I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 49 With rubber, I can get the tricycle running.
After listening to Commander Chen's recollections of the journey, Political Commissar Liu and Chen Changzai were also deeply moved.

So many comrades sacrificed their lives on this mission; how could it not break one's heart?

However, the pioneers who sacrificed their lives have passed away, and those who come after must continue to forge ahead on the remaining path.

"Old Chen, how much rubber grass did you bring back on this trip, and what about its seeds?"

As a veteran, I am naturally saddened by the sacrifice of my comrades.

However, as long as I'm still alive, I have to pull myself together and keep fighting.

Commander Chen certainly possesses such qualities.

Commander Chen then shook off his sadness and laughed heartily, "I didn't bring back the rubber grass, but I brought back the rubber and the seeds."

"Uncle, does that mean the water method I mentioned really works? I've only heard of that method, but I've never verified it."

"I didn't expect it to actually work," Chen Changzai said excitedly.

Before Commander Chen left, Chen Changzai told him that if a large amount of rubber grass was found...

Its seeds are relatively light and easy to bring back.

Bringing the rubber grass roots back would be quite troublesome.

One grass root may not seem heavy, but a cartload of grass roots can be quite heavy.

Even with the best quality grass roots, the yield of the harvested grass is only about 20%.

The rest are all plant fibers.

It's not appropriate to travel such a long distance just to bring back some grass roots.

Moreover, acetone was not yet being produced in large quantities at that time.

Even if it were possible, it wouldn't be realistic to bring a large amount of acetone over there.

To extract rubber from rubber grass using acetone, more than 1,000 kilograms of acetone are needed to dissolve and separate 100 kilograms of rubber grass pulp.

After the impurities are separated by filtration, acetone is recovered by distillation.

It's practically impossible to implement this process locally in XJ.

So Chen Changzai told Commander Chen a method he had never tried before: the simplest method, the water method.

That is to wash the rubber grass roots clean and mash them into a very fine paste.

Then put the paste in a large basin, add plenty of water, and knead the paste vigorously in the water like you are washing clothes.

Once you've kneaded it enough, let it sit. Because rubber is less dense than water, it will quickly float to the surface and form a thin film.

Finally, just like making tofu skin, you can skim off this membrane, wash away the fibrous impurities with clean water, and then let it air dry.

The rubber extracted in this way is not very pure and still contains impurities.

But at most, there are only less than 15% impurities in the rubber.

This is much better than grass roots containing 20% ​​rubber.

Once this rubber is back, I can purify it myself, and then there won't be any problems.

Moreover, purifying this crude rubber does not require such a large amount of acetone as extracting rubber from the pulp.

One hundred pounds of crude glue can be purified with a maximum of one hundred and fifty pounds of acetone.

Purifying rubber and recycling acetone at home is incredibly convenient.

Although this will cause a lot of waste, it is impossible to extract all the rubber from the rubber plantation pulp.

But those are the conditions; they can't be perfect.

"Yes, this method really works."

When we saw that the saline-alkali land there was covered with this rubber grass, I led more than a thousand people to dig up the grass roots.

Later I realized this was too slow.

I simply used salt as payment and hired a large number of locals to help me dig up grass roots.

Then, following the water-based method you mentioned, like skimming tofu skin, I managed to get all the rubber out.

Haha, on this trip, I collected every rubber grass seed I could find.

I harvested three large truckloads of seeds alone.

I loaded over 170 truckloads of that rubber.

Finally, when there were no more large carts available in the market, they used oxen and horses to carry the loads.

Anyway, I dug up all the wild rubber grass I could find there.

I couldn't find it anywhere, so I came back.

This time, some of the poor locals I hired also wanted to come with me.

They just want to come with me and get a few good meals.

With so many people, the need for food also increased, so on the way back, they had no choice but to raid the wealthy. The result is what you see now.

The number of people suddenly swelled to more than two thousand.

There were four or five thousand horses alone, including wild horses captured and horses obtained from plundering local tyrants.

I can't even count all the cattle and sheep.

Our journey back coincided with the time when the water and grass were lush and abundant.

So even though these cattle, horses, and sheep have traveled this far, they haven't lost any weight.

Moreover, we returned much faster than we left.

When our team appears, most smaller factions can only stay far away and don't dare to mess with us at all.

Even those powerful forces wouldn't dare to easily clash with us.

They can only trade with us fairly.

So, the journey back was very smooth.

Hahaha~"

Listening to Commander Chen laughing heartily as he recounted his journey back.

Political Commissar Liu and Chen Changzai also burst into laughter.

At this moment, Chen Changzai said, "Uncle, the fact that you brought back so much rubber has solved a big problem for me."

With this rubber, I will be able to get our troops moving quickly.

I've wanted to get a small truck for our team for a long time.

However, without rubber tires, relying solely on iron or wooden wheels will exponentially increase the vehicle's failure rate.

In that case, if the car breaks down on the road, it won't be able to be repaired. That would cause a lot of trouble.

In addition, I have too many things to do right now, so I haven't been able to push forward with this car manufacturing plan for the time being.

Now that I have rubber, I can make tires.

With tires, I can make the car I built run.

"Trucks? Car manufacturing? The kind with four wheels?"

Commander Chen and Political Commissar Liu asked with surprise.

Commander Chen, in particular, was utterly shocked.

Because when he left, that single-cylinder diesel engine hadn't even been produced yet.

"It's not a four-wheeled vehicle, it's a three-wheeled minivan."

It's powered by the single-cylinder diesel engine from our tractor.

This small car isn't wide, so it can run on any kind of road.

It can run on the highway.

It can cross any country dirt road that is wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage.

It can run even in muddy ground, where it can't cross a horse-drawn carriage.

This thing doesn't look big, but it has a large load-bearing capacity.

From a few hundred kilograms to several thousand kilograms, or even tens of thousands of kilograms, it can pull anything as long as the road surface can withstand it.

And once my 500-ton forging press is out...

We'll be able to build our own cannons. It can also tow cannons and shells, allowing the troops to advance quickly.

If it's a road assault, I'll equip it with steel armor plates and mount a heavy machine gun on top.

It is a small armored vehicle.

I equipped it with a small cannon, and it became a small tank.

When that time comes, Uncle, just tell me who you want to hit.

Whether it's that bald guy or a Japanese soldier, just keep attacking them.

Hahaha~"

In the end, Chen Changzai couldn't help but burst into laughter.

At this moment, Regiment Commander Chen and Political Commissar Liu stared wide-eyed at Chen Changzai, who was laughing loudly.

Commander Chen's mouth was so big it could almost fit a fist.

　Thank you to all my friends who have supported me.

　　Commander Chen's expedition has finally ended, and a new chapter is about to begin. The three-wheeled motorcycle is making its dazzling debut! Ahahahahahaha~~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)