He pressed down hard, the wrench gripping the bolt firmly, and the pointer slowly climbed. The wind seeped in from the gaps in the tower, making one's eyelids twitch, but this time it didn't slip.
"Torque meets the standard." Nana looked up from below, her flashlight beam sweeping across the metal surface. "Disengagement normal, proceed to the next one."
Chen Hao took a breath, his arm trembling slightly, but he still loosened the socket wrench and moved to the second bolt. That shudder wasn't from fear, it was from hunger. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd had a proper meal; he only remembered that his breakfast consisted of half a hardened energy biscuit, which he'd hidden in his work pants pocket three days ago.
"Would you say we qualify as new-era blue-collar workers?" he muttered as he aimed at the hole. "Working at heights, bringing our own tools, and even the safety rope is a steel wire rope that we twisted ourselves."
“You have never signed a labor contract,” Nana said. “Strictly speaking, you are an unemployed, unpaid worker.”
"Wouldn't I be working for nothing and taking risks?"
"There is currently no mechanism for paying salaries."
"Not even a commemorative medal?"
"I can generate an electronic certificate of honor for you."
"Never mind, I still want some meat."
After tightening the third bolt, he patted the generator compartment shell, as if stroking an old friend's fur. "Alright, it's finished. Now it's your turn."
Nana brought up the startup protocol interface and tapped the virtual buttons a few times. The cabin transmission system emitted a low hum, the bearings rotated smoothly, and there were no abnormal friction noises. The self-test program completed a cycle, and all parameters returned to the green zone.
"The mechanical structure closed-loop is complete," she said. "We are ready for grid connection testing."
Chen Hao climbed down the maintenance ladder, feeling his knees protest with every step. When he finally reached the bottom and stood still, his legs were still a little weak. He catching his breath while leaning on the base, and looked up at the three blades hanging silently in mid-air, like a video that had been paused.
"Hey, wheel!" he shouted, looking up. "If you don't turn, I'm going to charge you for electricity."
Nana has entered the control room and is connecting to the main control system. The screen lights up one by one, displaying voltage, current, frequency, and data streams steadily. The inverter begins to preheat, and the energy storage tank indicator light turns from yellow to green.
Five minutes later, the first gust of wind came.
The blades trembled at first, then slowly turned a corner. A second gust of wind was slightly stronger, propelling them to complete a full circle. By the third circle, the rotational speed was sufficient to start the generator.
"Output power has rebounded to 37%," Nana reported. "It is expected to reach the rated value within ten minutes."
Chen Hao slumped onto a small stool in front of the control panel, took off his shoes, and let his toes peek out from his socks to get some air. "You know what's the best part? It's not that the power came back on, it's that I can plug the refrigerator back in."
"The cold storage has resumed refrigeration."
"Great, at least I don't have to use that half of my ham as a stone anymore."
The monitoring footage showed that power was gradually restored to all areas of the base. The corridor lights were all on, the water pumps restarted, and the air circulation fans began to run. What excited him most was that the lighting module in the eco-cabin lit up; the row of LED tubes, which had been off for two whole weeks, now emitted a soft white light again.
“The plants came back to life too,” he said. “They’ve outlived me.”
"You are not on the verge of death."
"I feel happier mentally."
They stared at the screen for two hours. The wind speed fluctuated several times, but the system automatically adjusted the pitch angle to maintain stable output. The energy storage battery charging curve rose smoothly, without any tripping or harmonic interference.
"Running continuously for over twelve hours without any abnormal interruptions." Nana marked the status as "green operation," indicating that "the wind turbine has entered normal power supply mode."
Chen Hao let out a long breath, then leaned back against the wall and remained motionless. His eyes were closed, but the corners of his mouth were turned up in a smile.
“We did it,” he said. “Although the process was more agonizing than failing a course and having to retake it, we still passed.”
"This is not an exam."
“That’s how it is here.” He opened his eyes. “Every time the system crashes, I want to hand in my paper and run away, but you pull me back to keep writing.”
"No one is allowing you to abstain."
"That's why I said you were the proctor."
Nana didn't respond to that, but instead pulled up the inspection log template. "It is recommended to establish a fixed maintenance cycle starting today, with a basic inspection every 72 hours, including lubrication, tightening, and vibration monitoring."
"Wait a minute." Chen Hao sat up straight. "Are we talking about this now? You want to disassemble the machine as soon as it's powered on?"
"Preventive maintenance can reduce the failure rate by 82.6%."
"Can't I enjoy the fruits of victory for a couple of days first?"
"The system's decay pattern will not be altered by human emotions."
"You robots are so cold-hearted."
“I’m just reminding you that before the windmill broke down last time, you also said, ‘Now we can take a break.’”
Chen Hao choked for a moment, then raised his hand to touch the back of his head. "...That time was an accident."
"The combination of three unexpected events made it inevitable."
He was silent for a moment, then finally sighed: "Alright, then write down the plan, and I'll sign it."
Nana immediately generated a table listing the inspection milestones and tasks for the next thirty days. Chen Hao glanced at it and found that even details like "checking the corrosion of lightning rods" were included.
"You really think this is a formal job?"
"It already is."
"What if I apply for a transfer to grow vegetables?"
"The agricultural group has not yet been established."
“Then I’ll do it myself.” He suddenly sat up straight. “Actually, I’ve always had this idea.”
Nana looked at him.
"Now that we have electricity, can we do something else? Like... improve the plow?"
“The efficiency of existing wooden plows is indeed too low.” She nodded. “On average, the area tilled per day is only 41% of the theoretical value, and they are prone to breakage.”
"Look, you know that too!" Chen Hao said enthusiastically. "I passed by the farm yesterday and saw Old Wang using that thing to plow the land. The ox was walking slower than me. If they made a metal plow and changed the angle, it would save at least half the effort."
"The matching of material strength, soil resistance, and traction force needs to be considered."
Don't you already have the information for all of these?
"The knowledge base includes 137 traditional plow designs, covering different terrains and crop types."
"Then investigate!" He jumped up from the ground, and without even putting on his shoes, headed towards the workshop. "I want to see it now!"
"Currently, wind power operation and maintenance remains the top priority for resources."
"Operations and maintenance are stable now!"
"Stable for only 72 hours."
"That's enough. People need to catch their breath, can't machines take a break?"
"Machines don't need to breathe."
“But I need fresh goals.” He stood at the door and turned back. “Staring at the same windmill every day will eventually lead to depression.”
Nana paused for a few seconds, as if weighing her options.
Then she shut down some background monitoring processes and freed up computing resources to open the agricultural machinery archive.
"We can suspend routine inspections for a week," she said, "to allow time for preliminary data collection."
I knew you would understand.
“I don’t understand emotions, I only understand efficiency.” She walked into the workshop, and the terminal interface unfolded in the air. “If a new project can improve overall productivity, then the time invested is reasonable.”
Under the light, the screen flipped through page after page. The shape of the plowshare, the traction structure, the contrast of materials—a stream of information flowed by. Chen Hao leaned closer, his fingers dusty, and drew a simple diagram on the table.
"Look, if we make this angle steeper, it will go deeper into the ground, but wouldn't the resistance be too great?"
"According to the mechanical model of clay loam soil, the optimal cutting angle is 38 to 42 degrees," she said. "Exceeding this will increase energy consumption, while falling below it will result in incomplete soil turning."
“Then let’s set it at forty degrees.” He grinned. “Come on, Nana, let’s do some earth art.”
She brought up the 3D modeling interface and began combining parameters. Chen Hao stared at the rotating virtual plow, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
Outside, the windmill blades rotate at a steady speed, casting shadows that slowly trace circles across the ground.
In the workshop, water cups are placed on the table, and the water stains at the bottom of the cups are evaporating little by little.
Chen Hao suddenly remembered something, turned around, opened the cabinet, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.
“I almost forgot, this is a record of the dimensions of the steel plate I picked up from the scrap heap last time.” He spread out the paper. “It’s thick enough and has enough area; it should be able to cut out two plowshares.”
Nana took it and glanced at it. "The material is usable, but it needs a second annealing process to eliminate internal stress."
"Then let's burn it."
"No standard heating furnace".
"We have a welding torch."
"Temperature is uncontrollable."
"Then... how about building an earthen stove?"
"It's feasible, but it requires site selection, construction, and ventilation design."
"It sounds like building a house."
"similar."
He scratched his head and then smiled. "It's okay, at least we have electricity now, so life can finally move forward."
Nana looked at his smiling face and nodded slightly.
The plow model on the screen is still rotating, with clear lines and distinct outlines.
Chen Hao picked up a pen and wrote a few words on the edge of the drawing: **"First Generation Electric Assisted Plow"**.
Just as he was about to say something, a muffled thud came from outside the door.
It sounded like metal hitting the ground.
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