stjorthotic Chapter 26: Accusing him of being a spy?
Chapter 26: Accusing him of being a spy?
Background check?
Why not check now, but right when he's making progress on Professor Zheng's project? Isn't it obvious that someone is pulling strings behind the scenes?
Chen Weiguo guessed that it was probably Deputy Factory Director Liu who was using the school to make trouble for him, delaying his evaluation during the political review, and trying to prevent him from receiving the title of outstanding graduate.
He didn't say much to the teacher and went straight to Professor Zheng after leaving the office.
Professor Zheng was furious when he heard this. He slammed his pen on the table and said, "This is outrageous! Who has the right to interfere with the evaluation results of a student in a refresher course?"
Without saying a word, he went to the principal's office and started banging on the table with the principal:
"I, Zheng, have dedicated most of my life to scholarship and mentored countless students, all of whom passed political vetting before entering the university. Now that they have achieved results, you're using political vetting as an excuse? What kind of rule is this?!"
He vouched for his student, and Professor Zheng personally placed all of Chen Weiguo's derivation manuscripts and experimental records from this period on the principal's desk:
"Please ask any expert to come and examine these items to see which one is of dubious origin."
The principal was embarrassed by what he said. A professor from Tsinghua University had personally vouched for the student, so what could a vocational school principal say?
"Alright, Professor Zheng, I'll give you face if you vouch for me. Chen Weiguo's evaluation will proceed according to the normal procedure, and the school won't interfere with his participation in the project's authorship."
……
After receiving the news, Chen Weiguo felt extremely relieved.
His teacher was truly protective of him, not only mentoring him academically but also standing up for him at this critical juncture.
Chen Weiguo successfully got his name listed as a co-author on Professor Zheng's paper. Once this paper is published, it will be the most significant achievement in his academic resume, even more important than his previous work on coated cutting tools and wave-shaped blades combined.
Professor Zheng was more thorough than he had thought. He didn't follow the school's procedures, which were too slow. Going up the chain of command would take forever.
He wrote an explanation himself, clearly outlining Chen Weiguo's contributions to the paper, the core formulas he derived, and the significance of the model's breakthrough. He then sent the explanation, along with a printed copy of the paper, directly to his old classmate at the Ministry of Machinery Industry, a deputy director in charge of scientific research planning.
Five days after the thesis was sent out, the Ministry of Machine Building called the school.
They called the principal's office directly, requesting that Yanjing Industrial Vocational School submit all of Comrade Chen Weiguo's files and research materials to the Ministry.
The school office staff panicked. The Ministry of Machinery Industry called directly, and the level of formality was completely different from when a document came from the city.
That same day, someone retrieved Chen Weiguo's file and sent it to the ministry along with the research materials.
……
When Deputy Factory Director Liu learned of this news, he was extremely upset.
The fact that the Ministry of Machine Building directly inquired about Chen Weiguo's affairs shows that the higher-ups have already taken notice of this young man.
How can this be allowed?
So, Deputy Factory Director Liu took out his phone book, flipped to a number he had an old connection with in the ministry, and dialed it:
"You should pay attention to this Chen Weiguo. His background is very complicated. Although his parents died in the line of duty, no one has ever seen his experiences in the army. How could a level 6 fitter possibly develop such advanced theories? His skill level is completely mismatched with his education. He might have some kind of background."
This is a very sinister statement. It doesn't directly say "get rid of him," but it prepares all sorts of accusations, such as "complex background" or "possibly related to his connections."
On the other end of the First Ministry of Machine Building, after receiving the call from Deputy Director Liu, he did take it to heart, but the way they handled it was not quite what he had expected.
The ministry did not directly suspend Chen Weiguo's qualifications, but instead investigated him along two separate lines simultaneously.
One line of communication was sent to the unit where Chen Weiguo served, to retrieve his files and ask his comrades.
Another team dispatched two experts to Yanjing Industrial Vocational School to speak with Chen Weiguo in person and see how much real talent this young worker actually possessed.
After the two experts arrived, the school arranged an empty classroom for them, and the three of them closed the door and started chatting.
Chen Weiguo didn't know that these two people were there to test him. Anyway, he had a system, so he could answer whatever they asked.
They started by discussing the basic theories of cutting tool geometry, such as rake angle, clearance angle, and cutting edge inclination. He had already reviewed these concepts countless times with Professor Zheng and could recite them off the top of his head.
The conversation then turned to coating processes. When asked about the adhesion and high-temperature resistance of titanium nitride, he started by explaining the substrate cleaning process for vacuum coating, and then laid out the principles and alternatives of ion bombardment cleaning.
Later, the two experts steered the conversation to tolerance fit and precision measurement, asking about the machining process of N6 precision fit parts.
Upon hearing this, Chen Weiguo realized that these were the questions that Master He had tested them on during their practical training.
So he went on and on, starting from the blank, rough turning, milling, grinding, and how to ensure concentricity, and even drew a process flow diagram on the blackboard.
They talked for several hours in the afternoon. When the two experts finally closed their notebooks and looked at each other, their eyes were full of approval.
One of them stood up and shook hands with Chen Weiguo, saying with admiration, "Comrade Chen, your foundation is very solid, and your theoretical level far exceeds our expectations for a level six fitter."
……
The investigation results from the military have also been relayed back.
Chen Weiguo served in the army maintenance depot for six years, performed well, and was awarded a third-class merit. His comrades and instructors had very positive opinions of him, with no issues whatsoever.
The results of the investigations from both sides were combined and the conclusion was reached: the young man was innocent, and not only innocent, but also a talented individual.
The Ministry of Machine Building officially issued the document, using the most formal red-headed document, stamped with the official seal of the Ministry of Machine Building.
The document listed Chen Weiguo as a "key technical backbone to be cultivated" and included him in the ministerial talent pool. It also explicitly required Yanjing Machinery Factory to provide him with all the necessary conveniences.
What does "everything is convenient" mean?
This is someone who's on the department's blacklist; anyone who dares to trip him up is going against the department.
On the same day the official document was sent to the factory, the ministry called again, this time directly to the factory's Party Committee.
The tone on the other end of the phone was no longer as polite as usual; the person directly questioned the factory about all their statements regarding Comrade Chen Weiguo's technical qualifications.
"The worker you sent out from Yanjing Machinery Factory published a paper that filled a theoretical gap in China during his training course. Now you're saying he has a problem? How did you recommend him in the first place? How did you train him?"
By the end, the tone of those few words was quite stern, hitting the nail on the head without any ambiguity.
As Deputy Factory Director Liu listened to the phone call in the conference room, his expression immediately changed.