Courtyard House: I'm an engineer, and a fairy godmother transferred me to a different position.

Returning to the research and development progress, if the 3D transistor is the heart of a CNC machine tool, then the integrated circuit board is its brain, thus becoming a key challenge in the research and development process. However, this problem did not stump Liu Guangqi for long. The professors at Tsinghua University originally estimated that it would take three to five months to make a breakthrough, but they did not expect that Liu Guangqi would find a solution in a short period of time. This made the professors feel that in front of this young student, they were like novices just starting out.

After more than a month of adjustment, the R&D team's collaboration became increasingly harmonious. Liu Guangqi no longer needed to keep a close eye on every detail; he spent more than 80% of his time focusing on drawing blueprints, which he then handed over to the professors to oversee the production and manufacturing of the components. The progress was even faster than he had initially expected.

No one expected that after overcoming the two major challenges of 3D transistors and integrated circuit boards, Liu Guangqi was able to simultaneously design and manufacture, significantly accelerating the overall progress. Each day, after the drawings were finalized, the components were machined within a few days using a Type 2654 precision machine tool imported from Russia, and then the machine entered the assembly stage on the new CNC machine tool. To date, nearly a quarter of the machine's frame has been completed.

The professors from Tsinghua University witnessed the CNC machine tool gradually taking shape from scratch, and they were all filled with emotion.

Time flies by. For busy people, time always flies. In the blink of an eye, more than three months have passed, and it is already the beginning of winter. The chill is getting stronger, and even in the research and development room, you can feel a bit cold.

However, a burning passion remained in the hearts of everyone involved in the development of the CNC machine tool. Because at this moment, the manufacturing of this new CNC machine tool was nearing completion!

Today, a brand-new machine tool frame is being built at a visible pace. The intricate mechanical structure and precise circuit layout exude a unique industrial aesthetic of that era, which is truly awe-inspiring. In addition to Liu Guangqi, professors and technicians from the research department of Tsinghua University would come to watch for a while every day before leaving get off work.

They watched as this machine, a culmination of Liu Guangqi's wisdom and hard work, gradually "grew" from a single screw and a piece of wire into a true industrial machine tool. Over the past four months, this still-unfinished high-precision CNC machine tool has already attracted the attention of numerous visitors.

Manufacturing machine tools was not unusual—many machine tool factories at the time were already capable of copying models from Russia or East Germany. However, in the eyes of all the R&D personnel, the CNC machine tool that Liu Guangqi was building represented an unprecedented level of advancement. Everyone knew that Liu Guangqi's technology often signified world-class industrial standards. If his previous light industrial electrical appliances had already placed him at the forefront of the world, then this time, the CNC machine tool he was developing in collaboration with numerous professors from Tsinghua University would undoubtedly also rank among the world's top.

It is worth mentioning that during the four months that Liu Guangqi devoted himself to tackling the CNC machine tool problem, the various production workshops at the Hongxing factory also experienced explosive growth.

The machines in the workshop roared day and night.

After three upgrades, the production line can now produce 60,000 stoves and pots per month—the brand-new metal casings piled up like silver-gray mountains under the lights, barely affixed with inspection labels before being swallowed up by the trucks waiting outside. Orders are already booked until next summer.

The workers were divided into two groups, working day and night in shifts, their shoes almost wearing through the cement floor. The factory was still recruiting, with red notices plastered all over the factory walls. In this year when everyone was tightening their belts, while other factories were planning to lay off workers, here, the louder the machines rang, the more the crowd surged—in the blink of an eye, nearly two thousand people had gathered.

Brighter sparks flew in from the north. The first batch of ovens to cross the border, with their sturdy iron shells and nimble knobs, quickly won over the housewives of the Russian bear. Newspapers hailed them in bold headlines as "melting the ice in winter kitchens." Orders poured in like flocks of crows after a blizzard, chasing after one another to the Red Star factory's mailroom: thirty thousand, fifty thousand, one hundred thousand…

These figures crashed into the foreign exchange ledger, shattering the boulder weighing down the grain sacks. In recent years, aside from the scattered goods sold at the Canton Fair, the only foreign exchange available has been the rice and wheat saved from our own stomachs. Last year, all exports failed to reach a mere $100 million, and the road to debt repayment seemed endless. Grain and agricultural products were pushed to the front lines, behind which lay the belts of hundreds of millions of people tightened to their very core.

The heat from the ovens has now blocked the breach. This means that more food can remain in people's granaries this winter.

The phone rang at the Ministry of Foreign Trade that noon. Director Chen's voice sounded like it had been roasted by fire: "Comrade Guangqi, you delivered a good punch! The burden of grain exports is lighter, and the people's belts... can be loosened a bit."

The stove and pot were burning in the east as well. In the Japanese chicken market, local rice cookers were losing ground and were almost huddled in the corner of the shelves. And the electric kettle and electric blanket, which had quietly changed the autumn in Russia, were once again called "the warm spell of the East" as the north wind howled again.

At the end of the year, all the railway tracks leading to the port were trembling. The name of the Red Star Factory, like a flag suddenly raised, single-handedly bore the mountain of debt in the north during this era of austerity. Good news came like early spring snowflakes, one after another.

But in that drafty research and development room at the Ministry of Machinery Industry, a different kind of silence was taking shape.

In the last few days of 1959, snow dust hissed and pounded against the glass outside the window. Inside, however, the air was stifling and dry from the breathing of dozens of people and the residual heat of the machines. After months of day and night, a silver-white machine tool stood before Liu Guangqi—it didn't have the bulky body of the Russian machine tool, and every seam was as sharp as a blade, exuding a precise and cold aura.

The young technician next to him bobbed his Adam's apple and asked in a low voice:

"Chief Engineer Liu, it's installed... Shall we test it?"

The air in the research room was thick with tension; all eyes were fixed on Liu Guangqi as he completed the final adjustments. When the last command was input, several senior professors from Tsinghua University standing nearby could barely contain their emotions, almost shouting out loud. After months of close collaboration, the team no longer saw him as an ordinary student, but genuinely addressed him with the respectful title of "Chief Engineer Liu." As time passed, this young man had completely shed his naiveté in their eyes, maturing into a true guiding figure.

"Chief Engineer Liu, how's the situation?"

"Will it start up smoothly? This equipment is so huge..."

"Why ask so many questions! The design led by Chief Engineer Liu is absolutely flawless. We just need to wait for good news."

"It's unbelievable... that we can actually build a precision machine tool that surpasses the Northern Giant Bear."

Whispers rippled through the air, excitement and anticipation almost palpable, trembling in the air. Everyone was itching to witness the steel behemoth awaken and begin to operate.

Liu Guangqi seemed oblivious to the surrounding chatter. He bent down, his gaze sweeping over every joint and interface of the machine tool like a precision instrument. After confirming everything was in order, he turned to the waiting technician: "Bring me a sample of special steel with a complex structure. Let's do some preliminary testing."

"yes!"

The technician responded quickly and left, returning less than ten minutes later to hand over the silver-gray blank and the accompanying drawings.

Power is on.

hum-

A deep, steady hum of electricity rose like a pulse, and the indicator lights on the control panel lit up one after another with a soft green glow, eventually settling into a stable emerald. The cooling system quietly started, its clear, resonant sound flowing like a stream in the silence.

Self-test passed.

A series of suppressed, short gasps erupted from the crowd.

Liu Guangqi remained expressionless as his slender fingers continued to move across the control panel, inputting a series of commands.

The next moment, the entire research room fell into absolute silence.

The machine tool's machining arm moved.

There was no harsh noise of metal clashing, no abrupt stops. Its trajectory was as smooth as ink strokes on rice paper, carrying a certain precise rhythm. The high-speed rotating blade extended, precisely kissing the hard blank.

The cutting sound was subtle and continuous, like silkworms eating leaves. Silvery fragments fell like stardust. The process was smooth and seamless, without the slightest hindrance.

A moment later, the machining arm returned to its position. A precision part, gleaming with a cold light, quietly appeared on the worktable.

"It's done!"

The long-suppressed cheers finally burst forth, exploding in the research room.

"Quickly! Check the accuracy parameters immediately!"

An elderly professor with graying hair spoke in a trembling voice, almost unable to believe what he was seeing. It was chromium-molybdenum special steel—renowned for its extremely high hardness. Even the most experienced level eight fitter, equipped with the finest traditional tools, would need several hours to barely shape it. Yet here he was, from loading the raw materials to completing the finished product, it had only taken a few minutes.

This efficiency is almost dreamlike.

"it is good."

Liu Guangqi personally removed the parts and moved them to the testing table. His movements were calm and unhurried, yet they contained an undeniable rigor. Vernier calipers, dial indicators, angle gauges... every critical dimension, every hole diameter and bevel angle was measured repeatedly three times.

Finally, he gently put down his tools and removed his clean white cotton gloves.

A genuine smile finally spread across her previously calm and expressionless face.

"All data errors," he said clearly, each word resounding, "are all controlled within the optimal range."

He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over each face filled with anticipation.

"Comrades," he raised his voice, emphasizing each word, "we—have succeeded."

Absolute silence lasting several seconds.

Then, a tsunami of cheers and shouts erupted in the research room!

"It's a success!!"

"Oh my god! We did it!!"

The young technician jumped up, embracing his colleague tightly, laughing and shouting. Several elderly professors supported each other, their eyes red-rimmed, tears streaming down their faces, their dry lips repeatedly murmuring, "Good...that's wonderful..."

More than four months. More than 120 days and nights of burning the midnight oil.

They bore an unspeakable burden: externally, the sudden betrayal of former allies and the impenetrable walls of the international market; internally, a near-complete lack of technological expertise and a constant stream of new challenges. There was never a clear guiding light on this path; everyone was simply holding their breath, stumbling forward through chaos and the unknown.

Today, this CNC machine tool, the culmination of countless hours of hard work, boldly declares with an impeccable result—

A miracle in the industrial field, belonging to this land itself, has been born.

Yes, that's a miracle.

On the nearly barren industrial wasteland, nourished by sweat and wisdom, it blossomed into the most dazzling flower of steel.

The research lab was buzzing with excitement. Everyone was shouting and expressing their gratitude for being fortunate enough to witness this incredible leap forward.

Everyone knows how weak the foundation of the machine tool industry on this land is right now.

And that is precisely why all of this seems all the more precious, like an epic.

Faced with the sudden freezing of international cooperation channels and the complete severing of overseas technology flows, they forged a path of self-reliance in just over a hundred days and nights, winning a remarkable turnaround in the high-precision machine tool market.

This is undoubtedly a remarkable miracle in the history of the machinery industry.

The cheers celebrating the successful independent research and development had not yet subsided, and the air was still filled with the lingering excitement, when the heavy iron door of the research and development room was suddenly pushed open, the dull thud of it hitting the wall breaking the remaining warmth inside.

"How is the situation?"

Has the CNC machine tool really been successfully developed?

A hurried voice swept in with the figure. Director Lin strode into the room with the speed of the wind. The biting December chill clung to his shoulders, only to be instantly melted away by the rising heat inside. A thin layer of sweat beaded on his forehead, and he didn't even have time to warm his hands before his gaze swept over everyone else, fixing firmly on the silent, towering steel behemoth in the room.

The brand-new machine tool exudes a silver-gray metallic sheen, radiating a cool and composed quality under the light. The intricate mechanical components mesh seamlessly, creating a unique aesthetic that blends power and precision.

"Great! That's wonderful!"

Director Lin paced slowly around the machine, his gaze sweeping from the towering spindle box to the neatly arranged tool magazine, then bending down to examine the heavy cast iron base and the smooth guide rails. His voice trembled slightly with excitement: "Comrade Guangqi!"

"I've come here often these past few months, watching it gradually take shape from a pile of loose parts, and today I finally see it running!" He pointed to the machine tool's sturdy structure, "The meticulous craftsmanship alone is far superior to that bulky 2654 model in the north!"