Fusion System: Rebirth in a Courtyard - Bird Fighting Chronicles

Chapter 42: The assessment reveals weakness and true colors; favoritism exposes failure and loses po

March in Beijing still carried a chill in the air. The corrugated iron roof of the fitter's workshop at the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill rattled in the wind, but it couldn't drown out the constant grinding sounds from the grinding wheels inside. Lin Chen had just finished preparing materials for a military order when Director Zhou called him to his office, holding a yellowed performance evaluation sheet in his hand: "Xiao Lin, for this quarter's fitter's workshop evaluation, you have plenty of experience and solid skills, so you'll be a judge with me."

Lin Chen took the form, his gaze lingering on the name "Qin Huairu". The remarks section read "Apprenticeship Period Extension Assessment," with a small five-pointed star next to it—this was a key person Yi Zhonghai had specifically marked for monitoring. He understood, and replied with a smile, "Don't worry, Director Zhou, I will be fair and impartial." As he walked out of the office, he bumped into Yi Zhonghai carrying an aluminum lunchbox toward the fitter's workshop. The lunchbox had the words "Advanced Worker" printed in red on it. As they passed each other, Lin Chen clearly smelled the aroma of lard wafting from the box, mixed with a faint smell of machine oil.

The fitter's workshop had already set up the assessment line, with over twenty apprentices standing in two rows. Qin Huairu stood at the very end, clutching a cloth bag, her face paler than usual. When she saw Lin Chen approaching with Director Zhou, her eyes darted away nervously, and she instinctively hid the bag behind her back. Lin Chen glanced at the bag, scanned it with his system, and a notification immediately popped up on his panel: "Contains finished machined parts, material: 45# steel, machining precision: IT8 grade, surface treatment: manual polishing (obvious traces of non-personal operation)."

Yi Zhonghai took the lead and walked to the center of the assessment platform. He cleared his throat and said, "Apprentices, the quarterly assessment is related to whether you can be promoted to a permanent position. Show your true skills! The assessment is divided into two parts: theory and practice. The theory test will last half an hour, and the practical test will be on-site machining of the brake valve core. The precision requirement is IT7 level. Those who fail will continue their apprenticeship!" As he said this, his eyes deliberately swept over Qin Huairu, and he nodded slightly, as if conveying some kind of signal.

The theory exam was held in the workshop break room, and Lin Chen was in charge of proctoring. He watched as Qin Huairu's hand trembled as she held the pen. Most of the basic questions on the exam, such as "Accuracy of Commonly Used Measuring Tools in Fitter's Work" and "Drilling Cooling Methods," were left blank. However, the last essay question, "How to Improve the Surface Finish of Parts," was filled with neat handwriting, but with a distinctly masculine style—the style of Yi Zhonghai. Lin Chen calmly collected the exam paper, already having a good idea of ​​what was going on.

The practical assessment truly revealed their abilities. The assessment table was filled with tools such as bench vises, files, and drill bits, with a piece of round steel to be processed and a blueprint in front of each workstation. Director Zhou blew the whistle, and the apprentices immediately got to work. Only Qin Huairu stood in front of her workstation, at a loss. She picked up the file and put it down again, repeatedly rubbing the end face of the round steel, hesitating to make a cut.

Yi Zhonghai leaned closer to her and whispered, "Use the method I taught you: first draw the center line, then use a center punch for positioning, and maintain a 45-degree angle when filing." As he spoke, he nudged Qin Huairu's toolbox with his toe. Qin Huairu quickly bent down and opened it, revealing a pre-processed valve core—the very one she had hidden in her bag that morning. Lin Chen stood not far away, witnessing everything clearly, and quietly pressed the recording device in his pocket—a device he had modified using system-integrated old radio parts, with a battery life of four hours.

Half an hour passed, and most of the apprentices had completed the rough work and begun the fine polishing. Qin Huairu finally mustered the courage to make her cut, but the file veered off course as soon as it touched the round steel, leaving a crooked mark on the surface. She was sweating profusely with anxiety, and secretly glanced at Yi Zhonghai. Seeing that he was giving her a wink, she quickly took out a finished part from the toolbox when no one was paying attention, and casually sanded it a few times, pretending that she had just finished.

After the assessment, the apprentices placed their works on the appraisal table, and Lin Chen, Director Zhou, and Yi Zhonghai inspected them one by one. When it was Qin Huairu's turn, Director Zhou picked up the valve core and placed it under the projector. His brows suddenly furrowed: "The precision is good, it meets the IT7 standard, but the surface texture is wrong. The filing marks are in the same direction, which is completely different from the cross-filing method you usually practice."

Qin Huairu's face paled, and she stammered, "I... I tried a different filing method today, thinking I might be able to improve efficiency." Yi Zhonghai immediately smoothed things over, "Little Qin is making rapid progress, and it's good that she's willing to explore new methods. Her family situation is special; she's raising three children and still insists on studying. It's not easy." As he was about to sign the assessment form as qualified, Lin Chen stopped him.

"Master Yi, the assessment is about real skill level. We can't lower the standards just because someone has a special family background." Lin Chen picked up the file Qin Huairu used during the practical exercise and pointed to the rust on it. "This file was only recently sharpened, and the edge is still very sharp, but there are only a few iron filings on it, so it's obviously not been used much. And look at the chamfer of this finished part. The angle is uniform and the curve is smooth. This is definitely not something a novice could do in one go. It looks like the work of a veteran craftsman."

Yi Zhonghai's face darkened: "Xiao Lin, what do you mean by that? Do you suspect Xiao Qin of cheating?" The apprentices around them started to discuss, and someone whispered: "I just saw Master Yi wink at Sister Qin." "She was working on it for so long and it still wasn't finished, how did it suddenly come to be done?" Qin Huairu stood in the crowd, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, her nails digging into her flesh.

Director Zhou also sensed something was amiss. He picked up Qin Huairu's theory exam paper and compared it with the practical work, then suddenly said, "The essay questions on this theory exam paper are exactly the same as those in Master Yi's book 'Fitter Machining Techniques' published last year, down to the punctuation. Master Yi, how do you explain this?"

Cold sweat beaded on Yi Zhonghai's forehead, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "It's possible that Xiao Qin read my article and remembered the content. This shows that she studies very diligently." Lin Chen took out a recording device, pressed the play button, and immediately heard Yi Zhonghai's voice as he tipped off Qin Huairu: "Follow the method I taught you, first draw the center line..." and the rustling sound of Qin Huairu changing parts.

The entire room fell silent instantly; even the sound of the wind outside the workshop could be heard clearly. Director Zhou's face darkened completely, and he slammed the assessment form on the table: "Yi Zhonghai! As an eighth-grade fitter and a key technical member of the workshop, you actually cheated during the assessment, helping your apprentice cheat! If this gets out, you'll completely disgrace our workshop!"

Yi Zhonghai tried to explain, but Director Zhou interrupted him: "You don't need to say anything more. I will report this to the factory management. Qin Huairu, your assessment is unsatisfactory. You will continue your apprenticeship. However, given the severity of your cheating, you are disqualified from being promoted to a permanent position next time!" Qin Huairu's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground. Tears welled up instantly: "Director Zhou, I didn't do it on purpose. Master Yi insisted on helping me... I have three children to support. If I can't be promoted, I won't be able to..."

"Being poor at home is no excuse for cheating!" Lin Chen looked at her, his tone softening. "Senior Sister Qin, qualifications gained through trickery won't last. Real skills are the foundation for a living. You're good at needlework; if you're willing, I can help you contact the sewing group in the neighborhood. You can earn some extra money part-time."

Qin Huairu was stunned; she hadn't expected Lin Chen to help her at this moment. Yi Zhonghai, however, glared fiercely at Lin Chen, feeling both resentful and anxious—he had originally intended to help Qin Huairu get a permanent position, thereby further binding her and Sha Zhu together so that the two of them could support him in his old age. He hadn't expected Lin Chen to expose him in public, not only failing to help but also getting himself into trouble.

After the assessment, Director Zhou took the assessment forms and recording equipment to the factory headquarters. Yi Zhonghai followed behind, explaining the situation the whole way, but Director Zhou completely ignored him. The apprentices in the workshop were in an uproar, discussing the matter. Some said Yi Zhonghai was too biased, some admired Lin Chen for daring to speak the truth, and others felt sorry for Qin Huairu, thinking she shouldn't have gone astray.

When Lin Chen returned to the forging workshop, Liu Haizhong was squatting in a corner smoking. Seeing him come back, he quickly stood up: "Little Lin, I heard about what happened in the fitter's workshop. You're really bold to say that! That old bastard Yi Zhonghai is the most vengeful. You'd better watch out in the future." Lin Chen smiled: "An upright person has nothing to fear. If he dares to take revenge, I'm not afraid of him either. By the way, I've already drawn up the blueprints for the forging dies for the military order. Let's debug the equipment together this afternoon."

Liu Haizhong nodded, looking at the blueprints in Lin Chen's hand with admiration in his eyes. Ever since Lin Chen agreed to teach him precision forging techniques, he had been learning from Lin Chen every day, his skills improving rapidly, and his initial hostility towards Lin Chen had turned into complete trust. As the two were talking, they saw Sha Zhu storming in from the fitter's workshop, clutching an empty lunchbox in his hand.

"Lin Chen, are you deliberately targeting Qin Huairu?" Sha Zhu grabbed Lin Chen's arm, his face flushed red. "She's raising three children alone; she was forced to cheat on the exam. Can't you just turn a blind eye? What's wrong with Master Yi helping her? It's better than you being so cold-hearted!" Lin Chen forcefully shook off his hand: "Sha Zhu, wake up! If I turn a blind eye, is it fair to the other apprentices? If Qin Huairu were truly capable, she wouldn't need to cheat!"

"If she's incompetent, why should I support her!" Sha Zhu roared. "I bring her meals from the cafeteria every month so she can live a stable life. Now you're undermining her, you're just picking a fight with me!" Liu Haizhong quickly stepped forward to break up the fight: "Sha Zhu, don't be impulsive. Xiao Lin is just following the rules." Just then, Qin Huairu chased after them from behind and grabbed Sha Zhu's sleeve: "Sha Zhu, stop making trouble. It was my fault, it has nothing to do with Junior Brother Lin."

Sha Zhu turned to look at Qin Huairu, his tone softening: "Sister Qin, I'm doing this to stand up for you." Qin Huairu wiped away her tears: "I know you mean well, but cheating is wrong. Junior Brother Lin is right, it's more reliable to earn a living with real skills. He even helped me contact the street sewing group, so I can earn money part-time now." Sha Zhu was stunned, not expecting Lin Chen to not only not kick him when he was down but also help Qin Huairu, and he was at a loss for words.

In the afternoon, the factory's disciplinary action was announced: Yi Zhonghai was dismissed from his position as workshop technical instructor for "favoritism in performance evaluation, which had a serious negative impact," his monthly bonus was withheld, and his eighth-grade fitter allowance was reduced to seventh grade; Qin Huairu, if he failed the evaluation, would continue his apprenticeship and be transferred to the workshop logistics department to be responsible for cleaning work, with his monthly salary reduced to 18 yuan. When the news reached the courtyard, the entire courtyard was in an uproar.

Yan Bugui sat at the courtyard gate with a small ledger, making accounts while saying to the neighbors, "I told you Yi Zhonghai was biased, and now he's getting his comeuppance! Last time he sided with the Jia family over the stolen eggs, and this time he's gone even further, directly helping them cheat. He's a disgrace to his title of Grade 8 worker!" Old Wang sighed, "Old Yi is foolish too. He thinks he can rely on favoritism to secure his retirement, but he doesn't realize that you reap what you sow. After this commotion, who will still be willing to treat him sincerely?"

When Yi Zhonghai returned home, his aunt was sitting at the door, wiping away tears. "What did you do for that? You ruined your future for the Jia family's little bit of benefit. Who will respect you in the workshop now? What will we do for our retirement?" Yi Zhonghai kicked the threshold in frustration. "It's all because of that meddlesome Lin Chen! If he hadn't exposed us in public, things wouldn't have turned out like this! I'm not finished with him!"

Just then, Jia Zhangshi came over carrying a cloth bag containing two steamed buns, which Qin Huairu had saved from lunch. "Old Yi, don't be angry," Jia Zhangshi said, handing over the buns. "Thanks to your help this time, otherwise Xiao Qin wouldn't even have kept his job. Don't worry, our Xiao Qin will definitely remember your kindness. I'll also put in a good word for you with Sha Zhu. We'll take care of your retirement."

Yi Zhonghai took the steamed bun, feeling slightly better, but the thought of his deducted bonus and demotion made him sigh again: "Now everyone in the workshop knows I favor the Jia family. It'll be hard to help Xiao Qin anymore. Lin Chen is too much of a nuisance; we have to find a way to get rid of him." Jia Zhangshi's eyes lit up: "I have a plan! Isn't he in charge of military orders? We can secretly tamper with his materials so that the parts he produces are substandard. The factory will definitely punish him then!"

The two were plotting something, unaware that Lin Chen had just returned from the workshop and overheard their conversation. Lin Chen sneered, turned around, went home, and activated the system to scan his materials warehouse—containing 30CrMnSiA alloy steel for a military order, a high-quality material he had specifically requested from the factory. A system panel popped up a notification: "Potential risk detected. Infrared monitoring and material anti-counterfeiting markings recommended."

Lin Chen immediately sprang into action, using the system to integrate discarded infrared detectors and alarms to create a simple monitoring device, which he installed in a hidden corner of the warehouse. He also used a specially made steel stamp to mark each piece of steel, so that the mark would be damaged if the steel was swapped or cut. After doing all this, he wrote an anonymous letter to Director Zhou, reminding him that the materials for the military order needed to be carefully stored to prevent malicious damage.

The next morning, as soon as Lin Chen arrived at the workshop, he saw Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi sneaking away from the materials warehouse. He quickly ran to check and found that the warehouse door had been pried open a crack, and the steel inside had indeed been tampered with—two pieces of steel had been moved, and the anti-counterfeiting marks on them had slight scratches. Lin Chen immediately retrieved the surveillance footage, which clearly showed Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi secretly sneaking into the warehouse, attempting to replace the alloy steel with ordinary steel. However, because the steel was too heavy, they were frightened away by the sounds of workers starting work in the workshop before they could completely complete the replacement.

Lin Chen took the surveillance video to Director Zhou. After watching it, Director Zhou slammed his fist on the table in anger: "This Yi Zhonghai is truly incorrigible! He actually dared to tamper with materials from a military order. If this causes any problems, he will be held criminally liable!" He immediately took the video to the factory headquarters. After watching it, the factory leaders took it very seriously and immediately arranged for the security department to investigate.

When Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi were taken away by the security department, they were still trying to argue, but when the surveillance video was shown to them, they had nothing more to say. In the end, Yi Zhonghai was dismissed from the factory for "intentionally sabotaging military production," his eighth-grade fitter title was revoked, and he had to pay compensation for the material losses; Jia Zhangshi was dismissed from the workshop for "aiding and abetting the crime," and the money she owed her neighbors was deducted from her compensation.

When the news reached the courtyard, everyone sighed in disbelief. Qin Huairu remained silent for a long time after hearing the news; she hadn't expected Yi Zhonghai and her mother-in-law to go to such extremes to deal with Lin Chen. She approached Lin Chen and bowed deeply: "Junior Brother Lin, I'm so sorry. Because of me, I've caused you so much trouble. I will never get involved with Master Yi and my mother-in-law again. I'll work hard as a cleaner and earn money with my own hands."

Lin Chen nodded: "Senior Sister Qin, as long as you are honest and hardworking, you can come to me if you have any difficulties in the future." Watching Qin Huairu's departing figure, he felt a lot of emotions. This woman was not bad at heart, but she was forced by life and led astray by Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai. It is a good thing that she has come to her senses now.

With Yi Zhonghai's problem resolved, Lin Chen could finally focus on producing the military order. He and Liu Haizhong worked together to fine-tune the specialized forging dies, meticulously controlling the forging temperature and cooling rate according to the system's parameters, striving for perfection in every step. Half a month later, the first batch of high-precision gear forgings was completed. After inspection by the factory and the military unit, all indicators far exceeded the requirements, even reaching international advanced levels.

The factory held a commendation meeting for Lin Chen, awarding him the title of "Technological Innovation Pioneer," a cash reward of 200 yuan, and listing him as a key talent for factory-level development. At the commendation meeting, Director Zhou specifically mentioned Yi Zhonghai's malfeasance and sabotage of production, warning all employees to take Lin Chen as an example, adhere to principles, study technology diligently, and not take shortcuts.

When he returned to the courtyard, the neighbors all gathered around, their faces full of admiration. Yan Bugui put away his small ledger and said with a smile, "Xiao Lin, you are truly the pride of our courtyard! Earning a living with your skills, you'll hold your head high wherever you go!" Liu Haizhong patted Lin Chen on the shoulder, "I feel at ease working for you from now on!" Looking at the scene before him, Lin Chen understood that he had not only gained a foothold in the workshop, but had also truly earned respect in this courtyard.

As night deepened, Lin Chen sat at his desk, opened the system panel, and a new notification popped up: "The host has successfully thwarted Yi Zhonghai's malicious sabotage, completed the military order production, and obtained the title of 'Technology Pioneer,' with 5000 points. Current points: 36000. New feature unlocked: Material Improvement (can optimize the performance of existing materials and improve product quality)." He looked at the points and new feature on the panel, a smile appearing on his lips.