As he stepped out, He Yu Zhu happened to be walking over from the middle courtyard.
“Hey, what a coincidence,” Yang Xuan said.
“Coincidence? I’ve been waiting for you for ages,” He Yu Zhu laughed.
“Something up?” Yang Xuan asked.
“Didn't I tell you, we’re going to a wedding for a relative of Teacher Ran this weekend,” He Yu Zhu said.
Yang Xuan thought there might have been a change: “What? Did they change their minds?”
He Yu Zhu shook his head: “No. It’s just, you're a cadre now, are you still going to be a cook with me?”
Yang Xuan laughed: “What? Are you going to be too good for sharing money with me?”
“You're an engineer, your salary will be over a hundred, you wouldn't care about this little bit of money, right? Are you still going to cook with me?” He Yu Zhu smiled. He was still the same old Yang Xuan.
Yang Xuan laughed: “Of course I’m going. I think my cooking still has a lot of room for improvement.”
He Yu Zhu rolled his eyes: “Cut it out. You’re leaving us chefs with no way to survive.”
Some people work their butts off to level up but can’t get any higher. Others reach the peak effortlessly.
Yang Xuan was like that. He hadn’t cooked much, yet his cooking skills were better than someone like him who had been a chef for twenty years. What's the point of logic?
When they arrived at the steel mill, Yang Xuan went to the first workshop as usual.
“Yang Gong, are you coming to do technical upgrades in our first workshop?” Director Guo greeted Yang Xuan enthusiastically.
Yang Xuan suddenly remembered that he should be working in the technical department today. But since he was already here, he had to greet his master, Zhou De Min.
“You little rascal. I can’t teach you anymore,” Zhou De Min said, full of joy.
Yang Xuan laughed: “Once a teacher, always a father. You’ll always be my master.”
“Hearing you say that, Master feels it was all worth it. Master doesn’t have much talent. I’m afraid I won’t be able to become an 8th level fitter in my lifetime. But I’ve brought up an engineer!” Zhou De Min laughed.
“Master, your skills are solid, becoming an 8th level fitter is just a matter of time.” Yang Xuan said.
“You, don’t butter me up. Go to the technical department to work. Maybe Chief Engineer Xiao is waiting for you right now.” Zhou De Min said.
Yang Xuan finally went to the technical department.
Zhou De Min was right. As soon as Xiao Man Chun arrived at work, he called Yang Xuan over. But Yang Xuan hadn't arrived yet.
“This kid is late for his first day in the technical department?” Xiao Man Chun was puzzled.
“I doubt it. He probably drank too much yesterday. Yang Xuan drank quite a bit last night.” Tao Shao Ping, the head of the technical department, was Xiao Man Chun’s student.
“Hmm, he did drink a bit much. Let it slide this time. Remind him later that he needs to be on time from now on,” Xiao Man Chun said.
As Xiao Man Chun finished speaking, Yang Xuan walked in.
“Xiao Yang, didn't you drink too much yesterday?” Xiao Man Chun asked with concern.
Yang Xuan chuckled: “My head is still pounding. I accidentally went to the first workshop.”
Tao Shao Ping laughed: “I said so! Turns out you went to the wrong place.”
Xiao Man Chun asked: “About the technical upgrade we discussed yesterday, which workshop are you going to start with?”
Yang Xuan said: “I’m most familiar with the first workshop, so I'll start there.”
“Alright. First write up the upgrade plan and show it to me.” Xiao Man Chun still thought he should review it. After all, Yang Xuan had just been promoted from apprentice fitter to engineer. Xiao Man Chun was cautious about Yang Xuan's upgrade ideas. He didn’t want to discourage Yang Xuan's enthusiasm, but he didn’t want to believe him blindly either.
Yang Xuan nodded. Writing a technical upgrade plan wasn't a big problem for him.
After his fitter skills levelled up, he became familiar with design drawings and the machine tools in the first workshop. He also gained some technical upgrade ability. This was the skill he obtained after his fitter skills exceeded level eight.
Yang Xuan wondered what changes his fitter skills would bring if they reached max level?
Moreover, after becoming an engineer, his skill panel had a new mechanical engineering skill. It was currently at the introductory stage.
Yang Xuan was conflicted about whether to remove fitter skills from his skill slot and replace them with mechanical engineering skills.
After all, Yang Xuan was now an engineer, and mechanical engineering skills would be more important in the future.
But for now, fitter skills were crucial for his technical upgrades. He needed his max level fitter skills to upgrade the precision of the steel mill’s machine tools. After all, he had to make the breakthrough from zero to one.
So, after thinking it over, Yang Xuan decided to keep his fitter skills, and consider mechanical engineering skills after his fitter skills reached max level.
It took Yang Xuan a whole day to write out his upgrade plan. He handed it to Xiao Man Chun before leaving work.
Xiao Man Chun was satisfied with Yang Xuan's work attitude.
After glancing over Yang Xuan’s upgrade plan, Xiao Man Chun couldn't help but frown.
“Your upgrade plan still has some issues. How do you guarantee the precision improvement of the machine tool components? We can’t get higher precision processing equipment. The biggest challenge is that we can’t easily make the breakthrough from zero to one. If we had the first precision processing equipment, the rest would be easy.” Xiao Man Chun said.
“This requires a processing capability beyond that of an 8th level fitter. To achieve the breakthrough from zero to one, we need a fitter with extraordinary skills.” Yang Xuan said.
“In other words, you’re going to manually upgrade a machine tool to improve its precision. Then you’ll gradually increase the precision until it reaches the target.” Xiao Man Chun understood Yang Xuan’s plan.
Yang Xuan nodded: “It’s quite difficult, but I think if I try a few times, I should be able to do it.”
If it were anyone else, Xiao Man Chun would have directly scolded them. But Yang Xuan was different. After all, he had processed components with precision requirements beyond specifications in front of everyone.
“Alright, try it out based on this plan. Even if the upgrade isn't successful, it shouldn't cause any major problems.” After some thought, Xiao Man Chun decided to let Yang Xuan try.
The next day was a holiday. Yang Xuan and He Yu Zhu went to the family hosting the wedding early in the morning.
“Do you think Teacher Ran will come?” He Yu Zhu asked.
Yang Xuan shook his head: “How would I know? It depends on how close Teacher Ran’s family is to them.”
“I asked around, they’re pretty close. Teacher Ran’s parents came back from overseas because this family persuaded them.” He Yu Zhu said.
“Then I think she’ll probably come,” Yang Xuan said.
“Then how do you think I should try to get close to Teacher Ran?” He Yu Zhu was a bit nervous.
“What are you getting close to her for? You have to do your job well today. If Teacher Ran's family has a bad impression of you, then it’s all over.” Yang Xuan said.