mtlumby2d Chapter 35: Forging Parts Crack, Debt Collection Urgent, Photos Hidden in Feng Town by Evil Neighbor
Chapter 35: Forging Parts Crack, Debt Collection Urgent, Photos Hidden in Feng Town by Evil Neighbor
In the June heat of the steel rolling mill's forging workshop, waves of heat carrying iron filings assaulted the senses. The freshly forged steel billets emitted a blinding red glow, reflecting off them and making Lin Chen's face flushed. He was instructing the newly hired Yan Jiecheng on how to operate the forging hammer when a loud crash came from behind him, followed by the furious roar of workshop foreman Zhou Jianguo: "Liu Haizhong! Look at the piece of junk you've forged!"
Lin Chen turned around and saw Liu Haizhong squatting on the ground, clutching half of a broken crankshaft forging, steel shavings splattering all over his trousers. It was an urgent order from the agricultural machinery factory, requiring extremely high precision. The uneven cross-section of the broken forging was clearly due to improper temperature control during quenching. Zhou Jianguo slammed the inspection report on the table; the three words "Unqualified" in black and white were particularly striking: "This is an urgent order for the agricultural machinery factory, due the day after tomorrow! Now it's broken, what are we going to do?"
Liu Haizhong's face turned a deep purplish-red, and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and wrinkles. He stole a glance at Lin Chen, his eyes filled with resentment—since his failed promotion and subsequent demotion, his status in the workshop had plummeted, and his skills had become rusty. This time, in an attempt to regain face, he had taken on an urgent order, but things had gone awry. "Director Zhou, I... I'll forge another one!" He hurriedly stood up, but Zhou Jianguo stopped him.
"Reforging? Raw materials are free? Labor is free?" Zhou Jianguo's voice was filled with anger. "The alloy steel for this crankshaft can only be obtained through quotas. This failure not only delays delivery but also means you have to compensate the factory for material losses! According to regulations, deducting your bonus for this month isn't enough; you have to pay an additional five yuan!"
Five yuan was no small sum back then, equivalent to half a month's wages for an average worker. Liu Haizhong's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground. His family was already struggling financially; the last time he gave gifts to get promoted, he had spent all his savings, and now he had to pay for the materials—it was like adding insult to injury. His gaze fell on Lin Chen again, as if he had grasped at a straw, and he quickly walked over: "Team Leader Lin, I haven't given you your apprenticeship gift yet, since you helped me forge that custom-made part last time!"
Lin Chen was demonstrating the forging angle to Yan Jiecheng when he heard this and paused. He knew what Liu Haizhong was up to—the last time he helped him forge a substandard part, which caused Yan Jiecheng to fail his promotion, the old man had held a grudge. Now, he was probably trying to extort money under the guise of a "master-apprenticeship gift," or force him to clean up his mess. "Master Liu is joking. Last time it was just colleagues helping each other out; it wasn't really a master-apprenticeship ceremony," Lin Chen said calmly, but his hammer didn't stop. "Besides, you know about the material problem with that forging."
Liu Haizhong's face turned pale and then red. He wasn't angry at being exposed, but instead leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Team Leader Lin, for the sake of us being in the same workshop, you have to help me out. I really can't come up with these five yuan, can you lend them to me first, and I'll definitely pay you back later? Or... can you help me reforge this crankshaft, and I'll give you my family's grain coupons as a thank you gift." As he spoke, he tried to grab Lin Chen's arm, his fingers still covered with iron filings that hadn't been wiped clean.
Yan Jiecheng, who had just learned how to operate the forging hammer, immediately stepped forward and blocked Lin Chen's path upon seeing this: "Master Liu, Team Leader Lin is busy! Why should Team Leader Lin compensate you for the workpiece you damaged yourself?" This was the first time he had ever contradicted an elder in the workshop. Although his voice trembled slightly, it conveyed a firm resolve. Ever since Lin Chen helped him find a job, he had regarded Lin Chen as an older brother and couldn't stand anyone bullying him.
"What do you know, you brat!" Liu Haizhong roared in anger, raising his hand to strike Yan Jiecheng, but Lin Chen grabbed his wrist. Lin Chen's fingers were as strong as iron clamps, squeezing Liu Haizhong until he grimaced in pain: "Master Liu, hitting someone in the workshop is against factory rules. If Director Zhou sees this, it won't be as simple as just deducting a bonus."
Liu Haizhong then remembered the workshop rules, reluctantly withdrew his hand, but was still unwilling to give up: "Lin Chen, don't push your luck! Last time I asked you to make forgings for me, you deliberately used inferior materials to cheat me, causing my promotion to fall through. I haven't settled that score with you yet! Now I'm asking you to do me a small favor, and you're still making excuses?" His voice grew louder and louder, attracting a lot of workers to watch.
Lin Chen sneered, pulled a manila envelope from his pocket, and poured out several photos in front of everyone. The images were clearly visible: Liu Haizhong was whipping Liu Guangtian with a feather duster, Liu Guangfu was hiding under the bed in fear, and Liu's mother was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy; there was also a scene of him secretly smuggling scrap metal from the workshop into his home. "Master Liu, if you want to settle accounts, let's settle them properly." Lin Chen picked up the photos and showed them to the surrounding workers one by one. "These photos were 'accidentally' taken by me when I was fixing your windows last time. What do you think would happen if I sent these photos to the Women's Federation in the neighborhood and the factory security department?"
Liu Haizhong's face turned deathly pale instantly, as if all his strength had been drained away. He staggered back two steps. His reputation was his greatest concern. Although his status in the workshop had declined, he was still a level seven forger. If he were exposed for domestic violence and embezzlement of company materials, he would not only be fired by the factory but also summoned by the neighborhood committee, and his life would be completely over. "You... when did you take this picture?" His voice trembled, all traces of his previous arrogance gone.
"If you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place." Lin Chen put the photo back into the envelope, his tone icy. "Last time you asked me to forge custom-made parts for you, you know perfectly well what materials you used. I kindly reminded you that the materials were substandard, but you insisted you needed them urgently, and now that there's a problem, you're blaming me? Also, about you embezzling scrap metal from the workshop, would I dare tell you all this if I didn't have evidence?"
The onlookers whispered amongst themselves, many looking at Liu Haizhong with disdain. They had long known that Liu Haizhong abused his wife and children at home, but dared not speak out because of his position. Now, seeing the photos, they were certain of the rumors. Zhou Jianguo also came over. Seeing Liu Haizhong's appearance, he roughly guessed what had happened and said in a stern voice, "Liu Haizhong, why aren't you going to get the materials and forgings again? If you delay the delivery, you can expect to be fired!"
Liu Haizhong didn't dare say another word and slunk off to collect the materials. Lin Chen watched his retreating figure, a cold smile playing on his lips—he had long since figured out the old man's weakness; he was just using his skills to act arrogantly, but once he had something on him, he'd be more cowardly than anyone else. He turned to Yan Jiecheng and patted him on the shoulder: "Good job. That's how you should act in the workshop from now on. Don't let anyone bully you."
Yan Jiecheng chuckled sheepishly, "It's all thanks to Team Leader Lin's excellent teaching. By the way, those photos from earlier, you used the system to create them, right?" Ever since Lin Chen helped him with his work, he knew that Lin Chen had a "magical system." Although he didn't know its specific functions, he understood that Lin Chen's ability to produce those photos must be thanks to the system. Lin Chen nodded, not saying much—the fewer people who knew about the system, the better.
As Lin Chen stepped out of the workshop after get off work in the afternoon, he was blocked at the factory gate by Liu Haizhong. Liu Haizhong clutched a cloth bag in his hand, his face plastered with a fawning smile, a stark contrast to his arrogant demeanor in the workshop at noon: "Team Leader Lin, I was wrong at noon, I apologize to you." He handed over the cloth bag as he spoke, "There are two jin of grain coupons and one yuan in here, it's a small token of my appreciation, please don't show the photos to anyone else."
Lin Chen didn't take the cloth bag, but just looked at him calmly: "Master Liu, I don't want your money or food coupons, I just don't want anyone else causing trouble. If you work hard and stop scheming against others, I naturally won't hand over the photos. But if you dare to hit Yan Jiecheng or scheme against me again, you know the consequences." He paused, "Also, that crankshaft forging, if you really can't make it well, you can come to me for technical advice, but it's impossible for me to make it for you."
Liu Haizhong nodded hurriedly, "I know, I know! I'll definitely work hard and never scheme against others again!" He stuffed the cloth bag into Lin Chen's arms, "You must accept these food coupons and money, otherwise I won't feel at ease." Lin Chen couldn't refuse, so he accepted them, but as he turned around, he stuffed the food coupons and money into Yan Jiecheng's hands, "You just started working, and your family's expenses are high. Take these to help with household expenses." Yan Jiecheng was stunned for a moment, and was about to refuse when Lin Chen pressed his shoulder, "Take it, it's what you deserve."
By the time they returned to the courtyard house, it was already dusk. In the middle courtyard, Jia Zhangshi was standing with her hands on her hips at the door of Sha Zhu's house, shouting with spittle flying, "Sha Zhu! Why won't you give my son meat? Have you forgotten who spoke well of you in front of Master Yi before?" Sha Zhu stood at the door, his face ashen, holding an empty lunchbox in his hand. He had obviously just returned from the canteen and had been caught red-handed by Jia Zhangshi.
"How much food have I given your family? And you're still not satisfied?" Sha Zhu's voice was filled with anger. "I only did it because I felt sorry for your child before, but now Jia Geng is ten years old and still steals things from the neighbors every day. You don't even care, and you come here asking me for meat? No way!"
Madam Jia Zhang sat on the ground, throwing a tantrum, slapping her thighs and wailing, "My life is so miserable! I've been a widow for years, raising three children alone, and I can't even afford a bite of meat! You heartless fool Zhu, have you forgotten that Dongxu used to be your brother? If you don't give me meat, I'll go to the workshop and report you for bullying a widow!"
Lin Chen had just entered the intermediate court when he was annoyed by Jia Zhangshi's crying. He activated the system, glanced at Jia Zhangshi, and the panel displayed: "Jia Zhangshi, Emotions: Greed + Anger, Current Need: Obtain Sha Zhu's food, Weakness: Fear of being sent to a labor camp, overprotective of her offspring." He sneered inwardly and stepped forward, saying, "Aunt Jia, if you continue to cause trouble here, I'll report you to the neighborhood committee for extortion. Last time you stole Teacher Yan's chicken, the neighborhood committee hasn't closed the case yet. If you add extortion to that, you might have to spend a few months in a labor camp."
Jia Zhangshi's crying stopped abruptly, like a duck being choked. Her greatest fear was going to the labor camp. Ever since Lin Chen exposed her for stealing chickens, she had been filled with lingering fear. Hearing Lin Chen mention it now, she quickly scrambled to her feet, dusting herself off: "I...I was just playing around with Sha Zhu, don't take it seriously." She tried to slip home, but Lin Chen stopped her.
"Aunt Jia, you haven't paid back the grain coupons you stole from Teacher Yan's chicken last time, have you?" Lin Chen's tone was calm, but carried an undeniable authority. "Teacher Yan has many children, and life isn't easy for them. You'd better deliver the grain coupons to Teacher Yan tomorrow, or I'll really go to the neighborhood committee." Jia Zhangshi didn't dare to argue and could only nod repeatedly before slinking home.
Sha Zhu looked at Lin Chen gratefully, "Lin Chen, thank you so much today. That Jia Zhangshi is getting more and more outrageous. She comes to my place every day asking for things, and she's almost drained me dry." Lin Chen smiled, "You're just too kind-hearted; she's got you under her thumb. Next time she comes asking for things, just report her to the neighborhood committee and see if she dares to come again." He paused, "By the way, you said you wanted to learn some cultural knowledge last time, so I found you some textbooks. You can come over and study in the evenings when you're free."
Sha Zhu's eyes lit up: "Really? Thank you so much! I'll go get it with you right away!" Just as the two were about to leave, Yi Zhonghai came out of the house, holding a teacup, his face looking rather grim. He had been listening inside the house the whole time but hadn't come out to mediate, clearly wanting Sha Zhu and Jia Zhangshi to have a falling out so he could step in and control both sides. He hadn't expected Lin Chen to beat him to it and ruin his plan.
"Xiao Lin, you've gone a bit too far." Yi Zhonghai's voice carried a hint of displeasure. "It's not easy for Jia Zhangshi to raise three children alone. As Dongxu's brother, Shazhu should lend a hand. How can you threaten Jia Zhangshi?" He adopted a morally upright demeanor, attempting to use "moral blackmail" to force Lin Chen to back down.
Lin Chen sneered, looking at Yi Zhonghai: "Master Yi, Jia Zhangshi stole from her neighbors and extorted grain from Sha Zhu. You call that hardship? If that's what you mean, then everyone should just steal and rob, since 'hardship' can be used as an excuse. You're a highly respected eighth-level fitter, how can you side with a thief? Is it because Qin Huairu is your apprentice that you're favoring her mother-in-law?"
Yi Zhonghai's face flushed crimson instantly, rendered speechless by Lin Chen's question. He had indeed intended to favor Jia Zhangshi because Qin Huairu was his apprentice, hoping Qin Huairu would be grateful and help Sha Zhu more diligently in his old age. He hadn't expected Lin Chen to expose his true intentions, causing him to lose face in front of everyone. "You...you're just making excuses!" Yi Zhonghai trembled with anger, turned, went back into the house, and slammed the door shut.
The onlookers praised Lin Chen's words, saying that they had all been angered but dared not speak out because of Yi Zhonghai's moral blackmail, but now that they saw Lin Chen stand up to Yi Zhonghai, they felt relieved. Yan Bugui also came over and said with a smile, "Little Lin, what you said is absolutely right! Yi Zhonghai is just relying on his level eight fitter skills to morally blackmail people everywhere. Someone should have taught him a lesson a long time ago."
Lin Chen smiled and said, "Teacher Yan, I've already asked Jia Zhangshi to send you the grain coupons she stole from your chickens tomorrow." Yan Bugui's eyes lit up. "Really? Thank you so much, Lin! Don't worry, if you ever need anything, just tell me, and I'll definitely help you." As he spoke, he reached for the ledger to write down this "favor," but Lin Chen stopped him.
"Teacher Yan, we're neighbors, no need to be so polite." Lin Chen's tone was sincere. "By the way, Jie Cheng is doing well in the workshop. Director Zhou even praised him for being quick and efficient. If he keeps working hard, he can be promoted to a permanent position by the end of the year." Yan Bugui's face showed a gratified smile, and he nodded repeatedly: "It's all thanks to your excellent guidance! If Jie Cheng dares to slack off, feel free to scold him!"
That evening, Sha Zhu arrived at Lin Chen's house as promised to study. Lin Chen found him an elementary school arithmetic textbook and a Chinese textbook, starting with basic literacy and arithmetic. Although Sha Zhu wasn't very bright, he studied diligently, repeatedly asking questions until he understood. Watching his earnestness, Lin Chen secretly thought—although Sha Zhu was manipulated by Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu, he wasn't inherently bad. If he could make him realize his mistakes and break free from Yi Zhonghai's control, he might become his helper in the future.
As they were talking, Lin Chen heard a noise outside the courtyard gate. He activated his system and glanced around, only to find Liu Haizhong standing furtively at the door, holding a wine bottle in his hand. He seemed to want to apologize but was too embarrassed to speak. Lin Chen smiled, got up, and opened the door: "Master Liu, come in and have a seat."
Liu Haizhong was taken aback, not expecting Lin Chen to invite him. He quickly nodded, "Okay...okay!" He went into the house and saw Sha Zhu there as well. He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, "I...I just came to apologize to Team Leader Lin. I was too impulsive at noon." He handed over the bottle of liquor, "This is Erguotou that I asked someone to buy. It's not worth much, so please don't mind it."
Lin Chen took the bottle and placed it on the table: "Master Liu, let's not talk about the past. As long as you work hard from now on and stop scheming against others, we can still be colleagues." He poured Liu Haizhong a glass of water. "If you really can't make that crankshaft forging well, I can teach you the quenching technique, but only after get off work hours, so as not to interfere with your work."
Liu Haizhong's eyes lit up instantly, and he stood up excitedly: "Really? Thank you so much, Team Leader Lin! Don't worry, I will definitely learn well and never do anything crooked again!" His tone was filled with sincere gratitude, and his previous resentment towards Lin Chen had long since vanished—for him, his skills were the foundation of his livelihood, and as long as he could improve his skills, losing a little face was nothing.
Sha Zhu laughed and said, "Master Liu, if you had said this earlier, things wouldn't have come to this. From now on, we're neighbors, so we should help each other out." Liu Haizhong nodded repeatedly, a long-lost smile appearing on his face. Lin Chen looked at the two of them and was secretly pleased—he had not only resolved the conflict with Liu Haizhong, but also further consolidated his position in the courtyard, weakening the influence of the elderly care group.
After seeing Liu Haizhong and Sha Zhu off, Lin Chen activated the system panel, which displayed: "The host has successfully thwarted Liu Haizhong's scheme, intimidated Jia Zhangshi, and countered Yi Zhonghai's moral blackmail, completing the 'Divide the Retirement Group + Consolidate Position' mission, earning +2000 points. Current points: 14900. New feature unlocked: Materials Analysis (can accurately analyze the composition, properties, and applicable scenarios of any material, assisting in fusion functions)."
Lin Chen was overjoyed; the material analysis function was a wonderful thing. In the future, when fusing materials, he would be able to control the properties of new items more precisely, and he would no longer have to worry about the previous problem of "inferior forgings." He looked at the points on the panel: 14900 points, enough to unlock more advanced features.
Just as Lin Chen was about to rest, he heard Yan Bugui's voice coming from the front yard: "Jiecheng, are you tired in the workshop today? Have you remembered everything that Team Leader Lin taught you? Give me the grain coupons that Jia Zhangshi compensated for tomorrow. I need to record them in the ledger. Not a single penny can be missing." Lin Chen shook his head helplessly. This Yan Bugui really couldn't get rid of his habit of keeping accounts.
Just as he lay down, a prompt suddenly popped up on the system panel: "High-quality materials that can be fused have been detected around the host. Do you want to fuse them?" Lin Chen was stunned for a moment, then got up and walked to the window. He activated the material analysis function and glanced at the pile of scrap iron in the corner of the yard—the scrap iron he had picked up earlier. After material analysis, he found that it contained a small amount of chromium and molybdenum. If fused with the alloy steel material from the workshop, it could greatly improve the material's hardness and toughness.
Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat. He immediately took out the system panel and selected to fuse scrap iron and alloy steel. The system prompted: "Fusing requires 500 points, and the estimated fusion time is 30 minutes. Confirm?" Lin Chen clicked confirm, and saw the scrap iron in the corner of the courtyard and the alloy steel he had previously obtained emit a faint halo as they gradually fused together, forming a brand new alloy material.
After the fusion was completed, Lin Chen scanned it with the material analysis function. The panel displayed: "High-strength alloy material, containing 12% chromium and 2% molybdenum, hardness HRC65, toughness 1500MPa, suitable for manufacturing high-precision mechanical parts." Lin Chen nodded in satisfaction. With this material, he was more confident in participating in the technical competition.
The next morning, as soon as Lin Chen arrived at the workshop, he saw Liu Haizhong already waiting by the forging hammer, holding a notebook of quenching techniques that Lin Chen had taught him the night before, filled with dense notes. "Team Leader Lin, you're here! I tried quenching according to your method, and the effect is much better than before!" Liu Haizhong said with an excited smile, handing Lin Chen the small part he had just forged.
Lin Chen took the part and scanned it with the material analysis function. The panel displayed: "Ordinary carbon steel part, quenching temperature control is precise, hardness HRC50, toughness 800MPa, qualified." He nodded: "Not bad, you've improved quickly. If you forged it with high-strength alloy material, the effect would be even better." As he spoke, he took out a small piece of alloy material that had been fused last night from his pocket and handed it to Liu Haizhong, "Try forging the crankshaft with this material, and be careful to control the forging force."
Liu Haizhong took the alloy material, sanded it with sandpaper, and was surprised to find that the material was shinier and denser than ordinary alloy steel. "What... what kind of material is this? It's so useful!" He quickly picked up the material and went to the forging hammer to start forging. Lin Chen stood by and guided him, reminding him of the angle and force of the forging from time to time.
After a morning of hard work, a brand-new crankshaft forging was finally completed. Liu Haizhong held the forging, his hands trembling with excitement—the precision and hardness of this forging far surpassed the previous products; even an eighth-level fitter might not be able to achieve this level of forging. "Team Leader Lin, thank you so much! This material is amazing!"
When Zhou Jianguo saw the forging, he was also very surprised. He looked at the inspection report several times: "Great! This forging is even more precise than the agricultural machinery factory's requirements! Xiao Lin, Liu Haizhong, you've done a great job! Your bonus this month will be doubled!" Lin Chen and Liu Haizhong smiled at each other, both seeing relief in each other's eyes—they had not only resolved the conflict but also completed the task together, something they would never have dared to imagine before.
At lunchtime, Sha Zhu came over with a lunchbox containing braised pork and rice: "Lin Chen, Liu Haizhong, you two did a great job today! I'll treat you to braised pork!" Liu Haizhong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly took the lunchbox: "Thank you, Master Sha Zhu! I was wrong before, let's get along better from now on!" Sha Zhu smiled and nodded: "We're colleagues, helping each other is only right!"
Lin Chen was secretly pleased to see the two getting along so well.