Live Stream 1980: Netizens Teach Me How to Make a Rocket by Hand

Manager's office on the second floor of Dongfeng Department Store.

Sun Dafu held a purple clay teapot in his hands.

He sank into the wicker chair, his eyelids drooping halfway.

Across from him, Zhao Laizi was spitting everywhere, with half his body practically lying on the desk.

"Manager Sun, you had no idea how arrogant that kid surnamed Lin was!"

Zhao Laizi looked cynical and resentful.

"Leading a bunch of discarded scraps from the workshop, what's with this 'Little Sun' thing?"

"No tickets required, no official accounts."

"This is blatant undermining of the nation's interests!"

He lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with a thieving light:

"I've found out everything."

"Their raw materials are all obtained by scavenging and scrapping, so the cost is shockingly low."

"This is a scam!"

"Given your status, just talk to the security department and have them thoroughly investigate him..."

"Investigate what?"

Sun Dafu blew on the tea froth, not even lifting his eyelids, and said, "Is the security department my family's business?"

Zhao Laizi choked, his face stiffening:

"But... but we can't just do whatever we want!"

"Our department store's hot water bottles haven't been selling well these past few days!"

Sun Dafu put down the teapot, a smile that was hard to read spreading across his chubby face.

He's a seasoned veteran.

Lin Xi didn't lose her temper in the office that day.

But that look in his eyes—calm and sharp.

Later, they found out that a jeep from the headquarters was there to pick them up.

This background is definitely not simple.

Zhao Laizi, that idiot, couldn't see it, but Sun Dafu heard it all.

"Old Zhao," Sun Dafu began slowly.

"You need to be more aware. That's technological innovation."

"But……"

"No buts." Sun Dafu tapped the table.

"You called him a speculator."

"Where's the evidence? Where are the ledgers?"

"To make a false accusation without any evidence is to commit a malicious crime."

Zhao Laizi's face instantly turned a deep liver color.

Sun Dafu sneered inwardly, then changed the subject:

"However, the market is there."

"If Lin Xi can do it, why can't others?"

"Does our base need one or two more resistance wires?"

Zhao Laizi was stunned for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Manager Sun, what do you mean...?"

"I didn't say anything."

Sun Dafu picked up the teapot again.

"Go on, don't waste your time here."

"Instead of wasting time on this, you should use your brain more."

Zhao Laizi understood immediately, and bowed and scraped as he withdrew.

The moment the door closed, the smile on Sun Dafu's face vanished, replaced by a look of disdain.

"idiot."

He snorted, "Using me as a pawn?"

"Go ahead and clear out the landmines."

"If you get blown up, I'll collect your body; if you don't..."

"I can also get a share of the profits."

……

Workshop 5 was bustling with activity.

If the production in the first two days was like a "handmade workshop," then it's starting to feel a bit "industrialized" now.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

Wang Dapao stood in front of the spinning machine, holding an extended lever arm.

He welded it on himself using the lever principle, following Lin Xi's suggestion.

In the past, pressing down a reflector required holding one's breath in one's dantian.

Now, with just a gentle press, the aluminum sheet obediently takes shape, dramatically improving efficiency.

In the corner, Wang Yu was staring blankly at a strange-looking machine.

That was an "automatic winding machine" that he modified from an old fan motor.

Previously, winding the resistance wire was done entirely by hand, and the uneven tension made it easy to break.

The machine is now humming as it winds, evenly winding nickel-chromium wires around a ceramic tube.

The finished product is as standard as a textbook.

[Dapao is getting cooler and cooler! He's becoming more and more manly!]

[Anyone not a fan of Wang Yu? He's so cute and innocent!]

"45 units per day."

Liu Guihua's voice trembled as she announced today's figures:

"Manager Lin, at this rate, we can finish those 1200 units in less than a month!"

Lin Xi was holding a receipt and carefully checking it.

Hearing this, he didn't laugh; instead, he frowned slightly.

"As production capacity increases, the consumption of raw materials will also accelerate."

Lin Xi looked up, handed the receipt to Sun Erga, and said in a serious tone:

"Erga, go to the supplies depot again."

"Remember what I said."

"Even for a single screw, we must make them issue a 'scrap material allocation order'."

"It absolutely must have an official seal!"

"The red one!"

Sun Erga scratched his head, looking puzzled:

"Brother Lin, didn't we already pay?"

"They'd love for us to take that junk away to make room, why bother?"

"Go when I tell you to," Lin Xi said.

"Remember, these few sheets of paper are more important than the few thousand dollars we earn."

……

Evening, at the power supply station.

Director Zhao Gang was frowning at the pile of repair requests on his desk, so much so that he was about to go bald from worry.

"These good-for-nothing bastards!" Zhao Gang stubbed out his cigarette angrily.

"Every night around 6:30, the transformer in the residential area starts whirring, and the fuse blows three times a day!"

"If this continues, the transformer is bound to burn out!"

"Director, this isn't everyone's fault," a technician muttered quietly.

"That 'Red Star Little Sun' is so popular, every household has one."

"With a load of several hundred kilowatts being put on it, how can our old power lines withstand it?"

"That brat Lin Xi is really giving me trouble!" Zhao Gang gritted his teeth.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Lin Xi pushed open the door and entered, followed by Wang Dapao carrying a heavy box.

"Oh, Director Zhao, getting angry?" Lin Xi smiled innocently.

"Perfect timing, let me put out the fire for you."

Zhao Gang rolled his eyes in annoyance:

"Put out the fire? You are the source of the fire!"

"Lin Xi, I was just looking for you!"

"Your heaters have to be shut down! The power grid is going to explode!"

"Don't rush."

Lin Xi waved his hand, and Wang Dapao placed the box on the table.

Upon opening it, there were five neat stacks of 10,000-yuan bills, with several rolls of brand-new fuses next to them.

Zhao Gang was stunned: "What are you doing? Trying to bribe me?"

"This is the 'electricity grid maintenance fee'," Lin Xi said calmly, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"For every machine I sell, I will voluntarily donate one yuan to the institute."

"Used for maintaining circuits and replacing fuses."

"Here's five hundred dollars, prepayment."

Zhao Gang's Adam's apple bobbed.

The power supply station is a low-income department with a perpetually tight budget, so this 500 yuan was a godsend.

But he still had a stern face:

"Even if you have money, it won't work!"

"The transformer capacity is a fixed limitation; that's a fatal flaw!"

"So I brought you a solution," Lin Xi said.

"The No. 1 launch pad was just refitted two days ago, and two Soviet-made transformers were removed."

"It has five times the capacity of the residential area, and it's currently just sitting in the warehouse collecting dust."

"You can submit a report to apply for its allocation for the expansion and renovation of the family quarters."

Zhao Gang's eyes widened instantly.

Expanding the residential area for family members was something he had been thinking about for three years but hadn't been able to accomplish.

The problem lies in the lack of equipment and funding.

Now the equipment has a source, and the funding is provided by Lin Xi...

This isn't trouble at all; it's practically a political achievement delivered to our doorstep!

"Lin Xi, you brat..."

Zhao Gang looked at the young man in front of him and felt a chill run down his spine.

How does this brain even work?

Not only did he refuse to ask for favors, he also turned the power supply station into a community of shared interests.

"But I have one condition." Lin Xi tapped the table, her voice low.