A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

The Sijiucheng Pump Factory is quite large, completely different from the timber factory that Jiangxia had encountered earlier.

Even the old man at the gatehouse seemed listless. Seeing the two enter the factory, he didn't ask them to register or anything, simply waving them in.

"Hey? Old Wang, why aren't the gatekeepers here soldiers?"

"Are you a cricket pump factory?"

Jiang Xia was taken aback. "Why not? Fluid mechanics is very difficult! Not to mention the design ratio of high-pressure and low-pressure zones, even the impeller of the water pump is very important, and even the angle and size of the volute are a very profound subject!"

As Jiangxia spread his knowledge, Wang Kui was completely taken aback. He secretly wondered if there was something wrong with his base and that he should strengthen the protection of the water pump factory.

Well, as the two entered the factory area, Wang Kui felt it wasn't necessary.

During working hours, the workers were scattered about, some standing, some sitting, and some even lying down on the wooden planks to sleep.

I finally found someone standing there shivering, and when I went up to ask, damn it, the door wasn't even closed.

The worker said nonchalantly, "What's the point of all this fuss? We'll be laid off in a few days anyway."

"Huh? Aren't you panicking about being streamlined?"

"What a panic! Everyone's thinking of lining up at the district's labor department. If we go early, we might be able to get a job at a factory in the street commune."

"Oh, then why are you still at the factory?"

"Hey, the line over there is huge, I don't want to suffer through that foreign torture..."

Ah, husband and wife are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately.

At this time, urban communes had not been completely abolished, and there were still many factories under the commune system.

Yes, the matchbox that the old lady from the courtyard often took home to play with was from a collective enterprise owned by the neighborhood committee.

However, this guy doesn't seem to realize that if even formal factories have been streamlined, how good can the makeshift operations of collective enterprises be?

There's no need to do much more than cut off the raw materials; the makeshift operation will naturally fall apart.

Jiang Xia had little hope for the factory, but still asked, "Aren't you going to keep trying? Didn't you say that fixing the water pump would get you out of this predicament?"

"Tsk~~~ Fixed?" The pale-faced man led Jiang Xia through several turns to a warehouse.

The warehouse was filled to the brim with water pumps.

"These are all returned by the water plant, six thousand units in total. We even tried to get them recycled by the Shijingshan branch a while ago, but they disagreed and didn't want them..."

Jiang Xia looked it over and thought the water pump was pretty good. At least there were very few pinholes on the casing, and the paint was even and neat. It didn't look like the kind of product that was rushed and made to fool people.

However, you can't judge a machine by its appearance alone.

"Can we open it up and take a look?"

"Why bother with all that trouble? It's just a problem with the impeller, cavitation, you know what I mean?"

"Cavitation? Shouldn't that happen more in the volute and guide vane? How come it's causing problems on the impeller?"

The man shook his head. "I don't know, that's what the people at the water plant said. Hey, after talking for so long, where are you from?"

"The steel rolling mill, Jiangxia. Wang Tiezhu from the factory's transport team told me, 'You guys can...'"

Before he could finish speaking, the man dashed to the warehouse door: "Dad! The steel mill expert is here!"

After shouting, he walked back with a big smile on his face, and shakily pulled out a crumpled cigarette: "Hehe, now that I've seen a living person, I just mentioned it to Uncle Wang. I didn't expect you to come so quickly?"

I never expected to see a hand-rolled cannon barrel here.

But Jiang Xia didn't mind and took it.

"Oh, this is Uncle Wang you asked about. Is the factory manager your father?"

"Hmm! That old codger, why isn't he here yet? Wait for me, I'll go call him again!"

Seeing the man's anxious look, Jiang Xia nodded.

It seems there's still hope; it's not like it's completely hopeless.

Jiang Xia lit the cannon barrel, but the acrid smoke made him cough violently a few times. He decided he couldn't handle it. Holding the bottom of the cannon barrel, he shoved it into Old Wang's hand.

Old Wang raised an eyebrow, took a puff, and seemed to be enjoying it.

He finished his cigarette, but the person still hadn't arrived.

Alright, let's get to work. There's a workbench right next to this big warehouse, and it has a pretty complete set of tools.

After picking a water pump that was clearly used, with the help of Lao Wang, the pump's inner beauty was soon revealed to Xiao Jiang.

Look at that battered impeller; its surface now displays sponge-like patterns of damage.

"Tsk, how could it be so serious? It shouldn't be like this."

Let's take another one apart and see.

This one is even more infuriating, causing the blades to erode through. Now take a look at the front cover.

It's cratered and bumpy, almost like the surface of the moon.

Let's find another one. Well, this one is even worse; it can't be disassembled at all. This is clearly a case of severe cavitation. The fluid flow in the pump is interrupted, and the pump's shaft, bearings, bushings, seals, and other components have melted together due to the high temperature.

Jiang Xia stopped Wang Kui from activating his berserk mode and trying to use the sledgehammer to talk to the water pump.

"No need to bother, we've found the cause. The impeller material is substandard!"

"Really?"

"Yes, if the material is suitable, cavitation will only erode the edge of the impeller and will not cause such great damage to the pump body and the center surface of the impeller."

"Water pumps are actually consumables and require regular replacement of parts. It's just that we don't know how long these water pumps have been in operation to cause this kind of damage. If they are old, then it should be normal."

“One week!” a dry, strained voice rang out.

"That water pump you couldn't break started smoking after just one week!"

The worker who hadn't closed the bird gate stood quietly behind Jiang Xia, leading a man.

"I am Fan Jin, the factory manager of the water pump factory. Hello, Engineer Jiang!"

Jiang Xia wiped his hands and shook hands with the other person.

"Good morning, Director Fan, I'm here..."

Factory Director Fan waved his hand: "I already know why you've come. Your steel rolling mill's Factory Director Yang just told me."

"The pressure pump is over there, it's an original product made by Big Brother, you can take it with you."

After saying that, he handed over a pass and turned to leave, somewhat dejected.

Eh?

What's going on? Why so decisive? Weren't we supposed to help them solve their problems?

We haven't discussed the hydraulic pump yet!

Factory Director Fan Jin's eldest son also got anxious. He smiled apologetically at Jiang Xia, then turned and chased after her.

"Hey, you old codger, didn't you say you were going to invite someone capable to solve this problem?"

"Solve my ass! There's no solution! Didn't anyone mention the material issue? What other option is to redo it?"

"Hey, we can go complain to the higher-ups! This batch of defective products isn't our fault, we shouldn't be laid off!"

"Hmph, they're all big companies, why would they care about the fate of small companies like ours!"

"Besides, the Ministry of Machinery isn't a place for people like us who have no power or influence! Don't forget who caused our current situation! I'm just hoping that the steel rolling mill can use the pump delivery relationship to get you in!"

The father and son were arguing loudly in the yard, as if they were afraid Jiang Xia wouldn't hear them.

Wang Kui put on a cold smile again: "I'm just making a scene for you."

"Why don't we take the pump and leave? The girl from the textile factory is still cold."

Jiang Xia pulled out a sketch from the corner of the warehouse: "Hey, I don't know what they're thinking. Those two rascals at the steel mill are way better than them. Now even Old Yang carries garlic with him at all times."