Major Heavy Industry: Starting with a Fake Marriage

Chapter 9 You're Hiding Your Talents

Jiang Cheng took it, opened it, and saw several white steamed buns and a small packet of pickled vegetables. He knew Zheng Yanxi wasn't very good at cooking, and he wondered how much effort it must have taken to make these buns.

"Thank you," he said.

Zheng Yanxi lowered her head and said after a while, "When you get there, study hard. Don't worry about me."

Jiang Cheng looked at her, then suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms. Zheng Yanxi stiffened, but did not struggle.

"Wait for me to come back," Jiang Cheng said.

Zheng Yanxi gave a soft "hmm".

The next morning, Jiang Cheng boarded a bus bound for the provincial capital. Outside the bus window, Zheng Yanxi stood at the factory gate, and remained there until she was out of sight.

The shuttle bus bumped along the dirt road, kicking up a trail of dust. Jiang Cheng leaned against the window, his mind a jumble of thoughts. Training, technology, interpersonal relationships, Zheng Yanxi… all these things were mixed together, making him somewhat irritable.

How can we apply the knowledge we have learned to the present day?

How to protect yourself in complex interpersonal relationships?

……

For a moment, Jiang Cheng even had the urge to escape.

But what he didn't know was that an even bigger undercurrent was waiting for him ahead.

The training course in the provincial capital was located in the cadre school under the Machinery Department, a three-story building with two rows of bungalows in the courtyard serving as dormitories. When Jiang Cheng reported for duty, he found that there were quite a few people there for training; a rough count revealed forty or fifty, all workers from all over the province.

The person in charge of reception was a clerk surnamed Liu, in his thirties, with a very businesslike expression. He glanced at Jiang Cheng's letter of introduction and said, "From Shencheng Hongxing Factory? Stay in room 302, a triple room. There's a meeting in the auditorium at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, don't be late."

Jiang Cheng carried his luggage to room 302. The door was open, and someone was already inside. A tall, thin man was making the bed. Hearing the noise, he turned around, grinned, and said, "New here? My name is Li Jianguo, from Anshan Iron and Steel."

"Jiang Cheng, Shenyang Hongxing Machinery Factory." Jiang Cheng put down his luggage and looked around the room. There were three beds, two of which were already made up, and the remaining one by the window was his.

Li Jianguo was very hospitable, helping Jiang Cheng unpack his things while saying, "You've come at the right time. There's another guy in our room, Wang Tiezhu, from Chunyang Heavy Machinery Factory. He went out to buy some things. The three of us are all from Liaoning, what a coincidence!"

Jiang Cheng was impressed with the enthusiastic young man. After chatting for a while, he learned that Li Jianguo was a maintenance worker at Ansteel, a level six fitter, two levels higher than him. But Li Jianguo spoke very honestly: "My level six is ​​something I earned through years of experience; I don't have much real skill. I heard you're level four, but you've solved major problems with imported equipment? Impressive!"

Jiang Cheng made a few modest remarks. Just then, the door was pushed open, and a burly man entered, carrying a bag of apples. Seeing Jiang Cheng, he grinned: "Oh, a newcomer? Wang Tiezhu, just call me Zhuzi."

The three quickly became acquainted. They ate dinner together that evening, and Li Jianguo and Zhuzi insisted on treating each other. Jiang Cheng couldn't refuse, so he had to let them have their way.

The next morning, at the opening ceremony, a deputy director of the Machinery Department gave a speech, the gist of which was that for industry to develop, technology must come first, and that they were the backbone selected from across the province, so they should cherish the opportunity and study hard. Jiang Cheng listened below, but what he was thinking about was what the factory would be like when he returned in three months.

The training course was packed: theory classes in the morning, practical classes in the afternoon, and self-study in the evening. The instructors were all experts from various units in the province, some from research institutes, some from universities, and some from large factories. Jiang Cheng was in his element—the courses weren't difficult for him. Apart from needing to catch up on the practical skills, the theoretical knowledge was a piece of cake. But he had to act like a real novice worker.

For the first month, he carefully controlled his behavior. In class, he only asked "normal" questions; during practical exercises, he deliberately made small mistakes, then "suddenly realized" and corrected them. He wanted to keep a low profile, at least for the time being.

But some things can't be avoided.

One afternoon in the second month, the practical lesson involved analyzing a faulty machine tool. The instructor was an elderly engineer surnamed Chen, in his fifties, with gray hair and a very serious demeanor. He divided the trainees into several groups, giving each group a faulty machine tool and requiring them to identify the problem and write a repair plan within two hours.

Jiang Cheng's group was assigned an old-fashioned lathe. The group circled the machine tool for a while, and Li Jianguo scratched his head: "This thing looks pretty new, what's wrong with it?"

Wang Tiezhu squatted down, looking here and touching there, but still couldn't figure it out.

Jiang Cheng observed for a while and realized what was going on—the spindle bearing was worn, causing excessive radial runout. But he wondered whether he should say something?

Time ticked by. The others in their group grew increasingly anxious. Li Jianguo said, "How about we just guess?"

"No way." Jiang Cheng shook his head. He didn't want to stand out too much, but he also couldn't bear to see these people submit blank papers. He pointed to the spindle box: "Listen, the sound here is wrong."

Several people crowded around to listen. Wang Tiezhu said, "It sounds like there's some static?"

"Yes, it might be a problem with the bearing," Jiang Cheng said. "Let's take it apart and take a look."

Disassembling the spindle box was a delicate task; it took several people working together for half an hour to finally expose the bearing. Sure enough, the ball bearings showed obvious signs of wear.

"It really is a bearing!" Li Jianguo exclaimed excitedly. "Jiang Cheng, you're amazing!"

Jiang Cheng quickly said, "It's just a coincidence, I was just guessing."

Engineer Chen appeared behind them at some point, glanced at the bearing, then at Jiang Cheng, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He didn't speak, but simply jotted something down in his notebook.

When get out of class ended, Engineer Chen stopped Jiang Cheng: "Your name is Jiang Cheng?"

"Yes."

"Have you worked with this type of machine tool before?"

Jiang Cheng's heart tightened, and he said, "We have similar ones in our factory. I've repaired them under the guidance of my master."

Engineer Chen nodded: "Who is your mentor?"

"Huang Deqing, Level 6 Fitter."

"Huang Deqing..." Engineer Chen thought for a moment, "Never heard of him. But someone who can train an apprentice like you must be quite capable."

Jiang Cheng didn't know what to say and could only stand there dumbfounded. Engineer Chen then said, "You did well today. But I'd like to remind you of something..."

"Please speak."

"You have talent and a solid foundation, but don't hide it too much." Engineer Chen looked at him. "I can tell you're intentionally holding back. Why?"

Jiang Cheng was stunned. He hadn't expected the old man to be so perceptive.

Engineer Chen laughed: "I've worked in the industrial system for decades and seen all sorts of people. Some are all talk and no action, while others are clearly capable but keep it to themselves. You belong to the latter. I don't know why you're doing this, but I want to tell you that in this industry, if you have the ability, you should show it. Hiding it is not only letting yourself down, but also letting down everything you've learned."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Jiang Cheng stood there, his mind in turmoil.