Siheyuan Great Craftsmen

The middle courtyard of the courtyard.

West Wing, Yi Zhonghai's home.

Yi Zhonghai lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. When he thought of what the workshop director had said today, his heart couldn't help but churn, and he recalled the time when Zhou Tian wanted to become his disciple.

He couldn't help but feel regretful in his heart. Although he didn't say it, he saw that Zhou Tian, ​​who was also his apprentice, was promoted from an apprentice to a master chef in just one and a half years.

Then he looked at his apprentice Jia Dongxu. After a year and a half, he still couldn't figure out how to make a basic part. Sometimes he wondered why there was such a big gap in their talent as locksmiths when Jia Xudong seemed to be smarter and more lively than Zhou Tian.

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but sigh.

If he had not been so calculating at the beginning, perhaps Zhou Tian would have been his apprentice.

But when he thought about his physical condition again, he could only sigh helplessly.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai's wife Li Guiqin vaguely felt his movements and couldn't help asking: "Old Yi, what's wrong with you? Why don't you sleep? You have to go to work tomorrow?"

Yi Zhonghai came back to his senses, sighed softly, and replied: "It's okay, I can't sleep, you go to sleep first."

Although Li Guiqin was a little sleepy, she still asked with concern: "Are you worried about something? Tell me, maybe I can help you share some of your worries."

Yi Zhonghai was silent for a while, but in the end he didn't say anything about his worries. He knew that it would be useless to say these things, and he didn't want his wife to know about the calculations.

"It's nothing, go to sleep!"

As the night deepened, Yi Zhonghai lay on his bed, looking at the moonlight outside the window, feeling mixed emotions. He began to reflect on his behavior, but then his faith in his heart became firm again.

"I am not wrong. The only thing to blame is Zhou Tian's evil deeds!"

After figuring it out, Yi Zhonghai put aside his thoughts and slowly fell asleep.

Early the next morning.

It was just daybreak and everyone in the courtyard had already gotten up and were busy. The sound of noise was endless.

Zhou Tian got up from the kang, went to the toilet to empty the chamber pot as usual, came back to light the stove at home, prepared breakfast, and practiced a set of Xingyiquan as usual before waking up his younger brothers and sisters again. After eating breakfast, he watched Sanxiao go to school.

Only after his younger brother and sister disappeared in the yard did he turn back into the house, pick up the books he had not finished reading last night, pack them in his backpack, and then walk towards the steel mill.

Along the way, he met many workers from the steel rolling mill who greeted Zhou Tian with a smile when they saw him.

"Morning, Master Zhou! Have you eaten?"

"Yes, have you eaten?"

Zhou Tian felt uncomfortable with the constant greetings, but he still responded to them one by one.

When he arrived at the second workshop, he thought he was the first one to arrive, but when he entered the workshop, he found that several apprentices had already started working in workshop No. 2.

When they saw Zhou Tian, ​​several apprentices said respectfully, "Master Zhou!"

Zhou Tian smiled at a few people, then walked to his workstation, picked up a workpiece at random, and practiced processing according to what he had seen last night, verifying it one by one with the experience in the book.

With constant adjustments, inspiration flashes in my mind from time to time, and the movements of my hands change accordingly, as if driven by an invisible rhythm, making the entire operation process appear smooth and natural, as agile as an antelope hanging on a horn.

When several apprentices saw this scene, they widened their eyes and looked at Zhou Tian in disbelief.

Although they are apprentices, they all have masters and naturally know that this seemingly simple processing action contains countless skills and experience.

However, Zhou Tian was able to complete it so smoothly, as if he had done it countless times. They dared not even imagine this level.

Just as they were marveling at the workpiece, Zhou Tian had already finished processing it. He picked up a ruler beside him to measure it, and nodded.

"Not bad, the size and accuracy meet the requirements."

After saying that, he put the workpiece aside, closed his eyes, recalled the process just now, summarized the techniques just now, and then picked up another workpiece to start processing.

When several apprentices saw this scene, they gathered around and wanted to see how Zhou Tian completed the processing.

They stood aside, carefully observing Zhou Tian's every move, hoping to understand something from it.

Zhou Tian didn't care about their watching, and continued to focus on honing his craft.

Time passed by minute by minute, and soon, half an hour had passed.

When Zhou Tianjiang finished processing another workpiece, several apprentices were already stunned.

They didn't expect that in just half an hour, Zhou Tian could process several parts, and each one met the requirements.

This speed and precision is simply incredible.

"Master Zhou, you are so amazing!"

An apprentice couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Zhou Tian heard this and said with some discomfort: "This is just practice makes perfect. As long as you practice more, you can do it."

Several apprentices curled their lips when they heard this. They knew how difficult it was to reach Zhou Tian's level of craftsmanship. It was not something that could be achieved through mere study; it also required a certain level of understanding.

The most important thing is to find a good master.

"Master Zhou, would you accept any apprentices?"

Just then, one of the apprentices mustered up the courage to ask.

Zhou Tian was stunned when he heard this. He looked at the apprentice and found that his eyes were full of desire and expectation.

His heart softened, and he recalled the hardships and difficulties he had experienced when he was learning the craft. He also understood the apprentices' desire and pursuit to learn the craft.

"There's no need to accept a disciple!"

Zhou Tian pondered for a moment and continued, "But you can watch me while I work. If there is anything you don't understand, I will teach you."

When the apprentices heard this, they immediately gathered around excitedly. They knew that this was a rare opportunity and that they would be able to learn real skills by studying with Zhou Tian.

Zhou Tian looked at their eager eyes and felt a sense of joy in his heart.

The reason why he was unwilling to accept an apprentice was, on the one hand, that he was still too young, and every apprentice in the workshop was older than him. On the other hand, he had extremely high requirements for his apprentices, not only looking at their qualifications, but also their character, and he didn't want his apprentice to end up being an ungrateful person.

However, he will not be stingy with his skills because in his opinion, the inheritance of skills requires communication and sharing, only in this way can more people benefit.

In the process of imparting knowledge, it is also a learning process of self-improvement and making up for omissions.

Therefore, his biggest concession was that he was willing to pass on his skills and experience to these apprentices who were willing to learn in his spare time.

At this moment, the workers in the workshop arrived one after another. Looking at the apprentices surrounding Zhou Tian, ​​they couldn't help but become curious and walked closer to take a look.

All I could hear was Zhou Tian operating the machine tool, demonstrating the parts processing steps, and constantly talking about his experience as a locksmith.

Some of the experiences were even more detailed than what they had learned themselves, and were simple to understand and easier to operate. For a moment, a group of workers gathered around and listened to Zhou Tian explain his experience as a junior fitter.

Zhou stopped explaining until the bell rang. He said to everyone, "Okay, it's time to go to work. Let's go!"

"Thank you, Master Zhou!"

Upon hearing this, the workers reluctantly dispersed and returned to their own workstations, starting to ponder what Zhou Tian had taught.

"Xiaotian, that's great! You've actually started to be a master too!"

Just after everyone dispersed, Master Liu Wuming came to his side and teased him.

"Master, you are joking. You know, I just talked about some basic things!"

Zhou Tian touched his head and said embarrassedly.

Seeing this, Liu Wuming's expression became serious. He solemnly reminded: "Xiaotian, although your behavior is well-intentioned, you must realize that they have already worshipped their own masters. If your private experience is known by their masters, it may cause unnecessary misunderstandings and estrangement."

After hearing this, Zhou Tian pondered for a moment, then showed some regret. He nodded solemnly and said, "Master, I understand. I will remember your teachings and will not act like this again in the future."

Liu Wuming nodded slightly to show his approval: "I'm glad you understand. After all, not every master is willing to pass on his skills without reservation. I hope you can learn a lesson from this and be more cautious in the future."

Liu Wuming gave a few words of advice earnestly, then returned to his workstation and began to get busy.

At this moment, Zhou Tian stopped to think, and suddenly became alert. He felt that his previous behavior might be too rash. It should be noted that in this era, the inheritance of skills is particularly rigorous, especially in a factory environment like theirs, where every worker has his own master, and there is a deep affection and trust between the master and the apprentice. His actions just now are likely to cause unnecessary misunderstandings and disturbances.

In view of this, Zhou Tian couldn't help but feel regretful and resolved to be more cautious in the future and not easily pass on his personal experience and skills to others to avoid unnecessary trouble.