When Qi Cheng and Chen Ergou stepped off the train at Chang'an Station, the platform was already packed shoulder to shoulder.
Everyone there had the same destination.
All of them were technical backbone staff transferred from factories across the region to the Chang'an Automobile Factory. Most wore plain civilian clothes, but hats were everywhere. Some were worn properly, some perched crookedly, others tucked under arms.
After a quick scan of the crowd, Chen Ergou felt a sudden pressure on his chest.
"Brother Cheng," he whispered, "there are way too many Blue Hats here."
Qi Cheng nodded slowly. "Yeah. At least a hundred. Maybe more."
The weight of that realization settled heavily on both of them.
Back at the steel mill, Blue Hats were rare creatures. Surrounded by Yellow Hats, even those with the Trial marking on their hats stood out like cranes among chickens. Without realizing it, they had begun to walk straighter, speak louder, and believe, just a little, that no one nearby could match them.
Now, standing at the gates of the Chang'an Automobile Factory, surrounded by nothing but Blue Hats, that confidence collapsed instantly.
"There is always someone better," Qi Cheng sighed. "If I had stayed at the steel mill, I might really have believed I was unmatched."
Chen Ergou laughed softly. "Coming to Chang'an was the right choice. Otherwise, we might never improve again. But standing here, I suddenly feel fired up."
They followed the flow of people into the factory grounds.
Snippets of conversation drifted past them.
"Which department are you in?"
"Bearings."
"Steam engines."
"Steam engines? That's impressive."
Qi Cheng and Chen Ergou both glanced over instinctively.
Steam engines were core technology. Compared to that, working on armor plates felt almost crude.
The steam engine technician noticed their looks and waved his hands hurriedly. "It's nothing special. I just follow the drawings from above. The real genius is Young Master Bai. Even a few words from him are worth years of work."
Only then did Qi Cheng and Chen Ergou understand.
This man was humble because his daily reference point was someone like Young Master Bai.
It was a simple truth.
The higher one's horizon, the more modest one became.
The lower one's horizon, the easier arrogance took root.
Both men silently committed that lesson to memory.
Next came registration.
Then dormitory assignments.
Then luggage transport.
Then workshop postings.
After a whirlwind of activity, they finally stood at their assigned workstations.
They had barely settled in when a man in a white hat burst into the workshop, voice ringing loud and clear.
"Starting today, the entire military production department of the Chang'an Automobile Factory is entering underworld level overtime!"
The Yellow Hats erupted immediately.
"Underworld level again?"
"That kind of overtime will kill people!"
Qi Cheng and Chen Ergou looked at each other in confusion.
"What does underworld level mean?" Chen Ergou asked.
A Yellow Hat hurried over, eager to curry favor. "Engineer Qi, Engineer Chen, underworld level means overtime so intense it works you half to death. When you go home, you feel like you can see the gates of the underworld waving at you."
Qi Cheng and Chen Ergou jumped. "That serious?"
The Yellow Hat lowered his voice. "Anyway, don't expect more than four hours of sleep a day."
"Four hours?" Qi Cheng and Chen Ergou exchanged a look.
Then both burst out laughing.
"Hahaha. We thought underworld level was something terrifying," Qi Cheng said. "Four hours of sleep? That's generous."
The Yellow Hat froze. "Huh?"
Qi Cheng grinned. "Back when we were bandits, hunted by officials, hiding in the mountains every day, four hours of sleep was luxury."
Chen Ergou nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly. Some days we barely slept two hours. So this underworld level lets us sleep four? What's there to be afraid of?"
The white hatted supervisor shouted again. "Twenty days! Leadership's target is twenty days! Ten Light Armored Cars! Starting now, everyone work until you drop!"
"Ten in twenty days?" the Yellow Hats cried. "It took a full month just to build Experimental Car Number Four!"
The supervisor roared back. "Times have changed! We have experience now, and a flood of new technicians! Ten in twenty days is achievable! Everyone move! Overcome every difficulty!"
The workshop erupted into motion.
Armor blueprints were handed out. Hammering began almost immediately, the sound ringing in steady rhythm.
Qi Cheng and Chen Ergou exchanged a glance and jumped in.
As Blue Hats, they did not swing hammers themselves. Instead, they oversaw workflow, assigned tasks, checked blueprints line by line, and inspected every armor plate for size and thickness.
In other workshops, the same scene played out.
Steam engines.
Bearings.
Armor.
Rubber tires.
Steering wheels.
Cannons.
Even glass windows.
Gao Family Village's system of standardization had existed for years, but on a limited scale. Now, with full vehicle production underway, its terrifying efficiency finally revealed itself.
As the Chang'an Automobile Factory plunged into underworld level overtime,
far away in Gao Family Village itself, a different kind of crowd gathered.
Young women lined up outside the gates of the Warm and Sleepy Textile Factory.
The factory had begun its third major recruitment drive.
They had come to apply for work.
At first, the Warm and Sleepy Textile Factory had attracted little attention. But people soon realized that its products were formidable competitors.
Wool had always been precious to the Han. Its insulating power far exceeded cotton. A thin layer could keep out bitter cold.
Gao Family Village had long since solved the problem of survival. Now, people demanded comfort.
Wool sweaters, scarves, and garments sold out almost as soon as they appeared.
Not only in Gao Family Village, but also in Heyang County, Han City, Puzhou City, Hedong Circuit, Hejin County, Pingyang Prefecture, and Xi'an.
Liu Maopao reacted quickly.
He recruited more female workers.
Purchased more textile machines.
Expanded production at full speed.
This created jobs for women and, at the same time, absorbed ever increasing quantities of wool from the Mongolian grasslands.
As the Wushen Tribe conquered more and more small tribes, wool flooded southward.
And the expanding factory swallowed it all without pause.