novelslam Chapter 10 The Arrogance of the Technical Department
Chapter 10 The Arrogance of the Technical Department
Chen Weiguo prepared the experimental plan and, in the afternoon, took the note approved by the factory director to the technical department.
The technical department is located on the second floor of the office building.
The environment here is worlds apart from that in the workshop.
The workshop was filled with oil stains and was noisy.
The technical department was quiet and peaceful, with a faint smell of ink wafting through the corridors.
The staff members were all dressed in clean work clothes, with drawing boards and slide rules on their desks, and several of them wore glasses.
This department is clearly run by cultured people.
"Hello comrade, I'm looking for Section Chief Sun."
Someone pointed to the innermost office.
Chen Weiguo knocked on the door and went inside.
Behind the desk sat a man in his early thirties, head down, studying blueprints without looking up. "Is there something you need?"
"Section Chief Sun, this is Chen Weiguo from the military industry group. The factory director asked me to come see you to coordinate the tool coating experiment." Chen Weiguo handed over the note.
Sun Zhiguo was taken aback: "Coated cutting tools? Is this what you're planning to make?"
"Yes."
Sun Zhiguo adjusted his glasses: "Currently, only Europe and the United States are making coated cutting tools; there are no successful precedents in China. Do you really think our factory has the resources to produce them? Besides, you're a level six worker with a background in fitter work. Do you know that cutting tool design involves materials science, metallurgy, and heat treatment? It's not something you can do just based on first-hand experience. Do you know what crystal structure is? Do you know the principle of thin film adhesion? And, most importantly… the vacuum coating equipment is a precision device managed by our technical department. If we conduct the experiment according to your plan, and it fails, and we even damage the equipment, affecting normal production, do you think you can bear that responsibility?"
The clerks who were eavesdropping nearby were all sweating for Chen Weiguo.
Their section chief was a top student who graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology. He was always arrogant and didn't believe that a retired soldier who was a level 6 fitter could do such a complicated experiment.
And there's something to it that's true... a level six worker really can't shoulder this responsibility.
Most people would probably have given up by now.
Chen Weiguo handed over a plan: "Section Chief Sun, this is the experimental plan I wrote. It includes the basis for selecting coating materials, the vacuum control range, the temperature curve, and the adhesion enhancement scheme. Although I don't have a high level of education, I have read a lot of materials, including some from my time in the military. If the equipment is damaged because of my experiment, I will take full responsibility."
Sun Zhiguo glanced at the plan.
He had initially been casually looking for something to criticize, but he quickly became serious, his brows furrowing.
The process parameters, calculation formulas, and material selection criteria listed inside are all well-reasoned and highly professional.
There were even some calculation formulas labeled in a way that he had never seen before.
But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear... it's a sophisticated method of engineering simplification.
Someone with this level of skill is definitely not an outsider who knows nothing.
Sun Zhiguo found it hard to believe.
Is this really written by the level six worker in front of me?
He didn't give a straight answer, only saying, "Let's leave the plan here for now. Our technical department needs to review it. Once it's approved, we'll cooperate with you to complete the experiment."
His tone was still arrogant, but it had lost its previous sharpness.
Chen Weiguo nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble Section Chief Sun. Please do it as soon as possible, the factory doesn't have many imported cutting tools left."
When you're done, turn around and leave.
He believed that Sun Zhiguo would recognize the seriousness of the situation.
After he left, the technicians in the technical department started talking about it.
"A level-six skilled worker thinks he can invent something? If tool coating were that easy to do, what would be the point of our technical department? Are we just here to freeload?"
"Yes, yes, these workers always think they know everything, but they're not scientific at all."
"I don't think this project will ever work. You'll just have to wait and see."
……
The next day is the weekend.
Chen Weiguo approached Chen Weihong and said, "Let's go to my master's house for lunch."
Chen Weihong was taken aback at first: "Which master?"
"Master Guo Dajiang is the foreman of our military industry group. He's an eighth-grade fitter."
"That amazing?" Chen Weihong's eyes lit up. "Then, brother, if you learn from him, won't you be able to learn a lot of skills?"
"Of course." Chen Weiguo nodded with a smile.
For him, it doesn't really matter how much he learns.
The system's knowledge base is full of technology and can provide support at any time.
The main purpose of apprenticing under an eighth-level craftsman was to find a powerful backer.
After all, level eight workers are extremely rare.
Everyone is a treasure in the factory, and even the factory director, who is in charge, has to be treated with respect.
Take the military orders from above, for example. If it weren't for the skilled workers at the eighth level leading the charge, the factory simply wouldn't have been able to produce them.
Chen Weihong rummaged through her belongings, put on her cleanest Lenin suit, and spent a long time combing her hair in front of the mirror.
"Brother, do you think this looks good on me?"
"Okay. Go and get that bag of jujube cakes I bought yesterday."
Chen Weihong obediently went to get the things and set off with Chen Weiguo.
Guo Dajiang lives in the factory's residential area.
Rows of red brick bungalows, with scallions and cabbages planted in front of and behind the houses, as well as chicken coops and pigsties.
Many people take advantage of the weekend to do laundry and clean their homes.
Children were laughing and playing in the yard, while several retired men listened to the radio and chatted idly.
Chen Weiguo inquired about Guo Dajiang's exact address and then went over to knock on the door.
The person who opened the door was Guo Dajiang's wife, a kind woman in her fifties.
"Oh my, this must be Xiao Chen! Come in, come in! Is this your sister? Wow, she's so pretty! Come in and sit down, it's cold outside."
The master's wife urged the two of them to hurry inside, saying incessantly, "Old Guo has been talking about you every day since he came home these past few days. He says he's taken on a good apprentice. He's smart, skilled, and reliable. He's so happy about it."
"Hello, Master's wife!" Chen Weihong greeted him obediently, following Chen Weiguo's lead, and handed over the snacks she had brought.
"Oh dear, you've come all this way, why did you bring all this stuff?" The teacher's wife took the snacks, even happier. "Come, come, come inside and sit down with your teacher's wife."
At this moment, Guo Dajiang poked half his body out of the kitchen: "You're here. Come on, sit down. I'm still stewing fish in the pot. Have some peanuts and tea first."
Chen Weiguo greeted Guo Dajiang and glanced casually into the kitchen.
There was a crucian carp on the stove, but it hadn't been cooked yet.
There was a piece of pork belly next to it.
Master's skill...
It doesn't seem like someone who can cook.
Look at those crucian carp; their gills don't seem to be cleaned properly, and there are still a few scales hanging on their tails.
How can fish cooked like this taste good?
Chen Weiguo rolled up his sleeves: "Master, let me help you."
In order to have a good lunch, he decided to take action.
Guo Dajiang turned around and looked at him distrustfully: "You've been in the army for so long, and you can even cook?"
Chen Weiguo laughed and said, "In the army, I often helped out in the kitchen and learned a lot from those cooks. You'll know once you try my cooking."
Guo Dajiang, somewhat skeptical, took off his apron: "Alright, let your teacher's wife see what you're really made of. But let me tell you, your teacher's wife is picky; if she doesn't like something, she'll say it directly."
Chen Weiguo smiled but didn't say anything more.
Chen Weihong is the most qualified to speak on how delicious her own cooking is.
Since he came back, Chen Weihong's complexion has become noticeably rosier, and she seems to have gained weight.
……