Courtyard House: Starting as an eighth-grade worker, with too many wives.

---

MCA members also went to the canteen to help out.

He is Sha Zhu's apprentice.

Upon arrival, we first made a cup of tea for the chef, and then began to wait.

It's still early before noon, no rush.

Sha Zhu arrived later than usual, limping in.

"Sir, what happened to your leg?"

Ma Hua quickly ran over and helped Sha Zhu sit down.

"It's nothing, I just tripped and fell this morning. I went to the hospital, and they said my bones are fine."

Sha Zhu was also relieved. That fall that morning was really hard, but thankfully no bones were broken.

But my legs are so swollen that they hurt when I touch them.

If it weren't for the fact that Ma Hua's apprentice couldn't afford to eat lunch by himself, he would never come to work and would definitely have to ask for leave.

"Hurry up and prepare the vegetables. I'm injured, so you'll have to do a lot of work today."

As soon as Sha Zhu sat down, he started assigning tasks to his apprentices.

MCA worked swiftly, preparing the dishes while muttering to herself.

"Master, you're late, you didn't know. That engineer we've been talking about for so long finally arrived today! He's so young and handsome."

"Oh dear, I wonder if I'll ever be able to be like him, having the factory manager personally greet me."

"They're all young people, how come they're so amazing, they've all become engineers."

MCA's words were full of envy, and they went on and on about it.

Sha Zhu's face turned black upon hearing this.

But then he thought about it again and laughed.

This is the factory canteen. No matter how powerful Li Jianguo is, he still needs to eat. Once he gets to the canteen, it's his territory. Even dragons have to coil up, and tigers have to lie low.

---

the other side.

Li Jianguo entered the workshop under the guidance of Factory Director Yang and others.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong are both experienced workers in the factory, and they are both inside right now.

Yi Zhonghai has broken half a tooth, so he speaks with a slight lisp, and his face and mouth are still swollen.

When Director Yang and his colleagues came in, they were startled by his appearance.

"Master Yi, what happened to your face?"

Factory Director Yang quickly offered a word of concern.

There aren't many level eight fitters in the factory; they're all highly skilled and experienced, and he has to treat them with respect.

"It's nothing, I just slipped and fell on my way out this morning."

Yi Zhonghai covered his mouth as he spoke, his words stammering and his face turning even uglier.

Liu Haizhong, standing to the side, wasn't so tough. He wasn't a high-ranking worker; standing in front of the leader, he was as humble as a dog.

"Distinguished leaders, what brings you to the workshop? It's dirty and messy here."

"Oh, by the way, I brought Master Li here for a look around. He's an eighth-level engineer at our factory. I heard he lives in the same compound as you two?"

"Yes, yes..."

Liu Haizhong suddenly remembered the conflicts from yesterday, and felt troubled.

This young man has already attained a high position of power at such a young age; his future days are likely to be difficult.

There are only a few people in the courtyard. He, the second uncle, doesn't have much authority. Won't he be even less authoritative in the future?

The thought of this makes me feel uncomfortable all over.

"Since we're neighbors, we should cooperate well with Mr. Li so that our factory can do even better!"

Li Jianguo glanced at Yi Zhonghai.

Eyes facing each other.

Yi Zhonghai almost subconsciously looked away.

Just now, when he was talking to Director Yang, he could still hold his head high and keep a dark expression. But now, he was so scared that he didn't dare to look Li Jianguo in the eye, and he turned halfway to the side to avoid him.

"Master Yi, did you understand what I said?"

Seeing that he remained silent, Director Yang assumed that the experienced worker was about to intimidate the newcomer again, and explained to Li Jianguo somewhat embarrassedly.

"Engineer Li, these experienced workers are just stubborn, don't take it to heart. They do a very good job."

"Understood, understood, I'll cooperate!"

Yi Zhonghai wished he couldn't see Li Jianguo right now, so how could he possibly want to attract his attention? He quickly nodded in agreement.

Actually, he was overthinking it.

From the moment he entered the factory, Li Jianguo never intended to cause trouble for them.

They were just workers.

Besides, even if we wanted to play, now wouldn't be the time.

There's a long road ahead, so it's nice to have it as a little something to do.

Today, he has more important things to do.

"Director Yang, I've seen the workshop and have a general idea of ​​what it's like. Let's go to the office and sit down; I'd like to learn more about it then."

"Alright! Let's go then!"

Factory Director Yang nodded.

"Perfect timing, all the experts are waiting in their offices. We've also invited a foreign expert this time, all for the purpose of building better domestically produced cars."

This time, the factory put in a lot of effort. A few years ago, Changchun started manufacturing cars, and other factories were eager to catch up.

The Dongfeng sedan was manufactured, but its quality was poor and it kept breaking down. Moreover, I heard that the technology in Germany had improved, and we couldn't afford to fall too far behind.

"Let's go."

Li Jianguo left with Director Yang and the others.

---

Jia Dongxu, who had sneaked in late, saw Li Jianguo's back and a hint of jealousy flashed in his eyes.

"What are you pretending to be? He's just a young kid, calling himself an expert..."

He made a face, looking down on it. But he couldn't hide his jealousy.

Everyone around him knows what kind of person he is.

"Jia Dongxu, stop being so sour. He's an engineer, after all, while you're just a worker. You're not even in the same league."

"Exactly! With your brain, even if you had two more, you still wouldn't be as good as them."

"roll!"

A few young men who disliked him made a few jokes, but when they saw Jia Dongxu was about to fight, they laughed and ran away.

His eyes were full of disdain.

He's a coward with no real skills, all he does is talk the talk.

---

Inside the office, seven or eight experts were chatting and waiting around the table.

Factory Director Yang led Li Jianguo in through the door.

"I'm sorry, experts and teachers, I'm late."

As soon as Director Yang entered the door, he quickly apologized.

"I'm so sorry, it's my fault. I was having a great chat with Engineer Li and got delayed outside for a while."

"It's nothing, Director Yang, you're too kind. We're fine with nothing."

The one leading the group was an elderly professor with gray hair, surnamed Qi.

This guy is a big shot. Every college student this age is a genius.

"Let me introduce you, this is Engineer Li, who is here to report for duty today."

Li Jianguo took half a step forward and greeted everyone.

"Hello everyone, I am Li Jianguo."

As he spoke, he was also sizing up these people.

Clearly, the leader of this group of experts is this Mr. Qi. There is also a middle-aged foreigner with blond hair and blue eyes, who should be the "foreign expert".

Everyone present was sizing him up.

They were all stunned to see how young he was.

They knew that the higher-ups had assigned an engineer to the steel rolling mill. He was said to be highly skilled, with advanced ideas, and had previously achieved some success in Northwest China.

I was initially worried that he was exaggerating, so I specifically asked someone to look up the research he had done and the materials he had written.

Only after confirming it was a good piece of material did I feel relieved.

At the time, they thought this person must be at least in their thirties or forties. Who would have thought he would be so young?

"Director Yang, you're not joking, are you? He's so young—"

The foreign expert named Tang Bo shrugged, his face full of disbelief.

"This is not a game. We need to start a discussion. Those who are not involved, please leave!"

He looked very unhappy, feeling that these people had lied to him.

He's just a kid, probably hasn't even graduated from college yet. What makes him think he can be on equal footing with them?

He was already very impatient with the fact that I had made him wait so long before.

"Well...Mr. Qi, this is indeed one of our engineers. What do you think about letting him stay?"

Fearing he might offend the foreign friends, Director Yang quickly tried to smooth things over.

Old Qi hesitated for a moment, about to speak, when Li Jianguo suddenly laughed.

"Perfect timing, that's what I was thinking too. Let's not waste any more time and get started."

He looked at the crowd.

"Everyone should be familiar with Germany's current automotive engine technology. In 57, the German Wankel invented the rotary piston engine. However, his technology still had its flaws."

"I brought some materials with me. We can discuss how to improve it."

Li Jianguo's string of words left everyone present completely stunned.

They all stared at him in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

Tang Bo was incredulous and gave a cold laugh.

"A rotary piston engine? That's German stuff. I don't even know what it is, how do you know? And you're talking about improving it?"

"What's so difficult about that?"

Li Jianguo smiled at him, then looked at the people around him.

"They all have one head and two arms. If the Germans can invent something, why can't we understand it?"

Looking at Li Jianguo's spirited appearance, Old Qi suddenly smiled.

"That's right. We haven't seen German technology before, but we can invent it ourselves."

Seeing that no one agreed with him, Tang Bo snorted coldly.

"Young man, don't talk big. You'll lose your teeth!"

"puff--"

That Chinese is so funny.

"Sir, you can communicate with me in English."

Li Jianguo thoughtfully switched to English.

This move surprised Qi Lao and the others.

"I've done some research, which I'd like to discuss with everyone."

Li Jianguo took out the engine blueprints.

This is not the model designed by the German Wankel, but a later improved version by Mazda.

This version of the engine adds microelectronic control to the rotary piston engine.

However, China's technology, especially in microelectronics, is currently relatively weak. To achieve these functions, breakthroughs in other areas are needed first.

The overall level of this engine is equivalent to that of the 1970s and 80s. For current domestic technology, it is precisely a target that can be caught up with.

In terms of infrastructure and materials, the gap is not too large.

"What a genius!"

Old Qi was so excited looking at the contents of the blueprints that his glasses almost fell off.

He shakily adjusted his glasses, then slumped onto the table, wishing he could disappear into the blueprints.

The other experts all said the same thing.

I wish I could devour all the information on this blueprint right now so I could build a new car tomorrow.

No wonder they were so excited.

They were all feeling their way across the river by feeling for stones. Foreign companies kept all those core technologies tightly under their belts and would never tell them.

These experts had previously been sent abroad to visit factories and workshops.

But whenever it comes to the core parts, they get sidelined. They don't learn anything.

Even when we're communicating, the technology they provide is outdated.

Time is tight now, and there aren't many opportunities for them to learn and catch up slowly.

They have to be fast, they have to overtake on curves.

"Great...that's wonderful!"

Old Qi slowly straightened up, supporting himself on the edge of the table. His voice choked in his throat, but his eyes reddened first.

Tears streamed down his face, down the deep lines between his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away, but they only flowed more. He eventually gave up and let the two streams of hot tears fall onto the documents on the table.

None of the old men around him laughed at him.

Someone took off their glasses, vigorously rubbed the lenses with their sleeve, and then didn't put them back on, just held them in their hand, head down, shoulders shrugging.

Someone turned around, faced the wall, took a deep breath, then another, their chest heaving violently.

Some people bit their lower lips so hard they turned white, tears welling up in their eyes, but they couldn't hold back and let them fall onto their clothes with a thud.

"Old Qi." The middle-aged man handing over the documents was also trembling in his voice. "With this, our engine technology... will be at least three to five years ahead of those foreigners."

Three to five years.

In other industries, this number might not seem like much. But in the field of engines, three years is enough to create a gap of an entire generation.

"It's not just catching up." Old Qi finally stopped crying, his voice hoarse but strong, "It's surpassing them. It's that we... have gone ahead of them."

How many years have they been chasing this?

Twenty years? Thirty years?

From spirited youth to gray-haired old age, they spent those years craning their necks to read foreign technical documents, their eyes aching and their minds constantly asking themselves – how much longer must this journey continue?

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, lying in the dark staring at the ceiling, feeling like a stone is pressing on my chest.

Can we catch up?

Is it really possible to catch up?

No one dared to give a definite answer. They could only grit their teeth and move forward step by step.

No one expected that today, in this ordinary conference room where even the windows couldn't be closed properly, they would be holding a piece of technical information that could change their destiny.