Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

Niu Ke's real name is Niu Kesi, and he is the head of the street's economic affairs section.

The Street Economic Affairs Section oversees all commercial businesses within the street's boundaries. This includes street factories, the street's farmers' market, the street's grocery store, the street's restaurants, etc.

Later, the street-level economic officials in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai became incredibly wealthy because they owned vast amounts of real estate. Just renting out a single storefront could bring in hundreds of millions of yuan a year.

Never underestimate the neighborhoods of Beijing and Shanghai's wealthy elites; they're all nouveau riche. Their fixed assets often amount to tens of billions, and owning a vast amount of real estate is not uncommon.

To be honest, the streets in Beijing and Shanghai are at the same level as counties in inland areas, both being county-level units. But they are much wealthier than county towns in inland areas.

For ease of understanding, you can think of the streets of Beijing and Shanghai as equivalent to counties in inland China. Though small, they are fully functional, possessing a complete administrative structure.

Therefore, the street-level economic affairs department is equivalent to the county's industrial bureau plus the county's commercial bureau. Street-level factories are equivalent to county-owned enterprises. In fact, they are on the same level as the county's chemical plant, fertilizer plant, textile factory, etc.

Imagine: how powerful and influential were county textile factories in those days? They were often controlled by local elites. Actually, the street factories in Beijing and Shanghai were the same. They were just large factories everywhere, making them seem inconspicuous.

However, in those days, real estate and land were practically worthless. The only thing they could rely on was the local factories. Therefore, the local governments were also in a helpless situation!

Accompanied by Director Wang and Niu Kesi, Zhuang Zhongchen toured the factory, paying particular attention to the old, outdated machines.

Pointing to a pile of metal scraps beside him, Zhuang Zhongchen asked, "Aunt Wang, Brother Niu, these stamped scraps should be useless now, right?"

"Yes! We'll sell it as scrap metal."

"Let me think, I wonder if we can make use of it."

"Huh?" Director Wang and Niu Kesi exchanged a surprised glance. Could such scraps really be reused?

Regardless of what Director Wang and the others thought, Zhuang Zhongchen found a suitable scrap piece of material, went to the workbench in the corner of the workshop, and tightened it in a bench vise. Then he asked a nearby worker for some fitter's tools…

Many people may have a misconception that intellectuals should wear glasses, be frail, and never lift a finger.

To be honest, this stereotype might hold some truth for liberal arts students… but it's different for STEM students. They typically know how to do simple jobs like turning, milling, planing, and grinding. Otherwise, why would universities have school-run factories? They're mainly for STEM students to do internships.

Furthermore, prior to his transmigration, Zhuang Zhongchen had spent a long time working in factories, becoming a very experienced and somewhat jaded worker. Therefore, his practical skills were also very strong. It's no exaggeration to say that he possessed at least an intermediate-level skill in most trades. Not to mention the most common metalworking tasks.

So, after more than half an hour, Zhuang Zhongchen had finished making a metal sheet. The surface of this metal sheet was curved, but a sharp slit was cut in the middle.

"Aunt Wang, Brother Niu, look, this peeler should be ready."

"A paring knife?" Director Wang and Niu Kesi were completely baffled. This strange-looking thing didn't resemble a knife at all. And they had never heard of a paring knife before.

Zhuang Zhongchen smiled slightly: "Go find some potatoes. This kind of knife can be used to peel potatoes, as well as some other vegetables with skins on. It's very convenient to use. Try it if you don't believe me."

That's true. Given the objective conditions of a street factory, Zhuang Zhongchen couldn't afford to launch a huge project. So, he came up with these small kitchen gadgets.

Later on, kitchen gadgets like peelers, graters, and garlic mincers became commonplace in many households. This proves that there was still considerable market demand. Furthermore, they didn't require much technical skill, making them a perfect fit for small hardware factories.

However, Director Wang and Niu Kesi remained somewhat skeptical about this new phenomenon. Even many workers gathered around to watch the spectacle.

"Wow!", "Holy crap!", "This actually works?", "Damn!"...

When they started peeling the potatoes, one potato after another was peeled off evenly and completely, which drew gasps of amazement from the surrounding crowd. Everyone felt that their eyes had been opened.

Director Wang and Niu Kesi were already grinning from ear to ear: "Chenzi, what were you thinking? This thing is really good."

However, dissenting voices immediately arose from the side: "I think those master chefs are so skilled, they can do all the work in the kitchen with just a cleaver?"

"You said it yourself, that's a professional chef! Most ordinary people's wives probably don't have that kind of skill when cooking at home, right?"

"Wouldn't it be too wasteful to buy another knife? Ordinary people simply can't bear to buy one."

"Weren't they just scraps to begin with? Even if they couldn't be sold, they could still be sold as scrap metal. Besides, there are tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of families across the country. It's impossible for your factory to supply them all, right? Even if you only sell a small portion in Beijing, your factory can still make a fortune."

Upon hearing this, Director Wang made the final decision: "We'll take this one. There's no harm in trying it. We're just trying to meet the needs of the people."

"Aunt Wang, Brother Niu, if it's settled, then I'll prepare the blueprints. I also need to find someone to help make a set of special molds."

"Making molds?"

"Hehe, have you forgotten? We have two old men in our courtyard who definitely need the help of experienced craftsmen like them. With the mold, we won't need to make it by hand anymore; we can use your factory's stamping machine. Also, we should add a handle to it. A plastic handle seems impossible, so let's use a solid wood handle instead!"

"You mean the chemical handle?"

"Yes, yes! Plastic is too expensive. Solid wood is more suitable. We should try to get another wooden lathe."

During this period, plastics were all referred to as "chemicals." Things like chemical sandals, chemical combs, chemical hair clips… it all sounded particularly alarming. Furthermore, the domestic chemical industry was still in its infancy, making plastics extremely expensive.

"That's settled then! Chenzi, I'm leaving this entirely to you!"

"no problem."

"So, that should create ten more jobs, right?"

"It depends. If it sells well, we'll need a few more deliverymen. You can try selling it at local grocery stores and farmers' markets first. Although this product is quite convenient, each household only needs one, so we'll need to visit more retail outlets."

"That's true!"

"..."

As he was leaving, Zhuang Zhongchen saw Mi Cuicui on the outskirts of the crowd. She was staring wide-eyed with curiosity, her face full of admiration.

Zhuang Zhongchen secretly winked at Mi Cuicui. Unexpectedly, her pretty face immediately flushed red…