Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

Under her careful care, Qin Huairu looked incredibly radiant. She smiled and picked up a towel from the side to wipe the sweat off Zhuang Zhongchen's body.

"Chenzi, I have something to tell you! Xiaoya is pregnant! You didn't know?"

"That's good. But why should I know? She's not my wife."

"Ugh! These past few days, Sha Zhu's been acting like he'd eaten bee droppings, showing off to everyone he meets."

"I understand, it means to provoke Da Mao in person."

Qin Huairu covered her mouth and laughed loudly: "Look at you, you can't say anything nice. Some things you see through, you shouldn't say out loud!"

"There's nothing we can do; we're just honest people."

"Pah! You're still being honest. You were just forcing me... Hmph." Qin Huairu pouted for a while, "Let's not talk about that. I'm telling you, Louzi is also sulking. He's blaming himself for not being able to have children. Do you think it's because the feng shui of our courtyard is bad? My mother-in-law said that two families in the courtyard are almost extinct."

"Really? Xiaoya just got pregnant, right? Lian Jiecheng has been married for a while now. Yu Li hasn't had any news either. Why aren't they included? Even Da Mao is still very young. It must be your mother-in-law gossiping behind your back, not wanting to see Uncle Yi and Da Mao's families getting along."

Why?

"Jealousy, of course. Why doesn't her grandson get any benefits? On the contrary, Jie Cheng and Yu Li don't even have the right to be envied."

Qin Huairu was amused: "Maybe! By the way, after summer vacation, Banggeng will be starting elementary school. Do you think he'll be a top student and become a college student? Hehehe."

Zhuang Zhongchen: "..."

Thinking back to the original story, that scumbag Bang Geng... let's not shatter the beautiful widow's fantasy!

"And what's with all that? You only took us on a short detour? Banggeng and Xiaodang were still making a fuss after we got home. Honestly, you didn't even take better care of us. Humph."

"That's easy. The people in our compound will definitely take care of it secretly. I won't park the car at work until next week. For the next few days, you can go for drives however you want."

"Hmm. That's more like it! At least you have a conscience."

……

By next Monday, Zhuang Zhongchen's vehicle had been replaced by two, and the electric scooter had also been assembled.

Early in the morning, Zhuang Zhongchen tied his electric bicycle to his tricycle, started it, and slowly drove to his workplace.

However, while waiting at the intersection for the red light, a bus was parked next to them. Li Dahai poked his head out and waved excitedly: "Chenzi, I recognized you the moment I saw you. What kind of junk are you driving? I almost missed you just now."

"Just a tricycle with an engine. We're upgrading from rags to riches!"

"Holy crap! Come over to my place sometime! Bring your car over then."

"Okay! The light's green. Let's talk later!"

See you later!

As he waved goodbye, Zhuang Zhongchen found it somewhat amusing. He saw the entire busload of passengers staring wide-eyed at his bus with curiosity, as if they were watching pandas in a zoo.

With the discovery of the Daqing Oilfield, China's oil production has increased dramatically, instantly shedding its label as an "oil-poor country." Fuel for motor vehicles has also become abundant.

A few years later, oil production will not only meet domestic demand but also be able to be exported in large quantities. And it will have earned a new nickname internationally—Little Middle East!

Can you believe that we were once a small oil tycoon? Even in the Industrial Cthulhu era, our domestic oil production still ranked among the top five in the world?

The problem is simply that the appetite of industrial Cthulhu is too great, and it still needs to import massive amounts of oil, which has given many people a false impression.

This is why, stimulated by oil, the lifeblood of industry, related domestic industries have developed rapidly. This includes a significant increase in the number of motor vehicles.

Take the bus company, for example. They've added quite a few vehicles, so they've had Li Dahai and his friends learn to drive. Interestingly, this kid is actually one of the beneficiaries of the Daqing Oilfield?

Here, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the older generation of oil workers!

Therefore, there is absolutely no need to worry about fuel for electric bicycles and three-wheeled vehicles. These things will soon be readily available in China.

However, just after crossing the intersection, Zhuang Zhongchen was stopped by traffic police. He was also very curious about the tricycle with smoke coming out of its rear.

"Comrade, shouldn't this be classified as a motor vehicle? Why haven't you applied for a license plate yet?"

"I'm preparing to apply. This is the company vehicle; it was just converted."

"I see! How did you modify it?"

"It's basically an engine added to the original tricycle. However, the brakes also need to be modified, here..."

"oh oh!"

It's not that the traffic police had any ulterior motives. All men are like this; they'll stare at any car, even a toy car, for ages whenever they see one.

However, upon arriving at the office, they were met with curious onlookers from everyone. Some of the younger employees even excitedly began test driving...

"Gold Bureau".

"Hmm, not bad. How did it become two cars?"

"Didn't you have 800 yuan left over?"

"Huh? That can't be right!"

"I asked a friend for help. The car body was assembled from parts, and the engine was manufactured in a factory. Many fees were waived, and there was still more than 8 yuan left."

"Alright. You can keep the bicycle for your department. The tricycle can be shared; it will be much more convenient to transport testing equipment when you're out on field trips."

As they were talking, Engineer Cheng, Engineer Cui, and a few others came over to chat as well.

"Xiao Zhuang, I just looked at the car. You just added an engine?"

"Yes! It's a two-stroke engine. The structure is relatively simple; it's basically a tricycle with an engine."

"Have you considered the overall vehicle structure? After all, it needs to travel at high speeds?"

"To be honest, I can't do that kind of high-level work," Zhuang Zhongchen continued with a laugh. "I can only say that there will definitely be problems. After all, it wasn't specifically designed for high-speed driving."

"Actually, minor problems aren't a big deal. At least this is a motor vehicle."

"Just a reminder: the power standards for this type of vehicle do not meet the national standard (GB) for motor vehicles. It should be classified as a non-motorized vehicle."

"Huh? So after all that, you applied for a three-wheeled vehicle license?"

"I don't know. I'll go ask the traffic management department; I bet they're having a headache too."

"..."

……

The appearance of motorized tricycles and electric bicycles immediately generated a lot of buzz, attracting a constant stream of onlookers.

Strangely, contrary to Zhuang Zhongchen's expectations, the car received rave reviews but failed to sell well. No manufacturers inquired about the technology, and no one wanted to buy it.

And the old man from the military unit has disappeared without a trace, seemingly having no interest in this kind of vehicle whatsoever?

This left Zhuang Zhongchen somewhat frustrated. He had kindly offered to give away his three-wheeled vehicle technology, but nobody wanted it?