Everyone present here had been wronged before, having learned their lesson once, and each was as shrewd as they come.
Since Ge Guoqiang couldn’t bring himself to say it, they understood in their hearts.
Because they had “made mistakes” before, their illnesses were considered cheap compared to others.
When they became useful, they were dragged out to take the blame and serve as scapegoats.
“Were those big steamed buns just now buying our lives? If we can’t fix the harvester and cause the entire county’s people to go hungry, we’ll be the sinners, and we should stand on that little stage again?”
This time, no one answered him.
In fact, everyone present knew the answer.
“I quit! Send me back!”
One person took the lead and shouted, igniting the desire for survival in the hearts of the others, who followed suit in protest.
Just as Ge Guoqiang was about to say something more, several burly men rushed in from the entrance of the Machinery Bureau.
They immediately surrounded those who were loudly protesting.
Ge Guoqiang’s voice was somewhat strained: “The bureau chief said you can leave once you fix the harvester.”
If they couldn’t fix it, they could only stay here and await punishment.
This was utterly unreasonable, but given the current situation, they had no choice but to comply.
Shen Fujuan watched from the side, feeling her throat tighten.
Indeed, there were no free lunches falling from the sky.
Every opportunity fate bestowed upon them had its price secretly marked long ago.
This peck of white flour was earned with their lives on the line.
“Husband, do you have a solution?” Shen Fujuan lowered her voice and whispered to Su Jiaxuan.
It seemed that, aside from obediently cooperating and fixing the harvester, they had no other way to escape.
“If it’s an engine problem, I should take it apart and have a look.”
Those nearby who heard Su Jiaxuan’s words stared wide-eyed and turned their heads as if hearing a monster speak.
“You might not care about living, but we do! Who can put it back together after taking it apart?”
“Exactly! What did you do before? How can you be so reckless? Don’t you know the engine is called the heart of machinery? It’s the most complex and hardest part to repair!”
If they accidentally damaged it, there would be no point in trying to fix the machine again!
Su Jiaxuan calmly raised his eyes: “Aircraft engine designer.”
These simple words left the people in front of him momentarily stunned.
During the earlier self-introductions, they had been completely absorbed in the excitement of getting a peck of white flour.
They hadn’t paid any attention to what others said.
Thus, upon suddenly hearing that Su Jiaxuan was an aircraft engine designer, each person’s eyes lit up as if a lamp had been switched on.
The engine of a massive aircraft like a plane—that was truly complex!
If Su Jiaxuan could handle planes, fixing a harvester would be a piece of cake, wouldn’t it?
So, they gathered around Su Jiaxuan, their faces showing a sense of shame transformed into eager curiosity.
“Comrade Su, tell us what we should do!”
The speed at which these people changed their expressions left Shen Fujuan dumbfounded as she watched from the side.
Ge Guoqiang waved his hand, signaling the security personnel who had rushed in to leave quickly.
He, too, sensed the confidence emanating from Su Jiaxuan.
It seemed there was real hope this time!
Su Jiaxuan had the others work together to remove the engine casing, while he walked around to the other side to observe the chaff outlet.
Fortunately, the machine hadn’t been cleaned yet, and there was still quite a bit of residue inside.
Just as Ge Guoqiang had said, the chaff was mixed with many intact grains.
He then asked for help opening the harvester’s grain bin. Su Jiaxuan grabbed a handful and discovered that it contained a significant amount of empty husks.
In other words, this harvester was blowing out the good grains while letting the bad ones into the grain bin—completely contrary to the machine’s original design.
Su Jiaxuan brushed the remaining grains off his hands and turned to Ge Guoqiang. “Could you start it up, please?”
Ge Guoqiang was a bit confused. “Comrade Su, I already mentioned earlier that our county doesn’t have any land available for your experiments.”
Shen Fujuan quickly understood Su Jiaxuan’s intention. She explained to Ge Guoqiang, “My husband means to start the harvester and let it run idle.”
This was a common procedure when repairing aircraft engines—running the engine idle to check the airflow.
Ge Guoqiang caught on and immediately called the operator to start the harvester as Su Jiaxuan instructed.
Standing at the harvester’s fan outlet, Su Jiaxuan held a mixture of empty husks and good grains in his hand.
When he released them, the powerful airflow blew everything into the grain bin.
The others watched Su Jiaxuan’s series of actions, still somewhat puzzled.
Su Jiaxuan had already begun adjusting his testing method.
After checking the airflow from different angles, he recorded several sets of complete data.
Ge Guoqiang, still unclear about what was happening, observed Su Jiaxuan’s work and found it highly professional.
“Comrade Su, can you tell what the problem is?”
Su Jiaxuan had someone shut off the engine and pointed to several key components with his right hand.
“The fan’s airflow and the sieve’s vibration amplitude don’t match. That’s why good grains are being screened out while bad ones are being retained.”
Involving specialized knowledge of aerodynamics, Ge Guoqiang couldn’t fully grasp it. He nodded thoughtfully, then pressed Su Jiaxuan more urgently.
“Is there a solution? Do we need to replace anything?”
“We’ll need everyone’s help to run a few more tests and find the balance point between the sieve fan and the auger.”
With the assistance of the others, after several adjustments, Su Jiaxuan nodded to Ge Guoqiang.
“It’s fixed now. If similar issues arise in the future, have the maintenance crew check those areas I just pointed out.”
Not only Ge Guoqiang, but everyone else’s faces also lit up with gratitude.
They looked at Su Jiaxuan as if he were their savior.
“Comrade Su, thank you so much! You’re a benefactor to our entire county!”
Ge Guoqiang grabbed Su Jiaxuan’s hand, forcing a handshake.
“Can we leave now?” Su Jiaxuan asked.
“Comrade Su, please come with me for a moment. Our bureau director said whoever fixes this engine will be generously rewarded.”
Ge Guoqiang led the way, politely escorting Su Jiaxuan and Shen Fujuan into the bureau director’s office.
The director hadn’t expected Su Jiaxuan to fix the problem so quickly—one that had troubled them for days.
When he learned about Su Jiaxuan’s actual profession, the director’s expression visibly shifted in surprise.
“What a waste of talent!”
Shen Fujuan felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this.
If they hadn’t been soft-hearted back then and adopted Su Lina, they wouldn’t have fallen into such dire straits today!
“Comrade Su, the bushel of flour I promised you earlier has been prepared. I’ll have someone drive it over to your house in a moment.”
The bureau chief stood up, looking at Su Jiaxuan: “Comrade Su, would you be willing to come to the county and serve as a technical consultant for our machinery bureau?”