Chapter 405: It’s Up to You

Director Geng sighed.

"His hand needs to rest for a while. He can only supervise, not operate the lathe himself."

"We can talk about this later. Let’s head to the workshop first."

Seeing how anxious he was, Fu Mingxue didn’t press the matter.

She followed him to the workshop.

There, she saw Master Yang was still there, though his crucial right hand was wrapped in gauze.

It didn’t look like a minor injury.

A minor injury wouldn’t be wrapped so thoroughly—it looked alarming.

"Master Yang, how’s your hand?"

Old Yang shook his head. "My hand is nothing. But the timing is terrible. I can’t do this job, but your skills are on par with mine. I think you’re the one to do it."

’If she weren’t already doing more important work, he’d want to transfer her to his own post. He’d never seen anyone with such a gift; she was born to be a fitter.’

Fu Mingxue: ...?

’What does he mean, *I’m* the one to do it?’

’Aren’t they overestimating me a bit?’

"This is the blueprint. It has all the precise dimensions. Can you machine this part to these exact specifications? Old Yang says you can."

Director Geng looked at her, his eyes gleaming with hope.

Fu Mingxue: ...?

Her gaze shifted from Director Geng’s hope-filled face to Master Yang’s encouraging expression.

"Let me take a look first."

As soon as she spoke, Director Geng immediately handed her the blueprint.

"This is the one. The tolerance can’t exceed 0.01."

Fu Mingxue’s mouth twitched when she heard that.

’They really are overestimating me.’

However, after looking at the blueprint, she fell silent for two seconds. "Alright, I’ll give it a shot. But I need to go to Group Six first; I’ll get started when I come back. Also, I have to call home. I won’t be able to make it back tonight, and I’m worried my two kids might get fevers again."

"Go ahead and make the call. While you’re at it, tell your mother—I’ll send someone over to your house to help out. That way, if the children get sick again tonight, she won’t be completely overwhelmed."

Director Geng knew about her family situation.

Her mother was taking care of the two children.

"That’s not necessary. I’ll just have my mom ask someone from the unit for help."

Director Geng didn’t argue the point.

He just urged her to hurry. "Be back in half an hour."

"Alright." Fu Mingxue had to go to Group Six and arrange her work.

She’d had an idea last night and needed to tell her group about it.

As it turned out, she really did need the full half hour.

After a quick discussion with her team, Fu Mingxue rushed to make a call to the military compound.

This time, however, she didn’t speak to her mother directly. She just had the communications officer relay the message.

Only then did she return to the workshop.

Master Yang was, of course, still there.

This job was too important; he had to stay and supervise.

Otherwise, with an injury like his, he would have been sent home to recover long ago.

Seeing Fu Mingxue studying the blueprint, Old Yang said, "The machine is already on. Get a feel for it first. There’s no need to rush. Take a moment to center yourself."

Director Geng had wanted to wait around for Fu Mingxue to get back.

Old Yang had sent him packing.

’This job is incredibly important. Fu Mingxue needs to be able to concentrate, to be completely focused.’

’Having Director Geng around—wouldn’t he just be a distraction?’

"Alright. I understand." Fu Mingxue hadn’t planned on rushing in, anyway.

The blueprint detailed the specifications, data, and required tolerances.

She naturally had to study them carefully and commit every detail to memory.

As for the "feel" of it...

She grabbed a piece of scrap material and began to practice—

Once she had a good feel for it, she picked up the actual part and began—

Master Yang watched from the side the whole time.

He barely made a sound, for fear of distracting Fu Mingxue.