Fusion System: Rebirth in a Courtyard - Bird Fighting Chronicles

Chapter 32 A discerning eye spotters deception; concealed forging reveals the true nature of officia

In the forging workshop of the steel rolling mill at the end of April, a sudden, urgent whistle rang out as the furnace fire blazed brightly. Lin Chen had just handed the mass production drawings for the twist drills to his apprentice when the workshop communicator rushed in holding a notice: "Team Leader Lin, there's an urgent notice from the factory: a meeting of key technical personnel will be held at 3 PM this afternoon, to be chaired by the factory manager himself!"

As the blueprints were put away, a pale blue glow suddenly appeared on the system panel: "Detected that the host has thwarted three key schemes of the retirement group, reaching 8600 points, and the system level has been upgraded to level 3! Unlocked permanent function: Item Appraisal (can view the composition, age, flaws, and processing marks of non-living objects); Reward: Newbie Gift Pack: Mental Energy Recovery Agent x1, Points +500. Current Points: 9100 points."

Lin Chen was overjoyed. He lightly tapped the panel, and the description of the "Item Identification" function instantly became clear—it could not only see the material composition, but also accurately identify forging marks and quenching temperature differences during processing. He subconsciously looked at the vise beside him, and the identification results immediately appeared: "Cast iron vise, carbon content 3.2%, manufactured in 1955, with 3 hidden cracks in the jaws (caused by overloading)."

"Team Leader Lin, what are you daydreaming about?" Liu Haizhong's voice came from behind. He was wearing a brand-new blue overall, with a shiny Chairman Mao badge pinned to his collar, clearly having dressed up carefully. "I heard the technical meeting this afternoon is going to discuss the promotion of workshop team leaders. You'll have to put in a good word for me."

Lin Chen turned to look at him, activating the appraisal function to scan the file bag in his hand—half a forging blueprint was visible inside, with obvious signs of modification next to the "alloy composition" label on the paper. "Master Liu, promotion depends on hard skills, I dare not speak carelessly." Lin Chen replied calmly, recalling Liu Haizhong's weakness of being "ambitious for officialdom" in the outline, as well as the dirt on him embezzling scrap iron from the workshop, and he already had a plan in mind.

Liu Haizhong, however, thought he was making an excuse, so he quickly leaned forward and lowered his voice: "I know you're highly regarded by the factory director now. Here's the thing, I recently got a batch of good materials and would like to ask you to help forge a few 'special' parts. I'll give you two jin of grain coupons after you do it." As he spoke, he patted the file bag, his eyes full of eagerness—after losing the election for deputy workshop director last month, he pinned all his hopes on this promotion and planned to send the deputy factory director in charge of technology a custom-made forging as a "stepping stone".

Lin Chen feigned a moment's hesitation: "Custom forgings are fine, but I have to personally oversee the materials. There have been several material issues in the workshop lately, and I don't want to ruin my reputation." Liu Haizhong immediately nodded: "No problem! I'll deliver the materials to your workshop this afternoon, and we can work overtime tonight?"

At the afternoon technical meeting, the factory manager indeed announced the promotion quota, with only one spot available for the group leader in the forging workshop. Liu Haizhong sat in the front row, his back ramrod straight, glancing at the factory manager every now and then, his eyes practically overflowing with longing. When it was Lin Chen's turn to report on the mass production progress of twist drills, he specifically mentioned that "the quality of some forgings is unstable, and strict control over material selection is necessary," implying the importance of material quality control, which drew frequent nods from the deputy factory manager.

When the meeting ended, Liu Haizhong dragged Lin Chen straight to his studio and brought over a heavy wooden box: "Look, this is all the 'good stuff' I got from the scrap yard. They said it's alloy scraps discarded by former military units." Lin Chen opened the wooden box and activated the identification function—the "alloy" inside was actually ordinary carbon steel mixed with a small amount of scrap copper, and the surface was deliberately polished to have a metallic luster. It did not meet the strength requirements of custom forgings at all.

"The materials are indeed excellent." Lin Chen deliberately showed a satisfied expression. "However, the temperature of this alloy needs to be precisely controlled at 1200℃ during forging, and it also needs to undergo three tempering processes. I estimate that working overtime tonight won't be enough time, and we won't be able to deliver it until tomorrow." Liu Haizhong was afraid that he would change his mind, so he quickly said, "No rush, no rush, you can still deliver the gift the day after tomorrow!" After saying that, he happily left with the blueprints in his pocket.

After he left, Lin Chen immediately took out genuine low-quality steel from the warehouse and mixed in a small amount of sawdust. According to the system prompt, parts forged from this material have a smooth surface and show no problems in the short term, but they will break when subjected to pressure exceeding 50 kilograms. He activated the fusion function to melt and cast the material into the shape shown in the blueprint, and deliberately engraved a tiny "Lin" mark on the bottom of the forging as evidence for his later "proof of innocence".

Returning to the courtyard house in the evening, the first thing I smelled upon entering the central courtyard was the stench of burning chicken feathers. Jia Zhangshi stood with her hands on her hips at Yan Bugui's door, shouting with spittle flying, "Old Yan! I saw your Yan Jiecheng steal my chickens with my own eyes! You have to pay me back with a hen today, or I'll report you to the neighborhood committee!"

Yan Bugui sat on the threshold, fiddling with an abacus, his face ashen: "You're talking nonsense! My Jiecheng has been doing his homework all day. When did he steal your chickens? Besides, your chicken coop door wasn't even closed. Maybe he just ran away!" The two argued until their faces were red, attracting a crowd of neighbors. Yi Zhonghai stood aside, trying to mediate, but because of the deaf old lady's cold reception after the counterfeit money incident, not many people were willing to listen.

Lin Chen squeezed through the crowd and saw a tuft of black chicken feathers on the ground, along with half a gnawed chicken head. He activated the identification function and scanned the chicken feathers—"Ordinary domestic chicken feathers, containing trace amounts of kerosene," and then looked at the chicken head: "The skin of the chicken head has teeth marks, which match the teeth marks left by Jia Geng when he stole sweet potatoes last time."

"Aunt Jia, did you feed your chickens kerosene to treat them for parasites?" Lin Chen suddenly asked. Jia Zhangshi was taken aback. "Yes, I just fed them yesterday. How did you know?" Lin Chen pointed to the chicken feathers on the ground. "These feathers smell of kerosene, and the teeth marks on the chicken's head are clearly from a child. Yan Jiecheng is fifteen this year; he wouldn't leave such shallow teeth marks from biting a chicken's head, would he?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's attention turned to Jia Geng, who was hiding behind Jia Zhangshi. His face was pale, and he instinctively shrank behind his mother. Jia Zhangshi panicked, "Don't make false accusations! My Geng Geng is only ten years old, how could he have the strength to kill a chicken?" Lin Chen smiled, "Killing a chicken doesn't necessarily require great strength. Last time our sweet potatoes were stolen, Jia Geng smashed them open with a stone; he was quite strong. Besides, I saw him hiding a bloodstained knife in the woodpile in the corner of the yard this morning. Should we search it?"

Jia Geng burst into tears and ran home. Knowing she couldn't hide it any longer, Jia Zhangshi threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground: "My child is hungry! We're starving, that's why he stole the chicken! Old Yan, your family is well-off, what's wrong with paying for a chicken?" Yan Bugui was so angry his hands trembled. Just as he was about to retort, Lin Chen pulled half a jin of grain coupons from his pocket: "Aunt Jia, take these coupons to buy grain. Stealing chickens is wrong, but it's pitiful that the child is hungry. However, if you steal again, no one will help you."

Upon seeing the grain coupons, Jia Zhangshi immediately stopped her tantrum, took the coupons, and dusted herself off. "Director Lin is so generous!" she exclaimed, then pulled Jia Geng towards home. Yan Bugui looked at Lin Chen gratefully. "Little Lin, thank you so much for today. I can't let you pay for the chicken; I'll bring you a pound of flour." Lin Chen waved his hand. "No need, Teacher Yan. We're neighbors; helping each other is only right."

After the crowd dispersed, Yi Zhonghai walked up to Lin Chen, hesitant to speak. Lin Chen knew what he wanted to say—after the counterfeit money incident, his prestige in the courtyard had greatly diminished, and he wanted to use this "mediation" to rebuild his image, but Lin Chen had beaten him to it. "Master Yi, if you have something to say, just say it," Lin Chen said.

Yi Zhonghai sighed, "Xiao Lin, you're becoming more and more capable, but the interpersonal relationships in this courtyard are complicated. It's not good to be too high-profile. Take Liu Haizhong, for example. He's petty. You can help him with forging, but don't get involved in his promotion, lest you get yourself into trouble." Lin Chen sneered inwardly, but nodded outwardly, "Thank you for the reminder, Master Yi. I know what I'm doing."

The next morning, Lin Chen handed the forged parts to Liu Haizhong. Liu examined the parts repeatedly, his face smooth and the patterns clear, and he beamed with satisfaction: "Team Leader Lin's craftsmanship is excellent! The deputy factory director will definitely be satisfied with these parts!" He immediately slipped Lin Chen two jin of grain coupons and went to deliver the gift, humming a little tune. Lin Chen watched his retreating figure, carefully keeping the grain coupons—these two jin of grain coupons would serve as indirect evidence of Liu Haizhong's "bribery."

Around noon, a loud crash suddenly erupted from the workshop. When Lin Chen arrived, he saw Liu Haizhong slumped on the ground, a large crater in the test bench in front of him, and the forging he had delivered broken in two. The deputy factory director stood to the side, his face ashen: "Liu Haizhong! What kind of junk did you deliver? I just used it to do a pressure test, and it broke before even reaching the rated pressure! If it had been installed on a machine, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Liu Haizhong was sweating profusely with anxiety: "Impossible! This is made of military-grade alloy, forged personally by Lin Chen!" He turned to look at Lin Chen, his eyes filled with resentment: "Lin Chen! Did you deliberately make me a substandard forging? You want to ruin my promotion opportunity!"

Lin Chen remained calm, picked up the broken forging, and pointed to the "Lin" mark on the bottom: "Master Liu, this was indeed forged by me, but there's a problem with the material. What you gave me wasn't some military alloy at all, but ordinary carbon steel mixed with scrap copper. This kind of material simply cannot meet the pressure test requirements. I felt something was wrong with the material at the time, but you said you needed it urgently, so I could only forge it according to your requirements."

"You're talking nonsense! The materials I gave you are the best!" Liu Haizhong roared. Lin Chen took out a sample of materials he had prepared in advance: "This is the leftover material you gave me. I've already had the technical department test it, and the report is here." He handed over the test report, which clearly stated the material composition. The deputy factory director's face turned even worse after reading it.

"Liu Haizhong, you actually used substandard materials as a bribe to get promoted, and you even tried to frame Team Leader Lin!" The deputy factory manager trembled with anger. "From today onwards, you are removed from your team leader position and demoted to a regular worker! The factory will deal with your problem seriously!" Liu Haizhong slumped to the ground, his face ashen—not only was his promotion hopeless, but he had also lost his current position.

After dealing with Liu Haizhong's matter, Zhou Jianguo patted Lin Chen on the shoulder: "Xiao Lin, thanks to your meticulousness this time, otherwise our workshop's reputation would have been ruined. Don't worry, the factory will give you credit." Lin Chen smiled and said, "It's what I should do. By the way, Director Zhou, I'd like to apply for an upgrade to the workshop's equipment; the current equipment can't keep up with the demands of mass production."

Zhou Jianguo immediately agreed: "No problem! I'll write the application for you right away, and I'll talk to the factory manager." Lin Chen was secretly delighted—after the equipment upgrade, he would be able to use the system to integrate more complex parts and further enhance his status in the workshop.

Back at the courtyard house that evening, Lin Chen heard bursts of shouting and cursing coming from Liu Haizhong's house. He was venting his anger on his wife and children; the wife's cries and the children's pleas for mercy were irritating. Lin Chen leaned against the doorway and activated his identification function, scanning the Liu family's window—there was a new crack in the glass, clearly smashed by Liu Haizhong in his anger.

"Director Lin, are you home?" Yan Bugui's voice came through the phone. He was carrying a cloth bag and had a fawning smile on his face. "Thanks to you for clearing my name today. This is some flour that my family ground ourselves. Please accept it." Lin Chen couldn't refuse, so he accepted it: "Teacher Yan, you're too kind."

The two entered the room and sat down. Yan Bugui hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Xiao Lin, I heard you're very capable in the workshop. Could you do me a favor? My son, Jiecheng, wants to become an apprentice in the steel rolling mill. Could you talk to the workshop director for me?" Lin Chen remembered the stigma of Yan Bugui "providing paid tutoring" in the syllabus and had an idea: "Teacher Yan, getting into the steel rolling mill requires an exam, and I can't use connections. However, I can tutor Jiecheng in technical skills. As long as he passes the exam, I guarantee the workshop will hire him."

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up: "Really? Thank you so much! I'll call Jie Cheng over right now to kowtow to you!" Lin Chen quickly stopped him: "No need to be so polite. But I have one condition: you must stop offering paid tutoring in the future. If the school finds out, it will not only affect your job, but also Jie Cheng's admission."

Yan Bugui's face flushed instantly—he hadn't expected Lin Chen to know about his paid tutoring. "I...I'll never do it again," he quickly promised, but he knew very well that Lin Chen had caught him red-handed. If he didn't agree, not only would his son's job be ruined, but his own reputation would also be destroyed.

After seeing Yan Bugui off, Lin Chen activated the system panel, which displayed: "The host has successfully thwarted Liu Haizhong's conspiracy to advance his career, exposing the fact that he used inferior materials as gifts, completing the 'Combating Officialdom Obsession' mission, points +1000. Persuading Yan Bugui to stop his paid tutoring, completing the 'Correcting Unhealthy Trends' mission, points +500. Current total points: 10600."

Just as Lin Chen closed the control panel, he heard an arguing voice coming from outside the courtyard gate. He went out to see what was happening and saw Xu Damao being held captive by two policemen, his hands handcuffed. "Let me go! I didn't steal anything!" Xu Damao shouted, struggling. Jia Zhangshi stood to the side, saying smugly, "You still dare to argue! I saw you steal my chicken coop with my own eyes!"

It turned out that after being fired, Xu Damao hadn't been able to find work, and his family had run out of food. He decided to steal chickens from Jia Zhangshi's house to sell for money. However, he was caught red-handed by Jia Zhangshi as soon as he reached the chicken coop. After verifying the situation, the police coldly said, "Come with us to the police station for investigation!" Then they took Xu Damao away.

With her hands on her hips, Jia Zhangshi cursed at Xu Damao's retreating figure, "Serves you right! For stealing my chickens!" Lin Chen looked at her and sneered inwardly—this was just the beginning; next, it would be time to deal with Jia Zhangshi and Yi Zhonghai.

The next morning, Lin Chen had just arrived at the workshop when he received a notice to attend a meeting at the factory headquarters. The factory director personally greeted him and handed him a document: "Xiao Lin, this is a notice from the Municipal Bureau of Industry. They're holding a city-wide skills competition, and our factory has decided to send you. If you win an award, you'll not only receive a prize, but you'll also be directly promoted to a level seven forging worker!"

Lin Chen was overjoyed—the salary for a level seven forging craftsman was significantly higher than his current one, and he would have access to more core technologies. "Please rest assured, Factory Manager, I will do my utmost!" he solemnly promised. The Factory Manager nodded in satisfaction: "Good! The factory will arrange dedicated time for you to prepare. Just let us know if you need any equipment or materials."

Back in the workshop, Lin Chen immediately began preparing for the skills competition. He planned to develop a "high-strength wear-resistant gear," whose hardness and toughness far exceeded existing products. If he could successfully develop it, he would not only win an award in the competition but also bring huge economic benefits to the workshop.

He activated the system and checked the fusion formula: "High-strength wear-resistant gear: chromium steel + molybdenum steel + vanadium steel, fusion temperature 1500℃, requires three forgings + two quenchings." Lin Chen immediately applied to the factory for these three materials, and the factory manager gave him special permission to supply them on a priority basis.

For the next few days, Lin Chen spent all his time in the studio, repeatedly adjusting the fusion parameters. During this time, Sha Zhu came to visit him several times, bringing him food and helping him clean the studio. "Lin Chen, if you need any help, just let me know," Sha Zhu said sincerely. Lin Chen smiled and said, "Thank you, Master Sha Zhu. I'll contact you if I need anything."

That evening, Lin Chen was forging gears when he suddenly heard a noise at the workshop door. He looked up and saw Yi Zhonghai standing there, looking at him with a complicated expression. "Master Yi, is there something you need?" Lin Chen stopped what he was doing and asked.

Yi Zhonghai walked in and looked at the gear blank on the ground: "Xiao Lin, the technology behind your gears is very advanced. If you can successfully develop it, our factory won't have to rely on imports for gears anymore." Lin Chen nodded: "I'm trying." Yi Zhonghai hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: "Xiao Lin, I know I was prejudiced against you before, and I even helped Qin Huairu and the deaf old lady scheme against you. I apologize to you here, and I hope you can forgive me."

Lin Chen sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm: "Master Yi, let's not dwell on the past. We're all working for the workshop's development; let's cooperate well from now on." Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright! Alright! If you have any technical questions in the future, feel free to ask me; I'll answer them to the best of my ability." As he spoke, he pulled a notebook from his pocket: "This is a summary of my years of fitter experience; it should be helpful for your skills competition."

Lin Chen took the notebook and scanned it using the appraisal function—the notebook contained only basic fitter knowledge, with no mention of core technologies. "Thank you, Master Yi, I will study it carefully." Lin Chen calmly accepted the notebook, knowing full well that Yi Zhonghai was trying to win him over. After all, his position in the workshop was rising, and Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu were no longer reliable.

After Yi Zhonghai left, Lin Chen looked at the notebook, a cold smile playing on his lips. He activated the system, fusing the basic knowledge in the notebook with his own forging skills. The system notification read: "Fusing successful. Obtained 'Advanced Forging Skill Book', points -2000. Current points: 8600."

After absorbing the advanced skill book, Lin Chen's forging skills improved to a new level. He picked up the gear blank and forged it again, his technique becoming even more skillful and precise. After a night of hard work, the first high-strength, wear-resistant gear was finally born. Lin Chen used the system to assess it: "High-strength, wear-resistant gear, hardness HRC68, toughness 1200MPa, service life three times that of ordinary gears, overall rating: perfect."

The next day, Lin Chen sent the gears to the technical department for testing. When the results came back, the entire department erupted in excitement. "Team Leader Lin, you're amazing! These gears perform even better than the imported ones!" Xiao Li exclaimed excitedly. Zhou Jianguo, carrying the test report, ran all the way to the factory manager's office to report the good news.

After reviewing the report, the factory manager immediately decided, "Start mass production of these gears right away! Lin Chen, use this project to compete in the skills contest. I believe you can definitely win the championship!" Lin Chen nodded, filled with confidence. He knew that this skills contest was not only for personal honor, but also to thoroughly consolidate his position in the steel rolling mill and lay a more solid foundation for future counterattacks.

Back at the courtyard house, Lin Chen shared the good news with Sha Zhu. Sha Zhu slapped his thigh excitedly, "That's great! Lin Chen, if you win the championship, you'll be a top technical expert in our factory! I'll treat you to braised pork in the canteen!" Lin Chen smiled and agreed, "Okay, I'll go after the competition."

As the two were talking, they saw Jia Zhangshi peek through the doorway, her eyes filled with jealousy. Lin Chen knew she must have heard about his participation in the skills competition and was trying to cause trouble. Lin Chen sneered inwardly, activating the system to create an anti-theft bell using wire and a bell, which he installed at the workshop entrance—he wanted to see if Jia Zhangshi dared to cause any trouble.

Over the next few days, Lin Chen prepared materials for the skills competition while keeping an eye on the movements in the courtyard. Liu Haizhong became taciturn, always keeping his head down at work; Yan Bugui had his son Yan Jiecheng come to learn the skills from him, and his attitude was very respectful; Yi Zhonghai would occasionally come to the studio to "ask for advice" on technical issues, but in reality, he was trying to gather information; Jia Zhangshi, on the other hand, didn't make any moves, probably because she was frightened by the chicken theft incident last time.

That evening, Lin Chen was organizing documents in his studio when he suddenly heard the security bell ring. He immediately hid behind the door and saw Jia Zhangshi sneak in furtively, holding a pair of scissors, intending to cut the gear blueprints on the workbench. Lin Chen shouted, "Aunt Jia, what are you doing?"

Jia Zhangshi shuddered in fright, dropping the scissors. She turned to run, but Lin Chen blocked her way. "You want to ruin my drawings?" Lin Chen picked up the scissors, his eyes icy. Jia Zhangshi panicked: "I...I didn't mean to, I just wanted to take a look..." Lin Chen sneered: "Do you need scissors to look? Are you trying to sabotage my skills competition?"

At this moment, the neighbors, hearing the commotion, all rushed over. Seeing the scissors in Jia Zhangshi's hand and the blueprints on the ground, they understood what had happened. Yan Bugui frowned: "Jia Zhangshi, you've gone too far! Lin Chen is participating in the skills competition to bring honor to our courtyard house, how could you sabotage it?" Yi Zhonghai also spoke up: "Aunt Jia, you will be held responsible for what you've done!"

Seeing that she couldn't defy the public's anger, Jia Zhangshi immediately threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground and crying, "I was wrong! I was confused for a moment! Director Lin, please forgive me!" Lin Chen, observing her behavior, already had a plan in mind: "I can forgive you, but you're not allowed to steal from the neighbors again, and you'll have to clean my studio for a month. If you do it again, I'll report you to the police!"

Jia Zhangshi quickly agreed, "I promise! I will definitely do it!" Only then did Lin Chen let her go. The neighbors all praised Lin Chen for doing the right thing. Yi Zhonghai looked at Lin Chen with fear in his eyes—he didn't expect Lin Chen to be not only skilled but also so ruthless. He would never dare to provoke him again.

After dealing with Jia Zhangshi's matter, Lin Chen returned to his studio and activated the system panel: "Host has successfully thwarted Jia Zhangshi's plot to sabotage the technical competition, completing the 'Protecting Achievements' mission, points +800. Current total points: 9400." Lin Chen clenched his fist, his eyes resolute—the technical competition was imminent, and the remnants of the retirement group wouldn't be able to cause trouble for much longer. His counterattack was about to enter a new phase.