I started with a ship full of max-level veterans, and I'm just a complete noob.

"Jiang, I've been a fitter for thirty years, and I've never backed down in my life."

Old Sun gripped the edge of the worktable with both hands, managing to prop himself up.

Da Liu quickly stepped forward, wanting to help him up.

"Don't touch me!"

Old Sun flung Da Liu's hand away, his eyes as fierce as a wolf guarding its prey.

"Go, fill that large enamel mug with cold water, and get me two clean cotton towels."

Without saying a word, Da Liu turned around and ran towards the water room outside.

Old Sun walked to the water tank in the corner of the workshop, turned on the tap, and plunged his head directly into the icy cold water.

He held his breath for a full half minute before suddenly raising his head and forcefully shaking the water droplets off his hair.

"Open the furnace, let's do it!"

Old Sun walked to the grinding table, his voice hoarse like sandpaper grinding rust.

Workshop No. 1 has once again entered a tense state of rushing to complete its tasks.

The vulcanization of the second piece of material went smoothly.

When it came to the grinding process, Lao Sun seemed to enter a mysterious state.

He used his upper arm to move his wrist, drawing perfect arcs on the cast iron plate.

Forty minutes later, the second seal was produced.

The value was measured with a micrometer and was 0.08 micrometers.

Next, vacuum grease was applied using a micro-scraper, and the thickness was measured to be 4.8 micrometers.

The pressure test lasted for ten minutes, and the result was zero leakage.

A suppressed cheer erupted from the crowd.

Da Liu was so excited that he slapped his thigh, while Xiao Zhao pushed up his thick-rimmed glasses and grinned foolishly.

Wu Hanzhang stood to the side and let out a long breath.

Two items have been completed, more than halfway through the process.

Old Sun didn't laugh.

He took the wet towel that Da Liu handed him, wiped his face haphazardly, and immediately picked up the third rough stone.

"continue."

There was a hint of weariness in Lao Sun's voice.

Vulcanization, demolding, and cooling.

Old Sun sat back down at the grinding table and pressed his hands against the seal.

Shake, shake, shake.

The monotonous sound of friction echoed through the workshop.

Like a silent shadow, Da Liu stood guard behind Lao Sun.

He carried a vat of cold water in his hand and had a dry towel draped over his shoulder, ready to hand his master tools at any time.

Time passed second by second.

The grinding of the third piece has been underway for thirty-five minutes.

Only a few more cuts of feed are needed to complete the task.

Just then, an accident happened.

Old Sun's right wrist suddenly twitched violently.

Maintaining micron-level muscle tension for extended periods pushed both the old worker's nerves and muscles to their limits.

呲!

A slight yet jarring noise came from the grinding disc.

Old Sun's movements froze instantly in mid-air.

The color drained from his face at a visible speed, turning him deathly pale.

The air in the workshop seemed to freeze instantly.

Da Liu's hand holding the water vat suddenly trembled, spilling water all over the ground.

Wu Hanzhang felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly by a large hand, and he almost couldn't breathe.

"Is it ruined?"

Xiao Zhao's voice was trembling.

Old Sun didn't say anything.

He slowly turned the seal over and stared intently at it.

A faint scratch, almost invisible to the naked eye, appeared on the edge of the smooth sealing surface.

However, this is an extreme workpiece that requires a precision of 0.1 micrometers. Even a tiny scratch can be a fatal leakage channel under high vacuum conditions.

"My useless hand!"

Old Sun gritted his teeth, and his eyes instantly reddened.

He raised his right hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

Jiang Ming reacted quickly and grabbed Lao Sun's wrist.

"Don't worry, he's not quite dead yet."

Jiang Ming spoke calmly, his gaze fixed on the scratch.

"The scratch is on the edge, and it is very shallow. It has not cut off the effective contact surface of the entire sealing ring."

Old Sun was stunned, a faint light flashing in his lifeless eyes.

"Can it be saved?"

Old Sun asked in a trembling voice.

"Use the finest grade of diamond powder for localized repair."

Jiang Ming released Lao Sun's hand and continued, "But this is ten times harder than re-grinding it. The feed rate must be controlled within a very small range. If it's even slightly heavy, the material will be completely ruined. Master Sun, do you dare to try?"

Old Sun bit his lip so hard that it drew blood.

He tasted the sweet and pungent flavor, and his eyes instantly turned fervent.

"Big Liu, bring me the finest sandpaper!"

Old Sun roared.

Da Liu scrambled to get the mortar.

Old Sun sat down again.

He closed his eyes, took three deep breaths, and forcibly suppressed the muscle spasms.

He squeezed out a tiny amount of mortar and applied it to the scratch.

This time, he didn't use his hands.

He used only the index and middle fingers of his right hand to press down on the workpiece, while his left hand gripped his right wrist tightly to prevent his hand from shaking again.

sand.

It was so light it was almost inaudible.

Sweat the size of soybeans instantly burst from Old Sun's forehead, trickling down his eyebrows and into his eyes.

He didn't even dare to blink, letting the sweat sting his eyes until they turned red.

sand.

one more time.

For a full ten minutes, Old Sun seemed to be sculpting a fragile, rare treasure.

The entire workshop was so quiet you could hear the sound of sweat hitting the ground.

"stop."

Jiang Ming suddenly spoke.

Old Sun's body went limp, and his hands left the worktable.

Da Liu rushed over and carefully wiped the seal clean with a cotton cloth.

He picked up the micrometer, but his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't get the gauge right.

"I'll do it."

Jiang Ming took the micrometer and positioned it at the repair point.

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

Jiang Ming glanced at the scale and looked up.

"0.095 micrometers, the crimping is qualified."

"call!"

Wu Hanzhang plopped down on the wooden box next to him, panting heavily.

The extreme work these workers did was even more agonizing than looking at a list of executioners.

Old Sun didn't dare to relax and immediately took out a miniature scraper.

Vacuum grease was applied, and a sample was taken for inspection; the result was 4.9 micrometers.

"Get on the testing platform."

Old Sun shouted in a hoarse voice.

The seal was installed into the test bench and pressurized to 0.5 atmospheres.

These were ten agonizing minutes.

The ticking of the stopwatch was like a hammer, striking everyone's nerves again and again.

One minute.

three minutes.

five minutes.

Old Sun stared intently at the watch face, forgetting even to breathe.

Da Liu kept rubbing his hands together beside him.

Eight minutes.

The pointer remained as steady as Mount Tai.

Nine minutes.

Still nothing.

Ten minutes exactly.

Jiang Ming pressed the stopwatch and said loudly, "Zero leaks. Third item, done!"

boom!

Old Sun collapsed onto the worktable, his shoulders twitching violently.

This old fitter, who had worked for thirty years and was known for his foul language, burst into tears like a child.

It was a pure release of pressure, and also an ecstatic joy after breaking through the limits of one's skills.

With red eyes, Da Liu walked over and silently placed a dry towel around his master's neck.

Wu Hanzhang's eyes welled up with tears as he watched this scene.

He knew that these workers, who were not highly educated, were more ruthless than anyone else when they were willing to fight.

This is the backbone of China's new industrial system.

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

The last seal successfully completed all the procedures and passed the pressure test.

Four micron-sized fluororubber seals were neatly stacked on a tray covered with a clean white cloth.

They are shiny black, exuding a captivating industrial beauty.

Jiang Ming picked up the tray and walked to Wu Hanzhang.

"Mr. Wu, all the seals are in place."

Jiang Ming spoke calmly, as if the thrilling life-or-death battle that had just taken place had never happened.

Wu Hanzhang suddenly stood up, his eyes sharp.

"Good lad, you really cracked this tough nut!"

"Right now, we've just assembled the parts."

Jiang Ming turned his head to look at the bulky Soviet rotary vane pump in the center of the workshop.

"Now we'll start disassembling the pump in preparation for final assembly."

Wu Hanzhang immediately rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Liu, Zhao, get a wrench, disassemble the pump!"

Several people immediately surrounded it and skillfully disassembled the outer casing of the rotary vane pump.

Jiang Ming stood to the side, holding the detailed modification drawings in his hand.

He looked at the inside of the disassembled pump body, and his brows slowly furrowed.

"Mr. Jiang, what's wrong?"

Holding the oil-stained wrench, Da Liu asked in confusion.

Jiang Ming pointed to the thick exhaust valve spring inside the pump body.

"The sealing components solved the problems of thermal expansion and tolerance, but to break through the vacuum threshold of 10 to the power of negative 5 Pascals, the exhaust valve must be modified accordingly."

Jiang Ming stared at the spring, his tone grave.

"The preload of this original Soviet spring is too high. Under high vacuum conditions, the residual gas in the pump chamber simply cannot push open the valve plate and cannot be discharged."

Wu Hanzhang leaned over for a look, and his face darkened.

"How do you want to change it?"

"The drawings state that the preload of the exhaust valve spring must be reduced precisely by 40%, and at the same time, three very fine guide grooves must be cut into the valve plate."

Jiang Ming looked at Wu Hanzhang with a serious expression.

"Mr. Wu, does your factory have equipment that can precisely control spring tension and create micron-level grooves on carbide valve plates?"