Chapter 33: Turning the Gears
The Push for Fifty
The next morning, Rui pinned a piece of paper on the workshop board:
"Wenzhou Order — 50 Units — 6 Weeks"
Li Wei raised an eyebrow. "Six weeks? That's two and a half times our monthly output."
"That's why we're adding a second welding shift and reworking the paint schedule," Rui said. "No excuses. The dealer wants fifty, we give him fifty."
The team jumped in — mechanics volunteered for longer hours, even the office staff came to help with packaging on weekends. The factory's hum stretched into the night.
Haotian's Hand in the Shadows
Two weeks in, a shipment of brake pads was mysteriously delayed.
"Truck broke down," the supplier claimed. But when Li Wei pressed, the driver admitted someone had offered him extra cash to "take the scenic route."
It didn't take a genius to guess who.
Rui gritted his teeth. "If Haotian thinks they can choke us by slowing deliveries, we'll just carry the parts ourselves."
And they did — Li Wei borrowed his cousin's van and made the 200 km trip to fetch the pads personally.
Balancing School and Steel
One afternoon, Rui was pulled aside by his history teacher.
"Chen Rui," she said with a faint smile, "you actually passed the midterm. Not just scraped by — you did well."
Rui blinked. "I… did?"
"You've been paying attention," she said. "Maybe not to my lectures, but to the way history works. You wrote about the Meiji industrial reforms like you'd lived through them."
Rui chuckled. "Guess I've been running my own little industrial revolution."
Night Before Shipment
By the fifth week, the final frames were lined up for inspection. Workers wiped down seats, tightened bolts, and checked lights. The factory floor smelled of fresh paint and machine oil.
Rui stood back, counting.
Fifty bikes.
On time.
Li Wei patted his shoulder. "We did it."
"Yeah," Rui said, smiling faintly. "Now let's see if Wenzhou rides with us."