Master Hong had sharper eyes than the young apprentice and immediately sensed the tense atmosphere in the workshop.
Qi Fang’s expression was cold and stern, while Engineer Shen’s face was dark with anger. Everyone else was either openly or covertly watching the two of them.
But with age came the ability to play dumb at critical moments, even if one wasn’t actually slow-witted. So Master Hong simply asked the question outright.
His inquiry also eased the suffocating tension in the workshop—after all, no one could keep arguing in front of him.
Qi Fang was the first to withdraw his gaze from Engineer Shen, his tone indifferent. “Earlier, you mentioned the bulldozer—”
Before he could finish, Engineer Shen cut in coldly, “Did the modifications he made to your bulldozer cause problems?”
Qi Fang paused, looking back at him without a word. Master Hong also seemed at a loss for how to respond.
Seeing this, Engineer Shen grew even more certain. “I told you that solution wasn’t his idea. He’s biting off more than he can chew.”
He was genuinely furious. It was bad enough being criticized by superiors, but what right did Qi Fang, a mere mechanic, have to act this way?
In the days since Qi Fang had arrived, Engineer Shen hadn’t seen any real skill from him—just a willingness to work overtime for the extra pay.
His sneer deepened as he turned to Master Hong. “Just say it outright. No need to hold back. Let’s see what face he has to criticize others.”
Master Hong hesitated even more before finally lowering his booming voice. “No, actually… his modifications worked really well.”
The statement left Engineer Shen stunned, as well as everyone else from the county machinery factory.
Qi Fang? Made good modifications? Had they heard correctly?
If memory served, Engineer Shen had also inspected the machine once before…
Engineer Shen refused to believe it. “There was nothing wrong with your hydraulic system in the first place. What was there to modify?”
“Exactly,” Master Hong nodded in agreement, still speaking quietly. “So he had me modify the bucket instead. After that, it worked perfectly.”
“He told you to modify the bucket?” Engineer Shen was completely taken aback.
The others were equally surprised that the issue with the transmission system had been resolved by altering the bucket.
Qi Fang, however, remained unfazed. Ignoring Engineer Shen, he asked Master Hong directly, “Did you need something else?”
“Well, yes.” Master Hong glanced at Engineer Shen before lowering his voice further. “I wanted you to take another look and see if anything else needs adjusting. I feel like there’s still room for improvement.”
Without wasting words, Qi Fang said, “I’ll go with you.”
And just like that, the two of them left, leaving the rest of the workshop in an awkward silence.
After a long pause, Engineer Shen, his face still dark, followed them.
He simply couldn’t believe that Qi Fang, a lowly mechanic who only knew how to fix tractors, could also modify bulldozers.
Specialization was key—even he wouldn’t claim to understand every type of construction machinery.
Others soon trailed after them, since the testing area behind the factory was open to everyone.
Along the way, Master Hong explained to Qi Fang, “I wasn’t planning to make changes, but the test operators kept forgetting and cranking up the power too high.”
The bulldozer in the open field had clearly been in operation for a while. The smaller bucket, though less visually harmonious with the machine, moved with remarkable ease.
Master Hong and Qi Fang inspected it from below before calling the test operator down and climbing into the cab themselves.
“The hydraulic system’s fine now,” Master Hong said, patting the hydraulic cylinder. “But after running for a while, it doesn’t feel as smooth as when it first starts.”
“That’s normal,” Qi Fang replied, gesturing for him to touch the engine through the metal casing.
Master Hong did so and immediately jerked his hand back—it was hot enough to fry an egg. “Can this be fixed?”
“Yes. Add a cooling system to the engine.”
Qi Fang then gave Master Hong a look. “Or just stop every two hours to let it cool down.”
“Let’s stick with that for now,” Master Hong said, unwilling to add more costs.
Even though no further modifications were made this time, the onlookers still wore mixed expressions when the two descended from the bulldozer.
Master Hong, never one to whisper, remarked loudly as they stepped down, “I’ll submit it like this then. You really know your stuff—adjusting the bucket size was just the right move.”
So he really had fixed it… When Engineer Shen had inspected it before, he hadn’t offered any useful suggestions.
No one dared to look at Engineer Shen, but his expression was stormy all the same.
And while others avoided his gaze, Qi Fang didn’t. He walked right past Engineer Shen and said, “If you have a problem with me, just send me back.”
It was nothing short of a provocation. Engineer Shen didn’t even return to the workshop—he headed straight for the guardhouse to make a call.
“That trick you taught me didn’t work. He doesn’t care about ‘heart and soul’ or whether the project gets shelved. Besides, this has nothing to do with him. If you’re so determined to drag this out, come deal with him yourself.”
He couldn’t understand why Wu Xingde was so convinced that appealing to sentiment would sway Qi Fang—or why he was so sure Qi Fang even had the skills to fix the problem.
If Wu Xingde hadn’t been the lead developer and the one providing most of the materials, Engineer Shen would never have gone along with such an absurd plan.
After a long, fruitless attempt to calm him down over the phone, Engineer Shen returned to the workshop, where the others’ gazes felt even more judgmental.
It was as if they were thinking, And he calls himself an engineer from the research institute? Can’t even measure up to a mechanic.
Besides, Qi Fang wasn’t wrong—rushing out untested equipment and then expecting others to clean up the mess…
Within days, the whispers became outright murmurs.
Qi Fang might have been aloof, but he had no airs. If you asked for help, he actually delivered. Engineer Shen, on the other hand…
Moreover, the county’s batch of Jicai-50 machines had been repaired using Qi Fang’s method. Engineer Shen, despite his prestigious background, hadn’t contributed much.
Before Qi Fang demonstrated his competence, people had still viewed Engineer Shen with respect. Now, though…
The flaws were the research institute’s doing. If they couldn’t fix their own mistakes, why expect a mechanic to bail them out?
Engineer Shen was so furious he barely slept that night. Later, he called the institute again.
As for Qi Fang, he waited for the order to go home—but days passed with no word.
He began to suspect Wu Xingde was deliberately stalling to force him into handing over a solution in exchange for his release.
This confusion spilled into a letter he wrote to Yan Xue: “Is he really still unmarried at his age?”
Clearly referring to Engineer Shen, who had already been stuck here for over a month with no sign of leaving.
Yan Xue found it amusing. Seeing Yan Jigang hovering nearby, eager for news about his brother-in-law, she read the letter aloud to him.
Yan Jigang echoed the same bewilderment. “Y-Yeah, how c-come someone his age d-doesn’t have a wife? Or a b-brother-in-law?”
That really made Yan Xue laugh. “Well, he might genuinely not have a brother-in-law.” She playfully pinched Yan Jigang’s nose with her good hand. “Is that how much you miss your brother-in-law?”
Yan Jigang pursed his lips and smiled sheepishly. After a moment, he tugged at her sleeve again. "S-so, is Brother-in-law still not coming back?"
"Probably not for now," Yan Xue replied. Immediately, she saw the boy's head droop, clearly disappointed.
She wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "If you miss him, why not write him a letter too?"
In the past, Yan Jigang's eyes would have lit up at the suggestion, but today he kept his head down. "E-even if I write, Brother-in-law won’t come back."
This surprised Yan Xue. She studied him carefully. "Is there something you need to talk to him about?"
The boy was usually easy to console—he hadn’t even pressed her in letters when she’d been away for so long.
She worried Yan Jigang might have encountered something outside that he couldn’t share with her. After all, Qi Fang was the man of the household.
At her question, Yan Jigang lowered his head even further. "N-no." He even avoided her gaze.
This only deepened Yan Xue’s suspicion. She sighed deliberately. "Jigang’s grown up now. He doesn’t tell his sister anything anymore."
Yan Jigang panicked at once, grabbing her sleeve. "N-no!" He hurried to explain, "I-it’s just... if Brother-in-law doesn’t come back, th-then there won’t be a little nephew."
Yan Xue flushed at the implication but pressed on. "Who told you that?"
"N-no one," Yan Jigang mumbled, fiddling with his fingers. "J-just... Liu Weibin’s going to be an uncle."
Given Liu Weiguo’s boastful nature—he couldn’t keep quiet about becoming a father—it wasn’t surprising Liu Weibin would spread the news.
Still, concerned for her brother, Yan Xue later checked if he’d been bullied at school. Only after confirming he was fine did she relax.
When writing back to Qi Fang, she mentioned Yan Jigang’s remark about "not having a little nephew" and how much the boy missed him.
She left out the part about the nephew, though. Thankfully, her injury was on her left arm—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to write back, and the truth would have slipped out.
When Qi Fang read the letter, his gaze toward Engineer Shen turned even colder.
But Engineer Shen, realizing Qi Fang also wanted to leave, seemed less eager to go. Instead, he spent his days figuring out how to patch the system, as if competing to see who could outlast the other.
Qi Fang almost wanted to ask, like Yan Jigang, Don’t you have a wife? Don’t you have a brother-in-law?
But considering Wu Xingde’s pressure, even if this man left, someone else would likely be sent to replace him. He needed another plan.
So Qi Fang skipped overtime for four days straight, then wrote a thick letter and mailed it on the fifth.
Qu Mingli received the letter on a day he had a meeting. Though puzzled to see it was from Qi Fang, he set it aside unopened and attended the meeting first.
At the meeting, each forestry center reported their current logging progress. With the Jicai-50 back in operation, they were gradually catching up. Thanks to the RT-12 filling in earlier, delays had been minimal—especially for Jinchuan Forestry Center and others who’d sought Qi Fang’s repairs first.
Then someone proposed an idea: since the Jicai-50 was fixed, the RT-12s were no longer needed. Why not sell them?
"Our own workers have already found solutions, so the problem will be fully resolved soon. Keeping these machines idle just takes up space and requires maintenance—hardly cost-effective."
Qu Mingli frowned at how lightly the issue was dismissed. But if the equipment was unused, letting it sit was wasteful. He asked where they planned to sell them.
"Where else? These are relics from the '40s and '50s—no one would buy them," Director Liu cut in before the other man could answer.
Sure enough, the man nodded. "The whole machines aren’t sellable, but they’ve got valuable metals. Dismantled, they’d fetch a decent price."
They wanted to sell them as scrap. Qu Mingli’s frown deepened. "They haven’t even been decommissioned. Isn’t this too wasteful?"
"Sitting unused is the same as being scrapped. Selling now gets us a better price—wait a few years, and they’ll be worthless."
Director Liu was clearly in favor, and others voiced agreement or opposition, while some stayed neutral.
In the end, Qu Mingli postponed the decision, but Director Liu’s expression suggested he wouldn’t let it go.
Whether this was Director Liu’s idea or the other man’s, equipment sales in the unit could hide shady dealings. Qu Mingli could approve and see if someone tried to skim profits, catching them red-handed—but that would mean sacrificing the machines.
He needed a gentler solution. Heavy-handed suppression would only unite his subordinates against him, making his work harder.
As a newly appointed outsider, he couldn’t replace everyone. Some existing staff had to stay, so it was best to win some over while isolating others.
But he was young, and everyone knew he’d be promoted soon. With Director Liu likely to remain in charge, few would risk siding with him.
Lost in thought, Qu Mingli’s gaze landed on the unopened letter. He picked it up and unfolded it.
The letter was postmarked from the county machinery plant—maybe there was progress there.
As he read, his brow first furrowed in confusion, then lifted in surprise. By the end, even the tension in his forehead eased.
He took a sip of water, then called the county machinery plant. "Get me Qi Fang, on loan to your facility."
It was the first time anyone had asked for Qi Fang since his transfer. The guard fetched him, and Qi Fang’s response was brief: "Yes. Feasible. Low cost." The call ended quickly.
But soon after, the plant secretary’s phone rang. "Qi Fang from Jinchuan Forestry Center has been on loan to you long enough. It’s time for him to return."
The secretary was stunned. Despite their generous terms, Chengshui Forestry Bureau still wanted him back.
Hadn’t their Jicai-50s been fixed? Was there another issue?
But Qu Mingli was firm: they urgently needed Qi Fang. If the plant disagreed, they could continue their research alone.
Pressed further, he admitted their own technicians were limited—keeping Qi Fang wouldn’t help much anyway.
This caught Wu Xingde off guard. No one expected Qu Mingli to demand Qi Fang’s return.
And that wasn’t the only surprise. That Qi Fang would let his teacher’s work be questioned and dismissed was shocking.
Qi Fang revered his teacher. Last time, a mere comment had provoked him to violence.
But Qi Fang was on loan—his records were still with Chengshui, under Qu Mingli’s control. If Qu Mingli wanted him back, no one could stop it.
In the end, Wu Xingde still called Engineer Shen. "Come back. We'll figure it out ourselves. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find another way."
So Qi Fang finally packed up and prepared to return. While others might not have noticed, the few masters he had helped were reluctant to see him go. He had a sharp mind and broad knowledge, especially when it came to calculations—asking him was always the right move.
Of course, when Qi Fang returned to Chengshui, he didn’t go straight home. Instead, he went to the Chengshui Forestry Bureau.
Qu Mingli was in the middle of a meeting. "I’ve reconsidered Ma Fusheng’s suggestion from last time and still find it unsuitable. Our resources are tight—every bit must be used where it counts. The machines are still functional. Dismantling them for scrap metal would be a waste."
"Then what do you propose we do with them?" Director Liu asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer. "Most forestry farms across the country have already switched to the Jicai-50. The RT-12’s performance is just too outdated."
Qu Mingli had anticipated this question. Shifting the topic, he said, "Right now, the farms rely almost entirely on small trains for transportation. It’s too limited. If anything happens to the tracks, the entire forestry operation would be cut off. And repairing those tracks isn’t cheap either."
The sudden mention of road infrastructure made Director Liu frown, but someone else chimed in, "What are you suggesting?"
"I have documentation here on modifying tractors into bulldozers and excavators. It’s entirely feasible—you can take a look." Qu Mingli picked up the stack of papers beside him. "Our forestry roads have needed repairs for ages, but we’ve lacked the proper tools. It’s all been manual labor, with maybe a tractor rolling over the ground a few times."
This wasn’t unique to their era. Even into the 1980s, China’s construction projects relied heavily on manpower. Engineering machinery was in critically short supply.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to build roads. But when you had to pull people from various units and schools for volunteer labor, how efficient could it really be?
Hearing that Qu Mingli proposed modifying tractors into bulldozers and excavators, some immediately took the documents to examine, while others remained skeptical—Director Liu among them. "Is this really reliable?"
"The county machinery factory has already successfully modified one unit. I can have the person behind this documentation explain it in detail." Qu Mingli promptly sent someone to fetch Qi Fang from his office.
Many in the room remembered Qi Fang, especially those who had heard about how he solved the Jicai-50 issue. Section Chief Miao, in particular, had a strong impression of him.
Seeing him again now, some understood immediately, while others felt less than pleased. A few even fired pointed questions at him.
Director Liu zeroed in on costs. "Making all these modifications can’t be cheap, can it?"
"There’s a cost estimate at the end," Qi Fang flipped to the last page. "If procurement goes smoothly, the variance shouldn’t exceed 10%."
"That’s not too bad," murmured the deputy director beside him, who had an accounting background and quickly did the math.
Others took the documents to review, and as expected, opinions split into two factions—just like every other meeting.
"Since we can’t decide, let’s hear from the forestry farms," Qu Mingli interjected. "The machines are theirs, and the roads are for their use."
Given the choice between scrapping the machines and turning them into bulldozers and excavators, the farms would undoubtedly choose the latter. Scrapping them wouldn’t benefit them at all.
Director Liu fell silent, though his displeasure was obvious. Not long after returning to his office, he summoned the bureau’s accounting and supply departments.
If Qu Mingli and that Qi Fang from Jinchuan Forestry Farm were so set on modifying bulldozers and excavators, he’d make sure the costs gave them trouble. Surely there’d be defective parts—let’s see how they’d manage when things didn’t fit.
Even after venting, Director Liu still felt aggrieved.
He should have been the bureau’s Party secretary. Instead, Qu Mingli had swooped in and made everything difficult for him. If he were secretary, things would be simple—just hold a meeting and push through whatever decision he wanted.
Regardless of Director Liu’s frustrations, back in Qu Mingli’s office, the conversation between Qu Mingli and Qi Fang was going smoothly.
"Good thing you sent that letter in time. Otherwise, they’d have been at me again about scrapping those machines." Qu Mingli poured Qi Fang a cup of water.
Qi Fang didn’t comment much on bureau politics. After finalizing the list of parts and materials to procure first, he prepared to leave.
Qu Mingli suddenly remembered Yan Xue’s injury. "It’s been over a month. You should go check on her."
Qi Fang sensed something unspoken in his words, but just then, work called Qu Mingli away. Qi Fang didn’t press further, gathering his things and heading out.
Meanwhile, Yan Xue had just gone for a follow-up hospital visit with Shan Qiufang a couple of days prior and had her brace removed.
But the Second Old Lady still fretted whenever she saw her move. "Don’t overexert yourself. If you don’t heal properly, it’ll cause lasting problems."
"It’s fine. I haven’t been using my left arm much." Yan Xue showed her the immobilized limb before continuing to wash the test tubes.
Last year, pressed for time, she had skipped cultivating spawn and inoculated directly with the stock culture.
This year, with more time, she planned to use cultivated spawn. April inoculations meant starting the mother culture in January.
"It’s already January, and still no word from Qi Fang?" The Second Old Lady couldn’t resist asking. "He wasn’t even home for New Year’s. Surely they’ll let him come back for Spring Festival?"
"They have to. Even if he doesn’t celebrate, others will want to—"
Before Yan Xue could finish, the door opened, and a tall figure stepped in, blocking the daylight outside.
She fell silent, but the Second Old Lady exclaimed, "Qi Fang, you’re back?"
"Yeah." His response was brief, his gaze lingering on Yan Xue—wordless, yet his eyes traced her features as if speaking volumes.
The Second Old Lady promptly averted her eyes. "I’ll go see if Jigang’s due back yet."
She hurried into the next room, threw on her coat and hat, and shuffled out the door with surprising speed.
Her abrupt departure made Yan Xue laugh. "Look what you did—scared Grandma away."
Qi Fang said nothing. He set his things down, took off his coat, washed his hands, and then, without warning, scooped Yan Xue up—not just a hug, but lifting her clear off the ground.
Startled, she grabbed his shoulders. "What are you doing? Put me down!"
Only then did he lower her, but as he moved to cup her face for a kiss, Yan Xue pressed a hand to her left shoulder, rubbing it lightly.
"Did I hurt you?" He released her at once, brow furrowing.
Yan Xue shook her head. "No, I tweaked it earlier."
Before he could ask further, familiar chatter sounded outside—Yan Jigang was back from playing.
Apparently, he’d heard something, because the boy’s footsteps quickened. "Brother-in-law! You’re back to—to make a baby with Sister, right?"
Qi Fang: The kid’s got the right idea. Keep talking.
