Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 779 Undercurrents and New Challenges

A moment later, a series of hurried footsteps approached.

Liu, an electrician from the electrical engineering department, arrived in a hurry with his apprentice and a heavy toolbox.

"Brother Cui."

It was Liu Huazhong and Cui Yuan.

"Little Li."

Cui Yuan was somewhat surprised to see Li Kailang here.

Although the two worked at the same steel rolling mill, they rarely saw each other due to their different roles.

We mostly met in public restrooms and cafeterias.

"Liu Gong! You've finally arrived! Take a look at this instrument. If it malfunctions, the military equipment in our furnace will be doomed!" Director Zhao explained the situation in rapid succession.

"Technician Li from the technical department has found the source of the interference. It was caused by the electric resistance furnace next door being moved over and using electricity. After it was moved and the power was cut off, the instrument stopped malfunctioning, but it was still shaking and the readings were inaccurate!"

Liu Gong nodded and greeted Li Kailang again.

Immediately, he didn't have time to talk to Cui Yuan any longer and explained the situation to Liu Huazhong.

He didn't completely believe what Li Kailang said; while listening, he also checked the problem.

“Yes, eliminating the source of interference is the first step. Technician Li did the right thing.” Liu Huazhong affirmed Li Kailang’s judgment and then turned to the control cabinet.

"The problem now is that there is a problem with the signal processing or wiring of the instrument itself. This instrument is an old Soviet model, which is very precise, so we have to be extra careful when disassembling it."

He put on his reading glasses, gestured for Cui Yuan to hand him a screwdriver, and carefully began to disassemble the dashboard casing.

As the screws were unscrewed one by one, the casing covered in thick dust was removed.

The complex internal circuit board, densely packed resistors and capacitors, and wound coils were exposed.

A faint, almost imperceptible smell, similar to burnt plastic, wafted through the air.

"It smells burnt!" Cui Yuan said casually.

Liu Huazhong looked serious as he approached the circuit board, sniffed it carefully, and examined it inch by inch with a powerful flashlight.

Locked to the edge of the circuit board, a resistor was noticeably black, with slight signs of charring around it.

"The problem has been found!" Liu Huazhong pointed to the resistor. "This is a critical current-limiting resistor in the circuit. Once it burns out, the entire signal path is messed up, which is why it's jumping so wildly."

Old Zhao's heart leaped into his throat again: "Can...can it be repaired? Just replace the resistor?"

Liu Huazhong shook his head: "It's not that simple. The burnt-out resistor is just the surface; the key question is, why did it burn out in the first place?"

“The entire relevant circuit must be checked to eliminate potential hazards. Otherwise, even if a new resistor is installed, it may burn out again soon, or even spread to other parts of the circuit.”

"Huh? When will it be fixed? The military equipment in the furnace can't be delayed." Old Zhao said immediately.

"We have to take it slowly," Liu Huazhong said as he conducted a thorough inspection.

Li Kailang watched quietly from the side, trying to learn, as electrical engineering was a blind spot for him.

Although fitters are considered all-rounders, that applies to the mechanical field, not the electrical field.

Time ticked by, and Old Zhao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, yet he dared not urge him on.

"Found it!" Liu Huazhong pointed to a corner on the circuit board near the power module.

"Here, capacitor C5 is severely leaking current! That resistor had been working under overload for a long time, and it was also old. The instantaneous peak current was too high, so it burned out completely!"

Once the cause of the illness was thoroughly identified, Liu Huazhong immediately took action.

He asked Cui Yuan to find the appropriate new resistors and capacitors from the spare parts box he had brought.

Replacing electronic components is a delicate task. Liu Huazhong held his breath and carefully cleaned away the old components.
The entire process was smooth and efficient, demonstrating the solid skills of a veteran electrician.

After the replacement was completed, Liu Huazhong did a final check to confirm that everything was correct.

"Try turning it on."

As the instrument was powered on, the green pointer trembled slightly before settling steadily at 785°C.

The number display was also clearly fixed at "785".

The pointers and numbers are now unusually stable, with none of the previous wild fluctuations!
"It's done! It's really done!"

Zhang and another veteran worker also gathered around, their faces showing relieved smiles.

"Mr. Liu, thank you so much." Old Zhao held Liu Huazhong's hand tightly and thanked him repeatedly.

Liu Huazhong waved his hand and glanced at Li Kailang beside him.

He had heard a little about his achievements during this period and didn't mind helping him out a bit.

"It was mainly because Technician Li made an accurate judgment, eliminated the source of interference in time, stabilized the overall situation, bought us time, and pointed out the direction."

Li Kailang smiled modestly: "Mr. Liu, you flatter me. Everyone has their own expertise, and we still need your help with the circuits. I only did what I could."

"Alright, the instrument is fixed now. Director Zhao, please take a look and see how to proceed. I'll be going now."

"Yes, yes, yes! Master Zhang, quick! Adjust the temperature according to the procedure!" Old Zhao immediately gave instructions.

The oppressive atmosphere in the workshop vanished instantly.

Li Kailang exchanged a few more words with Liu Huazhong to confirm some possible situations, and then left with the scrapped items.

Seeing that Lao Zhao and the others had returned to normal, Li Kailang packed up his tools and prepared to return to the technical department.

However, before he could leave, another figure had already left.

That was an informant arranged by Engineer Liu, a team leader in the precision forging workshop with whom he had a good relationship.

The news quickly reached the technical department.

Liu Weiguo listened to the team leader's report with a blank expression at his desk, his fingers unconsciously tapping the surface.

He waved, signaling for them to leave.

Interference source? Burned-out resistor? Leaking capacitor?
"Where did Li Kailang get his skills? He really found the problem so quickly? Isn't he a fitter? How come he's so knowledgeable about circuits?!"

This discovery greatly shocked Liu Weiguo.

He thought he had made some achievements in mechanical manufacturing, but he never expected that he would also know a little about circuits.

It's likely that Director Wang and Engineer Ling were unaware of Li Kailang's talent.

Liu Weiguo's hope of "making Li Kailang stumble" was completely dashed.

Not only did he not stumble, but Li Kailang actually performed quite well.

Most importantly, it preserved the production of this batch of military equipment.

"No way! I can't let this kid climb up so smoothly! He got lucky this time! Next time I'll find something he's definitely not good at."

Suddenly, Liu Weiguo thought of something.

Pull open the bottom drawer and rummage through the backlog of technical problem files.

Eventually, a case file was found. It contained a precision grinding machine imported from East Germany, a key piece of equipment for processing high-precision parts.

However, in the past year, the problems have become more numerous and serious, and the factory has organized several efforts to address them.

Even Ling Gong personally examined it and invited experts from the ministry for consultation, but the problem remained intermittent, becoming a tough nut to crack for the technical department.

Now all that's missing is to invite the engineers from East Germany to come and take a look.

But a single business trip costs them over 100,000 yuan, and if it involves repairs, the price will go up even further.

In an era where 1 US dollar equals 2.5 RMB, this price is quite high.

Unfortunately, the factory only turns it on during critical moments to minimize malfunctions and ensure it can be used when necessary.

"That's it!" Liu Weiguo's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Li Kailang, aren't you supposed to have good eyesight and strong practical skills? Let's see how you handle this this time!"

After finishing his work, Li Kailang went to check out the other workshops on the way.

Seeing that there was nothing going on in the workshop, he returned to the technical department.

"Xiao Li, you're back? How's the forging going?" Director Wang asked with concern as he came out of the inner office.

Li Kailang gave a brief report: "Reporting to Director Wang, the problem has been resolved and the military equipment should not be damaged."

After listening, Director Wang smiled with satisfaction: "Good! Very well handled! Being able to stay calm and cooperate effectively at a critical moment—that's exactly the kind of talent our technical department needs! Thank you for your hard work!"

Engineer Ling had also appeared at the office door at some point. After listening to the report, he nodded approvingly.
"Xiao Li, your intuition and ability to quickly pinpoint problems on the spot are truly outstanding."

He paused for a moment, then added, "However, this incident also exposed some hidden dangers in our equipment aging and maintenance, which are worth summarizing."

"When repairing machines in the future, we'll have to pay more attention to the electrical aspects."

The technicians nodded and made a note of it.

They are usually responsible for repairing mechanical problems, and they completely ignore electrical problems.

Director Wang patted Li Kailang on the shoulder: "Alright, you've been busy all morning, go take a break and have some water."

Li Kailang returned to his workstation, and had just sat down to take a sip of water when Liu Weiguo, carrying a teacup, strolled over with a smile on his face.

"Xiao Li, you've worked hard! I heard you solved the big problem in the precision forging workshop? You're truly a promising young man!" Liu Weiguo's tone sounded very enthusiastic.

"I knew it! These kinds of tricky problems need young, capable people like you to handle!"

Li Kailang put down his water glass and calmly replied, "Mr. Liu, you flatter me. It was mainly Mr. Liu's superb skills that fixed the instrument. I only did some auxiliary work."

"Hey, you're being modest!" Liu Weiguo waved his hand. "Without you, even Liu Gong would be clueless. You deserve the lion's share of the credit!"

He changed the subject, lowering his voice, "Little Li, you're so capable, it's a bit of a waste of your talents to always be doing these repair and maintenance jobs."

"I happen to have a great job that would really showcase your talents. Would you be interested in taking on the challenge?"

"Oh?" Li Kailang raised an eyebrow, immediately showing interest: "Please go on, Engineer Liu."

“That’s how it is,” Liu Weiguo cleared his throat, “Our factory has a prized possession from Taitung De, the No. 3 high-precision grinding machine. You know about the long-standing problems with spindle vibration and out-of-tolerance precision, right?”

"The factory has organized several efforts to address this issue, but the results have been unsatisfactory."

"I think that with your keen eye and hands-on skills, you might be able to find a new breakthrough! This would truly demonstrate your technical prowess and be a great contribution to solving the factory's core problems!"

"How about it? Do you dare to take it?"

Liu Weiguo's words were full of encouragement, as if he had entrusted Li Kailang with a glorious and arduous task.

"Huh?!?" Li Kailang raised an eyebrow. "Is there really such a good thing? Oh no, is that so?"

With the repair panel there, he didn't believe there was anything he couldn't fix.

Even if it can't be fixed, there's always a "time reversal machine".

The machine malfunctioned unexpectedly this morning; it broke down in the circuit, and he didn't understand that aspect very well.

But as long as the problem isn't with the circuit, what is there to fear!

During this period, he was not just wasting time. He had a fairly good understanding of the information about the machines, if not an intimate knowledge of them.

He knew, of course, how troublesome the problem with the No. 3 grinding machine was, but what was there to fear with the maintenance panel?
Furthermore, fixing it would greatly benefit one's abilities and reputation, allowing one to advance further.

It's been less than half a month since Jin Jianxian started working at the steel rolling mill, so he still has to work hard!

Li Kailang was completely unaware of Liu Weiguo's ill intentions.

Hearing Li Kailang speak like that, Liu Weiguo inwardly sneered: 'Overestimating yourself! A mere brat like you dares to act recklessly? Truly, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger.'

'Those who think they can be arrogant just because they've achieved some success will eventually suffer the consequences!'

Liu Weiguo made up his mind to wait and see Li Kailang make a fool of himself.

Meanwhile, the other technicians in Corey also pricked up their ears and stared intently at Li Kailang, wondering if he dared to accept the challenge.

Everyone knows the problem with Grinding Machine No. 3. It's a bottomless pit! Everyone knows what Engineer Liu's intentions were in passing this hot potato to Li Kailang.

Chen Zhiyuan and Wu Wei exchanged a glance, both seeing sympathy and a hint of schadenfreude in each other's eyes.

Li Kailang remained silent for a few seconds, then pretended to hesitate.

Seeing his silence, Liu Weiguo was secretly pleased, thinking he had become timid, and was about to add fuel to the fire.

However, Li Kailang raised his head, his gaze calm and firm as he met Liu Weiguo's eyes, and said clearly:

"Okay, Mr. Liu, I'll take this task."

After he finished speaking, the technical department fell silent.

Everyone was stunned, including Director Wang and Engineer Ling who was standing at the door.

No one expected that Li Kailang would accept the task so readily.

Liu Weiguo was visibly taken aback, not expecting Li Kailang to actually accept the challenge.

He quickly recovered and clapped his hands, saying:
"Good! That's impressive! I admire your spirit of facing challenges head-on! I'll get the relevant materials for you later! Director Wang, Engineer Ling, look how enthusiastic Xiao Li is!"

He turned to look at the two leaders, trying to confirm the matter.

Director Wang and Engineer Ling exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and a hint of worry in each other's eyes.

But that's good too; pressure can also be a source of motivation.

Ordinary machines are no challenge for Li Kailang. This is a good opportunity to see where his abilities are at their limit.
Director Wang pondered for a moment before speaking, "The problem with the No. 3 grinding machine is indeed complicated. Xiao Li, it's good that you have confidence, but you should also act within your capabilities."

"Xiao Liu, please organize the relevant information and give it to Xiao Li. But this is not his task alone. The technical department will support it as a key project. If necessary, Engineer Ling and I will also participate."

Engineer Ling nodded: "Yes, Xiao Li, go ahead and try, but if you encounter any difficulties, bring them up anytime. We'll study them together, tackle them scientifically, and not be afraid of failure, just be afraid of reckless actions."

Ling Gong hoped that Li Kailang could fix it, but he didn't dare to ask for everything; fixing part of it would be enough.

Having another skilled worker in the technical department will free him up some of his tasks and make things a little easier for him.

Li Kailang nodded: "Thank you, Director Wang, thank you, Engineer Ling, thank you, Engineer Liu. I will do my best."

(End of this chapter)