Fusion System: Rebirth in a Courtyard - Bird Fighting Chronicles

Chapter 66: The Ledger Scandal Rekindles Old Grudges; Technological Upgrades Successfully Resolve Pa

July in Beijing marks the start of the flood season. Several days of thunderstorms have washed the bluestone pavement of the Hongxing Courtyard until it gleams, and the moss in the corners of the walls, soaked with water, frantically seeps into the cracks between the bricks. Lin Chen had brought a raincoat with him when he left home that morning. As soon as he reached the middle courtyard, he saw Yan Bugui squatting on his doorstep, clutching an account book wrapped in oil paper, staring blankly at the rainwater at the base of the wall.

"Good morning, Teacher Yan. Are you still moving the account books out in this rain? Be careful they don't get damp." Lin Chen greeted him proactively. He always kept his distance from this "calculator." Last time, after Yan Bugui was rejected when he tried to find a job for Yan Jiekuang, he made veiled accusations in the courtyard for several days. Although he didn't name names, everyone could tell that he was targeting him.

Yan Bugui looked up abruptly, a flicker of panic crossing his eyes behind his glasses. He quickly stuffed the ledger into his coat. "Good morning, Director Lin. I just took out the old ledger to air it out since the rain has lessened. Are you going to the factory? I heard Master Yi was transferred back to the technical team. You're really considerate of the old technicians." His words were laced with probing, but his gaze kept drifting towards Lin Chen's canvas bag—it contained the blueprints for technical coordination at the Southern Machinery Factory, which he had glimpsed last night while relaxing in the courtyard.

Lin Chen smiled but didn't reply, turning to walk out of the courtyard gate. Just as he reached the alley entrance, he heard Yan Bugui mutter behind him: "What kind of technical backbone is he? He just got ahead by using underhanded tactics. Let me settle the score and see how long he can keep up this smugness." Lin Chen paused, a hint of doubt rising in his mind. Yan Bugui's ledger only ever kept two kinds of accounts: one was the "iron abacus" of household income and expenditure, and the other was the "favors" owed to neighbors. The implication in his words was clearly directed at him.

In the forging workshop of the steel rolling mill, the roar of the machines drowned out the sound of rain outside the window. Yi Zhonghai was wearing reading glasses, marking parameters in front of a sample of precision gears. His work clothes were washed until they were faded, but the cuffs had a new piece of canvas sewn on them—it was a gift from Qin Huairu yesterday, who said it was workwear material issued by the research and development team, and the extra was used to mend the clothes of his master.

"Master Yi, these are the optimized gear mold drawings. The meshing angle has been adjusted according to the parameters you provided." Lin Chen placed the canvas bag on the workbench and unfolded the drawings. The gear precision improved by Yi Zhonghai by one percentage point, which is crucial for the agricultural machinery parts that are about to be exported. The Southern Machinery Factory specially sent a technician to coordinate, and trial production will begin this afternoon.

Yi Zhonghai adjusted his glasses, his fingers gently tracing the blueprint, his eyes full of admiration: "Director Lin's drawing skills are truly exceptional, even more precise than those young people in the technical department. Look here, if we widen the cooling channel of the mold by two millimeters, the scrap rate during production can be reduced even further." He pointed to a detail on the blueprint, his tone carrying a long-lost professional confidence. Since being transferred back to the technical team, he had been spending every day in the workshop, and even Aunt Yi said that "his eyes have regained their sparkle."

As the two were discussing, a quarrel suddenly erupted at the workshop entrance. Yan Jiecheng stormed in, carrying a broken enamel mug, and angrily exclaimed, "Director Lin, you have to be my judge! My father has kept a record of all my expenses since I was a child, and now that I'm getting married, he's demanding I pay back some kind of 'child support,' even including the half-eaten cornbread I stole as a child!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yan Bugui rushed in, the corners of the account book in his hand damp with rain. He was trembling with anger: "You unfilial son! I've raised you for twenty years, provided for your education and food, and spent so much effort and resources on you! Now that you're getting married, what's wrong with asking you to pay back three hundred yuan for raising me? Every single item is recorded in this account book, not a penny less!" He slammed the account book onto the worktable. The yellowed pages were densely covered with writing, and even the entry "March 12, 1958, Yan Jiecheng stole half a cornbread, discounted by three cents" was clearly visible.

The workers in the workshop all gathered around, chattering amongst themselves. Yi Zhonghai frowned and moved the ledger aside, afraid that the ink would stain the blueprints: "Old Yan, your child's wedding is a joyous occasion. It wouldn't look good if word got out that you're asking for child support at this time."

"Master Yi, you don't know, he's being biased!" Yan Jiecheng said with red eyes. "When my younger brother Jie Kuang was looking for a job last year, he secretly slipped him fifty yuan to pull strings. When I got married, he didn't give me a single penny of the dowry, and he even forced me to pay him child support! This ledger is his record of favoritism!" He grabbed the ledger and flipped to the last few pages. Sure enough, there was a record of "July 1965, fifty yuan given to Jie Kuang for job hunting," with a red circle next to it.

Yan Bugui's face turned bright red, and he stubbornly said, "Jie Kuang is the youngest, and he's physically weak. It's not easy for him to find a decent job! You're the eldest, so you should take responsibility for the family!" These words completely enraged Yan Jiecheng. He snatched the account book and was about to tear it up when Lin Chen quickly stopped him.

"Master Yan, Jie Cheng, calm down." Lin Chen put the account book on the drawing board. "The accounts in the account book are dead, but the father-son relationship is alive. Jie Cheng, it was not easy for your father to raise you and support your education. Three hundred yuan for raising you is not much. But Master Yan, Jie Cheng's marriage is a life-long event. If you ask for the money now, it will not only hurt the father-son relationship, but also make the neighbors laugh at you."

He picked up the ledger and flipped through a few pages. Suddenly, he pointed to one of the entries and said, "Master Yan, during the famine in 1962, you were calculating the grain distribution for the neighborhood. There were five extra jin of cornmeal. Did you record that in your own account? Later, I had to explain to the grain station that it was a calculation error, which prevented you from being criticized."

Yan Bugui's face turned pale instantly. It was a secret he'd kept for years: years ago, he'd deliberately tampered with the ledgers to pocket more grain, and he never expected Lin Chen to know. He opened his mouth to explain, but couldn't utter a single word. The surrounding workers all looked on with understanding. No wonder Yan Bugui always complained about his low wages; it turned out he'd done something like this.

"Here's what we'll do," Lin Chen said, looking at the two of them. "How much money does Jie Cheng need for his wedding? I'll cover it for you first, and then we'll deduct it from your salary gradually. Master Yan, consider this child support money as Jie Cheng's way of showing filial piety. Come back and visit more often during holidays; that's better than anything else. As for this account book, we can keep it as a memento. When Jie Cheng has children in the future, we can let them see how hard their grandfather went back then."

Yan Jiecheng was stunned, not expecting Lin Chen to offer help. He quickly said, "Director Lin, how could I accept this... I'll think of another way." Yan Bugui also lowered his head and said, "Director Lin, I was confused. I don't want the child support fee." He grabbed the account book and walked out, but his steps were much heavier than when he came.

With the incident resolved, the atmosphere in the workshop became lively again. Yi Zhonghai looked at Lin Chen and said with admiration, "Director Lin, you really know how to handle things. I always thought Old Yan was petty, but now I understand that he's afraid of being left without anyone to take care of him when he gets old, which is why he keeps such a clear record."

Lin Chen smiled and said, "Everyone gets old eventually. The key is to make the elderly feel safe. Master Yi, let's get ready for trial production. The people from the Southern Machinery Factory will arrive this afternoon." He handed the optimized mold drawings to the technician, but he was thinking about Yan Bugui's matter. Although the old accountant was calculating, he had a solid foundation in mathematics. If he could be properly guided, he might be of great help.

At lunchtime, Qin Huairu carried an enamel basin into the workshop, filled with freshly steamed buns made with flour and meat ration coupons provided by the research and development team. "Director Lin, Master Yi, try my buns, they're fresh out of the steamer." She distributed the buns to the two of them with a sincere smile. Since reconciling with the Yi family, she had straightened her back in the yard. Every day, besides going to work, she taught Jia Dang how to sew, and Jia Geng had completely given up his habit of stealing. After school, he would help out at the scrap yard, and the family's life became more and more stable.

"Sister Qin's cooking is really good, much better than the steamed buns in the cafeteria," Yi Zhonghai said with satisfaction after taking a bite of a steamed bun. His attitude towards Qin Huairu had changed; he no longer saw her as a pawn to win over Sha Zhu, but genuinely appreciated her down-to-earth and hardworking nature. He had always remembered the kindness Qin Huairu had shown him in teaching him material management methods, which had helped him regain his footing in the workshop.

While they were eating, Sha Zhu suddenly walked in carrying a lunchbox containing freshly stewed braised pork. "Director Lin, Chef Yi, Sister Qin, I just came back from the guesthouse and brought you some braised pork." He was now a cook at the military region's guesthouse, and his salary had increased significantly. He had also become much more cheerful and was no longer used as a pawn like before.

"Shazhu, your cooking skills are getting better and better." Lin Chen took the lunchbox and said with a smile, "By the way, does the guesthouse want to order a batch of precision kitchenware parts? Our factory recently developed a wear-resistant stainless steel that is particularly good for making kitchenware." He was deliberately connecting Shazhu with the guesthouse so that Shazhu could gain a foothold in the guesthouse, which would also benefit the neighborhood relations in the courtyard.

Sha Zhu's eyes lit up: "Really? That's great! Our guesthouse's spatulas always break, and we're really worried about not having good replacements. I'll talk to the manager about it, and it'll definitely work!" He excitedly patted Lin Chen on the shoulder, his heart filled with gratitude. He used to think Lin Chen was a busybody, but now he understood that Lin Chen genuinely cared about everyone's well-being.

At 2 PM, the technicians from the Southern Machinery Factory arrived at the workshop on time. Leading them was an engineer surnamed Wang, wearing thick glasses and clearly a tech enthusiast. He picked up the optimized gear sample, measured it repeatedly with calipers, and a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Director Lin, Master Yi, the precision of this gear is one percentage point higher than we required. How did you manage to do that?"

Yi Zhonghai stepped forward and explained the optimization process in detail, from the meshing angle to the cooling channels, speaking fluently and logically. Engineer Wang listened attentively, nodding repeatedly and asking questions from time to time; the two became increasingly congenial as they chatted. Lin Chen added details about the mold modification and cleverly incorporated the wear-resistant material technology integrated into the system, which drew high praise from Engineer Wang.

After trial production began, the machine ran very smoothly, and the scrap rate of gears indeed dropped to below 1%. Engineer Wang immediately approved increasing the order from the original 5,000 sets to 10,000 sets, and also promised to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with the steel rolling mill. "Director Lin, Master Yi, you are truly technical experts! From now on, our factory will only use Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill for precision parts!"

After seeing Engineer Wang off, Director Zhou came to the workshop and patted Lin Chen and Yi Zhonghai on the shoulder, saying, "Great job! You've done a great job! This order will bring a lot of benefits to the factory. I've already applied to the factory for a bonus and will give your R&D team double the bonus!" The workers in the workshop cheered and congratulated the two of them.

After getting off work, Lin Chen had just entered the courtyard when he saw Yan Bugui standing under the locust tree in the middle courtyard, holding a cloth bag. Seeing Lin Chen return, he hesitated for a moment, then took the initiative to step forward: "Director Lin, this is the cost accounting sheet I calculated for you. Please take a look and see if it's acceptable." Inside the cloth bag was a detailed table, covered with densely packed numbers written in calligraphy, even including the smallest losses.

Lin Chen took the form and examined it carefully. The form was very professionally done, even more accurate than the one done by the factory's finance department, especially in terms of raw material losses and labor costs, where the analysis was very thorough. "Master Yan, your level is too high, even better than a professional accountant," Lin Chen exclaimed sincerely.

Yan Bugui's face broke into a long-lost smile. He said somewhat embarrassedly, "I used to be an accountant at school, so I have some skills. Director Lin, what happened during the day was wrong of me. I shouldn't have schemed against the child, and I shouldn't have doubted you." He paused, then added, "If the factory needs someone to do cost accounting, I can help after I retire. I don't need a salary."

Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat; Yan Bugui's mathematical foundation and bookkeeping skills were indeed excellent. "Master Yan, don't be in such a hurry to retire. I plan to apply to the factory to set up a cost accounting team, specifically responsible for cost control in the workshop. If you're willing, you can be the team leader, and your salary will be calculated as that of a key technical staff member."

Yan Bugui was stunned. He hadn't expected Lin Chen to give him such a good opportunity. He was so excited that his hands trembled. "Director Lin, I... I will definitely do my best and never let you down!" He clutched the cloth bag tightly, tears welling up in his eyes. He had spent his whole life scheming, but he had never been trusted like this before. Now he understood that being needed was more important than scheming.

Just then, Qin Huairu and Sha Zhu returned, carrying groceries they had just bought. "Director Lin, Chef Yan, come to my house for dinner tonight! I made braised pork and steamed buns," Qin Huairu invited warmly. Jia Zhangshi also came out of the house, holding some freshly pickled vegetables, and said apologetically, "I'll have something to add too. I was confused before; let's get along better from now on."

Yi Zhonghai and Aunt Yi also came over. Aunt Yi was carrying a bowl of freshly stewed chicken soup. "Come to my house to eat together. It'll be more lively with more people." The neighbors in the yard all gathered around, chattering and asking for more dishes. It was as lively as Chinese New Year.

Lin Chen felt a warmth in his heart as he looked at the harmonious scene before him. He opened the system panel, which displayed: "Hidden quest 'Harmonious Courtyard' triggered, quest completion 80%, reward 20000 points, unlock 'Team Collaboration' skill." This skill can improve the team's work efficiency and will be of great help to the upcoming technology research and development.

At dinner, everyone sat around the Yi family's octagonal table, which was laden with dishes. Yan Bugui poured wine for everyone, remarking, "I used to think that keeping accounts straight was the most important thing, but now I understand that you can't calculate people's hearts. Only through mutual understanding can we live a good life." He raised his glass to Lin Chen and said, "Director Lin, I'd like to toast you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Lin Chen also raised his glass, smiling as he said, "Master Yan, no need to thank me, it's all thanks to your own skill. Let's work together in the future to control the workshop's costs so that everyone can earn more bonuses." Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu, and Qin Huairu also raised their glasses, the clinking of glasses echoing in the courtyard, dispelling past grievances and ushering in a harmonious chapter.

After dinner, the rain stopped, and the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, casting its light on the rooftops of the courtyard house. Lin Chen stood in the central courtyard, watching the children chasing and playing, and the neighbors chatting under the locust tree. He suddenly realized that the best life is not about fighting alone, but about supporting each other and growing together with those around you.

At this moment, a notification suddenly popped up on the system panel: "The system has detected that the host has successfully resolved the conflict in the courtyard, activating the main quest 'Technology-Driven Factory Development'. Quest objective: Lead the steel rolling mill to complete technological innovation and become an industry benchmark. Reward: 50000 points, unlocking the 'Equipment Improvement Blueprint'." Lin Chen smiled. He knew that a new challenge had begun, but this time, he was no longer fighting alone.