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

Li Jianguo's hand froze.

"Headquarters wants you to go there immediately!"

"The car is already waiting at the door!"

Security Department? Late at night?

These two words together often mean big trouble in this era.

Li Jianguo's expression changed, and he sobered up considerably.

He put down the enamel mug, grabbed the coat hanging on the wall, and shoved it into Lin Xi's arms.

"Put it on, it's cold outside."

Li Jianguo lowered his voice, his tone urgent and stern:

"When we get there, just tell me whatever they ask, but as for how that camera was installed, shut up and do as I say! Understand?"

Before Lin Xi could answer, the door was pushed open.

A jeep was parked outside.

Several security officers, dressed in military overcoats and with pistol holsters at their waists, were watching the master and apprentice inside the room.

Lin Xi's heart sank.

It’s over.

Could it be that the unauthorized modification of the equipment has been exposed? Or... is his future identity being questioned?

......

The command center was brightly lit.

Behind the desk, an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit with graying temples was wearing reading glasses and flipping through a file marked "Secret".

Name: Lin Xi

Sex: Male

Age: 19 years old.

Education: First Technical School of the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, majoring in mold design and manufacturing.

Length of service: 11th month of internship.

Family background: Children of martyrs in the Third Front construction.

The file was thin, but it contained a detailed record of all of Lin Xi's movements over the past few days.

"Mr. Qian," the head of the security department standing by the table said in a low, serious voice.

"Although Lin Xi passed the political background check, she still has no problems."

"But the technical skills he demonstrated were somewhat unusual compared to his background."

"Furthermore, according to the report, he would intermittently space out in places such as the interpretation room and workshop, and we suspect that he was plotting something."

"For the sake of base security, I suggest we isolate and investigate them first..."

The elderly man, known as Mr. Qian, didn't stop moving; he simply waved his hand gently.

His gaze lingered on the last line of the file's conclusion: a clean background and impeccable revolutionary credentials.

He closed the file and tapped his index finger lightly on the table, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound.

[Abnormal? He's just exceptionally skilled technically; he's just an ordinary genius.]

As for daydreaming, that's because when geniuses encounter something interesting, they can easily immerse themselves in thought.

As for Mr. Qian, who famously said, "Even if a person is stupid, can't they learn calculus?"

Geniuses are perfectly normal.

It's just that ordinary people find it abnormal.

"No need for a review," the old man said gently.

"If it were the enemy, they wouldn't need to do anything before launching, and Red Star 2 would already be destroyed."

Just then, a loud report came from outside the door: "Engineer Li has arrived with intern Lin Xi!"

"Come in."

"Section Chief Zhou, you can go ahead and get back to work."

Mr. Qian stood up, picked up the thermos on the table, and personally poured boiling water into two enamel mugs with red characters printed on them.

White mist rises, and the aroma of tea wafts through the air.

Lin Xi followed Li Jianguo into the office, passing by Section Chief Zhou.

Although she had rehearsed it countless times in her mind, Lin Xi still gasped for breath when she actually saw the old man clearly.

He was the founder of China's aerospace industry, a living legend.

At the same time, the barrage of comments in Lin Xi's mind exploded like a burst dam, yet it was so uniform and shocking.

[Everyone stand up!]

[Everyone stand up!]

[A salute to Qian Xuesen! He's a true genius!]

[I'm moved to tears. Is this the old man who would have traded even five divisions for him?]

[Hey host! Take a closer look for me! This is our national treasure!]

Lin Xi took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart.

"Sit down, don't be shy." Old Qian gestured to the wooden chair opposite him, sizing up Lin Xi.

"Young man, you deserve immense credit for this successful launch."

"Tell me, how did you discover those problems?"

Lin Xi stood ramrod straight, neither humble nor arrogant:

"I only know the basics; I just dabbled in things at school."

"Fur?" Old Qian chuckled, picking up his teacup and blowing on the steam.

"We can hear 'ghost whistles' in the background noise of analog signals and calculate the thermal deformation of fluororubber during cutting."

"If this is just the tip of the iceberg, then we old men should retire."

Li Jianguo, standing to the side, grinned foolishly, even happier than if he were praising himself.

Mr. Qian put down his teacup, his expression turning solemn:

"The organization has studied it."

"A talent like yours is being wasted in the maintenance team."

"We've decided to transfer you to the overall design office, to work with Lao Zhang, and to directly participate in the aerodynamic layout calculations for the Red Star 3."

"Although I was still nominally an intern, I was treated like a formal technical cadre. I received full rations of food coupons and allowances."

"Hiss—" Li Jianguo gasped.

Overall Design Room!

Where is that? That is the core brain of the entire base, the sacred temple that all aerospace workers dream of!

Once you get in there, you become the true core of the "national team".

One step to the sky!

Li Jianguo was so excited his legs were trembling, but he still tried to remain reserved as he interjected, "Sir, this kid's skills aren't quite there yet, he's too impulsive. Sending him to the General Affairs Office... isn't that a bit too early?"

"Craftsmanship can be learned, but this kind of forward-thinking vision cannot be learned," Mr. Qian replied.

Li Jianguo stopped talking and just kept kicking Lin Xi's shoe under the table, blinking so hard his eyes almost cramped.

That means: Silly boy, say yes already! Your ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke!

The live stream chat was filled with exclamations of amazement:

[Holy crap! He's already a core member of the national team right from the start? That's incredible treatment!]

[Host, please say yes! Doing scientific research under Professor Qian's guidance would be the most worthwhile thing in my life!]

[If I put "Personally selected by Professor Qian" on my resume, who knows what the real value of that is?]

However, Lin Xi did not answer immediately.

A brief silence fell over the room.

Lin Xi's gaze shifted slightly downwards, landing on Old Qian's shoes.

They were ordinary black cloth shoes, the uppers were worn and frayed, and the soles were even slightly deformed.

Then look at the guard in the corner, who is trying to pull back the sole of his shoe that has come unglued.

He has seen too much these past few days.

The radar expert ate cold steamed buns with pickled vegetables.

Unable to afford better equipment, the calculation team used abacuses for calculations every day.

I heard that due to insufficient funding, several pre-research projects have been cut down to just blueprints.

Spaceflight in this era was achieved through sheer hard work and sacrifice.

Lin Xi was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking:

"Professor Qian, the General Control Room is the temple of aerospace workers, and I dream of going there."

Mr. Qian smiled and nodded.

"However," Lin Xi changed the subject, her voice clear and bright,

"I'm not going."

Li Jianguo's smile froze on his face, and Qian Lao's hand, which was holding a cup of tea, also stopped.

"Why?" Old Qian's voice was unreadable.

"When I came in just now, I saw that our wind tunnel laboratory was sealed off."

"I heard that the wind tunnel experiment on the Red Star No. 3 has been suspended three times due to lack of funding."

Lin Xi's voice was calm yet sharp.

"That's a temporary difficulty," Old Qian said, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Is it really temporary?" Lin Xi stopped avoiding the question and looked directly into the eyes of the legendary old man.

"Next year and the year after, the country's economic focus will shift to light industry and people's livelihood, and funding for military industry and aerospace will only become tighter."

"This is an inevitable trend."

"If I go to the chief design office, I can only save you the cost of a few drawings."

Lin Xi stepped forward, her voice not loud, but every word carried immense weight:

"But if you give me a chance, I can earn enough for you to build a wind tunnel!"