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

July, Space City.

Outside the cadre building, the four henchmen of the service station were watching Lin Xi's dormitory.

The curtains were drawn tightly, letting in only a dim, yellow light.

"It's been three days."

Sun Erga squatted against the wall, lowering his voice to barely a whisper.

"Sister Guihua, what big move is Manager Lin preparing during this seclusion?"

"How would I know?"

Liu Guihua carefully placed the freshly washed teacup down, afraid of making even the slightest noise.

"But I heard from the old people at the base that important people have to fast before they can do great things."

"The last time we went into seclusion, we created 'Warm Sunshine,' and we made over ten thousand yuan."

"During our last seclusion, we created 'Gentle Breeze,' and we made over ten million."

Sun Erga counted on his fingers, his eyes growing brighter with each calculation, and he was practically drooling.

"I've been holding it in for three whole days, I have to make something of it..."

"An atomic bomb?"

"Shh!"

Wang Dapao slapped Erga on the back of the head, glaring at him with his bull-like eyes.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Be careful the security department doesn't hear you! But..."

The towering, burly man swallowed hard, his eyes gleaming with the fervent devotion of a believer.

"I think Manager Lin is at least going to manufacture televisions this time! The color kind!"

"A TV is nothing."

In the corner, Wang Yu, who was oiling the gears, didn't even look up.

"Manager Lin was reading a book about magnetic fields; I think he's planning to build radar."

There were many different opinions in the courtyard, and rumors spread like wildfire throughout the entire base.

Even Qian Lao from the General Headquarters was alarmed.

The guard, Xiao Wu, comes by three times a day but never goes inside.

Just watch from afar, then go back and report:

"Sometimes you can hear laughter coming from inside that room, sometimes you can hear cursing, and sometimes you can hear the sound of someone slamming a table."

After listening, Mr. Qian simply adjusted his glasses and calmly wrote four words: "Protect them strictly."

In Qian Lao’s view, that was not madness.

That's a genius battling with inspiration.

……

However, inside the house just a wall away.

Lin Xi was indeed fighting.

But he wasn't battling with inspiration; he was arguing with the "cloud shareholders" in the live stream.

The room was filled with smoke, and the floor was covered with discarded drawings, resembling a bombed trench.

Lin Xi, sporting dark circles under her eyes and hair as messy as a bird's nest, was pointing and gesturing in the air.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Lin Xi threw a wad of paper into the corner and roared at the air.

"Who suggested building motorcycles? Get out!"

[King of the Skies: Host, what are you chickening out for? Jialing Factory is going to introduce Honda technology this year, let's go straight for the 2025 four-cylinder engine technology and crush those Japanese!]

[A fan of firecrackers: Exactly! A motorcycle engine can be modified to power a drone—a dual-use wonder for both military and civilian applications!]

Lin Xi rubbed her throbbing temples, frantically processing the information in her mind:

"Gentlemen, taking too big a step can lead to disaster!"

"The current Red Star is just a workshop; it doesn't even have a five-axis linkage. You expect me to manually build a four-cylinder engine?"

"That constable could run all the way to his grandmother's house!"

"Besides, motorcycles are a capital-intensive business; setting up a production line costs millions."

"What I want right now is quick money! Huge profits! Do you understand?"

[Iced Soda: They should make refrigerators! Large single-door and double-door models! A Japanese refrigerator from Japan is selling for over 2000 yuan at the Friendship Store right now, and it's only available with ration coupons—absolutely outrageous profiteering!]

[Gree die-hard fan: They could make air conditioners too! Just convert the window units into split-type units, and it would be a game-changer.]

"Refrigerator and air conditioner?"

Lin Xi sneered, picked up a pen, and drew a circle on the paper.

"Where's the compressor? Where's the refrigerant?"

"Currently, even domestically manufactured compliant Freon pipes cannot be produced satisfactorily; we rely entirely on imports. Who would I sell a shell made of them to?"

The live stream chat was in complete chaos.

These hardcore netizens from 2025 have various ideas: some want to build tank engines, some want to develop chip lithography machines (although they are handmade), and some even suggest developing Bitcoin (even though there is no internet yet).

This is the pain of "information overload".

You know all the future trends, but you're limited by your current industrial base.

This feeling is like a eunuch visiting a brothel—

I have the will but not the power.

"stop!"

Lin Xi slammed his hand on the table, and the live stream chat paused for a moment.

"What are our principles?"

Lin Xi held up three fingers, her eyes sharp as an eagle's:

"First, it is small in size, has high added value, and is convenient to transport."

"Second, the technological barriers are high, and it is best if it can be used in conjunction with existing aerospace technologies to achieve technological feedback."

"Third, and most importantly—"

Lin Xi walked to the world map hanging on the wall and poked her finger hard at the map of Europe, where the Germanic countries and the windmill country were located.

"I want to find something that's monopolized by foreigners, with profits comparable to drug trafficking, but that Chinese people can't make."

"I'm going to slap their faces until they're swollen and suck their profits dry."

There was a three-second silence in the live stream.

Immediately afterwards, a golden barrage of comments slowly floated by.

That was sent by my older brother, [Long Five Screws (Retired Version)].

[Xiao Linzi, have you ever heard of... razors?]

Lin Xi was stunned.

Shaver?

That unassuming little gadget that I use every morning?

[Long live the Industrial Party: Holy crap! That's a killer move! Right now, the only high-end electric shavers are from the German country of Braun and the windmill country of Philips.]

[Ingredient enthusiasts: The Polan Sixtant 800, a reciprocating type, vibrates like a hand-operated tractor, and it sells for a whopping $80!]

[History Class Representative: Moreover, the razor net technology at that time was a huge pitfall. The "Double Arrow" brand razor nets made domestically would break after only two uses, making shaving feel like torture, leaving you covered in blood.]

Lin Xi's eyes lit up.

It's getting brighter and brighter.

This is not a razor.

This is clearly a touchstone for micro motors and precision machining technology!

"Reciprocating shavings vibrate too much, while rotary shavings don't shave cleanly enough."

Lin Xi's brain was working at lightning speed.

"If we introduce the concept of magnetic levitation motors from 2025..."

He quickly sketched a draft on the paper.

"Electric motor".

Lin Xi wrote down two words, then added a heavy question mark next to them.

"Modern micro motors have low speed and low torque; they're just toys."

"What I want is a violent monster that spins at over 8000 revolutions per minute."

[Strong magnet expert: Use rare earth permanent magnets! Neodymium iron boron magnets weren't even available yet (in 1983), but samarium cobalt magnets (SmCo) were already in military use! These things are being sold overseas at rock-bottom prices right now, host, you need to intercept them quickly!]

Rare earth elements!

These two words struck Lin Xi's mind like a bolt of lightning.

In this era, China's rare earth elements are just soil.

It was exported as a cheap filler, and then foreigners extracted rare elements from it.

They can develop sophisticated missile guidance systems and then use them to threaten us.

They are using the guise of making razors to hoard rare earth magnets.

Not only can they manufacture motors that far surpass those of Braun, but they can also reserve technology for future missile servo motors!

"The motor problem is solved."

Lin Xi's hand trembled slightly, the pen tip making a harsh scratching sound as it scratched across the paper.

"Next up is the blade net."

[Materials Guru: Electroformed nickel mesh! Don't use stamped ones, that's too low-end. Use electrochemical deposition; the precision can be controlled at the micrometer level, thinner than paper, and tougher than steel!]

Electrochemical deposition.

This is precisely the core technology behind satellite skin and precision filters!

A perfect closed loop has been formed.

On the surface, this is just a man's vanity project.

In reality, this is a game-changer, combining miniature servo motors with aerospace-grade precision machining!

"Polané Philippe?"

Lin Xi looked at the gradually taking shape three-dimensional structure diagram on the paper, a cruel smile curving his lips.

"Its name..."

Lin Xi wrote four large characters in cursive script at the top of the drawing.

It is no longer "warm sunshine" or "gentle breeze".

This is a knife.

A knife that cuts through the Western technological monopoly.

【Red Star Whirlwind】.