Chapter 62: First Triumph of the Northeastern Journey, and a Late Night at the Courtyard

A convoy of jeeps and trucks forged northward, kicking up clouds of dust along the way.

The further north they went, the colder the weather became and the worse the road conditions grew. The bumpy dirt road nearly shook the trucks' shock absorbers to pieces on several occasions.

He Yuzhu remained remarkably calm. Most of the time, he closed his eyes to rest, occasionally trading driving duties with Ma Hua.

The senior technician sharing their vehicle was surnamed Zhou. He was a man of few words but possessed a wealth of experience, occasionally leaning over to quietly exchange technical details with He Yuzhu.

The two young men in the truck behind had been excited at first, but the grueling bumps soon wore out their high spirits.

It took a full four days on the road before they finally caught sight of Shencheng’s towering smokestacks and the sprawling silhouette of the industrial complex.

The Shencheng First Machinery Plant, the eldest son of China's heavy industry, was more than a size larger than the Red Star Rolling Mill.

Soaring blast furnaces and a complex network of pipes dominated the landscape, while the air was thick with the heavy scents of coal smoke and steel.

The person who came to greet them was a vice director in charge of production, surnamed Zhao. With a dark complexion and the hearty disposition characteristic of northeasterners, his brows were nonetheless locked with an unyielding gloom.

He shook hands briefly with He Yuzhu, his tone direct and tinged with a hint of skepticism:

"You must be Engineer He? It’s been a hard journey. We received the ministry's directive. It’s not that old Zhao here doesn’t trust you, but the situation we have on our hands is rather unique." He pointed toward a section of production lines halted for maintenance in the distance. "The machinery left behind by those Soviets in our plant has the most stubborn temper! The lubricating oil they require is specially formulated... I’m afraid your new formula might suffer from rejection. If this delays production, we simply cannot afford to shoulder the blame."

This was both a deliberate intimidation and a genuine expression of anxiety.

He Yuzhu did not rush to defend himself; he merely nodded and said, "Director Zhao, could you first take us to inspect the malfunctioning equipment on-site?"

"Fine! Let's go take a look!" With a wave of his hand, Director Zhao led them toward a massive workshop.

Inside, a giant Soviet-made heavy rolling mill sat completely idle.

Several veteran master craftsmen were standing around the main gearbox, looking deeply troubled. The ground was stained with grease, and inside the opened housing, the surfaces of the bearings and gears were covered with a thick layer of charred sludge, emitting a pungent, burnt odor.

"See that?" Director Zhao pointed at the pile of sludge. "That's the trouble! Once a load is applied and the temperature rises even slightly, the oil carbonizes! It clogs the oil lines and seizes the bearings! This happens every few days! It holds up a tremendous amount of work!"

The veteran technicians from the Shencheng plant standing nearby sized up He Yuzhu and his group of "experts from the capital" with unconcealed suspicion in their eyes.

At such a young age, could he really solve a problem that even the Soviets scratched their heads over?

He Yuzhu paid no attention to their gazes.

He squatted down, pinched a bit of the sludge between his fingers, brought it close to his nose to smell it, and then carefully observed the structure of the gearbox and the lubrication points.

[Ding! Suitable location detected: Heavy Machinery Workshop of the Shencheng First Machinery Plant. Would you like to check in?]

"Check in."

[Check-in successful! Obtained: Elementary Metal Tribology Perception (Time-limited).]

A subtle wave of sensory awareness flowed into his fingertips. He could practically "see" how the lubricating oil lost its efficacy, decomposed, and formed stubborn carbon deposits under specific pressures and temperatures.

He stood up and said to Director Zhao, "The root cause lies in the compatibility of the base oil's antioxidant additives and extreme-pressure anti-wear agents. It simply isn't suited for your intermittent ultra-high temperature and high-load operating conditions. Our new formula is specifically designed to tackle these exact problems."

Director Zhao remained half-doubtful. "Empty talk means nothing without results! If this big fellow stays shut down for even a day, the losses will be astronomical! We can't afford to let you use it as a casual guinea pig."

"There's no need to touch this primary piece of equipment." He Yuzhu's gaze swept across the corner of the workshop. "That old gantry milling machine waiting for repair—its working conditions are similar, and it suffers from the same issue, doesn't it? Let's use it for the test. If it succeeds, we roll it out. If it fails, our team will cover all losses."

With the matter put this way, Director Zhao could hardly raise any further objections. He muttered under his breath, "Fine! Have it your way! I want to see what brilliant tricks you've got!"

The test began immediately.

Clearing the oil lines, replacing the old oil with the new, He Yuzhu personally adjusted the equipment parameters to simulate the harshest operating conditions.

The veteran mechanics of the Shencheng plant crowded around, staring wide-eyed.

The machine roared to life, and the load was gradually increased.

The temperature needle on the instrument panel slowly climbed, approaching the red zone where failures had historically occurred.

Everyone's heart leaped into their throats, and Director Zhao wrung his hands in anxiety.

The temperature continued to rise, pushing past the red line!

Yet the machine kept running smoothly! No abnormal noises! No smoke!

Staring at the instrument panel, He Yuzhu made a few minor adjustments to the feed parameters once again.

Miraculously, the temperature needle actually began to recede slowly, stabilizing within a safe range!

It operated under continuous high load for a full two hours! The machine stood as steady as a mountain!

"It succeeded! That's incredible!" A veteran locksmith from the Shencheng plant roared first, his face flushed with excitement.

Director Zhao lunged forward to the gearbox inspection port. Looking at the clear, smoothly flowing lubricating oil inside, he simply could not believe his eyes!

He spun around, grabbed He Yuzhu's hand, and pumped it vigorously. "Engineer He! I'm convinced! Old Zhao here is thoroughly convinced! This formula is brilliant! Say no more! Tonight, dinner is on me—braised pork with vermicelli, all you can eat! You must replace the oil in all related equipment at our plant! Right now, immediately!"

Suspicion instantly transformed into adoration, and the enthusiasm of the Shencheng plant was thoroughly ignited.

Over the next few days, the promotion team was kept running off their feet.

Training technicians, guiding oil changes, and tuning equipment.

The new technology brought by He Yuzhu solved the stubborn problems that had plagued the Shencheng plant for years at an astonishing speed.

Red letters of commendation and merit reports from the factory flew like snowflakes toward the ministry and the Red Star Mill.

The opening battle was a resounding victory.

While He Yuzhu was making a great name for himself in the Northeast, back in the courtyard, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Jia family were like ants on a hot pan.

He Yuzhu had been gone for several days, and the courtyard had been entirely peaceful.

Jia Zhang's mischievous heart began to stir again. She urged Qin Huairu, "Did you see that? The security section guards only patrolled the first couple of days, and now they're nowhere to be found! They must think everything's fine and pulled them back! Our chance has come!"

Qin Huairu was still somewhat apprehensive. "Mom, shouldn't we... wait a little longer?"

"Wait my foot!" Jia Zhang snapped. "Wait until he comes back? By then, the opportunity will have spoiled! While he's not here, hurry and sneak in to take a look! Who knows, we might find his ledger of corruption and bribery, or some other unspeakable dirt!"

Late at night, the courtyard was dead silent.

Jia Zhang and Qin Huairu, like a pair of ghosts, crept stealthily to the door of He Yuzhu's room.

Jia Zhang kept watch while Qin Huairu produced a thin iron wire she had prepared in advance and tremblingly set to work picking the old-fashioned padlock.

After poking and prodding for a long time, sweat pouring down her face, the lock still refused to budge.

"Useless trash!" Jia Zhang cursed softly, stepping in to take over herself.

She possessed a bit more "experience." After puttering around for quite a while, with a soft click, the lock actually opened!

A surge of relief washed over the mother and daughter-in-law. Exchanging glances, they gently pushed the door open, slipped inside, and pulled the door half-shut behind them.

The room was pitch black, carrying a faint scent of dust.

Daring not to turn on the light, they relied on the faint glow from the window to ransack the place haphazardly. Drawers, chests, beneath the mat of the kang... feeling around everywhere, they found nothing of value and no "incriminating evidence" aside from a few old clothes and a couple of technical books.

"Strange... where could he have hidden it?" Jia Zhang muttered, reaching deep into the opening of the kang flue.

At that exact moment, a loud shout suddenly rang out from outside: "Who's there?! Who's inside Section Chief He's room?!"

A blinding beam of a flashlight pierced through the window, striking Jia Zhang and Qin Huairu right in their terrified faces!

Immediately following, heavy footsteps thundered outside!

Section Chief Zhang of the security department personally led two officers, shoving the door open and rushing straight inside!

"Well, well! Jia Zhang! Qin Huairu! It really is you two! Daring to pick locks and steal now, are you?" Section Chief Zhang roared angrily, the flashlight beam blinding them so they could not open their eyes. h

"No... no! We didn't steal anything!" Qin Huairu was scared out of her wits, babbling incoherently, "We just... just saw that Brother Zhuzi's door wasn't locked properly... and wanted to look after the house for him..."

"Absolute nonsense!" Section Chief Zhang snatched the thin iron wire still clutched in Jia Zhang's hand. "Do you need this to look after a house? Caught red-handed! What else is there to say? Take them away!"

"I'm wronged! The heavens are blind, He Yuzhu is framing us!" Jia Zhang threw herself flat onto the ground, starting to throw a tantrum and wail loudly.

Her cries woke up every neighbor in the courtyard.

Lights flickered on in household after household as people threw on their coats and poured out to watch the commotion.

Upon seeing the Jia family's mother and daughter-in-law dragged out of He Yuzhu's room by the security section, every face displayed expressions of disdain and schadenfreude.

"Bah! Once a thief, always a thief!"

"Stealing copper wire last time, picking locks this time!"

"They've completely disgraced our courtyard!"

Yan Bugui hid behind the crowd, his heart pounding in his chest as he secretly congratulated himself for keeping a low profile.

Ignoring Jia Zhang's tearful howling entirely, Section Chief Zhang ordered his men to haul them to their feet and said coldly, "Whether you're wronged or not, we can discuss that back at the security office! Wasn't Xu Damao's lesson from last time enough? Looks like you'll be going inside to keep Banggen company this time!"

Hearing the words "go inside to keep Banggen company," Jia Zhang's howling instantly choked in her throat, her face turning ashen.

Qin Huairu went utterly limp as well.

Amidst the pointing, finger-wagging, and curses of the entire courtyard, the two of them were unceremoniously dragged out of the compound by the security guards.

The night wind blew past, carrying a biting chill.

Quiet returned to the courtyard, but the lights in the windows of each home remained on for a long time, and the discussions buzzed on endlessly.