Chapter 4083

"Back then, who didn't want to be an eighth-grade worker? Once you became an eighth-grade worker, your whole family could live a good life. How could you become an eighth-grade worker? Of course, you had to learn technology from an eighth-grade worker. There was no other way. Some things couldn't be figured out just by yourself; you needed the decades of experience of an eighth-grade worker. If others didn't teach you, you would never become an eighth-grade worker in your lifetime."

"So, my master was very awesome back then. When the factory recruited young workers, people would bring gifts to my master's house every day, begging him to take their children as apprentices. They would smile and say that they would let their children serve my master like an ancestor, and if they didn't listen, my master should hit and scold them as he pleased, and they wouldn't blame him even if he beat them to death."

"But my master threw all those gifts out. He wouldn't take them. Do you think he was awesome? He was just that awesome. He said he wanted to pick his own apprentices; no one's recommendation would work. You might not know that factory leaders often told my master to take someone in, all of them being well-connected, but my master refused to take any of them, yet he picked me."

"What did my master see in me? It was just that I was honest and hardworking, and I had a bit of talent. He felt I was a good seedling. I was an orphan, my monthly salary was only 13.82 yuan, I was dirt poor, and I couldn't afford to give gifts. I never thought my master would pick me, but he just happened to pick me."

"At that time, he didn't just pick me; he also picked more than a dozen other apprentices to teach us together. However, for the first three years, he didn't really teach us technology. Instead, he made us do odd jobs and work for his family—any kind of work. That was the rule for apprentices back then. If I did something wrong or wasn't attentive, he would hit or scold me as he pleased."

"Although my master would hit and scold us as he pleased, he was also truly good to us. We knew that the first three years were to temper our character and see what our temperament was like. Otherwise, could he just teach his eighth-grade technology to anyone? What if he taught it to an ungrateful person? Three years was enough to see a person clearly."

"Three years later, my master kept only half of the apprentices he had picked three years ago, and I was one of them. From that moment on, he truly began to teach us technology and didn't let us do odd jobs anymore. Even if we wanted to go to his house to work, he wouldn't let us. He just let us focus on learning technology. He also often let me go to his house to improve my diet because I was an orphan, my family was poor, I was tall, and I could eat a lot."

"I learned technology from my master very quickly and suddenly became the best among that batch of apprentices. Later, my master even married his youngest daughter to me, giving me a home. After another ten years or so, I finally became an eighth-grade worker. I was the only eighth-grade worker among my master's apprentices. I have been a Municipal Model Worker and a Provincial Model Worker."

"Once, Linshan City encountered trouble with equipment installation for a national key project. A machine wouldn't run properly no matter what, and no one could solve it. Later, the city thought of me and invited me over. I solved the problem. That year, I won the glorious title of National Model Worker..."

At this point, Su Xinghui said, "Master Zhao, please tell everyone how you solved that problem. Don't just gloss over it in one sentence."

Everyone also asked Master Zhao to tell the story properly.

Only then did Master Zhao say, "Alright, I'll tell it properly. That machine equipment wasn't running properly, which affected the operation of the entire production line. That production line was imported, and it had to start operating before Labor Day. It was a political task, and the leaders gave a death order that it must be repaired within the deadline. But at that time, even foreign experts couldn't find out what the problem was. To solve it, it wasn't a matter of two or three days."

"Later, the city invited me. I asked them to open the machine equipment. After it ran for a while, I listened everywhere to hear where the problem was. After listening for a while, I asked them to take the machine apart and took out a screw from inside. I said that the processing precision of that screw was problematic and it would be fine if it was re-processed."

"But those foreign experts didn't believe it. They said the screws inside their machine equipment were all original and it was impossible for there to be a problem with processing precision. I asked them to measure it on the spot with a vernier caliper. Sure enough, the processing precision of that screw was 0.1 millimeters off the standard..."

"0.1 millimeters?" Everyone exclaimed, "That's about the same as a strand of hair. You could even see that?"

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "Master Zhao didn't see it; he heard it."

Everyone said, "That's right, Master Zhao, you didn't even look, you could hear it just by listening, and the error was so small. This is too magical! Master Zhao, hurry up and tell us what happened later?"

Master Zhao smiled and said, "Later, those experts said they wanted to use a CNC machine tool to process this screw, but they couldn't find a CNC machine tool with such high precision. I said there was no need. I took a file and filed it a few times, then told them the precision would be accurate this time. They measured it with a vernier caliper, and sure enough, it was qualified. After I personally installed the screw, guess what happened?"

Zhang Shouye asked with interest, "What happened later?"

Master Zhao said, "After that screw was installed, the machine equipment ran normally, and the entire production line could also run normally. That year, I won the glorious title of National Model Worker, went to the Great Hall of the People, and was kindly received by the Party and state leaders. That was the glory of my life!"

At this point, Master Zhao's face seemed to be shining. His expression was very excited, as if he had returned to those passionate years.

Su Xinghui could see that many students had very excited expressions on their faces. No matter what, they had been studying mechanical engineering for a period of time and had some feelings for this profession. They felt the same way about Master Zhao's glory.

Su Xinghui nodded secretly. As long as they had a sense of honor, they would be more motivated to study in the future.

Master Zhao said again, "Later, like my master, many people brought gifts to my house, begging me to take their children as apprentices, almost trampling down my threshold. I was just like my master; I didn't take any gifts. I picked more than a dozen apprentices and taught them the craft according to my master's method three years later. They were also competitive and worked hard to learn the craft."

Immediately after, Master Zhao's face dimmed again. He said, "But, good times didn't last long. A few years later, before they had learned the craft well, the factory was no longer doing well. The factory collapsed, I retired, and my son, son-in-law, and apprentices were all laid off. My craft seemed to be useless overnight, and no one was willing to learn it anymore..."

Master Zhao couldn't go on. Such a strong man, as if made of steel and iron, had large tears flowing down his face, which was as old as tree bark. He began to cry. ===== CHAPTER 4085 =====