Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

The return air furnace, in the end, doesn't really have much to do with the serious work we're doing.

It's fine to use it as a side note or as research fodder, and if it gets out, it'll earn you some compliments.

However, if we make this our main focus and core achievement, it's somewhat unpresentable and doesn't hold up well enough.

The document in Gao Jianguo's hand was a printed PPT, with a large title on the cover: "Principles and Latest Progress of Electroslag Remelting (ESR) Technology".

The booklet is not thick, only about a hundred pages, and it is printed on both sides; the system also knows how to save paper.

Electroslag remelting, simply put, involves passing an electric current through liquid slag and using resistance heat to heat and refine the metal.

From this core technology, a whole host of branches have emerged, including electroslag remelting, casting, transfer casting, pouring, centrifugal casting, hot capping, welding, composite, and tundish heating.

The most basic and core technology is the electroslag remelting process that Gao Jianguo is working on. Its purpose is to further purify the steel alloy on the basis of the initial refining process, make the internal crystal structure of the steel ingot more beautiful, and thus improve the quality of the product significantly.

The remelted material can be cast or continuously cast during the cooling process to produce castings and rough blanks.

The blank can be forged or sent to a steel rolling mill for rolling.

Back in 58, the Soviet Union and China began industrial production of electroslag remelting, while Western countries didn't get started until around 63.

This method has many drawbacks: low production efficiency, high power consumption, fluorine pollution, insufficient product cleanliness, easy oxidation of elements, high gas content, and severe segregation during the solidification of large steel ingots.

However, its advantages are also there: remelted metals can be effectively refined by slag, crystallization conditions are improved, metal yield is increased, equipment is not complicated, production costs are low, operation is easy to learn, there are many product varieties, and it has a wide range of applications.

After continuous improvements in technology and processes, it became the most widely used secondary refining method in the world, without exception, mainly used in the production of special steels and alloys.

Although China had already started industrial production of ESR in 58, it was still in its infancy and there was not much related research.

More importantly, the material in Gao Jianguo's hands not only contains the underlying principles, but also includes the "latest progress" in ESR technology up to the 21st century, which makes it much more significant.

While many things are only touched upon briefly, some case studies and practical technical introductions are quite solidly written.

It's no exaggeration to say that this one document is enough for Gao Jianguo to live off for decades, provided he really intends to switch to metallurgy.

Gao Jianguo hadn't thought about those things; he still wanted to focus more on his major.

But that didn't stop him from using ESR as a stepping stone.

What he values ​​most is that the ESR equipment and its principles are simple, and once you thoroughly understand some of the materials, you can quickly produce results.

He graduated with a degree in automation, so it makes perfect sense for him to take a small step into secondary refining production.

Besides, even if it can't be rolled out on a large scale due to investment issues, the results of this thing won't be wasted.

ESR is naturally suited for small-scale production of special alloy materials, which can be a highlight for steel rolling mills.

As long as the results are excellent, the factory will readily agree to support small-scale production of special materials.

"I'll have to go back to school and ask my teachers, and get some books on metallurgy to read, so I can try to produce a distinctive and tangible result as soon as possible," Gao Jianguo thought to himself.

This can't be rushed in a short time; he's confident and patient.

After starting work, Gao Jianguo plans to find a suitable opportunity to organize manpower to carry out related work by relying on the collective strength.

The work is delegated, and so is the credit.

Trying to keep all the benefits to yourself will basically prevent you from achieving anything.

Putting everything else aside, the workload alone is something that no one person could handle.

Gao Jianguo spent the entire morning repeatedly studying and pondering ESR technology.

I grabbed a quick bite for lunch and then went back to looking at the materials.

Around 3 PM, a commotion suddenly broke out in the courtyard where Sha Zhu and the others were staying.

The noise came from the inner courtyard, causing a commotion as chickens and dogs flew and ran all the way to the front yard, making quite a racket.

Gao Jianguo put the materials into the storage room, went outside to watch the excitement, just to give his brain a break.

-

While Gao Jianguo was reviewing the materials at noon, Sha Zhu was happily tidying himself up.

An older woman introduced him to a distant relative, and they were going to have a blind date.

Sha Zhu was born in 1935, and he's almost 20 years old.

His father, who had taken his sister to another province, abandoned the two siblings. Sha Zhu had been so focused on taking care of his sister that he hadn't had time to think about finding a partner.

The relationship, which had shown some promise, was ruined because of his sister, who was a burden to him.

Twenty-four years old might be considered early marriage in the future, but nowadays it's definitely considered late marriage.

Sha Zhu himself was also getting a little anxious.

The old lady was a kind-hearted person. She had watched Sha Zhu grow up since he was a child, and since she didn't have any children of her own, she took extra care of Sha Zhu and started arranging dates for him.

At this point, the old man and his wife probably hadn't yet considered how to support Sha Zhu in his old age.

After all, the couple wasn't old enough to completely give up, and besides, their apprentice Jia Dongxu was still alive and kicking.

In terms of closeness or distance, it's not even a matter of scheming against Sha Zhu.

Besides, Jia Dongxu has sons and daughters.

Jia Dongxu will retire, and when Jia Dongxu gets old, his son will be grown up, and then they can continue their relationship. How wonderful would that be?

An old man can figure out the difference between losing a watermelon and picking up a sesame seed.

Sha Zhu put on a fake collar, wore a Zhongshan suit, and slipped on the new white-edged cloth shoes made by the deaf old lady. He then tidied his hair.

When things were almost done, an older woman led a group of people toward number 95.

Along the way, the older woman explained the situation to her distant niece.

"I've already told your mother about it, but I'm afraid that things might get mixed up in the heat of the moment and cause some mistakes, so I'll explain it to you in detail again so you have a better understanding."

"I've watched He Yuzhu grow up since he was a child. He's a bit stubborn, but quick-witted and resourceful. He has a lot of ideas when things get tough. But he's a really good person."

"I have a younger sister who's about to start junior high. She's capable of managing her own affairs and doesn't need much care."

"You'd say he has a father, but just pretend he doesn't exist; we haven't heard from him in a long time."

"Shazhu works in the steel mill's canteen, a proper, full-time employee, earning thirty-seven yuan and fifty cents a month. Hey, why am I telling you this? He could brag about it eight times over if I didn't say it."

"Where were we? Oh right, he's a cook at the steel mill, so he and his family never go hungry. He's very good to the elderly, and you could live a comfortable life with him."

The girl with the older woman blushed slightly, kept her head down and listened, occasionally letting out a soft "hmm" in response.

The two walked together and entered the front yard.

At that moment, Gao Jianguo was lying on the table reading a book.

At the front gate, the two encountered a tall man with a horse-like face and a small mustache walking out.

This person was none other than Xu Damao, the number one scumbag in the courtyard, and arguably the only one of his kind.

There are quite a few people with problems in the courtyard houses, and quite a few with serious problems.

In Gao Jianguo's mind, everyone else had their own reasons or unavoidable circumstances when they had problems, but Xu Damao was the only one who was purely evil, never forgot his original intentions, and continued to be evil all along.