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

Lin Xi wasn't angry; instead, she pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Master," Lin Xi suddenly called out.

Li Jianguo, who was huddled in the back row smoking a pipe, paused for a moment, then asked, "What's wrong?"

How old are you this year?

"I'm fifty-two," Li Jianguo replied.

"How old were you when you started as an apprentice in the factory?"

Sixteen years old.

"How many years did it take you to go from apprentice to obtaining an eighth-grade worker's certificate?"

Li Jianguo smacked his lips twice.

Seemingly lost in memories, a hint of pride appeared on his face:

"Then I'm considered fast!"

"He's hardworking and quick-witted; he's been around for twenty years!"

"For anyone else, it would take at least thirty years."

Twenty years.

Lin Xi nodded, her gaze sweeping across the entire room.

The voice suddenly became deep and powerful:

"Did you hear that? Twenty years!"

"In the entire country of China, how many people are there like my master—level eight fitter, level eight lathe operator, and level eight grinder?"

No one answered.

Everyone knows in their hearts that it's a treasure like a panda.

They treat every factory like royalty; losing even one would be a loss for the country.

"Then you know, like the C620 and C616."

"How many old-fashioned hand-cranked machine tools, still in their prime, are there in all of China?"

Lin Xi stretched out a finger and drew a sharp line in the air.

"A conservative estimate is 1.5 million units!"

boom!

This number was like a bombshell, exploding right there in the conference room.

Jiang Jun was stunned.

He used to only focus on the few high-tech machines in the laboratory.

We have never looked at such a broad base before.

Lin Xi stood up, placed her hands on the table, and leaned forward:

"These 1.5 million machine tools form the foundation of our country's current industry!"

"But most of them can only do manual labor."

Why?

"Because there aren't enough experienced drivers to handle them!"

It takes twenty years to train an eighth-grade worker.

"It takes hundreds of thousands of operations to 'feed' it out."

"Can we afford to wait? Can the nation afford to wait?"

Lin Xi's voice suddenly rose in pitch:

"We're building five-axis machine tools so we can compete with Western countries in the future."

"But what we need now is to improve our basic industrial capabilities!"

Lin Xi pointed to the "M1 kit" on the blackboard:

"If we can build a system, it will only cost a few thousand dollars."

"Will installing it completely transform these million old machine tools?"

"No twenty years of experience is required, no feel for it is necessary."

"An apprentice who has only been working at the factory for six months."

"As long as you can read blueprints, and just press that green start button, you can machine parts with a precision of 0.01 millimeters!"

"Comrades, we are not building machines."

Lin Xi's gaze was intense as she spoke, enunciating each word clearly:

"We're mass-producing 'Level 8 workers'!"

Dead silence.

Absolute silence.

Only the sound of the cold wind howling outside the window.

Everyone gaped, their heads buzzing.

The live stream chat exploded with comments at that moment.

Holy crap! This is amazing! This is what you call vision!

Mass-producing level-eight workers... This isn't technical work, it's like giving the nation's industry a free cheat code!

[Turning 150 million old machine tools into CNC machine tools? The scene is too beautiful to bear!]

[Even 150 units, let alone 10 million, would be enough to change the industrial landscape!]

Jiang Jun felt goosebumps rise all over his body and his scalp tingle.

He looked at Lin Xi, and his eyes changed completely.

If before we looked at "benefactors" and "geniuses".

So now, he is looking at a "commander".

This is not climbing Mount Everest.

This is going to artificially raise the horizon of the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by a whole section!

This is the real Industrial Revolution!

"Bang!"

A loud bang broke the silence.

Zhao Qiang slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly.

That usually timid face was now flushed red, and he was trembling with excitement.

"It can work! This can definitely work!"

Zhao Qiang rushed to the blackboard, grabbed the chalk, and started drawing frantically on it:

"The biggest problem with hand-cranked machine tools is the transmission!"

"The original trapezoidal lead screw and nut had a gap, which was designed for hand cranking."

"Just replace this with a ball screw."

Click!

He snapped the piece of chalk in his hand.

But he didn't care and continued to draw an exquisite structural diagram with the broken chalk:

"And then there's Liu Xiaodong's so-called lookup table method..."

"That's 'digitizing' the master craftsman's feel!"

Zhao Qiang became more and more excited as he spoke, turning to look at Lin Xi with tears welling up in his eyes:

"Manager Lin, this is like giving the industry a complete overhaul!"

"If we can actually make this kit, it will be an immeasurable act of merit!"

Lin Xi smiled.

He walked over and patted Zhao Qiang on the shoulder:

"Engineer Zhao, you've hit the nail on the head."

"This mechanical modification plan will be put in your hands. Any questions?"

"No problem!" Zhao Qiang shouted.

"If I can't figure out how to fit that ball screw, I'll twist my head off and let you kick it around like a ball!"

The atmosphere at the scene completely changed.

All the previous doubts, disdain, and dissatisfaction vanished.

Instead, there was an almost frenzied drive.

Lin Xi seized the opportunity, returned to the main seat, and began to assign tasks.

"Wang Yu!"

"arrive!"

"You are in charge of the circuit board design for the entire kit."

"I only have three requirements: durable, durable, and damn durable!"

"The workshop environment is terrible, with lots of oil stains and iron filings."

"Your circuit boards need to be as durable as a tank!"

"clear!

"Master, the cannon."

Li Jianguo had already put away his pipe and straightened his back: "Go on."

"The non-standard parts designed by Zhao Qiang and his team."

"The modification of the first batch of prototypes will also require your skills to 'produce' them."

"Those parts that require high precision will still need your lathe tool to tackle."

Li Jianguo chuckled and rubbed his calloused hands together:

"As long as I have the blueprints, there's nothing I can't machine!"

Finally, Lin Xi looked at Jiang Jun.

Jiang Jun took a deep breath and took a step forward:

"Manager Lin, what about me?"

"Don't worry."

Lin Xi looked at him meaningfully.

"The current M1 kit is a temporary solution and is not perfect."

"Your task is to make a grating ruler."

"In the next step, your grating ruler will be our anchor."

Jiang Jun nodded vigorously, his eyes slightly red.

He could sense that Lin Xi truly understood technology and people.

"Alright."

Lin Xi checked the time.

It's 2 PM now.

"I hope to see the first modified CNC C620 running within a week."

"Meeting adjourned!"

Once the order is given, it is as swift and decisive as a military command.

There was no nonsense, no beating around the bush.

Liu Xiaodong chewed on a candy, leaned over the table, and started writing code;

Zhao Qiang led several technicians directly under the oil-stained lathe to take measurements;

Wang Yu grabbed the blueprints and ran frantically towards the electronics lab.

The entire Red Star Laboratory instantly transformed into a precision machine operating at full speed.

He Zhenhua stood by the window, watching this scene, and felt something stirring in his chest.

He had seen the Siemens laboratory in Germany; it was rigorous, rigid, and cold.

But in this simple workshop in Northwest China, he saw a vitality he had never seen before.

That's the fierce strength of wild grass breaking through rocks.

It's not just about surviving, but also about having the wildness to tear a hole in the sky.

"Manager Lin."

He Zhenhua turned to look at Lin Xi, who was drinking water, his tone complex:

"I have a feeling."

"Red Star Technology may become the most terrifying monster in the history of Chinese industry."

Lin Xi put down the enamel mug, a slight smile curving her lips.

"Engineer He, be more confident."

Remove the word "possibly".

He walked to the window, gazing at the vast Gobi Desert in the distance, his gaze seemingly transcending time and space:

"The CNC transformation of 1.5 million machine tools is just a warm-up."

"This M1 kit is not only intended to equip domestic factories."

"We'll sell them overseas, earn those foreign dollars, and completely shatter their low-end manufacturing industry!"