Chapter Fifty-Nine: One Must Possess a Certain Spirit

He took all the turbojet parts out in one go and laid them out on the empty table. The components had already been used, with diesel as the main fuel, so there was some carbon buildup, most noticeably in the combustion chamber. Yet the most eye-catching sight was the turbojet main shaft and starter motor shaft placed side by side, the deformed rubber burned onto them pulling at the heartstrings of the entire project team.

Seeing the group's morale flagging, Yang Hui realized he needed to lift their spirits.

"It's just a small setback, isn't it? What of it? At least our overall engine design has no issues. What path forward is without twists and turns?"

He pulled the design documents out of the file cabinet and spread them across the table. Yang Hui knew that now, he must treat this problem with strategic disdain. As the project leader, his attitude and conduct would profoundly affect the team's collective spirit; everyone else could hang their heads in disappointment, but Yang Hui could not.

"We said we'd work overtime tonight, so we must do everything we can to solve the problem. Coming to this southwestern region, we must adapt to the local ways, learn the resilience and forward-charging spirit of the men here—never afraid of difficulties. This time, we must find the root of the issue; we can't simply modify the design so easily."

Yang Hui knew some team members were already thinking of reverting to a conservative design. Now was the time to firmly oppose such an approach; how could one give up at the first sign of difficulty? Without a spirit of facing challenges head-on, no matter how much knowledge one accumulates, there is little chance for innovation—every innovation is forced out by adversity.

"Leader, but the schedule won't allow it, right now..." As the designer of the starter system, Long Derong was the first to suggest switching to a conservative plan. Yang Hui understood that this once-ambitious young man was now hesitating. Long Derong's reasoning could be forgiven on an emotional level, but logically, it couldn't be accepted so easily.

"No 'buts.' We must face challenges head-on. If we can't find the problem, even if we step back and adopt a conservative design to finalize the engine, our project team will still have failed."

Sometimes a rough, autocratic, or rather, forceful leader is needed; such a leader can drive the team to keep moving forward.

Hearing Yang Hui's lengthy rhetoric, with both kind and stern words, the project team finally drew a collective breath. As long as this breath remained, they could continue to forge ahead, clearing every obstacle.

"Fine, we'll do as you say, Leader Yang. I, too, am baffled by this issue. Let me say it here: If we can't find the cause, I, Long Derong, won't return to the dormitory. I must figure out what's wrong."

They were all young people, and Yang Hui's stirring words had ignited a competitive spirit in them. Especially Long Derong, who had just spoken—since the whole team was pushing the designer of the faulty component, what else could he do but throw himself into the task completely, vowing not to return until the mystery was solved.

"Right, let's all look for the cause together—we must find it!" This wasn't spoken by any one member, but was the heartfelt sentiment of everyone present. An outstanding team often finds its strength in moments like these.

Seeing their renewed vigor, Yang Hui immediately assigned tasks.

"Let's split into two groups. I, Long Derong, and Liu Wang will review the design. Zhong Jianshe, Xie Lianfa, and Pan Wen, you three study the starter system over there—see if you find any clues. We'll switch after, so everyone's strength is used."

With everyone assigned, only three remained by the table. Yang Hui poured out all the starter system documents and began a thorough review.

He started with the starter motor. Though it seemed unrelated to the coupling rubber, at this point, anything even remotely connected needed careful examination—repeatedly. Yang Hui checked it until he was certain there were no issues, then handed it to Liu Wang for another review. The rule was: until all six members failed to find any fault, they weren't satisfied.

They kept reviewing the design materials over and over—three still poring over them as night fell outside.

"It's getting dark. Let's keep going. I'll bring food up for everyone—we'll eat here in the office."

Time was precious, not a minute to be wasted, and the trip to the cafeteria was unacceptable. He brought the food up, called the five together for a meal, and after eating, they continued searching for the cause.

...

Night had long settled when Yang Yue finally put down her pen, ready to leave work. She was deeply invested in the model aircraft project—not just for Yang Hui's sake, but as a personal challenge. Having taken on the task, she was determined to finish it on time, with quality and quantity ensured.

Yang Yue was meticulous; walking down the corridor, she noticed the lights in Yang Hui's office were still on and grew curious. She paused on the stairs and headed towards their project room to see what was keeping them.

"Yang Hui, are you all still working overtime?" No sooner had she spoken than Yang Yue realized her question was unnecessary—the pile of leftover meal trash at the door made it clear the whole team was working late.

Yang Hui and his colleagues were lost in quiet contemplation, like monks in deep meditation, barely affected by the outside world.

She stepped farther into the office and saw Yang Hui and two others discussing something intently. Yang Yue was curious about their work and wanted to see what they were up to.

Upon closer look, she saw the three huddled over a bearing from the engine.

"Oh, Yueyue, what brings you here? You're working overtime?" Surprised to see Yang Yue at the office so late, Yang Hui realized this determined girl was pushing herself hard.

"Yes, I worked late, now heading home. Saw your whole project team still burning the midnight oil, so I came to check what was going on."

Drawn by the lights, she explained, and Yang Hui glanced at his colleagues still absorbed in their work. He knew he couldn't accompany her for a romantic evening now—at this critical stage of the project, he couldn't leave.

"Yueyue, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Go get your dinner, don't starve yourself—health matters most. We'll be working through the night here; I can't keep you company."

It was a classic case of choosing duty over romance, but such boldness was the greatest temptation for women—especially in the 1980s, when sincerity and dedication to one's work mattered most to both men and women.

Though she felt for Yang Hui, who would be up all night again, Yang Yue was a technical person herself. Understanding and empathy came naturally; she could only gaze at Yang Hui quietly and offer a few words of concern.

"You take care of yourself, don't overwork. Grandpa told you to look after me, but don't wear yourself out so that I have to look after you instead."

After another glance at Yang Hui, she left, not wanting to disturb their work further.

"Everyone's finished reviewing, right? Let's share our thoughts!" After a long time with no breakthroughs, Yang Hui decided to ask if anyone had any ideas, hoping for something useful.

"First, let's discuss the design documents."

Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke; there seemed nothing to say. Seeing their silence, Yang Hui concluded there were no objections to the documents—meaning it wasn't a matter of design philosophy, which was good news.

"Since there are no issues with the design data, let's talk about the starter system itself—any thoughts?"

"The motor was bought as a finished product, so that's not the problem. The issue must lie with the control clutch design."

This was Zhong Jianshe's point, already widely acknowledged among the team, so it carried little weight now.

"I do have a thought, though I'm not sure it's right." Long Derong, who had been meticulously checking everything all evening, now saw a hint of something—perhaps a breakthrough, though he wasn't sure if it was relevant.

"I looked carefully at the burned rubber rings and noticed something: the rubber on the starter motor and the rubber on the turbojet main shaft suffered different degrees of damage."

Hearing this, though not fully grasping Long Derong's point, everyone immediately gathered at the table to examine the parts closely.

"It does seem that way—the rubber gasket on the turbojet main shaft is much more severely damaged," said Xie Lianfa, comparing the two gaskets closely with his head resting on the table.

Long Derong approached, pointing to the engine's main shaft. "If the damage differs, that means the cause is this: the reason the rubber gaskets failed is a mechanical factor that manifests differently on the motor and turbojet, but is present in both."

His words were somewhat convoluted, shrouded in ambiguity, but careful consideration revealed the meaning within.

"You mean..."