"Stop! All of you, stop!"
At this critical moment, a loud shout made all the workers present stop in their tracks.
Sun Zhengguo looked in the direction of the sound and saw a dark-skinned, dignified-looking middle-aged man in his forties jogging over from a distance.
The middle-aged man quickly ran to the workers, ignoring his breath, grabbed the pitchforks and iron bars from their hands, and threw them all to the ground.
"Uncle Li, you started this again today, didn't you? It's completely disorganized and undisciplined. You're supposed to be a veteran Party member. I'll settle accounts with you later."
"Director Zhou, how can you blame me? It's his fault for taking Technician Wang away."
Faced with Grandpa Li's sophistry, Director Zhou didn't tolerate him and glared at him fiercely.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Mr. Li didn't dare say anything more and obediently retreated to the back of the crowd.
"Comrade, I am so sorry! I am the factory manager of Hongqi Steel Plant. The workers were very offensive just now. I apologize to you on their behalf. Please forgive them. They are just a bunch of roughnecks. They had no choice but to do this in order to make a living."
It's clear that Director Zhou is very sincere and is definitely not playing the good cop. Sun Zhengguo doesn't need to dwell on this matter, since he needs to see the director later.
"It's alright, Director Zhou. Since it's a misunderstanding, let's just let it go. But could we find somewhere to talk?"
"Who are you……?"
"Oh! Director Zhou, let me introduce myself first. My name is Sun Zhengguo, and I come from...."
After listening to Sun Zhengguo's introduction, Director Zhou broke out in a cold sweat.
It turns out that this incredibly young man was actually a deputy section chief in a ministry. Fortunately, the conflict was stopped in time, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"It's Deputy Section Chief Sun. Welcome to our factory, leaders from higher levels."
As Director Zhou spoke, he stepped forward, and the two shook hands politely.
"Deputy Section Chief Sun, this isn't the place to talk. Let's go to my office!"
Sun Zhengguo had already thought of this, so he nodded and prepared to go to the office with Director Zhou.
“What are you still standing there for? You should thank Deputy Section Chief Sun for not arguing with you. Quickly apologize and then go do what you were supposed to do.”
A group of workers, seeing the stern-faced factory manager lose his temper, quickly said "I'm sorry."
Sun Zhengguo didn't make things difficult for them and nodded in acceptance. Seeing this, the workers left one after another.
After resolving the matter, Sun Zhengguo followed Director Zhou to a low, single-story house.
"Deputy Section Chief Sun, this is a rural area, so things are rather basic. Please bear with us."
"It's nothing, it's nothing, Director Zhou, you don't need to be so polite. My hometown is also in the countryside, so coming here feels more like home."
As they spoke, the two entered the office. Sun Zhengguo looked around and saw that it was indeed quite rudimentary.
There was an old desk and a filing cabinet, both of which were dilapidated. The only decent thing on the desk was probably the old telephone.
"Deputy Section Chief Sun, don't stand, sit down and have a glass of water."
"Thank you, Director Zhou."
After taking the teacup, the two sat down, and Director Zhou said apologetically.
“Deputy Section Chief Sun, I know why you came, but we have no choice. It's not that we deliberately deceived the organization, and Technician Wang doesn't want to leave either.”
"Oh! Director Zhou, can you tell me, what is the purpose of all this?"
Since things had come to this point, Director Zhou no longer needed to hide anything and began to explain the whole story.
It turns out that the Hongqi Steel Plant was a product of the Great Leap Forward. Logically speaking, such a crude steelmaking plant would not have produced steel of substandard quality and should have been shut down and eliminated long ago.
But since Wang Lefeng arrived two years ago, the situation has improved. No one knows what methods he used, but the quality of the steel has miraculously reached the standard, which is why it has been able to maintain this quality until now.
That's why these workers are acting so irrationally today; if they take Technician Wang away, these people will face unemployment.
After listening to Director Zhou's account, Sun Zhengguo also fell into deep thought.
It seems that Wang Lefeng is really a talent. With his steelmaking skills, he was able to make the rudimentary steelmaking method meet the standards. If a steelmaking furnace were used, wouldn't the quality of the steel be improved to another level?
"Director Zhou, I also deeply regret what your factory has gone through. Could I meet this Wang Lefeng first? If he is a talented person, I will definitely take him back with me. Then we can discuss a win-win solution. What do you think?"
"Okay! Come with me, he's next door."
Factory Director Zhou knew he couldn't refuse, so he readily took Sun Zhengguo to a nearby bungalow.
Once inside, the room was equally simple, with just a small wooden bed and a dilapidated desk.
A middle-aged man wearing thick glasses sat at the table. The two people entering the room did not affect him at all. He was still writing something on a piece of paper.
Why say middle-aged or elderly men?
Sun Zhengguo had checked the information before he came, and Wang Lefeng was only 43 years old this year, but he looked like an old man.
Moreover, this old man was unkempt, with a scraggly beard, hair like a bird's nest, and several holes in his clothes. Even when someone came in, he was still writing without any distraction.
With this kind of appearance, no one would believe he's not crazy. Even if the Fire Cloud Evil God came, he would have to respectfully call him Big Brother.
"Technician Wang, the higher-ups are here."
Despite Director Zhou's shouts, Wang Lefeng acted as if he hadn't heard, remaining immersed in his own world and continuing to write.
Seeing this, Sun Zhengguo stopped Zhou Changchang and came behind Wang Lefeng, wanting to see what he had written.
The paper contained a series of formulas, such as $Fe+(95%)+c(0.5%)+mn(1%)+S1(0.5%)$, etc.
If it were someone else, seeing these formulas, they would definitely think it's some kind of cryptic text, and that the person who wrote it is crazy.
But Sun Zhengguo was, after all, a top student in the mechanical engineering department. Although he didn't know much about the steelmaking industry, he still knew about these chemical components and industrial parameters!
Seeing that Wang Lefeng was still writing rapidly, Sun Zhengguo did not disturb him. Instead, he gave Director Zhou a wink, and the two went outside and returned to Director Zhou's office.
"Deputy Section Chief Sun, why didn't you call him just now?"
Upon entering the office, Director Zhou asked, puzzled.
"We shouldn't have called out to him just now. He might have had some inspiration in his mind, and we shouldn't have interrupted him."
"But what he wrote...?"
"You don't understand, do you?"
Factory Director Zhou nodded, admitting that he couldn't understand it. After all, it was a world of madmen; who could comprehend it?
"What he just wrote down were some formulas and recipes. It's normal that ordinary people can't understand them. Even professionals sometimes only have a superficial understanding."
Sun Zhengguo then explained the concept to Director Zhou, but it had little effect; judging from his expression, he still couldn't understand.
"By the way, Zhou Changchang, how long will it take to finish writing about cases like Wang Lefeng's?"
"It's hard to say. If no one disturbs him, it might take him an hour to write, or it might take longer."
Sun Zhengguo wasn't in a hurry after hearing this. Since he couldn't go back today anyway, he simply took out some tea leaves from his bag and brewed two cups of tea himself. The two of them drank, chatted, and waited.
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