Chapter Two: One Scrap Chip Revives a Billion-Yuan Factory

Chenzhou gripped the old A1. “You have served this line for five years. You lead.” “Insufficient performance.” “I’ll help with the calculations.” He wrote cycle times, delays, and buffer margins in chalk across the floor. Workers adjusted machines as he called their numbers. Wanqing discarded her jacket, climbed a platform, and manually reset sensors. At 11:59, the final red light went dark. At noon, the press descended. Robots gripped, rotated, and welded. Blue sparks became a river through the workshop. The first finished joint rolled from the line. Master Zhao measured it three times. “Within tolerance!” The factory erupted. The bank suspended bankruptcy protection, and former customers called to restore orders.