I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 15 Good things happen one after another
The article, titled "The People's Hands Are Great," circulated in all troop garrisons along with the headquarters newspaper.

This newspaper was even widely circulated outside the local area.

This article has generated a huge response.

This has greatly encouraged the local military and civilians.

However, while Chen Changzai was happy about all this, as an industrialist, he was still more concerned about the engine that he had not yet finished.

Perhaps it's the result of years of hard work accumulating knowledge and experience, or perhaps it's the power of sincerity.

While Chen Changzai was still diligently working in the workshop.

When Master Liu, who had once helped him make forging molds, came to him carrying two gray-black discs.

Chen Chang asked in surprise, "Master Liu, is the clutch disc really finished?"

"It's done. We've tried it several times, and its high temperature resistance, wear resistance, toughness, tensile strength, and torsional strength are almost exactly as you described."

"I really didn't expect that such a small film could stump us for so long," Master Liu said with a smile.

"How did you manage to do that? It's very difficult to compress this into a shape."

Chen Changzai took the two gray-black round pieces with metallic flecks from Master Liu's hands.

Master Liu then laughed and said, "I have to thank your student Xiao Zhiqiang for this."

"Xiao Zhiqiang, isn't he in the chemistry lab?"

How did it end up at your place?

"Oh, look how happy I am! Let's not stand here talking, sit down quickly, I'll get you a bowl of water."

After saying that, Chen Changzai quickly led Master Liu to the rest room to sit down.

After pouring water for Master Liu, Chen Changzai sat down to the side and asked, "How did Xiao Zhiqiang help you this time?"

Master Liu said with a smile, "It's all for making this little thing."

We've tried a lot of methods.

You told us that this stuff can be made by pressing asbestos, hemp fibers, iron powder, and glue together into a sheet.

We made several pieces according to your method, but the finished products either broke easily or deformed easily when twisted.

It completely fails to meet the requirements.

At first, we thought it was due to insufficient pressure.

Later we made a pressure mold with a thick screw.

Back then, your machine tool wasn't finished yet, so we had to cast one by hand.

With this mold, after adding the material, we first hammered it with that five-ton forging hammer.

Before lifting the hammer, tighten the screw hard to prevent the mold cover from springing back. After repeating this process, you will find that the contents inside have been formed.

However, they were all burnt.

We later discovered that the adhesive we were using couldn't withstand the high temperatures.

It couldn't even withstand the temperature under pressure.

At that time, you were busy with machine tools.

We were too embarrassed to come looking for you.

Later, my apprentice said, "You're busy with machine tools, but your students in the lab have been following you for so long; they should have learned something real by now."

If that doesn't work, go ask them there.

So we went to the lab.

I want to see if they can develop a glue that can withstand high temperatures.

Believe it or not, Xiao Zhiqiang said he actually isolated one recently, something called benzene.

They say it was extracted from coal tar.

That stuff, when combined with something else, seems to form a glue.
So we asked Xiao Zhiqiang to take a look.

I really didn't expect that the sticky stuff Xiao Zhiqiang brought out contained some other things we didn't know about.

We mixed the prepared materials together and then pressed them under high temperature in our mold.

Hey, it really worked!

We were worried it might not be safe, so we conducted experiments for several days.

The results were surprisingly good. That kid Xiao Zhiqiang, he really did a great job!

"Oh, I didn't expect that, I really didn't expect that."

Xiao Zhiqiang is also a chemical genius.

I never imagined he would have reached this point in the lab.

This is also my fault; lately, my head has been practically filled with machine tool stuff.

I haven't been to the lab for a while.

I really didn't expect that just by mentioning the various separation substances and simple methods of coal tar, Xiao Zhiqiang would have gotten this far.

"Not bad, not bad, it seems a genius has emerged from my ranks."

Xiao Zhiqiang is 22 years old this year. He attended middle school and later followed the army all the way here.

When Chen Chang was making explosives, Xiao Zhiqiang was one of his first group of thirty-odd students.

From the very beginning, he felt that Xiao Zhiqiang had a special talent for chemistry.

So later Chen Changzai set up a chemistry laboratory.

Chen Changzai had five students, whom he considered to be very talented, conduct some simple experiments using some chemical formulas he had taught them.

Although Chen Changzai also taught some more complex chemical experimental procedures.

However, he still told his students that they could not rush in chemistry and that they had to do experiments step by step.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it will be too late to regret it.

The preparation of phenolic resin is a chemical experiment of moderate to high difficulty.

Chen Changzai really didn't expect that Xiao Zhiqiang would be able to prepare phenolic resin and use it in actual products based on the knowledge he had acquired in the past few months.

Even if Chen Changzai were to do it himself, he might not be able to actually make it.

Back when he was a technician at the explosives factory, his main focus was on explosives manufacturing and modification.

Because coal tar is the main raw material for making explosives, Chen Changzai gained an in-depth understanding of the chemical chain of coal tar.

However, understanding and actually doing are two different things.

Moreover, chemical experiments like those involving phenolic resins are still quite far removed from the preparation of explosives, so he did not conduct in-depth research on them.

His knowledge of phenolic resins was limited to simply knowing and understanding the process.

But now his students are filling the void he left in this area.

This is something that will make Chen Changzai happy for a long time.

Every teacher's greatest hope is to cultivate a successful student.

Just as Chen Changzai was looking at the sample clutch disc in his hand with satisfaction.

Commissar He's voice rang out from outside the workshop: "Director Chen, Director Chen, good news, great news!"

I saw Political Commissar He rushing into the workshop.

Chen Changzai quickly asked, "Political Commissar, what's making you so happy?"

"Director Chen, this is great news!"

Did we get the book?

"Books? What books?" Chen Changzai paused suddenly, then said with some disbelief, "You don't mean we got our hands on textbooks?"

"Haha, they're just textbooks, and they're all textbooks for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and mechanics."

I got my hands on everything from elementary school textbooks to university textbooks.

This isn't just one or two books, it's several hundred.

"There are also many foreign books, original English and German versions of math, physics, and chemistry books," Political Commissar He said excitedly.

"Really? This is wonderful! These things are priceless! Where did we get so many treasures?"

"It was obtained by our comrades from Shanghai. After several transfers and several months, it finally came to us. It was really not easy."

To avoid being intercepted along the way, they split into several groups and brought the goods back separately.

"Oh, they are all heroes, they are all heroes."

Just as Chen Chang and the others were celebrating, Commander Chen's voice rang out again from outside: "Factory Director Chen, Factory Director Chen, come and see what I've brought you!"

(End of this chapter)