalities.

Li Huaide knew exactly what was going on, and with a smile on his face, he quickly replied, "Chief Engineer Liu is still in the workshop right now, busy with the final touches on the machine tool modification." As he spoke, he led the way, and the short distance from the office building to the workshop was just enough for him to give a detailed report on the factory's recent progress.

Once these tedious procedures are completed.

Li Huaide and several other responsible persons, including Factory Director Yang, then submitted the recent production reports to Director Tian as usual.

It's simply a matter of how much the steel production in ordinary workshops has increased, and what the monthly increase in special steel production is.

Director Tian nodded slightly as he listened, his expression indifferent.

He had already seen these figures, so they naturally didn't cause any stir at this moment.

By comparison.

He was eager to meet the engineer named Liu Guangqi as soon as possible.

...

Before long, the group entered the machine tool workshop.

The moment the door opened, a wave of heat, mixed with the smell of engine oil and scorching metal, rushed out.

Director Tian waved slightly to the workshop director who came to greet him, his gaze sweeping across the noisy space like a searchlight, quickly settling on the figure surrounded by the crowd.

now.

Liu Guangqi was leaning over a slightly old-fashioned machine tool.

He unfolded a roll of blueprints with his left hand and pointed to a part of the machine tool with his right. The area around him was crowded with technicians listening intently, and no one even noticed when the leaders came in.

"...The maintenance interval for this set of bearings is set at three hundred working hours."

"When the time is up, you must replace it with No. 3 grease. Remember, the correct type is essential; otherwise, it will affect the overall operational accuracy over time..."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, steadily drowning out the noise in the workshop.

Li Huaide, being quick-witted, immediately smiled and explained, "Director, Chief Engineer Liu is making the most of his time to give lectures to our factory's technical backbone. He's worried that once his secondment period ends, our own people won't be able to take over the maintenance and upkeep."

"Very good." Director Tian's eyes flashed with approval, and the serious lines on his face softened a bit. "Technology is something that must be passed down and mentored like this. If you keep it hidden away, it won't amount to anything."

This comment carries significant weight.

Hearing this, Director Yang was secretly surprised. The difference in treatment between people was indeed vast. He couldn't help but think more highly of the young engineer—not only was he truly capable, but he was also so thorough and open in his work.

While I was pondering this.

As if sensing something, Liu Guangqi stopped explaining, looked up, and met Director Tian's gaze.

Factory Director Yang stepped forward at the opportune moment and introduced, "Chief Engineer Liu, this is Director Tian from the Industrial Department. He came here specifically to see the results of our machine tool upgrade."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Director Tian couldn't wait for Liu Guangqi to come over, so he pushed through the crowd, strode forward, and grabbed Liu's hand: "Comrade Guangqi, you've worked hard!"

"I've reviewed the technical improvement report, and the results are even more outstanding than expected!"

That enthusiastic demeanor was a stark contrast to the formal and businesslike manner he displayed when listening to the report, prompting several factory leaders around him to sigh inwardly: top-notch technical talents are always fawned over wherever they go.

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangqi smiled modestly and said, "Director Tian, ​​you flatter me. This is the result of the joint efforts of the entire technical team, not just my achievement."

As he spoke, he stepped aside and led the way to several modified machine tools behind him: "Please take a look. By redesigning the transmission chain and improving the calibration standards, these machines now process special steel at a rate more than three times higher than before, and the finished product qualification rate remains at 100%."

Director Tian leaned closer for a closer look.

The machine tool spindle spun smoothly, and the shavings fell evenly like silk threads. His eyes lit up: "Excellent! This is fantastic!"

"This machining level and precision are almost on par with imported CNC machine tools, aren't they?"

The head of the technical department chimed in at the opportune moment, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "Your arrival is perfectly timed, esteemed leaders. Chief Engineer Liu has just led us in completing the processing and testing of a batch of highly complex test pieces."

He turned around, picked up a few metal parts that had just come off the production line and were still warm, and carefully handed them to Director Tian.

"Look at this..."

"This is the batch of special steel components with the highest precision requirements we have received recently. All of them were successfully processed in one go, and the actual dimensional error was negligible."

Every single item is of superior quality.

Factory Director Yang also took one and examined it in his palm. Although he was not from a technical background and could not see the intricacies, the smoothness and fineness of the part to the touch, as well as the excitement and conviction on the faces of the technicians around him, were enough to explain everything.

The leaps in precision and output of machine tools after technological innovation are obvious.

After carefully inspecting the newly processed parts, Director Tian shifted the topic to the overall operation of the factory.

Liu Guangqi took over most of the subsequent Q&A session.

He needs to explain the current actual capacity of the steel rolling mill—how much special steel can all the upgraded machine tools produce daily, the extent of efficiency improvement, and the stability and safety of equipment operation.

These problems were all within Liu Guangqi's expectations.

When he designed the machine tool upgrade plan, he focused on enhancing the versatility and adaptability of the shaft, both to increase speed and to cope with the machining of complex parts.

To date, more than ten kinds of blueprints have been prototyped, and even the high-difficulty parts that were backlogged in the factory in the early years have been tested.

Without exception, all met the standards.

It is fast and its accuracy far exceeds that of the past.

In the past, a task that required mobilizing all the factory's level eight technicians and taking nearly twenty days to complete could now be delivered in just three or four days by this batch of machine tools.

Efficiency increased several times over.

Liu Guangqi was also aware that among the leaders visiting today, there were not many who were proficient in machine tool technology.

Therefore, he chose a more intuitive analogy to explain the performance of the new machine tool.

After a brief exchange, the atmosphere was harmonious, and everyone nodded in agreement.

As Director Tian's conversation grew more animated, he invited Liu Guangqi to tour the workshop with him.

Before long, the group headed toward other machine tool workshops in the factory.

It is worth mentioning the formation at this time—Director Tian and Liu Guangqi walked side by side at the front, exchanging opinions in hushed tones; while Director Yang, Deputy Director Li Huaide, and other leaders who usually had the final say in the factory all followed behind, falling half a step behind without prior arrangement.

It's hard to believe that a technical chief engineer on loan could receive such treatment from the director of the Ministry of Metallurgy, whose status was clearly above that of the factory director.

But Director Tian never adhered to these formalities.

In his eyes, Liu Guangqi was a treasure who could solve the technical predicament of the steel rolling mill. It wouldn't be too much to say that he would walk alongside him or even personally hold an umbrella for him.

Liu Guangqi did not refuse.

In this situation, it's easy to make mistakes if you speak too much; it's better to remain calm and composed, which will help to minimize the attention from others.

Deliberate humility only appears affected.

Besides, he wasn't even part of the steel rolling mill's staff; he was just temporarily transferred by the Ministry of Metallurgy and would leave after a month. There was no need for him to be ranked here based on seniority.

Although Director Tian and Liu Guangqi remained calm, the scene was enough to cause a stir among the steel mill workers.

Wherever they went, the workers in each workshop seemed to be frozen in place, their hands unconsciously slowing down as their eyes followed the group closely.

"That...is Chief Engineer Liu?"

"Who's next to him? Quite impressive."

"Didn't you see Director Yang and Deputy Director Li following behind? They must be leaders from the ministry."

The whispers were kept extremely low, for fear of disturbing those in front.

Only now did many workers truly realize just how much weight this young chief engineer carried.

In the fitter's workshop, Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu, and others also looked into the distance with complicated expressions.

Especially Yi Zhonghai.

Watching Liu Guangqi discuss technological innovation side by side with ministry leaders, even the factory directors could only follow behind, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.

He sighed silently.

When Liu Guangqi was previously slandered, he had a bit of a "watching the show" mentality, thinking that this young man was too high-profile and would fall sooner or later.

Before Liu Guangqi could even show his face, the factory issued a notice severely punishing those who spread the rumors, almost costing them their jobs.