Back at the Red Star Steel Factory.
Xu Weidong stood in the newly renovated experimental workshop. The blackboard in front of him was densely packed with technical specifications from Country D.
The workers formed a circle around him, their eyes a mixture of anticipation and doubt.
"Starting today," Xu Weidong's voice was low and firm, "we will no longer make steel by 'good enough' standards."
He held up the temperature probe he had brought back from Country D. "For every furnace of steel, the temperature must be accurate to within plus or minus five degrees Celsius, and the time margin of error cannot exceed ten seconds."
Old Li frowned. "Xiao Xu, our furnaces are twenty years old. How can they be that precise?"
"Then we'll modify them."
Xu Weidong pointed to a newly installed automatic recorder in the corner. "From now on, all operational data must be archived. Whoever smelts the steel is responsible for it."
The workers stared at each other.
