Chapter 20: Just Roll Right Over Them

"Bang!"

This crisp sound was exceptionally clear in the morning light.

Jia Zhangshi's entire body slammed heavily into the front wheel of the bicycle, and Li Mingyuan did not slow down in the slightest; the bicycle rode straight over Jia Zhangshi!

"Ah!" Jia Zhangshi let out a shrill scream, fell to the ground, and hit her forehead against the bluestone slab, fainting on the spot.

Li Mingyuan remained expressionless, continued riding away without looking back, and his figure soon disappeared into the morning mist.

Jia Zhangshi lay at the entrance, fresh blood flowing from her forehead, staining half her face red; her breathing was faint, and she remained motionless.

……

A few minutes later, Yi Zhonghai rubbed his sleepy eyes and went out to dump the chamber pot, catching sight of Jia Zhangshi lying at the entrance at a single glance.

"Something's happened! Something's happened!" Yi Zhonghai instantly sobered up and shouted loudly, "Jia Zhangshi has been hit! Someone come quickly!"

The entire Siheyuan instantly erupted, and people ran out of their houses one after another. Yan Bugui ran over wearing a Zhongshan suit, and Liu Haizhong also hurriedly crowded forward.

"Sister Zhang, Sister Zhang!" Yi Zhonghai patted Jia Zhangshi's face, trying to wake her, but it was to no avail.

Jia Dongxu arrived upon hearing the commotion; seeing his mother lying on the ground with her face covered in blood, his legs went weak with fright: "Oh, my mother! What happened? Who did this?"

Yi Zhonghai's expression was grim: "It must be Li Mingyuan! They had a conflict yesterday, and I just saw him ride out this morning!"

"Li Mingyuan?" The crowd was in an uproar, "How could he dare!"

Liu Haizhong gritted his teeth and said: "This kid is too ruthless; he hit someone and ran. This is intentional injury!"

Yan Bugui chimed in without delay: "We must report this to the Public Security Bureau; this is a serious crime!"

Long Laotai leaned on her cane and wobbled out slowly. She took one look at Jia Zhangshi, then looked at the crowd, who were all filled with righteous indignation, and said out of the blue: "Are you sure it was Li Mingyuan who hit her?"

This remark stunned the crowd, and then Yi Zhonghai retorted: "If it wasn't him, who else could it be? It's early in the morning, and he's the only one who rode out."

Long Laotai squinted her eyes: "You conclude it was him based on just that?"

Liu Haizhong said impatiently: "Old lady, don't stir up trouble; saving her is what's urgent!"

Jia Dongxu came to his senses and shouted in a panic: "Quick, take my mother to the Hospital!"

Several strong men worked together to lift Jia Zhangshi and hurried toward the Hospital. Those remaining in the courtyard talked all at once, the atmosphere tense and chaotic.

"It's too terrifying; Li Mingyuan actually dared to hit someone and flee!"

"He's a leader, but does that mean he can be lawless?"

"We must report this to the Street Office and have the Public Security Bureau arrest him!"

Yi Zhonghai stood in the center of the courtyard, his expression flickering. He looked back at Long Laotai and said in a low voice: "Old lady, do you think there is something fishy about this?"

Long Laotai pursed her lips and said meaningfully: "Think about it carefully; would someone as shrewd as Li Mingyuan do such a stupid thing?"

Yi Zhonghai frowned: "You mean..."

Long Laotai leaned on her cane and slowly turned to walk back to her room: "Don't be in a hurry to draw conclusions; wait and see."

He Yuzhu stood by the stove, watching all this in confusion, and muttered to himself: "New Uncle doesn't seem like that kind of person..."

The Siheyuan fell into unprecedented chaos; for a time, rumors flew, and people were filled with panic.

……

Inside the Rolling Mill, Li Mingyuan and the Expert Group had been waiting in the conference room for a long time.

Spread out on the table were several large design blueprints, and the walls were covered with various detailed diagrams of the renovation plan.

Li Mingyuan was explaining things to the members of the Expert Group and the technical team.

"The core of the Continuous Rolling Mill lies in this multi-stage Transmission System," Li Mingyuan said, pointing to the key parts on the blueprint,

"Traditional rolling mills can only roll one pass at a time; the Continuous Rolling Mill we designed can complete multiple passes at once, greatly increasing efficiency."

The experts sat around the table, fully focused. Li Shouzheng nodded from time to time to show his agreement; Cheng Yanhai occasionally raised questions about technical details.

"This angle seems unreasonable, but it is actually the optimal solution," Li Mingyuan explained, "We need to achieve the maximum transmission ratio in a limited space; this 45-degree angle has been precisely calculated."

The young technicians listened, completely enthralled, and kept taking notes.

To them, this content was an entirely unheard-of innovative concept.

"Now look at the renovation of the Rifling Lathe," Li Mingyuan flipped to another blueprint, "Traditional rifling processing mainly relies on the experience of workers, and precision is hard to guarantee. This Automatic Feeding Device we designed can precisely control the cutting depth and spiral angle."

Factory Lou Changzhang was also listening on the side, his face full of excitement. Occasionally, he would interject: "Can our factory process this part?" or "Does the country have supply channels for this kind of material?"

Li Mingyuan could give a clear answer to every question: "Factory Lou Changzhang, I have already considered our country's industrial level and material supply situation during the design; all parts can be produced under existing conditions."

Halfway through the meeting, Xiao Wang hurried in, leaned over to Li Mingyuan's ear, and whispered a few words.

Li Mingyuan's expression did not change in the slightest; he just nodded gently and continued his explanation: "Everyone look here, this is the cross-section of the new positioning device..."

After the explanation was finished, Li Mingyuan turned to the crowd: "Everyone, that concludes the theoretical part. Next, I will announce the specific work arrangements."

He took out a detailed schedule: "In the first phase, we need to dismantle the existing equipment and prepare the core components for the renovation. This work will be led by Chen Gong, divided into three groups working simultaneously."

Chen Dezhong stood up and nodded solemnly: "I guarantee the mission will be completed!"

"Second phase, parts processing. This will be led by Comrade Wang Decai, mainly in Workshop No. 3; I will personally supervise the parts that require precision machining."

Wang Decai, who wore glasses, pushed them up: "Chief Engineer Li, we will strictly execute according to the requirements of the blueprints."

"Third phase, assembly and debugging. This will be jointly led by Cheng Yanhai and Zhang Gong, with Teacher Li Shouzheng and myself participating throughout."

Cheng Yanhai stroked his Shanyanghu: "This is a critical link; we will be extra careful."

Li Mingyuan concluded: "According to the plan, we will complete the first batch of equipment renovation within one month, achieve small-scale trial production within two months, and reach mass production levels within three months. The difficulty is great, but I believe we can do it!"

The crowd responded in unison, and the conference room was filled with high morale.

Factory Lou Changzhang stood up and applauded: "Comrades, this is the most important task our factory has ever undertaken, and it is the greatest contribution to our country's industrial technology! On behalf of the factory leadership, I announce that all members of the technical reform team are exempt from other work to focus on this task, and each person will receive an additional 15 yuan technical allowance per month!"

The young workers of the technical team were so excited their faces turned red; the 15 yuan allowance plus the original 10 yuan special subsidy was almost half of their original wages!

After the meeting ended, everyone immediately sprang into action.