Chapter 115: Machine Bed Night School·Sha Zhu

Zhao Jianguo returned to the west room before dawn, the clock on the table having just passed five o'clock. He took off his soaking raincoat and hung it on the back of a chair, then slipped the numbered tag from the evidence bag into the bottom of a drawer. The chaotic thoughts in his mind—Chen Jianguo's gaze, that line "Are the words I say really my own thoughts?"—he shook his head hard, as if to fling water droplets out of his ears.

No, I need to do something practical.

He opened the drawer, pulled out a stack of draft papers, spread them on the table, picked up a fountain pen and began writing. The sign‑in system gave a faint chime in his mind, automatically starting auxiliary translation: turning the feed transmission principle of CNC machine tools into "Why is Old Li's vegetable‑cutting machine so easy on the effort?"; rendering the servo control system as "The steaming of mantou adjusts its own heat." As he wrote, he found it amusing; the pen tip paused, and at the bottom of the page he drew a little stove, labeled beside it "Sha Zhu's special model".

As soon as the sun climbed onto the eaves, he tucked the first draft of "Civil Machinery Fun Reader" under his arm and headed straight for the kitchen's back area.

Sha Zhu was squatting on the ground scrubbing a pot; hearing footsteps he looked up and said, "Yo, Jianguo bro? This early morning, anything?"

"It's a big matter." Zhao Jianguo slapped the draft paper onto his knee, "I want to set up a Night School to teach everyone how to use machinery to save effort. The first lesson starts with your steamed rice cart."

Sha Zhu blinked, "My cart's fine as it is, what do you want to change?"

"Even a fine one needs innovation." Zhao Jianguo squatted down, drew a wheel on the dusty ground with a fire‑brand, "Look, now you push a hundred trays of rice and have to run back and forth eight times, getting as tired as a donkey. If I could let you finish in three minutes and save two baskets of coal, would you take it?"

Sha Zhu stared at the chalky circle on the ground for a while, then suddenly grinned, "If it really works, I could even call you dad!"

"Don't call me dad, call me teacher." Zhao Jianguo smiled and pulled out a diagram, "Here, let's first make a model and try it out."

They skipped lunch; the two of them started tinkering in the tool room. Zhao Jianguo drew, Sha Zhu looked for parts; iron sheets, springs, old bearings littered the floor. Across the way, Xu Da Mao passed by, peeked in and muttered, "Those two lunatics are at it again." He said it and quickly slipped away.

By night, the central open space of the Siheyuan had a Blackboard set up, a few Oil Lamps hanging from bamboo poles, casting wavering shadows. Neighbors gathered in groups, some holding children, some carrying small stools.

"Jianguo, what new trick are you up to now?" Jia Zhangshi sat in a corner, voice not small, "More foreign machines and Night School, be careful not to cause trouble!"

No one answered, but many nodded.

Zhao Jianguo wasn't annoyed, clapped his hands, "Today's first lesson, the theme is simple—how to make work less tiring. Who doesn't want to cook with less sweat, move things without hurting the back? Come, first look at the diagram."

He just hung the projection screen, the hand‑cranked generator made a "ka" sound and stalled, the lights went out instantly.

The crowd murmured.

"I told you, all flash!" Jia Zhangshi sneered.

Zhao Jianguo lowered his head, checked for a few seconds, then simply pushed the generator to the side, "Fine, we can go without electricity. Everyone look at the Blackboard—how to apply the lever principle to a vegetable‑cutting machine? For example, when you chop ribs, if the knife handle is a bit longer, isn't it easier?"

Someone below nodded.

"And another example, the steamed rice cart." As soon as he finished, a clank sounded from the Courtyard Gate.

Sha Zhu carried a metal frame rushing in, face flushed bright red, "I'm here, I'm here!"

He placed the thing in the middle; everyone crowded close and saw a miniature steamed rice cart, with wheels and a hand‑crank.

"Modified as Engineer Zhao taught us!" Sha Zhu panted, "The transmission shaft now has a Gear Set; before we had to push each time, now a turn of this handle makes the tray move forward on its own! I just tried, three minutes to load a hundred trays, and coal usage drops by half!"

While speaking he demonstrated on the spot; the crank turned, the small tray whooshed forward, lining up neatly in a row.

"Oh my god!" The courtyard erupted.

"Can this thing go into our factory canteen?"

"Can my home‑made flatbread griddle be modified like this too?"

Zhao Jianguo smiled and waved his hand, "Sure! As long as you want to modify, nothing's impossible. Technology isn't the exclusive patent of experts; it's the skill of us workers ourselves."

Sparse applause rose, growing louder.

While the bustle continued, a middle‑aged man in a blue uniform walked in at the Courtyard Gate, holding a folder, followed by two young men who looked like technicians.

"That's the Technical Section Chief of the Steel Rolling Factory!" someone recognized.

Section Chief Wang walked to the center, coughed twice, "I'm here today as the Party Committee of the substitute watch factory, to read a decision."

The whole venue fell silent.

"After study, Comrade Zhao Jianguo's 'Civil Machinery Fun Reader' and its accompanying improvement plan have strong practicality and promotion value. It is now decided to list this series of technologies as a provincial canteen equipment upgrade pilot project, to be fully promoted across all cities starting today."

He paused, looked at Zhao Jianguo, "Also, we're appointing Comrade Zhao Jianguo as our factory's mass‑technology guidance consultant, with regular monthly lectures. Moreover—" He turned to Sha Zhu, "this comrade's improved steamed rice cart model has been entered into this year's 'Worker Technology Innovation Award' nomination list."

Thunderous applause.

Sha Zhu froze in place, face flushed bright red, then suddenly grabbed the model high and shouted, "Thank you, Teacher Zhao! This is the first time in my life I feel like a technician!"

Zhao Jianguo also felt a bit embarrassed by the momentum, about to speak, when Section Chief Wang handed over a red‑bound certificate, "This is the appointment letter; it's issued tonight, let everyone bear witness."

He took it, flipped open to a page, where "Specially Appointed Technical Popularization Lecturer" was printed.

The crowd gathered, asking each other questions left and right. Someone wanted to borrow the reader to copy, someone wanted to sign up for the next Night School, even Liu Haizhong, who usually avoids people, squeezed in to ask, "Um… can the slicing machine also be modified like this?"

Zhao Jianguo answered one by one, and the pent‑up frustration that had built up all day finally dissipated. He looked up at the sky; the clouds had cleared, the moon was out, lighting the courtyard brightly.

At that moment, the watch on his wrist trembled lightly.

He glanced down, the screen flashed a line: "Technology popularization +0.5%, unlock 'Simple Automation Device' blueprint."

He said nothing, just pulled the cuff of his watch down a bit.

Sha Zhu, from somewhere, pulled out a bottle of Erguotou, thrusted it into his hand, "Come, master and apprentice have a sip! Celebrate the successful innovation!"

"You call me master before I've even taken you as a disciple?" Zhao Jianguo laughed, unscrewed the bottle cap.

"Then do it now!" Sha Zhu pretended to kneel.

Zhao Jianguo quickly stopped him, "Hold it, hold it, kneeling again makes it a comedy act."

The two clinked the bottle, tilted their heads back and gulped a mouthful. The liquor burned the throat, but felt satisfying inside.

Section Chief Wang walked over and patted his shoulder, "Next month the province has a livelihood technology exhibition; your project must be showcased. Prepare a booth, preferably with a live demo."

"No problem." Zhao Jianguo nodded, "I'll design an automatic feeding dining cart, and run it around the site then."

"Then you'd better hurry." Section Chief Wang looked at his watch, "The draft plan needs to be submitted tomorrow morning."

"I can finish it tonight."

Before he finished, Sha Zhu slapped his thigh, "Then I'll go back and dismantle the stove! See if I can link the coal‑feeding port too!"

"Don't wreck your stove." Zhao Jianguo laughed.

"Can't wreck it! At worst I'll use a pot‑lid as a cover and cook anyway!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhao Jianguo was still smiling, when suddenly he felt the draft paper in his trouser pocket move—not an illusion, the sign‑in system vibrating, a very light frequency, like some signal trying to connect.

He calmly slid his hand into the pocket, his fingertip touched the edge of the page, and the vibration stopped.

He raised his head, the night wind brushed over the treetops, and the oil lamp's flame swayed slightly.

Sha Zhu still shouted: "Brother Jianguo! You said the material cart uses chain or belt drive?"

Zhao Jianguo withdrew his hand, smiled: "Use a belt, it's quieter."