Chapter 61: Go Clean the Toilets

……

At eight o'clock the next morning, all the factory workers gathered in the Main Workshop; a special "labor competition" was about to begin.

Li Mingyuan stood on the high platform, his voice resonant: "Today, we will use facts to prove just how much more advanced assembly line production is compared to the traditional method!"

He pointed to the area on the left: "Over here are Master Yi, Master Liu, and eight other veteran masters; they will use the traditional method to complete the processing of a batch of parts."

Then he pointed to the right: "Over here are the twenty young workers I am leading; we will use the assembly line method to complete the same quantity of parts."

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disdain: "It takes twenty young people to compare with us ten? It's still letting them off easy!"

The workshop director announced the rules of the competition: "Process 200 sets of machine gun bolt assemblies; the quality must be up to standard. Let's see which side finishes first!"

"Ready, begin!" Following the sound of a whistle, the competition officially started.

On Yi Zhonghai's side, the ten veteran masters each took their materials and began processing independently, with each person responsible for a complete set of 20 parts, from start to finish.

Li Mingyuan's side was completely different; the twenty workers formed a human chain, with each person responsible for only one step of the process, and the parts flowed like a stream from one end to the other.

For the first half hour, Yi Zhonghai and the others were in the lead; after all, their hands were skilled, and the first batch of parts was completed very quickly.

"Look at that, the old ways are still the best!" Liu Haizhong boasted triumphantly about his results.

However, two hours later, the situation was completely reversed.

Li Mingyuan's assembly line had already entered a high-speed operating state, and parts were being processed at an astonishing speed.

Meanwhile, Yi Zhonghai and the others were gradually finding it beyond their strength; after all, for one person to perform every step of the process from start to finish was a huge test of physical strength and energy.

"Impossible! How are they so fast?" Yi Zhonghai widened his eyes, unable to believe everything he was seeing.

Four hours later, the result of the competition was completely clear: Li Mingyuan's team had already completed all 200 sets of parts, while Yi Zhonghai and the others had just passed the halfway mark.

"Stop!" the workshop director shouted, "The competition is over, Chief Engineer Li's team wins!"

The whole venue erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers; the young workers hugged each other in excitement, celebrating this hard-won Victory.

Li Mingyuan walked up, picked up a part made by Yi Zhonghai and a part produced by the assembly line, and placed them on a precision measuring instrument to compare.

"See clearly," Li Mingyuan said loudly, "The parts produced by the assembly line have higher precision and better consistency! This is the power of standardized production!"

The workers below the platform let out a gasp of amazement; even some of the old workers had to admit that this new method indeed had its unique merits.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong stood where they were, their faces burning as if they had been slapped hard across the face.

Just at this moment, Li Mingyuan twisted the knife:

"I just received reliable information that someone has been inciting workers behind the scenes to slack off and deliberately slow down the speed of the assembly line; this is a serious violation of factory discipline!"

The whole venue was in an uproar, and everyone's gaze turned toward Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong.

"Find out who it is and deal with it immediately!" Factory Lou Changzhang stood out, his face livid, "Our factory is currently executing a key national task; any saboteurs will be severely punished!"

Li Shouzheng leaned over and whispered a few words into Factory Lou Changzhang's ear; Factory Lou Changzhang nodded and walked onto the high platform to announce:

"After verification, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong took the lead in slacking off and incited others to sabotage production, and the circumstances are serious! Effective immediately, they are transferred away from the production front line to go to the logistics department to clean toilets and reflect on their mistakes!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yi Zhonghai felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his legs went soft and he almost knelt on the ground: "What? Clean toilets? A technical expert like me has to go clean toilets?"

Liu Haizhong's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling, unable to speak a word.

"Not satisfied?" Factory Lou Changzhang sneered, "Either clean the toilets or pack your bags and leave; choose for yourselves!"

If it were in the past, Factory Lou Changzhang wouldn't have hesitated to just make the two of them get out, but the current situation was relatively special; he couldn't easily fire people, otherwise it would be easy to give people something to talk about and offend the working class. He could only transfer the two of them to clean toilets first.

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong looked at each other, caught in a dilemma.

Liu Haizhong suddenly exploded: "On what grounds? Our technical skills are so good, just because we don't agree with that method of yours, we have to go clean toilets? This isn't fair!"

As soon as his voice fell, two burly men from the Security Section had already walked to their sides, each grabbing one of their arms.

"Let's go, Master Liu, don't make things difficult for yourself." Xiao Li from the Security Section said expressionlessly.

Yi Zhonghai still wanted to struggle: "I want to appeal! I want to find the superiors to report the situation!"

"You can," Factory Lou Changzhang said with a smile, "but you have to clean the toilets first. It's our factory rule: you can voice your opinions, but you must first obey orders and execute the task!"

Just like that, the dignified "Siheyuan technical leader" Yi Zhonghai and the veteran technician Liu Haizhong were dragged off to report to the logistics department; their new job: toilet cleaners.

For a time, the entire factory area was buzzing with discussion; most people thought these two deserved it, as they usually relied on their good technical skills and didn't know how many airs they had put on, and now they had lifted a rock only to drop it on their own feet.

The Logistics Department Head was a young cadre who smiled as he issued tools to the two of them:

"Two veteran masters, these are your new equipment: gloves, buckets, brushes, and mops; they are all new, so work hard!"

Yi Zhonghai took the tools, feeling that they were heavier than holding ten thousand catties of iron; the expression on his face was uglier than if he had eaten a fly.

Liu Haizhong was so angry his whole body was shaking: "I've worked as a technician my whole life, and today I actually have to go clean toilets... this is simply a supreme humiliation!"

……

Returning to the Siheyuan in the evening, the two were dejected, and they still carried a faint smell of excrement, causing the people in the courtyard to cast sidelong glances at them.

"Oh my, this smell... Master Liu, where have you come back from?" Yan Bugui asked, pretending to be concerned.

Liu Haizhong ignored him with a dark face and went straight back to his own room.

Seeing this scene, Xu Fugui couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "I heard Master Liu and Master Yi were transferred to clean toilets; what a sin, what a sin..."

These words immediately spread through the Siheyuan; although everyone didn't say it on the surface, they were all secretly laughing: these two guys who usually acted so high and mighty now had their day.

He Yuzhu happened to be returning from outside, and upon hearing this, he was so happy he slapped his thigh: "Serves them right! They were always acting stuck-up, now they've finally crashed!"

Early the next morning, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, under the strange gazes of the people in the courtyard, slunk off to work; their new posts—the four public toilets in the east, west, south, and north of the factory area—had to be cleaned three times a day to ensure they were clean and sanitary.

"Master Liu, wipe slowly, be careful not to throw out your back." A young worker passing by the toilet said with feigned "concern."

Liu Haizhong was so angry his face turned green, but he didn't dare to lash out and could only endure the humiliation and continue working.

Meanwhile, in the Main Workshop, Li Mingyuan's assembly line had been fully rolled out, and production efficiency was climbing step by step.

"Chief Engineer Li, it's incredible; yesterday's output for the day was equivalent to a whole week's worth in the past!" the statistician reported excitedly.

Li Mingyuan nodded calmly: "Normal. According to my calculations, once the workers are skilled, efficiency can be increased by another 30%."

Factory Lou Changzhang heard this and smiled from ear to ear:

"Xiao Li, this move of yours is brilliant; not only did you solve the production problem, but you also incidentally cleaned up that bunch of old stubborns!"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly: "Factory Director, I still have great respect for the old masters, but the new era requires new ideas; we cannot always remain stuck in the old ways."

Li Shouzheng, standing to the side, deeply agreed: "That's right, no matter how good the technology is, if the thinking doesn't keep up, it won't work. Those two old fellows deserve to be taught a lesson!"

Just as the factory was in the midst of a thriving scene, on the morning of the third day, an exciting piece of news arrived: