pdf-ebookys Chapter 319 Era: XCMG's Simple-minded Wife 23
Chapter 319 Era: XCMG's Simple-minded Wife 23
At the gate of the steel plant, red flags fluttered in the wind.
Lin Xiaomei stood at the front, with more than a dozen lightly injured workers behind her, each of them standing tall.
They still had injuries on their faces, some had bandages wrapped around their arms, and some walked with a limp, but their eyes were fixed on the black car approaching in the distance.
The car door opened, and shiny leather shoes stepped onto the coal dust. The members of the M country inspection team slowly stepped out. Dr. Karl, who was in charge, took off his sunglasses and squinted as he surveyed the factory area in front of him.
"This is your 'advanced' steel plant?"
He said in broken Chinese, a mocking smile playing on his lips, “It looks like… a junkyard.”
The engineers from Country M behind him burst into laughter. Some even took out their cameras and snapped a few pictures of the dilapidated factory, as if they were photographing some rare sight.
Lin Xiaomei's fingers dug tightly into her palms, but she forced a stiff smile: "Welcome everyone to give us your guidance."
“Guidance?” Carl raised an eyebrow. “I think ‘relief’ would be a better word.”
He pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket, disdainfully wiped non-existent dust from his fingers, and then casually tossed the handkerchief on the ground.
A white silk handkerchief fell into the coal ash and instantly became filthy.
“Lead the way, madam,” he said with a smile. “Let us see your ‘breakthrough technology.’”
Inside the workshop, workers are clearing away the rubble after the explosion.
The members of the M country delegation covered their noses and occasionally let out exaggerated coughs.
“God, this smell…” a blonde female engineer pinched her nose, “is like rotten metal.”
Carl bent down to pick up a twisted steel plate, weighed it in his hand, and suddenly "accidentally" dropped it to the ground.
"Oh, sorry," he said insincerely, "it seems your steel... doesn't even have basic strength."
Lin Xiaomei's nails were digging into her flesh, but she still maintained a smile: "This is just the wreckage after the accident, it doesn't represent our actual level."
"Actual level?" Karl seemed to have heard a joke. "Madam, you don't even have the most basic vacuum furnace, what level are you talking about?"
He walked to the workbench, casually flipped through Xu Weidong's notebook, and suddenly chuckled.
"Layered smelting? Using a traditional earthen stove to steam buns to refine special steel?"
He turned to his companions and said, “Look, this is their ‘high technology’.”
The M country delegation burst into laughter.
Some people even imitated the action of stir-frying, making "sizzling" sounds.
"You have to control the heat well, or the steel will burn!"
An engineer spoke in a strange voice, which drew another burst of laughter from the crowd.
The old fitter Zhang Desheng's pipe clattered loudly on the ground, but Lin Xiaomei stopped him with a single glance.
In the hospital corridor, Ji Xiaosong gripped the kettle tightly.
The water in the kettle had cooled down, but her fingers were still clenched tightly, her knuckles white.
She could hear the laughter coming from the workshop and imagine the arrogant look on the faces of those people from the M country.
But she can't do too much, or it will become another diplomatic incident.
However, she was not worried. She was certain that she would pay back all the shame she had suffered today in the future!
In the workshop, Karl had already walked to the test bench.
He looked at the simple, miniature crucibles and sighed dramatically.
"It's...heartbreaking."
He shook his head. "In the US, this kind of thing isn't even as good as a primary school student's craft project."
He suddenly picked up a crucible, twirled it in his hand, and then "accidentally" let go.
"Snapped!"
The crucible fell to the ground and shattered into several pieces.
"Oops, I didn't hold it properly again."
He shrugged without any apology. "It seems your stuff is as fragile as your steel."
Lin Xiaomei's vision was already blurry, but she bit her lip tightly until she tasted blood.
“Dr. Carl,” her voice trembled but was firm, “please respect our hard work.”
“Respect?” Karl seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. “Madam, in the steel industry, respect is earned through strength.”
He walked to the blackboard, looked at the experimental data recorded on it, and suddenly picked up the eraser and casually erased the most critical line of parameters.
“This data is wrong,” he said with a smile. “Don’t you even know basic thermodynamic calculations?”
The workshop was deathly silent.
Everyone froze in place, even their breathing stopped.
That data was obtained by Xu Weidong at the cost of his life.
In the hospital ward, Xu Weidong's fingers suddenly began to tremble violently.
His eyes were still closed, but tears had already slid down his cheeks, soaking the pillow.
In the workshop, Karl had already lost interest.
He straightened his suit and turned to leave.
"To be honest, I'm disappointed." He shook his head. "I thought I'd see something interesting, but..."
He paused, then gave a pitying smile:
"It's like watching a group of primitive people trying to build a rocket."
The members of the M country delegation burst into laughter again, and some even whistled.
Lin Xiaomei stood there, trembling all over.
Images flashed before her eyes: Xu Weidong lying in the hospital bed, the workers toiling day and night, the massive explosion that nearly claimed everyone's lives...
But she couldn't say anything.
There's nothing we can do.
She could only stand there, letting the laughter cut into her heart like knives.
When the M country's convoy finally left, the steel mill fell into a terrible silence.
No one speaks.
No one moved.
Everyone stood still, as if their souls had been ripped out.
Suddenly, a loud bang!
Old fitter Zhang Desheng smashed his pipe to the ground, breaking it in two.
"I curse those American ancestors for eighteen generations!!"
The old man's roar was like a thunderclap, shattering the deathly silence.
Immediately afterwards, as if a floodgate had been opened, the workers' curses erupted instantly:
"Son of a bitch!"
"what!"
"I'll be back someday..."
Lin Xiaomei did not join.
She simply walked silently to the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and carefully rewrote the erased data, stroke by stroke.
Her hands were steady, without the slightest tremor.
After finishing writing, she turned to face everyone, her voice eerily calm:
"Starting today, we'll work in three shifts."
"Those whose injuries haven't fully healed are responsible for organizing the data."
"Those who can move, come with me to the workshop."
"980 MPa".
"We must do it."
In the hospital, Ji Xiaosong gently pushed open the ward door.
Xu Weidong's eyes were bloodshot, but dry, without a single tear.
"They're gone?" he asked.
Ji Xiaosong nodded.
"What did you say?"
Ji Xiaosong was silent for a moment, then repeated Karl's words verbatim:
He said it was like watching a group of primitive people trying to build a rocket.
Xu Weidong's breath caught in his throat for a moment.
Then, he slowly closed his eyes and whispered:
"……understood."
That night, the steel plant's lights shone as brightly as day.
Without any organization or mobilization, all the workers who could walk spontaneously returned to the workshop.
Lin Xiaomei hunched over her workbench, calculating the data over and over again.
Old Li walked over, leaning on his cane, and handed her a cup of tea that had gone cold.
"Don't ruin your health."
Lin Xiaomei didn't even look up: "I can't figure it out, so I can't sleep."
Old Li sighed and looked at the words on the blackboard.
"980 MPa, we can definitely do it."
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly picked up the chalk and added a line heavily below:
"It's not to prove anything to anyone."
"It's to let those people know..."
"They were wrong."
*
Ji Xiaosong stood at her doorstep, gazing at the lights that never went out in the direction of the steel factory.
A night breeze blew by, and she pulled her collar tighter.
Behind her, Ji Dan walked over gently and draped a coat over her shoulders.
"Are the children asleep?" Ji Xiaosong asked.
"Yes." Ji Dan nodded. "Xu Nian'an is very quiet tonight."
Ji Xiaosong gazed at the distant firelight and said softly:
"They will definitely succeed."
Ji Dan did not answer.
Because it knows:
Some dignity must be forged in steel.