Zhu Gang's Shock

Zhu Gang quickly got through to the manufacturer's phone line, but they told him that given the condition of his machine, it definitely had to be returned to the factory. It simply could not be repaired at his plant.

This left Zhu Gang completely helpless. The other workshops were even more pressed for time than this one, and there was simply no machine available to spare.

Moreover, there were not many factories in all of Xian County, and his mechanical factory was already the largest one in the county.

The other mechanical factories were basically small workshop-style operations, with poor technology and outdated equipment. Therefore, parts with precision requirements like these were fundamentally beyond what those workshops could produce.

Of course, Zhang Yi's workshop was an exception. Although his machine tools were much like those in the other small workshops—old products from the seventies and eighties—

his father's skills had been far beyond those of the other small workshops in Xian County. And now, Xiao Hua's skills were even much better than his father's, which was why they could machine parts with such precise requirements.

Just as Zhu Gang was at his wits' end, a small truck came driving toward the factory gate from afar. Zhu Gang and the others were puzzled. The factory had long since started work, and they had not ordered anything. Yet the truck clearly had local license plates, and more importantly, since it could enter the factory grounds, it definitely was not here just to fool around.

At that moment, Zhu Gang saw Zhang Yi sitting in the small truck, which made him even more nervous. One of his CNC Machines had already broken down. If Zhang Yi had come to return the blanks he had taken away a few days ago, then even if the machine were repaired tomorrow, completing the order would be extremely difficult.

That batch of parts Zhang Yi had taken was from the same order as the batch he was currently working on. Since they had been short on time, he had sent part of it to Zhang Yi for processing. In all of Xian County, aside from Zhu Gang's own factory, only Zhang Yi's workshop could meet the required standards. The other workshops were not even worth considering.

"Boss Zhu! What's wrong with you? Why do you look like this? Did something happen?" After getting out of the truck, Zhang Yi saw that Zhu Gang, the owner of this parts factory, did not look well, so he asked.

"Ah, don't ask. Even if I told you, you couldn't help. Little Zhang, are you returning the goods? Don't tell me even you can't process these parts?" Zhu Gang looked at Zhang Yi's small truck, his expression growing even uglier.

"No, Boss Zhu! I've finished all one thousand of your parts, but you'll need to send someone over to check whether they meet the standards!" Zhang Yi said as he got out of the truck.

"Little Zhang, you're not joking, are you? Didn't I only send them over a few days ago? It's only been two days, and you've finished all of them?" Zhu Gang's face clearly showed disbelief after hearing Zhang Yi's words.

Even with CNC Machines, their factory needed nearly two days to process over a thousand parts. Zhu Gang knew Zhang Yi's workshop very well: there was only one old-fashioned machine tool in the entire place. Not to mention that it was from the seventies or eighties. Its precision was decent enough, otherwise it could not have processed parts with such exacting requirements, but its processing speed could not possibly have been faster than a CNC Machine.

Although he found it hard to believe that Zhang Yi's workshop could have finished processing these parts in such a short time, he still had the workshop director standing nearby call the Quality Inspection Department personnel over to inspect the batch.

The quality inspection personnel quickly arrived beside the small truck and immediately began inspecting the parts on Zhang Yi's truck.

Because these parts had precision requirements, and because Zhu Gang placed great importance on this batch, he had the quality inspection personnel inspect every single piece Zhang Yi had brought.

In truth, Zhu Gang still held onto a bit of hope. He genuinely wished that all these parts would pass inspection. If that were the case, then even with the CNC Machine at his factory broken down, Zhang Yi's speed would still give them a very good chance of completing the order.

Following Zhu Gang's instructions, the quality inspection personnel inspected the parts one by one and did so very carefully. However, one thousand parts was not actually much, and the parts themselves were small, so the inspection was soon completed.

After all the parts had been inspected, the quality inspection personnel had not found a single defective item among them. This thrilled Zhu Gang.

Being able to complete the processing of more than a thousand precision parts in just over a day meant that Zhang Yi's factory was extremely efficient.

Although he could not understand how an old-fashioned machine tool had managed it, that did not stop him from placing great hopes on Zhang Yi's workshop. Whether the batch of parts affected by his factory's broken CNC Machine could be completed on time now depended entirely on Zhang Yi and the others.

"Come on, Little Zhang. Let's talk in my office." With that, Zhu Gang pulled Zhang Yi toward his office.

"Little Zhang, do you want cash or a bank transfer?" Zhu Gang asked directly after they sat down in the office.

"A bank transfer." Carrying cash was inconvenient, and bank transfers were the norm these days, so Zhang Yi chose a transfer as well. He did not want to walk down the street carrying tens of thousands in cash and showing off.

"Little Zhang, is your factory busy right now? If not, I hope you can help me process another batch of parts. They're the same kind you processed before, but this time there are more—five times as many as before. And the deadline is tighter than before. They must be completed within four days. Of course, I can add another five yuan to the price." After saying that, Zhu Gang looked at Zhang Yi expectantly, afraid he would refuse.

"This... Boss Zhu, aren't you making things difficult for me? Five times the previous quantity means five thousand pieces, but there's only four days. Even with a CNC Machine, it would be very difficult to finish in such a short time, let alone when my factory has only one ordinary machine tool." Zhang Yi spoke with a troubled expression.

"Little Zhang, I have no choice either. How about this? I'll add another fifteen yuan per piece, and don't haggle with me anymore." Zhu Gang spoke again. Afraid Zhang Yi would refuse, he directly added another fifteen yuan per piece on top of the original price.

That meant Zhang Yi could earn fifty yuan for every part processed, provided that they could finish processing all five thousand parts within four days.

"Then... wait a moment. I'll make a call." After saying that, Zhang Yi did not wait for Zhu Gang to respond. He took out his phone and called the workshop, because this was not something he could decide on his own.

If he could make the decision, he really would have wanted to take the order. But the one operating the machine tool now was not him, but Xiao Hua. Without Xiao Hua, he himself could not process even one part in four days, much less five thousand. Zhang Yi knew his own limits very well.