Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 783 ill intentions, a clash of words
For the next two or three days, Li Kailang was able to relax and enjoy himself.

The worker who had noticed a minor anomaly but hesitated to report it also told Li Kailang about the problem.

Upon hearing this, Li Kailang naturally took it very seriously.

Were there any unusual sounds or phenomena during this fluctuation?

The worker's palms were sweating, but he forced himself to remain calm and replied, "Technician Li, no, everything was fine at the time."

"Perhaps the sensors were a bit unstable when the equipment was first started up? The subsequent speed increases were normal."

Li Kailang gave him a deep look, then nodded without asking any further questions.

I stayed a little longer while the grinder was working, and checked the maintenance panel to make sure there were no problems before I felt relieved.

He only submitted the report after confirming that there were no problems with the grinding machine in the past few days.

When Ling saw Li Kailang's report, he carefully emphasized other unresolved issues regarding the grinding machine.

They were so overjoyed that Ling Gong thought even more highly of him.

More valuable than fleeting glory is this long-term sense of responsibility and the meticulousness of the technical staff.

With the grinding machine successfully repaired, Li Kailang naturally wanted to reward him for his contribution.

Director Wang rewarded Li Kailang with several grain coupons and praised him in front of everyone.

“You young people should learn more from Xiao Li. This was a great opportunity, but unfortunately you didn’t seize it.”

"You'd better seize the opportunity next time. If you want to improve, you have to overcome difficulties one by one. Otherwise, how can you improve!"

"Yes!"

Several assistant technicians bowed their heads in response, now filled with regret, and their gazes toward Li Kailang became complicated.

The reward wasn't much, since fixing the machine was something their technical department was supposed to do.

Besides, it only fixed one of the problems.

Most importantly, the grinding machine wasn't badly damaged and was still usable, though it was rarely used.

Layer upon layer, and that's why the results didn't seem particularly outstanding.

Factory Director Yang also learned of Li Kailang's actions and specially praised him at the factory office leadership morning meeting.

Qin Huairu's patience finally earned her a second chance.

This time, she changed her strategy.

Instead of approaching Li Kailang directly, she chose a more natural location—the cafeteria.

At lunchtime that day, Li Kailang, carrying his lunchbox, had just found a relatively quiet corner to sit down.

A voice, tinged with timidity yet full of anticipation, rang out: "Technician Li, is this place empty? Can I sit here?"

Qin Huairu stood by the table, holding a lunchbox, her face showing just the right amount of weariness of a young mother burdened by life and a hint of awkwardness at seeing an acquaintance.

Li Kailang looked up and saw it was her. He frowned, but since the cafeteria was a public place, he couldn't refuse and could only nod: "Please go ahead, Chef Qin."

Just remember next time, eat with Xiao Zhao and the other two, or if that's not possible, eat with the transport team.

Qin Huairu sat down and carefully opened the lunchbox, which contained simple cornbread and pickled vegetables.

"Technician Li, you were really amazing that day! These are a few dried persimmons I brought from my hometown. They're not worth much, but let the kids have a taste."

Her tone was sincere, and her eyes conveyed earnestness and a touch of humility, perfectly portraying the image of a widow who wanted to express her gratitude but was also struggling financially.

These words startled Li Kailang so much that he jumped up, refusing to eat. "Damn it, what does Qin Huairu mean by this?"

"Master Qin, you're too kind. The child likes it, so you can keep it for him."

After saying that, Li Kailang left with his lunchbox.

Seeing him flee in disarray, Qin Huairu felt a surge of stubbornness.

Meanwhile, in the technical team's office, the atmosphere was subtle.

Looking at Li Kailang's empty seat, Liu's jealousy grew wildly like weeds.

He couldn't stand a new kid stepping on his head.

The intention was to make things difficult for him, but instead, it highlighted his even greater abilities.

I'm so pathetic!

He glanced at Ding Pengze, a technician who had been working there for five years but had never achieved his goals, and an idea came to him.

During his lunch break, Engineer Liu "casually" strolled to the table and sighed:
"Xiao Ding, look at Xiao Li, he's really living the high life. A simple problem with a grinding machine gear has made him a star."

"You've been working hard in our technical department for so many years, and you've solved a lot of problems, big and small, but who has taken you seriously?"

Ding Pengze silently organized the documents without saying a word, but his movements noticeably slowed down.

Engineer Liu leaned closer and lowered his voice: "I've been thinking about his report these past two days. It's quite well-written, but he's not content with just taking all the credit."

"You're saying he just graduated and actually solved the grinding machine problem? That's what I heard."

He paused deliberately to observe Lao Qian's reaction.

Ding Pengze looked up, his eyes filled with doubt: "What did you hear?"

"Sigh, I only heard it from a few old workers whispering among themselves,"

Engineer Liu feigned reluctance, lowering his voice even further:
"They said that when the grinding machine was doing heavy work these past two days, the noise seemed a bit off, somewhat like before it broke down."

"Of course, it could also be psychological, since it was just repaired and everyone is sensitive."

"Is that so? I've never heard of it." Ding Pengze vaguely guessed what Engineer Liu meant.

However, since the other party was an engineer, he couldn't say much and could only pretend not to know and continue talking along with what Engineer Liu said.

"How could we possibly say that it was just repaired and is finally usable? Who would want to offend Director Sun and Li Kailang now?"

Engineer Liu fanned the flames: "Xiao Ding, you've been here for a few years now, you're very experienced. If I were you, I'd find an opportunity to test it myself."

"If there are no problems, that would be the best, and it would put everyone at ease, right? If there is even a minor problem, it can be detected in advance, which would also help the factory recover its losses."

"It proves that your judgment is still sharp! It's better than waiting for something terrible to happen and for outsiders to laugh at us, right? In that case, the credit won't just go to Li Kailang alone."

His words struck Ding Pengze's sore spots.

After five years, Ding Pengze has reached a bottleneck.

My qualifications, background, and abilities aren't particularly outstanding, but if I can take this opportunity to get noticed by Engineer Ling and Director Wang...
Ding Pengze remained silent, his eyes flickering. He was clearly swayed by Liu's words, failing to notice the loopholes or even look at the report.

He nodded slowly: "Hmm... Engineer Liu, you're right, we need to be more careful. I'll take a look this afternoon when I have some free time."

Engineer Liu smiled with satisfaction and patted Ding Pengze on the shoulder: "That's right! Technical work needs experienced veterans like us to oversee it."

In the afternoon, the grinding workshop was still bustling with activity.

The factory urgently needed an additional batch of parts, and the precision requirements were exactly at the upper limit of the theoretical capacity of this grinding machine.

Looking at the processing orders that filled the other equipment, and then at this grinding machine that spent most of its time "maintaining its health," Director Sun couldn't help but feel a little restless.

He found the experienced worker, Old Chen, on duty: "Old Chen, this batch of work requires high precision, but time is tight. Do you think we could try using this grinding machine? Be careful when operating it, just do this batch!"

Old Chen hesitated for a moment: "Director Sun, Technician Li and Engineer Ling both said that."

In the past few days, in order to test the quality of the grinding machine, the number of times it has been used has far exceeded the number of times it has been used in the past three months.

Old Chen kept in mind what Li Kailang and Engineer Ling had said, and was somewhat worried.

“Oh, I know!” Director Sun interrupted him. “This is a special case! The grinding machine is fixed, so it’s ready to be used.”

"Technician Li is cautious, but we can't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Look, everything's been fine these past few days, hasn't it? Besides, if there really is a problem, Technician Li is right here in the factory, he's available anytime!"

"Just do your job without worry, I'll take responsibility!"

Unable to resist Director Sun's persistent pleading, Old Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! I'll keep an eye on things!"

The grinding machine, loaded with a high-precision workpiece, roared up again, the sound seemingly sharper than during the tests a few days ago.

Just then, Ding Pengze left, pretending to be on a routine inspection, and went straight to the grinding machine.

Xiao Wang saw Ding Pengze and asked, "Technician Ding, what brings you here?" "I've come to take a look and learn something," Ding Pengze waved his hand. "I heard it's fixed and the results are good? I've come to see how it works."

suddenly!

Buzz——!!!!!!!
A dull yet violent noise suddenly erupted!

The sound was so loud that nearby workers covered their ears.

Immediately afterwards, the entire grinding machine began to vibrate slightly!

The movement trajectory of the worktable instantly became distorted, and a teeth-grinding scraping sound was heard between the grinding wheel and the workpiece!

"Stop the car! Stop the car now!" Old Chen's face turned pale as he frantically tried to press the emergency stop button.

However, everything happened too fast. The instant the emergency stop button was pressed, "Bang!!!"

A muffled thud suddenly erupted from inside the transmission box!

The grinding machine suddenly stopped.

The entire workshop fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone, whether they were operating the machine, watching, or running over after hearing the sound, was stunned by the sudden muffled thud.

There was also a burnt smell in the air.

Old Chen stood there, frozen, his face ashen, his lips trembling as he murmured, "It's over. It's over."

He couldn't imagine what a terrible scene it must be inside.

Upon receiving the news, Director Sun practically scrambled into the workshop.

I saw the grinding machine, which was still stationary but still emitting a slight smoke, and the transmission box emitting wisps of smoke.

"Quick! Put out the fire!"

Without being told, Ding Pengze rushed to the transmission box and opened the door immediately.

Seeing a section of wire flaming up, I didn't care about anything else and took off my clothes to put out the fire.

Fortunately, the fire was small and was extinguished quickly.

"Turn off the power to the grinder!"

"I'm going right now!" a worker belatedly shouted, immediately turning off the connected power switch.

Seeing that the situation was out of control, Ding Pengze couldn't help but feel a little amused. He hadn't expected that trouble would arise as soon as he arrived.

He needed to get things done quickly before the technicians arrived!

But he didn't forget to call out, "Quick! Go and call Engineer Ling and Technician Li here!"

While no one else was there, Ding Pengze carefully inspected the grinding machine.

Engineer Liu arrived with an almost gloating expression.

He squeezed through the crowd and saw Director Sun looking distraught and Old Chen looking pale. He glanced at the mangled state of the transmission box and was overjoyed: "The opportunity has come!"

He immediately raised his voice and shouted to Section Chief Zhang and Engineer Ling, who had rushed over after hearing the news, "Engineer Ling! Look! I told you! This grinding machine problem isn't that simple!"

"Some people are too eager for quick success and instant benefits. They think everything is fine after only solving the superficial problems. Now look what's happened! This has not only delayed production but also caused significant losses to national assets! I think this time they must be held accountable!"

He emphasized the words "eager for quick success and instant benefits," "only solving the superficial problems," "significant losses," and "serious accountability" to the extreme.

The workshop was filled with a buzzing sound.

The workers, who had previously had complete faith in Li Kailang, suddenly lost their trust.

The equipment was just repaired and it has already suffered such a serious malfunction.

Ling's face was extremely grim. The equipment damage was a fact, and the impact on production was also a fact.

Engineer Ling sternly surveyed the room, his voice laced with suppressed anger: "Calm down! Everyone, be quiet! Director Sun! What happened? Didn't we tell you to use it with caution? How could such an accident occur!"

"Xiao Li, go and find out the cause of the accident!"

“I’ve already seen it,” Ding Pengze stepped forward.

"The transmission box of the grinding machine is broken. I checked it and luckily the problem is not serious, but the wires are probably unusable and need to be replaced."

"The gear set is fine, there aren't any major problems, but there are some issues in other parts of the machine."

Everyone turned to look at Engineer Ling.

He nodded: "Xiao Li, check it again to confirm the problem."

"Okay." Li Kailang nodded and went to check.

The problem with the grinding machine was immediately apparent from the maintenance panel.

[The grinding machine's transmission gearbox experienced overload jamming and associated circuit overload burn-out under high-burst, high-load conditions.]

Just as Ding Pengze said, the problems in other places remain the same as before.

Fortunately, the problem did not escalate.

Upon hearing this, Engineer Ling breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Upon seeing this, Ding Pengze gritted his teeth, never expecting that Engineer Ling would not believe him.

"The accident investigation will take time," Ling Gong ordered. "The most urgent task is to resume production as soon as possible. Xiao Li, can you fix it?"

Li Kailang shook his head: "We need an electrician to come."

Without Ling Gong's instructions, Director Sun arranged for someone to call an electrician.

"Xiao Li, you and Ding Pengze work together to fix this grinding machine."

"Okay," the two replied.

"Director Sun, Master Chen, could you please come with me and explain what's going on?"

But Engineer Liu was not willing to let this opportunity slip away so easily.

"Wait, Engineer Ling, this machine was just repaired a few days ago, and it's already having such a big problem today. Technician Li, could you please give us an explanation?"

"Perhaps this malfunction was caused by Technician Li replacing the grinding machine gear set."

Some workers in the workshop, unaware of what was going on, all turned to look at Li Kailang under Liu's deliberate guidance.

Liu Gong and Ding Pengze thought that Li Kailang would show his fear when everyone was watching him, but they didn't expect him to be so calm and composed.

"I am very confident in my repair plan and there will be no problems. This failure was caused by other reasons."

Engineer Liu persisted: "Oh? Then what other reason could there be? This grinding machine wasn't broken before, but it suddenly broke down now. It's hard not to be suspicious."

"Was technician Li's lack of technical skills the cause of this accident, which indirectly damaged the steel rolling mill's production equipment?"

Upon hearing this, everyone knew that Engineer Liu had ill intentions.

Li Kailang didn't know why Engineer Liu was so hostile towards him, but he wasn't afraid.

"The specific reason will become clear after the investigation. What I don't understand is why, instead of rushing to repair the grinding machine, Engineer Liu is digging into my reasons. What is his intention?"

Once these words were spoken, any normal person would understand that this matter was not simple.

Some workers who were unaware of what was going on immediately stood by and watched.

Engineer Liu knew he couldn't say anything more at this point, or he would be gossiped about.

"Then I'll trouble Technician Li to make sure the grinding machine is repaired."

"Of course, it's my duty!"

In the lip gloss contest, Li Kailang had a slight advantage.

Ling Gong spoke up at the right moment to defuse the situation: "Director Sun, Master Chen, would you please come with me? Let me explain what happened."

The two men stared at each other, sweating profusely.

(End of this chapter)