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

In the days that followed, Ye Bingwen divided his time into three parts.

He no longer misses Professor Zhao's classes.

Even after class, he would proactively go up to ask questions and catch up on what he had missed in the previous weeks.

Professor Zhao's gaze softened considerably.

The foundation of the new factory building is under maintenance, and he goes to check it every morning to make sure there are no cracks or settlement.

Orders for the old factory are still being fulfilled, and Mr. Li and his team are working overtime.

The press that Liu Xiaojun repaired also came in handy, and the stamping efficiency was much higher than before.

An'an recently learned to write his own name, and every day when he comes home, I write it down in my notebook for him to see.

Zheng Shuyun often reads late into the night to prepare for the exam.

That afternoon, he had just come out of the library when his pager vibrated.

It was Wang Guoqiang calling back.

"Director Ye, Professor Cai called. He said the graduate students have all been arranged and will be able to come next Monday."

"They're asking if we're ready on our end."

"Ready."

Ye Bingwen said.

"Tell Professor Cai that I'll be waiting at the factory at nine o'clock on Monday morning."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Bingwen rode his bicycle to the factory.

He called Liu Xiaojun over and gave him an instruction.

"Xiaojun, a graduate student from Harbin Military Engineering Institute will be coming next Monday. You'll be in charge of learning from him."

"Write carefully down how they adjust the equipment, how they mix the materials, and how they control the temperature. If you don't understand, ask; don't pretend you know."

"Understood, Uncle Ye."

Liu Xiaojun nodded.

"Should the press be adjusted again?"

"Adjust it. Go through all the problems you can think of in the next couple of days, so that we don't find out the equipment is faulty when people arrive."

Liu Xiaojun responded and turned to go to the workshop.

Master Li listened from the side and only spoke after Liu Xiaojun left.

"Xiao Ye, what good things do you think that graduate student can bring?"

"have no idea."

Ye Bingwen said.

"But Professor Cai has the technology, and we have the equipment. If we put the two together, we can always make something of it."

"What about Ma Li?"

Master Li lowered his voice.

"Has the supplier issue still not been resolved?"

"It's not resolved."

Ye Bingwen lit a cigarette

"But the inventory is enough for half a month. If the trial production of composite materials is successful within half a month, then we won't have to worry about the steel."

On the construction site of the new factory in the distance, the concrete has been curing for almost a week.

Director Sun sends people to water the plants every day.

When Ye Bingwen walked over, Director Sun was squatting by the foundation pit, tapping and banging on it with a small hammer.

"Director Sun, is there a problem?"

"no problem."

Director Sun stood up.

"At this rate, the steel structure will be installed in another ten days."

"Thanks a lot."

"What's so hard about it? We're just doing our jobs for a paycheck."

Director Sun dusted off his hands.

"But Xiao Ye, I have something to tell you. I've heard about the steel issue. If you're short of materials, let me know in advance and I'll arrange it for you."

Ye Bingwen was taken aback.

Director Sun is taking the initiative to show goodwill.

It seems that Ma Li's actions have begun to cause a chain reaction—not everyone is willing to follow Ma Li's lead.

"Okay. Thank you, Director Sun."

After returning from the construction site, Ye Bingwen went to his office.

On the table was the performance data sheet that Professor Cai had given him, which he had already read many times.

The data is fine, the process is fine, the problem is the time—there are still more than twenty days until the final exams.

The trial production of composite materials takes at least one to two weeks. With the two tasks happening at the same time, he has to calculate every minute carefully.

Ye Bingwen went to the factory early Saturday morning.

Liu Xiaojun had inspected the press from start to finish, and even replaced the hydraulic oil with new one.

The old factory floor was also cleaned up thoroughly.

"Xiao Jun, well done."

Ye Bingwen looked around inside and out.

"The graduate student is coming on Monday. Go with him to take a look at the new factory."

"We need to move that press to the new factory. You can discuss the relocation location with them."

"Moving to a new factory?"

Liu Xiaojun was a little surprised.

"What about the old factory building?"

"We'll use the old factory building for now. We'll do trial production at the new factory building, so neither will be delayed."

Liu Xiaojun nodded.

Master Li came out of the workshop, holding a tin box in his hand.

"Xiao Ye, what's this?"

He handed the box over.

When Ye Bingwen opened it, he found several pieces of stamped motor housing scrap with cracks at the edges.

"When was this taken?"

"They were stamped the day before yesterday. I don't know what happened, but these few pieces cracked as soon as they came out of the press."

"Using the same materials and the same molds, the first few pieces were fine, but these few won't work."

Ye Bingwen picked up a piece and examined it carefully.

The cracks are all located in the same place and are all similar in shape.

This doesn't seem like randomly generated defective products; it's more like a change in some parameter.

"Xiao Jun, come and take a look."

Liu Xiaojun leaned over and took a look.

"Is this a problem with the materials?"

He wasn't quite sure.

"uncertain."

Ye Bingwen put the waste back into the box.

"Leave it for now, and let the graduate student help analyze it when he comes on Monday."

He handed the box to Mr. Li.

"Mr. Li, don't throw this batch of scrap away yet, keep it."

"OK."

In the afternoon, when Ye Bingwen returned home, Zheng Shuyun was reading an English book in the living room.

An'an sat on the ground building blocks.

"Dad! Look what I built!"

An'an pointed at the block tower with a smug look on her face.

Ye Bingwen squatted down and took a look.

"What is An'an wearing?"

"The factory! This is Dad's factory!"

Ye Bingwen smiled.

An'an now associates everything with factories.

We draw factories, build factories with blocks, and even tell stories about factory workers at night.

Zheng Shuyun looked up from her book.

"Why are you back so early today?"

"Nothing much is happening at the factory, so I came back to check on things."

Ye Bingwen sat on the sofa.

"How's your English reading going?"

"It's alright. I've memorized quite a few words, but I still don't quite understand the grammar."

Let me take a look.

Ye Bingwen took the book and flipped through it.

The arrangement of this correspondence course textbook is not very reasonable, and the grammar points are scattered everywhere, which can easily confuse beginners.

"Start reading from Chapter 3; skip the earlier chapters for now."

He pointed to the table of contents with his finger.

"Chapter 3 covers basic sentence structures. If you master this chapter, the rest will be much easier."

Zheng Shuyun looked at him with suspicion.

How did you know?

"I've read it once. Chapter 3 is the core; the first two chapters are just fluff."

Zheng Shuyun didn't turn to Chapter 3 of the book; she started reading again.

The sky outside the window gradually darkened.

Today is Saturday, and tomorrow is Sunday, so he has a whole day to study.

Next Monday is the day Professor Cai's graduate students arrive, which will also mark the start of a new phase of work.

Things are happening one after another, take it slow.

Ye Bingwen did not go to class on Monday morning.