Chapter 5: Cross-Industry Voyage
The cicadas of summer buzzed through the office window screens. Chen Feng stared at the flashing pop-up windows of a manufacturing forum on his computer screen, his fingers unconsciously rubbing a metal gear he had brought back from the engine factory. At the provincial Food Industry Association awards ceremony, a remark from a fellow entrepreneur about the "impending explosion of the Chinese motorcycle industry" had pricked his nerves like a fine needle—it was a hundred-billion-yuan market he had missed in his previous life.
"Mr. Chen, the R&D department has sent over the new feasibility report." His assistant, Xiao Wu, placed a neatly bound document on the desk. The title, "Motorcycle Engine Parts Manufacturing," stood out on the cover. "Mr. Lin Jian and Mr. Li Hongwei are waiting for you in the conference room."
In the smoke-filled conference room, Lin Jian tapped his fingers on the table. "Xiao Chen, the food factory has stable cash flow right now. Why insist on squeezing onto the single-plank bridge of the manufacturing industry?" Li Hongwei flipped through the report, his gaze behind his glasses lingering on the figure of a "five-million-yuan initial investment." "Manufacturing is asset-heavy with long cycles. Can our capital chain withstand that?"
Chen Feng stood up and pulled two blueprints from his folder: one was a hand-drawn sketch of a motorcycle engine, the other the precision design he had "seen" within the Space System. "Uncles, 2008 to 2015 is the golden age for domestic motorcycle exports." He pointed to the key components on the sketch. "We aren't building complete vehicles; we are only making high-value-added core engine components, like piston rings and crankshafts."
Li Hongwei’s finger stopped on the material specifications of the blueprint. "Tungsten-chrome-vanadium alloy? Can we even buy this domestically?" Chen Feng smiled, thinking of Old Zhou’s mine in the back mountains. "I’ve already contacted a geological survey team. There is this rare metal in the abandoned mine back home, and the purity reaches industrial standards."
Two weeks later, Chen Feng stood before the old mine, watching as the survey team member held up a mineral sample that shimmered with a silver-gray luster in the sunlight. The Space System’s chime sounded in his mind; the 3D model of the piston ring automatically superimposed itself over the ore, each molecular structure matching the blueprints from his memory perfectly. "Uncle Zhou," he turned to the old craftsman standing behind him, "the alloy steel formula you and my father researched back then is going to be put to great use now."
The engine R&D laboratory was built from a repurposed old factory building; the humid air was thick with the scent of motor oil and metal cuttings. Engineer Zhang, the first mechanical engineer Chen Feng had hired, was tinkering with parts on the workbench. Seeing Chen Feng enter, he held up a deformed piston ring. "Mr. Chen, according to current techniques, the high-temperature test can only last 200 hours, which is 100 hours short of industry standards."
In the lab late at night, Chen Feng stared blankly at the Light-Mist of the Space System. The pendant grew hot in his palm, and the scene of his father’s final moments surfaced in the mist—the old man’s trembling hand drawing a gear in his palm. He hadn't understood it then; it was his father’s unfinished mechanical dream. "Perhaps the answer is in the back mountains." He suddenly remembered the unique properties of the Cold Pool Water after a heavy rain, grabbed his hard hat, and rushed into the mountain forest in the dead of night.
By the side of the Cold Pool, Chen Feng held the pendant close to the water’s surface. The pale golden Light-Mist blended with the pool water, projecting a holographic image of an engine cooling system onto the rocks. He took out the piston ring sample he had brought and submerged it into the icy water. Miraculously, he watched as ice crystals automatically aligned along the metal grain, forming natural cooling channels. "That’s it!" he shouted excitedly, his voice echoing through the valley. "Quenching in Cold Pool Water can restructure the metal molecules!"
Engineer Zhang looked at the test report for the resubmitted piston ring, his hands trembling slightly. "Mr. Chen, the high-temperature test broke 350 hours, far exceeding industry standards! This technique is simply... it’s a stroke of genius!" Chen Feng smiled without a word, writing the collection and usage process of the Cold Pool Water into the core technical documentation. On the cover, he solemnly signed his father’s name—this was a technological legacy belonging to two generations.
The pressure on the capital chain arrived sooner than expected. When Chen Feng transferred the profits from the food company to the manufacturing account, the CFO brought the statements to him. "Mr. Chen, the food factory’s expansion plan requires at least 2 million in liquidity, and there is only 800,000 left in the account."
In the conference room, Chen Feng looked at his worried team and suddenly recalled another potential stock in the market. "Give me three days." He spent the night at a local internet cafe, precisely purchasing ST mechanical stocks that were about to be restructured. Three days later, the stock price skyrocketed, and the 3 million in cashed-out funds flowed into the R&D account like a timely rain.
When the first batch of piston ring samples was shipped to a motorcycle factory in Zhejiang, Chen Feng received a message from Lin Hao: "Brother Chen, there’s a problem with the food factory’s membership system. Someone is maliciously registering accounts to steal coupons." He rubbed his temples and decided to entrust the food business to Lin Jian and Li Hongwei, dedicating himself entirely to the manufacturing industry.
At the motorcycle factory’s test track, the roar of engines resounded through the sky. Chen Feng watched as the motorcycle equipped with their piston rings sped across the track, the speedometer needle steady at 120 km/h—20% faster than competing models. The factory manager shook his hand excitedly, saying, "Mr. Chen, with performance like this, our export orders can increase by 30%!"
At the celebration banquet, Engineer Zhang walked over to Chen Feng with a glass of wine. "I heard your father was a master at the agricultural machinery station back in the day? The 'Feng' character carved on these piston rings is exactly the same as the habit he had when he repaired tractors." Chen Feng looked at the stars outside the window, as if seeing his father smiling in the clouds—this carving was not only a brand mark but the inheritance of a dream shared by two generations.
With the first order of 5,000 piston rings finalized, Chen Feng’s manufacturing blueprint officially began. He set up "Father’s Workbench" next to the laboratory, neatly arranging the wrenches and measuring tools his father had used, with the first gear grinder donated by Old Zhou standing nearby. Whenever he encountered a technical bottleneck, he would sit there for a while, as if he could feel the wisdom and courage of his forebears.
On a late autumn morning, Chen Feng stood in front of the newly completed parts factory, watching transport trucks loaded with piston rings head toward the port. His phone vibrated; Lin Hao sent good news from the food factory: after the membership system upgrade, the repurchase rate had risen to 45%, and the new wild mushroom cookies were about to hit the supermarkets in first-tier cities. He suddenly remembered himself moving bricks at a construction site in his previous life. Back then, he never imagined his life after rebirth could be so magnificent.
In the twilight, Chen Feng opened a new diary, his pen tip hovering over the page for a long time. Finally, he wrote: "From the mountain forest to the workshop, the battlefield has changed, but the original intention remains." Outside the window, the roar of engines and the hum of the food factory’s machinery wove into a song—it was his own symphony of the era, and the echo of countless days and nights of hard work.
As the first rays of moonlight spilled onto the "Fengchi Machinery" factory sign, Chen Feng knew his cross-industry battle had only just begun. Motorcycle parts were merely the starting point; the engine blueprints flickering within the Space System were waiting for him to unlock them. And he was already prepared to welcome the next wave, hoisting his own sails in the vast ocean of the manufacturing industry.