The project approval process in the technical department had Liu Li feeling anxious for two days. She was both looking forward to Fu Jingchen coming to discuss the design with her and worried that her rudimentary ideas wouldn't stand up to professional scrutiny.
That afternoon, she was squatting beside the lathe, wiping the guide rails, the cotton yarn making the metal surface shine, when she heard someone call her name. Looking up, she saw Fu Jingchen standing at the workshop door, a kraft paper folder between his fingers. His gaze swept around before quickly settling on her.
"Comrade Liu Li, do you have a moment now? I'd like to discuss the design of the device with you in detail." Fu Jingchen approached, his voice much softer than the noise of the machines in the workshop.
Liu Li quickly threw the cotton yarn onto the toolbox and wiped her hands under the hem of her work clothes: "When you have time, Technician Fu."
"The workshop is too noisy. There's a small empty meeting room in the technical department. Shall we talk there?" Fu Jingchen pointed outside.
Liu Li subconsciously looked towards Master Wang. Wang Jianguo was facing away from them, holding an oilstone in his hand, polishing a precision chuck. Hearing the noise, he didn't turn his head, but just waved his hand: "Go on, just finish today's work."
Following Fu Jingchen through the factory area, Liu Li's heart pounded faster and faster. This was her first time entering the technical department. A long wooden table stood in the small conference room, the walls were covered with mechanical schematics, and the paper was filled with symbols she couldn't recognize. A faint smell of ink lingered in the air.
Fu Jingchen opened the folder, first taking out Liu Li's crumpled proposal, then pulling out a few new drawings and spreading them on the table. Liu Li could tell at a glance that these were redrawn from her sketches; the lines were straight and even, the dimensions were clearly marked, and they were much neater than hers.
“Your idea is fine,” Fu Jingchen picked up a pencil and pointed to the linkage mechanism on the drawing, “but there are a few places that need adjustment. Look at this swing fulcrum. If it’s installed in its original position, it will collide with the lathe slide box. I’ve calculated that moving it 15 millimeters to the left will avoid it.”
Liu Li leaned closer for a better look and indeed found that the two parts were overlapping—she had only been thinking about the principle and hadn't considered the actual installation space at all. She couldn't help but admire Technician Fu's meticulousness.
“There’s also the gear ratio,” Fu Jingchen wrote a string of numbers and formulas on the paper. “Your original design would result in a ball joint radius that’s a size larger. We need to recalculate the length ratio of the connecting rods to get the dimensions right.”
For the next two hours, the two were engrossed in the blueprints. Fu Jingchen talked entirely about theory and calculations, providing a solid basis for every modification; Liu Li, drawing on her experience working in the workshop, occasionally offered practical operational ideas—
"Technician Fu, if we replace the connecting pin with a threaded one, will it allow for fine-tuning of the trajectory? Sometimes, even a slight difference can cause the ball head to become out of round."
"After the tool is sharpened, it needs to be re-aligned. Wouldn't it save some time if we added a quick-locking device here?"
Her suggestions were all put into practice, and Fu Jingchen nodded frequently as he listened. Sometimes, when the two disagreed on a certain detail, they would lie on the table and calculate, or use pencils and erasers to build simple models to demonstrate, until they found the most suitable solution.
"I never expected you to know so much about organizations." After the discussion, Fu Jingchen put down his pencil, his tone full of admiration.
Liu Li's face was a little hot: "I just keep thinking about things while I'm working, always trying to find ways to save effort and do things better."
As the sun slowly set, the light in the conference room grew dimmer. Fu Jingchen turned on the lights, and the warm yellow light shone on the drawings, making the lines and numbers clearer. After an afternoon of work, the design was much more complete than before.
"That's enough for today," Fu Jingchen said, starting to organize the drawings. "Next, I'll turn these modifications into official drawings. Once they're done, I'll need you to take a few measurements on the lathe for the installation."
"No problem." Liu Li helped tidy up the drawings. When she handed over the last drawing, her fingertips accidentally touched Fu Jingchen's hand. They both froze for a moment, then quickly moved away without saying a word.
"I'll take you back to the workshop." Fu Jingchen tucked the folder under his arm.
Walking along the path in the factory area, it was already getting dark, and the poplar trees along the roadside rustled in the wind. The two didn't say much, just walked slowly.
“In all my years in the technical department, I’ve seen too many designs that are just drawings on paper,” Fu Jingchen suddenly said. “Your proposal is one of the few that is based on practical work experience, and it’s very down-to-earth.”
Liu Li felt a warmth in her heart: "It's all thanks to your excellent guidance."
“No,” Fu Jingchen stopped and turned to look at her, his eyes shining in the twilight, “it’s because you’re capable—you understand the theory and know how to do it in practice. That’s rare.”
Liu Li's cheeks burned even hotter, but thankfully it was dark so it wasn't noticeable. She quickly lowered her head, said "Thank you, Technician Fu," and shuffled forward a few steps.
When they returned to the workshop, most of the workers had already gone home. Master Wang was still at his workstation wiping his tools, holding a piece of chamois leather and carefully cleaning the micrometer's anvil. When he saw them come in, he only glanced at the wall clock.
"How did the chat go?"
"It's great, Technician Fu helped me fix a lot of details." Liu Li's voice was filled with excitement.
Wang Jianguo grunted in agreement and continued wiping the micrometer: "Come to work on time tomorrow, don't let it interfere with your regular work."
"Understood, Master."
As Fu Jingchen watched Liu Li pack up her tools, he suddenly said to Wang Jianguo, "Master Wang, you've trained your apprentice very well."
Wang Jianguo paused for a moment while wiping his tools, and didn't reply, but the corners of his mouth seemed to twitch slightly upwards, so quickly that it was hard to catch.
On her way back to her dorm, Liu Li's heart was still pounding. The lines on the blueprints, the formulas Fu Jingchen had written, and the way he looked so focused on the blueprints kept replaying in her mind. For the first time, she felt that discussing technology could be so interesting, not boring at all.
But as soon as she pushed open the dormitory door, her good mood instantly turned sour. Sun Peng's younger sister, Sun Xiuying, was chatting away with two other female workers. When they saw her come in, they immediately shut up and exchanged glances.
Liu Li knew perfectly well that the factory was only so big, and even the smallest thing could be blown out of proportion. She and Fu Jingchen had spent the entire afternoon in the conference room, and who knew how many versions of the story had already been made up for them.
Her path of innovation has only just begun, and she will face challenges far beyond just the problems on paper.
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