Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

The news that Beicheng Factory had Lin Xiuhe tell first spread throughout the department before noon.

When Zhao Guodong entered the lab with his lunchbox, there were still people talking at the door.

"Zhao Wenbo won first prize last year."

"It's not a big deal for a full-time technician at the research institute to win against a student."

"What if we lose?"

Zhao Guodong pushed the door open with his elbow.

"Someone outside is betting on how long you can hold out."

Lin Xiuhe is flipping through the maintenance records of the Beicheng factory.

"How much to bet?"

"No money, pawn a steamed bun."

"Then let them bet a few more."

Zhao Guodong moved closer to the table.

"Aren't you really going to go out and listen?"

"Do they know how the machines at the North City factory broke down?"

"have no idea."

"What's the point of listening to them?"

Zhao Guodong left with the lunchbox in his hand.

Li Mingyuan circled several dates with a pencil.

"Most of the breakdowns happen at the end of the month, with the night shift having the most."

"We're rushing to meet deadlines at the end of the month, so nobody dares to stop."

"Someone from the factory will come this afternoon to find out the details."

"Ask the night shift first."

In the afternoon, three people came to the North City Factory.

The maintenance team leader, Lao Guo; the night shift team leader, Sister Sun; and Accountant Liu from the finance department.

The three men carried their old records into the school, and Lin Xiuhe invited them into the cafeteria. The food window wasn't open yet; there was only hot water and a few enamel mugs on the table.

Zhao Wenbo also arrived with his assistant.

He placed the proposal on the table and pulled out a chair.

"The review hasn't even started yet, is it appropriate for you to talk to people from the factory first?"

Old Guo put the bundle of records on the table.

"We've delivered these things before. After that, you can continue doing things your own way."

Zhao Wenbo reached out and untied the rope binding the notebooks.

"Since everyone's here today, let's discuss any issues face-to-face."

"Then tell me." Lin Xiuhe handed the water to Sister Sun.

She first asked Accountant Liu, "How many days can the factory be shut down for the renovation of four machines?"

Zhao Wenbo answered quickly: "I've recalculated. If we split the work up, it can be completed in five days."

Accountant Liu took out an abacus from his cloth bag.

"Four machines are shut down in rotation, spanning five days across the month. If the batch of goods can't be delivered by the end of the month, the bonus will be deducted, and the people in the workshop won't agree to that."

"The budget has also been reduced."

"There's still a lot."

"It's only a little more now."

Accountant Liu moved the abacus beads back.

"The factory's accounts are calculated by the block, not by the piece."

Zhao Wenbo pulled the budget sheet closer to himself.

Sister Sun picked up the instruction manual and pointed to the second line.

"What does this word mean?"

Zhao Wenbo explained it again.

After listening, Sister Sun pushed the paper back.

"If it's really midnight and the lights are on, should I turn off the machine first, or call someone first?"

"We need to determine the nature of the malfunction first."

"If I could make my own judgments, would I need you to make changes?"

Old Guo took a sip of water.

"I asked about this last time. With two people watching four machines on the night shift, who has the time to stand in front of the cabinet and read the instructions?"

"We can provide training first."

Sister Sun asked, "Who will cover my night shifts during the training?"

"The factory has a shift system."

"If our team had enough people, we wouldn't be short of people for night shifts."

Zhao Wenbo's pen was pressed on the budget sheet, and the cap rolled to the edge of the table, where it was caught by his assistant.

Lin Xiuhe opened the maintenance record.

"This machine is most likely to shut down at the end of the month. What do the workers usually do when the safety system activates?"

Old Guo coughed.

"Take a detour if you can. If you stop overnight, the whole class will be fined the next day."

Zhao Wenbo looked up.

"Unauthorized removal of protective measures will be punished."

"I know," Lao Guo said, "but if we don't finish the work, we'll still be penalized. The workers will figure out which end to blame first."

Lin Xiuhe pushed those records next to Zhao Wenbo's proposal.

"Even with your suit, the protection will still be bypassed."

Zhao Wenbo turned the paper to the core design section.

"According to you, we don't even need to install protective devices?"

"We must do it."

"Then what's the point of changing it?"

Lin Xiuhe asked Sister Sun, "When the machine malfunctions, what's the first thing you want to know?"

"Can it still be opened?"

"Then tell her this first."

She pulled out a blank piece of paper.

"If it can be started, keep going. If the load is too high, stop part of it first. If it must be shut down, then call the maintenance team."

Sister Sun moved the chair forward a little.

"I can remember these three things."

Old Guo pointed to the paper.

"With the lights separated, the repair team will know which side to check first."

Accountant Liu asked, "Should we still dismantle the original control cabinet?"

Keep what you can use first. The money's already been spent once; don't exchange it all.

Zhao Wenbo brought the blueprints back.

"This change will affect the accuracy of the protection."

Lin Xiuhe turned to the middle page.

"No need to move here."

"You want to break my plan down?"

"The factory returns the entire set. They keep whichever part is usable."

Old Guo took the blueprints.

"That makes sense. We didn't say everything you made was bad; it's just that if we brought the whole thing over, we couldn't handle it."

Sister Sun patted the thick instruction booklet with the back of her hand.

"This needs to be changed. If I were to memorize it all, the machine would have stopped eight times already."

Accountant Liu put away his abacus and said before leaving, "Technician Zhao asked us what standards we needed to meet the last few times he came."

She picked up the ledger.

"Lin first asked how many days the factory could shut down and how much money was in the account. You have to ask all those questions, just in a different order."

Zhao Wenbo picked up the pen and wrote a few lines next to the plan.

"Who decides on the operational aspects?"

"You keep the protective part," Lin Xiuhe said. "Let Lao Guo and the others handle the rest. They know better than us how to do the night shift."

I'll send the revised draft tomorrow afternoon.

"The day after tomorrow morning."

Zhao Wenbo raised his head.

"You're changing the time for me again?"

"The review is next Wednesday. Submit it tomorrow afternoon; I only have one night left."

"One night isn't enough?"

"How long did it take you to finish this?"

Zhao Wenbo closed the file.

"The day after tomorrow morning."

After he finished speaking, he left with his assistant.

The three of them, including Lao Guo, left with their notes.

Only Lin Xiuhe, Li Mingyuan, and Zhou Zhiyuan remained in the canteen.

Li Mingyuan tidied the drafts scattered on the table into the project bag.

"The acceptance process is settled. I'll go ask Engineer Zheng. We'll proceed with the subsequent application projects as before."

"He may not let you choose who you want."

"Ask first."

"Did you submit your own materials?"

"I submitted it yesterday."

Lin Xiuhe looked up.

"So you've freed up your time to deal with me?"

Li Mingyuan tied the bag closed.

"Just asking, it won't take long."

Zhou Zhiyuan was tying up the repair records next to him.

"The training center told me to continue working with the North City factory."

Li Mingyuan asked, "No one's changing it?"

"have."

"Then why did I still ask you to go?"

"I've been there twice before, and the people at the factory recognize me. If it's someone else, I'll have to start all over again to find the door."

Li Mingyuan nodded.

"You are indeed familiar with it."

Zhou Zhiyuan picked up the paper bag.

"Save yourself from taking unnecessary detours."

Lin Xiuhe collected all the papers in front of the two of them.

"You guys divided up the work quite quickly."

Li Mingyuan said, "I'm only in charge of the research institute."

Zhou Zhiyuan placed the paper bag beside her.

"I only take on jobs assigned by the training center."

"The project hasn't been secured yet."

"Then take it first," Zhou Zhiyuan said.

The next morning, Zhao Wenbo arrived ahead of schedule.

The proposal he brought was almost half the size of the original.

The budget has been reduced significantly.

The originally planned twelve-day shutdown was changed to a four-day phased construction period.

The thick instruction manual had only two pages left.

"I've reorganized the points I mentioned yesterday."

Lin Xiuhe took the proposal and flipped through it from beginning to end.

The cost is still high, but it has already reached a point where the factory can continue to negotiate.

Night shift operations are also simpler.

Li Mingyuan took the budget sheet.

"The changes were made quite quickly."

Zhao Wenbo asked Lin Xiuhe, "And now?"

"It's ready for review."

"It doesn't sound like a compliment."

"We went there to judge, not to receive an award."

Zhao Wenbo stuffed the notebook back into his bag.

"The deputy director of the research institute will also be there."

"understood."

After he left, Lin Xiuhe turned to the last page.

An operational guide was specially added above.

Both Lao Guo and Sister Sun signed their names.

Lin Xiuhe flipped through the pages.

Of the three things that made the factory shake its head yesterday, Zhao Wenbo has already corrected two of them.