“\"Haichuan Gratitude Season\": Thank You to My Master [Craft Zone 007]

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This post was last edited by *lihuagong on 2016-2-23 at 10:56. My master was quite young back then; he was only 50 years old. He was a small old man from Zhejiang, with half his hair gray, of average height, and not very loud in voice. He speaks with a strong Zhejiang accent, and he gets things done in a fast, efficient manner. Back in the day, there was a drawing board on the table, along with drawing tools such as a set square and a triangle ruler; one had to draw while standing. Although technical drawings required far less equipment, it still caused back and waist pain after a day of work. He first taught me how to draw. What I learned at school provided a basic foundation, but it was completely different when applied in practice. He checked my drawings every day; at first I just copied what was there. Well, aside from chemical equations, I didn’t know anything else – it seemed like there was a huge gap between what happened in factories and what was described in books. By the time my drawings were ready and the design took shape, he asked me to start over with some modifications. First, there was discussion and selection of the manufacturing process; then calculations and selection of equipment were carried out. Once these basics were settled, the process flow was drawn up and the layout planned – this was the actual design phase, as the equipment I designed had to be installed in the existing facility. So he took me to the site, explained the relationship between the current process and the original one, as well as the potential problems that needed to be taken into account. It was really exciting to carry out design work for the first time; I felt confident about it. However, during the actual installation process, it became clear that many aspects related to piping, maintenance, and valve placement hadn’t been considered properly. At that point, my supervisor explained things step by step and made adjustments on-site, and then suggested that I work shifts as a worker to gain some practical experience, as this would help me better understand the process and its operations, which in turn would be beneficial for my design work. More than a month of working on shift has been extremely beneficial to me; in my future work, I will give more consideration to the convenience of operation and maintenance. Today, the master with silver hair is still strong and healthy; he comes to visit me from time to time. We no longer talk about work, but rather about life and family. I also never forget my master; I go to pay him a visit every year to express my gratitude, as I am deeply thankful for his kindness.