She had no way out, and she had no intention of leaving herself one.
Besides, Lin Qiaozhi had already thought it through.
Rather than waiting another six months or a year before suddenly announcing that she wanted to graduate early and enter the factory, only to shock everyone and face opposition and obstruction, it was better to say it now.
Let everyone know that the reason she was working so hard was to graduate early and enter the factory.
Let everyone see how rapidly her skills were improving, how much faster she was progressing than everyone else. She had the qualifications and the ability.
She wanted to earn that job fair and square, beyond reproach.
The sooner everyone knew, the sooner the gossip would run its course, and the sooner the surprise would fade.
By the time that day actually came, her graduating early and entering the factory might seem only “natural” instead of causing a huge uproar, with no telling which wave might suddenly knock someone off their feet.
Lin Qiaozhi had given it serious thought, and she said exactly that.
“What?” Wang Baiqiang stared at her in disbelief, his expression practically spelling out Something’s wrong with my ears across his forehead.
Lin Qiaozhi repeated earnestly, “I said I’d like to ask you about the specific requirements for graduating early from our factory’s technical school and entering the factory. Does the version of the regulations from a few years ago still apply?”
There was precedent for it.
Though it had happened years earlier, when Engineer Lu had brought tractor technology from the north, personally developed a complete set of molds, and trained a group of apprentices, filling the gap in southern agriculture’s lack of “iron oxen.”
How crazy had things been back then?
Village cadres and commune leaders from all over the south had all pulled strings and called in favors to buy Hongqi Iron Ox 55 tractors. Jiangcheng’s guesthouses had been packed with people pouring in from every corner.
The nation’s production targets had been urgent and demanding, with every region pressing for faster deliveries. The factory was in desperate need of skilled technicians, so the factory director and Engineer Lu had personally established this rule to encourage students to improve their technical skills as quickly as possible and join production early.
It was just that in recent years, no one had graduated early anymore.
Wang Baiqiang studied the girl before him for a long moment before finally speaking, his tone filled with confusion. “What made you suddenly decide you want to graduate early?”
Realizing Lin Qiaozhi genuinely meant it, he frowned. “These three years are the most important time for building your foundation. You’ll be learning mechanical principles, steadily refining your skills, and you’ll have teachers here to guide you. Once you enter the factory, you won’t have an environment this good anymore.”
Wang Baiqiang clearly disapproved. This line of work wasn’t something you could muddle through. If your technical skills weren’t solid, the machinery you assembled would be inferior, and once it reached the hands of the farming comrades, it would be prone to problems and breakdowns.
That would not only delay agricultural production but also damage Hongqi Factory’s reputation.
Lin Qiaozhi wasn’t intimidated by his stern expression. Wang Baiqiang was known for his bad temper and his uncompromising attitude toward technical work. He hated nothing more than people treating machined parts carelessly.
Everyone knew that.
Otherwise, Engineer Lu would never have personally appointed him to oversee the fitter program at the factory’s technical school.
Lin Qiaozhi already had her answer prepared.
With bright, spirited eyes, she declared, “Of course it’s so I can devote myself to the great industrial revitalization of New China as soon as possible!” Those were the exact words originally written at the beginning of the regulations.
Wang Baiqiang chuckled.
Seeing him smile, Lin Qiaozhi smiled as well. “Don’t laugh at me, Engineer Wang. Have you ever attended one of our factory’s presentations?”
“What would I listen to that for?” Wang Baiqiang had no interest in hearing someone else talk about the factory’s history when he’d lived through it himself. Still, his expression softened somewhat.
“One part left a particularly deep impression on me.”
Lin Qiaozhi recalled, “Comrade Gao from the factory office said that in the early days after the founding of New China, our heavy industry was practically nonexistent. While America’s Porsches were already racing down the roads, at the very same time, we couldn’t even build a single tractor of our own.”
The smile on Wang Baiqiang’s face faded.
“But in just over ten years, we’ve not only independently manufactured several models of tractors, but also our first engines, trucks, gasoline engines, tank tracks… We even exceeded the industrial targets set during the First Five-Year Plan!”
“Why were we able to do it?”
Even though she was arguing for her own future, pride still crept into Lin Qiaozhi’s voice. “Comrade Gao said it was because generation after generation of workers devoted themselves to industrial development, constantly striving for ever-better technical skills. Because industry is the backbone of our nation, we have to stand tall. Otherwise, we’ll only be beaten again.”
And no Chinese person wanted to be beaten again.
Wang Baiqiang quickly raised a hand. “Alright, alright.” He rubbed his arms, goosebumps threatening to rise.
Why was he arguing with an educated youth?
Especially one who had only just finished the high school entrance examination. She certainly had a way with words.
“That old version definitely can’t be used anymore,” Wang Baiqiang said, getting straight to the point.
The factory’s technical standards had improved considerably over the past two years.
There was no way they could still use the standards established all those years ago. “Back then, there was no choice. We were desperately short of people.”
Lin Qiaozhi wasn’t discouraged. She had never intended to cut corners on her technical training just to enter the factory early. Failing to build a solid foundation, or ending up all flash and no substance, would only ruin her own future.
She pressed on. “Then what are the current requirements? Please tell me. Whether the school’s foundation is solid and whether someone’s technical skills are truly refined can all be reflected through those standards, can’t they?”
Her expression practically said, None of what you’re worried about is a problem. Just set the bar.
Wang Baiqiang: “…”
The rumors around the residential compound really hadn’t been wrong. She truly was a bold, strong-willed wild girl.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.” Wang Baiqiang changed his mind. Rather than wasting his breath trying to persuade an idealistic young intellectual, he might as well lay out the technical requirements. Once she understood how difficult they were, she’d naturally back down.
Lin Qiaozhi quickly pulled a notebook from her bag, uncapped her fountain pen, and looked at Wang Baiqiang with shining eyes. “Please go ahead!”
Wang Baiqiang glanced sideways at her notebook. “First, the requirements from the old version are still there, right? Within the specified time, you have to completely disassemble a designated model of lathe, then reassemble it. It must function properly afterward, and it can’t make any abnormal noises while running.”
Lin Qiaozhi asked, “Which model?”
“The one in the school. Our factory isn’t wealthy enough to leave several different models of lathes lying around for you students to practice on.” Wang Baiqiang took a sip of tea.
“Second.”
“Graduates from our factory’s technical school enter the factory as Second-Grade workers. If you’re graduating early, you should at least be outstanding, right? If you can manufacture a mold that meets the factory’s Third-Level technical standard, no one would have anything to say. Specifically, the machining of the side cover mold for the Iron Ox 55 engine.”
He held out a hand. “Here, I’ll draw it for you.”
“Yes!” Delighted, Lin Qiaozhi quickly handed over her notebook. “Thank you, Engineer Wang.”
Wang Baiqiang laughed. Straightforward as always, he said, “What are you so happy about? Once you actually start learning and making it yourself, you’ll realize just how hard it is to produce a qualified mold.”
“Just draw it. I’m not afraid of difficulty.” Lin Qiaozhi adjusted the notebook for him, secretly urging him on.
She wasn’t afraid of difficult things. On the contrary, she liked clear, concrete goals. The more specific the details, the better.
One was one, and two was two.
Nothing was more annoying than ambiguity.
Without even bothering to pick up a pencil, Wang Baiqiang used Lin Qiaozhi’s fountain pen and skillfully sketched a simple mechanical mold diagram in her notebook. “This is the mold.”
Pointing to a semicircular section along one side of the drawing, he said, “This kind of semicircular section is something even veteran craftsmen who’ve worked in the factory for years find difficult. If you’re making this, the required tolerance is seven si.”
Lin Qiaozhi had spent so long in that mechanical factory in her dream.
Although it had felt like a mouse wandering through a grain-storage maze, unable to understand much of what it saw, she had at least become familiar with it through constant exposure.
So what exactly was a mold?
Simply put, if you wanted to mass-produce a convex-shaped part, you first had to make a matching concave mold.
A mold was like a stamp, allowing workers to quickly produce large quantities of parts with the same fixed shape.
According to the textbooks, molds were the mother of industry. The industrial production of any product was inseparable from molds.
Lin Qiaozhi leaned in to look. “Seven si? I heard that the tractor molds our factory uses, more than eighty percent of them were handmade by Engineer Lu and his apprentices, with errors smaller than one si.”
She couldn’t yet fully grasp why molds were called the mother of industry.
But that set of molds belonging to Engineer Lu was unquestionably the lifeblood of Hongqi Agricultural Machinery Factory.
Wang Baiqiang, who had failed to intimidate her: “…”
He stuffed the notebook back into her hands and pointed his pen at Lin Qiaozhi, saying irritably, “You’re a fearless calf that doesn’t know the tiger’s strength. Do you even know how small one si is? It’s 0.01 millimeters, about one-sixth the width of a strand of hair.”
“If you don’t have talent as a fitter, or if your fundamentals are even a little weak, then the error won’t be measured in si after a single pass with the file. One stroke, and you’ll be off by an entire millimeter.”
As Wang Baiqiang spoke, he grumbled inwardly. Once school started, he’d see for himself what this girl was actually capable of and whether she could live up to all the bold claims she’d made today.
Lin Qiaozhi turned the notebook back around. “I’m just taking Engineer Lu as my role model. Of course I’m going to aim for his standards. Engineer Wang, is there anything else? What about grades? Like the courses the school teaches, such as Principles of Machinery, Mechatronics, and Tractor Design Manual?”
Wang Baiqiang waved a hand dismissively. “Just get excellent grades across the board.”
Looking every bit the earnest model student, Lin Qiaozhi pressed further. “Specifically, what score would that be?”
“…Eighty-five.” Wang Baiqiang began to wonder if he was simply getting older, if his face had somehow become kinder. Hadn’t the students always called him the “Black-Faced King Yama”? Weren’t they all terrified of running into him carrying a steel ruler while patrolling the practical training classes, always going out of their way to avoid him?
“Great!” Lin Qiaozhi was delighted that she’d actually managed to get a concrete cutoff score.
That left no room whatsoever for subjective interpretation.
Seeing the excitement on Lin Qiaozhi’s face, Wang Baiqiang rubbed the back of his neck. Were all young people like this nowadays?
Lin Qiaozhi wrote down the three requirements. “Anything else? Can you make the decision on this? Or should we let Engineer Lu take a look first?”
“What else could you possibly want?” Wang Baiqiang shot her a sidelong glance, thinking that of course he could make the decision. After the normal three years of study, aside from a handful of exceptionally outstanding students who might barely reach this level, most students still wouldn’t measure up.
But he was a straightforward man who respected his teachers and valued proper hierarchy, so he would never undermine his master’s authority in front of a student. “Copy this down for yourself. Give me this one, and I’ll take it to Engineer Lu.”
“Got it!” Lin Qiaozhi agreed immediately and copied it out. She tucked away the sheet with Wang Baiqiang’s sketch into her pocket, then patted the pocket for good measure.
Then she handed Wang Baiqiang her copied version.
Wang Baiqiang: ?
“I’d be too embarrassed to show Engineer Lu your drawing.”
Lin Qiaozhi smiled. “Just tell him I drew it. It won’t reflect badly on you.”
A simple drawing personally sketched by Wang Baiqiang was evidence, wasn’t it?
She had to keep it!
That very noon, while eating in the cafeteria, Wang Baiqiang casually pulled the sheet of paper from the breast pocket of his jacket.
“Master, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Before long.
Word reached Lin Qiaozhi.
Wang Baiqiang really hadn’t been lying. He truly had the authority to make the decision. When the new regulations were finally posted on the school’s exterior wall in red lettering, not a single word had been changed!
The graduating class from the factory’s technical school, upon seeing the notice at the school gate, felt their scalps go numb.
What the hell was going on?!