Siheyuan: Grassroots Counterattack

In the days that followed, Li Tianyi waited for the motor factory to deliver the motors. The racks in the rolling mill had already been welded, and once the motors were delivered, they could start assembling them.

The days of waiting felt very long. Li Tianyi went to the Ministry of Industry every few days to urge Section Chief Wang, who in turn went to the Deputy Minister to urge him.

He waited for another week and the required motor was finally delivered. The director of the motor factory also came this time. Director Yang and the factory leaders received him, and then they went to the workshop together to watch the assembly process of the drilling rig.

Because the frame of this drilling rig is very large, it is very slow to assemble. Li Tianyi asked Director Yang to contact the department and they need a test site after assembly so that they can know whether this drilling rig is successful.

Director Yang immediately went back to the office to make a phone call. After a while, Director Yang came back and said, "The site department will make arrangements. When the test is underway, the department leaders will come to watch."

Li Tianyi didn’t care about this. He just wanted to assemble the machine as soon as possible.

On this day, everyone in the workshop worked overtime. Li Huaide arranged for the kitchen to cook for those who worked overtime at night. After dinner, the workers started working again in full swing.

By the late night, they finally finished installing the machine. Director Yang arranged for everyone to rest, while Li Tianyi returned to the office and lay on the sofa for a few hours.

As soon as he got to work in the morning, Director Yang contacted the department, and the department simply asked Li Tianyi and his team to wait in the factory. A platoon of soldiers would come to transport the machines away in a while, and Li Tianyi, the main person in charge, would also go with them.

Li Tianyi didn't know where they were going, so he found Li Huaide and asked him to tell his family that he might be away for a few days. Li Huaide said he understood and told Li Tianyi the good news that his appointment as the director of the steel rolling mill to succeed Director Yang had been approved and he was now waiting for the ministry to announce the appointment.

At the same time, his father-in-law also expressed that he wanted to thank Li Tianyi very much. If Li Tianyi had not pushed Li Huaide at the critical moment, it would not have been easy for him to get the position of factory director.

Li Tianyi told him not to worry about it, they were all family, so of course he should help if he could. Li Huaide patted Li Tianyi on the shoulder and said nothing.

An hour later, two large trucks drove into the steel rolling mill. Director Yang shook hands with the platoon leader, and then the trucks drove into the workshop. The young soldiers and the workers loaded all the things onto the trucks.

Li Tianyi was also ready, standing next to the car with a briefcase, waiting to depart.

After the things were loaded, the platoon leader called Li Tianyi to get on the truck, and then the two trucks drove out of the steel rolling mill.

Because the outside of the truck was covered with canvas, Li Tianyi didn't know where he was going. After two hours of bumpy ride, the car finally stopped. The young soldiers began to get off, and Li Tianyi followed them out.

All I could see was a piece of cracked land caused by drought. There was no green in the fields in the distance. The village next door was quiet. A soldier ran into the village. After a while, several men followed the young soldier and came over.

After the introductions, Li Tianyi knew that they were the village team leader, accountant, and village party secretary. Looking at their listless appearances, he knew that they were also not full.

The platoon leader and the captain explained the reason. The captain held the platoon leader's hand, his eyes filled with tears of excitement.

The platoon leader quickly introduced Li Tianyi next to him, saying that he was the inventor of the machine. The captain and others began to hold Li Tianyi's hands again.

Just as they were greeting each other, a jeep stopped beside them. There were three people in the car, a driver, a secretary, and the rest was Li Tianyi's old acquaintance, Vice Minister Zhao.

Originally, he was not the one who came here today. It would have been enough to send a director to keep an eye on it. However, Deputy Minister Zhao was worried, so he came here in person.

Li Tianyi and the platoon leader hurried to the front of the car and greeted Deputy Minister Zhao. Minister Zhao waved his hand and looked at Li Tianyi, "Xiao Li, please introduce this drilling rig to me."

"Okay, Chief, please come this way."

As he spoke, he led the leaders to the shelves that had been unloaded on the ground, and then introduced the functions of these things to everyone one by one, while also guiding the young soldiers to assemble the machine.

Two hours later, the drilling rig's frame was finally erected and could be used as long as it was powered or driven by a tractor.

Li Tianyi looked at the captain and asked, "Uncle Captain, is there electricity in your village?"

"It's connected. The brigade headquarters has electricity." The brigade commander said excitedly.

Li Tian nodded slightly, and then asked a young soldier to lead the point over. Fortunately, this place was not far from the brigade headquarters, and soon the young soldier squeezed out of the crowd pulling the electric wire.

At this time, most of the villagers have come out. It is human nature to watch the fun. Besides, this is a well being dug for their village, so of course they want to see it with their own eyes.

Li Tianyi asked the little soldier to turn on the motor, and the turntable on the rack began to rotate, and then began to drill under the ground.

Everyone stared at the hole without blinking, while Li Tianyi observed the operation of the drilling rig while calculating how many meters the drill bit had sunk underground.

The roar of the machines had been going on for several hours, but the surrounding villagers showed no signs of leaving. The leader also moved a bench and sat not far away to watch.

According to Li Tianyi's calculations, the drill bit should have reached the shallow water layer at this time. Li Tianyi stepped forward to observe the moisture of the soil, and then found that the soil extracted from the pipe had already turned into mud.

Li Tianyi reported the situation to the leader, who stood up excitedly and came to the pipe. Mud had already appeared in the pipe, which meant that water was not far from coming out.

After another hour, clean water finally came out of the pipe. The people around felt extremely distressed when they saw the clean water flowing out of the pipe and onto the ground. The team leader also gritted his teeth and went to find Li Tianyi.

"Mr. Li, we can't waste this water. Can you let the villagers go home and get water containers to take away?"

Li Tianyi glanced at the people around him and sighed inwardly, "Uncle Captain, I'll do as you say."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." The team leader happily told the good news to the villagers around him. The villagers dispersed in a hurry, which made the leader very puzzled.

Li Tianyi explained the situation to the big leader, who agreed with the approach. Soon the villagers began to collect water under the organization of the team leader.

Although the water is still a little turbid, it can still be used to calm the mind.

As the water became clearer, Li Tianyi found the team leader and asked if there was a canal that could lead directly to the fields.

The team leader said no, but it could be repaired now, so the men, women, and children in the village joined together to start building this section of the canal.