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

"Snapped!"

The chalk struck the blackboard heavily.

"This is not an ordinary electric fan."

Lin Xi's voice echoed in the empty workshop, carrying a bewitching magic.

"This is called an 'aerodynamic laminar flow circulating fan'!"

Everyone was stunned by this string of words.

"We'll be using NACA airfoil blades!"

"What we want to simulate is the natural wind in a mountain forest!"

"What we need to do is use a 'dimensional reduction attack'!"

Although the workers below the stage didn't understand much, they all stood up straight with fervent eyes.

They felt that working for Manager Lin would result in building satellites, not fans!

"Division of labor!"

Lin Xi waved his hand.

"Master, you take the cannon and tackle the most difficult part: the aluminum mold for the blades!"

"Wang Yu!"

Lin Xi handed him a separate circuit diagram, her expression serious:

"The circuit system is yours."

"I don't want one of those knob switches that make a 'click' sound when you turn it."

"What I need is the piano key switch!"

"The kind that's 1/2/3/off."

"Like a piano, when you press it, it makes a crisp 'click' sound, with a strong, resonant rebound!"

Wang Yu took the blueprints and adjusted his thick glasses.

He looked at the ingenious interlocking mechanical structure on the blueprints.

Two flames suddenly burst forth in his previously dull eyes.

"This structure... is interesting."

Wang Yu muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously gesturing in the air.

"Interlocking is achieved by using spring energy storage..."

"Leave it to me!"

Tasks have been distributed.

Li Jianguo tucked his pipe into his waistband and walked to the C620 lathe.

"Buzz—"

The motor roared.

Li Jianguo's eyes were like an eagle's, and his rough, large hands gripped the handwheel firmly.

The silvery-white aviation aluminum ingot began to spin at high speed.

The lathe tool cuts in.

"Sizzle—"

Accompanied by a sharp yet pleasant cutting sound.

Silver aluminum shavings danced in the air like snowflakes.

It shimmered with a captivating metallic luster under the dim yellow light.

This is the Spring Festival of 1980.

There was no sound of firecrackers at the Red Star Service Center.

But the roar of these machine tools is the loudest salute of the industrial age.

Lin Xi stood amidst the flying aluminum shavings, watching all this, a slight smile playing on her lips.

The second blockbuster product of Red Star is being conceived and born in this cold steel.

......

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the festive atmosphere had not yet dissipated.

A tractor belching black smoke rumbled into the courtyard of the Aerospace City Plastics Factory.

There were two things in the truck bed.

They were just a few shiny silver aluminum blocks carefully wrapped in cotton blankets—

Those were the eyes of Li Jianguo and his apprentice, bloodshot from staying up all night.

Aluminum molds were "gnawed" out using that C620 lathe.

The other item was a whole twenty sacks of dark, gritty plastic scraps.

Lin Xi jumped out of the passenger seat, dusted herself off, and waved to the fat man who came out to greet her:

"Director Wu, Happy New Year!"

"I'm sorry to have troubled you!"

Wu Defa, factory manager of Aerospace City Plastics Factory.

He was wearing a slightly worn Zhongshan suit and had a cigarette between his fingers.

He had long heard of Lin Xi's name—

A favorite of the headquarters, a ruthless character who could get Qian Lao to grant him special approval.

"Oh, Manager Lin!" Wu Defa greeted him with a broad smile, shaking his hand warmly.

"No trouble at all."

"Prioritize production, then celebrate the New Year."

"We should support our sister units in their innovation efforts."

"but……"

His gaze passed over Lin Xi and landed on the pile of sacks.

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"You're planning to use this thing for a trial run?"

Lin Xi turned around, untied the opening of a burlap sack, and pulled out a handful of colorful plastic fragments.

Red, blue, green, and even half a toothbrush handle that wasn't completely crushed.

This is the crushed polypropylene (PP) material recycled from the scrap yard.

Commonly known as: garbage.

Several elderly injection molding workers standing nearby immediately covered their noses.

His eyes were filled with undisguised contempt.

"Isn't this just scrap metal that you get from collecting junk?"

"This stuff has a lot of impurities, and its melt index is unstable."

"All that came out were flow lines and black dots."

"Let alone making a fan, I wouldn't even dare to make a spittoon."

Wu Defa's smile faltered.

He originally thought that Lin Xi, this "high-achieving student," could bring some cutting-edge projects.

The result was that a truckload of garbage was brought in and ruined his machine.

"Manager Lin," Wu Defa chuckled dryly, tossed his cigarette butt on the ground, and stomped it out.

"Although our factory isn't a big one, it still provides supporting services to the base."

"If this material gets into the cannon barrel, it'll scratch the screw."

"I can't explain this to my superiors."

The implication is: Get out of here quickly, don't embarrass yourself.

Lin Xi wasn't angry; instead, she smiled.

He tossed the plastic scraps back into the bag and dusted off his hands.

"Director Wu, I know what you're worried about."

"Don't worry, if the machine is damaged, I'll pay double."

"As for whether this material is usable..."

Lin Xi smiled mysteriously and took out four glass bottles from his pocket.

In the live stream, the chat was instantly flooded with comments.

[Chemical Engineering Maniac: Here it comes! The legendary aesthetics of waste materials!]

[Color Master: Warning! This is a 2025 formula!]

[Netizens: Waiting for the factory manager to be proven wrong, this is a magical attack!]

Lin Xi found a clean, large basin, looking like an alchemist conducting a chemical experiment.

The first bottle contained white powder.

"Titanium dioxide, the king of hiding power."

As Lin Xi poured, she casually explained, "With this, even the most colorful base color can be covered up."

The second bottle contained a dark blue powder.

Phthalocyanine blue, the "cold-blooded killer" among industrial colorants.

The third bottle contained a dark green powder.

"Phthalocyanine green, used to harmonize color tones."

The fourth bottle contains talcum powder.

"Increase hardness."

Lin Xi picked up a wooden stick and quickly stirred the water in the basin.

The dark waste was encased in the four types of powder.

It gradually turned into a deep, dark gray-green.

"What color is this?"

Wu Defa peeked out and shook his head.

"It tastes like salted vegetables that's been sitting out for half a month."

Lin Xi's lips curled up:

"This is called 'military green'."

"This is also the underlying characteristic of our Red Star products."

In this era, people have become accustomed to bright reds and greens, or monotonous grays and blacks.

This deep, almost blackish green is considered "dirty" by them.

"Alright, stop standing there."

Lin Xi poured the mixed ingredients into the hopper and said, "Start the machine!"

The person in charge of operating the machine was an old man in his fifties, surnamed Liu.

Master Liu pressed the start button.

"Buzz—"

The huge injection molding machine emitted a deep roar.

The screw started to turn, swallowing the "garbage" into its belly.

Heating, melting, and mixing.

Lin Xi muttered the steps to herself, her eyes gleaming.

2 minute later.

"Start the mold!"