After the precision grinding machine was repaired, the excitement in the factory lingered for several days. Liu Li's name went from being a "technical expert" in the workshop to a "little expert" known throughout the factory. She still arrived at the workshop on time every day, changed her work clothes, and cleaned the machine tools, wanting to work as diligently as before. But people were always secretly glancing at her, even the foremen from other workshops passing by would take a second look. She knew that some things had changed.
That afternoon, sunlight streamed through the grime from the workshop's high windows, casting dappled patterns of light on the floor. Liu Li had just finished machining a batch of small shafts and was wiping the oil off the tool holder with cotton yarn when she saw Director Zhao walking over with someone—the person was wearing a cadre uniform with four pockets, glasses, and clutching a kraft paper envelope in his hand. His face was tense, and his eyes held a scrutinizing look.
"Liu Li, stop for a moment." Director Zhao's voice was more serious than usual, and sounded a little different.
Liu Li put down the cotton yarn and turned around, her heart skipped a beat, and she vaguely understood what was going on. She glanced at Master Wang, who was also looking over from the workbench, his eyes calm, as if he already knew something bad was going to happen.
"This is Officer Sun from the Personnel Department," Director Zhao introduced.
Officer Sun pushed up his glasses, forced a smile, but spoke with a serious tone: "Comrade Liu Li, you achieved excellent results in the skills competition, and this time you repaired the imported grinding machine. Everyone has seen your abilities. After deliberation by the factory's Party Committee and approval from higher authorities, you are now officially being transferred to the Technical Department as a trainee technician. This is the transfer order."
He handed over the kraft paper envelope. Liu Li's hands were still oily, so she quickly wiped them on her work pants and took it with both hands. The envelope had the red heading "Personnel Department of Hongxing Machinery Factory" printed on it. When she pulled it out, she saw that it was an official document with a red stamp, which read "Notification Regarding Comrade Liu Li's Job Transfer" and told her to complete the handover within three days and report to the Technical Department.
White paper with a red seal, everything was clear and legible. Liu Li clutched the paper, her heart pounding, a mix of joy and trepidation—did this mean she'd be drawing blueprints in the office instead of working on machine tools in the workshop?
"Liu Li, congratulations!" Director Zhao patted her shoulder, his eyes crinkling with laughter. "Work hard in the technical department, and don't embarrass our machining workshop!"
The surrounding workers immediately gathered around:
"Oh, Liu Li's going to the technical department? She'll be a cultured office worker from now on!"
"Wow, that's impressive! You've only been a full-time employee for a short time, and you've already been transferred to a different department!"
"You absolutely have to treat us, Technician Liu!"
Zhang Shulan squeezed through the crowd, grabbed her arm and shook it: "Xiao Li! That's great! I knew you could definitely move up!"
Liu Li smiled and agreed, but her gaze searched through the crowd for Master Wang. Master Wang had already come over and was standing outside the crowd. He didn't come over to congratulate her, but just looked at her with happiness, pride, and a little bit of unspeakable reluctance in his eyes.
Liu Li pushed her way through the crowd, handed him the transfer order, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Master..."
Master Wang didn't take it. He glanced at the words on the paper, then looked at her. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking. His voice was still rough, but softer than usual: "Yes, that's good. The technical department has a big platform, and you can learn more. It will be good for you in the future."
He raised his hand, as if to pat her head, but lowered it halfway through—the apprentice before him was no longer the little girl who needed him to teach her step by step.
“Remember,” he said, his tone becoming serious again, pointing to the concrete ground beneath his feet and then to the machine tool beside him, “no matter where you are, don’t forget how the machine tool works and how the parts are made. Without reality, the blueprints you draw are just waste paper.”
“I remember, Master.” Liu Li nodded vigorously, engraving these words in her heart—this was the last lesson her master taught her, more precious than anything else.
"Go on," Master Wang waved his hand, turned and walked towards his workbench. His back looked a little lonely in the shadow of the machine tool, but he still stood straight. "Hand over your work clearly. When you get to the new place, listen more, observe more and talk less."
Next, during the handover, Liu Li polished her lathe until it gleamed, meticulously checked all the tools and measuring instruments, and clearly explained the unfinished work to the young worker taking over, even specifying how sharp the cutting tools should be and how much depth of cut should be left.
Her coworkers came over to say goodbye: "Come back to the workshop often!" "If you don't understand anything, we'll come and ask you!" Several experienced workers also chatted with her for a bit, saying, "Don't panic when you get to the department. You have the foundation from the workshop, which is more solid than anyone else's."
The bell rang, but Liu Li didn't rush to leave. She took a slow walk around the workshop. Her fingers touched the lathe bed; it was cool and smooth, just like the familiar feeling. She could almost hear the hum of the machine tool in her ears. Even the smell of machine oil mixed with coolant seemed a little unpleasant to leave now.
She glanced one last time at Master Wang's workbench—the set of scraping tools that the master treasured so much was still there, polished to a gleaming shine. Liu Li took a deep breath, turned, and walked out of the workshop.
The setting sun bathed the factory roads in a golden-red hue. Liu Li, clutching her transfer order, walked step by step toward the three-story building bearing the sign "Technical Department." A new job, a new place, awaited her ahead. She felt reassured; she was well-prepared.
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