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

Ye Bingwen sat in Liu Yongqiang's courtyard for a while.

I took a couple of sips of beer, but my mind was still preoccupied with the transformer.

"Yongqiang, I'll go to the workshop first thing tomorrow morning."

"You came all this way, aren't you going to rest for a day?"

"What are you taking a break for? If you can't deliver those fifty units, I won't be able to sleep soundly in Harbin."

Liu Yongqiang downed the beer in his glass in one gulp.

"Okay. I'll go with you tomorrow morning."

Ye Bingwen woke up before dawn the next day.

The mornings in the countryside are quiet; he gets dressed as soon as the rooster crows for the first time.

Liu Yongqiang was still snoring when he went out the door by himself.

The workshop in Daxing Village used to be a warehouse, with newspapers pasted on the windows.

Ye Bingwen pushed open the door. It was dark inside, and he could smell engine oil and metal shavings.

He pulled the light cord, and the bulb turned on. The light was still a little flickering, but it was much more stable than the last time he came.

He walked around the workshop.

The three machine tools were neatly arranged, the floor was swept clean, and the tools were hung on the wall.

Liu Yongqiang is a hard worker, but he lacks technical skills.

Ye Bingwen walked to a lathe, touched the guide rail, and found it was oiled and well-maintained.

He then looked at the chuck and knife rack, both of which were neatly arranged.

"Bingwen? You're up so early?"

Liu Yongqiang stood at the door, his eyes still half-closed.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came to check on you."

"You're in too much of a hurry."

Liu Yongqiang yawned.

"After the transformer was replaced, the power supply is more stable, but I haven't run the machine at full speed yet."

"Let's try going all out today."

"OK."

Liu Yongqiang went to call for help.

About ten minutes later, two young men arrived, one named Liu Xiaojun and the other Liu Xiaowei.

He's in his early twenties and looks quite energetic.

"Xiaojun, Xiaowei, this is the Uncle Ye I was telling you about."

"Hello, Uncle Ye."

The two shouted in unison.

Ye Bingwen smiled.

"Just call me brother, I'm not much older than you guys."

Liu Yongqiang said from the side.

"That won't do; the generational order can't be messed up."

Ye Bingwen did not argue with him.

"Okay, let's get to work. Turn all three on, let me check."

Liu Xiaojun walked to a machine tool and turned on the power switch.

The machine started spinning with a hum.

"First time driving?"

Ye Bingwen asked.

"Yes, it hasn't run yet since the transformer was replaced."

Liu Xiaojun said.

"Let it idle for a while, get the bed running smoothly, and then start working."

All three machine tools were running, and the noise in the workshop increased considerably.

Ye Bingwen stood in the middle, watching the operation of each machine.

The belt doesn't vibrate, the spindle doesn't wobble, and there are no unusual noises.

"Alright, let's get to work."

Liu Xiaojun took a blank part of a motor housing and mounted it on the chuck.

He glanced back at Ye Bingwen, who nodded.

The moment the cutting tool contacts the workpiece, metal chips are ejected.

Ye Bingwen stood by and watched.

Liu Xiaojun's technique was fairly skilled, but some details were off.

"Slower."

Ye Bingwen said.

Liu Xiaojun slowed down the speed of his knife cuts.

"Slow down."

The iron filings turned into long, thin curls that flowed evenly down from the tip of the knife.

"Okay, hold on."

The first finished product took significantly longer than usual.

Liu Xiaojun unloaded the workpiece and handed it to Ye Bingwen.

Ye Bingwen took it and weighed it in his hand.

Then he walked to the workbench and picked up the vernier calipers.

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

Liu Yongqiang stood to the side, looking a little nervous.

"How is it?"

Ye Bingwen held the workpiece up to the light and examined it closely.

"The tolerance is two and a half millimeters."

Liu Yongqiang breathed a sigh of relief.

"So it passed?"

"You passed."

Ye Bingwen said.

"But it can be even better."

He put the workpiece aside, picked up a blank part, and installed the chuck himself.

"Watch closely."

Ye Bingwen adjusted the angle of the tool holder and pushed the lathe tool in a little.

Power on and begin cutting.

His movements were very steady.

Liu Xiaojun and Liu Xiaowei craned their necks to look.

"The knife should be inserted steadily, without sudden changes in speed."

Ye Bingwen spoke as he worked.

"The height of the blade tip must be aligned with the center of the spindle; if it's even slightly off, the work won't be smooth."

A few minutes later, the workpiece came off.

Its surface is like a mirror.

Ye Bingwen handed it over.

"Measure it."

Liu Xiaojun took it and measured it with calipers.

He looked at the reading, measured it again, and his eyes lit up.

"Just a little! Brother, just a little!"

Liu Yongqiang squeezed through and snatched the workpiece away.

"Holy shit."

He uttered two words.

"Bingwen, what have you done?"

"Technique".

Ye Bingwen said.

"The same bed, the same job, but different people do it differently. When it comes to craftsmanship, even a slight difference can make a huge difference."

Liu Xiaojun said from the side.

"Brother, can you teach me?"

Ye Bingwen glanced at him.

"Want to learn?"

"I want to learn."

"I'm willing to learn, but let me make this clear from the start: I'm a strict person, and I'll yell at people if they don't do a good job."

"I'm not afraid of being criticized."

Liu Xiaojun said.

"I'm afraid I won't learn anything."

Ye Bingwen placed the workpiece on the table and turned to look at Liu Xiaojun.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"More than half a year."

"Who did you learn from before?"

"I learned from Master Wang at the town's agricultural machinery station for three months."

"Old Wang's skills are good, but the conditions of the machines here are different, so his technique needs to be adjusted."

Ye Bingwen pointed to the knife rack.

"Look at this angle, didn't Old Wang teach us to use 45 degrees?"

"right."

"For today's task, try a 30-degree angle. Halve the feed rate and increase the feed rate. Give it a try."

Liu Xiaojun reloaded and adjusted the knife as Ye Bingwen instructed.

This time he was more careful, glancing at Ye Bingwen after each movement, and only proceeding when Ye Bingwen nodded.

The second finished product is ready.

It's much better than the previous one.

"Brother, you're really different."

"That's all the skill I have."

Ye Bingwen said.

"One angle, one speed, it sounds simple, but to make your muscles remember it, you have to practice."

"I'll practice."

Liu Xiaojun said.

Ye Bingwen spent the entire day in the workshop.

All three machine tools were running, and he examined and measured them one by one.

Those who pass will be allowed to pass; those who fail will be told on the spot what the problem was.

Liu Xiaowei works slower than Liu Xiaojun, but he is meticulous.

I worked all day and didn't get a single piece of scrap.

Liu Yongqiang, watching from the side, couldn't help but speak.

"Xiao Wei is just a bit slow."

"Being slow is not a problem."

Ye Bingwen said.

"Slow and steady wins the race. Do the job well first, then increase the speed."

It wasn't until after 4 p.m. that Ye Bingwen finally sat down to rest for a while.

Liu Yongqiang poured him a glass of water

"Bingwen, do you think you can handle this batch of goods?"

"They can do it."

Ye Bingwen said.

"But there's something I need to tell you."

"you say."

"The people on your side are still lacking in technical skills. Relying on just Xiaojun and Xiaowei isn't enough. Where will you find more people when orders increase?"

Liu Yongqiang thought for a moment.

"Hire another one."

"Who did they recruit to teach them?"

Liu Yongqiang did not respond.

"I told Master Li."

Ye Bingwen said.