Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 788 New Journey

on Monday.

new week.

Jin Jianxian rode his brand-new Forever brand 28-inch bicycle straight to the steel rolling mill amidst envious glances.

The handlebars gleamed, the bell rang crisply, and the brand-new dark blue work clothes were meticulously ironed.

The technical office seemed more vibrant than when he first visited on Friday.

The large glass windows let in plenty of light, and the air was filled with a mixture of fresh ink, pencil shavings, and a faint smell of machine oil, replacing the stale and oppressive metallic dust of the parts factory.

He arrived early; there were only a few people in the office.

"Old Jin! You're here early! How impressive!" Li Kailang's loud voice, tinged with laughter, rang out from the doorway.

"I was worried about being late for work the day before, so I came a little early."

"Haha, I understand!" Li Kailang pulled over his chair and sat down next to Jin Jianxian.

"Before everyone arrives, I'll talk to you about the people from our technical department."

He pointed to the people already in the office, as well as the colleagues who were arriving one after another.

"Those three offices belong to our department's senior technicians, the ones with the longest service."

"Those three are all university graduates, technicians who arrived a few years earlier than us."

"Oh, and those three, just like us, they're all taking night classes now; they're our juniors."

"The most important thing is those three offices, all of which are for engineers. You met Director Wang and Engineer Ling last week, but you haven't met Engineer Liu, Liu Weiguo, yet."

This person deserves special mention.

"This person is quite capable, but his title of engineer was bestowed by the factory, unlike Engineer Ling and Director Wang, who have certificates."

At this point, Jin Jianxian understood what he meant; he also had an engineer like that in his parts factory.

"And that one."

Li Kailang pointed out each person's characteristics, temperament, little habits, and even some harmless nicknames in a vivid way, which made Jin Jianxian laugh.

As Jin Jianxian listened, he silently took notes, his gaze sweeping over the empty workstations, feeling both at ease and curious.

The atmosphere here is noticeably different; it lacks the pervasive surveillance and oppressive feeling of a parts factory.

Soon, the technical staff arrived one after another.

Director Wang and Engineer Ling walked in one after the other.

Seeing Jin Jianxian already seated and neatly dressed, Director Wang nodded approvingly: "Comrade Jin, you look great! You look even more energetic in this uniform!"

"Good morning, Director Wang. Good morning, Engineer Ling." Jin Jianxian quickly stood up to greet him, his movements swift and efficient.

"Sit down, sit down," Engineer Ling said with a smile, waving his hand. "We don't care about these formalities in our technical department. As long as we get the job done, that's what matters."

"Come on, everyone's here! Let's warmly welcome our new comrade, Jin Jianxian, as he officially becomes a proud member of our Technical Section!"

He led the applause, and the office immediately erupted in enthusiastic applause and warm smiles.

"Thank you everyone! I will definitely learn from you all in the future, and please give me your guidance!" Jin Jianxian said in a loud voice, bowing deeply with sincere gratitude.

Seeing that Kim Geon-hyun was so polite, especially in this setting, no one would bother him for no reason.

“Xiao Jin,” Director Wang said gently, “you won’t be assigned any specific projects this week. Your main task is to follow Kailang and familiarize yourself with our factory’s equipment, production processes, rules and regulations, and work procedures.”

"There are still some things to familiarize yourself with. Don't be afraid of having nothing to do. Cheer up, this task is assigned to you. Take good care of the new comrades."

"Don't worry, Director! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Li Kailang patted his chest confidently.

Then he patted Jin Jianxian on the shoulder: "Come on, Lao Jin! Let me show you around the workshop first."

On the way to the workshop, Li Kailang comforted him, saying, "Your main task this month is to familiarize yourself with the workshop and the documents. It's not difficult and it's easy."

"Rest as much as you can. Once you get used to things, you won't have much time to relax like you have today. Don't think you can jump right into work as soon as you arrive."

"When I first came here, I had a very leisurely life, just like you. Those were the days, and I couldn't go back even if I wanted to.

These comforting words made Kim Geon-hyun feel much more at ease.

"Anyway, if anything happens, I'll show you around and you'll get familiar with things. Don't overthink it."

"Okay." Jin Jianxian nodded.

This time, taking Kim Geon-hyun on a tour of the workshop was not as casual as when we first came last week.

He's already started working there, so naturally he'll have to take a look around some of the classified workshops.

The moment you step into the steel rolling workshop, a tremendous wave of sound and heat hits you as if it were real.

Beneath the massive factory roof, towering overhead cranes hoist red-hot steel ingots that radiate intense heat.

The scorching steel billet was relentlessly crushed, stretched, and shaped by the huge rollers time and time again, with sparks flying everywhere like festive fireworks.

The air was filled with the unique smells of scorching metal, heavy machine oil, and molten iron, and the noise was so loud that you had to shout to make a sound.

But everything before my eyes seemed so orderly, filled with a breathtaking, immense power that could transform the material world.

When Li Kailang first saw it, he was also shocked by the sheer scale of the scene.

Watch your step! Stay close to me!

He skillfully led Jin Jianxian through the enormous equipment room, pointing out the behemoths with great familiarity.

"See that? That's the primary rolling mill."

"That row of finishing mills over there is really valuable! Don't let its age fool you, it's incredibly reliable when it matters! But we need to replace its roller system next month; even old things like that need maintenance."

"That's the cooling area, the place where it's 'quenched'."

Kim Geon-hyun's eyes were not enough to take it all in, and his ears were filled with all sorts of sounds, but he greedily absorbed them all.

"Hey! Technician Li! Are you showing your new apprentice the ropes?" a burly old master craftsman laughed.

"Master Qian, this is my best buddy Jin Jianxian, the new technician!" Li Kailang introduced loudly.

"Hello, Master Qian, please guide me in the future!"

"You're too kind. I'll need your help again if the machine malfunctions in the future." Upon hearing that he was a technician, Master Qian didn't dare to underestimate him.

After a brief look around the steel rolling workshop, I immediately headed to the other workshops.

The two spent the entire morning wandering around the various workshops.

Jin Jianxian was dazzled by what he saw. "A big factory is indeed a big factory! So many workshops, so many machines, it's much better than my previous parts factory. It's like a small witch compared to a great wizard!"

"Haha, that's nothing, not even close."

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was almost noon.

"Let's go, before we get off work, let's hurry to the cafeteria!"

The steel rolling mill's canteen was as spacious and bright as an auditorium, with rows of food serving windows. The aroma of the food wafted over, making one's stomach rumble.

Fortunately, the bell hadn't rung yet, and the cafeteria wasn't too crowded; everyone was in good order.

This scene was nothing unusual to Kim Geon-hyun.

I quickly got my food and found an empty seat to sit down.

Jingle Bell--

The bell rang suddenly, and a large number of workers rushed in, causing the canteen to boil over at a visible speed.

At first glance, all that could be seen was a sea of ​​heads. "Wow, there are so many people!" Jin Jianxian couldn't help but exclaim.

The factory employs several thousand people. Although there are three canteens to distribute the workers, each canteen still serves one or two thousand people.

That's far more than the mere thousand or so employees in a parts factory!

"Eat quickly," Li Kailang said again.

Jin Jianxian looked at the vegetables and cornbread in the lunchbox, picked up a bite of vegetables and ate it.

"Hmm?" The taste was many times better than he had expected from the "mass-cooked food"!
There was a lot of oil and fat involved.

"How about it? It's way better than the bland soup in your parts factory canteen, isn't it?" Li Kailang said proudly.

The bigger the company, the more ruthless they are when it comes to kickbacks.

"This is so much better! It smells amazing! The flavor is just right!" Jin Jianxian exclaimed sincerely.

After dinner, Li Kailang returned to the core of the technology field—the database.

The archives were right next to the office. As soon as you opened the door, a unique smell, a mixture of ink, old paper, and a faint scent of mothproofing, wafted out.

The room is filled with rows of metal cabinets, guarding the steel rolling mill's technological "treasures".

"Here, this is our steel rolling mill's data repository. All the important data and documents are here."

"The drawings are here. Divide them by workshop, then arrange them by equipment model."

"The process documents are in this row, archived by year and product batch."

"National standards, ministerial standards, and factory standards are in the innermost row."

"Borrowing must be clearly recorded, including name, date, document number, and purpose. Handwriting must be neat."

"Return it promptly and put it back in its original place."

Li Kailang explained the rules clearly one by one.

Jin Jianxian listened very attentively and silently made notes in his mind.

"You don't need to remember anything. There are forms there. Just write down what you borrowed and who borrowed it. There aren't that many rules."

Li Kailang patted him on the shoulder: "Here comes your task for this month! These are all, and you have to read them all!"

"Huh?! So many?" Kim Geon-hyun was also shocked when he heard this.

"That's how I got here. After all, we're technicians. How can we do our job without having read all these documents? Otherwise, how can we get started?"

Seeing that Kim Geon-hyun's expression was too serious, Lee Kai-lang quickly comforted him:

"Just go through it once and get a general idea. You don't need to memorize it. Just remembering it is enough. If you really want to memorize it, it would take a year."

He then pointed to a spot: "We need to pay more attention to this area. These are important blueprints and documents from the factory. Just take a look at them."

Just as I was about to continue the introduction, Xiao Zhao suddenly walked over.

"Brother Li, there's a job in the workshop that I'd like you to go and take a look at."

"Okay, I'll go right away," Li Kailang replied, then looked at Jin Jianxian: "Take your time looking at it."

After saying that, he left with Xiaozhao.

Jin Jianxian was left to look at this pile of documents.

"Let's take it one step at a time."

Jin Jianxian carried a stack of documents back to his workstation and slowly read them.

"You've started looking at it already? Not bad, not bad. There's a lot of information. Take your time, no rush." ​​Director Wang came over to check on the situation.

"Director Wang."

Director Wang looked at the documents Jin Jianxian had brought back and said, "These documents are of utmost importance to the factory. We need to thoroughly understand them in order to properly handle those lumps of iron."

"But you have to take it slow. After you finish reading these, start with the most commonly used ones. That way you can have a deeper understanding."

"Ok, I see."

The other people in the office also made a few good-natured jokes, creating a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere.

For the first time, Jin Jianxian truly felt the warmth of the word "collective".

Unlike the wary distance in the parts factory, there seems to be a natural closeness among the colleagues here, especially towards him, a newcomer, who is more tolerant than judgmental.

The afternoon sun slanted through the large glass window, casting long shadows on the desk and making the lines on the drawings exceptionally clear.

The office quieted down, with only the rustling of turning pages, the soft scratching of pencils on paper, and the distant rumble of machinery from the workshop.

Jin Jianxian unfolded a general assembly drawing of the primary rolling mill.

Complex lines, densely packed markings, and a variety of part numbers instantly came into view.

He picked up a sharpened drawing pencil and, while looking at the diagrams, quickly sketched out simplified diagrams of the key components in the notebook next to him, noting down the dimensions, tolerances, and material requirements.

When he encountered symbols or markings he didn't understand, he would write them down and prepare to ask Li Kailang about them.

He became more and more engrossed in reading, losing track of time, and soon half a page of his notebook was filled with writing.

"How's it going, Lao Jin? Can you understand it?" Li Kailang asked in a low voice as he finished what he was doing.

Jin Jianxian looked up and rubbed his slightly sore eyes. "It's alright. It's better than the parts factory, but I can still understand it."

Immediately, Kim Geon-hyun voiced some of his doubts.

Li Kailang answered them one by one.

Other people in the office would occasionally join in the discussion, sharing similar problems they had encountered or their experiences in dealing with them.

Jin Jianxian eagerly absorbed these valuable practical experiences.

Time flew by as he focused on his studies, and Jin Jianxian felt his neck getting stiff.

He glanced at the afternoon's results. Although he had only managed to understand a portion of the primary rolling mill drawings, he had grasped the key structures and principles, and had gained a great deal.

"Hey, Lao Jin, time to get off work! Don't work too hard, there's a long road ahead." Li Kailang patted him on the shoulder and started packing his things.

"Are you off work already?" Jin Jianxian was still a little reluctant to leave.

"Of course! Work needs a balance between work and rest!" Li Kailang laughed. "Come on, let's pack up and go home. We'll continue tomorrow!"

Workers poured out of the factory gates like a tide as they finished get off work, the sounds of bicycle bells and laughter mingling together, creating a vibrant atmosphere.

The two walked out of the technical department office together.

As Jin Jianxian pushed the brand-new Forever 28-inch bicycle out of the factory gate, he couldn't help but look back.

In just one day, he fell in love with the place.

"How was your first day?" Li Kailang asked as he mounted his bicycle.

"Great!" Jin Jianxian nodded vigorously. "Excellent! It's been an eye-opening experience, and I've learned a lot. It's just that this data collection task is quite challenging."

He smiled and patted the cloth bag hanging next to the car seat, which contained the documents and notebooks he had borrowed that afternoon.

"Haha, take your time, you can't rush things, I'm off now!"

Kim Geon-hyun also climbed onto the motorcycle, the brand-new chain making a crisp clicking sound.

He pedaled hard a few times, and the Forever brand 28-inch bicycle steadily drove onto the wide factory avenue, merging into the flow of people and vehicles leaving get off work.

(End of this chapter)