Lin Qiaozhi picked up the caliper and clamped it across both sides. “You didn’t even measure it, and you already knew?”
She recorded the measurements in her notebook, then stepped aside to make room for Xu Guanping.
Xu Guanping pulled another caliper from the outer pocket of his work pants, positioned it over the same section, and said as he measured, “Just a feeling. Don’t tell me you don’t get that too. Watching someone cut away bit by bit, you can roughly tell what level they’re at.”
A tolerance of seven si sounded fairly forgiving, seven times less precise than the tractor molds currently used at Hongqi Agricultural Machinery Factory.
But when you really thought about it, that was only a little thicker than the diameter of a human hair.
Yet with such a tiny dimension, not a single mistake could be made from beginning to end.
Xu Guanping himself could achieve roughly that level of precision, but he still wasn’t confident he could make this side cover plate mold.
For one thing, it was simply too large. Based on the schedule, even working four or five hours a day, it would still take nearly two months to finish, and during that entire time, he couldn’t afford to make a single mistake.
For another, it had an internal curve. A mold with an inward-curving arc like this was vastly more difficult than one made up of straight horizontal and vertical lines.
When he finished measuring, they compared their results.
The precision was spot on.
Xu Guanping let out a long breath. “Congratulations.” He tightened his grip on the caliper in his hand, his emotions too complicated to describe.
Because at that moment, he became completely certain that Lin Qiaozhi, his junior, had caught up to him in both the academic performance and technical skills he had always taken pride in.
As for Lin Qiaozhi, whether it was the official commendation letter she had already received from the Railway Bureau, her ability to apply what she had learned, or the fact that none of her subjects had ever fallen below ninety, she had already surpassed him.
Not to mention diligence. He couldn’t compete with Lin Qiaozhi there either. Now, even the technical skills that had been his last remaining advantage had been caught up to.
Moreover, he had no confidence whatsoever in making this side cover plate mold. That tiny edge he still held in practical experience no longer seemed to have any real significance.
“Congratulate me after I’ve actually finished it successfully.” Lin Qiaozhi completed her work and measurement records.
After filing and scraping came even finer grinding and polishing.
But that stage was relatively less nerve-racking.
The force only needed to be gentle and even, making mistakes less likely.
Lin Qiaozhi began carefully grinding the small section.
“Qiaozhi, you’re just more talented than the rest of us,” Xu Guanping said with some envy, though there was admiration mixed into it as well. As for that relentless drive of hers, he truly didn’t have it.
“It’s just a shame you want to join Engineer Wang’s team. Otherwise, with your talent, you’d definitely be a promising candidate for making high-precision molds. Engineer Qiao would absolutely try to recruit you.”
It was Lin Qiaozhi’s first time making a side cover plate mold, yet she was already handling the workpiece according to the blueprint with increasing skill and ease. How could her talent possibly be lacking?
Xu Guanping’s thoughts wandered for only a moment.
By then, Lin Qiaozhi had already finished shaping the corner at the end of the side cover plate and followed it into the inner curve.
This “semi-circular arc” wasn’t a regular, perfectly rounded semicircle.
It was a specially contoured arc designed for the cover plate.
Lin Qiaozhi scraped away with the utmost caution, holding her breath.
She chose the most conservative approach: scraping just outside the scribed line, then using grinding for the final bit closest to the line.
That way, she left herself a small margin for adjustment.
By the time Xu Guanping came back to his senses, the inner curve extending from the corner was almost finished.
Seeing that Lin Qiaozhi had intentionally left herself a little operating margin, the knot in his chest eased slightly. Only after noticing her visibly let out a sigh of relief did he joke, “I thought I was the only one who got nervous practicing inner curved molds.”
“How could I not be nervous?” Lin Qiaozhi stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Interlacing her fingers, she stretched her wrists, then squeezed each finger in turn to loosen the joints and muscles. “You measure it first.”
“Sure.”
Xu Guanping measured the inner curve.
His body leaned forward slightly, and his eyes widened in disbelief. Unable to hold it in, he turned back to look at Lin Qiaozhi. “Is this really your first time making this side cover plate mold?”
Judging by his expression, Lin Qiaozhi could guess that, barring any surprises, the result was probably quite good.
“I practiced at home too. Didn’t you practice inner curve techniques as well?”
Lin Qiaozhi measured it herself, putting her mind at ease. The curved surface was still too risky, so she decided to use this same approach for the first half, leaving herself a margin for adjustment.
Xu Guanping watched as she advanced a little farther.
This time, her technique seemed even steadier than before.
After measuring again, Xu Guanping could no longer contain himself. “Lin Qiaozhi, wait for me! Don’t leave! Stay here in the workshop classroom until I get back!”
As he hurried outside, he kept turning back anxiously to remind her, “I’ll be right back. Wait for me.”
Lin Qiaozhi: ?
She still hadn’t figured out what Xu Guanping intended to do when the hurried footsteps disappeared, followed by his trembling shout from outside.
“Engineer Qiao! Engineer Qiao! Master…”
“Brother Xu… what’s wrong with him?” Zhou Shu, who had been bent over practicing, was startled.
The few people remaining in the workshop classroom all craned their necks toward the only large workpiece on the bench.
But they couldn’t see anything particularly special about it. It just looked like the mold shown in the textbook.
Even so, when Lin Qiaozhi picked up her tools again, the students in the workshop couldn’t help sneaking a few extra glances at her.
Some even set down their own work altogether and gathered to watch Lin Qiaozhi, curious to see what had gotten Xu Guanping so excited.
To be honest, everyone who worked in technical fields liked watching other people operate.
If the other person’s skills were better than theirs, it was satisfying to watch, and they could learn something.
If the other person’s skills were worse, it was even more entertaining, especially when they were tired. Watching for a while brought a different kind of enjoyment. It was like when people first learned to ride bicycles. Once they had mastered it, they loved watching others wobble around while learning.
In short, whether the operator was good or bad, everyone enjoyed watching.
Before long, Qiao Yuan walked into the workshop classroom. He opened the door, letting natural light spill inside, then approached the workbench.
Just in time to see Lin Qiaozhi concentrating on her filing.
Zhou Shu occupied the spot to Lin Qiaozhi’s left, watching her work, while a second-year student stood on her right. Seeing Engineer Qiao approach, the student quickly stepped aside and made room.
Qiao Yuan watched for a while before offering some guidance. “Angle the file a little more to the left. Don’t be so tense. Even if you really ruin it, you won’t have to pay for it. Relax your wrist a little more. That way, when you rotate around the file’s centerline, the inner arc you file will come out smoother.”
Recognizing Engineer Qiao’s voice, Lin Qiaozhi didn’t look up. Still, she relaxed her wrist slightly and adjusted the file just a little to the left.
After such a long period of practice, she could now control her tools much more naturally than before, which in turn allowed her to control the precision more easily.
But despite Engineer Qiao’s easygoing personality, his eye for detail was exceptionally sharp.
After Lin Qiaozhi completed another filing stroke, Qiao Yuan spoke again.
“I said angle it to the left, not push harder to the left. Reduce the force by about ten percent. The direction of pressure from your hand has to keep rotating along with the section you’re filing.”
“The inner curved surface is a critical skill. Many parts with inward recesses or outward bulges rely on it to fit and mesh with other components more precisely and more tightly. If the precision isn’t controlled properly, the chance of the finished product needing rework increases dramatically. With high-precision weapon components, it could even cause accidents.”
Understanding the reasoning behind it, Lin Qiaozhi reduced her force just a little more, letting her wrist follow the motion smoothly while adjusting the direction of the pressure she applied.
After watching her advance another section, Qiao Yuan observed for a while before saying again, “Very good. That’s it. Remember how this feels, especially the force feedback you’re sensing through your hands. That’s the tactile experience you’re building when filing inner curves. You can treat it as experience, or even as a standard.”
“In the future, no matter what kind of inner curve you’re making, once you’ve experienced this feeling enough times, the moment you start filing, you’ll already know what kind of curve it’s going to produce.”
“Yes, keep going. You can try leaving a little less margin…”
Although Qiao Yuan always seemed easygoing and smiling, his standards were anything but low.
He taught while testing.
He tested while pushing her higher.
By the time Lin Qiaozhi finally stopped after receiving that stream of guidance, nearly half an hour had passed.
Qiao Yuan measured the work with obvious interest while smiling at Lin Qiaozhi. “How do you think that attempt went?”
Lin Qiaozhi shook her head nervously. “I don’t know. I was too focused on listening to everything you were saying and concentrating on the operation.”
She boldly leaned over for a look, her eyes widening slightly.
The most accurate section had actually reached a precision of five si!
She was so delighted she nearly jumped into the air.
Qiao Yuan looked at Lin Qiaozhi with a smile.
Patting her on the shoulder, he said, “You’re truly gifted. You learn quickly. You’re a promising talent for making high-precision molds.”
Then he smiled and invited her.
“Have you considered joining our team?”
Beside him, Xu Guanping nodded repeatedly and chimed in, “I heard you want to join Engineer Wang’s team. Let me tell you, Engineer Wang’s team is constantly on the move. Don’t be fooled into thinking they’re the ones who solve all the tough problems. They’re always out in the field, and it’s exhausting.”
Lin Qiaozhi froze for a moment.
She hesitated, unsure how to respond.
The senior technicians at Hongqi Agricultural Machinery Factory were almost all mold makers.
Assembly and repair work below them rarely required their involvement. After all, having a senior technician assemble or repair tractors was like using a butcher’s cleaver to kill a chicken. It was a complete waste of talent.
But even senior technicians were divided into several different specialties.
The group led by Engineer Qiao specialized in mold making. They stayed rooted in the factory, creating successive generations of production molds for new models and solving the factory’s technical problems.
The group led by Engineer Wang also required a high level of technical skill, but their focus was more on solving practical problems. They personally traveled out into the field to investigate, learn about the needs and pain points of people using Hongqi tractors in different regions, then make improvements and develop new tractor models.
Then there was Engineer Qi, Teacher Qin’s master, who led another group. They leaned more toward theoretical work and had the fewest members, reviewing blueprints, estimating budgets, researching cutting-edge foreign technology, improving tractor performance, and so on.
It wasn’t until Lin Qiaozhi entered the factory school that she learned the truth.
The reason the factory school in her dream had suddenly expanded production and been forced to recruit half the students ahead of schedule was probably because of Wang Baiqiang.
Engineer Wang had been traveling constantly lately. It seemed he was trying to design a new type of tractor for a particular kind of terrain.
A thought gradually formed in Lin Qiaozhi’s mind. She asked, “Engineer Qiao, I heard Engineer Wang recently took people to places like the Dabie Mountains, Jiufeng, Hong’an, and Mulan. Is he trying to overcome some particular technical challenge?”
Qiao Yuan didn’t hide anything and answered directly, “You know the hilly and mountainous regions, right? The farmland there is fragmented, scattered, and uneven in elevation. Every tractor model in China right now has a hard time operating effectively in hilly and mountainous terrain.”
Lin Qiaozhi’s eyes lit up instantly. “Hilly and mountainous regions?”
The hilly and mountainous regions that accounted for nearly one-third of China’s total cultivated farmland!
The moment Qiao Yuan saw the look in her eyes, he knew there was no way he could beat Wang Baiqiang.
Some people, like him, preferred peace and quiet and enjoyed burying themselves in technical research.
Others simply loved taking on challenges and found joy in changing the world with their own hands.
Lin Qiaozhi eagerly pressed on, “Has there been any progress yet?”
Back in her dream, she had still been in high school. She had only known that the factory had expanded production. How could she have known it was something this significant?
If agricultural mechanization succeeded in a region that made up one-third of China’s cultivated farmland, how tremendous would the boost to agriculture be?
Seeing the look in her eyes, Qiao Yuan couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. It was that rascal Old Wang again. Despite his dark complexion and rough temperament, students seemed to adore him.
A little sourly, he said, “Not much progress so far.”
“How could that be!”
In just over half a year, the factory would expand production. How could there be no progress?
Qiao Yuan laughed in exasperation. “Do you think I’d lie to you?”
He wasn’t about to badmouth Wang Baiqiang just to steal a student.
Lin Qiaozhi tried hard to recall things. Could it be that the production expansion hadn’t been for a brand-new tractor model, but simply for an upgraded version with additional functions?
Seeing her frowning in deep thought, Qiao Yuan sighed regretfully to himself. “Fine. Young people have their own aspirations.”
He clasped his hands behind his back and started walking toward the operations classroom exit. Once Wang Baiqiang got back, he was definitely going to make him buy a round of drinks!
“Engineer Qiao, what about Lin Qiaozhi?” Xu Guanping hurried after him. Such an outstanding junior apprentice. Were they really just going to hand her over to Engineer Wang without even trying to recruit her into their own group?!
…
The family residential compound.
That day, the moment Lin Qiaozhi got home, she caught the aroma of food.
She eagerly trotted a few steps forward, pushed open the door, and sniffed the air. “What did you get from the cafeteria today? It smells amazing!”
“Qiaozhi’s back.”
“Pork bone and lotus root soup. The cafeteria simmered it over low heat all day. The whole place smelled incredible. Just breathing it in made your mouth water,” Jiang Hongmei recalled with a smile.
Then she nudged Lin Qiaozhi affectionately with her elbow. “Didn’t you say your legs hurt when you sleep? I asked around. They said it’s because you’re growing taller, so you should drink some bone soup to nourish yourself.”
Their family no longer cooked at home.
Originally, Jiang Hongmei had wanted to keep at it a little longer to save money.
But managing three meals a day wasn’t just a matter of waving a spatula around a few times. Early every morning she had to buy groceries and prepare ingredients for the day’s meals. At every mealtime she had to wash, sort, and chop vegetables, then steam rice and cook dishes. After eating, there were still dishes to wash and everything to clean up.
Doing all that every few hours was more than Jiang Hongmei could take.
So they simply started eating at the cafeteria!
And once they did, there was no going back.
Eating separately was still too expensive, though, so only lunch was eaten individually. Breakfast and dinner were still bought from the cafeteria and brought home.
Lin Qiaozhi took bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard and set them on the table.
She said, “I also went to the clinic today. Dr. Qu from the factory clinic said I need to eat more meat and eggs, and preferably drink some Arctic Ocean.”
Lin Jiadong stuck his head out from the inner room and complained, “Can you keep it down? I’m studying.” After a pause, he added, “Studying uses brainpower too. Mother, if you’re buying Sister meat, eggs, and Arctic Ocean, then I want a share too!”
The smile on Jiang Hongmei’s face immediately faltered as she found herself in a difficult position.
Where was the family supposed to get that much money? Even in a household with two wage earners, it wasn’t as though they could afford two sets of meat, eggs, and Arctic Ocean.
Seeing Lin Qiaozhi turn toward the inner room, Jiang Hongmei quickly grabbed her arm and coaxed her in a low voice, “Good Qiaozhi, don’t argue with your brother. He’s under a lot of pressure repeating the year, and the high school entrance exam is almost here. The neighbors keep comparing him to you, so it really bothers him. He’s just complaining a little.”
Then she smiled and said, “How about this, let’s make a deal. Your grades are so good. Why don’t you lend your old notes to your brother?”
“There’s nothing to discuss. I already lent them to someone else,” Lin Qiaozhi refused.
“Who did you lend them to? We can ask for them back.”
Lin Qiaozhi washed her hands at the washstand. “Why would I ask for them back? If I leave them with the person I lent them to, at least they’ll think well of me. If I take them back and he still doesn’t do well on the exam, it’ll somehow become my fault.”
She looked at Jiang Hongmei’s smiling face.
Ever since the day she came home from school and heard Jiang Hongmei summon the courage to stand up to Father Lin, and she herself had spoken up to support her with a few words, Jiang Hongmei had begun treating her with much greater warmth.
Jiang Hongmei seemed to have changed. She now had a job and an entirely new outlook. When it came to food and clothing, she even unconsciously favored and doted on her daughter, the one who stood up for her.
But whenever it involved Lin Jiadong or matters concerning their hometown, Lin Qiaozhi could still faintly see traces of the old Jiang Hongmei.
Didn’t she have pressure too?
If she weren’t terrified of an uncertain future, would she have practiced her technical skills day and night like someone possessed?
Yet she had never revealed even the slightest hint of it.
Because she knew no one would stand up for her, and there was no one she could truly rely on.
When storms came, she would never be the one chosen without hesitation.
She could only rely on herself.
And she only wanted to rely on herself.
After washing her hands, Lin Qiaozhi dried them on a towel. “Let’s eat.”
Not just her. Jiang Hongmei could only rely on herself as well.
Now that she finally had the job she had dreamed of for so long, with something to anchor her life, whether she would truly break free or be weakly dragged back into the mire, was her own life to decide.
She couldn’t rely on her daughter forever.
One of the things Lin Qiaozhi had hated most since childhood was how all the family’s good food and drinks would be sent to her grandparents on both sides, only to end up in the hands and stomachs of some relative back in their hometown.
She absolutely refused to become the kind of person she despised most.
Seeing the calm expression on Lin Qiaozhi’s face, Jiang Hongmei withdrew her hand slightly. Ever since hearing Lin Qiaozhi say, “I’ll be graduating soon. I’ll be able to move out,” an indescribable unease had settled in her heart.
During dinner, Jiang Hongmei brought it up.
If both children were going to eat meat, eggs, and drink Arctic Ocean, even if it was only a small amount, that wasn’t something she could decide based solely on her own salary.
Father Lin neither refused nor agreed. He only said, “You decide.”
Even Lin Jiadong had nothing to say about it.
Lin Qiaozhi was even less likely to speak.
She would neither pour out the fear in her heart to Jiang Hongmei nor tell Lin Wuqiang about it.
In fact, when she was little, she had liked her father more. She had felt that it was mostly her mother who bullied her.
Only after she grew older did she gradually realize that she didn’t really trust her father either. Whenever something upsetting or joyful happened, she would rather tell Zhenzhu and the others than her father.
Why?
She didn’t understand.
Not until she had that dream.
She dreamed of couples so loving they almost didn’t seem real. She watched how they handled things when their child came home after being wronged outside.
Only then did she suddenly realize.
When she had been locked outside the house as a child, her father had remained silent.
When she had fought for a single bite of meat, her father had remained silent.
When she had been bullied outside, called a “wild girl,” and run home crying, her father had remained silent then too.
People say a father’s love is like a mountain. He really had worked to support this family.
He was as steadfast as a mountain, but also every bit as silent as one.
She only remembered her mother crying in anger as she shouted through the door, “Since you’re so capable, then don’t come back!”
She only remembered, “What kind of girl is this greedy for food?”
“You got into another fight! What kind of girl spends all day fighting outside?”
But she barely had any memories of her father at all.
Before going to bed, Lin Qiaozhi suddenly found herself wanting very much to see the beautiful fairy sister again.
She held herself back.
She still had practice today!
She’d wait a little longer. Once she graduated early and joined the factory, she’d go see the beautiful fish spirit sister again and watch how she teased that brat.
Just imagining it made the corners of Lin Qiaozhi’s mouth curl upward.
She rolled over, pulled the blanket over her head, and as darkness filled her vision, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning.
Jiang Hongmei tucked three yuan and some grain coupons, worth about another two yuan, into each of the children’s hands.
“Take it. Buy yourselves something good and build up your strength.”
That was actually a considerable amount of money.
A bowl of hot dry noodles cost only one jiao and two liang worth of grain coupons.
Then she pulled Lin Qiaozhi aside and secretly stuffed a small roll into her hands. “Take this too. Our family can’t afford to keep you supplied with meat, eggs, and malted milk, but your leg hurts, so don’t be stingy. Buy yourself more nutritious food.”
“Thanks, Mother.” Lin Qiaozhi hugged her, only then realizing that she had already grown taller than her mother.
It seemed she really had grown up.
She hoped her mother would grow up alongside her too.
Even though, deep down, it seemed her mother didn’t really love her very much.
Lin Qiaozhi pulled herself together and headed out.
Spring in Jiangcheng was bright and sunny.
At the cafeteria, Lin Qiaozhi generously treated herself to eggs and fish. She also tracked down the family who had given her a tin of malted milk when she’d helped make up their hammering skills retest.
After eating like that for several days, the pain in her legs at night really eased considerably.
And Lin Qiaozhi discovered that her strength seemed to have increased just a tiny bit!
It was only a tiny bit, something an ordinary person probably wouldn’t notice, but the precision she had consistently maintained within seven si had begun to fluctuate.
The vernier caliper truly was an amazing tool. Not only could it measure length and width, it could even gauge her strength.
Happily, Lin Qiaozhi carefully wiped the caliper clean.
She needed to eat even better!
Lin Qiaozhi hadn’t told anyone that what she cared about most was the great strength she had possessed since childhood.
It was the foundation of her courage.
Ever since she was little, it was that exceptional strength that had given her the courage to do so many things.
It was that strength that let little Qiaozhi beat every child her own age.
It was that strength that made little Qiaozhi believe she could do anything.
Even though her growing strength had reduced the precision in her hands and had nearly ruined a mold that was already halfway finished, Lin Qiaozhi wasn’t unhappy in the slightest.
She wanted to become even stronger!
That meant eating even better.
She could hardly believe she was eating meat and eggs every day like some landlord from the old society. She really was spending money freely!
What else could she exchange for money or grain coupons?
Lin Qiaozhi thought it over.
On her way home from school, she saw Grandma Wang from the family compound limping along while pushing her bicycle.
All her previous thoughts vanished, and she hurried over, taking the bicycle with one hand while supporting the elderly woman with the other. “Grandma Wang, what happened?”
“I don’t know which rotten little brat dug holes all over the road. There were several of them in a row. I didn’t fall, but when I jumped off the bike, I stepped into one and twisted my ankle.”
Grandma Wang was still full of energy as she cursed the mischievous child who had dug the holes, while lamenting her damaged bicycle.
Lin Qiaozhi rubbed her nose. She’d dug holes like that herself when she was little.
Games like marble shooting often used little pits, and they had been pretty fun.
But with absolutely no loyalty to her younger self, she joined in the scolding. “Exactly! Who goes around digging holes in the middle of the road? Catch them and give them a good spanking, and they’ll behave.”
After helping Grandma Wang home, Lin Qiaozhi finally felt relieved.
Grandma Wang opened a can of fruit and poured half of it into a bowl for her. “Have something sweet. If it weren’t for you, this old bag of bones would’ve had no idea how I’d make it back.”
Canned fruit was a luxury.
It had both fruit and sugar in it.
Even though it had been a New Year’s welfare gift from the factory, it wasn’t cheap to buy.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Lin Qiaozhi accepted it. “I’ll repair your bicycle before I leave.”
“You know how to fix bicycles?” Grandma Wang asked in surprise.
Of course Lin Qiaozhi did!
She had been the child who became famous throughout the family compound because of the toys she made.
She had already taken a look. The bicycle just had a tire punctured by a sharp stone, and the wheel had been bent in the fall.
Since she had to wait for Grandma Wang’s family to return anyway, she simply carried over a small stool and sat by the doorway.
She first removed the wheel.
Then she found Grandma Wang’s toolbox. It had all the basic tools: a hammer, a wrench, and a screwdriver.
She swung the hammer, and after just a few strikes, the wheel was back in shape.
Then she found a large basin and filled it with water.
She pressed the inner tube into the water, and every puncture immediately released a stream of tiny bubbles.
“Qiaozhi, you’re really clever.” Grandma Wang leaned over to watch. “I was just thinking that even if you patched the big holes, there’d still be tiny ones you couldn’t see. Last time, my old man only patched the biggest hole, and it still leaked air. In the end, we still had to spend five fen to get it repaired.”
Smiling, Lin Qiaozhi cut a patch from an old inner tube. “There’s always a solution if people put their minds to it.”
By the time Lin Qiaozhi finished repairing the bicycle, the Wang family had also rushed home after being notified by the neighbors.
A day later.
After taking Grandma Wang for a medical checkup and returning, the Wang family came to visit with a small gift in thanks.
Grandma Wang held Lin Qiaozhi’s hand, leaned in with a smile, and whispered, “Qiaozhi, Grandma Wang has some work to introduce you to. You can be paid in grain coupons or food.”
Lin Qiaozhi looked at her in astonishment.
Grandma Wang was a little embarrassed. She had simply chatted a bit too much while out sunning herself, and as a result, quite a few people had come asking about Lin Qiaozhi.
Of course Lin Qiaozhi agreed.
Before long, she was living a life with meat and eggs to eat. Jiangcheng had plenty of water, so fish were easy to catch, and the eggs at the factory grain and oil store were cheaper than those sold outside. She didn’t mind that the menu was a little monotonous.
She wasn’t a picky eater!
Every day, feeling her strength steadily increasing, Lin Qiaozhi happily set aside half an hour after school.
One family’s door squeaked loudly whenever it opened or closed, so she polished the hinges smooth and applied some machine oil.
Another family’s door and window had come loose, so she secured them with a hammer and nails.
Someone else’s dowry chest had been chewed up by rats, so she carved several wooden blocks to exactly the right size. They fit so perfectly that they locked seamlessly into place. She drove in a nail from the inside, leaving no trace visible from the outside.
She simply did things according to her own understanding and habits, but before long, her reputation spread. “Qiaozhi’s different. She knows exactly what I want. I only have to say a few words, and she understands. Her workmanship is meticulous, the results are excellent, and everything looks beautiful. Unlike the one in my family, who just bangs away a couple of times and calls it done. It really makes you mad.”
Eventually, even families with someone capable of doing those repairs themselves were happy to hire Lin Qiaozhi if they could afford it.
Lin Qiaozhi gradually grew stronger, and she also gradually grew taller.
She had more and more strength.
And more and more confidence.
Finally, halfway through the semester.
Lin Qiaozhi finished the mold for the engine side cover of the Hongqi Tieniu 55 tractor.
She carefully wiped the mold clean with a cloth until not a speck of dust or metal shaving remained.
After being polished tens of thousands of times, the mold gleamed like a mirror from top to bottom, every flat surface reflecting a person’s image.
Its edges were perfectly straight, its corners crisp and distinct, and its curves smooth and flowing.
It possessed the unique industrial beauty of cold steel.
It looked like a work of art.
Lin Qiaozhi invited Wang Baiqiang over. “Engineer Wang, could you take a look at this mold I made? Does it meet the requirements for early graduation?”
Wang Baiqiang’s face was genuinely dark now, tanned to a deep bronze.
With his face set, it was impossible to read his expression.
When he looked at the mold, the mirror-bright cross section reflected the surprise rising in his eyes.
Holding a vernier caliper, Wang Baiqiang measured it meticulously from top to bottom and inside and out.
Finally, he signed the evaluation sheet and gave the workpiece the highest rating:
First-Class Quality.