Chapter 60: A Competition? Li Mingyuan is Seeking His Own Death

Several old workers walked out of the office dejectedly, their backs looking like frost-bitten eggplants, wilted and limp.

"This is finished, this offense is not to be committed," Liu Haizhong muttered in a low voice, "We almost made a political mistake!"

Yi Zhonghai, however, was unconvinced; his eyes rolled, and he lowered his voice to say, "What are you afraid of? They have the power to order us on how to work, but they don't have the power to order us on how fast to work!"

Liu Haizhong was stunned, then immediately understood, a sinister smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Old Yi, your move is brilliant! We will obey on the surface, but in reality..."

"Slow down the speed, and see how his Assembly Line flows!" Yi Zhonghai said fiercely, "I don't believe that Xiao Li really has such great ability!"

The next morning, the Assembly Line officially started, and the workers took their respective positions, beginning work according to the new division of labor.

The young workers worked with great enthusiasm, while old workers like Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, although no longer openly resisting, were clearly sluggish and slow in their movements.

"Master, why hasn't this part been processed yet? The subsequent processes are waiting anxiously," a young worker asked Yi Zhonghai anxiously.

Yi Zhonghai adjusted the machine tool in a leisurely manner, not even lifting his head: "What's the rush? Work must be done meticulously; it cannot be sloppy."

Similar scenes played out all over the Assembly Line, as the old workers deliberately slowed down the pace, causing the entire line to run poorly and efficiency to be greatly reduced.

Li Mingyuan was observing the operation of the Assembly Line from the second floor and soon noticed the abnormal situation.

"Strange, the efficiency was clearly very high during the test run yesterday, why has it suddenly slowed down so much today?" Li Mingyuan frowned.

Li Shouzheng stood to the side, watched for a long time, and suddenly slapped his thigh: "I know! It's that bunch of old guys playing tricks!"

Li Mingyuan followed Li Shouzheng's gaze and sure enough saw Yi Zhonghai pretending to seriously inspect a part he had already been looking at for five minutes.

"Deliberate!" Li Mingyuan sneered, "It seems I need to teach them a lesson."

That afternoon, Li Mingyuan convened a meeting of all the Technical Backbone and proposed a bold plan.

"Tomorrow, I will organize a public competition to let the facts speak for themselves."

Upon hearing this, Factory Director Lou's eyes lit up: "Good idea! Slap them directly in the face and see how they can still quibble!"

Li Shouzheng, however, was somewhat worried: "Xiao Li, those old masters are skilled after all; are you sure you can win?"

Li Mingyuan smiled confidently: "Please rest assured, Lao Li, I have my own clever plan."

That night, Li Mingyuan secretly organized twenty young workers for special training, explaining in detail the tactics and techniques for tomorrow's competition.

"Remember, we are not fighting alone, but using the power of the Assembly Line and the strength of the team to completely defeat them!" Li Mingyuan encouraged morale with great passion.

The young workers were all high in fighting spirit; they had long been unable to stand the arrogance and stubbornness of those old masters, only refraining from resisting due to their seniority.

When Yi Zhonghai heard that Li Mingyuan was going to organize a labor competition, he almost laughed out loud, as if he had heard the funniest joke of his life.

"A competition? He wants to compete with us?" Yi Zhonghai looked disdainful, his eyes flashing with contempt, "Is this kid tired of living?"

Liu Haizhong was also triumphant:

"I think he has never suffered a loss and doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth! We have worked in the factory for years; who doesn't know our craftsmanship?"

"Exactly, this is great; he delivered himself to our door to let us slap his face!" Jia Dongxu also joined in the fun, fawningly echoing him.

The news soon spread throughout the workshop, and the old workers gathered together, their eyes full of mockery and sarcasm.

"What do you think that Chief Engineer Li has up his sleeve?" an old master surnamed Zhao asked curiously.

Yi Zhonghai twisted his fingers: "Whatever he has up his sleeve, we must make him look bad tomorrow! In front of the whole factory, we will completely crush his so-called Assembly Line theory!"

"Old Yi is right, we must help the factory extinguish this crooked heresy!" Liu Haizhong slapped his thigh, spittle flying everywhere,

"What Assembly Line or not, it's nothing more than not respecting us old workers and wanting young people to be able to do our work!"

After work, several old workers specifically arranged to meet under the big tree in the Siheyuan to continue discussing tomorrow's "tactics."

"I think we should do this: each of us picks the parts we are best at, concentrates our firepower, and strives to overwhelm them right from the start!" Yi Zhonghai said mysteriously, his eyes shining.

Liu Haizhong nodded and took out a pack of crumpled cigarettes, handing one to everyone:

"Well said! I specialize in thread processing, Old Zhao, you are good at turning outer circles, and Lao Wang will be responsible for drilling..."

"This bunch of greenhorns wants to compare craftsmanship with us?" An old master over fifty years old lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, "It's simply wielding a broadsword in front of Guan Gong; they don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!"

Yi Zhonghai threw his head back and laughed, the laughter echoing in the Siheyuan: "By this time tomorrow, that Li Mingyuan won't be so smug!"

"I want to see what is so great about that so-called Assembly Line of his!" Liu Haizhong also laughed along,

"Isn't it just dividing the work into segments? Who can't do that!"

The night grew late, and the lights in the courtyard went out one by one, only Yi Zhonghai's house remained lit.

"Master, can we really win tomorrow?" Jia Dongxu asked with some concern.

Yi Zhonghai was sharpening his tools; hearing this, his hand paused, and he looked up at his apprentice, his eyes full of confidence:

"Rest assured, no matter how capable these young people are, can they be better than us old masters?"

He weighed the steel file in his hand, his gaze firm: "Remember, tomorrow we are not just fighting for ourselves, but to defend the dignity of our older generation of workers! We cannot lose!"

"Master is right!" Jia Dongxu nodded heavily, fighting spirit also igniting in his eyes.

Yi Zhonghai stood up and patted his apprentice on the shoulder: "Go to sleep, tomorrow is a big day, you must rest well and maintain your state!"

After sending his apprentice away, Yi Zhonghai closed the door, the smile on his face even more triumphant:

"Li Mingyuan, oh Li Mingyuan, you kid are too green; you dare to fight with us old veterans? You'll have a hard time tomorrow!"

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Siheyuan, Liu Haizhong was also chatting heatedly with several old friends.

"Hey, do you think that so-called 'Assembly Line' is really that magical?" an old master surnamed Zhang asked half-believingly.

Liu Haizhong scoffed: "It's just playing god and acting like a ghost! I've been in the factory for so many years, what kind of scenes haven't I seen? To put it bluntly, it's just cutting the work into pieces, having everyone do a little bit; it looks fast, but in fact, the craftsmanship is all wasted!"

"Exactly, one part from beginning to end being made by one person, that's what you call the craftsman spirit!" another master also said indignantly.

Liu Haizhong took a fierce drag of his cigarette, his eyes full of disdain:

"Tomorrow, we will let the whole factory see what real technology is! What is the irreplaceable craftsman spirit!"

"Screw those bastards!" the group whispered in unison, their faces filled with determination amidst the swirling smoke.

……