Chapter 72

It seemed that the old man also had the intention of retiring. Chen Geng said with regret, "Teacher, you're only in your fifties. I think you can work for at least another ten years. Moreover, you are a 6th-grade machinist in our factory. There are very few machinists in the entire SAIC Group whose skills can match yours. It would be such a waste to retire now, wouldn't it?"

Chen Geng genuinely felt it would be a pity if Xia Shifu retired. Although Xia Shifu was a machinist, his work was quite special, as he machined engine crankshafts.

A crankshaft is a core component of an engine. To process a crankshaft from a rough state to a qualified finished product, it requires over ten procedures, including positioning, turning, drilling, grinding, high-frequency quenching, and various other machining methods. To produce a qualified engine crankshaft, a 6th-grade machinist is already a valuable asset, and in the SAIC Engine Factory, there were only two 6th-grade machinists capable of machining crankshafts, one of whom was Xia Shifu.

As an administrative car for high-ranking officials below the vice-national level and above the department level, the Shanghai sedan had much higher requirements for the stability, smoothness, reliability, and noise of the engine compared to the 212 Jeep's engine. As a straight-six engine, the Jin Feng 680qk engine had much higher technical requirements than the straight-four engine used in the 212 Jeep. Not only was the crankshaft longer, but it also required higher precision and skill. As a well-known "Golden Hand" in the SAIC Engine Factory, the crankshafts machined by Xia Shifu over the years had never had any issues in the machining process, which was always a source of pride for the old man.

"Don't talk about that, it's all old news," the old man said, both proud and a bit embarrassed when talking about his skills: "I heard that foreign countries now use CNC machines to process crankshafts. They even have computers installed on the machines. You just need to press a few buttons, and the machine can automatically process the parts you want. It's said that the parts processed by CNC machines are even better than those processed by 6th-grade machinists. The engines from Wolfsburg, Germany, are directly processed using CNC machines. My skills are nothing special."

"That's not how you should look at it," Chen Geng smiled and said, "CNC machining technology is indeed the mainstream, but no matter how advanced the technology becomes, it can never replace human hands. A master like you, who can feel the imperfections with just a touch, will not only have a place but will become even more important. You might not know, but in Japan, technicians of your level are revered as 'Craftsmen Gods.' They have high status in society and in their workplaces. If we compare it to our country, you would at least have the treatment of a full regimental level."

There was no need to mention that Xia Shifu's skills were not quite at the level of a "Craftsman God," as it was just to make the old man happy.

Sure enough, when Chen Geng said this, the old man's face immediately filled with pride: "Why talk about this? Anyway, I'm about to retire. When I retire, I'll be like those old guys in the factory. My son will take over my shift, and I'll spend my days reading newspapers, growing flowers, and raising birds. That life will be very comfortable."

The old man seemed very carefree, but Chen Geng could still sense a hint of envy in his eyes: who wouldn't want their work to be recognized by society?

However, the old man quickly adjusted his mood and asked Chen Geng, "By the way, Xiao Chen, I heard you stayed in the capital after graduation? Are you here on a business trip?"

Chen Geng replied, "Teacher, I didn't stay in the capital after graduation. I went back to my father's factory. This time, I came to Shanghai because our company has some business with SAIC. I took the opportunity to come and visit you and the other old seniors."

"You're a good kid, so thoughtful," the old man's face lit up with a smile when he heard that Chen Geng had come to see him specifically: "Come, come, what's there to see in the workshop? Let's go home. I'll have your teacher's wife make you some braised pork ribs. I remember you loved them the most. She made a plate, and you ate most of it..."

The old man was very excited, talking about Chen Geng's embarrassing moments during his internship, and he seemed to enjoy it.

Chen Geng understood the old man's feelings. Although many students had interned and practiced at SAIC over the years, and Xia Shifu had taught many of them, none of them treated him as a teacher, and none of them came back to visit him after leaving the factory. But Chen Geng not only came back, he was also a student from Huqing University.

Just this fact alone was enough to make the old man happy: "No wonder you could get into Huqing University. Look at your quality, it's a whole level higher than students from other schools. No wonder you couldn't get into Huqing, but Xiao Chen could!"

"Look! This is the difference!"

The old man's mood was so good that his face was flushed, and he walked with a spring in his step, looking much younger. He greeted people he knew from a distance, his voice strong and loud, as if he wanted everyone to know that the Huqing University student he had taught last year, Chen Geng, had come to visit him. Chen Geng estimated that if the old man were to act as an air-raid siren, he could cover at least two districts of Shanghai.

Chen Geng understood the old man's mindset and greeted people as he followed behind him. As for Jindler, he was smart enough to know that he didn't fit in this situation and left promptly.

Once Jindler was gone, the old man completely relaxed. His loud, characteristic laughter echoed throughout the factory. As soon as they reached the ground floor, the old man shouted up to the second floor with a strong voice, "Old lady, come out quickly and see who's here!"

Xia Shifu lived in an old-style apartment building. Hearing Xia Shifu's voice, his wife, Aunt Ren, looked out from the balcony and immediately smiled, "Isn't that Xiao Chen? Xiao Chen is here?"

"Teacher's wife, I'm here on a business trip in Shanghai, so I came to visit you and my teacher." Understanding the old lady's feelings, Chen Geng raised the two boxes of pastries, two packs of cigarettes, and a large piece of pork ribs weighing about six or seven pounds, and said loudly.

Sure enough, seeing that Chen Geng had brought gifts, Xia Shifu's wife was even happier. It wasn't that she was greedy for the gifts, but if Chen Geng had come empty-handed, it could have been a coincidence. But the fact that he brought gifts showed that he really came to visit them.

A student from Huqing University, who had only learned from the old man for a few days in the factory, still remembered to visit him on a business trip to Shanghai. The old lady was very happy, her eyes squinting into slits, "Oh, you silly child, you didn't have to bring anything... Old man, you have no sense, why don't you take the things?"

Just from this smile, Chen Geng felt that the old lady was likely to introduce him to a match.

The living area of the factory was different from modern urban neighborhoods. Everyone was from the same unit, and some might even be colleagues from the same workshop. After decades of interaction, they were all very familiar with each other. The old lady's shout drew out all the neighbors, who poked their heads out to look down, occasionally praising old Xia for having a good apprentice who still remembered to visit him even after starting work.

Xia Shifu's face was flushed with pride, as if he were drunk. He stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking like a domineering crab, wishing the stairs were a hundred meters long...

Chen Geng was a bit surprised by the warm welcome. He thought he had only stayed in the SAIC Engine Factory for about ten days, and not many people would remember him. But now it felt like the whole building remembered him. What was going on?

Chen Geng had forgotten that there were so few college students in the whole country at that time. Even students from local universities in Shanghai rarely came to SAIC. If they did, they would proudly proclaim, "I'm a college student! I'm the pride of the nation!" Compared to those students, Chen Geng's attitude could be described as that of a "model student."

Everyone had a very good impression of him, so they were naturally very热情.

等大家逐渐散去，时间已经过去了差不多半个小时，陈耕这才有时间能够和夏师傅好好的聊聊天。

夏示福最关心的就是陈耕的工作问题，刚才他没来得及问，现在想到陈耕刚刚提起说他是去了他父亲的工作单位，皱着眉头问道：“小陈啊，你是华清大学的学生，毕业之后应该留在首都的吧？刚刚你说你去了你爸的单位？是不是……是不是……”

“你是不是犯了错误”这样的话终究还是有些不好意思说出来。

陈耕笑着给他解释道：“老师，您放心，我不是犯了错误才下去的，毕业之后我去了国家防务部，不过您也知道，我学的是汽车工程，去中央部委那些地方，我学的这些知识就排不上什么用场了，于是我就想能不能去个能发挥我特长的地方，万幸，单位的领导也很支持我的想法，所以我就下去了。”

“这样啊……”老爷子连连点头，脸上的担忧之色终于消失了，取而代之的则是赞赏和惋惜：“没错没错，你是学汽车的，虽说坐办公室比较体面，可终究还是浪费了你学到的这一身的本事，能学以致用就再好不过了，不过你要下基层，应该来我们SAIC的嘛，不过现在说什么都晚了……对了，我记得你说过一次你爸的单位，是什么单位来着？”

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By the time everyone gradually dispersed, about half an hour had passed, and Chen Geng finally had the chance to have a proper conversation with Master Xia.

What Master Xia was most concerned about was Chen Geng's work situation. He hadn't had the chance to ask earlier, but now, thinking about what Chen Geng had mentioned about going to his father's workplace, he frowned and asked, "Xiao Chen, you're a student from Huqing University. After graduation, you should have stayed in the capital, right? You just said you went to your father's workplace? Is it... Is it..."

He was a bit embarrassed to say, "Did you make a mistake?"

Chen Geng smiled and explained, "Teacher, don't worry. I didn't go down because I made a mistake. After graduation, I went to the National Defense Department. But as you know, I studied automotive engineering, and in those central ministries, the knowledge I learned wouldn't be of much use. So, I thought about whether I could go somewhere where I could use my skills. Fortunately, the leaders in my unit supported my idea, so I went down."

"Is that so..." The old man nodded repeatedly, and the worry on his face finally disappeared, replaced by admiration and regret: "That's right, that's right. You studied automotive engineering. Although working in an office is more prestigious, it would be a waste of the skills you learned. Being able to apply what you learned is the best. But if you're going to work at the grassroots level, you should have come to our SAIC. But now it's too late... By the way, I remember you mentioned your father's workplace once. What is it again?"