Siheyuan: Starting from a Truck Driver

Although he didn't want to be rejected, he had to obey Director Yang's order: "Okay, but I have to say hello to the team first."

"No need. I already told Captain Niu before I came to you. Just come with me."

There's nothing we can do about it. He's just a brick in the steel factory and needs to be moved wherever he's needed!

Li had nothing to say and had to follow Secretary Zhou into the factory director's car and head straight to the Jiefang Factory.

This Jiefang Factory located in Beijing is not a real factory, but a research center of their group, specializing in the development of new technologies.

The production is mainly carried out in the Northeast, and once the technology is mature, it will be sent to the production base for testing. The arrogant Zhang Gong last time is the person in charge of a certain project.

After arriving at the destination, Li got off the car and saw an old man yelling at Zhang Gong and his team. Zhang Gong, who used to be arrogant in front of Li XX, now accepted the scolding like a grandson. Li also knew the man who scolded him. He had appeared in newspapers many times. He was the chief engineer Su of Jiefang Factory. All technical research and development could hardly proceed without his approval.

Seeing Chief Engineer Su's outburst, Li speculated that the problem might be with the chassis. He did not feel happy about the misfortune, but felt a little depressed. He had clearly pointed out the right direction, but others ignored his suggestions due to their own limitations.

Every failure consumes a lot of resources. In an era of limited resources, every extra waste means that other projects will have less available. This vicious cycle will seriously slow down progress.

Professor Su had already seen Li. Although he didn't recognize him, he recognized Secretary Zhou. He immediately waved Li over.

Faced with the boss's call, Li did not dare to delay and quickly stepped forward to stand next to Professor Su.

"Professor Su!"

"Are you Comrade Li? I've finally got you here!"

Professor Su shook Li XX's hand enthusiastically.

Li smiled and said, "Professor Su is so polite. It's my honor to help you."

Professor Su patted Li XX on the shoulder and said, "Let's stop being polite and go take a look at the chassis."

Li nodded in agreement: "Okay!"

Then, the two walked towards the venue together.

Zhang Gong and others were embarrassed just now, so they dared not even breathe when they saw Li Lian. In front of the ministerial leader, the truck was crushed by 20 tons of cargo, and the scene was extremely embarrassing.

If there was a cave underground at that time, they would have hidden in it long ago, unwilling to come out until the end of time. But deep in their hearts, they still insisted on their own views: Li Weidong is just an ordinary driver, what kind of technology can he understand? So many experts are helpless, how can an ordinary driver have a solution?

Look at Li Weidong’s joke!

After arriving at the scene, Li Weidong immediately found the test vehicle. The problem was obvious. The whole vehicle was lying on the ground and the main beam was broken. Professor Su said to Li Weidong helplessly: "This is our new test vehicle, but there was a problem during the first test. The main beam broke. This proves that your previous point is correct. The original chassis design cannot withstand a load of more than 20 tons."

Li Weidong spread his hands and said, "Then why are you looking for me? I am just a mediocre driver. I can only provide some suggestions at most. I can't solve such a serious problem."

Professor Su immediately understood that Li Weidong was still holding back. After all, they had initially asked Li Weidong for help, but when he made his suggestion, it was immediately rejected. Professor Su could imagine that his team members might have said many harsh words to Li Weidong. His team members were all self-righteous senior intellectuals who were used to looking down on others. However, Li Weidong came from an ordinary background, and they simply looked down on him. Li Weidong, however, had extraordinary abilities, and it was not difficult to understand his dissatisfaction when he was humiliated.

Professor Su could only try his best to ease the atmosphere: "Comrade Li Weidong, I know that my team members said something that made you unhappy. I apologize to you on their behalf."

Professor Su bowed deeply, and Li Weidong quickly dodged. It was not Professor Su's fault that Mr. Zhang and his team were so arrogant. Li Weidong knew it very well.

"Professor Su, isn't this embarrassing for me? If you ask me to provide some suggestions, I may be able to do it, but if you ask me to design the chassis, I'm afraid I can't do it."

Professor Su did not completely lose confidence in the stubborn Li Weidong. After all, he had learned some things about Li Weidong from Director Yang. Li Weidong was not only young, but also had excellent learning ability. After coming to work at the steel mill, he provided many valuable suggestions to the maintenance team, solved many difficult problems, and assisted in the design of some parts that impressed experts like Professor Su.

Without a full understanding of trucks, Li Weidong would never have been able to create such outstanding results. That is why Professor Su considered inviting him to join. Although Professor Su himself is capable of taking on this task, he is currently busy with an extremely important project that, if successful, will fill a gap in a certain scientific research field in my country. Professor Su has a clear understanding of the priorities of things. Since all the elites are fully committed to this project, he asked Li Weidong for help.

"Comrade Weidong, don't be too modest. Just try. Regardless of success or failure, the responsibility will not be borne by you," Professor Su encouraged.

Li Weidong waved his hand: "But my work at the steel mill is also very busy. You may not know that the whole country is facing a shortage of materials right now."

Professor Su waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about that. I will arrange it! Although our Jiefang Factory is short of supplies, we are not short of drivers and trucks. When the critical moment comes, I will send a fleet of vehicles to support your factory."

Li Weidong stroked his chin and said, "What should I do if my suggestion is refuted?"

Professor Su immediately understood Li Weidong's true intention. He knew that if he didn't give Li Weidong some attractive benefits, he would not take action. He thought for a while and asked, "What do you think of Mr. Zhang?"

Li Weidong snorted coldly: "That's it."

Professor Su then said: "Once you have completed the design, I will strive to make sure you enjoy the same treatment as him."

Li Weidong's eyes lit up when he heard this. Although he didn't like Zhang Gong, who had a rigid mindset, the salary of an engineer was indeed very good. Li Weidong didn't care about the salary, but the title of engineer would be of great help to his future work. In that era, engineers, as senior intellectuals, were well paid. Engineers could enjoy department-level treatment every month, including a salary of 102 yuan, 100 kilograms of refined flour and 10 kilograms of pork; level 6 was equivalent to the deputy department level, and the salary was equivalent to that of the deputy director of a steel mill.

Seeing Professor Su flashing a sincere face, it would be too much for Li Weidong to continue to refuse. Therefore, he finally agreed. Professor Su finally smiled.

"Then I'll wait for your good news here!"

"It's a piece of cake! Bring me my design drawings and let me see if there is room for improvement."

When Engineer Zhang heard this, he immediately handed the blueprint to Li Weidong. Li Weidong glanced at it and sneered helplessly. Jill's design remained unchanged. Didn't he tell Engineer Zhang before that this design was unrealistic?

"Engineer Zhang, didn't I tell you before that this design wouldn't work?"

Zhang Gong lowered his head in embarrassment and replied in a low voice: "Yes, you did."

"Then why do you insist on doing it? Do you think that having a unique skill can make you a permanent solution? History has long told us that we must keep pace with the times. How is your behavior different from the ancient Chinese feudal era's 'ancestral laws cannot be changed'? It's ridiculous and even more pathetic! If your team keeps sticking to the old ways, I don't think you need to design any new vehicles. Just continue to produce the old Jiefang trucks. Even if one is not enough to carry the load, then produce two, or even more. Isn't it just a matter of a few more?"

Li Weidong's sarcastic remarks made Zhang Gong and his colleagues bow their heads. Li Weidong had foresight and predicted their fate. He was not just blindly expressing anger, what he really hated was that kind of rigid thinking. Knowing that the direction was wrong, but still stubbornly moving forward, how stupid!

He directly tore up Jill's design and re-completed a chassis structure diagram based on the memory of his previous life. It was the chassis design of the Hundred Ton King that became well-known after that century. The Hundred Ton King is a specially modified heavy truck that can bear a load of one hundred tons. In the future, the Hundred Ton King once created a record of a truck breaking a bridge. In order to avoid damage to the braking system and roads caused by overloading, Li Weidong made some adjustments during the design. The actual load capacity of the Hundred Ton King is only forty or fifty tons, which is almost the same as the standard load capacity of heavy trucks after that century.

After the chassis design was completed, the engine performance needed to be checked. Since Li Weidong was only responsible for the chassis, he left the engine problem to other people who were good at this field. The complete drawing process took half a day. Even though it had not been tested in the field, some key details could be seen from the drawings.

Faced with the unfinished design of the 100-ton King, Zhang Gong and his team members felt ashamed because their previous arrogance almost made them miss an important opportunity. No one thought that if Li Weidong had not stepped up, the time required to redesign the chassis might have been very long.

In a day, the work of drawing and adding details passed by unnoticed. Although it seemed to take a long time, in the eyes of Professor Su and others, this time was actually nothing. Usually, designing a new chassis is not a one-day job, which is why Zhang Gong and others chose the old chassis. However, they never expected that Li Weidong could complete the task in such a short time. At this moment, Professor Su felt that his promise to Li Weidong was worth it.