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

"Section Chief Wang."

Ye Bingwen handed the list to Wang Guoqiang.

"I'll buy all these things tomorrow."

Wang Guoqiang took the list.

Chen An then squatted down to inspect the heating system of the press.

Liu Xiaojun assisted him from the side, handing him wrenches and tightening screws; they worked together very well.

Ye Bingwen, watching from the side, suddenly found the scene quite interesting—a graduate student from Harbin Military Engineering Institute and an apprentice from the factory.

Two people squatted together, studying an old machine.

This is what he wants.

Only by combining technical expertise from schools with practical experience in factories can something truly effective be produced.

As darkness fell, Chen An packed up his tools and prepared to leave.

"Director Ye, I'll come again tomorrow. I've checked out the equipment today and have a better understanding of it. We'll start preparing small-scale trial production tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Chen."

"It's not hard work."

Chen An picked up his tool bag.

"Professor Cai said I can learn something from him. I'm here to learn too."

Ye Bingwen escorted him to the door.

The jeep was already waiting by the roadside.

"See you tomorrow, Xiao Chen."

"See you tomorrow."

Ye Bingwen stood at the factory gate, watching the jeep drive away.

Liu Xiaojun ran out of the workshop, his face beaming with joy.

"Uncle Ye, this Engineer Chen is really amazing. I've never heard of any of the things he's talking about before."

"Did you understand?"

I understood half of it.

Liu Xiaojun scratched his head.

"But I wrote down everything he said and will think about it slowly when I get back."

Ye Bingwen patted him on the shoulder.

"Study hard. Once you've mastered it, you'll be the first person in our factory to understand composite materials."

Liu Xiaojun nodded vigorously.

Director Sun was still at the construction site of the new factory.

He stood at the edge of the foundation pit, shining a flashlight on the concrete surface to check for cracks.

Ye Bingwen walked over.

"Director Sun, why aren't you leaving so late?"

"There's still a section that hasn't been watered."

Director Sun pointed to the other end of the foundation pit.

"I'll work overtime today to finish watering this section, and start maintenance tomorrow."

Ye Bingwen shone a flashlight on the parts that had already been watered.

The concrete surface is smooth and flat.

Although Director Sun is conservative, his work is truly impeccable.

"Director Sun, thank you for your hard work."

"What's so hard about it?"

Director Sun lit a cigarette.

"Xiao Ye, I have something to tell you. Yesterday, Section Chief Liu from Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill called me."

Ye Bingwen's heart skipped a beat.

"What did he say?"

"He didn't say it explicitly, but the implication was that he was asking if there were any problems with your factory's steel supply."

I told him I didn't know and that I should let him ask you directly.

Ye Bingwen remained silent for a moment.

"Director Sun, what's your opinion?"

"I think some people want to hold you back, but not everyone is willing to follow suit."

Director Sun exhaled a puff of smoke.

"I know Section Chief Liu; he's not the kind of person who's willing to offend people."

"Try to talk to him sometime; maybe you can get some information out of him."

Ye Bingwen noted it down.

When they got home, An'an was already asleep. Zheng Shuyun sat in the living room reading a book.

Have you eaten?

"I ate at the factory."

"Are you done with work at the factory?"

"It's still early."

Ye Bingwen sat on the sofa and covered An'an with the blanket she had kicked off.

"The foundation for the new factory is being poured, and composite materials are being trial-produced; there's a ton of work to do."

"How's your final exam preparation going?"

"Reviewing."

Zheng Shuyun glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions.

She knew Ye Bingwen's temperament; there was no need to rush him.

Ye Bingwen opened his textbook and continued reading.

An'an rolled over, her little hand sticking out from under the covers.

Ye Bingwen tucked her in and then leaned down to kiss her cheek.

Outside the window, the night wind of Harbin was howling.

There were still lights on at the construction site of the new factory, and Director Sun was still working overtime.

Chen An came again early the next morning.

He came by himself on a bicycle this time.

A canvas bag was tied to the back seat of the car.

"Xiao Chen, why did you ride your bike here by yourself today?"

Ye Bingwen went to greet him.

"Professor Cai said that from now on I will have to run errands myself, and he will not provide a car."

Chen An propped up the bicycle.

"It's not far anyway, only a 20-minute bike ride."

Ye Bingwen helped him carry the bag and found it was quite heavy.

"What's in here?"

"The mold. Professor Cai asked me to bring it over."

Chen An opened the bag; inside was a steel plate mold.

"This is a simple mold used in the lab. We'll use this to make a small sample first, thoroughly understand the process parameters, and then make a larger mold."

Liu Xiaojun came over to take a look.

The mold surface was polished very smooth, and locating pin holes were drilled at the four corners.

"Brother Chen, did you make this mold yourselves?"

"Yes. Professor Cai's lab has a small milling machine, and we milled them ourselves."

"it's beautiful."

Liu Xiaojun reached out and touched the surface of the mold.

"It's much smoother than the molds in our factory."

"That's been ground."

Chen An smiled.

"The surface finish of the mold for composite materials is required to be high. If it is too rough, the product will be difficult to demold and the surface will not look good."

Ye Bingwen watched from the side.

Chen Anbi was much more relaxed yesterday.

Liu Xiaojun and he became familiar with each other, and the two squatted next to the press and began to discuss how to assemble the mold.

"Xiao Jun, go and clean the press table."

Chen An said.

Liu Xiaojun took a rag and wiped the upper and lower surfaces of the press machine clean.

"No, there are still iron filings."

Chen An wiped the table surface with his finger.

"Give it some sandpaper."

Liu Xiaojun then found a piece of fine sandpaper and carefully sanded the countertop.

Chen An nodded before placing the mold on top.

Ye Bingwen turned and went to his office.

Wang Guoqiang was already waiting, holding the purchase list that Chen Anlie had given him yesterday.

"Director Ye, I've looked at everything on the list. Resistors, capacitors, operational amplifiers—these things can be bought at hardware stores." "I asked several suppliers, but none of them have the thyristors in stock. I'll have to order them, and it'll take about a week to arrive."

"Order first. Buy whatever you can get first, no rush."

Ye Bingwen opened yesterday's notebook.

"Section Chief Wang, there's one more thing."

"Please speak."

Do you know Section Chief Liu from Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill?

Wang Guoqiang was stunned for a moment.

"I know him, we've crossed paths a few times. What's up?"

"Director Sun said that Section Chief Liu called yesterday to inquire about our factory's steel supply situation."

"Find some time to invite Section Chief Liu to dinner and find out what's going on. See if he genuinely wants to help or is just relaying a message for someone else."

Wang Guoqiang nodded.

"Understood. I'll make plans with him in the next couple of days."

Wang Guoqiang went out.

Ye Bingwen opened his textbook; he had already asked for leave from this morning's classes.

But there's another "Principles of Machinery" class in the afternoon, which I can't miss.

Taking advantage of this free time, he reviewed the chapter on fatigue intensity that Professor Zhao had discussed yesterday.

The sound of a press starting up could be heard from outside the window.

Ye Bingwen looked up and glanced at it.

Chen An and Liu Xiaojun have already started trial production.

Ye Bingwen continued reading.