Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 756 Similar Themes: Jia Huairu

Guo Da Piezi's sarcastic sneer and the "thud" of the workpiece being slammed back into the basket were like a red-hot branding iron, burning Qin Huairu's heart.

Especially that light, casual "Master Qin, keep up the good work," made her breathless.

She's tried so hard, but why can't she get it right?

She knew she was clumsy, uncoordinated, unable to understand blueprints, and unable to use measuring tools properly.

But she really wanted to learn, in order to gain a foothold in this factory.

Taking over Jia Dongxu's job was supposed to be a way out, but it turned out to be another abyss.

"Tsk tsk tsk~" Li Kailang saw all the excitement clearly.

"I knew it! No matter how stupid someone is, after a few years of learning the skills, they should be able to pass the Level 1 worker exam. So that's where the problem lies."

"He has absolutely no talent, and everything he does is twice as difficult and half as effective. No wonder he can't get ahead. I guess he hasn't been studying seriously for a long time."

Presumably, the setbacks of the past few years have made Qin Huairu less attentive to her work.

No wonder she hasn't passed the Level 1 worker exam yet and just coasts along as an intern.

"Let's go."

With nothing exciting to see, Li Kailang went to check out the next workshop.

It's not over yet.

They ran right into Master Liu Xiaoyan, who was storming off.

She returned with a chill in her air, not even glancing at Qin Huairu, and went straight to her workstation.

That silhouette was filled with utter disappointment and resignation.

Upon seeing this, Wang Xiuying, the eldest sister, also kept her distance, afraid of being tainted by Qin Huairu's "bad luck" and "stupidity".

Qin Huairu subconsciously looked at Yi Zhonghai.

However, Yi Zhonghai was giving instructions to a mid-level worker with a furrowed brow, and didn't even glance at Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu's heart sank. Could it be that even Yi Zhonghai was starting to dislike her?
'This won't do! What should I do? What if this old man doesn't care about me?'

At this moment, Qin Huairu was extremely anxious.

What she was most worried about was not being scolded, but Yi Zhonghai ignoring her.

"No! I must be independent and self-reliant!" Qin Huairu immediately perked up and boosted morale.

She picked up a new blank, gripped the file tightly, and pushed it down with all her might.

"Chi la——"

Iron filings flew everywhere, and the immense friction caused the file to slip violently.

With a loud crash, the workpiece and file flew out of his hand, crashed to the ground, and rolled a long way.

"Oh my! Master Qin, are you treating this lathe like a blacksmith's shop? Why are you using so much force?" the male worker who had just teased her exclaimed dramatically.

"Exactly! If you have nowhere to use your strength, why not go to the forging workshop and swing a sledgehammer!"

"What a waste of such talent!"

The laughter from the crowd grew even more unrestrained.

Qin Huairu had never heard of such a thing before. Calmly, she picked up the workpiece and file that had rolled to the ground and began to polish them again.

Seeing her so stubborn, the laughter around her gradually subsided and disappeared.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xiaoyan let out a long sigh.

While it's true that as long as you try your best, even if you don't do well, no one will say much, there are prerequisites.

It's not that I'm afraid of someone being stupid, it's that I'm afraid of someone being stupid but hardworking, only to end up doing nothing but pointless busywork.

After a while, Guo Da Piezi returned with his men, strolling back at a leisurely pace.

"Master Qin, come, come!" Guo Da Piezi smiled amiably, as if he wasn't the one who had been harsh and difficult just moments before.

“You see, Master Liu is indeed too busy and has limited energy.”

"Considering your situation, I'm assigning you a new task. It's not technically demanding, but it requires a high level of patience and attention to detail, making it especially suitable for women!"

"If we do it well, it's a contribution to our workshop and the factory!"

Before Qin Huairu could react, Guo Dapizi led her to an old-fashioned manual lathe in the far corner of the workshop.

"You guys, put all your stuff here."

The workers carrying things behind him put them down and went back to their work.

Guo Da Piezi pointed to the things that had been brought over, which were a large pile of shiny, unfinished small screws and nuts.

There's also a whole bunch of small gaskets waiting to be assembled and several small boxes of even smaller spring clips.

"Look, do you see this? This batch is for spare small screw components for our factory's maintenance department. The requirements aren't high; just put the washer in and then clip the spring clip into the groove of the screw cap."

"A component only has three parts: a screw cap, a washer, and a clip." Guo Da Piezi picked up a loose part and slowly demonstrated it, his movements so simple that even an elementary school student could understand it.

"There are two requirements: First, no parts can be missing; every screw must contain a washer and a clip."

"Second, the clips must be properly secured and not loose or fall off. This job is easy, isn't it? It doesn't require much brainpower or physical strength, it just depends on how careful you are."

After he finished speaking, he paused, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

"Master Qin, this is an important job that the organization has arranged for you out of consideration!"

"We urgently need these spare parts; there are a lot of them, and time is tight! Before we leave work today, we need to assemble this basket of nuts and bolts, count them, and pack them into boxes—not a single one can be missing!"

"This is a crucial task that affects the repair department's efficiency and the factory's production!"

"The organization trusts you and has entrusted you with such an important task. You must stay focused and not let the organization down!"

Guo Dapizi launched into a series of high-sounding words, accusing Qin Huairu of "important tasks," "taking care of you," "organizational trust," and "affecting production."

His tone was as relaxed as if he were arranging a trivial matter.

Several workers nearby listened intently, their faces showing strange expressions.

This job is incredibly simple, but the quantity in that basket...
Let alone Qin Huairu, even a skilled worker with quick hands and feet would barely finish packing it in a day, and that would have to be done non-stop.

In less than half a day, Guo Da Piezi's actions are hardly showing any care; he's clearly dug a blatant trap!

"That Guo Da Piezi is really a bastard."

So many accusations have been leveled against Qin Huairu. If she can't fulfill them, it means she has a problem with her abilities and has let down the organization's trust.

If you finish the work but make a mistake, it means you weren't careful and lacked a sense of responsibility.

Regardless of the outcome, it confirms Qin Huairu's "useless" label, and Yi Zhonghai has no grounds for complaint.

"This this."

Qin Huairu looked at the huge basket full of shiny little screws and felt a chill run down her spine.

This method is similar to Jia Zhang's method of pasting matchboxes.

Jia Zhangshi pastes matchboxes at home and assembles screws and nuts at the factory.

"Huh?! What? Qin Huairu, are you complaining about having too many?" Guo Da Piezi's face darkened, and he snorted coldly.

"This job is one I worked hard to get for you. Are you not going to do it anymore?" "No, thank you, Director Guo. I will do my best."

Guo Da Piezi nodded in satisfaction, walked away with his hands behind his back, and before leaving, he added, "Do a good job!"

Qin Huairu took a deep breath, walked to the pile of parts, and found a small stool to sit down.

She picked up a nut, carefully placed a washer inside, then pinched the spring clip with her fingernail, held her breath, and tried to press it into the groove on the edge of the nut.

However, the tiny clip slipped on my fingertip, and with a "ding," it flew off and disappeared without a trace.

Qin Huairu's heart sank suddenly, and she looked around.

Many people were watching her with amusement, and the scene of Naka being shot away was also witnessed by many.

"Haha~"

"You can't even do the first one right, tsk tsk tsk~"

"No wonder they're a couple. Qin Huairu isn't much better than Jia Dongxu; she's far inferior."

Everyone was unreserved in their mockery. Although Qin Huairu was sitting far away and didn't hear it, she could see everyone's expressions clearly.

Having experience pasting matchboxes, Qin Huairu quickly got the hang of it after making a few, but the situation was similar to pasting matchboxes.

Before long, Qin Huairu felt aches and pains in her back. The pile of "finished products" in front of her was growing at an unusually slow pace, while the basket of screws and nuts waiting to be packed seemed to have not decreased at all.

The workers who had initially been interested in watching the spectacle eventually grew bored and turned their attention away.

Anyone who sees this job must feel exhausted for her.

Yi Zhonghai was debugging a machine when he looked over from a distance.

He saw Qin Huairu's hunched back, her focused yet stiff and clumsy movements, and the small, scattered parts at her feet.

His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were filled with an extremely complicated expression.

Some people were annoyed by Guo Da Piezi's insidious and vicious nature, for actually making Qin Huairu do this.

There was also a sense of helplessness—the helplessness was that Qin Huairu was indeed unfit for important positions.

"Sigh, forget it." Yi Zhonghai was too lazy to go over; it wouldn't make a difference anyway.

After doing this for an unknown amount of time, Qin Huairu could no longer feel anything below her neck.

My eyes are bloodshot, dry, and painful from prolonged intense focusing.

My fingers were cut in several places by the sharp edges of those little clips, and blood was seeping out.

Her movements became increasingly sluggish, her mind went blank, and all that remained were repetitive, mechanical actions.

Just as she picked up a small clip again, a large punch press in the distance suddenly emitted an unusually loud, muffled bang, as if it had gotten stuck.

This was followed by the anxious shouts of the workers and the sound of tools being banged.

The sudden, loud noise made Qin Huairu, who was numb, shudder violently! Her fingers, which were gripping the clip, unconsciously loosened!
"Ding!"

The tiny spring clip, with a faint reflection, flew into the chuck gap of the old lathe at an extremely tricky angle!

"Screech—Bang!!!"

A teeth-grinding, ear-piercing metallic scraping and tearing sound suddenly erupted!
The old lathe shook violently, as if it had been kicked hard.

The chuck twisted and deformed horribly, and a semi-finished workpiece clamped inside was instantly ejected.

With a loud crash, it slammed into a metal toolbox several meters away, creating a deep crater!
"what--!"

The nearby workers screamed in fright at the sudden turn of events and retreated in panic.

"Turn off the power! Turn off the circuit breaker!" someone shouted as they realized what was happening.

The entire workshop was instantly drawn to the commotion.

Guo Da Piezi, who was on patrol, changed his expression drastically and rushed over in three steps.

Yi Zhonghai immediately dropped what he was doing and ran over with a livid face.

The lathe motor was shut off in time, but the inertia of high-speed rotation caused the deformed chuck to continue groaning and emitting a wisp of smoke.

The air was filled with the smell of burnt metal and evaporating lubricating oil.

a mess.

"What happened? Why did the lathe suddenly malfunction?" Guo Da Piezi immediately questioned the worker standing nearby.

Yi Zhonghai glanced at the gruesome deformation of the chuck and the scattered parts and flying workpieces on the ground.

Suddenly, he noticed several spring clips and abruptly turned to look at the numb Qin Huairu and the screws and nuts next to her.

I had a vague feeling that Qin Huairu was responsible for the accident, but it was unrealistic to think that just a few spring clips could have broken the machine tool.

But to prevent Guo Da Piezi from exaggerating the problem and shifting the blame to Qin Huairu, he didn't make a fuss, but simply kicked the spring clip aside.

The worker explained, "Director Guo, I don't know either. The machine was working fine just now, and then it suddenly broke down. I don't know what happened."

Yi Zhonghai asked, "Did you encounter any abnormalities when you were operating it? Did you hear any unusual noises or feel that it was not functioning properly?"

He intentionally steered the investigation toward the machine tools themselves.

The worker frowned, trying to recall: "I didn't feel anything special. It's just an old machine, always loud, and occasional noises are normal. Who knew it would suddenly start like this today?"

Yi Zhonghai was very satisfied with the answer.

"Yi Gong, could you please take a look at what's going on?" Guo Da Piezi asked for help.

Fortunately, there were no casualties. His immediate concern was not the cause of the accident, but whether the old machine could be repaired.

The procedures for scrapping old machines are complicated and require writing a lot of paperwork; he didn't want to create unnecessary trouble.

Yi Zhonghai pretended to be inspecting the items carefully.

“Director Guo,” Liu Xiaoyan suddenly spoke.

"I remember mentioning a problem with this old lathe last month. I suggested at the time that it be taken out of service for repairs or simply scrapped. The report is still in your office, isn't it?"

Upon hearing Liu Xiaoyan's words, Guo Da Piezi immediately remembered.

At the time, I thought that this old machine could still handle some rough work occasionally, and that the scrapping procedures would be cumbersome and might affect the workshop's equipment "availability" assessment, so I put it aside and didn't deal with it, thinking I would use it until it completely broke down.

Who knew it would break down at such an inopportune time, with such a huge commotion!
“I remember now, that’s right. I was just thinking, ‘Can the machine still be used?’ I didn’t mean to scrap it.”

"As everyone knows, the number of machines in our factory is limited. If one breaks down, we don't know when we'll get a new one."

"Losing one machine will significantly impact the efficiency of our workshop, so we didn't scrap it. Since it's broken, we should scrap it. Fortunately, no one was injured, which is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."

Guo Da Piezi smoothly glossed over the matter with just a few words.

No one had anything to say about this; they would have done the same if they were in Guo Da Piezi's shoes.

After listening, Yi Zhonghai summarized, "Director Guo, this machine really did break down on its own after being used for too long."

Hearing Yi Zhonghai say this, Guo Da Piezi smiled and said, "Alright, everyone go ahead and get busy."

“I’ll handle this. I’ll talk to Director Yang and see if we can get a new machine installed for us as soon as possible.”

As soon as he said that, everyone immediately lost their temper and were eager for Guo Da Piezi to bring back a new one.

No one paid any attention to Qin Huairu in the corner.

(End of this chapter)