Chapter 143 Chen Xueming's Involvement

On the third day after returning from the southwest, Chen Xueming knocked on Lin Mo's door.

"Manager Lin, I want to go to the southwest."

Lin Mo looked up at him: "Go to the southwest? What for?"

"Station at the factory." Chen Xueming sat down opposite him. "I know that Divertor better than anyone. Li Xiao and I ran the design parameters together. I know exactly where problems are likely to occur and which tolerances must be strictly maintained. If we let Factory Director Liu and his team figure it out on their own, and they misunderstand something, three months of work will be wasted."

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds.

Chen Xueming was right. He had indeed participated in the entire design process of the Divertor. He could draw the layout of the cooling channels, the stress concentration areas, and the details requiring special treatment even with his eyes closed.

But stationing at the factory...

"Teacher Chen," Lin Mo began, "do you know what the conditions are like there? It's not the Gobi Desert; it's a mountain ravine. The factory is on the edge of a county town, and the accommodation conditions certainly won't compare to the base. If you go, it will be for at least three months."

Chen Xueming smiled: "Manager Lin, are you looking down on me?"

Lin Mo was taken aback.

"In all those years abroad, what kind of hardship haven't I endured?" Chen Xueming's gaze became somewhat distant. "When I first went, I rented a basement with no windows; I couldn't tell day from night. When I couldn't finish the work in the laboratory, I would sleep under the desk. The food in the Canteen was too expensive, so I cooked noodles for myself—I ate that for half a year."

He looked at Lin Mo, his tone calm: "Later, when conditions improved, I moved into an apartment with heating and hot water. But sometimes I still dream of that basement. Do you know why?"

Lin Mo shook his head.

"Because that period was when I progressed the fastest," Chen Xueming said. "No one to manage me, no one to help me; I had to shoulder every problem myself. Once I got through it, I wasn't afraid of anything anymore."

He stood up and patted Lin Mo's shoulder:

"So don't worry, I'm tough. A mountain ravine is just a mountain ravine, and three months is just three months. As long as I can get this thing made, I'm even willing to sleep next to the machine tool."

Lin Mo looked at him, a complicated emotion welling up in his heart.

This rival, who was once at odds with him, was now volunteering to go to the harshest place to struggle for three months for a single component.

"Teacher Chen," Lin Mo stood up, "I will go with you."

Chen Xueming waved his hand: "What are you going for? A pile of things at the base are waiting for you. The First Wall still needs to be watched, and the Tritium Cycle cannot do without you. If I leave for three months and then you leave, who will manage things here?"

Lin Mo opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Chen Xueming was right. He couldn't leave.

"Alright," Chen Xueming turned and walked out, "I'm going to pack my things and leave the day after tomorrow. Help me tell Li Xiao to open a remote interface for me for her Digital Twin System. If there are any problems, I will transmit data at any time, and you all can run simulations for me at the base."

Walking to the door, he stopped and turned back to look at Lin Mo:

"Manager Lin, three months later, I will bring back a qualified Divertor. You make sure all the other components are installed on your end. When the time comes, we will install it together."

Lin Mo nodded firmly.

Two days later, in a county town in the southwest.

Chen Xueming carried an old suitcase and stood at the entrance of the Southwest Aerospace Precision Machinery Factory.

The mountain wind in early winter was a bit cold. He tightened his coat and looked up at the faded sign. The guard at the gate walked over, checked his identification for a long time, and then let him in.

Liu Jianguo was already waiting at the entrance of the workshop.

"Teacher Chen, welcome, welcome!" He strode forward and shook Chen Xueming's hand. "Professor Lin called and said you were coming to station at the factory yourself. Our factory is small, and the conditions are simple; please bear with us."

Chen Xueming smiled and shook his head: "Factory Director Liu, you are too polite. I am here to work, not to enjoy myself. Where I stay doesn't matter, as long as I can work."

Liu Jianguo nodded, a bit more appreciation in his eyes.

"Let's go, let's see the dormitory first."

The dormitory was in an old building behind the factory area, on the third floor, facing north.

The room was not big, with a bed, a table, a chair, and a tin cabinet in the corner. The window was an old-fashioned sliding window, and the glass was covered with a layer of dust. The bathroom was at the end of the corridor and was shared.

Liu Jianguo felt a bit embarrassed: "Teacher Chen, the conditions are indeed simple. How about I book a hotel for you in the county town?"

Chen Xueming put down his suitcase and walked to the window to take a look. Outside the window was the roof of the factory building, and a little further away were rolling green mountains.

"No need." He turned around and said with a smile, "This is much better than I thought. There are windows, a table, and space for a computer. It's quite good."

Liu Jianguo was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"Teacher Chen, you are a genuine person."

That afternoon, Chen Xueming entered the workshop.

Liu Jianguo accompanied him and went through every process of the Divertor manufacturing. Cutting, rough machining, heat treatment, precision machining, inspection, assembly—six major processes, more than twenty small steps, each with dedicated equipment and workers.

When they walked to the inspection area, Chen Xueming stopped.

He stared at the coordinate measuring machine for a long time and then asked: "Factory Director Liu, what is the precision of this equipment?"

"0.003 millimeters," Liu Jianguo said. "Imported from Germany, bought just last year. All processed parts must pass through it; those that don't meet the standards are scrapped on the spot."

Chen Xueming nodded and pointed to the electron microscope next to it: "What about this?"

"Used for material testing. Every batch of tungsten-copper alloy must have its composition tested before entering the factory. If the copper content is off by 0.1%, it must be returned."

Chen Xueming breathed a sigh of relief.

The equipment was fine. Liu Jianguo wasn't bragging.

"Factory Director Liu," he said, "I want to see the first batch of raw materials."

Liu Jianguo took him to the raw material area. On several large trays, pieces of tungsten-copper alloy plates were neatly stacked, each half a person high, shimmering with a dark red metallic luster.

Chen Xueming squatted down and touched them with his hand. Cold, smooth, and very heavy.

"This batch of materials was just shipped from the Northeast," Liu Jianguo said. "Director Fang coordinated it; the original one-month delivery period was compressed to twelve days. They worked overtime to rush it out."

Chen Xueming stood up and patted the dust off his hands.

"Factory Director Liu," he said, "From today on, I am going to stick with you here. I want to watch every step of the processing. If there are any problems, we can discuss them at any time."

Liu Jianguo looked at him and suddenly asked: "Teacher Chen, have you done this before?"

Chen Xueming shook his head: "I haven't done machining before. But I have done design. I know where this thing is prone to problems and which tolerances must be strictly maintained. I can help you avoid unnecessary detours."

Liu Jianguo was silent for a few seconds, then extended his hand:

"Teacher Chen, with those words from you, I feel much more confident."

In the days that followed, Chen Xueming began a "workshop life."

Every morning at six, he went to work with the workers. At ten in the evening, when the workshop lights were turned off, he would return to the dormitory. He ate lunch in the workshop, gnawing on a steamed bun while looking at the blueprints. When the workers changed shifts, he didn't; when the machines rested, he didn't.

Sometimes, when Liu Jianguo got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, he would see the workshop lights still on. When he walked over to look, he would see Chen Xueming squatting next to a machine tool, holding a caliper, measuring the newly processed part.

"Teacher Chen, you are..." Liu Jianguo was startled.

Chen Xueming looked up, his eyes a bit red, but his spirit was still good: "I couldn't sleep, so I came over to check. This batch of parts has to enter the next process tomorrow. I'm measuring them again to feel at ease."

Liu Jianguo opened his mouth, but in the end, he only said: "You... you should rest early."

Chen Xueming nodded and continued to lower his head to measure the parts.

The first problem appeared in the second week.

In the precision machining process, the dimensions of a few cooling channels were always 0.01 millimeters too large. Although they were still within the tolerance range, Chen Xueming was not at ease.

"Factory Director Liu," he slammed the inspection report on the table, "these channels have been consistently too large for three consecutive batches. Although they haven't exceeded the standards, what if they get more and more off in the future?"

Liu Jianguo frowned: "I'll have the workers adjust the parameters."

"It's not the workers' problem," Chen Xueming shook his head. "I've checked; it's tool wear. How long has this set of tools been used?"

Liu Jianguo thought for a moment: "Half a month."

"Change it," Chen Xueming said. "No matter how long it has been used, as long as you find a dimensional deviation, change it."

Liu Jianguo was a bit hesitant: "Teacher Chen, this set of tools is imported; one set costs tens of thousands..."

Chen Xueming looked at him, his tone calm but firm:

"Factory Director Liu, a single Divertor costs tens of millions to build. If, because we saved a few tens of thousands on a set of tools, the Divertor has problems and the whole device fails to ignite, who can take that responsibility?"

Liu Jianguo was silent.

Three seconds later, he turned and said to the worker next to him: "Change the tool."

In the evening, Chen Xueming called Lin Mo.

"Manager Lin, the first batch of parts passed the initial inspection. The error is controlled within ± 0.015 millimeters."

On the other end of the phone, Lin Mo's voice was filled with surprise: "So fast? Didn't you say it would take at least a month?"

Chen Xueming smiled: "The workers on Factory Director Liu's side are capable, working twenty-four hours in shifts. I haven't been idle either, watching every day, solving problems on the spot."

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Teacher Chen, thank you for your hard work."

Chen Xueming shook his head, although he knew Lin Mo couldn't see: "What hard work? I'm a person who can't be idle. Having something to do makes me feel at ease."

He paused and asked again: "How is it at the base?"

"The main construction is finished," Lin Mo said. "Equipment installation starts tomorrow. The First Wall, magnets, and Vacuum Chamber will all be arriving one after another."

Chen Xueming felt a warmth in his heart.

It was almost time.

Three months later, when his Divertor was installed, the whole device would be complete.

"Manager Lin," he said, "don't worry about my side. Three months, guaranteed quality and quantity, I will definitely complete the task."

Lin Mo's voice was a bit hoarse: "Teacher Chen, take care of your health."

Chen Xueming smiled:

"Don't worry, I'm tough."

Hanging up the phone, he stood in front of the dormitory window, looking at the pitch-black night outside.

In the distance, the lights of the factory building were still on; that was the workers working overtime to rush the work.

He suddenly remembered thirty years ago, when he had just gone abroad. At that time, he was also alone, also in a strange place, and also struggling for a goal.

But at that time, it was for himself.

Now, it was for that Artificial Sun that was about to be lit.

Chen Xueming smiled, turned around, and lay back on the bed.

Tomorrow would be a new day.