On the morning of the third day that Liu Li and Fu Jingchen were studying the blueprints in the reading room, the factory issued a notice—at 2 p.m., a grinding machine fault analysis meeting would be held in the small conference room of the office building, and people from the equipment department, the technical department, as well as the workshop leaders and key technical personnel all had to attend.
Liu Li was turning a lead screw on the lathe when she heard the news. Her hand crank paused, and a string of iron filings fell with a "clatter." She took a deep breath and finished turning the remaining half of the screw, but her heart was pounding like a drum—what was coming couldn't be avoided.
She only ate two bites of steamed bun for lunch, mentally reviewing what she needed to say that afternoon: first, she'd mention the unusual sound she was hearing; then, she'd discuss the gear clearance on the blueprints; and finally, she'd say there was no need to wait for experts, they could just adjust it. Seeing her distracted, Zhang Shulan leaned over and patted her arm: "Don't worry, you've been thinking about this for so long, you must have a plan!"
At 1:50, Liu Li washed the oil off her hands, tugged at the hem of her work clothes, and headed towards the office building. Fu Jingchen was already waiting for her at the conference room door. The two nodded to each other without speaking and went inside together.
The meeting room reeked of smoke, and the oval table was packed with people. At the head of the table sat Deputy Factory Director Qian, his face long and drawn; next to him was Chief Engineer Zhou, wearing reading glasses and flipping through documents; also present were Section Chief Li from the Equipment Department, Deputy Section Chief Li from the Technical Department (the same one who had previously looked down on the female workers), Director Zhao, Master Wang, and several other veteran workers. Cigarette butts littered the floor, and the atmosphere was oppressively tense.
At the start of the meeting, Section Chief Li spoke first, holding a small notebook in his hand: "The grinding machine is shaking right now, and all the work produced has vibration marks and the precision is out of tolerance. We removed the protective cover to check, but we didn't see any broken gears or damaged bearings. This foreign equipment is too sophisticated; we dare not disassemble it blindly. I have already reported it to the bureau to invite experts, but... it will take a few more days for the experts to arrive."
As soon as he finished speaking, a buzz of discussion broke out below:
"Wait a few days? Military supplies can't wait!"
"Absolutely, this stop has stalled all the work that followed."
"But what if we don't wait? Who can afford to pay for the damage if we demolish it?"
Deputy Factory Director Qian tapped on the table: "Director Zhao, your workshop is in the most urgent need. Tell me your thoughts."
Director Zhao stood up, rubbing his temples, his face full of worry: "Director Qian, how can we not be anxious? That batch of work is stuck on the grinding machine, we've been watching it every day! But... Section Chief Li is right, this foreign stuff is expensive, we're not very skilled, if we break it, the losses will be even greater. So... the workshop still thinks it's safer to wait for the experts to come."
Upon hearing this, several veteran workers nodded in agreement. Master Zhou sighed, "We're good at handling domestic machine tools, but there are too many intricacies in these foreign machines; we just can't figure them out."
Master Wang didn't say a word from beginning to end, he just sat there smoking, the smoke obscuring his face.
As the meeting was about to conclude with "continue waiting," Liu Li's palms were sweating profusely. She glanced at Fu Jingchen, who nodded slightly at her; then she looked at Master Wang, who happened to look up. The two locked eyes for a second, his gaze unchanged, but Liu Li felt a little more at ease—what needed to be said had to be said.
Liu Li suddenly stood up, a small movement that instantly silenced the conference room. All eyes turned to her: some were surprised, some were puzzled, and Deputy Section Chief Li curled his lip, his eyes carrying a hint of sarcasm that said, "What could a little girl like you know?"
"Director Qian, Chief Engineer Zhou, leaders and fellow workers," Liu Li's voice trembled slightly at first, but she quickly regained her composure, "I have a different idea about the problem with the grinding machine, and I'd like to share it with you all."
Deputy Factory Director Qian was taken aback for a moment, then pointed at her: "Oh? Comrade Liu Li, you go ahead."
Liu Li took out several sheets of paper covered with drawings from her pocket—transmission diagrams she and Fu Jingchen had drawn—and handed them to Fu Jingchen to distribute to everyone. Then she said, "Fu and I listened to the grinding machine several times. The sound wasn't coming from the main spindle, but from the front part of the transmission box. It sounded like it was spinning very fast, probably over 3,000 revolutions per minute. It seemed like it wasn't aligned properly, or the gears weren't meshing correctly, which is why it was shaking."
She paused, and seeing that no one interrupted, she continued, "We checked the blueprints, and there's a set of speed-increasing gears there, with a design clearance of only a few millimeters. I don't think it's a broken part, but rather that the machine has been running for a long time, and the thermal expansion and contraction have changed the clearance, or the gears have a slight deformation that's too small to be seen with the naked eye—because of this small deviation, it shakes a lot when it runs fast, and the finished product is naturally of poor quality."
The moment those words were spoken, the meeting room erupted in chaos again:
"It's not broken? Just because the gap is a little off?"
"You can tell that? You're not just guessing, are you?"
Deputy Section Chief Li finally couldn't hold back and sneered, "Comrade Liu Li, your idea is quite novel. But what makes you so sure? Just by listening to a sound and looking at a blueprint? This is precision equipment; it almost became unusable! If it were damaged during disassembly, could you bear the responsibility?"
Liu Li wasn't intimidated and met his gaze: "Section Chief Li, I'm not just guessing. The blueprints show the clearance requirements for this set of gears, as well as instructions for adjusting compensation for thermal deformation, which matches the problem we've observed. Now we need to disassemble them for testing, but we don't need to wait for experts—if it's really as we say, adjusting the clearance will be much faster than waiting for experts, and it will save us a lot of trouble!"
She took a half step forward, her voice even more resolute: "I request that the leadership give me a chance to have Engineer Fu and I, under the supervision of Master Wang and the mechanics, check and verify it first. If it's correct, we'll try adjusting it; if there are any problems, I'll take responsibility!"
"You'll take responsibility?" Deputy Section Chief Li was about to retort when a deep voice interrupted him—it was Master Wang.
Master Wang stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, dusted off his hands, and glanced around the room: "Director Qian, Chief Engineer Zhou. Liu Li is my apprentice. She's steady on her feet and meticulous. Her idea might sound far-fetched, but it makes sense—we old folks always think that a part is only faulty when it breaks down, forgetting that sometimes it's not broken, it's just 'out of place.' She can figure this out from the sounds and the blueprints; that kind of dedication is rare."
He paused, looked at Liu Li, and said firmly, "If you want to try, I'll take her with me. If anything goes wrong, I, Lao Wang, will take responsibility; it has nothing to do with her."
These words were like a thunderclap, and the meeting room fell silent instantly. Master Wang was a level eight master craftsman in the factory, and his words carried more weight than anyone else's.
Chief Engineer Zhou looked at Fu Jingchen: "Engineer Fu, what do you think?"
Fu Jingchen stood up, holding the transmission diagram in his hand: "Chief Engineer Zhou, I analyzed the whole process with Liu Li. Her judgment is technically sound, and I am willing to cooperate, taking charge of the measurement and calculation to ensure accuracy."
Deputy Factory Director Qian tapped his fingers on the table for a while before finally looking up and scanning everyone with his eyes: "Good! Since Master Wang has made the decision, and you young people are also ambitious, the factory will give you a chance!"
He raised his voice slightly: "Establish a temporary emergency repair team! Wang Jianguo will be the team leader, Liu Li and Fu Jingchen will be the main force, and the Equipment Department and the Machine Repair Team will provide full support! Quickly come up with a detailed plan, get it approved by me and Chief Engineer Zhou, and then get to work! Remember, be bold, but even more careful—you must not only repair the machine, but also not break it!"
"Yes!" Liu Li, Fu Jingchen, Master Wang, and Director Zhao all responded in unison.
Liu Li finally loosened her clenched fist; her palms were sweaty, but her heart was burning with warmth. She knew this was just the beginning; the real tough challenges lay ahead.
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