Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

Stirring is also to speed up circulation and make the workpiece cool down faster. This is a common method of oil quenching. This young man named Qin Chuan really knows how to do it! Zhao Shuren thought to himself.

"Fetch it out!"

The mold was fished out, its surface covered in diesel fuel, and sunlight streamed in through the window, giving it a very unique appearance.

"The downside of oil quenching is that it mixes with oil residue, and it's difficult to clean completely over a long period of time. After all, the oil has seeped into the gaps between the iron atoms. Do you know what an atom is? The surface of steel looks very dense, but in reality, there are a lot of spaces inside, with a large number of gaps between the atoms..."

Pan San started showing off again.

Most of the workers learned through practice and had strong practical skills, but their theoretical knowledge was not high. Therefore, Pan San felt that his words could still fool them.

"Wash it with water!" Qin Chuan said.

“Water can’t wash it off,” Pan San said. “You need a special cleaning agent, and the oil molecules that seep into the gaps between the iron atoms are very difficult to wash away…”

He stopped abruptly when he got to this point in his speech.

As the water washed over it, the diesel fuel that had clung to the mold gushed off, leaving the cleaned areas shiny and clean with a metallic sheen, without a trace of dirt!

How can this be?

Qin Chuan smiled and said, "Alright, take apart the second mold and throw it in!"

Two shiny molds appeared before everyone's eyes, one bulging outwards and the other concave inwards, both shaped like half a gas cylinder.

It's done? That's it?

"Xiao Chuan, should we do some more work on it? Maybe polish the outside a bit?"

"No need, let's install the hydraulic press and try processing one to see the effect!"

"Master Zhao, I'll leave the rest to you." Qin Jianguo looked at Zhao Shuren.

As agreed, Zhao Shuren was supposed to help with machining, especially operating the hydraulic press. Just a moment ago, everything seemed fine.

But now...

"Director Qin, operating this hydraulic press is very complicated, especially during the pressing process where it's a direct collision. I don't know the exact hardness of the mold. What if the mold breaks...?"

A look of worry appeared on Zhao Shuren's face.

Machining is dangerous. Even in an old factory like the Yellow River Factory with many years of experience, production accidents occur almost every year, resulting in worker injuries.

Zhao Shuren came to operate the hydraulic press, but he was a little worried looking at the homemade mold.

I'm out doing side jobs to earn extra money, I can't afford to lose myself here.

Qin Chuan smiled and said, "That's right, Master Zhao. You're a veteran at the Yellow River Factory, so we can't let anything happen to you here. You watch from the side, and I'll operate it!"

Can you operate it? Do you know how?

If you knew how, why did you ask me to come?

For a moment, Zhao Shuren felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Steward, move the mold to the hydraulic press. Let's try it out before lunchtime!"

“Okay! We’re not doing freelance work, we’re working for our own factory, so we’re not afraid of any danger.”

"Besides, how could anything Brother Chuan created be dangerous?"

Others came to help, carrying the molds onto a tricycle and transporting them to the workshop where the hydraulic press was located.

"Yesterday, Kaifeng was flooded, and Zhan Zhao's two legs were washed away..."

Li Jianshe hummed a familiar tune.

Soon, only Zhao Shuren and Pan San remained at the scene.

"Master, shall we go?"

"Go over and have a look."

Zhao Shuren finally made up his mind: "Even in our factory where we do oil quenching, it's not easy to clean the oil stains off, but he actually managed to do it! This kid seems to really have some skills..."

"How could that be? I don't believe they have that ability. Don't be fooled by the shiny mold; it's definitely not sturdy inside. It'll break open soon enough!"

Once the mold was installed and the circular steel plate was placed on it, Qin Chuan started the machine.

Amid the roar of the electric motor, the oil pressure gradually increased. He stared at the oil pressure gauge for a while until the sound of the electric motor disappeared.

Although the machine is old, the quality is still pretty good!

Once the pressure is sufficient, it will automatically shut down. Next, all you have to do is step on it!

Qin Chuan glanced at the circular steel plate on the workbench again, then stepped on the switch.

The hydraulic cylinder above the hydraulic press begins to extend downwards, pushing the movable beam down along the four columns. The protruding mold installed below the movable beam moves slowly and then lands on the steel plate.

Boom!

All eyes were on the hydraulic press, the upper and lower molds fitting together, and the central round plate as soft as a noodle!

The movable beam slowly rose, and Li Jianshe was the first to crawl inside and take out what was inside—a standard half-gas cylinder!

It's done! It really is done!

"Xiao Chuan, you're amazing!"

"Yes, we can make the molds ourselves, which saves us 500,000!"

"This hydraulic press doesn't look difficult to operate!"

"That's right, anyone can do it!"

Zhao Shuren felt somewhat embarrassed as he listened to the voices of the people talking.

Is there any need for me to exist? I feel like I'm superfluous here!

"Come on, let's stamp one more. Let's work overtime and finish making the gas cylinders before we eat! Dad, I want to drink at noon today!"

"No problem at all!"

The second stamped part came out, and the two were joined together perfectly!

Qin Chuan smoothed the contact surface, then picked up the welding torch. This time, he didn't dabble in anything and dutifully wore safety goggles while welding.

Even though this gas cylinder is a disposable item, it still has to be usable only once!

Quality, quality is life!

If it's for mass production and domestic use, then we'll need specialized automatic welding machines. We'll talk about that later; there's no rush right now!

After welding the top and bottom, we then spot-welded the base and the handrail on top...

A perfectly shaped gas cylinder appeared before everyone's eyes.

"It still needs heat treatment, we'll talk about it this afternoon. Let's go have a drink!" Qin Jianguo was very excited.

The group hurried outside, deliberately lowering their heads to avoid looking at Zhao Shuren and Pan San as they passed by.

"Ahem, Master Zhao, let's go for a drink!" Li Runping invited from the side.

"Um, Section Chief Li, I..."

"Let's go! Today, our Laiyang Steel Plant successfully produced its first gas cylinder, marking the start of a new project. We need to celebrate properly!"

"Let's go, Master. We're here to be technical consultants, so the factory should provide meals."

Although it was awkward from the moment we arrived here, we still had to eat!

If you don't eat it, you're wasting your time; if you do eat it, you won't be wasting your time

The steel mill canteen wasn't big, but it had the unique characteristics of a steel mill: the tables and chairs had iron legs with wooden tops, and each table had a washbasin in the center filled with mixed vegetables, so everyone could eat as much as they wanted.

Outside the washbasin, there was a circle of Laiyang Daqu liquor cups, each containing two and a half ounces.

Qin Jianguo raised his glass: "Today, our Laiyang Steel Plant has entered a new era of development. In addition to water pipes and firecrackers, we can also produce gas cylinders. Come on, let's have a drink together!"

"cheers!"

Water pipes, rockets?

Zhao Shuren suddenly realized something: Could it be that this Laiyang Steel Plant is the same factory that just made a big foreign trade deal?