Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

As soon as Su Zheng announced "Class begins," the previously restless young workers instantly quieted down, with more than a dozen pairs of eyes fixed on the blackboard.

On the blackboard, the chalk writing is vigorous and powerful—【Advanced SOP: Dynamic Correction of Errors and Reverse Analysis of Materials】.

This title was like a foreign language to these young workers who hadn't even fully grasped the concept of "tolerance".

"Sounds far-fetched?"

Su Zheng tossed aside the chalk in his hand, dusted off his hands, and glanced at the group of young faces in front of him. A slight smile appeared on his lips. "Actually, to put it bluntly, it boils down to one sentence: Don't believe what you see with your eyes, believe what you hear through your hands."

He walked to the workbench and casually picked up a rusty steel plate from the scrap heap.

The steel plate has a pitted and uneven surface, and even has scars left by welding, making it a typical example of "industrial waste".

"In Master Yi's eyes, this is waste material, it's garbage."

Su Zheng threw the steel plate onto the table with a crisp "clang," but to us tech people, every piece of material is alive. It has its own temperament and personality.

"Zhao Ming, come here."

Zhao Ming immediately stepped forward.

"Use your file to make three cuts on this board. Close your eyes and tell me what you hear."

Zhao Ming was taken aback for a moment, but after two days of "brainwashing" training, he had gotten used to his master's unconventional teaching methods. He picked up the file, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

Nourishes—

The first cut. The sound was somewhat hesitant.

Nourishes—

The second cut. The sound suddenly became sharp and piercing, like fingernails scraping across a blackboard.

Nourishes—

The third cut. The sound became hollow again.

Zhao Ming opened his eyes and said hesitantly, "Master, the first cut felt a bit sticky and I couldn't push it; the second cut... the sound was very sharp, and it made my hand go numb; the third cut seemed to... slip out all at once."

Su Zheng nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes: "Very good. This is the material itself speaking to you."

Pointing to the marks on the steel plate, he explained, "The first sticky spot is because it was burned at high temperatures, causing surface carbonization and uneven hardness, like a swamp, which slows down your cutting speed; the second sharp spot is because there's a 'hard spot,' which may be an impurity or work hardening, making it much harder than the base material, like a stone; the third slippery spot is because there are micro-cracks invisible to the naked eye, making the structure loose, like stepping into a hole."

The young workers around were stunned.

They used to just work silently, filing away.

If you can't file it, you use more force; if you slip the file, you curse.

No one ever told them that every response from the file represented a secret within the material.

"This is the advanced technique I'm going to teach you—reverse engineering."

Su Zheng's voice turned serious. "Master Yi and the others might 'increase the difficulty' for you during the competition, such as giving you materials with uneven hardness or hidden defects. If you only know how to rigidly follow the blueprints, you'll ruin your work on the first cut when you encounter such materials."

"Remember, blueprints are static, but materials are dynamic. You must learn to make 'dynamic adjustments'."

Su Zheng picked up a file and personally demonstrated.

"When encountering sticky material, halve the feed force, increase the frequency, and use a 'cutting' force instead of a 'pushing' force."

"When you encounter a hard spot, lock your wrist, raise the blade slightly by 0.5 degrees, avoid the sharp edge, and use the side edge of the file to 'gnaw' it."

"If you encounter a crack, immediately reduce the force to prevent the blade from breaking."

As he explained, the ordinary file seemed to come alive in his hands.

What was clearly the most difficult piece of scrap material was transformed into a smooth, mirror-like surface in just a few strokes by him.

The fluid movements and the exquisite control over power captivated everyone present.

This isn't working, it's practically playing a musical instrument!

"From now on, everyone go to the scrap heap and find the toughest bone to gnaw on."

Su Zheng put down the file and gave a strict order: "Whoever can file a piece of scrap steel full of hard spots and pores to a flatness of 0.01 millimeters will pass this test."

"yes!"

This time, the response was deafening.

……

Over the next two days, a strange scene unfolded in a corner of the first workshop.

Zhao Ming led seven or eight young workers, who, like scavengers, rummaged through the waste piles.

Finding a piece of rotten iron, he was overjoyed, carrying it back to his workstation with great excitement, and then, with his eyes closed, he tried to locate it by sound.

On the other hand, Yi Zhonghai's apprentices appeared much more "formal".

They were practicing traditional "right-angle fits" at the best workstations in the workshop, using the standard steel that had just been delivered.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

The loud scraping sounds rose and fell, sparks flew everywhere.

Sweat streamed down their faces as they held their breath, determined to outpace Su Zheng's team in speed and power.

Especially the MCA.

Since he lost face in the last laptop incident, he's been working up a lot of energy these past two days.

Yi Zhonghai did indeed give him special training, not only lending him his own tools but also personally teaching him several "special skills".

"Master said that this competition will not only test precision, but also speed!"

As Ma Hua furiously shoved the file, he shouted loudly, deliberately letting Zhao Ming, who was nearby, hear him, "Only women dawdle around embroidering! We men do the work that gets the sparks flying!"

Several disciples of the Yi School chimed in, "Exactly! Look at them over there, all of them with their eyes closed, pretending to be mystics, unable to even make a single cut. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were fortune tellers!"

Laughter could be heard.

Zhao Ming is working on a piece of scrap bearing steel with extremely high carbon content.

This steel is extremely hard; if you cut it at the wrong angle, it will immediately leave a scratch.

He closed his eyes, feeling the subtle vibrations from the file, trying to find the optimal cutting angle.

Hearing the mockery from the MCA, his breathing faltered for a moment.

"Sizzle!"

With a tremor of his hand, the file veered off course, leaving an unsightly deep mark on the surface of the workpiece.

"Grass!"

Zhao Ming opened his eyes in annoyance, looking at the scratch with heartache.

"What's wrong? Is your mind in turmoil again?"

Su Zheng appeared behind him at some point, still holding the stopwatch in his hand.

"Master, they're too noisy..." Zhao Ming said, sounding aggrieved.

"Quarrel?"

Su Zheng smiled faintly, "Once you've mastered the skill, even if you set off firecrackers right next to his ear, he won't hear a thing. Because his world consists only of files and workpieces."

He glanced at the MCA group, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes.

"They call that 'loafing around'."

"what?"

Zhao Ming was stunned. "But they worked really fast. The iron filings are piled up like mountains."

"That's using brute force to destroy the material."

Su Zheng pointed to the right-angled piece that Ma Hua was processing, "Look at his movements, wide and powerful, seemingly fierce, but every cut generates a lot of heat. Metal expands when heated. The dimensions he is measuring now are accurate, but once the workpiece cools down, it will shrink immediately, with an error of at least 0.05 millimeters."

"This is called 'heat deformation'. Master Yi taught them how to file, but he didn't teach them how to 'nurture' it."

Su Zheng patted Zhao Ming on the shoulder: "Go, take your workpiece and compare it with that Ma Hua's. Just compare the same size."

"Huh? But this is scrap metal..."

"It's precisely because they're scrap metal that their skills shine even brighter. Go ahead and teach them what 'dimensional reduction attack' really means."

Zhao Ming took a deep breath, his eyes gradually hardening.

He picked up the unfinished bearing steel and walked straight towards Ma Hua.

……

"Oh, isn't this Master Zhao?"

Seeing Zhao Ming approach, Ma Hua stopped what he was doing and said with a sarcastic smile, "What, finished grinding the scrap metal? Want to admire the skills of the regular army?"

The disciples of the Yi lineage gathered around, arms crossed, watching the spectacle unfold.

Zhao Ming ignored the mockery and slammed the workpiece in his hand onto the table.

"MCA, stop just talking. How about a real contest?"

"Compare?"

MCA responded as if they'd heard a joke, "You're comparing this piece of junk to me? Fine, then tell me what you're comparing it to?"

"Let's compare flatness."

Zhao Ming pointed to the right-angled surface that Ma Hua was working on, "Ten minutes. Let's see whose surface is flatter and whose error is smaller."

"Ten minutes?"

Ma Hua laughed heartily, "Alright! I'll make you admit defeat! But we have to add a little wager. The loser has to bow and call the other 'senior brother' whenever they see each other!"

"make a deal."

There were no referees; the workers around were the best witnesses.

With a shout of "Start!", the two began to move simultaneously.

MCA still maintains its "bold and unrestrained" approach.

Relying on his youth and strength, and with the power techniques taught by Yi Zhonghai, he swung the file like a windmill. Iron filings flew everywhere, creating an astonishing spectacle.

"Great! MCA's speed is almost on par with a Level 4 worker!"

"The strength, the rhythm—it's clear they've put in a lot of hard work!"

Yi's disciples cheered loudly, trying to overwhelm the other side with their momentum.

In contrast, consider Zhao Ming.

He stood in front of his workstation, not rushing to start. Instead, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and regulated his breathing.

Then, he drew his knife.

slow.

Very slow.

If the MCA is a raging storm, then Zhao Ming is a gentle stream.

His file wasn't straight; it had a strange curve.

Each push of the knife seemed to be deliberately avoiding something, or perhaps accommodating something.

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

The sound was very soft, even somewhat intermittent.

"Haha! Look at him! He's not doing metalworking, he's doing embroidery!" Ma Hua glanced at him amidst his busy work and couldn't help but chuckle.

But gradually, the older workers watching figured out what was going on.

"No...look at Zhao Ming's face."

A level-six fitter frowned. "It's slow, but the shine... how come it's so bright?"

The surface that is usually filed is dull; it only becomes shiny after fine grinding.

But Zhao Ming simply used a file and actually achieved a mirror-like finish!

Time passed second by second.

Ma Hua's forehead was covered in sweat, and his breathing became heavy.

But looking at his already completed flat surface, he was filled with pride.

He just took a moment to measure it, and the flatness error was within 0.03 millimeters, which is already an exceptional performance!

"Stop! Time's up!"

Someone shouted.

Ma Hua tossed the file aside, grabbed a handful of cotton yarn to wipe his face, and slammed the workpiece onto the table triumphantly: "Come on! Inspect the goods!"

He took a knife-edge ruler (a special measuring tool for checking flatness), leaned it against the workpiece, and looked at it against the light.

"See that? Completely opaque! A perfect seal! That's real skill!"

A chorus of cheers erupted from the surrounding area.

"It's your turn, Master Zhao." Ma Hua looked at Zhao Ming provocatively.

Without saying a word, Zhao Ming silently put the bearing steel away and handed over the ruler.

Ma Hua snatched the ruler and tried to lift it up.

"etc."

Su Zheng, who had been standing silently on the outer edge, suddenly spoke up.

He pushed through the crowd and walked in, carrying a glass of cold water.

"Master Yi taught you to inspect the goods after finishing the work. But didn't he teach you about thermal expansion and contraction?"

As Su Zheng spoke, he poured the glass of cold water directly onto Ma Hua's workpiece.

"Sizzle—"

A soft sound rang out, and a plume of white mist rose. This showed just how high the temperature of the workpiece was!

MCA was stunned: "What are you doing! Destroying my work?"

"Whether it's destroyed or not, you decide for yourself," Su Zheng said coldly.

Ma Hua's expression changed, and he quickly picked up the ruler and leaned it against the wall again.

The moment he leaned in, the entire room fell silent.

The originally perfectly flat surface now has a large dent in the middle!

A clear white light shone through the gap between the ruler and the flat surface!

"This...how is this possible?!" MCA exclaimed in disbelief, "It was definitely flat just now!"

"That was caused by thermal expansion," Su Zheng pointed to Zhao Ming's workpiece. "Why don't you try splashing a cup of water on it?"

Zhao Ming picked up another glass of water and splashed it on his workpiece.

Water droplets rolled off, without any white mist.

Because Zhao Ming's cutting speed was slow, the heat dissipated long ago. Furthermore, he continuously made "dynamic corrections" based on minute thermal deformations throughout the machining process!

Ma Hua, his hands trembling, used a ruler to measure Zhao Ming's workpiece.

Perfectly fitted.

No matter how you turn the angle, the slit of light seems to be welded shut and is completely invisible!

"This is impossible... This is scrap steel! Scrap steel with uneven hardness!" Ma Hua was devastated. He used the best materials, but lost to the worst.

"Because he doesn't believe in luck, he only believes in data."

Su Zheng walked to Zhao Ming's side, looked at the group of pale-faced Yi disciples, and spoke in a low voice, but every word was piercing.

"You train to sweat it out, we train to use our brains."

"That's why you'll always be apprentices, while he's about to graduate."

……

Behind the window of the workshop director's office.

Yi Zhonghai lowered the curtains, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

He originally thought that Su Zheng was just putting on a show, that he was being opportunistic.

But what he just witnessed made him realize that what Su Zheng taught was not only real skill, but also a "dimensional reduction attack" that was a level above his own system.

His plan to trap Zhao Ming using "materials traps" failed before it even began.

They honed their skills by using scrap materials as whetstones every day. Giving them good materials would be like giving them free points.

"It seems that technical difficulty alone won't be enough to stop it..."

Yi Zhonghai paced back and forth in his office, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

If we can't solve it technically, then we can only work on the people involved.

Since you want to show off, don't blame me for cutting off your supplies.

……

Yi Zhonghai didn't return to the workshop; instead, he went to the canteen.

Right now, in the kitchen.

Sha Zhu was humming a little tune as he slicing potatoes with a cleaver.

"Pillar, are you cutting it?"

Yi Zhonghai walked in with his hands behind his back, a hint of worry on his face.

"Hey, grandpa? What brings you here at this hour? What would you like to eat today?"

When Sha Zhu saw that it was Yi Zhonghai, he quickly put down his knife and wiped his hands on his apron.

"What are you going to eat? I'm already full from being angry."

Yi Zhonghai sighed, "It's still the same old stuff that happens in the workshop."

"What? Is that Su Zheng up to his old tricks again?" Sha Zhu frowned.

"you do not say."

Yi Zhonghai lowered his voice, "This kid has recently learned some crooked tricks from somewhere and started some kind of crash course. You know Zhao Ming, he's usually as dumb as a pig, but after being taught by him for two days, he actually dares to challenge Ma Hua. Just now, he even said that he'll take the top three in the factory in this competition and trample all of us men's faces under his feet."

"What? Top three? With Zhao Ming's skills?"

Sha Zhu's eyes widened, then he sneered, "He doesn't deserve it!"

Whether they're a good match or not, I don't know, but they're acting really arrogant right now.

Yi Zhonghai shook his head. "I heard they're coming to the cafeteria to celebrate at noon today. They said they're going to eat braised pork to replenish their energy, and then continue training this afternoon to try and squeeze us all out as soon as possible."

"Celebrate? Or treat yourself?"

Sha Zhu slammed the cleaver in his hand onto the cutting board with a loud "thud," and the blade sank deep into the wood.

"Grandma! You want to eat well here? Dream on!"

Sha Zhu's eyes were sinister as he looked at the crowd that had already started queuing outside the window, a sneer of arrogance curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Fine, Su Zheng. Since you're so capable, trying to climb over us to get ahead, then I'll teach you a lesson this noon."

He picked up a large ladle and slammed it against the stainless steel bucket twice, making a piercing sound.

"Tell Liu Yang (the cafeteria helper) to give me a 'good' serving of braised pork today!"

"I'll show them what it means to feel uncomfortable during mealtimes!"