Replacement

Early in the morning, Chen Ming washed up and dressed up before heading to the garbage processing plant alone.

He had important things to do today!

After reaching the plant and seeing that there was no one around, Chen Ming walked over to a processing machine.

He put his hand on the machine and finally made up his mind after thinking for a moment.

"Use skill: Replacement," he said seriously.

[Ding! Using skill: Replacement.]

[Congratulations, user! Replacement was successful! The machine can now automatically process the daily garbage quota with higher efficiency!]

After the system's notification ended, the machine started to transform.

The dust-covered machine became shiny and majestic, to the point that people would believe Chen Ming if he told them that the machine was bought for millions.

Chen Ming nodded in satisfaction.

When the process was over, Chen Ming started to operate the machine. He used the freshly-minted advanced processing machine to produce energy polymer blocks.

The machine was not overly loud when it ran. While Chen Ming was waiting for the processing to be completed, fully focused, two familiar voices came from behind him.

"Old factory manager, your son is really young and promising. At such a young age, he has led our processing plant to success and to new heights. I admire you for being able to nurture such an outstanding child!"

The first voice belonged to Manager Zhang from the processing plant.

Then, he heard Chen Zhao's hearty laughter. 

"Hahaha, that's right. My son has followed in my footsteps! He's good in every way. Now, I can safely hand over the garbage processing plant to him and retire!"

As soon as Chen Zhao finished speaking, Manager Zhang sighed.

"Ah, I really envy you. It would be great if my child could do something like this too!"

"The future is long, and greatness takes time to mature," Chen Zhao waved his hand and said politely.

While they were chatting happily, Manager Zhang raised his head and spotted Chen Ming working in front of the garbage processing machine.

However ... Why was this machine so new? He had never seen this model before.

This seed of doubt appeared in Manager Zhang's mind, but before he could figure it out, Chen Zhao spoke up.

"Son, is this the latest machine you've imported? It looks pretty good!"

Chen Zhao waved at Chen Ming from a distance. Thanks to Chen Ming's enhanced hearing, he could hear his father's words clearly even if he was near a slightly noisy machine.

"Yup," he said, raising his eyebrows.

However, the volume of his reply was similar to Chen Zhao's own words earlier, which meant that although Chen Ming could hear it, Chen Zhao could only vaguely make out what Chen Ming was saying through the shape of his mouth.

Moments later, Chen Zhao shook his head. 

"Sigh, I'm old. My ears aren't as good as those of a young man."

Hearing Chen Zhao's words, Manager Zhang muttered inwardly. 

He had thought that he was the only one who could not hear Chen Ming's reply, but it turned out that Chen Zhao was the same.

In that case, Chen Ming's hearing was not bad.

Before they could dwell on this matter, the machine behind Chen Ming had finished processing.

Seeing this, Chen Chao waved his hand and stopped hesitating. He went straight to the "new machine" and looked at it with a smile.

"I can tell that this machine will work fine just by looking at it. Eh, is this a newly-produced energy polymer block? Why does it feel that the processing speed is faster than the old machine?" Chen Zhao muttered quietly.

At the same time, Manager Zhang also came over. Seeing the new machine, he was shocked. After coming back to his senses, he compared it with the old machine and asked in confusion, "This machine can produce energy polymer blocks automatically? The old machines required manual operation and manpower. I thought that this problem would be difficult to resolve for a long time, but who knew that the little factory manager would be able to deal with it so easily?"

Manager Zhang gave Chen Ming the thumbs up, and was not stingy with his praise.

Hearing Manager Zhang's words, Chen Zhao immediately realized the advantages of this processing machine.

Manager Zhang and Chen Zhao looked at each other and smiled.

After that, Chen Zhao patted Chen Ming's shoulder. 

"My son. Where did you get this machine from? We should bring in a few more to increase the efficiency of our processing plant."

Manager Zhang agreed, "That's right, little factory manager, even if this machine is expensive, we still have to buy more! It's really efficient!"

They chimed in one after another.

However, this made Chen Ming frown slightly.

The system had only given him a one-time use skill to replace this machine. He had no way of making another, at least not for the time being.

However, when he was faced with Chen Zhao and Manager Zhang's sincere gazes, Chen Ming did not dash their hopes. Instead, he smiled and said, "This machine takes a long time to produce, and it was purchased through special channels. I can't get a second one so soon."

"However, I think this machine is enough for now. Dad, Manager Zhang, let me teach you how to use it."

With just a few words, Chen Ming changed the topic and redirected their attention.

In any case, what Chen Ming made sense, and was not technically a lie. Moreover, the two of them were curious about the operation method of the machine in front of them.

"Alright," Chen Zhao and Manager Zhang said in unison.

After fumbling around, Chen Ming located the button on the side of the new machine and showed it to them.

"Dad, Manager Zhang, if you want this machine to automatically process garbage, press this button and it will run automatically. However, there's a limit to the amount of garbage it can process daily. When it stops running, it means that the maximum limit has been reached for the day," Chen Ming said unhurriedly, and clarified how to use it to them.

"It's that simple?" Chen Zhao was in disbelief. He did not expect the machine to be so simple to use.

Then, he and Manager Zhang ignored Chen Ming and started to study the machine in detail.

Taking advantage of this time, Chen Ming left quietly.

He had other things to do, so he would leave them to study the machine.

...

Chen Ming felt refreshed. Just as he was about to leave the garbage processing plant, the phone in his pocket suddenly started vibrating.

When he took out his phone, he saw that the caller was Wang Linlin.

Did she have something urgent to tell him? He answered the call.

"Hello, Chen Ming. I'm calling you because I have something important to tell you!"

As soon as the call was connected, Wang Linlin's anxious and excited voice could be heard.

Hearing this, Chen Ming's eyes flickered with confusion. He asked, "Are there problems with the optimized batteries?"

"No, it's not that!"

Wang Linlin immediately denied it.

Without waiting for Chen Ming to follow up, she announced, "I'm inviting you and Sister Qin Qing to my birthday party!"

"Last time, Sister Qin Qing said in the car that I didn't invite her when I treated you to that meal. This time, I'm inviting her." 

Wang Linlin then paused for a moment. 

"Of course, it's up to her whether she wants to come or not."

After some consideration, Chen Ming expressed that he could go.

After exchanging a few more words, Wang Linlin hung up.

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Chen Ming rubbed his eyebrows helplessly.

A birthday, huh. What present should he give?