78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 143 Boosting Morale

Everyone looked at Ye Bingwen without saying a word.

"This batch of work from the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense isn't our factory's job; it's the state's job. Do you know where these parts are used?"

Seeing that no one reacted, Ye Bingwen continued, "I don't know either, but with someone of Engineer Sun's level personally overseeing it, this thing is definitely not ordinary. It might be something that goes to the heavens, or it might be something that goes underground."

Ye Bingwen paused for a moment, then looked around at everyone.

"Our Hongqi Factory only has about twenty people, and we still use old equipment and dilapidated factory buildings. Why were we able to take on this job? Because of our skills, our sense of responsibility, and our honesty."

"Master Li's hands were shaking so badly but he still kept working. Liu Xiaojun was in charge of checking the parameters and didn't sleep all night. Chen An was in charge of measuring the dimensions and his eyes were blurry but he still kept going. Not to mention Old Hu the carpenter, he's so old but he still works with us all night long."

"I'm not asking you to risk your lives, I'm saying that what we're doing is worth it."

No one spoke, and the workshop fell silent once again.

Liu Xiaojun lowered his head, and Master Li turned his face away.

Old Hu, the carpenter, stood at the entrance of the warehouse, a plane in his hand.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Ye Bingwen raised his voice: "There are still twenty items left. Twenty-eight hours. Once we finish this batch of work, no matter what happens in the future, you can tell people that you have worked for the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and that not a single item was wasted."

Master Li looked up at Ye Bingwen: "Little Ye, stop talking and get to work."

Liu Xiaojun wiped his face and turned back to his post.

Old Hu the carpenter returned to the storeroom, grabbed a flashlight, and began searching again.

Zheng Shuyun stood beside the testing station without saying a word.

Ye Bingwen then returned to his office and took a nap.

He only dozed off for five minutes before starting the battle again.

A new problem arose late into the night.

The effectiveness of that jar of beeswax started to decline after using it a dozen or so times.

The parts were a bit difficult to demold, and the surface finish was reduced by half a grade.

After discovering the problem, Mr. Li wiped the beeswax again with a cloth, but it still didn't work.

Old Hu the carpenter saw that it still wasn't working and came over to take a look.

Old Hu the carpenter took a piece of beeswax from the jar and put it in his palm, then squeezed it.

"The beeswax isn't pure enough; it's adulterated with something."

"What should we do then?"

After thinking for a long time, Old Hu the carpenter finally said, "I remember there's still a pure, unadulterated piece at home."

Old Hu the carpenter glanced at Ye Bingwen, and before Ye Bingwen could speak, he went straight home.

Twenty minutes later, Old Hu the carpenter returned.

Old Hu the carpenter held a piece of beeswax the size of an egg in his hand. It was darker in color and smelled stronger than the one in the jar.

"This piece was left to me by my father. It's genuine beeswax, without any adulteration, and has never been used."

Without saying anything, Master Li took the mold and wiped it all over.

The beeswax melted when heated and spread on the surface of the mold, thinner than the previous jar, but very evenly.

After wiping it with a cloth, Master Li closed the mold and put it into the press.

Sixty minutes later, the part was removed with a gentle touch.

Chen An nervously took a test and the results showed that the smoothness was one and a half levels higher than ▽7.

After seeing the result, Master Li looked at the beeswax in his hand and then at Old Hu the carpenter.

"It was passed down from your father, are you really willing to use it?"

"If we don't use it, it'll just rot at home."

Master Li carefully placed the beeswax next to the press and wrapped it in a cloth.

Eight o'clock on the morning of the third day.

There are 20 hours left until the deadline.

Ninety-six qualified products have been made. With the twelve returned products that need to be remade, four more are needed.

Ye Bingwen did a mental calculation.

Four more items are needed, and twenty hours is enough time.

Just as Ye Bingwen was starting to feel relieved, Liu Xiaojun walked over and said something that made Ye Bingwen's heart sink.

"Uncle Ye, we're running out of carbon fiber cloth."

"Not enough? How much did you bring in?"

"We received enough for 120 pieces, but several layers were wasted, resulting in higher losses than expected. Now we only have enough left to make six pieces."

Upon hearing this, Ye Bingwen's mind raced with calculations.

One hundred pieces, four short, six pieces left, that's enough.

"That's enough, do it."

Liu Xiaojun didn't move but looked at Ye Bingwen: "Uncle Ye, there's only enough for six pieces. What if one is ruined—"

"It won't be useless."

Liu Xiaojun didn't say anything more and turned around to prepare the ingredients.

At 10 a.m., the fourth item came out.

Passed.

At 11 a.m., the fifth item came out.

Passed.

At 1 p.m., the sixth item came out.

Passed.

The number recorded on the wall became ninety-nine.

One last item is needed.

Chen An handed over the test report, which Ye Bingwen glanced at.

Ninety-nine items, all qualified.

At this moment, Liu Xiaojun came out of the warehouse, holding the last piece of carbon fiber cloth in his hand.

"Uncle Ye, this is all the material left, enough to make one garment."

"Do."

At 2 PM, the last piece went into the press.

Everyone stood around the press, clearly uneasy, and no one spoke.

An'an arrived at some point, following Zheng Shuyun, holding a small panda doll in her arms.

Seeing that the adults were all nervous, An'an stood quietly without making a fuss.

Sixty minutes was torture; every minute felt like it was being stretched out.

Liu Xiaojun stared at the thermometer.

Master Li stood next to the press.

Chen An waited by the testing station with calipers in hand.

Ye Bingwen stood at the front, looking at the timer on the press.

Fifty.

Fifty-five.

Fifty-nine.

sixty.

With a beep, the timer was up.

Liu Xiaojun didn't rush to open the mold; he waited for five minutes.

"Let's open it."

Master Li then stepped forward, opened the press, and pulled out the mold.

Chen An then put on gloves and lifted the top mold.

The part lay quietly in the lower mold, its surface smooth, its color uniform, without bubbles or cracks.

Chen An used pliers to remove it and placed it on the testing table.

Length: acceptable.

Width, acceptable.

Thickness, acceptable.

The smoothness is one level higher than ▽7.

All sizes are within acceptable limits.

Chen An looked up at the result, his voice a little strained: "Pass."

Liu Xiaojun remained squatting there for a long time after hearing the result, unable to recover.

Master Li lit a cigarette, his hands still trembling.

Old Hu, the carpenter, stayed in the storeroom for a while before daring to peek out and ask, "Is it done?"

"It's done."

An An suddenly clapped her hands, and the little panda in her hand moved up and down with her.

Ye Bingwen did not relax in the end. Instead of letting everyone rest, he made them check again just in case.

"Check everything again, retest all the parts."

Chen An was taken aback: "Retest all of them?"

"Every single one, without missing a single one, from the first to the hundredth, all of them were retested."

Zheng Shuyun didn't ask any more questions and immediately started checking the test report against the labels.

Seeing this, Chen An also picked up the calipers and started working.

The two of them started measuring and checking each item one by one from 3 p.m.

When he tested the fortieth item, Chen An's wrist was so sore that he switched to his left hand to continue testing.

When she reached the seventh dry piece, Zheng Shuyun's eyes started to blur. She rubbed her eyes and continued working.

When they reached the ninetieth item, Master Li came over to help. He was in charge of flipping the item over, Chen An was in charge of measuring, and Zheng Shuyun was in charge of recording.

Three batches of one hundred items have all been retested.

All passed.

Ye Bingwen stared at the retest report for a long time without saying a word.

"Prepare two more."

"Still need to prepare?"

"Make two more, just in case Mr. Sun's inspection fails, we'll have spares."

"We're out of materials; we've run out of carbon fiber cloth."

Chen An didn't speak, but silently flipped through the warehouse ledger: "The leftover materials can be put together enough to make two pieces, but the size will be a bit small, not the standard width, so we'll have to piece them together when laying them out."

"Can we put it together?"

"Yes, if the joints are properly treated, the strength will not be affected."

"Do."

Liu Xiaojun spent a long time rummaging through the warehouse and found all the remaining items.

Liu Xiaojun pieced the pieces together one by one, cutting them apart and reassembling those that weren't wide enough.

It took twenty minutes longer than usual to lay the layers, and every overlap was carefully compacted.

The first spare part arrived at the press at 6 p.m.

Sixty minutes later, the results came out and the test was passed.

The second item enters the press at seven o'clock.

Sixty minutes later, the results came out and the test was passed.

Ye Bingwen looked at the two spare parts, placed on the worktable along with the other hundred parts, and finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

There are a total of 102 items.