Courtyard House: Primordial Chaos Pearl

Just after the Lunar New Year, before the frozen ground in the outskirts of Beijing had completely thawed, a new soft sofa appeared in the R&D center of the Hongxing Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Plant—a gift from Lin Dong to He Yushui, who was two months pregnant. He Yushui held Yi Zhonghai's old blueprints for a seeder, her fingertips tracing the yellowed lines. Beside her, in a thermos, the red date and millet porridge her mother had just brought was still steaming. "Brother Lin Dong," she said, "look at the gear adjustment mechanism of this seed metering device. Although it's old, modifying it might solve the problem of missed seeds."

Lin Dong, still covered in mud from the agricultural machinery industrial park construction site, immediately went over upon hearing the news. On the table lay a prototype of the "Red Star-30" precision seeder, with a few corn seeds scattered beside the seed metering device—this was the R&D team's recent problem: traditional seeders either missed seeds or planted multiple seeds in one hole, failing to meet the precise requirement of "one seed per hole," a crucial requirement for the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps' order. "Uncle Yi's ingenuity in these blueprints lies in the 'eccentric wheel adjustment'," Lin Dong marked on the blueprint with a pencil. "We replaced the eccentric wheel with an alloy material and used a chaotic bead for precision shaping, ensuring that only one seed is delivered per revolution."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the office phone rang. It was Station Chief Ma from Xinjiang, his voice brimming with excitement: "Director Lin! Your cotton harvester is amazing! Shihezi Farm is using it to harvest 300 mu of cotton fields a day, and the fiber integrity rate is even higher than by hand. The leaders of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps said they want to order 500 units and will even give you a 'Pioneer in Supporting Agriculture' banner!" Just as Lin Dong hung up, Section Chief Wang from the Foreign Trade Bureau called again, saying that a Southeast Asian customer had seen the report on the cotton harvester and placed an additional order for 100 combine harvesters, and also wanted to visit the production line.

Good news kept coming, but the atmosphere in the R&D team was somewhat heavy. The technician in charge of testing the seed metering device rubbed his hands: "Factory manager, even after changing the alloy material of the eccentric wheel, it still doesn't work. The corn seeds are uneven in size, and the small ones leak through the gaps in the gears." He Yushui stood up, supporting her back, and walked to the prototype: "Could we add an elastic baffle to the seed metering device? It can automatically adjust the gap according to the size of the seeds." This idea enlightened Lin Dong. He immediately entered the Chaos Space and used the simulation function to test the elasticity parameters of the baffle—an elastic plate made from the sap of rubber trees cultivated with Chaos Beads, with just the right hardness to hold small seeds without damaging the seed coat.

Three days later, the prototype of the new seed metering device was completed. In the test field, the seeder moved forward at a steady pace. He Yushui squatted behind it, and with each hole she dug, a plump corn seed lay inside. "100% accuracy!" she exclaimed excitedly, forgetting that she was pregnant. Lin Dong quickly supported her, his eyes filled with anxiety: "Slow down, don't scare the baby." The technicians from the R&D team cheered around the machine. Yi Zhonghai, leaning on his cane, stood on the edge of the field, watching the rotating seed metering device, tears welling up in his cloudy eyes: "To see such a good machine in my life, it's all worth it."

Just as the problem with the seeders was solved, the construction of the industrial park encountered a minor setback. Villagers from surrounding areas, hearing that a factory was to be built, worried that it would encroach on their vegetable plots, and a dozen representatives blocked the construction site entrance. He Yuzhu was anxious to confront them, but Lin Dong stopped him: "We're building this agricultural machinery factory to help farmers; we can't afford to offend our fellow villagers." He invited the villagers into the factory, showed them samples of cotton harvesters, and presented them with order contracts: "After the industrial park is completed, we'll give priority to hiring people from the villages. Their monthly wages will be twice as high as farming, we'll rent their vegetable plots at market prices, and we'll even help build greenhouses."

Seeing the brand-new farm machinery and hearing Lin Dong's promise, the village representatives immediately agreed. Village elder Lao Li shook Lin Dong's hand: "Director Lin, we believe in you! You are truly working for the farmers." That afternoon, both parties signed a land lease agreement, and young people from the village flocked to sign up for jobs. Jia Dongxu's supporting factory also took the opportunity to recruit twenty villagers, which greatly accelerated the construction progress of the factory.

In early April, good news came from the Hebei iron ore mine—under Lin Dong's technical guidance, they had built a new refining workshop, tripling their chromium steel production while lowering prices by 10%. The first batch of steel delivered by the supplier had just arrived when Director Zhao of the Beijing Agricultural Machinery Factory No. 1 came knocking, his face bearing an embarrassed smile: "Director Lin, we were confused before, and we want to reconcile with you. Could we buy chromium steel from you in the future?" Lin Dong smiled and agreed: "It's all for the agricultural machinery industry; let's make money together." He Yuzhu quietly said to Lin Dong from the side, "I truly admire your magnanimity."

Liu Haizhong was getting better and better at his job at the staff canteen. He used to always put on airs, but now he would get up before dawn every day to fetch water and prepare vegetables, and he always served generous portions of food to the workers. Once, Lin Dong went to the canteen and saw him clumsily but carefully heating up porridge for the pregnant He Yushui. "Director Lin," Liu Haizhong said, rubbing his hands, "I've wronged you before, and now I just want to work hard to make up for my mistakes." Lin Dong patted him on the shoulder: "Do a good job. I trust you with the canteen."

Yan Jiecheng also reached a turning point in his life. He worked with Jia Dongxu to oversee the quality inspection of parts and discovered that a batch of gears had excessive precision errors. He immediately stopped shipment, preventing losses for the factory. Jia Dongxu told Lin Dong about this, and Lin Dong specially transferred Yan Jiecheng to the R&D center as an assistant, to learn technology from He Yushui. "Brother Lin Dong, I will definitely study hard and not let you down," Yan Jiecheng said, holding the new technical manual, his eyes filled with determination.

In May, Xinjiang's cotton fields stretch as far as the eye can see. Cotton harvesters from the Hongxing Machinery Plant crisscross the fields, continuously feeding the snow-white cotton into the collection bins, while in the distance, seeders are busy planting new cotton seeds. Station Chief Ma, accompanying leaders of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps on an inspection tour, looked at the "99% fiber integrity rate" figure on the instrument panel and shook hands with Lin Dong: "You have made a great contribution to Xinjiang's cotton industry! We have decided to designate Hongxing Agricultural Machinery as a designated supplier for the Corps, purchasing at least one thousand units of agricultural machinery annually!"

The news reached the outskirts of Beijing just as the "Agricultural Science and Technology Achievements Exhibition" of the Red Star Factory opened. Inside the exhibition hall, cotton harvesters, precision seeders, and combine harvesters were lined up, attracting a steady stream of representatives from agricultural machinery stations across the country. He Yushui, dressed in loose overalls, was explaining the technical advantages of the seeder to the representatives, while Lin Dong stood beside her, his gaze always following her, his eyes full of tenderness.

On the last day of the exhibition, Director Li of the Beijing Machinery Industry Bureau personally presented the "Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology Unit" plaque. Standing on the stage, he said loudly, "Hongxing Factory has grown from a small workshop into a nationally renowned agricultural machinery enterprise, relying on technological innovation, but even more so on its original aspiration to serve farmers!" The audience erupted in applause. Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui's family stood in the crowd, applauding Lin Dong—they had all once been the schemers of the courtyard house, but now they had become witnesses and supporters of Hongxing Factory.

That evening, Lin Dong accompanied He Yushui for a walk along the paths in the factory area. Moonlight shone on He Yushui's slightly protruding belly, and the industrial park construction site in the distance was brightly lit, with the roar of machinery filling the air. "Brother Lin Dong," He Yushui said softly, "the doctor said the baby is a boy. By the time he is born, our industrial park should be completed."

Lin Dong stopped and gently stroked He Yushui's lower abdomen, his eyes full of longing: "When he grows up, I will tell him that his father used his hands and wisdom to make the roar of farm machinery echo across the fields and bring smiles of harvest to the faces of farmers." He looked up at the starry sky, the Chaos Pearl warming slightly in his palm, as if responding to his vow.

In mid-July, He Yushui entered her due date, and Lin Dong specially took half a month off to stay by her side. Just the day before the baby was born, the R&D center brought good news: the precision seeder passed the national appraisal and obtained a "utility model patent," and the order for 500 units from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps officially took effect, with the advance payment already received.

As the baby's loud cry echoed from the delivery room, Lin Dong was on the phone with the Foreign Trade Bureau—a Southeast Asian distributor wanted to acquire the sales rights for Hongxing Agricultural Machinery throughout Southeast Asia, with an initial order of two thousand units. Holding the phone, listening to the baby's cry, tears instantly streamed down his face.

On the day the baby turned one month old, the factory workers all came to congratulate him. Yi Zhonghai personally put a longevity lock on the baby's wrist, Liu Haizhong prepared a table full of dishes, and Yan Jiecheng and Jia Dongxu held the baby, beaming from ear to ear. Lin Dong named the baby "Lin Xiangyang," hoping that he would grow towards the sun like a sunflower.

In late autumn, the agricultural machinery industrial park was officially completed and put into operation. Inside the brand-new factory buildings, automated production lines operated day and night, processing parts and assembling complete machines in one go. Lin Dong stood on the observation deck of the industrial park, holding Lin Xiangyang, who had just turned 100 days old. He Yushui stood beside him. In the distance, in the fields, Hongxing Agricultural Machinery was harvesting golden rice ears, creating a picture of a bountiful harvest.

He recalled the dire straits he faced in the courtyard house when he first transmigrated, the calculations and doubts, the tireless work day and night during research and development, and then looked at everything before him—a thriving business, a happy family, partners fighting side by side, and the golden ears of grain and the roar of agricultural machinery. Lin Dong knew that his original aspiration had never changed, and his story had only just begun. In this era full of hope, he would carry Red Star Agricultural Machinery, and with his aspirations for the future, continue to write his own glorious chapter in the fields.