Kiln No. 17 had developed a coating of buildup. During the night shift, Lin Yan climbed to the kiln head seven times. The lab report had been altered to show free lime at 2.8. Cao Jingtang pressured him to sign off on the release, using Hengtai's twenty-one trucks, eighty thousand a day, three months of electricity bills, and the entire factory's wages as leverage. He also promised to promote Lin Yan to kiln master, then threatened to remove him from his post. Lin Yan pushed the report back and pointed out that the sampling point had been moved to the kiln-tail discharge chute. The actual firing zone measured 3.2. After twenty-eight days, the strength of the material would be only seventy percent, and the foundation slab of Hengtai Building 3 would be demolished right up to the factory gates. He went up to the platform, pressed a steel plate against the protective cover, and listened. Every three or four seconds, there was a clunk. He concluded that the firing zone temperature was at its upper limit, that hard scale had formed six to nine meters from the kiln tail, and that a ring-shaped half-circle of buildup had formed between twenty-four and twenty-six meters. Just as he refused to sign, a muffled boom came from the kiln tail. Red-hot material sprayed from the discharge chute, and Qiu Dazhuang rolled down the iron ladder. After the third boom, the sheet-metal cover flew open. Lin Yan saw that the exposed brickwork was yellow and riddled with air pockets. It wasn't genuine high-alumina brick. Cao Jingtang, however, called Director Zhao first and said, "Don't send anyone over just yet." Who had swapped those yellow bricks into the kiln lining?
