Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

After finishing my work, I returned to the office, made a cup of hot tea, leaned back in my chair for five minutes to nap, and then unfolded the unfinished drawing of the "hot water heater," and started wielding my pen.

It's so comfortable living in Beijing—after a hearty breakfast, a stroll around the factory, a cup of tea and a newspaper in the office, and a couple of pages of a book when you're free.

Hong Kong Island? It's like being bombarded with problems the moment you open your eyes: beverage factories are pressing for formulas, breweries are reporting their cellar needs, traditional Chinese medicine shops are running out of herbs, boxing gyms are scheduling classes... You're running around to four different places a day, your feet barely touching the ground, and there's still a mountain of work to do.

The boxing gym's students were quite sensible; after delivering the congratulatory gift, they voluntarily suspended classes—the gift money was equivalent to half a year's tuition. He Yuzhu then used this opportunity to get them jobs at the factory: security team, delivery group, with wages significantly higher than outside. They were all extremely grateful, their voices trembling as they called him "Master," treating him like a second parent.

Before he returns to Hong Kong, the boxing gym can continue to operate as usual, and his mother will take over, which is as stable as a mountain.

As he finished the last stroke of the drawing, he glanced at the clock on the wall—it was still a quarter of an hour before lunch.

Recently, a culture of frugality has swept through the factory. With such strict discipline, even when the factory director from a neighboring unit comes to visit, the hospitality has to be carefully considered. As for providing special meals for the leaders? Forget about it. Li Huaide, being sensible, had long ago stopped the practice of dining alone with others.

If you get reported, it's no laughing matter.

Now he shows up at the canteen every day on time, queuing up for meals with the workers, and he seems to enjoy his food. This makes him appear approachable and earns him a good reputation for "sharing weal and woe." The key point is—the food at the canteen is actually quite good.

He Yuzhu took the newly drawn blueprints and headed straight for Li Huaide's office. He knocked twice, and a "Come in" came from inside. He pushed the door open and entered.

"Hey, Zhu Zi! Newlyweds already coming to work? Did your wife let you out?"

Li Huaide chuckled and got up to make him some tea, but He Yuzhu quickly stopped him: "Stop, stop, Brother Li, I've had too much water today, really, no need."

He casually tossed the blueprints onto the table, grinned, and said, "I'm here to give you credit for this. You said you felt uneasy about not calling you last time, so I came ahead of time this time to give you a share of the credit. You get to see it first!"

Li Huaide was taken aback, then chuckled. He opened the drawing and raised an eyebrow. The drawing depicted a small, unfamiliar object, densely packed with data that he couldn't understand, but He Yuzhu's handwritten annotations on the side were crystal clear.

"Heats up quickly?" he murmured, his eyes lighting up. "That's a pretty straightforward name... It really is a good product! Will it work? How did you come up with that?"

He Yuzhu scratched his head and said, half-jokingly, "This morning I was boiling water for my wife. I sat in front of the stove for ages, the fire was burning too much coal, and the water still wouldn't boil. I thought, fire boils water by 'scalding,' right? If I just put something hot directly into the water, wouldn't that be faster? It saves coal and time, what a bargain!"

After hearing this, Li Huaide slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Brilliant! Your mind works faster than a motor! Let's go find Section Chief Zhou right now!"

The two of them moved with lightning speed, heading straight for the technical department.

Section Chief Zhou was engrossed in reading documents when he looked up and saw Deputy Factory Director Li and Director He approaching together. He was immediately taken aback: "Deputy Factory Director Li? Director He? What... what serious incident has occurred?"

Without saying a word, Li Huaide handed over the blueprints: "Director He has come up with a new invention, a special device for boiling water, called 'Quick Heating Water.' Take a look and see if you can build it."

Upon hearing that it was He Yuzhu who had done it, Section Chief Zhou immediately became interested and unfolded the drawings to examine them closely. As expected of someone with a professional background, he understood the structural principles in just a few glances and became more and more excited as he looked at them.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "Such a simple heating device solves the problem of boiling water in winter! It consumes little electricity, can automatically shut off, and safety has been taken into consideration... If this were widely adopted, the entire factory would save countless amounts of coal!"

He couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "He Yuzhu, your design looks simple, but it's actually thoughtful and practical—a true stroke of genius!"

Taking the opportunity, Li Huaide asked, "Section Chief Zhou, can this thing be made?"

"A piece of cake." Section Chief Zhou waved his hand. "A few fitters can handle it, and even Director He can assemble it himself."

Before he could finish speaking, He Yuzhu quickly waved his hand: "No, no, no, Section Chief Zhou, I don't have the authority to assign production tasks. This is something you should do."

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Zhou laughed: "Why don't we just transfer you to the technical section? You've been learning from Engineer Sharif for a few days, and your skill level is almost on par with the students I've taught for three years. We have so many people here who can't come up with this kind of idea even if they rack their brains."

He Yuzhu grinned: "Thanks, Section Chief Zhou, but I feel more at ease staying in the cafeteria. Cooking is my family's traditional skill, I can't change it."

Then he asked, "So this heats up quickly...?"

"No problem!" Section Chief Zhou made the decision decisively. "I'll send two people right now to do it according to the blueprints."

After speaking, he immediately called two technicians to write task sheets, collect materials, and arrange processing. The drawings and data provided by He Yuzhu were so detailed that even the error range was clearly marked. Many people in the technical department admired his attention to detail.

The electric kettle has a simple structure and is not complicated to make. Before I had even finished digesting my lunch, the technical department sent someone to inform me that the food was ready.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Factory Director Yang was rushing to Workshop Three with a dark expression.

He was completely confused when he received the notification, but after asking what happened, he understood that He Yuzhu had come up with a new invention, the finished product was already out, and he had even specially invited Li Huaide to inspect it together.

Tell him to go and see how it goes too.

Factory Director Yang was actually happy to see innovation in the factory, but what bothered him most was that every time there was a breakthrough, Li Huaide would always be the first to get involved. And He Yuzhu would even actively pull him in to support him, clearly dividing the credit.

If this continues...

He sighed, his steps heavy as if he were walking on cotton.

Factory Director Yang sighed inwardly, regretting that he shouldn't have sent Yi Zhonghai to try and win over He Yuzhu. This guy clearly had a grudge against He Yuzhu, yet he confidently assured everyone he could handle it, and now he'd completely ruined everything.

Yi Zhonghai is an incredibly frivolous person. Fortunately, he volunteered to go to the western region for reconstruction work—it's good that he left, and things will be peaceful now.

In truth, Director Yang knew perfectly well that judging from Yi Zhonghai's flustered appearance, he probably hadn't left voluntarily. Could someone who didn't even know what dedication was suddenly enlightened? Nobody believed it.

But since someone had signed up, it was a political achievement for the factory leaders. Besides, he didn't like Yi Zhonghai anyway, so he simply went along with it and registered the person for the competition.

When he arrived at Workshop 3, a group of people were already waiting there, and he was the only one missing.

"Section Chief Zhou, Director He, you've prepared another big gift for me," Factory Director Yang said with a smile, but there was a hint of something else in his words.

Section Chief Zhou, focused solely on the technical aspects, failed to grasp the underlying meaning and instead cheerfully chimed in, "Factory Director, you've misunderstood. This time, it's all thanks to He Yuzhu. I simply assigned him a task; although the item is small, if it's truly widely adopted, it can save a considerable amount of coal in the winter."

It is an inconspicuous little gadget that can benefit the country and its people. The key is that the steel rolling mill can mass-produce it itself.

While Director Yang was away, He Yuzhu explained the principle: a heating element, along with a lid and a wooden stopper, makes a "fast-heating immersion heater." The most difficult part is the power switch, but any skilled craftsman can make it by following the blueprints.

We'll assign a group of people to specialize in this, ensuring continuous production throughout the year and a stable output.

This "winter essential" isn't idle even in summer—when don't Chinese people boil water to make tea every day? There's no need to worry about sales.

"Director Yang, look, this is the electric kettle designed by Director He." Section Chief Zhou gestured for someone to hand it over, then personally handed it to Director Yang, his tone full of praise. "Simple structure, highly practical, and it can even generate revenue. With Director He's brains, he's more than qualified to be the deputy head of the technical department."

Speaking of which, from its inception to its current status as a leading machine tool project, every step of the technical department's success is inseparable from He Yuzhu. Even the technical cooperation with engineer Sharif was made possible thanks to He Yuzhu's connections.

"It's definitely a good product; it can be used all year round." Factory Director Yang took it and examined it. Its appearance was indeed simple, but the next second his brow furrowed. "What? There's still water on it?"

"Oh, we tried getting it stuck once before," Section Chief Zhou explained. "We tested the performance first. Now that the factory manager is here, we can try it again. We'll need to do repeated tests to see the lifespan limit of the heating element..."

You didn't even wait for me, the factory manager, to arrive for your tests?!

Factory Director Yang was furious, but he kept a straight face and nodded with a smile: "Alright, then I'll broaden my horizons today too."

As soon as he finished speaking, a staff member brought over a kettle of cold water, inserted the electric kettle into it, turned it on, and started it up.

The onlookers held their breath in anticipation. Section Chief Zhou seized the opportunity to explain, "Director He's design is very meticulous. It automatically cuts off the power when the time is up, saving electricity, protecting the heating element, and most importantly—preventing fires caused by improper use by the public."

The workers nearby nodded in agreement. Even they, as first-time users, couldn't guarantee they'd timed it perfectly, let alone ordinary families.

But things are different now. Just plug it in, press a switch, and leave the rest to the machine. People can go about their business as usual, and the water will automatically stop once it boils.

So convenient! It's so convenient!

A short while later, with a soft "click," the electric kettle shut off right on time.

Section Chief Zhou immediately stepped forward, retrieved the equipment, poured a cup of boiling water, and presented it to Factory Director Yang with both hands: "Please take a look—"

Even though he was still dissatisfied with Li Huaide's interference in production and He Yuzhu's failure to report beforehand, Factory Director Yang still smiled and said, "Good stuff, really good. The factory can arrange for mass production."

He turned to Li Huaide and asked, "Deputy Factory Director Li, shall we hold a meeting to discuss this?"

Li Huaide smiled amiably: "Okay, factory manager, I'll do as you say."

Factory Director Yang nodded, his gaze sweeping over Section Chief Zhou and He Yuzhu: "You two, come over here too."

Someone nearby couldn't help but joke, "Wow, I never expected that our Director He is not only an excellent cook, but also so skilled in mechanical design. Even Section Chief Zhou keeps praising him..."

"Absolutely! Director He's skills are absolutely top-notch in our factory—Section Chief Zhou personally vouched for it, saying he's even more reliable than those veteran electricians!"