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

Zheng Shuyun stood at the door, her eyes red.

"Let's go."

Ye Bingwen said.

"I'll stand here a little longer."

Ye Bingwen stood at the door for two minutes, then left because he had other things to do at the factory.

Zheng Shuyun peeked through the crack in the door and saw the teacher holding An'an, sitting on a small stool.

An'an was sobbing, but a cookie was stuffed into her hand, and she had stopped crying.

She then turned and left.

When Ye Bingwen returned home that evening, he saw An'an sitting on the bed, still clutching the cookie in her hand.

"How was your day at kindergarten?"

Ye Bingwen asked.

An'an ignored him.

Zheng Shuyun smiled.

"She's angry because you didn't take her inside."

Ye Bingwen picked An'an up.

"Dad will take you to your classroom tomorrow, okay?"

An'an held the cookie to his mouth.

Ye Bingwen took a bite, and only then did An'an smile.

After eating, An'an fell asleep.

Ye Bingwen sat at the table and spread out the blueprints.

The motor factory took on half of the provincial military district's order for 100 units, but still had to make the remaining 50 units themselves.

The new machine tool has arrived, and the precision is fine, but the mold for the outer casing is not yet ready, so he has to recalculate the dimensions.

Zheng Shuyun was washing dishes in the kitchen, the water was splashing.

After washing up, I came over and stood behind him for a while.

"Not finished yet?"

"Soon."

"You always say that."

Ye Bingwen did not look up.

The pencil scratched across the paper as it changed three lines and then erased two more.

Zheng Shuyun went into the kitchen and after a while brought out a bowl of noodles.

She placed the bowl next to the blueprints.

"Eat first."

Ye Bingwen picked up the bowl and took a slurp.

The noodles were hot, so he breathed on them to cool them down.

Zheng Shuyun sat down next to him and picked up the half-finished drawing to look at it.

She couldn't understand the lines and numbers, but she knew what he was drawing.

"How much will I earn after finishing this job?"

Ye Bingwen did the math.

"Fifty military units, each priced at 380 yuan, totaling 19,000 yuan. After deducting costs, we can make a profit of several thousand yuan."

"So the money for the new machine tool is back?"

"almost."

Zheng Shuyun put the blueprints down.

"Is your classmate, Liu Yongqiang, doing alright?"

"I called the day before yesterday to say that the materials have arrived and work has already begun."

"That's good."

Ye Bingwen finished his noodles and drank the soup.

Zheng Shuyun took the bowl to wash it, but he grabbed her hand.

"Sit for a while."

Zheng Shuyun sat down.

Do you think An'an will cry again tomorrow?

Zheng Shuyun asked.

"You'll feel better after crying for a couple of days. That's how it is for everyone."

"I stood at the door today, feeling very upset."

Ye Bingwen shook her hand.

"It'll be fine in a few days."

Zheng Shuyun leaned on his shoulder.

"Did you think coming to Harbin was the right decision?"

"Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"I just suddenly remembered. This time last year, we were still in the village, and An'an couldn't walk yet."

"She's attending kindergarten in Harbin now."

Ye Bingwen remained silent.

He remembered the field ridges of Daxing Village, and the day Li Sanguang reported him.

He remembered that Zheng Shuyun was waiting for him at the door when he came out of the police station.

"Yes."

He said.

Zheng Shuyun didn't ask any more questions.

The two of them sat under the lamp for a while longer.

Ye Bingwen put away the blueprints, washed his face, and went to bed.

The new machine tool has been officially powered on.

When Ye Bingwen arrived at the factory, Master Li had already wiped the machine tool three times.

The anti-rust oil on the guide rail was wiped clean.

"Master Li, you're up too early."

"I can't sleep."

Master Li didn't even look up. He was squatting next to the machine tool, holding a dial indicator in his hand, calibrating the spindle.

"The new bed needs to be carefully adjusted. Not even the slightest difference will do."

Ye Bingwen squatted down and adjusted it with him.

The two of them worked for more than two hours to adjust all the precision values ​​to above the standard values.

Master Zhao and his other apprentice, Xiao Zhang, also arrived.

Master Li called them over and pointed to the new machine tool.

"This bed is more precious than your lives. You need to keep your hands steady and your mind meticulous when you work. If you produce any defective products, I'll hold you responsible."

The two apprentices nodded.

"Let's get to work."

Mr. Li said.

Xiao Zhang took a blank part of a motor housing and mounted it on the chuck.

Master Li watched from the side.

After Xiao Zhang tightened the clamp, he looked back at him and nodded.

The sound of the cutting tool contacting the workpiece was completely different from that of the old machine tool.

More stable, more even, without that harsh vibration sound.

Iron filings rolled off the tip of the knife, spiraling and falling into the filings box.

Master Li stood by the side the whole time.

A dozen minutes later, the first finished product was ready.

Xiao Zhang unloaded the workpiece from the chuck and handed it to Master Li.

Master Li took it, first weighed it in his hand, and then looked at it several times.

He walked to the worktable and picked up the vernier calipers.

Measure the outer diameter, measure the inner hole, and measure the flatness.

Each item was measured three times.

Ye Bingwen stood to the side.

Master Li put down the calipers, held the workpiece up to the light, and examined it again.

"This job."

His voice was a little hoarse.

"It's not shameful to take it anywhere."

He handed the workpiece to Ye Bingwen.

Ye Bingwen took it and touched it.

Its surface is as smooth as a mirror.

The tolerance is almost half that of the old machine tool machining.

"What is the precision?"

he asks.

"Outer diameter tolerance of one and a half millimeters."

Mr. Li said.

"The best old bed is only three threads. This bed can do fine work."

Master Zhao peeked out from the side.

"I've been doing this for eight years, and I've never made such a splendid job."

Master Li glared at him.

"If you practice hard, you can do it too. But first, master the work on the old bed."

Ye Bingwen glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Master Li, try to finish ten pieces today. This batch of military supplies is urgent and cannot be delayed."

"Ten pieces are no problem."

Mr. Li said.

"But you can't go too fast during the break-in period. Take it slow for the first week and let the bed get used to it."

"I'll listen to you."

Ye Bingwen stayed in the workshop for more than an hour to make sure everything was alright before he went to the gatehouse.

He dialed Liu Yongqiang's number.

It rang several times before someone answered; it was a young woman's voice.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Is Liu Yongqiang here? This is Ye Bingwen."

"Wait a minute, I'll go call him."

The phone rang with the cacophony of machine noise.

After waiting for quite a while, Liu Yongqiang finally came to pick him up.

"Bingwen?"

He had a loud voice.

"Your machine is too loud, could you please move to another location?"

"Wait a minute—"

It got quieter on the other end of the phone.

"Alright, go ahead and say it."

"How's the work going with your fifty units?"

There was a two-second silence on Liu Yongqiang's end.

"The machine is running, but there's a problem."

"What is it?"

"The voltage is unstable. It trips the circuit breaker every night, and sometimes the machine just stops while I'm working."

"The circuit breaker tripped three times the night before last, ruining one of the workpieces."

Ye Bingwen frowned.

Have you asked the village officials?

"I asked. The village chief said it's the same in this area; the transformer capacity is insufficient."