Chapter 37: It’s Fixed
Li Changzhu seriously suspected he’d knocked his head loose from that bump earlier.
Why else would he have brought a girl he’d never met before into the textile factory?
And not only had he brought her into the factory, but he was now taking her to the main workshop to see their production machinery.
Li Changzhu wasn’t the only one who was dazed. An Guoming, who had been chatting with the old guard at the gate, was just as confused. Even now, he couldn’t forget the look in the old man’s eyes.
The guard seemed to be saying: ’You already know the director, so why were you wasting all that time talking to me?’
An Guoming, who had followed them inside in a daze, hadn’t found a chance to speak with An Ning. He could only trail obediently behind the group.
"This is the workshop. I’m telling you right now, if you can’t show me you know what you’re talking about, I’m not letting you lay a finger on anything."
"I understand."
Li Changzhu looked at the perpetually calm and composed An Ning. Regardless of whether this girl really knew her stuff, her courage alone was impressive.
"Director, you’re back! That carding machine is broken, and we’re all waiting on it to get work done."
"I know, I know. I’m going to take a look right now."
Li Changzhu walked in front. The workshop director who had just spoken kept looking behind Li Changzhu and asked anxiously, "Where’s the technician?"
"The technician didn’t come."
Those few words from Li Changzhu left the workshop director stunned. He scurried forward to catch up to the director.
"What? The technician isn’t here? Then what are we supposed to do? The whole workshop is waiting."
"We have no idea what’s wrong with this thing—it just broke down, and now the entire workshop is at a standstill."
The workshop director was truly anxious. In just a few short hours, a large blister had formed by his mouth. They had a production quota to meet, and this was causing a major delay.
Li Changzhu was just as anxious. If he weren’t so desperate, he wouldn’t be grasping at straws.
"Get the best technicians over here."
Li Changzhu gave the order, and the workshop director immediately went and brought back two master craftsmen, both of whom were familiar with all the procedures.
"Director, what’s the next step?"
Li Changzhu stood in front of the carding machine and said to the silent An Ning, "This is it. Take a look."
After he spoke, Li Changzhu couldn’t help but laugh at himself. ’I actually did it. What a rash decision.’
The workshop director beside them looked at An Ning, who had taken a step forward, and then looked at the director in confusion.
"Director, is she the master technician’s apprentice?"
"No, I just ran into her outside."
The director’s words almost made the workshop director faint. ’He just ran into her outside?’
"Wait, Director, what is going on here?!"
"I object! We can’t let her just mess with this machine."
The workshop director nimbly blocked An Ning’s path, and the two master craftsmen did the same.
They treated these machines better than their own wives.
It wasn’t just these men who were anxiously trying to stop her; An Guoming, standing behind them, was also frantic.
’What on earth did my little sister say? How did we end up inside, about to mess with the machinery?’
It seemed the machine was broken, but how could they possibly fix something like this? The most advanced electrical appliance their family owned was a flashlight.
But the machine in front of them, no matter how you looked at it, was ten thousand times more complex than a flashlight.
"Little sis—"
An Ning turned her head, giving An Guoming a reassuring smile. "It’s fine. I’m just looking."
At that moment, An Ning completely ignored everyone’s stares and comments. After scanning it with her spiritual power, the entire structure of the machine was already in her mind.
While she might not be an expert in farming, she excelled at anything technical.
She wanted to make money, and she needed a connection at the textile factory.
Her teacher used to say that when you don’t have a way in, you use your own skills to forge a new path.
And that was exactly what An Ning was doing right now.
"There should be another process before this machine. This machine cards the material that’s fed into it, turning the tangled material into long, straight, single fibers."
"There’s pressure equipment at both ends to create a feed point. The toothed components above rotate at an extremely high speed to help comb out impurities."
After An Ning’s simple explanation, she noticed that her surroundings had become dead silent.
She quickly replayed her words in her head, certain she hadn’t used any overly technical jargon that would seem too out of place.
"Can you really fix it?"
Li Changzhu looked at An Ning, now somewhat convinced.
An Ning gave a faint smile, bent down, and pointed a finger to a spot under the machine. "Something is missing here. It must have broken off. Replacing it should fix the problem."
One of the master craftsmen followed the direction An Ning was pointing, got right down on the floor, and took a look.
"Director, the cover plate is broken."
Li Changzhu instantly slapped his thigh and said to the still-dazed workshop director, "Go find out if we have a spare cover plate."
"Right, right!"
The workshop director ran to the storage room, found a cover plate, and ran back, asking the director, "How do we replace it?"
Everyone’s eyes once again focused on An Ning. An Ning told the truth, "I’ve never replaced one before. I can try to take it apart, but I can’t guarantee anything else."
Everyone’s gazes shifted again, the pressure now on Li Changzhu.
"Do it!"
Li Changzhu agreed. The workshop director found some tools for An Ning, who took them and began disassembling the machine, studying it as she went.
She laid the disassembled parts on the ground in an orderly fashion. The people around them all stood far back.
Behind them, An Guoming felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. ’My little sister is far too bold,’ he thought.
He was already mentally calculating how much money he’d have to earn to compensate for the damage if she took it apart and couldn’t put it back together.
’Still, my little sister is so smart.’
This was the first time An Guoming had ever truly realized this.
Meanwhile, An Ning had successfully replaced the damaged cover plate and was now reassembling the machine.
She worked at a steady pace, never rushing. Each movement was made with an effortless ease that exuded confidence, making everyone feel that what she was doing was absolutely right.
After tightening the last screw, An Ning put down the wrench in her hand and said to the director, "Try it."
Li Changzhu was incredibly nervous. He gestured to the workshop director, who took a deep breath and pressed the start button.
The WHIRRING sound of the machine started up, bit by bit, and then ran more and more smoothly.
"It’s working?"
"It’s working!"
"My god, that’s amazing! You’re amazing!"
The workshop director instantly turned into a star-struck fan, his eyes shining. ’We have to keep someone this talented here!’ he thought.
"Director?"
But Director Li Changzhu was already talking to An Ning.
"How about coming to work at our factory? You’d just be in charge of the machinery. I’ll give you a senior technician’s salary, forty-eight yuan a month. What do you say?"
"No."
An Ning rejected him so quickly that everyone wondered if she had misheard.
"Did you hear me clearly? I said—"
"I heard you clearly. But no, I like farming."
After saying this, An Ning gave Li Changzhu a slight smile and pointed to her second brother, whose emotions had been on a rollercoaster. "My second brother would like to buy some defective canvas fabric."
Having been rejected, Li Changzhu looked at An Guoming, then back at An Ning.
"You wanted to help me just for this?"
"Yes. And mainly because you were bold enough to let me try. I’ve never seen a machine like this before."
An Ning had indeed never seen such a primitive machine, but of course, no one else knew that. In fact, they all had the same feeling: this young woman was a genius.
She had taken it apart only once and then reassembled it all by herself.
If that wasn’t a genius, what was?