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

It takes about 20 minutes to walk from Nanluoguxiang to Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

This road is the "morning rush hour" express route for workers in Beijing. A vast army of blue-clad workers, some on bicycles and some on foot, converge into a mighty torrent.

Su was walking in the crowd, but his unique aura made it seem as if a vacuum had formed around him.

"Su Zheng! Su Zheng!"

Qin Huairu's voice came from behind.

She deliberately wore a slightly brighter scarf today, hoping to get Su Zheng's attention. She was still upset about not getting any meat last night, so she got up early this morning to try and catch Su Zheng on the street, hoping to smooth things over with some gentle words.

Su Zheng acted as if he hadn't heard, and instead quickened his pace.

"Oh dear, this child, why is he acting like he didn't hear me?"

Yi Zhonghai caught up at this moment. He deliberately walked very fast and reached Su Zheng's side in a few steps. His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the surrounding workers to hear.

"Su Zheng, don't take what I said in the yard just now to heart. The old man was just trying to help you."

Yi Zhonghai wore his signature hypocritical smile. "Regarding this certification exam, I have something I want to tell you frankly. Our workshop has a limited number of slots. Although you've reached the required seniority, technical skills still require practice. You see, Jia Dongxu is your senior, and his family is struggling financially. As for the Level 2 worker slots this time, everyone's thinking... could you perhaps show some consideration and give way? After all, we're from the same institute, and we should maintain unity."

Upon hearing this, the ears of several coworkers nearby immediately perked up.

Give up the quota?

This is a sensitive topic in the factory.

Yi Zhonghai's move was cunning.

If Su Zheng agrees, he will suffer in silence and will always be inferior to others in the workshop; if Su Zheng refuses on the spot or even gets angry, he will be seen as "disunity," "disrespectful to teachers," and "selfish."

With this serious accusation, Su Zheng will be affected when it comes to performance evaluations and awards in the factory.

Su Zheng stopped in his tracks.

At that moment, they happened to arrive at a crowded area near the factory gate.

Su Zheng looked at Yi Zhonghai's seemingly kind but actually sinister face and suddenly laughed.

Instead of lowering his voice, he deliberately raised it, his clear voice instantly piercing through the noisy crowd:

"Sir! What did you just say? You asked me to give up my exam spot to Jia Dongxu? For the sake of 'unity'?"

wow——

That shout was like pouring a bucket of cold water into boiling oil.

The eyes of dozens of workers nearby immediately focused on it.

"What? Giving up a spot? You can give up a spot for a grading exam?"

"Isn't this ridiculous? Technical assessments are based on merit, not on favoritism!"

"Shh, that's Yi Zhonghai, an eighth-grade fitter. His word carries weight in the workshop."

Yi Zhonghai's expression changed. He hadn't expected Su Zheng to dare say such things in public. He had originally intended to use his seniority to exert pressure privately, but now it had turned into a public execution.

"Su... Su Zheng, keep your voice down! I was just trying to help those in need..." Yi Zhonghai hurriedly tried to make amends.

"Taking care of those in need?"

Su Zheng gave him no chance at all, his voice even louder and more forceful, every word precious:

"Uncle, our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill is a large state-owned factory, a place that values ​​rules and technology! The assessment system is set by the state; the salary for each level of worker is determined by their technical skill! You want me to give up my spot? How? Am I supposed to deliberately fail the exam just to accommodate Jia Dongxu, even if my skills are up to par? Or are you implying that as long as someone is struggling financially, they can still be promoted to level two worker even if their skills are lacking? If the parts produced by our factory have quality problems, who will bear the responsibility—you or Jia Dongxu?"

These remarks are logically sound, focusing on the two absolutely politically correct points of "national system" and "production quality".

The surrounding workers nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! This is a skills assessment, not a relief distribution!"

"Why should the more skilled players have to give way to the less skilled ones? That's not fair!"

"Isn't Yi Zhonghai being way too biased?"

Cold sweat trickled down Yi Zhonghai's forehead.

He felt the backlash from the surrounding public opinion. This accusation of "undermining the fairness of the assessment" and "treating national production as a joke" was a hundred times heavier than the accusation of "disunity" he had put on Su Zheng!

"I...I didn't mean that...I meant..." Yi Zhonghai stammered, his former imposing manner completely gone.

"That's probably not what I meant."

Su Zheng coldly interrupted him, his gaze sharp as lightning, staring directly into Yi Zhonghai's eyes:

"And another thing, sir, you'd better not bring up 'giving up a spot' again. The burden of proof lies with the person making the claim. If you think Jia Dongxu is technically capable, then let him take the exam based on his own merit! Don't always think about using connections or favors! We working class despise that kind of thing the most!"

After saying that, Su Zheng stopped looking at Yi Zhonghai's face, which had turned a deep purplish-red, and turned to face the imposing factory gate, striding inside.

He left everyone with an image of integrity, uprightness, and fearlessness in the face of power.

"good!"

Someone in the crowd shouted "Good!"

Immediately afterwards, many workers looked at Su Zheng with admiration.

These days, everyone has their own sense of right and wrong. Yi Zhonghai usually holds absolute power in the workshop, and many people dare not speak out against him. Today, Su Zheng's words have finally given everyone a chance to vent their anger.

Qin Huairu hid behind the crowd, watching this scene, biting her lip tightly.

She had originally hoped that Yi Zhonghai could help Jia Dongxu get that level-two worker position, so that the family could earn a few extra yuan a month. Unexpectedly, Su Zheng had become so assertive and difficult to deal with.

"Dongxu, Dongxu, if only you were more ambitious..." Qin Huairu felt a sense of helplessness.

……

Su Zheng walked into the factory area but did not go to the workshop.

Instead, they went straight to the "Examination Registration Area" downstairs in the office building.

At this time, a long line had already formed in front of the registration window.

Most of them are young apprentices who applied for Level 1 or Level 2 worker positions.

Su Zheng stood in line, his expression calm. But in his mind, the Eye of Truth system was operating at full speed.

Last night in the lab, he not only ate steak, but also used the top-notch tools and system data to thoroughly review the previously vague concept of fitter techniques in his mind.

Now, let alone an eighth-grade worker, he's 70% confident he could even handcraft a precision machine tool!

"Next! What's your name? What level are you taking?"

The clerk at the window asked without looking up.

Su Zheng stepped forward and handed over his employee ID.

"Workshop One, Su Zheng."

He picked up the pen on the table and wrote several large characters in a flowing, powerful hand on the registration form.

The clerk took a look at it and thought he was seeing things.

He rubbed his eyes and looked at it again.

Then he suddenly looked up, staring at Su Zheng as if he were a madman:

"Comrade, you've made a mistake. You're currently a Level 1 worker, and according to regulations, you can only take the Level 2 exam. What you wrote here is..."

"Skip the exam for Level 8 skilled worker?"

Su Zheng nodded, his expression calm, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary:

"You didn't write it wrong. I'm applying for the eighth-grade worker position."