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

The piercing scream from the steel rolling mill became everyone's nightmare that night.

The door to the third workshop was completely opened, and the previously restricted area, which was "no unauthorized personnel allowed," was now crowded with people.

The factory director, the party secretary, the chief engineer, all the key personnel of the maintenance department, and even Deputy Factory Director Li, who had just gone to bed, rushed over wearing a coat.

The once imposing East German grinding machine now lies lifelessly in the center of the workshop, with wisps of smoke rising from the spindle box and emitting a pungent, burnt smell.

"What happened?! What on earth happened?!"

Factory Director Yang's eyes turned red as he looked at the malfunctioning machines.

He grabbed the workshop foreman, Lao Zhang, by the collar, his roar shaking the workshop windows. "It was perfectly fine when I left! How could it explode after only two hours?!"

"Factory...factory manager..."

Old Zhang's legs went weak with fear. He pointed at Yi Zhonghai, trembling, "It was...it was Old Yi who said it was okay and told me to keep running..."

All eyes immediately turned to Yi Zhonghai.

At this point, Yi Zhonghai had long lost his former high spirits.

His face was deathly pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He stood next to the machine like a schoolboy who had made a mistake.

"I...I didn't expect this either..."

Yi Zhonghai stammered in his defense, "I thought it was running quite steadily, so I assumed it was just a break-in period..."

"What a load of rubbish!"

Factory Director Yang immediately swore, "Break-in can cause the spindle to seize up? Break-in can make it smoke? Yi Zhonghai, you're a level eight worker! Don't you have this much common sense?"

Yi Zhonghai was too afraid to utter a word after being scolded, but his heart was pounding wildly.

It’s over.

That's it, everything's over.

The machine is destroyed, production has stopped, and the responsibility is too great.

If we don't find a way to remedy the situation quickly, we might lose not only our "old man" position, but also our job as an eighth-grade worker!

"Factory manager, now is not the time to assign blame."

At this moment, Deputy Factory Director Li stepped forward, seemingly trying to smooth things over, but in reality, he also looked extremely anxious. "The most urgent thing is to repair it as soon as possible! This batch of military parts is due tomorrow. If we can't deliver, our entire factory will be in deep trouble!"

"Fix it! Fix it right away!"

"Where are the maintenance team? Where are they all? Dismantle it! Investigate!" Factory Director Yang roared.

The maintenance manager and several experienced mechanics went over to look at it, but after a couple of glances, they all retreated, their faces showing reluctance.

"Factory manager, this...this is foreign equipment."

The section chief looked distressed. "The blueprints are all in German, and the structure is too complex. The moment the main spindle seized up, it was so loud that the internal gears probably broke. We... really dare not touch it."

"Afraid to move? What are you all good for?!"

Factory Director Yang was so angry he wanted to smash the cup.

At this stalemate, Yi Zhonghai suddenly gritted his teeth, as if he had made a tough decision.

"Factory manager! Let me do it!"

Yi Zhonghai stepped forward and said loudly, "I'm an eighth-grade fitter. Although this machine is imported, the mechanical principles are sound! I've studied it quite a bit. Since it was caused by my misjudgment, I take responsibility! I will definitely fix it!"

He's gambling.

It's just a simple jam; a quick disassembly, cleaning, and re-lubrication will fix it.

If it can be repaired and the damage done can be redeemed, it might even be possible to save face a little.

Otherwise, if he waits for someone else to fix it, and they discover the problem is serious, he will be in real trouble.

Factory Director Yang looked at Yi Zhonghai with a complicated expression.

Although he desperately wanted to kick Yi Zhonghai out, it seemed that no one else dared to take on this hot potato except for Yi Zhonghai, who was an eighth-grade worker.

"Are you confident?" Director Yang asked in a deep voice.

"have!"

Yi Zhonghai, forcing a smile, shouted, "I've been handling this machine for ten years, I know it like the back of my hand!"

"Okay! You have two hours!"

Factory Director Yang gave a death order: "If you can't fix it, you'll come back with your head!"

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath, took out a wrench and hammer from the toolbox, and walked to the machine.

"Old Yi, how about we take a look at the blueprints first?"

Chief Engineer Li, who was standing nearby, kindly offered a reminder.

"Need not!"

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand, displaying great confidence, "Those foreign blueprints are making me dizzy, I'll rely on my feel! When it comes to machinery, feel is more accurate than blueprints!"

Actually, he couldn't understand the complicated German drawings at all and was afraid of looking at them and revealing his ignorance.

He picked up a wrench and started tightening the screws on the back cover of the spindle box.

This machine is designed with great precision; many of the screws are reverse-threaded (left-handed) to prevent them from coming loose during high-speed rotation.

But Yi Zhonghai, relying on his experience in repairing domestically made machines, immediately pressed the right-hand (right-hand) button and tightened it hard.

"Hmm? So tight?"

It won't turn.

Yi Zhonghai was sweating.

It's so embarrassing to be unable to unscrew the first screw in front of all the factory leaders.

"Bring me the large pipe wrench!" Yi Zhonghai roared.

The apprentice quickly handed over the pipe wrench.

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth, clamped the pipe wrench onto the screw head, and used all his strength. He even hit the wrench handle hard with a hammer a few times, trying to loosen the screw with vibration.

"Old Yi! Don't force it!"

The maintenance manager was horrified and wanted to offer some advice.

"Shut up! I'm working, don't interrupt!" Yi Zhonghai roared back, his eyes red.

"Click!"

A crisp sound.

The screw has come loose.

But everyone's hearts sank.

That wasn't the sound of a screw loosening; that was the sound of a screw head being twisted off!

Half of the screw broke off inside.

The scene was deathly silent.

Yi Zhonghai's hand began to tremble as he looked at the broken screw head in his hand.

"No...it's okay, it can be removed even if it breaks."

He tried to remain calm, but his voice trembled, "Let's demolish it somewhere else."

He then set his sights on the hydraulic valve assembly on the side.

This time, he learned his lesson and dismantled it carefully.

After much difficulty, the cover was finally removed, revealing the complex valve core and spring inside.

"This must be the place that's stuck."

Yi Zhonghai muttered to himself, trying to pry open the stuck valve core with a screwdriver.

What he didn't know was that the valve core had a self-locking mechanism, and the oil pressure had to be released before it could move.

Forcibly turning it with residual high-pressure oil is practically suicidal.

"Hold on!"

Yi Zhonghai directed his apprentices to help with crowbars, shouting, "I'll count to three, then pull together!"

"one two three!"

"collapse!"

A muffled thud came from inside the machine, like the sound of some kind of intricate mechanism completely collapsing.

Immediately afterwards, a jet of high-pressure oil shot out, splashing Yi Zhonghai's face.

But that's not the worst part.

The most terrifying thing is that, with this sound, the main shaft, which was still swaying slightly, suddenly locked up completely with a "bang".

utterly dead.

There wasn't even a sliver of space left.

"Wha...what happened?"

Yi Zhonghai wiped the oil off his face, completely bewildered.

He felt as if his pry had broken the machine's spine.

"Old Yi! What have you done?!"

Chief Engineer Li rushed up, shoved Yi Zhonghai aside, and reached out to turn the main shaft.

Not moving.

It's like it's been welded shut.

"It's over..."

Chief Engineer Li's face turned deathly pale, and he slumped to the ground. "The main shaft is completely seized, and the internal transmission chain is probably all broken. This machine... is ruined."

obsolete.

These two words struck the workshop like a bolt from the blue.

The factory's only high-precision grinding machine, worth over 100,000 yuan, was ruined in front of everyone by Yi Zhonghai, an "eighth-grade worker," using the most barbaric and foolish methods.

The wrench in Yi Zhonghai's hand clattered to the ground.

Looking at the mess of parts scattered on the ground, and at his own face covered in grease, he felt dizzy and disoriented.

He wanted to defend himself, to say "the machine is too fragile," and "I did my best."

But when he opened his mouth, he found that everyone's gaze had changed.

It's no longer expectation, it's no longer trust.

Instead, it was anger, contempt, and even murderous intent.

"Yi Zhonghai!!!"

Factory Director Yang exploded.

Like an enraged lion, he rushed forward and kicked over Yi Zhonghai's toolbox.

"This is your 'familiarity'?! This is your 'feel'?! You're committing a crime! You're damaging state property!"

"Factory manager... I... I..."

Yi Zhonghai trembled, unable to utter a single word.

"Drag him away! Look at him!"

Factory Director Yang pointed at Yi Zhonghai, his fingers trembling, "Awaiting further action!"

Two security officers rushed up and dragged the limp Yi Zhonghai away like a dead dog.

The workshop was deathly silent.

Everyone stared at the broken machine, and a sense of despair spread through them.

"Factory manager, what do we do now?"

Deputy Factory Director Li asked in a low voice, "The military industry is still pressing us. If we can't deliver the goods by tomorrow, how are we going to explain it? Should we... call the ministry right away?"

Factory Director Yang took a deep breath. Although he knew he would be scolded severely for making this call, he had no choice but to ask for help.

"Hit him! Go to my office and hit him!"

A few minutes later, in the factory manager's office.

Factory Director Yang gripped the red telephone receiver, cold sweat streaming down his face.

On the other end of the phone, the minister's roar was deafening.

"Yang Weiguo! What are you good for?! How could you let a fitter disassemble such important equipment?! Is this your first day as factory manager?!"

"Yes, yes, Minister, it's all my fault. I was just too anxious... Now the machine is broken, and the expert isn't here. Could you perhaps transfer an expert from another unit?"

"What a load of crap!"

The minister snapped, "Do you know how tense the situation is right now? All the nation's top experts have gone to the Northwest to support the construction! The closest ones are thousands of kilometers away! They won't be back for at least half a month! You dug this mess yourself, so figure it out yourself!"

"Snapped!"

The phone hangs up.

Hearing the busy tone coming from the other end, Director Yang swayed and almost lost his balance.

half a month.

The daylily buds have gone cold.

Factory Director Yang closed his eyes, swayed, and almost lost his balance.

Is Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill really going to suffer a major setback this time?

Just then, the maintenance section chief, who had been silent until now, suddenly muttered something under his breath:

"Actually... someone had warned about this before."

This sentence is like throwing a pebble into stagnant water.

Factory Director Yang suddenly opened his eyes: "What did you say? Who gave a warning?"

The maintenance section chief pointed to the logbook on the duty desk: "Su Zheng. Consultant Su wrote something in the logbook before he left."

Factory Director Yang grabbed the notebook.

Turn it over.

That line of flowing, flamboyant handwriting now seemed so glaring, so resounding:

"Abnormal micro-vibration detected in the spindle, determined to be due to the intrusion of a hard foreign object. Immediate shutdown recommended. Technical Consultant Su Zheng, [Date], 22:15."

And that last sentence, though not written down, seems to still echo in the workshop:

"Whoever initiates the power-on process is responsible."

Factory Director Yang's hand trembled as he stroked the line of words.

Two hours ago.

If only I had listened to Su Zheng back then, if only I hadn't let that idiot Yi Zhonghai give such bad advice...

I regret it!

The intestines are all regretful!

But this line of text also gave Director Yang, who was in despair, his last straw.

Since Su Zheng was able to predict the malfunction in advance and see the problem before anyone else, does that mean... he also has a way to fix it?

Although the machine had been riddled with holes by Yi Zhonghai, and although it seemed like an impossible task.

But now, is there any other way but to believe in that young man who created miracles?

Factory Director Yang slammed his notebook shut, took a deep breath, and roared with all his might:

"Go! Go and fetch Su Zheng!"

"No! Prepare the car!"

Factory Director Yang grabbed his coat and strode out.

"I'll go and invite them myself!"