Chapter 34 Maintenance Personnel
Lin Yuanshu patted his chest and assured him, "This news is definitely true. Cats have their ways, and mice have theirs. I have a secret source of information. Although my relationship with Director Tang has soured, my relationship with her subordinates is still good, and we have always kept in touch."
Director Tang and Director Zhou said it themselves, so how could the information be wrong?
Director Xia did not doubt Lin Yuanshu's words. He paced back and forth in his office, sighed, and slowly said, "In that case, you should take this labor production competition even more seriously. If your group can win first place, I will give you an additional reward."
Lin Yuanshu smiled sweetly and said confidently, "Okay, I will do my best."
The leaders all urged her to stay focused and not let her be the only one working hard. The stronger the competition, the more it would demonstrate her abilities. If everyone was indifferent to this labor production competition, how could she show that her first place was hard-won and that her abilities far surpassed others?
Director Xia certainly wouldn't act rashly based on Lin Yuanshu's one-sided account. He sent someone to investigate the activities of Director Tang and Director Zhou and found that they were indeed very concerned about the labor production competition, fully supporting their subordinates to participate in it, and even giving speeches in the workshop to motivate the workers.
He said angrily, "You're not even as good as a woman. She knows that at such a critical moment, you need to keep a close eye on the enemy's behavior. And what are you doing? You didn't even report such an important matter. Do you expect to realize the importance of this matter only after Director Zhou or Director Tang have gained the factory director's favor?"
As Director Xia's top subordinate, Wu Jianhua could only bite the bullet and explain, "Director Xia, I'm really sorry. It's all our fault for focusing on the labor production competition and neglecting the behavior of our competitors, which led to your complete ignorance. We will pay attention to this issue in the future. Fortunately, there's still time. We will put our full effort into this labor production competition and strive to win first place."
Upon hearing this, Director Xia decided not to argue too much with Wu Jianhua and the others, since they were also busy with the labor production competition, which required their full effort, and he didn't want to affect their performance.
Wu Jianhua left the office with a heavy heart. After today's events, he began to take Lin Yuanshu seriously. He didn't know how capable Lin Yuanshu was, but he was definitely a diligent researcher who had easily gained Director Xia's trust and dealt him a blow. It seemed that Lin Yuanshu would be a formidable opponent.
The only saving grace is that Lin Yuanshu is still young and doesn't have much work experience; otherwise, he would be worried that Lin Yuanshu's group would rank higher than him in the labor production competition.
When Director Zhou and Director Tang learned that Director Xia had also started giving a speech, they both showed an expression of "I knew it," saying, "It seems that Director Xia's true colors can't be hidden anymore."
They even deliberately acted as if they didn't care about the labor production competition in front of them. If it weren't for Lin Yuanshu tipping them off, they would have been fooled.
The three workshop directors, as if injected with adrenaline, began to promote the rewards of the labor production competition in the workshop, to increase the workers' enthusiasm, and to encourage them to strive to win first place in the labor production competition and surpass the workers in other workshops.
A day passed in the blink of an eye. Lin Yuanshu drew a rough design based on her memory. She twisted her wrist and went to see the head of the maintenance team before leaving get off work, asking him to arrange for a few honest and quiet maintenance workers to come and help.
The team leader agreed without hesitation, saying, "Don't worry, the people I arrange are all honest people."
After all, only honest people are willing to help Lin Yuanshu's group. Most people would rather help Wu Jianhua's group, or any other group if necessary. They just don't want to go to Lin Yuanshu's group because they don't want to be associated with last place and affect their work evaluation.
The moon quietly climbed into the sky. After Lin Yuanshu finished washing up, he went to chat with Sister-in-law Xue.
The eldest brother, very astutely, went to the living room to read. He kept his distance from Lin Yuanshu, knowing that anyone who could get along well at work was no ordinary person.
Thinking Lin Yuanshu was going to settle scores with her, Sister-in-law Xue hurriedly said, "Second wife, I haven't offended you, nor have I spoken ill of you to the neighbors. I've even spoken well of you. You can't blame me for not helping you. When you and Mom were arguing, I really couldn't get a word in edgewise. I'm clumsy with words and don't know how to talk..."
Seeing that Sister-in-law Xue was going off on a tangent, Lin Yuanshu interrupted her without any politeness, "That's enough. You don't need to put on an act in front of me. I didn't come to you to talk about this. Just do what you promised and help me with some housework. It doesn't matter whether you help me or not."
Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Xue's smile returned, and she asked curiously, "So, what do you need me for?"
Lin Yuanshu cleared his throat and said seriously, "Give me some money and meat coupons. I plan to buy some meat for Grandma tomorrow."
Without hesitation, Sister-in-law Xue said, "Why don't you come and settle the score with me?"
It's not easy for her to save up some money on the side! No matter what Lin Yuanshu says, she won't hand over her savings.
Lin Yuanshu shook his head in disappointment, sighed, and said with exasperation, "You're really short-sighted!"
Sister-in-law Xue looked bewildered and said, "How am I short-sighted?"
Lin Yuanshu patted Sister-in-law Xue on the shoulder and said seriously, "Do you think I asked you to take the meat coupons and money to buy meat for Grandma for my own sake? No, it's for you. Looking around the family, who can be your support? Your older brother keeps silent in front of Mom, and Xiangyang is bad at talking and can only get scolded. As for Dad, he always pretends to be deaf and dumb unless it affects his interests. As for me, I can barely protect myself, so how can I have extra strength to help you? You should understand that the more I help you, the harder your life will be, because Mom will think we are in cahoots and bully you even more."
“What does this have to do with money and tickets?” Although Sister-in-law Xue knew that her situation was difficult, she firmly believed that as long as she gave birth to a son and became a “great contributor,” her situation would improve.
Lin Yuanshu wasn't angry at Xue's sister-in-law's ignorance; after all, the more ignorant someone was, the easier they were to fool. She said earnestly, "At this time, you need to find someone to rely on, and Grandma is the best one. Just like you're afraid of your mother-in-law, Mom is afraid of her too. Give me the money and ration coupons, and I'll buy meat to please Grandma. I guarantee she'll look at you differently. Whenever Mom scolds you, Grandma will scold Mom in return..."
Before Lin Yuanshu could finish speaking, Sister-in-law Xue pulled out her savings from under her pillow and excitedly asked, "Is this enough? If not, does your brother have more savings?"
She really wanted to finally get her revenge. Her demands weren't high; she didn't expect to be like Lin Yuanshu, who never lifted a finger. She would be content if her mother-in-law was ever in a bad mood and she was always being bossed around.
Lin Yuanshu took out five yuan and a meat ration coupon for one jin (500g) of meat, and said confidently, "I will refund any overpayment or make up any underpayment. I will try my best to buy meat that does not require a coupon."
Sister-in-law Xue nodded, then shamelessly asked, "I've already paid the fee, so you have to get things done for me, after all, it cost so much money."
Lin Yuanshu smiled and said, "You should know my abilities; I won't make mistakes."
She took Xue Dasao's money and did her own thing perfectly. She could even get the workshop director of the chemical plant, so there was no reason why she couldn't handle an old woman from the countryside. If she couldn't, it could only mean that she didn't give her enough.
She should have asked Sister-in-law Xue for money to buy meat yesterday, so that she could buy the freshest meat tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, she was too busy and forgot all about it.
Sister-in-law Xue watched with a pained expression as Lin Yuanshu took her money and left. To please her grandmother, she had no choice but to do this.
She had never thought of relying on her grandmother, because her grandmother had always been dissatisfied with her and kept urging her to have children. Although her grandmother did not call her an infertile hen like her mother-in-law did, there was a clear hint of disdain in her eyes.
I wonder if Lin Yuanshu can win over Grandma? There shouldn't be any problem, right? After all, she can even fool her father-in-law.
Lin Yuanshu took the money back to his room. Zhou Xiangyang looked at the money in Lin Yuanshu's hand and asked curiously, "Did Dad give it to you?"
"No, it was given to me by my sister-in-law to give to my grandmother," Lin Yuanshu explained with a smile.
Zhou Xiangyang's expression showed a hint of surprise, "I didn't expect my sister-in-law to be so filial to Grandma. I thought she didn't like Grandma!"
Lin Yuanshu gave a meaningful smile and said softly, "This is probably what they mean by knowing a person's face but not their heart."
Zhou Xiangyang didn't understand Lin Yuanshu's implied meaning and thought that Lin Yuanshu was praising his sister-in-law's deep-seated filial piety.
He took out several books from his satchel hanging on the wall and handed them to Lin Yuanshu. “These are the ‘Chemical Machinery Design Handbook’ and ‘Filtration and Separation Technology’ that you asked me to find for you. Books like ‘Activated Carbon Manufacturing and Application Technology’ are highly specialized and not even available in libraries. I guess only research institutes have them.”
Lin Yuanshu took the book from Zhou Xiangyang's hand and praised him generously: "Thank you, you are really amazing. You found the book I needed in just one day. Without your help, I would have had a terrible headache."
Zhou Xiangyang was a little flustered by the praise. He said embarrassedly, "It's what I should do. Luckily, I know the librarian, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to borrow these books."
Lin Yuanshu said with great admiration, "I didn't expect you to know the librarian. You really are a hidden talent."
Zhou Xiangyang gave a slight smile and said confidently, "I will continue to help you find the other books you want."
Lin Yuanshu frowned, looking troubled. "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"
Zhou Xiangyang quickly shook his head and said firmly, "It's no trouble at all. I'm happy to be of help."
Lin Yuanshu said with a touched expression, "You're so good to me."
Zhou Xiangyang lowered his head and gave an embarrassed smile.
After successfully getting Zhou Xiangyang to willingly help her find books, Lin Yuanshu began to look through the books Zhou Xiangyang had found for her. Although the labor production competition wouldn't start until next month, it seemed she had plenty of time.
In reality, she only had half a month to improve the reactor agitator and a month to install a simple activated carbon filter. This way, when the factory manager and the review team went deep into the workshop for inspection and guidance, they would see her achievements first and be deeply impressed by her.
Seeing that Lin Yuanshu was engrossed in his book and hadn't glanced at him even once, Zhou Xiangyang felt a little disappointed. He still hoped to have more interaction with Lin Yuanshu than to read the book.
It's strange, he doesn't want to talk to anyone else, but he can talk endlessly with Lin Yuanshu, and he never gets tired of it.
Lin Yuanshu didn't notice Zhou Xiangyang's unusual behavior; her mind was entirely on her books. It was a bit difficult for a pharmacy student to read these books, but fortunately, people's education level wasn't high in this era, so everyone was pretty much the same, just two chickens pecking at each other.
After some time, Lin Yuanshu felt sleepy. She got up, put her books on the table, looked at Zhou Xiangyang sitting next to her, and asked, "Aren't you going to sleep yet?"
Zhou Xiangyang held up the book in his hand and explained, "I'll go to sleep after I finish reading this page."
Lin Yuanshu nodded, then leaned down, kissed Zhou Xiangyang's forehead, and said with a smile, "Goodnight kiss."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiangyang's eyes lit up instantly, and his previous disappointment vanished in an instant. He had been so inconsiderate; he knew perfectly well that Lin Yuanshu was busy with the labor production competition, yet he still wanted Lin Yuanshu to accompany him.
"Can I have a goodnight kiss every night?" He liked kisses, feeling that it brought him closer to Lin Yuanshu. Only he could kiss Lin Yuanshu; no one else could.
"Of course," Lin Yuanshu readily agreed.
Having received a definite answer, Zhou Xiangyang lost interest in continuing his reading and happily went to make his bed.
He wasn't stupid; he knew what couples did after marriage, like sleeping together. But more than that, he wanted to get closer to Lin Yuanshu step by step and gain his approval.
Meanwhile, the eldest brother returned to his room and asked in a low voice, "What did your second wife want to talk to you about?"
Sister-in-law Xue smiled broadly and said, "What's there to talk about! It's just the usual stuff between women, isn't it?"
Rather than complaining to others about how her mother-in-law bullied her, she preferred to discuss with Lin Yuanshu how to meticulously deal with her mother-in-law.
The older brother couldn't help but remind him, "Anyway, be careful. Don't believe everything your second wife says. She's so quick-witted, I'm afraid you'll be sold out and end up helping her count the money."
Sister-in-law Xue widened her eyes and retorted emphatically, "Although the second wife is smart, I am not bad either. I am not brainless. How could I be fooled by the second wife?"
She felt that there was nothing wrong with her actions. She handed the money and tickets to Lin Yuanshu, letting him take the lead in dealing with her mother-in-law. She could remain completely hidden and still win her grandmother's favor, making a huge profit.
Sister-in-law Xue completely ignored the fact that even if she didn't contribute any money, Lin Yuanshu would still deal with Aunt Zhou.
Sunlight bathed the earth, and hardworking people began another day's work.
In the chemical plant's conference room, after finishing a production scheduling meeting, Director Qian, who also serves as the Party Secretary, spoke about something unrelated to the main topic: "Yesterday I heard that Director Tang, Director Xia, and Director Zhou were actively mobilizing the workers to participate in the labor production competition. I am very pleased. This labor production competition is very important. I hope that each of you will take it seriously, promote development through the competition, and create brilliance with your sweat. Everyone is a master of the chemical plant. As long as we are united, we can make the chemical plant better and better."
Director Tang and his two companions were overjoyed. They hadn't expected to be praised by the factory director for promoting the labor production competition. They sincerely thanked Lin Yuanshu for his undercover work; without Lin Yuanshu, they wouldn't be among those being praised today.
The three of them looked at each other with smug eyes, almost letting the other person steal the spotlight.
Seeing this, the others could only grit their teeth and echo, "Factory director, we will learn from the three workshop directors, work hard to promote the labor production competition, inspire the workers' enthusiasm for participation, and create a positive and upward labor atmosphere."
Factory Director Qian nodded in satisfaction. He turned his gaze to the three workshop directors and solemnly reminded them, "This labor production competition will require a lot of hard work from you three. I don't want the situation to repeat itself. You can have fair competition, but you can't use underhanded tactics. If I find out, it won't be as simple as being criticized last time."
News came from above that after the factory's labor production competition ended, it might have to compete with other chemical plants. Therefore, he hoped that the selected team would be the most capable team, rather than the team that won first place through unfair means.
But it's all still uncertain, and it depends on the final decision of the director of the Chemical Industry Bureau, so he couldn't say anything about it. He could only tell everyone to take this labor production competition seriously.
The three quickly assured each other, "We will abide by the rules of the labor production competition, learn from each other, exchange experiences, and make progress together."
Factory Director Qian nodded in satisfaction.
After returning to the office, the three men, who already valued the labor production competition, became even more focused on it. Their enthusiasm influenced their workers, who were all working hard to improve production efficiency and complete their tasks ahead of schedule, eagerly awaiting the start of the labor production competition.
On the other side, Lin Yuanshu finished her work for the morning. Instead of rushing to eat, she went to the workshop to see the team leader.
The team leader is always the last person to leave the workshop. She checks the reactor and only leaves after confirming that everything is in order.
She walked up to the team leader and asked in a low voice, "Team leader, do you know whose family members work at the slaughterhouse or the state-owned meat shop?"
"What's wrong?" the team leader asked.
Lin Yuanshu lowered his voice and said, "My grandma finally made it to the city, and I want to take good care of her and let her have a nice meal. She's been frugal all her life, and now she deserves to enjoy her retirement."
The team leader patted Lin Yuanshu on the shoulder and exclaimed, "I didn't expect you to be such a sentimental person. You don't need to look for anyone else. My wife works at the slaughterhouse. After get off work, come with me to the slaughterhouse. He has some good stuff."
Lin Yuanshu said with a touched expression, "Team leader, on behalf of my grandmother, thank you, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a filial son/daughter to my elderly mother."
The team leader waved his hand dismissively, "It's nothing. As children, we should be filial to our elders."
Lin Yuanshu nodded in agreement, chatted with the team leader about his work progress, and then left the workshop to go to the canteen for lunch.
She hummed a song as she walked along the canteen road. Having worked in the workshop for so long, she had long since found out everyone's background. Naturally, she also knew that the team leader's wife worked at the slaughterhouse. She also particularly liked people who were filial to their elders, which is why she said those things half-truthfully.
She may seem to look down on everyone and casually say things to fool them, but in reality, she has never looked down on anyone, including Zhou Ma.
Her attitude towards each person depends on their personality. She knows what words will make people like her, so she says them accordingly. But Zhou Ma is an exception; she is the kind of person who cannot be pleased.
Meanwhile, Zhou's mother waited anxiously for Zhou's grandmother outside the station. She desperately needed Zhou's grandmother's help, so Zhou's grandmother was no longer so repulsive in her eyes. Now, Lin Yuanshu was the one she found most repulsive.
Grandma Zhou walked out of the station carrying a large burlap sack. Although the burlap sack bent her back, she looked more energetic than a young person. She had short hair that was half white, and wrinkles covered the corners of her eyes and her forehead.
Zhou Ma and Zhou Dafu hurriedly went to greet them.
Grandma Zhou, carrying a burlap sack, walked briskly toward the two of them, excitedly taking Zhou Dafu's hand. "Dafu! You've made your mother so proud. Everyone in the production team knows you've become a leader, and they all envy me for raising such a good son. You've finally made me proud. I knew you were different from others when you were little; you're just smarter than everyone else."
Zhou Dafu said with a big smile, "Don't you know who raised me! If it weren't for my mother, I wouldn't be who I am today."
Seeing that the two were chatting happily and completely ignoring her, Zhou Ma looked at them with resentment. She had spoken too soon; her mother-in-law was still as repulsive as ever.
Grandma Zhou put down the burlap sack in her hand and said with a smile, "My pumpkins and winter melons have had a bumper harvest this year. I brought you three big sacks full of pumpkins and winter melons, enough for your family to eat for a while."
Although Zhou Dafu was glad that his mother hadn't come empty-handed, he still asked worriedly, "Mom, is there enough food at home? If not, don't worry about me. I have a salary in the city, I won't go hungry."
Grandma Zhou lowered her voice and said, "Don't worry, we have more pumpkins and winter melons than we can eat. I just planted some on the mountain, and I didn't expect them to be so vigorous. One pumpkin vine has grown three big pumpkins..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Dafu said anxiously, "Mom, didn't I tell you not to go up the mountain to plant vegetables? It would be troublesome if someone found out."
Grandma Zhou disagreed, saying, "You're just too cautious. No one will find out. If they do, I'll just say it's my poop that grew out of there. It's a gift from nature."
Zhou Dafu still disagreed, saying, "Mom, I'm a leader now. If you do this and it gets discovered, it will prevent me from becoming a leader."
Grandma Zhou looked shocked and said, "Really? I'll dig them up when I get back. I definitely won't implicate you. I'm counting on you to bring honor to our family! That way, I'll have the face to face your father who died young."
Hearing his grandmother say this, Zhou Dafu felt a little relieved. He emphasized again, "Mom, you can't do anything that would disrupt the collective land planning. If you get criticized and denounced, the fate of our family won't be any better. You don't want to be too ashamed to face my father, do you?"
Grandma Zhou said softly, "I...I know, sigh, I just want my family to have enough to eat!"
“Being a little hungry won’t kill you, but if your actions are discovered, you’ll suffer a fate worse than death. Think about those people in the village who have been criticized and denounced; you don’t want to be one of them, do you?” Zhou Dafu said with a stern face.
Since becoming the team leader, he has started to learn about national policies and what he should and shouldn't do, all in preparation for promotion. If his second wife hadn't reminded him, he certainly wouldn't have taken the initiative to learn about these things, nor would he have forcefully stopped his mother's behavior.
Zhou Dafu turned to his two older brothers and instructed them, "Don't just focus on earning work points all day. Pay more attention to Mom's behavior and don't let her do something bad with good intentions."
The eldest and second eldest Zhou nodded and assured her, "We didn't know how serious things were before, but now that we do, we won't let Mom continue doing this."
Zhou Dafu still trusts his eldest and second eldest brothers. With them watching over his mother, there shouldn't be any problems.
This blow dampened Grandma Zhou's joy at visiting her youngest son in the city. She had come all this way to bring vegetables, but instead of receiving anything in return, she was told that her hard-earned pumpkin and winter melon vines would be dug up when she got back. It was a double loss.
But she couldn't not dig, she didn't want to be criticized, after all, she was now the leader's mother, she couldn't let the hard times come before she could enjoy the good life.
She turned her gaze to Zhou Ma and scolded, "What are you standing there for! Why don't you put on the burlap sack? I brought you vegetables, and you don't even care. You've been in the city for so many years, and you're still as clueless as ever."
Zhou Ma gave a fake smile, took a deep breath, grabbed the burlap sack, and prepared to carry it on her back. However, no matter how hard she tried, the burlap sack wouldn't budge.
Seeing this, Zhou Dafu frowned and walked over, shoved Zhou's mother aside, and said confidently, "Forget it, you're not as strong as me, I'll carry you."
He bent down, grabbed the two corners of the burlap sack, and lifted it up with all his might. The burlap sack moved, but not completely. He was indeed a little stronger than Zhou Ma, so at least it didn't stay completely still.
Grandma Zhou couldn't bear to watch any longer. She sighed softly, walked over, picked up a corner of the burlap sack, and gently lifted it onto her back. She exclaimed, "It's a good thing you didn't earn work points in the production team, otherwise the few work points you earned wouldn't even be enough to feed yourselves."
Zhou Dafu awkwardly touched his nose and explained, "I'm a leader now, and leaders don't need to do physical labor."
Grandma Zhou rolled her eyes as she walked forward.
Zhou Dafu could only change the subject, saying, "Why is it only my eldest brother and second brother who came? The others didn't come."
Grandma Zhou explained in a strong voice, "They wanted to come, but I didn't agree. If everyone came, who would earn work points! Besides, with so many people, can you handle it? Your family's food supplies won't be able to keep up."
Chow Tai Fook said affectionately, "Mom always thinks of me the most."
Zhou's mother gave him a speechless look. So, even though she bore children for Zhou Dafu, she wasn't as considerate of him as his mother. Seeing how happy his mother was, why wasn't she happy when she saw her?
She really didn't get along with her mother-in-law.
Half an hour later, the five arrived at the foot of the tenement building. When Aunt Wen, who was passing by, saw them, she said with a smile, "Team Leader Zhou, I thought Comrade Lin Yuanshu was joking. I didn't expect you to actually bring your mother here to enjoy a life of luxury."
Grandma Zhou replied with a smile, "What's there to enjoy? Children are all debts, and we can never pay them all back."
Aunt Wen gave a disapproving look, "But your son is this, he's a leader!"
She gave a thumbs up.
Grandma Zhou was even happier to hear the praise for Zhou Dafu than to hear the praise for herself. On her way home, she kept saying that Zhou Dafu had a group of good neighbors.
Hearing this, Zhou Ma couldn't help but roll her eyes. What's so good about them? They talk too much. Even when she's in this state, they still come over to seek attention.
After returning home, Zhou's mother took out the dishes that had been kept warm in the pot. There were no meat dishes, only one dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, which could be considered a meat dish. The rest were all stir-fried vegetables. Zhou's mother really couldn't bear to use oil.
Chow Tai Fook explained with a smile, "We can only eat the main dishes in the evening, the kids are all at work and haven't gotten off work yet!"
For Grandma Zhou and her two companions, being able to eat steamed buns made from two kinds of flour was already a great treat. After all, in the countryside, they could only eat cornbread made from sorghum flour, which had a much coarser texture than steamed buns made from two kinds of flour.
While eating steamed buns with scrambled eggs with tomatoes, Grandma Zhou asked, "I heard Xiangyang got married. What's his wife like? Is she hardworking, kind, filial, and simple? You made the decision too quickly. You didn't even let me meet your new wife. On the wedding day, I happened to have a leg pain, so I didn't have time to come to the wedding banquet."
Before Zhou Dafu could answer, Zhou's mother interrupted, "This daughter-in-law is not at all hardworking, kind, filial, or simple. I misjudged her back then, and I've been regretting it ever since. I want to train her, but I don't know where to start. Now that I'm here, I feel much more at ease. Old ginger is spicier, and I still need your help."
Grandma Zhou raised an eyebrow, but did not agree to Zhou Ma's request. Instead, she smiled and said, "I'll talk about it after I meet this new daughter-in-law."
Whether it's good or bad, we can't just listen to Zhou Ma's side of the story; we need to meet the person in person to find out.
Zhou Ma couldn't help but smile. She believed that with Lin Yuanshu's stubborn personality, it would be easy for him to anger her mother-in-law!
However, this did not stop her from taking every opportunity to speak ill of Lin Yuanshu, trying her best to make her mother-in-law have a bad impression of Lin Yuanshu.
The flowers bloom at two ends, each telling its own story.
After their lunch break, the maintenance workers returned to the maintenance workshop one after another. Once everyone was present, the team leader announced loudly, "Comrades Wu Liang, Fang Dashu, Wei Aiguo, Wang Hongjun, and Zhao Hong, you will come with me to the fourth workshop later. You will work with the people in the fourth workshop for the time being and do not need to return to the maintenance workshop for the time being."
After saying this, the team leader left the repair workshop with a group of repairmen. He wanted to send the repairmen that Team Leader Wu had chosen to him first.
As soon as the team leader left, Grandpa Wei asked the people around him curiously, "What are we going to the fourth workshop for?"
Before anyone could answer, the maintenance worker whose name hadn't been called laughed loudly, "What can you do? Of course, you'll be assigned to the fourth workshop and participate in the labor production competition with the people in the fourth workshop. Congratulations! You don't even need to use your brains; you can easily take last place."
The maintenance worker next to him nodded in agreement, saying, "With the elderly, the infirm, the disabled, and a woman, you are a perfect match for the fourth workshop. You would be a burden to other workshops, but not to the fourth workshop."
Grandpa Wei got anxious as soon as he heard this. He came here to find a way to get a promotion, not to make things worse. His previous group had never come in last place in the labor production competition. "No, I can't go to the fourth workshop. I have to go to the group leader and report this to him."
Wang Hongjun grabbed Grandpa Wei's arm and whispered, "You're new here and may not know the team leader's personality. He hates it when people contradict him. If you go to him, you won't get what you want, and you'll be targeted by him."
Grandpa Wei stopped in his tracks, sighed, and said dejectedly, "Isn't there any other way for us?"
Wang Hongjun declared confidently, "Yes!"
Grandpa Wei looked at Wang Hongjun expectantly and asked anxiously, "What's the solution?"
“We can pray together that the fourth workshop won’t be last this time, but can take the second-to-last spot,” Wang Hongjun said confidently.
Grandpa Wei: "..."
This idea is so unreliable!
Although Grandpa Wei was unwilling, he still followed the team leader to the office of the fourth workshop, where he saw someone who was both expected and unexpected.
The team leader pointed at Lin Yuanshu and said in a serious tone, "You will follow Comrade Lin Yuanshu's orders during this period. Do whatever she tells you to do. Do not contradict Comrade Lin Yuanshu. This is not my order, but Director Xia's order."
The four of them said in unison, "Understood."
Grandpa Wei was still in a daze. If he had known that he would be transferred to the naphthalene intermediate production workshop and have to take orders from Lin Yuanshu, he would have preferred to stay under Old Zhou's command. After all, Old Zhou was older than him, and it would have been better to follow the orders of a young man.
Lin Yuanshu didn't expect to run into Grandpa Wei at work. Although she had heard that Grandpa Wei had changed teams, she didn't really know which workshop he had moved to.
She said with a smile, "Please introduce yourselves briefly first!"
The four men took turns introducing themselves and what their responsibilities were in the maintenance team. When it was Grandpa Wei's turn, he could only answer awkwardly. After all, Lin Yuanshu was pretending not to know him, and he was too embarrassed to expose their relationship, even though they were just simple neighbors.
Lin Yuanshu had a general understanding of them. She said seriously, "I know that none of you came to the fourth workshop on your own initiative. I admit that the fourth workshop's performance has not been very good in the past, but this year is different. We will definitely not be last, because of me and because of you. I don't want to force you to contribute to the fourth workshop. I think we can help each other succeed. You need an opportunity, and the fourth workshop also needs an opportunity."
She picked up the design drawings of the oblique blade reactor agitator from the table and casually handed them to the female comrade closest to her. She said confidently, "This is my improved reactor agitator. As long as we can successfully make this reactor agitator and apply it to the reactor, I guarantee that you will become famous in the chemical plant."
One must take things one step at a time, and one must eat one bite at a time. In order to avoid distracting the maintenance personnel, she did not mention the simple activated carbon filter device. After all, she had not even drawn up the design drawings yet and was still looking through related books.
Zhao Hong stared intently at the design drawing in front of her, becoming more and more excited as she looked. She exclaimed excitedly, "Who drew this? She's definitely a genius!"
Upon hearing this, the other maintenance personnel began to examine the design drawings. They weren't fools; they could naturally see the practicality of the design. If they could actually build this oblique-blade reactor agitator, they would definitely become famous in this labor production competition.
What was initially unpleasant turned into relief at this moment. He was relieved to be assigned to the fourth workshop. Even Grandpa Wei felt embarrassed to follow Lin Yuanshu's orders, but he was also very excited about this achievement.
Lin Yuanshu was not surprised by the reactions of the crowd, but when interests are aligned, everyone will naturally work together. She said gently, "I hope you will not spread the news about the design drawings. Too much attention is not a good thing. I want stability. I'm sure you also hope to benefit from the labor production competition. Don't ruin this hard-won opportunity."
Everyone nodded in unison. They weren't stupid; if they publicized the design, others would definitely want to join in, and they might be kicked out. They wouldn't let that happen.
"We will keep our mouths shut and make sure not a word gets out," the five said in unison.
Zhao Hong looked at the design drawings over and over again. She said thoughtfully, "I think it would be better to design the tilt angle between the oblique blade and the direction of rotation to be 45 degrees. This is not only applicable to the naphthalene intermediate production workshop, but also to other workshops. If we do it right the first time, the technical staff will not have any credit for this later."
Lin Yuanshu asked, quite surprised, "You understand this?"
Zhao Hong said somewhat embarrassedly, "I know a little bit. When I have free time, I look at materials related to chemical engineering."
Lin Yuanshu said excitedly, "That's great! Take a look at the design drawings and see if there's anything you want to improve. Although I've drawn up the design drawings, it's still a bit difficult to apply them to the reactor."
After all, she's not a professional, so it's better to listen to the professionals.
Zhao Hong was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected Lin Yuanshu to believe her so readily without any doubt. So she spoke her mind frankly, "The general direction is correct, but some minor data may need to be changed. It's not suitable for the reactor we're using now. The inner diameter of the reactor we're using now needs to be larger."
Fortunately, she knew the dimensions, volume, and properties of the raw materials in the reactor; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to see anything wrong.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanshu nodded thoughtfully. She then turned to the other four people and asked, "Do you have any opinions? Do you think there's anything wrong with this?"
All four shook their heads. Wang Hongjun, fearing that Lin Yuanshu would reject them, quickly said, "We are better at repairing equipment and fixing common agitator malfunctions. We don't understand the design drawings for improving reactor agitators at all. However, we are all good at parts processing, such as welding or casting, which are no problem for us."
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