Chapter 7

Although Manager Wan had a very low attitude when he first came to the factory manager's office, smiling and nodding, he didn't look like a successful person at all, more like a pitiful beggar. But after he said these words, none of the other three people in the office felt he was humble. On the contrary, Manager Wan's image became incredibly tall.

"Speaking of which, can't your local government help speak up?" Old Liu asked, frowning.

"Our Wanxin Motorcycle is a private company, and we don't have any connections with the aerospace industry," Manager Wan said, seeming to have vented a lot of his emotions after speaking and now being much calmer. "We thought about asking the city leaders for help to make connections, but as a private company, they don't put in much effort. They said they would help find a few leads, but there's been no news so far."

"There are also many precision machining companies outside that take on external work. Haven't you asked them?" Old Liu asked again.

"I have," Manager Wan replied, a bit dejected. "These days, everyone's equipment is about the same. Imported equipment from abroad goes first to the most needed state-owned enterprises, which are fully booked and can't spare any time. The other companies that take on work have about the same processing level as our factory. All high-level domestic engines need to be imported because we can't produce them."

"You don't need to say that," Old Liu snorted lightly, somewhat displeased, and twirled the two fitness balls in his hands. "We all know."

"The key is that the Japanese are too bad," Manager Wan immediately changed the topic, no longer talking about the domestic production situation. "The two semi-finished crankshafts they gave us are extremely hard and very difficult to process. Our factory's several level-six fitters have looked at them, and if we really want to manually polish them to ensure precision, it will take at least a month."

"Moreover, the Japanese are cunning, leaving only a maximum of 1 micron of machining allowance," Manager Wan continued. "The material is very hard, and if you don't use enough force, you can't polish it. If you use too much force, you might go over. It's very troublesome."

"One file, three microns," meaning that usually one file stroke would remove three microns. Everyone was an expert and understood how difficult this was.

"Old Liu, didn't Professor Wang from the Precision Instrument Department assemble a CNC machine recently?" Factory Manager Li, who was also indignant about the Japanese contempt, cautiously asked Old Liu, "Can we borrow it?"

"No!" Old Liu shook his head directly. "Professor Wang's machine is mainly for verifying control programs. The stepper motor and lead screw are not up to par, the precision is unstable, and the cutting tool's hardness is not enough to process this."

When he heard about the Precision Instrument Department's CNC machine, Manager Wan's eyes lit up. But when he heard Old Liu's words, he immediately became dejected. The change from hope to disappointment was very obvious, and Old Liu saw it clearly.

"How much time do you have left?" Old Liu asked Manager Wan, not looking like someone who had no solution.

"Two and a half days. I brought the items back overnight. The people at the factory studied it for a while, and it took half a day to wait for the city leaders' calls and to contact peers. I didn't dare wait today and brought the items here directly."

Actually, Old Liu didn't intend to speak at first, but when Manager Wan mentioned the Japanese insult, he broke his silence and asked many questions. Just as he was about to ask a few more, Old Liu suddenly saw Guo Taicai walking into the workshop with a spirited look, swinging his arms. He immediately smiled.

"Fatso, come here," Old Liu called out, walking to the door.

Guo Taicai looked up and immediately ran over, smiling at Old Liu. "Old man, what do you need me for today?"

"Aren't you eager to use my special tools?" Old Liu, holding the fitness balls, smiled at Guo Taicai. "Here, there's a crankshaft drawing and two semi-finished parts on the table. Polish them well, and you can use my room and everything in it."

"Playing with me?" Guo Taicai looked unhappy. "Just use a lathe with an eccentric chuck, what do you need me for?"

"The precision is too high, it can't be done on a lathe. It needs to be polished by a fitter," Old Liu said with a smile. "Can you do it?"

"Really?" Guo Taicai's eyes immediately lit up. "Can I use your tools this time?"

"Yes!" Old Liu nodded firmly.

"Alright!" Guo Taicai immediately agreed, walked in without a word, nodded and smiled at the three people watching him, quickly rolled up the drawing, and carried the two boxes, not forgetting to ask Old Liu for the key to the room as he passed the door.

Seeing Fatso run into the room, the other three people in the office were all stunned.

"Old Liu, who is this Fatso? I've never seen him!" Factory Manager Li was the most surprised. He knew all the workers in the factory, and none of them were this fat.

"Oh, a student I met yesterday," Old Liu said, twirling the fitness balls and smiling. "He's good with his hands. Oops, I forgot to ask his name."

Factory Manager Li, Manager Wan, and the young student next to Manager Wan all had speechless expressions. Such an important task, which even a level-six fitter couldn't guarantee, was given to a student?

"Never mind, I know you're worried, just wait," Old Liu stood up, holding the fitness balls and walked out. "I'll go give that Fatso some guidance."

Without further explanation, he opened the office door and left, leaving the three people in the office looking at each other in confusion.

"Factory Manager Li, who is Old Liu?" Manager Wan lit another cigarette for Factory Manager Li and asked cautiously.

"A retired level-nine fitter," Factory Manager Li said proudly. "The final installation and debugging of the Precision Instrument Department's experimental machines all require Old Liu's guidance."

"A national treasure!" Manager Wan immediately stood in awe, giving a thumbs up. "No wonder we have to come to your Tsinghua University. With such a national treasure here, Factory Manager Li, you still say your factory just produces ordinary parts?"

"Old Liu's arm was injured, so he can't do hard work anymore," Factory Manager Li sighed. "I'm curious, what skills does that Fatso have to make Old Liu look at him so highly?"

"Can that Fatso really do it?" Manager Wan was still worried and asked Factory Manager Li.

"Don't worry!" Factory Manager Li, though unsure himself, couldn't show weakness in front of Manager Wan. "If Old Liu says it's fine, it will definitely be fine. Just wait, two and a half days should be enough." In the end, he was also not very confident.

Time passed minute by minute, and three hours had already gone by, but there was no news from the other side. Manager Wan wanted to go and check but knew it wasn't appropriate. He was so anxious that he had already smoked over twenty cigarettes, and the ashtray on the table was full of cigarette butts.

After another half an hour, Manager Wan was so anxious that he stood up and started pacing. Just as he couldn't wait any longer and was about to tell Factory Manager Li that he wanted to go and check personally, the office door opened.

Guo Taicai and Old Liu walked in one after the other. Fatso was still holding the drawing and two boxes, which he placed on the table. "Done!"

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