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

"Once the blueprints are finished, build it yourself on the machine tool. If it doesn't fit, revise the blueprints. After revising, build it again, and then assemble it."

"What about our students? They're good at drawing and do well on exams, but they show their weakness as soon as they enter the factory."

"The blueprints are drawn beautifully, but the workshop foreman says they can't make it."

"Why? Because without practical experience, they don't know that the lines on the blueprints turn into iron filings on the machine tool."

He paused.

"Harbin Institute of Technology is the cradle of engineers. But what is an engineer?"

"It's not just about being able to draw, it's about being able to turn drawings into products."

He looked at Professor Zhao.

"Professor Zhao's concerns are valid; students cannot just do chores without studying."

"But conversely, what kind of people are produced if they only study but don't work? They become armchair strategists."

"So I support this."

He turned to Ye Bingwen.

"Xiao Ye, you can use that land. But there's one condition—you have to turn the factory into a practical training base for the school."

"To ensure that students come and learn real skills."

"Principal Liu, please rest assured. I will personally supervise every batch of students who come for practical training. I will teach them real skills, not just empty promises."

"Okay. It's settled then. Director Liu, you'll take care of the paperwork."

Director Liu nodded.

"Yes, Principal."

Professor Zhao stood up, picked up the enamel mug, and took a sip of water.

"Xiao Ye, I was a bit harsh just now, please don't take it to heart."

"Professor Zhao, please don't say that. You're right. A student's primary task is to study."

The meeting adjourned.

Ye Bingwen followed Director Liu to the office.

Director Liu took out a land use application form from the drawer.

"Please fill this out. After you're done, I'll get the principal to sign it and then stamp it."

Ye Bingwen sat down.

The land use nature, land area, construction content, and term of use should all be clearly stated.

After filling it out, I handed it to Director Liu.

Director Liu took the form to the principal's office.

About ten minutes later, Director Liu returned.

An official seal was affixed to the bottom of the form.

"Here you go. From today onwards, that land is yours."

Ye Bingwen took the watch.

He carefully folded the watch and put it in his bag.

"Director Liu, I'd like to name this factory 'Harbin Institute of Technology Mechanical Training Precision Machining Factory,' what do you think?"

Director Liu thought about it.

"This name is good. It includes practical training, precision, and processing, which aligns with the school's positioning."

"I'll talk to the principal, it should be fine."

"Then it's settled."

Ye Bingwen stood up.

"Director Liu, thank you."

"Don't thank me. Running the factory well is more important than anything else."

Ye Bingwen came out of the office building and stood on the playground for a while.

Three acres of land and an 800-square-meter factory are enough.

He squatted down and grabbed a handful of soil.

The soil quality is okay, but there is a soft soil layer underneath. It's fine for building ordinary factory buildings, but not for heavy machine tool factories.

The foundation must be treated, otherwise the new machine tool will inevitably develop problems sooner or later.

He dusted off his hands, got on his bicycle, and rode back to the factory.

Master Li came to greet him.

"How is it?"

"It's done."

Mr. Li was stunned for a moment.

"It really worked?"

"It's really done. That piece of land next to the school playground is ours now."

Master Li looked at the form stamped with a red seal in his hand and remained silent for a long time.

"Xiao Ye, I'm truly impressed by you."

"Don't give up yet. The factory hasn't even been built yet."

Ye Bingwen walked to the workbench and sat down.

"Master Li, I need to finish the construction drawings tonight. If the foundation issue isn't resolved properly, the new machine tool will break down sooner or later."

"Are you going to draw now? Not going home tonight?"

"I'm not going back. Tell Shuyun that I'm working overtime tonight."

Master Li sighed.

Ye Bingwen lit a cigarette.

He had factory blueprints in his mind; before his rebirth, he had designed three factories for people in Foshan.

He thought for a moment and then began to draw.

The factory building has a span of 12 meters, a length of 60 meters, and a width of 7.2 meters.

The walls are made of red bricks, the roof is made of precast concrete slabs, and the floor is made of concrete.

These are all easy to discuss.

The key lies in the foundation.

Heavy-duty machine tools have particularly high requirements for the foundation.

Vibration frequency, bearing capacity, and settlement are all subject to strict standards.

His current factory building is made of rammed earth, covered with a layer of gravel, and then poured with concrete.

We didn't have any money back then, so this was the only way we could do it.

But the new factory can't be built like that.

He marked a plan on the drawings—replacement with crushed stone.

First, dig away 1.5 meters of soft soil, replace it with graded crushed stone, and compact it in layers.

Each layer should be no more than 30 centimeters thick and compressed to a density of over 95%.

Then, a 20-centimeter-thick reinforced concrete base slab is poured on the crushed stone layer, reinforced with double-layer bidirectional steel bars.

This allows for a load-bearing capacity of over 15 tons per square meter, meaning even heavy-duty machines placed on it will not settle for ten years.

He also drew a cross-sectional diagram of the foundation, marking the thickness, materials, and construction requirements of each layer.

He drew picture after picture, until midnight.

When Master Li returned, he had already drawn seven or eight pictures.

"Xiao Ye, have something to eat. I brought you some steamed buns."

Ye Bingwen continued drawing while eating.

Master Li stood to the side and looked at the pictures.

"You drew this drawing with even more detail than our factory's technicians."

"You can't do it without drawing detailed lines. The construction team works according to the drawings. If you miss even one line, they'll make a mistake."

"Who are you planning to hire for the construction?"

"Contact the school's infrastructure department. They have construction teams that have experience with teaching buildings and labs, so they should be able to handle it."

"Do they understand anything about the foundation?"

"I might not understand. So I need to talk to the construction team's technician in person tomorrow and explain the plan clearly."

Master Li shook his head.

"You're the kind of person who always has to keep an eye on everything yourself."

"I can't feel at ease unless I keep an eye on it."

Ye Bingwen finished drawing the last picture and put down his pen.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight. Go see the infrastructure department first thing tomorrow morning."

He carefully put away each of the blueprints.

My lower back ached a little when I stood up.

He stretched his neck and walked out of the factory.

It was completely dark.

He got on his bicycle and headed home.

When he arrived home, Zheng Shuyun was waiting for him in the living room.

Have you eaten?

"I ate it. The steamed buns that Master Li brought."

"Is the factory construction settled?"

"It's settled. We'll start looking for a construction team tomorrow and try to get it up and running before spring."

Ye Bingwen stood at the door and looked around; An'an was sleeping soundly.

He gently closed the door and returned to the living room to sit down.

Zheng Shuyun placed a cup of hot tea in front of him.

"You're so busy every day, can your body handle it?"

"It's manageable. Much easier than farming in Daxing Village."

Ye Bingwen sipped his tea, his mind still racing.

The factory building is settled; the next step is construction.

Orders are increasing, and the current four people are not enough.

You can't just hire anyone; you have to hire people with technical skills.

Ideally, they should be recruited from mechanical engineering graduates, as they have a theoretical foundation and can learn quickly.

He took out his notebook and jotted down a few more notes.

Zheng Shuyun glanced at it.

"When can you take a break?"

"We'll take a break once the factory is on track."

"When do we know we're on the right track?"

Ye Bingwen thought for a moment.

"Soon."