A New Beginning for All

She wanted him to call Wang Hongfa?

Wu Chen looked at Jiang Nan, wondering if she was just enjoying the spectacle and hoping for more trouble.

Jiang Nan smoothed her hair and said, "It really isn't safe for Xinrou to stay in the dorm, so I think it would be better for her to move out. You'll have to call Wang Hongfa to take care of the paperwork and get her accommodation fee refunded while you're at it."

Wu Chen raised an eyebrow and looked at Min Xinrou. "Can you live on your own?"

He seriously doubted that Min Xinrou, who could barely get her words out, could take care of herself.

"Yes, I can!"

Min Xinrou hurriedly said, "I can cook and do laundry myself, and I won't let it interfere with my studies!"

"What about rent?"

"Teacher Jiang said it's very cheap around here. The money I earn from my work-study job and my weekend job should be enough!"

"All right, then."

Wu Chen took out his phone and found Wang Hongfa's number.

He also felt that, in Min Xinrou's current state, she really couldn't live with a group anymore.

When the call connected, Wu Chen skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point.

"Dean Wang, Yang Yuanjing led the others in intimidating Min Xinrou, so now she has no choice but to move out. What's the procedure at the college?"

"Have her go to her counselor. I'll sign the paperwork."

To Wu Chen's surprise, Wang Hongfa readily agreed.

With the matter settled, Wu Chen wanted to hang up. He didn't want to waste another second talking to the old geezer.

But Wang Hongfa went on. "Teacher Wu, there seems to be some misunderstanding between us."

"What do you mean?"

"Actually, I haven't taken those previous incidents to heart. And tonight I even called President Xu and suggested changing your academic rank to associate professor, but he turned it down. The best I could do was lecturer, but I'll keep pushing for it..."

Wang Hongfa rattled off a whole lot more.

The gist was obvious: he was extending an olive branch.

It seemed he had decided to make peace with Wu Chen.

But in his deliberate candor, Wu Chen detected a trace of unnatural acting.

It didn't sound like reconciliation. It was more like a strategy to lull an opponent into complacency.

But Wu Chen could never agree to it in the first place, so he wouldn't be fooled.

As for who had stopped him from becoming an associate professor, he couldn't be bothered figuring out who was lying. Either way, it was all fucking Wang Hongfa's fault.

He hung up.

Then he asked Min Xinrou, "It's OK now. When are you planning to rent a place?"

"I'll go in a little while."

Min Xinrou stared at Wu Chen with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe it had been that simple.

"So soon? Can you find a place?"

Wu Chen hadn't expected her to be in such a hurry.

Jiang Nan answered for Min Xinrou. "I know a few landlords around here. We can go take a look and sign a lease if everything's all right."

"You really are a local. You've got connections everywhere."

Wu Chen gave her a salute.

Jiang Nan rolled her eyes at him as usual.

As they talked, the hot pot broth and dishes all arrived.

Since they still had things to do, all three ate quickly and soon polished everything off.

After leaving the restaurant, Jiang Nan called a landlord and quickly secured a room.

The whole room was only a little over twenty square meters. It had a private bathroom, but for cooking there was only a tiny sink and counter.

Even so, it was already very good for Min Xinrou.

The rent was 350 yuan a month, with one month's rent as a deposit and the rent paid monthly. Water and electricity were free. She had just enough money on her, but Jiang Nan paid for her anyway, and they agreed she would pay it back at the end of the semester.

Next came the move.

Since Wu Chen couldn't enter the women's dormitory, he had to stay behind and clean the room.

Jiang Nan drove Min Xinrou back to school and helped her move her things out of the dorm.

For a girl, Min Xinrou had pitifully few belongings.

Aside from a quilt, she didn't have many clothes either. They fit everything in the car and brought it all over in one trip.

The three of them pitched in and soon had the little room in order.

They boiled a kettle of water and had a cup of tea together, marking the first use of the new home's stove. Now it was ready to live in.

After Wu Chen and Jiang Nan left, Min Xinrou sat on the edge of the bed and carefully looked around the little room.

Even though it was rented,

it was still a little world of her own!

She no longer had to endure her roommates' cold jibes and barbed remarks or worry about them damaging her things.

She could finally enjoy university life!

Meanwhile, Jiang Nan drove Wu Chen to Xiaoshan at breakneck speed.

It was already ten at night, but at Hazelnut Technology's factory, workshop director Chen Yongkang and equipment maintenance supervisor Li Bin were both waiting.

And to Wu Chen's surprise, technical director Zhao Hengrui was there too.

He said coldly to Wu Chen, "I've worked at this factory for years, and I know the production line best. If I'm going to take responsibility, I'll see it through to the end."

Wu Chen didn't mind his tone. Instead, he thanked him.

Kind words cost nothing, but technical expertise was valuable.

He took out the things he had brought.

A visual positioning CCD camera, an online calibration board for the CMOS sensor, a portable PID temperature-control curve analyzer modified from an Arduino, a quick-release lens calibration jig...

When they saw the items, none of them could believe their eyes.

Even Zhao Hengrui stood there in a daze.

Chen Yongkang picked up a CMOS sensor and examined it over and over before saying uncertainly,

"Mr. Wu, the substrate of this calibration board is just ordinary fiberglass board, but the calibration pattern etched onto it and the precision... Where did you get it?"

"I found the parts and made it myself. You'd better study it carefully too, so you know how to fix it if it breaks."

Wu Chen casually spouted bullshit.

"This thing..."

Chen Yongkang smacked his lips.

Although the components were all affordable, off-the-shelf items, the design integrated the calibration board's functions to a high degree and allowed one board to serve multiple purposes. It made Chen Yongkang suspect that Wu Chen had hired some industry heavyweight.

There was no way someone who had never worked with a production line before could have made this!

Zhao Hengrui felt the same way.

Looking at the magnetic calibration mount in his hand, he suddenly felt like a clown.

He had sworn up and down that the required precision was impossible to achieve, but after briefly testing this thing, he found that it really might reach a theoretical positioning accuracy of 0.05 mm.

"All right, let's hurry and finish modifying the production line. I have class at eight tomorrow morning."

After checking that none of the components were missing, Wu Chen took the lead and got to work.

Since the production line had originally been designed in modules, modifying it wasn't complicated. They only needed to flash the visual algorithm firmware, then secure the calibration tools, set the parameters, and so on.

When Chen Yongkang saw Wu Chen roll up his sleeves and get to work, he exchanged glances with several workers and gave a wry smile.

It looked like there was no getting out of it tonight.

After standing to one side in a daze for a while, Zhao Hengrui realized he was the only one there with nothing to do.

Even Jiang Nan had tied up her hair and was helping Wu Chen record data.

He gritted his teeth and walked over to Wu Chen's side.

He could tell how valuable the components were, and he also knew Wu Chen wasn't good at hands-on work, so he couldn't bear to see them damaged.

"Let me help. The sensor calibration and lens alignment need to... Huh?"

Before he could finish, he saw Wu Chen skillfully operate the industrial computer and use the CMOS feedback data to adjust the calibration board's mounting parameters, completing the whole sequence in one smooth flow.

There wasn't a single wasted motion. He was actually more professional than Zhao Hengrui, a senior equipment technician.

Zhao Hengrui was completely dumbfounded.

When Wu Chen had come last week, he hadn't even been able to tell the sensor's wiring terminals apart.

Zhao Hengrui himself had a bachelor's degree, but he had taken off his scholar's gown and gone down to the workshop early on. Not only was his theoretical knowledge solid, but his greatest pride was his craftsmanship.

That was his most important asset from nearly ten years of work.

But now, that asset didn't seem so special anymore.

He stood there frozen, at a loss for words.

Wu Chen heard him and looked up. After one glance, he understood what Zhao Hengrui was thinking.

He now had level-one engineering proficiency certified by the system.

When it came to experience turning screws, everyone in the factory combined couldn't match him alone.

Still, since Zhao Hengrui wanted to help, Wu Chen was happy to let him.

So he said, "Go install the CMOS online calibration board. Remember to keep it away from sources of strong electromagnetic interference. If there's anything you don't understand, be sure to ask me. This thing is difficult to make, and there's only one set."

"Uh, okay."

Zhao Hengrui took the calibration board and went to the visual inspection station to begin the modifications.

Then he quickly discovered that he couldn't manage it!

The installation and trigger logic for the calibration board Wu Chen had given him were nonstandard, different from the usual hardware triggering method.

He wasn't sure whether there was a problem with the new approach.

After puzzling over it for a long time without a result, he had no choice but to go back and ask Wu Chen.

"Mr. Wu, how should I connect the trigger signal for this board?"

Wu You glanced at it, and all the solutions for the production line quickly surfaced in his mind.

"Don't use hardware triggering. I modified the visual firmware, so just connect the wiring to the PLC's COM2 port."

He briefly explained the method.

But Zhao Hengrui was still somewhat confused.

He asked, "Why not use the more stable and reliable hardware trigger? Are you worried about signal interference?"

"To save money."

Wu Chen curled his lip.

They worked until after one in the morning before the entire production line was finally modified.

Wu Chen straightened up from the conveyor belt.

He had been bent over there for more than an hour, and his back felt like it was about to break.

He was just about to stretch and loosen up when his raised hand touched something soft.

He turned around and saw Jiang Nan glaring at him with her arms folded over her chest.

"Why are you standing so close?"

Wu Chen instantly realized what he had touched, but he chose to strike first.

Jiang Nan eyed him for a few seconds before pointing outside the factory.

"I bought a late-night snack and came to call you over to eat."

Wu Chen looked over and saw Chen Yongkang and the others gazing at him expectantly as well.

When they noticed his gaze, they hurriedly put on smiles.

"All right, then."

Wu Chen rolled his neck and said as he walked outside, "The work's done, so take a break. Come have something to eat."

The atmosphere in the factory visibly livened up at once.

Although it was late at night, the temperature in Hangzhou was still high. The whole city felt as though it had been sealed inside an airtight can.

Besides barbecue, Jiang Nan had bought quite a few milk teas for the late-night meal. They were packed in an insulated box, and ice crystals still clung to the sides of the cups.

One mouthful went down, and he felt refreshed all over.

"The production line adjustments are more or less finished. Tomorrow, do a trial production run first and record any problems. Prioritize the Jiangdong Pharmaceutical Factory's order, and then we can be considered to have officially made a fresh start."

Wu Chen gave Chen Yongkang those instructions.

"Okay, Mr. Wu. We'll definitely prioritize the boss lady's job. We're all family, after all."

Chen Yongkang quickly agreed.

He had also asked Wu Chen quite a few questions while they were working and knew he didn't put on the airs of a university scholar, so he spoke a little more casually.

"Don't go calling her the boss lady. We're only..."

But before he could get the words "business partners" out, he saw Jiang Nan wave to someone behind him.

"Dad, Mom, over here."