Chapter 146 I don't manufacture machine tools, I'm just a conveyor of SOPs.

The conference room was filled with smoke.

The air was even more tense than in the workshop.

"Liu Dayong, you're full of crap!"

"What's wrong with our casting workshop?"

"These molds have been used for twenty years, and we've always done it this way. Why haven't I heard you complaining before?"

"Exactly!"

"Isn't it enough that our metalworking workshop mills the large surfaces flat?"

"If the hole position is slightly off, can't you just fix it with a reamer when you assemble it?"

"What's the big deal!"

A group of grown men were slamming the table and passing the buck to each other.

This was a deadlock.

A slight "good enough" upstream became a disaster downstream.

In the end, all the blame was dumped onto the final assembly workshop.

"That's enough."

Lin Xi tapped on the table.

The sound wasn't loud, but the conference room went silent instantly.

The person sitting next to Lin Xi.

Was the "outside aid" Lin Xi had specifically called in from the Magic City—

The workshop director from Hongfeng Factory, Old Zhang.

Unlike this group of directors from Spring City Factory.

Old Zhang was wearing clean work clothes, his hair was shiny, his face was ruddy, and his belly pushed his belt up high.

That air of prosperity was practically an anomaly among the worker population of this era.

"Let me introduce everyone to Director Zhang from the Magic City's Hongfeng Factory."

Lin Xi said indifferently, "A large portion of the core components for the m1 kit are OEM-manufactured by their factory."

Liu Dayong was full of anger with nowhere to vent.

He glanced at Old Zhang sideways and threw a sarcastic jab:

"Oh, you're from the Magic City?"

"It seems Manager Lin gives you guys pretty light tasks, you're so well-fed."

"We're working ourselves to death here, while you guys are having it easy."

Old Zhang didn't get angry; he slowly picked up his teacup and took a sip.

He sighed and patted his stomach.

"Oh, Director Liu, you don't know the half of it."

"I really don't want to do it anymore."

Old Zhang looked distressed,

"My performance bonus last month was too high, and my wife insisted I needed to build up my strength."

"Braised pork every day, big pork ribs at every meal, I've been eating that for twenty days straight!"

"Now I feel nauseous just smelling meat."

"I went to the hospital for a check-up, and the doctor said my blood lipids are high, calling it a 'disease of the rich'."

"Honestly, I really envy you guys at Spring City Factory."

"Eating corn buns every day, it's good for the stomach and healthy!"

Silence.

Dead silence.

Liu Dayong's mouth hung open.

The eyes of the surrounding directors turned green.

Listen to that!

Is that even human language?!

In this day and age, who isn't hoping and praying to eat a meal of meat?

And this guy, eating meat until he feels nauseous? Eating until he gets sick?

"Old Zhang, cut the crap."

Lin Xi tapped the table, cutting off Old Zhang's performance,

"Take the stuff out."

"Got it."

Old Zhang put away his punchable expression, pulled a thick booklet from his bag, and slammed it onto the table.

"Slap!"

The cover had big characters written on it—《C616-M1 Full Process SOP Operation Manual》.

"Director Liu, you just said that assembly is impossible without a file?"

Old Zhang opened the booklet and pointed to the dense diagrams inside.

"Manager Lin set the rules long ago."

"Casting workshop, blank allowance controlled within 2 millimeters."

"One millimeter more, and it's a five-yuan fine."

"Metalworking workshop, standardized reference surfaces."

"Hole position tolerance is plus or minus 0.1 millimeters; if it's off by even a hair, redo it."

"If everything upstream is done correctly, final assembly is just like putting together building blocks."

Old Zhang stood up and looked around,

"In our Hongfeng Factory, if anyone dares to pick up a file on the assembly line, I'll have them kicked out immediately!"

"Don't believe me?"

Old Zhang waved towards the door,

"Xiao Zhao, come in!"

The door was pushed open.

A young man, looking only seventeen or eighteen years old and full of youthful innocence, walked in.

He was wearing brand-new work clothes, holding neither a hammer nor a file.

He just held a pneumatic wrench and a card.

"This is an apprentice our factory just hired, he's been in the factory for less than two months."

Old Zhang pointed at the young man, "Director Liu, can I borrow your turf to practice?"

...

In the workshop.

Liu Dayong and a group of Eighth-Grade Workers gathered in a circle.

Watching the apprentice named Xiao Zhao as if watching a monkey show.

"Less than two months? Can he do final assembly?"

"Nonsense, I was an apprentice for three years before I even got to touch a lead screw."

Liu Dayong sneered repeatedly.

He didn't believe a mere kid could handle this kind of technical work.

Xiao Zhao was a bit nervous, his palms were sweating.

But he glanced at Lin Xi, then at the SOP card in his hand.

It had detailed step-by-step diagrams drawn on it:

Which screw to tighten first, how much torque to use, which side of the gasket to place—everything was clearly marked.

He took a deep breath.

Xiao Zhao started working.

He picked up the motor base and aligned it with the hole positions.

No hammering, no adjustments.

"Click."

It fit perfectly.

He put the pneumatic wrench on, "Zzz—zzz—", two seconds later, it was locked tight.

Next were the lead screw, guide rails, and control box.

Xiao Zhao was like an emotionless robot, requiring no thought, only execution.

As long as the card said "Next Step," he proceeded to the next step.

Because the precision of the preceding parts had been locked down by the SOP.

There was simply no such thing as "not fitting".

The surrounding chatter grew quieter and quieter.

Liu Dayong's face grew paler and paler.

Half an hour.

Only half an hour.

The final assembly of a C616-M1 CNC machine tool was complete.

Xiao Zhao pressed the power switch.

"Beep—"

The indicator light came on, the machine tool ran smoothly without a hint of noise.

"Passed... on the first try?"

Liu Dayong was stunned.

He had worked for thirty years and had never seen work done like this.

No alignment needed? No scraping? No relying on intuition?

"This is industrialization."

Old Zhang walked over to the dumbfounded Liu Dayong and patted his shoulder,

"Brother Liu, craftsmanship is craftsmanship, industry is industry."

"Industrialization requires no remediation."

"If final assembly still requires a file, then it is a disgrace to everyone who came before."

At this moment, Lin Xi walked over.

He held a brand-new Great Unity bill in his hand.

Ten yuan.

In this era, it was equivalent to more than a week's wages for an ordinary worker.

"Xiao Zhao."

Lin Xi handed the money to the apprentice who was still in a daze,

"This is your sample fee, and also today's bonus."

"Cash on the spot."

Boom!

The entire workshop exploded instantly.

All the workers' eyes turned red.

That look was like a pack of hungry wolves seeing fresh meat.

Half an hour, ten yuan?!

This isn't working, this is basically robbing money!

"Manager Lin! I can do it according to that card too!"

"Throw away my file! I don't need it anymore!"

"I want an SOP card too!"

"Whoever dares to give me unqualified parts, I'll fight them!"

...

Once the floodgates of desire are opened, they become a raging torrent.

When "good enough" became "must be precise."

When "experience" became "standard."

This aging state-owned factory seemed to have been injected with a shot of adrenaline and began to run wildly.

Upstream and downstream were connected instantly.

The production line, which had been as clogged as constipation, turned into a highway.

A month later.

Finished goods warehouse.

500 brand-new C616-M1 machine tools, like soldiers in formation, were neatly arranged there.

When Deputy Department Director Liu from the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building came for the inspection.

He stood at the warehouse door, stunned for a full five minutes without speaking.

"Amazing..."

Cui Yushan stood beside Lin Xi, looking at this "army of machine tools," his eyes slightly red.

"Manager Lin, you didn't just give us the brain of the M1."

"You've helped us cure the C616's decades-old ailment."

"Following this SOP, the original production capacity of the C616 can more than double!"

Lin Xi looked at this scene, his face not showing much joy.

"Factory Director Cui, last year the Jinzhou Textile Factory in Jiangsu Province already started the 'piece-rate wage system'."

"Worker income doubled, and Jinzhou Textile's production value grew by 18%."

"The times have changed, and we must keep pace with the times, otherwise we will be ruthlessly eliminated."

"This is the best of times."

Lin Xi pointed at the machine tools, then pointed at the azure sky outside the window.

"I still want to go with you to witness the stars and the sea belonging to China's industry!"