Chapter Sixty-Five: It's done, it's really done!

Upon hearing this, Lin Baozhu's eyes flashed coldly. Looking at the woman's indignant gaze, she suddenly laughed: "Comrade, you seem quite hostile towards me. Why are you so eager to stop me from touching this broken machine... What? Could it be that the machine's malfunction is related to you? By the way, Director Zhang, who led the sabotage of this machine, was just arrested last night. You and he don't have some shady dealings, do you?"

Lin Baozhu's words made Zhou Xiaohong's face turn deathly pale instantly, as if her thoughts had been exposed. She subconsciously took half a step back, her eyes darting around in a panic: "You...you stop spouting nonsense! You're talking rubbish!"

The police are currently investigating people in the factory who have connections with Director Zhang. If this little slut's words reach the police's ears... Zhou Xiaohong broke out in a cold sweat.

Lin Baozhu sneered, "Whether it's related or not, the police will find out the truth! Get out of my way, don't delay my business!!"

After saying that, he ignored the woman's slightly pale face, glanced at the workshop floor, and then bent down to pick up a piece of rough steel billet of a suitable size. He weighed it in his hand and said, "This will be enough to make those damaged parts."

"Ha! All talk and no action!" Zhou Xiaohong couldn't help but sarcastically remark from the corner again. "Precision parts are machined on lathes, and you can't do that without years of hands-on experience! Have you ever even touched a lathe? Don't ruin your hands before you even show your skills!"

Lin Baozhu rolled her eyes at her, turned to the factory manager, and picked up a damaged original part: "Factory manager, I need to borrow that old domestic lathe."

"Use it as you please!"

Looking at her calm demeanor, the factory manager felt uncertain, but then he thought that the reporter had followed them, and if he refused, the reporter would spread rumors, and his days as factory manager would be over.

Amidst the mixed gazes of everyone, Lin Baozhu strode quickly toward the old domestic lathe. She secured the steel billet and original parts (used for size and texture comparison) and steadily started the machine.

A deep humming sound rang out. To everyone's surprise, standing in front of the vibrating machine tool, Lin Baozhu's arms remained completely still, her hands manipulating the feed handle with precision and steadiness as a rock.

In less than half an hour, several precision parts with extremely high surface finish were produced.

Shao Hongyi rushed over, eagerly picked up the part, and repeatedly rubbed it, then brought it close to his eyes to carefully examine the grooves and textures. He then picked up the original part and the new part and compared them repeatedly against the sunlight. The solemnity on his face was replaced by shock, and he stammered, "This...this really works?! This...it's practically on par with the original part!" He suddenly looked at the old domestic lathe that Lin Baozhu had just used, then at her hands that hadn't moved an inch, "The precision...it's too stable!"

Lin Baozhu had already started fiddling with the steel billet that was to be used as the screw: "This is just a small part. The key now is the support screw."

Shao Hongyi then came to his senses, and said with a hint of admiration and new worry, "Comrade Lin! The screw is much more difficult! If a part is broken, you can make a copy by comparing it with the original, but the screw... we have no reference objects at all, let alone sample drawings, and we don't have any dimensions, specifications, or thread requirements. How are you going to do it?" This is not something that can be figured out by experience!

Lin Baozhu's hands didn't stop; she had already begun adjusting the lathe parameters. She casually uttered a key piece of information: "I... saw the instruction manual for the same model of equipment at the city's machine factory before. It had detailed technical drawings, parameters, and material mechanical properties. I memorized it all without even realizing it."

A deathly silence fell over the surroundings. All the questioning gazes were frozen in the air by this simple sentence.

Lin Baozhu and Expert Shao quickly assembled the machine tool. Expert Shao's finger hovered above the start button for a few seconds. Everyone present held their breath and stared intently at the button. When Expert Shao resolutely pressed the start button, the entire workshop was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The next moment, a low, rumbling machine sound rang out, and the cutting disc in front started precisely, rotating at high speed and emitting a uniform and powerful cutting sound!

"It's done! It's done!" someone in the crowd shouted excitedly, and then the entire workshop erupted in cheers, like boiling water.

The reporters, who had been holding their cameras, could no longer contain themselves, and the shutter clicked furiously!

His camera captured images of Lin Baozhu's focused profile as she worked on parts on an old domestic machine tool; images of her working alongside expert Shao to debug the machine; and the stunned, incredulous expressions of the crowd around her after the newly repaired imported machine tool had been running stably!

It was a perfect interview, and she could imagine the sensation it would cause once it was published in the newspaper.

The factory manager strode forward, staring intently at the normally operating machine tool. He was breathing heavily, his eyes were wide open, and his hands were trembling slightly with excitement.

He whirled around, grabbed Lin Baozhu's arm, then quickly released her, realizing his lapse in composure. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice trembled with excitement: "Comrade Lin! You...you'd like to come to our machine factory? We'll keep a clerk position for you! Or...how about being a technical consultant? If all else fails, you can...you can be our mascot, our factory's prized possession! Just sit at the factory gate and chat with the gatekeeper from time to time. Our machine factory desperately needs someone like you!"

Seeing the factory manager so excited that he was incoherent, Lin Baozhu appeared much calmer.

She cleared her throat and said, "Factory manager, would you be interested in... discussing a collaboration with me?"

"Cooperation? What cooperation?!"

Then his eyes gleamed, and his face instantly lit up with an expectant smile. "Hehehe, good, good! Good cooperation! Comrade Xiao Lin, let's go! Let's go to my office to discuss this in detail!"

As he spoke, he nodded to the two reporters, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, reporters! Old Li! Show us around our factory!"

After giving the instructions, he immediately led Lin Baozhu and Expert Shao hurriedly toward the office.

Inside the office, Lin Baozhu held the tea poured for her by the factory manager, sipping it slowly, her beautiful eyes squinting contentedly in the rising steam.

The factory manager rubbed his hands together, asking with a hint of anticipation, "Comrade Lin! Tell me quickly, what kind of cooperation is it?"

Expert Shao, who was sitting calmly to the side, slowly and deliberately said with a smile, "What's the rush? Let our great hero have a sip of water to soothe his throat first!"

On the surface, he was trying to persuade the factory director, but in his mind, he was quickly figuring out how to trick Lin Baozhu into working at the city's machinery factory.

This girl is an absolute gem, putting her in the county machinery factory is a waste of her talent! The city machinery factory is in dire need of such a prodigy to tackle new machine tools. If we could poach her, the chances of the new project succeeding would be much greater.