After they finished unloading the blanks from the small truck, it was already evening. Zhang Yi took Xiao Hua to eat first, then bought her some daily necessities and clothes.
It was past nine by the time Zhang Yi brought Xiao Hua back to the factory. Honestly, buying clothes for Xiao Hua was an absolute headache, even though her demands were not high.
As for where Xiao Hua would stay, Zhang Yi planned to arrange for her to live at his home for now. His house was big enough, and there were still several empty rooms, so accommodating Xiao Hua would not be difficult.
Besides, when he hired Xiao Hua, the system had clearly stated that her food and lodging during her employment would all be his responsibility. Having her stay and eat there would save a little money. After all, his funds were not particularly abundant right now, and every bit he could save counted.
The only headache was how he was supposed to explain Xiao Hua's background to his parents. Would they think he had some unusual preferences?
Xian County Auto Parts Factory was the largest machinery factory in Xian County, contributing considerable revenue to the county's finances every year. At that moment, Zhu Gang was sitting in his office, looking through a document in his hands, when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" A middle-aged man soon entered.
The man who entered was one of the factory's workshop supervisors, and he was holding a component in his hand. His expression was extremely grim, as though something urgent had happened.
"Boss! One of the CNC Machines in Workshop Three has malfunctioned. Every part it processed has been scrapped, and several cutting tools have even snapped," the workshop supervisor said.
"What happened? Wasn't it working fine yesterday? Those two CNC lathes in your workshop were made by a famous domestic manufacturer! Normally, they shouldn't have any problems. Go get Master Sun to take a look and find out what's wrong." Zhu Gang immediately grew anxious after hearing this.
The workshop under this supervisor was processing a batch of urgent parts. There were only a few days left, yet more than half the parts remained unfinished. Of course, if the machine had not broken down, they could still have completed the order by having the workers put in overtime for a few days.
But now that the machine had malfunctioned, the matter had become serious. If they could not finish those parts within the deadline, he would have to pay a huge penalty.
And the money was the least of it. He had obtained this batch of parts from Geely Group only after tremendous effort, treating people to meals and giving gifts. If he messed this up, not only would the Geely supervisor who gave him the order be in trouble, but it would also be difficult for him to get another order from Geely in the future.
"But boss, Master Sun had something to deal with at home today and didn't come to the factory," the supervisor said.
The Master Sun the supervisor mentioned was actually the factory's machine repairman. However, Master Sun could only handle minor issues with the machines. If a machine had a major breakdown, then given the factory's conditions, they simply had no ability to repair it.
"Call him and tell him to get here immediately. Don't you know how important this order is to our factory? If we can't do this order properly, we can forget about taking orders from Geely in the future. And then what development can this factory even talk about?" Zhu Gang was frantic now.
Zhu Gang had only entered the auto parts processing business recently. In the past, they had only taken on scattered odd jobs. The volume was small, and the profits were extremely low, barely enough to keep the factory alive.
This time, he had happened to meet a supervisor from Geely Group. After pulling out all the stops, he had finally secured an order from Geely. That supervisor had also told him plainly that if he failed to complete this order properly, his machinery factory could forget about ever receiving another Geely order.
When he had first received the order, he had confidently guaranteed its completion to that supervisor. More importantly, if he could finish this batch of orders, his factory could enter Geely's supplier network, and its future development would no longer be so difficult.
"Boss, I've already called Master Sun, and he's on his way here. But based on the symptoms, there's a good chance the servo system has malfunctioned.
"Master Sun also said that he discovered a problem with this machine's servo system a few days ago and reported it to you, but he never received any response," the workshop supervisor said.
"It's not that I didn't want to inspect this machine. There simply wasn't any time to shut it down. I called the manufacturer before as well, but they said it wasn't a serious problem." Zhu Gang thought about it. Master Sun had indeed reported this issue a couple of days ago, and he had contacted the machine's manufacturer. The manufacturer said it was not a major problem, which was why he had allowed the machine to keep running. Besides, given the factory's current situation, this machine simply could not be stopped. Once it stopped, they definitely would not finish this order in time.
They soon arrived at the workshop where the malfunctioning machine was located. A technician in his fifties was inspecting it in front of the machine. His brows were knitted so tightly they were nearly fused together. Clearly, the problem with this machine was no minor one.
The technician inspecting the machine was none other than the Master Sun they had been discussing. He was also the factory's only machine repairman. He had once been a maintenance technician at Xian County's state-owned machinery factory. If it were an ordinary machine, no matter how serious the problem, he could repair it. But CNC Machines were different; many issues could only be handled by the manufacturer.
"Master Sun, how is the machine? Are you confident you can fix it?" Zhu Gang hurriedly asked as he approached the CNC Machine.
"Boss! The computer board for this CNC Machine's servo system has already burned out. Given my abilities and our factory's conditions, we simply don't have the capacity to repair it. It looks like the machine can only be sent back to the manufacturer for repairs," Master Sun replied.
"Th-this... Master Sun, is there really no other way? I think you know about the batch of parts in this workshop. It concerns our factory's future development. If we send it back to the manufacturer, it will take at least a week. How can I afford to wait that long?" Zhu Gang became frantic after hearing Master Sun's words.
"Boss! Call the machine's manufacturer and see whether they can send technicians over to repair it," Master Sun suggested after seeing Zhu Gang pacing in circles anxiously.
"Sigh! That's the only option left. If the manufacturer can send someone over to repair it, we might still make it in time." After saying that, Zhu Gang dialed the manufacturer's number. Honestly, by then, neither Zhu Gang nor Master Sun held much hope for this machine.
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