The next day, when Yang Xuan woke up, he found that his machinist skills had reached the proficient level. In other words, his current machinist level was no lower than that of a third-grade machinist. Even more, his skills were much more comprehensive and balanced than many third-grade machinists. All of his techniques were extremely standard and normative.
Others might not notice immediately, but Zhou De Min was genuinely shocked by his apprentice.
“I haven’t taught you these techniques yet. Who did you learn from?” Zhou De Min asked.
Yang Xuan could only come up with a random excuse: “I’m not busy, so I just watched whoever was working, and as I watched, I seemed to have learned it.”
“You didn’t seem so clever before. Why are you suddenly like a different person?” Zhou De Min was very puzzled.
“Maybe I got enlightened when I fell into the river the day before yesterday.” Yang Xuan said.
“Well, you’ve benefited from that fall then.” Zhou De Min laughed.
Seeing Yang Xuan’s significant technical improvement, Zhou De Min didn’t bother teaching him basic techniques anymore. He directly let Yang Xuan take over his position, responsible for processing the day’s workload. He himself then became Yang Xuan’s assistant.
On a workbench nearby, Qin Huai Ru nudged Yi Zhong Hai.
“What are you looking at? Pay attention. Your three-year apprenticeship is almost over. If your skills don’t pass, how can I give you a rating? Other apprentices usually get rated as third-grade workers, only a few get rated as second-grade. With your current skill level, even a first-grade worker is doubtful.” Yi Zhong Hai was very dissatisfied with Qin Huai Ru’s inattentive work attitude.
Qin Huai Ru said in a low voice: “Yang Xuan just started his apprenticeship at the factory, and Master Zhou actually let him work on his own.”
Hearing this, Yi Zhong Hai was also surprised. He turned his head and immediately frowned. He stopped his work and walked over.
“Old Zhou, how long has Yang Xuan been in the workshop? How can you let him work independently? What if something happens?” Although Yi Zhong Hai was also a worker, he wasn’t an ordinary worker. In the workshop, besides the workshop director, he was the most senior. Of course, he was also the group leader.
Zhou De Min laughed: “Master Yi, just take a look and you’ll understand why I let Yang Xuan work on his own. Although Yang Xuan hasn’t been in the workshop for long, his skills are no less than any third-grade machinist. Many fourth-grade machinists might not have his comprehensive skills.”
Yi Zhong Hai frowned, but after watching for a while, he had nothing to say. A professional knows the tricks. Zhou De Min wasn’t talking nonsense. Yang Xuan’s skill level was indeed comparable to any third-grade machinist. These simpler processing tasks were truly no problem for him. Even more complex processing tasks should also be within his capability.
“How long has Yang Xuan been in the workshop?” Yi Zhong Hai asked, feeling a little depressed.
“Less than three months, he came in as an apprentice last winter.” Zhou De Min said.
“It seems he’s truly a good material for becoming a machinist.” Although Yi Zhong Hai didn’t like Yang Xuan, he had no words to say about Yang Xuan’s current performance.
“Master Yi, can you mention it to Director Yang and see if we can give Yang Xuan a special early rating?” Zhou De Min said with a flattering smile.
Yi Zhong Hai sneered: “How is that possible? He’s been in the factory for less than three months, and you want to give him a special rating. If everyone does that from now on, what will happen to the factory? We can’t cause any trouble for the factory leadership, right?”
Zhou De Min sighed, knowing that Yi Zhong Hai didn’t agree with giving Yang Xuan a special rating.
Yi Zhong Hai turned to leave. After walking a few steps, he turned back: “Old Zhou, you still need to watch him. Yang Xuan still lacks experience. Don’t let your training of him affect our team’s acceptance rate.”
Zhou De Min said: “Don’t worry about that. I’ve been watching him closely. I know whether his processing is acceptable or not. He definitely won’t drag our team down.”
Speaking of dragging things down, who could drag things down more than Qin Huai Ru? Almost all the scrap pieces in Yi Zhong Hai’s team were due to Qin Huai Ru alone.
Whenever Yi Zhong Hai let Qin Huai Ru practice, she would definitely produce scrap pieces.
“Big Ye, why is Yang Xuan still operating on the workbench?” Qin Huai Ru asked.
Yi Zhong Hai said impatiently: “Don’t always worry about that. He’s been in the factory for less than three months, and he’s learned more than you have in three years. If you had even half of Yang Xuan’s skill level, I would have given you a third-grade rating.”
Qin Huai Ru was very excited. A third-grade worker! Their basic salary would be 51 yuan, and with seniority pay, it would be about 60 yuan. Qin Huai Ru had taken over Jia Dong Xu’s job and inherited his seniority.
“Big Ye, I promise to learn hard. Just give me a third-grade rating.” Qin Huai Ru said.
“A third-grade rating? With your current skills, I wouldn’t even dare to give you a first-grade rating. You can’t even process a simple piece without producing scrap.” Yi Zhong Hai said.
Qin Huai Ru glanced at Yang Xuan: “Big Ye, what is Yang Xuan processing? Let me practice it too. See if I’ve made any progress recently.”
Yi Zhong Hai couldn’t really refuse Qin Huai Ru, so he said helplessly: “Fine.”
They both understood each other. If Qin Huai Ru processed a piece and it became scrap, they could blame it on Yang Xuan. After all, he had only been an apprentice for less than three months. Who would believe he had the skills of a third-grade machinist?
Yang Xuan also glanced at Yi Zhong Hai’s workbench and saw Qin Huai Ru operating: “Master, it seems that Qin Huai Ru isn’t so useless. She seems to be able to operate too.”
Zhou De Min immediately looked over and frowned: “How could Master Yi let Qin Huai Ru operate?”
Yang Xuan smiled: “You let me operate too. Master, help me mark all the pieces I’ve processed.”
Zhou De Min heard this and smiled: “You kid, you’re pretty clever.”
Zhou De Min quickly marked all the pieces Yang Xuan had processed, and even recorded the quantity.
When it was time to leave work, Workshop Director Guo came over and was furious.
“What’s going on? I told you all to focus and improve the acceptance rate. Is this how you improve it? The quality inspector told me that Workshop 1 has scrapped more than a dozen pieces. More than the total scrap pieces last month. Master Yi, all the scrap pieces came from your team. Tell me, what’s going on?” Guo’s anger was very evident.
Yi Zhong Hai walked out calmly: “It’s mainly because some people are eager for quick success. They want to run before they’ve learned how to walk. An apprentice who hasn’t been in the workshop for three months wants to be given a special rating. An apprentice who’s been in the workshop for less than three months has started working independently!”
“Who? Who is so irresponsible?” Guo said angrily.
Zhou De Min was not afraid of anything: “Yi Zhong Hai, just say it’s my apprentice. However, are you sure the scrap pieces were processed by my apprentice?”
Yi Zhong Hai sneered: “Old Zhou! Didn’t I specifically tell you this morning not to let your apprentice work independently? Now that this major oversight has happened, you don’t want to take responsibility?”