Chapter 30: The Chief Engineer’s Question

Qiu Ling watched Zhang Yifu’s deep in thought appearance and forced a laugh. “It’s okay, this question is too specialized. It’s understandable if you can’t answer it. You still need to study more. The knowledge of power plants is vast and profound. Even a university student couldn’t…”

Right at that moment, Zhang Yifu’s eyes suddenly opened. He answered calmly and swiftly—

“Our plant mainly uses fan-type coal pulverizers, with backup drum-type coal pulverizers. The fan-type coal pulverizers were imported from Germany, model KSG-N produced by EVT Company. The pulverizing fineness can be adjusted to R90=20%–60%. The energy consumption is 11–13 kilowatt-hours per ton. The maintenance cycle is set within 3,000 working hours.”

His words came to an end. Zhang Yifu quietly looked at Qiu Ling, waiting for his verification.

They were stunned, completely stunned. Not just Qiu Ling, everyone was stunned. Was the power plant’s engineering design done by Zhang Yifu?

After hearing this, Qiu Ling stood there dazed for a full half minute. Then, trembling, he lowered his head and looked at the lines of data on the form. He looked again and again, repeating the process, and remained silent.

Niu Xiaozhuang urged, “So, is it right or not?”

Qiu Ling did not answer. Instead, someone standing outside responded.

“It’s correct.” Duan Youwei applauded appreciatively. “Perfectly correct, not a single word off from the records.”

“Chief Duan…”

Only then did everyone realize that the Chief Engineer had also come to watch the excitement. They felt somewhat embarrassed inside, being caught slacking off here to watch the show. But at the same time, even more shock filled their hearts.

Zhang Yifu really answered correctly. He really had… memorized the entire Archives Room.

Thud. The materials in Qiu Ling’s hand fell to the ground. He still clung to a last shred of hope. With an empty expression, he pointed at Zhang Yifu and asked, “The drum-type coal pulverizer… you haven’t said…”

“Domestic, Shanghai Heavy Machinery Factory – HP583.”

“Power consumption for pulverizing…”

“27 kilowatt-hours per ton.”

“Rotation speed…”

“15–25 revolutions per minute, adjustable.”

“…”

Qiu Ling completely gave up hope. He didn’t even pick up the materials from the ground to compare.

Niu Xiaozhuang snorted and stepped forward. “Section Chief Qiu, any more questions?”

Qiu Ling let out a long sigh. At this point, with this outcome, there was no room for argument anymore.

“Zhang Yifu, move back to the Administrative Office.” He weakly raised his hand, then lowered his head, passed through the crowd, and drifted alone down the corridor back to his office.

Thus, the difference in ability was made clear!

This wasn’t just about fighting for an office or a bit of freedom. Zhang Yifu had already shown everyone who was stronger. Whether in terms of presence or in future interactions, he no longer needed to be mindful of this nominal Leader.

And Qiu Ling, utterly humiliated, could no longer suppress this nominal subordinate either.

The fight that ripped apart all pretense brought an ending that ripped apart all pretense.

Once Qiu Ling left, Niu Xiaozhuang exploded with excitement. He threw an arm around Zhang Yifu and laughed heartily, “Yifu! You are so damn awesome!!”

Others, though not as bold as the “young master” to openly show their stance, had their expressions filled with admiration and esteem rise to another level. They originally thought Zhang Yifu was just a newcomer who couldn’t bear the “grinding” phase and was making arrogant trouble. They didn’t expect he truly possessed astonishing talent within. Showing it again and again like this could no longer possibly be just luck.

At this moment, Duan Youwei wore a slight smile and said to the surrounding people unhurriedly, “Alright, alright, the show’s over. Everyone should get back to work.”

With the boss speaking, everyone then returned to their respective departments. These three questions and three answers were enough to become their topic of conversation for a long time.

After everyone dispersed, only the people from the Technical Department and Niu Xiaozhuang remained. Duan Youwei then leisurely stepped forward and asked peaceably, “Yifu, your answers just now were brilliant. I just watched and wasn’t satisfied. Could you let me ask a question too?”

Only then did Zhang Yifu feel he might have overdone his performance earlier. Although the Chief Engineer’s face wore a smile, he didn’t know what he was truly thinking inside. His goal had been achieved. Zhang Yifu didn’t want to cause further complications, so he quickly stood up and said modestly, “Chief Duan, I had some disagreements with Section Chief Qiu. I also acted somewhat impulsively just now, causing an embarrassing scene that brought shame to our department. I hope you can forgive me.”

Strictly speaking, the Technical Department was under the management of Chief Engineer Duan Youwei. It was just that he had little desire for power and was idly waiting for retirement, which allowed Qiu Ling to control many matters. But regardless, Duan Youwei was still the supervising Leader of the Technical Department, and he was highly respected. Zhang Yifu had to show respect and deference.

“Haha, not at all. Technical matters allow no carelessness. They should be discussed when needed, not glossed over.” Duan Youwei still wore a full smile, without a trace of hostility. “I want to ask a question with no other meaning, Yifu. Don’t overthink it. It’s purely from the perspective of us technical people, to exchange views.”

As soon as the words “exchange views” came out, the few people nearby couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed.

Duan Youwei had worked in power his whole life. Although not a formal university graduate—his qualifications came from later training—he was, after all, born in the 1930s. He had participated in many major projects and accumulated a lifetime of knowledge. So-called veteran experts were just like him. The word he used now was actually “exchange views.” This proved he acknowledged Zhang Yifu’s knowledge, recognizing Zhang Yifu as a person on the same level as himself, at least in terms of learning.

Zhang Yifu was equally both flattered and apprehensive. He knew his knowledge inevitably had some exaggeration, and his experience was still limited. Showing off in front of Qiu Ling was one thing, but he shouldn’t boast in front of a real expert. He quickly modestly declined again, “I dare not claim ‘exchange views.’ If Chief Duan has any guidance, I will surely remember it carefully.”

“Haha, no need to make it so serious. I’ll ask now.” Duan Youwei gently patted Zhang Yifu’s shoulder. “The question is simple. If we were to build a large power plant with a million-kilowatt capacity now, how would you arrange the units, and which manufacturer’s equipment would you use?”

The questions posed by a veteran expert were different, completely unlike those trivial details. They were extremely macro-level, revealing true insight and vision in just a few sentences.

But such a macro question was actually not something the present Zhang Yifu could answer. If he wanted to, he could certainly look up data on large power plants built in the 1990s from his mental “database” and then report it to Duan Youwei. That would be the safest approach, and future events would likely prove it correct.

But this time, Zhang Yifu set aside that “database.”

That was history. It could be used for reference but shouldn’t be blindly followed. One should always have one’s own ideas. Right or wrong, one should just do it. Wasn’t history also like this, wavering between right and wrong again and again, eliminating the false and retaining the true, moving forward steadily?

Zhang Yifu never intended to repeat that history, to be a figure from history. He hoped for a path of his own, forged through struggle, a path that might even be wrong at times.

“Chief Duan, my thoughts on this aspect are somewhat radical…” Zhang Yifu took a deep breath and, facing the veteran expert, revealed his genuine thoughts. “I would hope it to be composed of 2 to 3 units of 600,000-kilowatt capacity each. Large units, large capacity, high efficiency.”

“600,000-kilowatt units? Currently, nationwide… there are only two, right?” Duan Youwei showed a surprised expression and couldn’t help but ask, “Those are experimental. The power is too high, the equipment too expensive. They are nowhere near as cost-effective as ten units of 150,000 kilowatts.”