I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 27 This copper mine is deadly!
The day after the mobilization meeting, the deputy director of the steel plant, sent by the headquarters, arrived in Wujiabao.

The person who came to serve as the deputy director of the steel plant was Political Commissar He's old comrade-in-arms and his old subordinate.

His name is Xu Yaojie. He attended junior high school and has a certain level of education.

Moreover, he is capable and decisive in his actions, but not reckless.

After arriving at Wujiabao, he met with Chen Changzai and Political Commissar He, and then quickly threw himself into his work.

He had long been familiar with the Wujiabao Arsenal and Chen Changzai.

The grenades and landmines currently used by his troops are all produced by the Wujiabao Arsenal.

The effect is fantastic.

All the soldiers believed that the grenades from the Wujiabao arsenal were better than those captured from the enemy.

With precise ignition timing and powerful explosion, a single grenade can knock down a large number of enemies.

And those landmines were even more remarkable.

The sheer variety of landmines, large and small, dazzled even Xu Yaojie, a veteran of many battles, leaving him amazed and full of wonder.

When the headquarters leaders talked to him, wanting him to come to Wujiabao to assist Chen Changzai in building a real, large-scale steel plant.

Xu Yaojie accepted the task without the slightest hesitation.

It wasn't that he didn't want to lead troops into battle, nor was it that he was afraid of death.

Among the team, none of those who made it this far were afraid of death.

As a veteran, he knew all too well the importance of steel to the army.

The difference in sacrifice between an army with steel and one without is stark.

So when he learned that he was to be appointed as the deputy director of Wujiabao Steel Plant to fully assist Chen Changzai's work, he was very pleased.

In his mind, all he could think about was how to get the steel plant built as soon as possible and how to use more steel to arm the soldiers.

He had witnessed the helplessness soldiers felt when facing enemy tanks.

The steel body that bullets couldn't penetrate was too much damage to the soldiers.

The enemy planes flying overhead, constantly dropping bombs, and the machine guns on those planes relentlessly strafing the enemy, only added to the sense of despair.

And all of these things are made of steel.

So when he arrived at Wujiabao, he had only a strong fighting spirit in his heart, nothing else.

On the evening of the day Deputy Factory Director Xu arrived, Chen Changzai held a small welcome banquet in his cave dwelling.

Although it was called a welcome banquet, it was just that the soldiers in the canteen received an extra plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes and a plate of Mapo tofu, because Deputy Factory Director Xu was from Sichuan.

At the banquet, Deputy Factory Director Xu expressed his attitude.

That means respecting technology and strictly adhering to safety guidelines and red lines.

Chen Changzai and Political Commissar He greatly appreciated Deputy Factory Director Xu's attitude.

Because this is the foundation that truly enables the steel plant to develop healthily.

As for routine personnel management and interpersonal relationships.

These are important, but if you prioritize them, you'll only be able to maintain the status quo.

If you focus too much on personal relationships, you will lose the motivation to move forward.

After Chen Changzai and Deputy Factory Director Xu continued their discussion for a while about the things that needed to be paid attention to in the early stages of building the steel plant, Chen Changzai...

He said to Deputy Factory Director Xu, "Old Xu, during the initial preparations, you should pay more attention to the opinions of the experienced workers and technicians."

If there are any problems, we can discuss them together and see how to solve them.

During this period, I will likely focus more of my energy on the bullet production line and forging press.

But if you need anything from me, please feel free to come to me or Lao He.

"Okay, Director Chen, don't worry, I will humbly listen to the opinions of the experienced workers and technicians."

If there's anything I really can't figure out, I'll come to you for help.

"Alright, then the three of us will divide the work and work together to build a solid industrial foundation for him."

Come on, bottoms up.

The three of them finished off the sweet potato liquor at the bottom of the bowl in one gulp.

The next day, Deputy Factory Director Xu happily went to work with the veteran workers to begin preparations for the steel plant.

Last night's long talk made him feel that his future work would go much better.

Political Commissar He was his former leader.

Chen Chang, the factory director, was not the type to act arbitrarily. This kind of work environment made him very happy.

At this time, Chen Chang also devoted himself wholeheartedly to the production process of the semi-automatic bullet production line.

Because this is a project that can yield results very quickly.

In chronological order, the steel plant had the longest construction period.

According to the plan, the entire construction period of this steel plant should be between eight and ten months.

This is the result after Chen Changzai made many simplifications.

If the steel plant were built according to the standards of later generations, with a daily pig iron production of 300 tons and a converter furnace capacity of 3 tons, it would be a much better option.

The entire cycle could take twelve to sixteen months.

Because the approval process alone can take five or six months if all goes smoothly.

Of course, it was impossible for such a small blast furnace to be approved in later generations.

The manufacturing cycle for a forging press also takes two to three months.

This isn't something you can produce just by looking at blueprints; the preliminary preparations are extremely complicated.

The fastest progress is on this semi-automatic bullet production line.

Although this is a production line.

However, it still mainly consists of numerous small punch presses and small lathes.

(If anyone is interested, you can search online for Pakistani handicraft workshop production lines; they're quite interesting.)
Therefore, its progress is actually the fastest.

Its punch press is also driven by a steam engine transfer case, with a flywheel mechanical energy storage.

This flywheel mechanical energy storage uses the gentle kinetic energy of a steam engine to drive a large flywheel next to a punch press to rotate at high speed.

When the punch press needs to work, the clutch engages the flywheel, and the flywheel drives the punch through its huge inertia.

This will generate a huge instantaneous impact force.

When the stamping operation is finished, the clutch is released and the punch returns to its original position.

The steam engine's power continued to accelerate the flywheel, which had slowed down due to the pressing action.

This is the basic working principle of a flywheel energy storage punch press.

The flywheel energy storage device of the forging press operates on the same principle, except that the working medium is hydraulic oil.

According to the production plan set by Chen Changzai, the entire production period for this production line is fifteen days.

With this task completed, the preparations for the forging press are essentially nearing completion.

During these fifteen days, Chen Changzai would only visit the forging press and steel plant when he had business to attend to.

He spent almost all of his remaining time on this production line.

The entire machinery manufacturing plant, from the master craftsmen to Chen Changzai's student technicians, and then to every ordinary worker.

They all remained steadfast in their posts.

From dawn till dusk every day, everyone works hard.

Every night, Chen Changzai would think about where he could find a copper mine.

Chen Changzai had actually wanted to get a generator for a long time.

However, due to the severe shortage of copper, he was truly reluctant to use the precious copper to make a generator that could only be used for lighting.

The copper plates used by the military for copper plating on bullets and for primers are made by melting down copper coins and copper billets collected from civilians.

This is just enough to meet the needs of combat.

If he were to use this precious copper to make a generator that could only provide light, he would curse himself for being a spendthrift.

Whether it's silicon steel sheets used as rotor and stator cores, or insulating varnish made of phenolic resin.

These are not major problems for Chen Changzai, as he already has them.

After the main shaft of a medium-sized generator comes out of the 500-ton forging press, it can also be used to forge the main shaft of a steam-driven generator for industrial use.

Once the steel plant is in operation, it will be possible to produce bearing steel suitable for use in high-speed bearings through a converter.

But this copper mine is what's really giving Chen Changzai a huge headache.

"Sigh, let's see how things develop," Chen Changzai murmured.

　Thank you to all my friends who have supported me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)