The Technical Whiz at the State Factory in the 1980s

The moment she opened her eyes, Shen Yu, a mechanical engineering student pursuing a combined master’s and doctorate and notorious for working herself to the bone, had become an ordinary female worker at the Hongxing Machinery Factory in the 1980s. The good news: a secure job, great benefits, and housing provided by the factory. The bad news: her piston workshop was about to be shut down because of outdated technology and years of losses, leaving everyone there facing reassignment or layoffs. Gloom hung over the workshop. The veteran technicians sighed, but Shen Yu’s eyes shone with knowledge as she studied the old machine tool, deafeningly loud and wildly inaccurate. What a coincidence! This was exactly her field! So

The veteran technicians: “The drawings for this imported machine tool are in German. Who can read them?”

Shen Yu: “Let me take a look.” (And maybe improve the transmission system while she was at it.)

The factory executives: “Our partner factories are holding us back. We can’t make the key components for the new diesel engine. The project’s doomed!”

Shen Yu: “I’ll give it a try.” (She came up with an entirely new manufacturing process, blowing the competition out of the water in both precision and efficiency.)

A neighboring factory offered her a high salary and the treatment of a section chief to lure her away.

Shen Yu waved them off. “I’m busy helping the country produce oil, build its space program, and…”

Everyone: !!! Something’s not right with you!

One day, an expert delegation from the capital came to tour the factory. At the head of the group was a cool, handsome engineer, the very rival who had left Shen Yu speechless at an academic conference years ago.

He looked at Shen Yu, now leading a group of workers in a technical revolution. His expression behind his glasses was unreadable. “Engineer Shen, may I take a look at your research?”

Shen Yu: “No. Unless you ask nicely.”

A story about someone who shines in a golden age through knowledge and technology,