Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

This is how Gao Jianguo planned to use the voltmeter.

The voltage output by a thermocouple is in the millivolt range. It needs to be amplified more than a hundred times before it can drive the meter. This requires a vacuum tube amplifier circuit.

For both n-type and k-type circuits, an additional compensation circuit is needed to deal with cold junction temperature drift. Add to that the power supply, and the whole circuit is pretty much the same.

However, there's a problem: the voltage from a thermocouple isn't directly proportional to the temperature, so there's no way to directly mark the temperature on the dial.

These days, microcontrollers are still a thing of the past, so don't even think about calculating the temperature directly from an electrical signal.

So Gao Jianguo simply let it display the amplified voltage value directly. When the temperature needed to be converted on the production site, he used the most brutal method: looking up the table.

Simply put, it's about plotting the voltage and temperature values ​​on a large chart. People working on-site can glance at it and immediately know the voltage and temperature.

He pulled out his drawing tools and began to hand-draw circuit schematics.

Although there were no computers at the time, and no one had ever heard of Altium Designer, Protel, Pads, or Eagle, and the schematic diagram couldn't be generated into a PCB layout with a single click, Gao Jianguo still didn't skip this step and dutifully drew the schematic diagram.

Because if you don't have a schematic diagram when making a revision, and you just modify the PCB, it's a huge hassle. Besides, the schematic diagram is the most important foundation of the entire design.

The circuit wasn't difficult. After the schematic was drawn, he started to manually cut out the PCB piece by piece, following the schematic.

Corey happened to have double-sided copper-clad plates in stock, so he didn't have to worry about building the shed.

The craft of building sheds, to put it nicely, is called the romance of handcraft; to put it bluntly, the technique is too rough, the volume cannot be reduced, and quality control is difficult to manage. It's simply impossible to achieve large-scale standardized production.

As circuits become more complex, point-to-point wiring becomes completely useless; it's only treasured by those who play with hifi DIY or electronics enthusiasts.

With schematics and circuit boards on hand, plus reviewing Liang Jianguo's design for the electrode repeatability test, Gao Jianguo was busy from morning till almost the end of the workday.

He finished writing his review comments before leaving get off work, personally delivered them to the laboratory, and handed them to Liang Jianguo, asking him to revise them by noon the next day.

The bell rang to signal the end of the workday, but most people didn't even move.

The reason is obvious: they hadn't finished their work, and they were still getting paid for working overtime.

The rule is to continue working after get off work hours, from 7 pm to 11 pm, four hours without a minute less, and the allowance is equivalent to half a day's wages.

Take Jia Dongxu as an example. He is a level 2 fitter, earning 38.6 yuan a month. He can earn about 0.8 yuan a night.

If you follow the entire research project from beginning to end, the amount of money involved is not small, which is another reason why Gao Jianguo didn't dare to ask for more people at the beginning.

He doesn't force anyone. If someone wants to work extra hours, it's not a bad thing to finish a day earlier. The key is to make sure the hard work is worthwhile and not let people work for nothing.

On the way back, Gao Jianguo's mind was full of circuit diagrams. He felt that he had used his brain a lot today, so he had to reward himself with a good meal.

So I cut off half a pound of meat and got half a pig's stomach. I took it home and put it in the storage room. When it came out, it had turned into a pound of meat and a whole pig's stomach.

Today was a long and tiring day, so let Sha Zhu teach him a lesson.

There was no other way; his own cooking skills were only passable. Since there was a cook in the yard, there was no harm in not using him.

Just as they arrived at Sha Zhu's door, He Yushui jumped out of her house.

"Brother Jianguo, Brother Jianguo, what good news is it? You're asking my brother to cook for you again."

Gao Jianguo took two candies out of his pocket and gave them to her.

"Nothing good, I just crave your brother's cooking, heh."

He Yushui cheered and thanked them, then ran back into the house to enjoy the candy.

Sha Zhu heard the noise and came out. He had just arrived home and was putting lunchboxes in the cupboard when he saw what Gao Jianguo was carrying and immediately understood.

However, he wasn't annoyed at all; on the contrary, he was quite happy.

Firstly, he considered Gao Jianguo a friend and was willing to cook for him. Secondly, Gao Jianguo always prepared generous portions, and whenever it was convenient, he would invite Yushui along.

After being soaked by the rain so many times, compared to that, Sha Zhu immediately felt that his little lunchbox didn't taste so good anymore.

What we brought back was all by luck. No one cooked for us today; the lunchboxes were just big pot dishes, nothing compared to what Gao Jianguo was carrying.

Sha Zhu stuffed the small lunchbox into the cupboard, tied on his apron, and got to work.

Hearing the sound of a knife chopping vegetables coming from the kitchen, Gao Jianguo remembered his radio and phonograph.

"Shazhu, once you're done, take some to the old lady in the backyard. Take the rest to my place, and we can eat while listening to the radio."

Sha Zhu then realized that the radio was finally fixed. He used to laugh at Gao Jianguo for spending forty-five yuan on a wooden box.

"You finally managed to get that broken thing working? Okay, I'll bring it over to you in a bit."

He Yushui, with her keen ears, immediately became interested.

"Brother Jianguo, I'm going to listen to the radio. Brother, you make yourself dinner, I'm going to listen to the radio show."

Sha Zhu was displeased upon hearing this.

"Hey, hey, why don't you stay and lend me a hand? Don't blame me if we eat late later."

He Yushui had already dashed over to Gao Jianguo's side, so Gao Jianguo had no choice but to follow her and open the door for her, leaving Sha Zhu there to do his own thing.

He Yushui was holding onto the radio tightly, while Gao Jianguo took out his metallurgy textbook and started looking at the ESR materials.

He took some time to go back to school and ask other professors for this, and by comparing it with their work, he figured out a lot more about it.

Before long, Sha Zhu brought over a hot meal.

The radio was playing the evening news, and the room was comfortably warm from the heating. Steam rose from the dishes on the table. It was late October, and the cold wind outside was whistling faintly, which made the room feel even more peaceful.

Sha Zhu raised his glass to Gao Jianguo.

"Your life is so comfortable. You listen to some tunes, drink some wine, and your work isn't a problem. All you're missing is a wife."

That last sentence left Gao Jianguo speechless.

During my senior year of college, I didn't even have a boyfriend, let alone any romantic interest.

Then I put them on, and as soon as I put them on, war broke out.

After the war, he went back to school, but while he was studying, his classmates' enthusiasm for building was so strong that it was impossible to melt away, so he had no chance to study.

He was surprised when he realized this.

"Oh no, could I be the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi?"

The thought amused him, and he chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't bring this up, let's not make fun of each other. You're twenty-four, right? And Rain's sister-in-law is still flying in the sky!"

This time, it's Sha Zhu's turn to suffer. He's a master of boasting; he can spout off without batting an eye.

"You don't know, I just didn't like the girls who were pursuing me. The line of girls would stretch all the way to Dongzhimen."

Gao Jianguo casually added a comment.

"You're just bragging. Seriously, what kind of person are you looking for?"

Sha Zhu took a sip of his drink, his eyes darting around.

"Beautiful appearance, good figure, family-oriented, gentle temperament, fertile, has local residency, and a stable job..."

Listen to this. He hadn't been through the trials of life yet, and he hadn't reached the stage where he was completely infatuated with Qin Jingru. Back then, he wouldn't have mentioned anything about household registration or work.

Gao Jianguo's mind raced; wasn't this Qin Huairu, who had taken over Jia Dongxu's job?

So this idea was planted in your mind all along. The problem is, you didn't make it clear whether you're going to have children for yourself.

He picked up the glass and took a sip.

"Fine, you might as well stay single."