Master Wang Jianguo's firm guarantee was like a handful of quicklime thrown into muddy water, finally silencing the messy gossip in the workshop. The coolant issue was investigated as an internal matter, with Director Zhao personally overseeing it. Although no one was explicitly punished, the tense atmosphere in the workshop noticeably eased. Sun Peng has been very quiet lately, avoiding people, let alone going near Liu Li's workstation.

The newly received coolant was clear and had no strange smell. Liu Li followed Master Wang and thoroughly cleaned the machine tool's cooling system inside and out, replaced the coolant, sharpened a new set of cutting tools, and plunged back into the rough machining of special samples. With the parameters adjusted and no one causing trouble anymore, the work went smoothly—the remaining fifteen sets of blanks were all machined in a few days, each one with accurate dimensions and a smooth surface, neatly stacked in the inspection area, paving the way for the subsequent finishing.

Precision turning, milling, drilling, tapping... Several experienced workers worked together, and this batch of difficult-to-process special steel samples was finally completed the day before the deadline. The quality inspection department checked it again and again, and finally stamped it "qualified". Director Zhao held the inspection report and finally breathed a sigh of relief, unable to hide the smile on his face.

A week later, a commendation meeting was held in the factory's small auditorium to celebrate the successful trial production of the sample. Factory leaders sat on the stage, and even Engineer Zhou Zhenhua was there. Everyone from the machining workshop who had participated was present. Liu Li sat in a seat near the front, her palms slightly sweaty and her heart pounding—she had never been on such a stage before in her life.

After the leader finished reading the achievements, when he called out "Liu Li" last, she took a deep breath and walked step by step onto the stage. "Comrade Liu Li, an apprentice, was diligent and willing to take on challenges in her work. She improved the process and efficiency in the rough machining operation, making a significant contribution to the timely completion of the task..." The factory leader handed her the certificate and a red envelope containing a bonus.

The applause from the audience was deafening. Liu Li clutched the certificate and envelope, feeling their weight. She walked to the microphone and glanced at the audience—Master Wang stood in the back row, not smiling much, but nodding slightly; Fu Jingchen smiled and nodded at her, his eyes warm; Zhang Shulan clapped enthusiastically, her face flushed; Sun Peng in the corner had a gloomy face and didn't look at her.

She hadn't prepared a speech, but holding the microphone, her voice was steady: "Thank you, leaders, thank you, fellow workers. I was able to take on this task because the workshop and Master Wang trusted me. I just did what I was supposed to do, and there's still so much I don't understand; I need to learn more from the experienced workers. This honor doesn't belong to me alone; it belongs to everyone in our machining workshop!"

His words were unpretentious, which only garnered louder applause from the audience. Engineer Zhou whispered to the factory leader next to him, "He's not arrogant, he's down-to-earth, and he's a promising talent."

After the commendation meeting, Liu Li became somewhat well-known in the factory—when walking down the street, people would occasionally point at her and mutter, "That's the female apprentice in the machining workshop." But she didn't get carried away. She folded her award certificate and put it in her dormitory drawer. She kept only five yuan of the twenty yuan bonus, planning to buy a few mechanical manuals. She gave the remaining fifteen yuan to Wang Guifen when she went home on the weekend.

Wang Guifen clutched the money, her hands trembling, and tears welled up in her eyes: "My daughter has made something of herself! She can really earn money for the family!" Liu Weiguo didn't say much, but he drank half a glass of bulk liquor at dinner, and his brows relaxed considerably.

The excitement didn't last long. On Monday, Liu Li was still the first to arrive at the workshop, wiping down the lathes and checking the cutting tools, just like always. Last week's commendation and previous troubles were like pebbles thrown into water; the ripples disappeared as soon as they subsided, and life had to go on as usual.

Seeing how steady she was, Master Wang gave her a look of approval. He didn't mention the commendation meeting, but just tossed her a new blueprint: "Do this today, be strict with the tolerances, don't be careless."

Zhang Shulan was excited for her for several days, but seeing that she was still the same as before, she couldn't help but ask, "Lili, you're famous in the factory now, don't you have any other thoughts?"

Liu Li was adjusting the speed of the machine while looking at the blueprints, without even looking up: "What's so great about being famous? Doing a good job is my duty. Look at Master Li and the others, they're so skilled, but they still work hard every day. I still have a lot to learn."

She genuinely believed this—after this experience, she understood even more clearly that in the workshop, what mattered was real skill and steadiness. Praise or criticism from outside was like iron filings flying out during machining—they looked bright, but cooled down as soon as they landed. Only the skills in her hands and the knowledge in her mind were real.

On the surface, all was calm, but beneath the surface, things weren't peaceful—the investigation into the coolant issue had yielded no results. Warehouse manager Xiao Liu stammered and couldn't give a clear explanation, and Sun Peng vehemently denied it. In the end, it could only be attributed to "lax warehouse management," and the matter was dropped. Liu Li had expected this to happen, but a thorn remained in her heart—someone in the shadows was not keeping quiet.

What's even more different is that after this special steel processing experience, her understanding of lathes has become much clearer. What was once a vague feeling is now clear; the mechanical principles in the books now match the work in her hands. She is no longer satisfied with just "doing a qualified job," and has started to think about how to do it faster, how to make the workpiece surface smoother, and even how to turn the handwheel more efficiently.

A small idea popped into her mind, like a spark. Could this spark ignite? Or would it be extinguished? Liu Li didn't know. All she knew was that every day, standing in front of the lathe, gripping the handwheel, staring at the cutting tip, listening to the hissing sound of cutting, focusing all her attention on those few millimeters, those few threads of precision—the glory settled deep in her heart, becoming her confidence, while new work and new challenges awaited her.