When Liang Jianxing heard what Han Ming said, he thought it made sense. Although he looked tough and burly, he came from a technical background and wasn't that rough around the edges.

Seeing Han Ming and Dong Xiaolu's intimate behavior, he immediately understood that the young couple were going to visit the factory, and he, a grown man, shouldn't join in the fun, so he simply agreed.

Han Ming and Dong Xiaolu suppressed their anticipation for the X-ray printer and enjoyed their meal immensely.

After cleaning up the table and refilling the elders' tea, I couldn't stay awake any longer.

He went to the bedroom, put the printer into a box and stuffed it into Han Ming's small shoulder bag, said goodbye to everyone, and then rushed to the factory.

Along the way, Han Ming was extremely annoyed by the little electric donkey that was going 20 miles per hour under his backside, not to mention the scorching sun overhead.

However, he still quite enjoyed the feeling of Dong Xiaolu's fair arms gently encircling his waist.

He secretly vowed to work hard so that he could at least afford to buy his beautiful girlfriend a car.

Upon arriving at Baili Machinery Factory, tucked away in a corner of the development zone, they greeted the gatekeeper, Old Man Fan, and the two walked through the two-story office building at the entrance into the workshop.

Han Ming didn't care about the strange look from the gatekeeper, Lao Fan. He guessed the old man thought he was dragging a beautiful woman in to do something bad. Otherwise, why would he go to an idle workshop in the middle of the day?

Han Ming pushed open the two large iron doors and pushed them aside one by one. The unique smell of the machine shop immediately wafted out.

Han Ming was fine; he had spent the whole day here the day before yesterday. But Dong Xiaolu couldn't stand the smell and started coughing violently.

She frowned, covered her mouth and nose with her left hand, and waved her right hand in front of her eyes. Her slender hand seemed to have become Princess Iron Fan's banana leaf fan, as if she wanted to fan away the unpleasant smell in front of her.

Han Ming found it amusing to see his girlfriend like this. She was in a similar state when he opened the door the day before yesterday.

It's normal for people who have never smelled this kind of mixed odor before to feel uncomfortable at first; they'll get used to it gradually, just like with smoking—once you smell it a lot, your nose gets used to it and doesn't react as strongly.

I've been in this workshop for over ten hours, and I haven't been overwhelmed by the fumes.

You can think this in your heart, but you can't say it out loud. You have to be gentle and considerate, and have a manly demeanor.

Besides, she's not an ordinary girl; she's now his official girlfriend, as well as a great benefactor and savior to his family.

So Han Ming patted Miss Dong's back attentively and waved his hands wildly in front of her, which amused Dong Xiaolu.

"Haha... Okay, okay, stop jumping around like a monkey."

Dong Xiaolu joked with a smile.

"I was just not used to it for a while, but I'm much better now. Let's go inside and take a look."

After saying that, she stopped looking at the flustered Han Ming, turned and smiled as she walked into the workshop.

Han Ming felt bored, but he could make the beauty smile. Since Dong Xiaolu said she was used to it, he stopped what he was doing and hurriedly chased after her.

The bright sunlight streaming through the windows made the workshop very bright, but since the windows were all closed, it felt particularly stuffy.

It's no wonder the smell is so pungent; in this hot weather, with so much equipment, raw materials, and semi-finished products inside, it's bound to develop a musty odor.

Han Ming quickly ran over and opened both windows on both sides of the workshop to let the wind blow in and dissipate the smell. Although the wind was also warm, it was still better than smelling the strong, strange odor.

There were large exhaust fans in the workshop, but Han Ming felt a chill run down his spine when he looked at the row of old-fashioned power switches that were exposed without even a casing along the wall.

Good heavens, this is really too much for this computer science student.

Not knowing which switch controls which device, and worried about being electrocuted, Han Ming wisely chose to ignore them.

Fortunately, Dong Xiaolu didn't care. The girl stopped talking as soon as she entered the workshop and kept looking at the rows of machines.

Drilling machines, planers, cutting machines, grinding machines, welding machines, and so on—she had them all. She didn't seem to mind the dirt; some even bent down to look closely, though it was unclear what she was looking at.

Han Ming looked at her closely; if he didn't know she was an accountant, she would really look like a mechanical expert.

Han Ming stayed with Dong Xiaolu without saying a word, just silently watching along with her.

Apart from the dark, greasy substance on the machines, there didn't seem to be any difference. Of course, the shapes of the machines were still distinguishable.

When Dong Xiaolu finished walking around the workshop and stopped, Han Ming thoughtfully handed her a tissue to wipe her sweat.

Dong Xiaolu thanked her and said:

"Han Ming, I've checked. There are over thirty sets of equipment, big and small, but the machines are all too old. The production dates on some of the nameplates are illegible."

It turned out that the girl was getting close to check the production date, but even without looking at the nameplate, you could tell from the appearance of these devices that they were antiques.

Small factories generally have low profitability, and a low rate of equipment replacement is a common phenomenon.

Every time Han Ming went home in the past, he would hear his father talking about how the equipment was becoming obsolete and would soon be scrapped.

If Dad had the money to replace it, he wouldn't keep nagging.

New for three years, old for three years, repaired and patched up for another three years—I don't know how many three-year periods my dad's equipment has gone through.

"And Han Ming, look, these devices are heavily oiled. It must be because they've been used for too long and the parts aren't tight enough after all the repairs."

"The efficiency is very low; the product quality produced by such equipment is likely to be poor."

Dong Xiaolu added.

After speaking, Dong Xiaolu did not hear a response from Han Ming. She looked up and saw that Han Ming had his head down and was not saying a word.

She blinked her big eyes, thinking that Han Ming had misunderstood her as disliking the factory, and quickly changed the subject.

He said he had visited several large manufacturing plants before, and the difference between those modern workshops and this old workshop was like night and day.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Dong Xiaolu cursed herself for being a pig-brain. The more she explained, the more confusing it became. Her words sounded like she was looking down on Han Ming's father.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!