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

On the workbench, all the tools were in their places.

All that remained was the dodecahedron that shone with a cold luster, and a grooved base that matched it.

Su Zheng picked up a clean silk cloth and carefully wiped the surface of the workpiece with a devout and solemn gesture.

"Chief Engineer Wang, we can proceed with the testing."

Su Zheng took a step back and made a "please" gesture.

Chief Engineer Wang took a deep breath and stepped forward.

He first picked up the micrometer and the surface finish comparison block.

After taking measurements, Chief Engineer Wang's hands began to tremble slightly, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He raised his head, glanced at Su Zheng with a complicated expression, and announced in a somewhat hoarse voice:

"Twelve faces, flatness error... less than 0.001 millimeters."

"Angle error...unmeasurable (beyond the gauge's accuracy)."

"The surface finish... reaches mirror level, visually estimated to be above ∇12!"

"boom--"

The crowd erupted in uproar.

"Holy crap? ∇12? What does that even mean?"

"That's a mirror! A real mirror! Even the best grinder in our factory can only grind down to ∇10, right?"

"Made by hand? Is this even human?"

Yi Zhonghai's face twitched. He pushed forward, refusing to believe it: "Chief Engineer Wang, is there a problem with the measuring instruments? Or are you mistaken? How could manual work achieve this level of precision? There's definitely something fishy going on!"

Liu Haizhong chimed in, "Exactly! This data is so fake! I think he used some kind of trick!"

Su Zheng sneered: "Whether it's a smokescreen or not, we'll know once we try to coordinate."

He pointed to the base. "Sir, since you have doubts, please try it yourself. Put this dodecahedron into that base. If you can push it all the way down smoothly, I'll admit defeat."

"What's so difficult about that?"

Yi Zhonghai rolled up his sleeves; he didn't believe in such nonsense.

If you put a lump of iron into a slot, as long as it's the right size, isn't that something you can do with your hands?

He picked up the dodecahedron, aligned it with the hexagonal groove on the base, and pressed it down hard.

however……

A miraculous scene unfolded.

The dodecahedron had barely been inserted a tiny bit when it seemed to encounter some enormous resistance and simply wouldn't go any further!

Yi Zhonghai's face turned red as he exerted all his strength, even pressing down with both hands, but the iron lump seemed to have a powerful spring underneath it. As soon as he pressed down a little, it would spring back with a "whoosh" as soon as he let go!

In that instant, you could even hear a slight hissing sound.

"What...what's going on here?" Yi Zhonghai was stunned. "Is there a spring underneath? Or a magnet?"

He flipped the base over and tilted it, but it was empty; there was nothing there.

"You...you tampered with it!" Yi Zhonghai shouted, pointing at Su Zheng.

"Get out of the way!"

Just then, a voice with a heavy accent rang out.

A tall, blond, blue-eyed foreigner pushed through the crowd and rushed over.

It was Ivanov, a Soviet technical expert hired by the factory. He was just passing by when he was drawn in by the commotion and happened to overhear the measurement data.

Ivanov shoved Yi Zhonghai aside, his eyes fixed on the workpiece with fervor.

He carefully picked up the dodecahedron, aligned it with the base again, and gently released it.

I didn't press it hard.

The dodecahedron didn't fall straight to the bottom like a normal workpiece, but instead...

Slowly, at a steady pace, like sinking in water, it glides down gradually.

Finally, there was a soft "pop".

Completely closed, perfectly fitted.

There wasn't even a tiny gap in sight; it was as if they were originally one!

Then, Ivanov tried to pull it out.

I can't pull it out!

It's like it's been sucked in!

He exerted force suddenly, and with a crisp "pop!" the workpiece was pulled out, producing a clear popping sound.

"Harasho!"

Ivanov shouted excitedly, grabbing Su Zheng's hand and shaking it vigorously. "An air spring! It really is an air spring! It's a perfect fit! It's an industrial work of art! In my homeland, only the most outstanding technicians could make this by hand! You are a genius! A true genius!"

The audience was silent.

Although no one understood Russian, judging from the excited look on the Russian experts' faces and the amazing "spring" phenomenon just now, even a fool could tell that the Soviet Union was incredibly powerful!

Su Zheng calmly withdrew his hand, looked at the stunned Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, and explained calmly:

"This is called the 'air spring' effect. Because the gap between the parts is extremely small (less than the mean free path of air molecules), the air cannot escape quickly and is compressed at the bottom, forming an air cushion. This is what I mean by 'the last bit of air'."

"Uncle, Uncle, do you still want me to kowtow and admit defeat?"

Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Facts speak louder than words.

That "air spring" was like a resounding slap across his face. His proud level eight craftsmanship was utterly laughable in the face of Su Zheng's amazing skill!

"Clap clap clap!"

Applause erupted from the railing on the second floor.

Factory Director Yang, his face flushed with excitement, clapped his hands and strode down the stairs.

"Great! What a brilliant air spring! Well done, Su Zheng!"

Factory Director Yang walked up to Su Zheng and patted him heavily on the shoulder. "It's an honor for our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill to produce someone like you! I think you're perfectly capable of wearing this Grade 8 worker hat! Anyone who dares to utter a single word against it will have to come to me!"

After saying that, Director Yang turned to the clerk and said, "Immediately! Right now! Process Su Zheng's promotion paperwork! His salary and benefits will be based on the eighth-grade worker standard, starting this month! Also..."

Factory Director Yang paused, then pulled a stack of coupons from his pocket and stuffed them into Su Zheng's hand. "This is a reward from the factory. A bicycle coupon, ten jin of meat coupons, and... a special commendation order to celebrate our factory's technological breakthrough! A factory-wide commendation!"

wow——

There was thunderous applause.

This time, it was genuine applause. The workers admired people with real skills the most, and Su Zheng's performance today completely won everyone over.

Su Zheng took the ticket and felt its heavy weight in his hand.

Especially that bicycle ticket.

In this day and age, this is a symbol of status, a mobile mansion!

He looked at Yi Zhonghai, who was staring intently at the stack of receipts, his eyes filled with jealousy and greed.

It's not just Yi Zhonghai.

Among the crowd, Jia Dongxu, Qin Huairu, and even Yan Bugui all had their eyes green with envy as they looked at the bicycle ticket.

Su Zheng's lips curled into a cold smile.

He knew that those beasts were definitely after those tickets again.

What about "borrowing for emergency use," what about "family mutual assistance," what about "donating to those in need"...?

but.

This time, they're destined to lose a mouthful of teeth.

Because this is just the beginning.

With this eighth-grade worker status and this factory-wide honor, Su Zheng was the "truth" of this steel rolling mill!

Want to suck blood?

Then be prepared to be utterly crushed!