Tao returned with a receipt and a short reply from the depot.
The province allowed the station to inspect the crates but did not authorize removal. Han read the message in the command office, then looked at the time marked beside it.
“The inspection will be tomorrow morning,” she said. “Sella, Bai, and the outside witness will count the crates. No one moves a part until the province releases it.”
Bai tucked the receipt into his ledger. “The count will tell us whether the shipment matches the list. It won’t tell us whether the collars fit the furnace.”
“That comes after the count,” Sella said. “First we finish the model.”
The station’s storeroom had been cleared for the test. The new collar sat on a reinforced base plate, its outer lip fitted to the revised mold. Pao braced the return pipe. Gu compared the model with his drawing, and Qinghe placed fresh markers at the known pressure points. Yan waited beside the shutoff, leaving the lever clear.
“First run at low load,” Sella said. “If the plate holds, we increase it one step. We stop at the first sign of strain.”
Han stood near the door. “We have one test window before the families move. Take the time to read it properly.”
