Chen Hao's hands were still trembling, but he could already grip the door frame. He stood at the workshop entrance, stared at the dusty cutting machine for three seconds, and then kicked the door open.

"Let's get to work," he said. "If I stay in bed any longer, I'm afraid I'll really become a cripple."

Nana followed behind, carrying a sealed box. Susan walked slowly, leaning against the wall, her steps a little unsteady, but she didn't ask anyone for help. Carl brought up the rear, one hand on the door frame for support, grinning: "This place smells better than the hospital room, at least there's no medicine smell."

The workshop lights came on, and a bit of dust that had settled on the metal table was blown up by the wind, floating in the light. Chen Hao walked to the control panel, tapped the screen twice, and the system startup notification sounded, but the progress bar was stuck at 20%.

“The equipment hasn’t been used for a long time, so it’s slow to respond,” Nana said, placing her hand on the control panel. The optical lens flashed, and the data stream began to synchronize. “I’ll calibrate the laser head.”

"Come here, come here." Chen Hao took a step back and shook his right hand. "My hand doesn't obey me. I wanted to drink water just now, and the cup just fell to the ground."

“You were already stupid,” Susan said, looking down at the alloy plate. “Now you have more excuses.”

"This is the recovery period after an injury," Chen Hao said, leaning against the table. "It's reasonable to just let things slide."

Nana ignored them and focused on adjusting the parameters. A warning popped up on the screen: the cutting head was off-center by 0.3 millimeters. She immediately opened the maintenance interface, manually adjusted the calibration program, and activated the backup cooling line.

“Ready,” she said. “We can begin the first cut.”

Chen Hao nodded and projected the design drawings onto the wall. The main structural lines were clearly marked, with red dotted lines crossing the metal plate area.

"Don't rush the first time," he said. "Focus on accuracy. If it's off-target, we won't get a second high-toughness ore core."

Nana activated the laser; a flash of blue light followed, and the machine hummed. The edge of the metal plate began to glow red, and the cut slowly advanced. The first half went smoothly, but at the turning point, it suddenly jerked, and the cut deviated by two millimeters.

"Stop!" Susan shouted.

The machine stopped. The cut was noticeably crooked, and there were burrs on the edges.

"It wasn't completely fixed because of a 0.3-millimeter error," Nana said. "I'll be more accurate next time."

“There won’t be a next time.” Chen Hao leaned closer to look. “This board can’t be cut a second time; the material can’t withstand repeated heating.”

“Then let’s fix it.” Susan picked up the grinder. “I’ll handle the cut and try to bring it back to the original size as much as possible.”

"Be careful," Chen Hao said. "Don't grind too much."

"I know." She squatted down and began her homework.

Chen Hao turned to look at Karl, "Go over there and take stock of the tools. Lay out everything you need so you don't have trouble finding them when you need them."

Carl responded and slowly walked to the locker, pulling open a drawer. Wrenches, measuring tapes, and clamps were placed on the workbench one by one. He moved slowly, but everything was arranged neatly.

“You’re quite obsessive-compulsive,” Chen Hao said.

"It's better than you just littering," Carl snorted. "Last time you were looking for a screw, you spent half an hour rummaging through the trash."

"That was an accident," Chen Hao explained. "I thought it had been swept away."

Nana didn't participate in the conversation. She rechecked the equipment logs and found that the coolant circulation speed was lower than the standard value. She switched to manual mode, increased the flow rate, and ran the self-test again.

“This time there won’t be any problems,” she said. “I can guarantee the accuracy is within 0.1 millimeters.”

"Then you take over." Chen Hao stepped aside. "The main control is yours."

Nana stepped onto the control panel, her mechanical fingers precisely inputting commands. The laser was activated again, this time the line moved smoothly, the cut was straight, and it landed exactly at the marked endpoint.

"It's done." Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief. "The first piece is done."

Susan finished smoothing the burrs and stood up to stretch her shoulders. "Next is bending."

She placed the alloy sheet into the hydraulic press and set the angle. The machine pressed down, and the metal emitted a slight groan. After the pressure was released, the sheet changed shape, but one edge warped up.

“It’s deformed,” she said.

Nana immediately pulled up the materials file. "This alloy is prone to stress rebound during cold pressing. I suggest heating it in sections to 180 degrees Celsius before pressing."

"Where's the oven?" Susan asked.

"The third one from the right," Nana pointed.

Susan placed the board into the oven and set the temperature profile. While waiting, she sat in a corner, panting, a layer of sweat on her forehead.

"Are you alright?" Chen Hao asked.

"I won't die," she said. "My arm just aches."

“That’s normal,” Nana said. “Toxin residue can affect muscle coordination, but it won’t affect judgment.”

“Then I’ll rely on my brain to do the work,” Susan sneered. “Anyway, one of you relies on your hands and the other on electricity, so I’m the only one who has to use my brain.”

Ten minutes later, the board was removed and placed back into the hydraulic press. This time, after pressing, the shape perfectly matched the drawing.

"Not bad." Chen Hao touched the edge. "It works."

"The third step is the traction shaft bore plate," Nana said. "It requires drilling for positioning."

“I’ll take care of this.” Chen Hao stepped forward. “I can keep things steady.”

He operated the drill, carefully aligning it to the correct position. His hands were still a little shaky, but he controlled the rhythm well. All four holes were completed in sequence, and the measurements showed the errors were all within acceptable limits.

"Barely passing," Susan glanced at it. "More stable than I expected."

"I've practiced," Chen Hao said proudly. "I never failed to open a can when I was a kid."

“Canned goods are not the same as sheet metal,” Carl said.

"It's the same principle." Chen Hao put away his tools. "It's all about poking holes."

All three prefabricated components were completed. Chen Hao moved them to the assembly table and placed them in their positions according to the drawings.

“Now let’s put it together,” he said. “Let’s see if it can really stand up.”

He first installed the bracket and plowshare connector. He inserted the bolt halfway in, but found that the hole was not aligned, by less than a millimeter, but he just couldn't screw it in.

"It's stuck," he said.

“We can’t force it,” Susan warned. “This material is brittle; it will crack if you twist it.”

"I know." Chen Hao tried to pry it open with his hands, but it didn't work.

Nana thought for a moment, then took out a small box from deep inside the tool cabinet. Inside were several miniature servo clamps, originally used for the repair of precision instruments.

“You can use this to fine-tune the position,” she said.

"Let's go." Chen Hao nodded.

The four of them worked together. Nana manipulated the clamp, gently pushing the connecting seat; Susan used a ruler to measure the gap; Carl was responsible for handing over the tools; Chen Hao kept an eye on the overall structure, ready to call a stop at any time.

The first time, the clamp was used too forcefully, and the connector was misaligned.

The second time, the gap matched, but the height was slightly off.

The third time, it finally fit perfectly.

"Now tighten the bolts." Chen Hao picked up a wrench.

He slowly screwed it in, one turn, two turns, until the last buckle clicked to lock it in place. The entire structure was now stable.

“Get up,” Carl said softly.

The main frame of the farm implement stands in the center of the platform. Although the blades and handles haven't been installed yet, its outline is already visible. The metal surface reflects the light from the overhead lamp, the edges are neat, and the structure is sturdy.

Chen Hao walked around it once, then reached out and patted the stand. The sound was solid, and it didn't wobble.

"It can withstand the stones in the ground," he said.

“The next step is to add a transmission rod,” Nana said. “We need to test the rotational flexibility.”

"Let's rest for five minutes." Chen Hao plopped down on the ground. "My legs are starting to feel weak."

“You just sat down,” Carl said.

“That means I lasted long enough.” Chen Hao looked up. “You don’t know, my heart was pounding like it was going to explode just now.”

“Because you’re fat,” Susan said.

"This is due to the high load on my heart and lungs," Chen Hao argued. "It's not a matter of being overweight."

“Yes, yes, yes.” Susan ignored him and turned to count the parts needed for the next stage.

Carl squatted down next to the frame and reached out to touch the weld seam. "This thing can really help us farm?"

"Otherwise what?" Nana said, "All for nothing?"

“I mean…” Carlton paused, “We used to not even have enough to eat, but now we can build machines.”

“It’s not a machine,” Chen Hao looked up, “it’s an upgraded version of a hoe.”

“Call it Groundhog,” Carl laughed. “Your name is quite catchy.”

"Of course." Chen Hao grinned. "I'm always reliable when it comes to naming things."

Nana walked to the wall, took out a marker, and added a square next to the triangle she had drawn earlier.

"Another one?" Chen Hao asked.

"The first piece is complete," she said. "The second engraving."

"You're getting more and more familiar with these rules," Chen Hao shook his head. "Will we have to clock in and sign in from now on?"

“It’s already being recorded.” Nana put her pen back. “The violator will have to clean the toilets next week.”

“I didn’t object.” Chen Hao raised his hands. “I support institutionalized management.”

Susan walked back and put down a stack of parts. "The next part needs two connector plates, which I have prepared."

"Then let's continue." Chen Hao stood up, leaning on the table. "Let's finish quickly so we can eat sooner."

He walked to the control panel and was about to turn it on when the screen suddenly flashed and a message popped up: "Heat treatment parameters for transmission rod substrate are missing."

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

“There is no ductility profile for this material in the database,” Nana said. “We cannot determine the optimal bending temperature.”

"Then what should we do?"

Nana paused for two seconds. "We can only try."