I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 16 The Surprise Brought by Commander Chen
Before Commander Chen even entered the courtyard, his loud voice could be heard inside the workshop.

Upon hearing that it was Regiment Commander Chen's voice, Chen Changzai and Political Commissar He quickly went out of the workshop to greet him.

Upon exiting the workshop, one could see Commander Chen leading a large group of people, some carrying sacks on their shoulders, others on horseback, as they entered the workshop courtyard.

Judging from the fact that these people were covered in sweat, you could tell that the contents of that bag were quite heavy.

After putting the bag on the ground by the yard.

Commander Chen said to Chen Changzai, "Changzai, look what good things I've brought you."

"What good stuff is it? Tell me quickly, Uncle Chen," Chen Changzai asked with a smile.

Commander Chen didn't say what it was, he just smiled and opened the bag.

The soldiers who came with him just smiled and didn't say anything.

The regimental commander wanted to give Factory Director Chen a surprise, and they wouldn't spoil his fun.

Commander Chen opened the bag and took out a bundle of tree bark tied together, showing it to Chen Changzai.

"Eucommia bark, it's eucommia bark! Haha, Uncle Chen, how much eucommia bark did we bring back this time?" Chen Changzai was so happy when he saw that it was eucommia bark that he almost jumped up.

Chen Changzai wanted Eucommia bark, not to lower blood pressure, tonify the kidneys, or treat lower back pain.

He intends to use Eucommia bark to extract rubber.

Eucommia bark is a traditional Chinese medicine that has the effect of tonifying the kidneys and treating lower back pain. Many people use it to make medicinal wine.

However, Eucommia bark has another use: extracting rubber.

Although its gum content is not as high as that of rubber trees, only about six to ten kilograms of raw gum can be extracted from every hundred kilograms of Eucommia bark.

However, this is a very precious thing for Chen Changzai, who has no rubber at all.

He wanted to manufacture hand-held tractors, and find ways to replace rubber in other applications where it was needed.

Even tires can be replaced with iron wheels or wooden wheels, which can be used temporarily.

However, when raw cowhide is used to seal oil pipe joints, high-pressure joints, and crankshafts, the effect is much worse.

Especially its lifespan.

If we could use rubber seals, that would be much better.

Another point is that his single-cylinder diesel engine design could use belt drive.

This eliminates the need for mechanical transmission mechanisms, significantly reducing the overall weight of the tractor.

Reducing weight will save a lot of fuel, which is very precious these days.

Moreover, the manufacturing process will become much simpler, and maintenance will be much more convenient.

This is why having rubber is essential for developing industry.

Seeing Chen Changzai so happy, Commander Chen also smiled and said, "This time, we obtained 50,000 jin of Eucommia bark in southern Shaanxi."

These are the first ones to arrive.

The comrades who went to purchase the bark went to great lengths and spent a lot of money to get so much Eucommia bark.

However, the leaders at headquarters said that as long as the money was spent on Director Chen, it would definitely be worthwhile.

The money we spend on Director Chen today will be earned back by him a hundred or a thousand times over in no time.

Haha, the leaders at headquarters have a lot of faith in you!

Chen Changzai felt a sense of satisfaction upon hearing this; it felt good to be trusted.

At this moment, Chen Changzai said to one of his students, "Xiao Liu, go to the lab and call Xiao Zhiqiang and his assistant over."

Just tell them I need to speak with them.

"Okay," Xiao Liu replied and quickly ran towards the chemistry lab.

When Xiao Zhiqiang and his group arrived at the workshop, Chen Chang was there. They had already weighed all the Eucommia bark, which totaled more than 6,000 jin (3,000 kg) and over 3 tons.

"Teacher, you wanted to see me?" Xiao Zhiqiang asked Chen Changzai, who was busy at work, when he arrived at the workshop.

"Zhiqiang is here. Take a look at this." Chen Changzai said, taking out a piece of Eucommia bark from the sack.

The piece of Eucommia bark was broken in two in Chen Changzai's hands, and he slowly pulled the bark apart with both hands.

Between the two pieces of Eucommia bark, a white, jelly-like substance, resembling chewing gum, was slowly pulled out. Chen Changzai said to Xiao Zhiqiang, "This is Eucommia bark, and the white stuff inside is Eucommia gum."

Its properties are essentially the same as those of rubber.

Now I'm giving you a task: to lead a team to extract Eucommia ulmoides gum.

Extracting eucommia gum is not difficult; you just need to dry and crush the eucommia bark.

Then it was extracted with an ethanol and acetone solution.

When you extracted the phenol, did you also extract the acetone solution at the same time?

These two things will appear at the same time.

"Yes, teacher. When I extracted phenol from coal tar, I also extracted acetone at the same time. There is still some acetone in the laboratory now."

I'm currently thinking about what methods I can use to extract large quantities of phenol.

Master Liu said they will be using a lot of phenolic resin in the future.

"Yes, we will have a lot of applications for phenolic resin in the future, and when you extract the rubber, you will need a lot of phenolic resin when I make transmission belts."

Furthermore, we will vigorously develop the power industry in the future, and phenolic resin is the best insulating material.

Therefore, you need to continue to invest your energy in this area and conduct in-depth research.

The headquarters went to great lengths to procure many textbooks on physics and chemistry for us.

I'll keep a few sets for you here in the lab.

After all, the theoretical knowledge presented in textbooks is more systematic, unlike the scattered knowledge I teach you.

Moreover, there are many things in textbooks that I cannot master either, so we should learn together and make progress together.

“Teacher, I still feel that I will learn faster by learning from you,” Xiao Zhiqiang said.

"Zhiqiang, let me tell you, in chemistry, your foundation determines how high you can go."

If your foundation is not solid enough, then the heights you can reach in the future will be limited.

You must always remember that the chemical industry in this world is constantly evolving.

Nothing is insurmountable or unbreakable, as long as you focus on your studies and solidify your theoretical foundation.

So, in the future, when we are able to reach spacecraft beyond this planet, your achievements will certainly be there.

"Yes, I will solidify my theoretical foundation, teacher."

Hearing Chen Changzai's words, Xiao Zhiqiang unconsciously straightened his back and clenched his fists tightly.

A resolute light flashed in his eyes.

His teacher told him that he would contribute to the future development of spacecraft that would allow his country to fly out of the planet.

He will definitely make contributions in the future.

His teacher never lied to him.

At this moment, Chen Changzai said to the two assistants who came with Xiao Zhiqiang: "The same goes for you. Learn the theoretical foundation well and lay a solid foundation for yourselves. Only then will your future be limitless."

The two assistants nodded earnestly and said, "Yes, teacher, we will definitely study hard and will never let you down."

At this moment, Regiment Commander Chen and Political Commissar He walked over together.

Commander Chen asked, "Changzai, we've acquired over 50,000 jin of Eucommia ulmoides. How much rubber do you think we can produce?"

Chen Changzai looked at the Eucommia bark he was still holding and said, "This batch of Eucommia is of very high quality."

It contains a very high amount of adhesive.

If future batches can be the same as this batch.

I think that from these 50,000 catties of Eucommia ulmoides, we can get about 4,000 catties of rubber.

If things get better, it's not impossible to produce 5,000 jin.

This rubber will definitely solve our big problem. If we use it sparingly, it should last us for at least six months.

"That's great! It seems the money really wasn't wasted," Commander Chen said.

(End of this chapter)