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

The wire drawing machine started working, and since no one else had ever operated it before, they could only watch Qin Chuan busily working on it.

When the gleaming steel wire appeared before their eyes, everyone's eyes widened.

Although we use steel wire all the time, very few people know how it's made. I've really opened my eyes to it today.

Moreover, this will definitely be how steel wire ropes will be made in the future. It's just unknown whether the steel wire used to make steel wire ropes is the same as this type of steel wire.

The fine filaments drawn from the wire drawing machine were immediately rolled into bundles, each bundle weighing five tons. After each bundle was finished, tempering and other operations were carried out. By the time everything was done, it was already dark.

"Okay, the steel for the ballpoint pen tip has been made."

Qin Chuan looked at the first bundle of tempered steel wire and spoke.

"Hmph, you think you can just say it's good? Who would believe that? Can this steel wire even reach the quality of ballpoint pen nib steel?"

Pan Yang shouted.

Qin Chuan smiled and said, "Of course, it involves rigorous testing. Let's start by extracting a segment."

"Okay." Master Zhao took out the pliers.

This is a commonly used tool in mechanical work. Pliers can be used to clamp, tighten, and cut, and have multiple uses.

At this moment, Master Zhao took the pliers, clamped the steel wire with the blade, and then applied force.

Boom!

A notch appeared on the blade of the pliers!

Everyone was stunned. These pliers could clamp No. 8 wire, which is 4 millimeters in diameter, but the wire in front of them was only 1.5 millimeters in diameter. The fact that they could not cut such a thin wire and even chipped the blades shows what?

This wire is very stiff!

Change the side view!

The pliers not only have blades that can grip wire, but also side cutters specifically for cutting wire, which are more durable.

Now, Master Zhao stuffs the steel wire into the notch on the side and then pulls it with both hands.

Boom!

The side cut also broke!

"Sigh, our domestically made products just aren't good enough!" Pan Yang said. "If these pliers were made in Japan, they would have cut right through!"

This statement is actually correct. Many private enterprises rely on low-price competition, and the pliers they produce are of very poor quality, breaking easily and inferior to imported products.

But imported goods are more expensive. If the price is the same, domestic goods are definitely better!

Just like with mobile phones, people complain that domestic mobile phones are difficult to use and that Apple phones are easy to use, without even considering the price. If you buy a domestic phone at the price of an Apple phone, it will definitely not be worse than an Apple phone.

Qin Chuan smiled. He already understood this guy's attitude: no matter what, imported goods were always better.

But there's no need to argue with him. He'll get what's coming to him!

"You translator, don't you have a brain?"

Li Jianshe wasn't so magnanimous: "Is it possible that our steel wire is too stiff?"

“That’s right, the hardness of this steel wire definitely meets the standard!” Ishino Yutsu nodded: “The Mohs hardness should be above 9.5, and the Vickers hardness should be above 2600.”

Although he didn't have measuring instruments, Ishino Hiroshi was able to estimate the hardness of the alloy steel with great accuracy based on his years of experience. The hardness of this alloy steel exceeded that of tungsten carbide. It was too strong!

Those scrap steel plates can be bought and reprocessed to make not only ballpoint pen tip steel but also armor steel—they have a wide range of uses! They're worth three thousand dollars a ton!

The steel for ballpoint pen tips needs to be strong and wear-resistant, which already meets the standard. However, it still needs to be further processed through precision manufacturing. But this is not under the jurisdiction of Laiyang Steel Plant, because they are a steel plant, not a ballpoint pen factory. They are only responsible for smelting steel, not for processing it into steel balls.

"So, you mean we've already made this kind of pen nib steel?"

"No, of course not yet. This is just steel wire, not a ballpoint pen tip. Whether the steel is up to standard still needs to undergo rigorous testing, especially since it needs to be made into a ballpoint pen. Only after actual testing can we know whether it is up to standard!" Pan Yang said loudly.

Of course, we can't approve of that. If this thing were to work, wouldn't he have to crawl down and act like a dog, and even call himself a sheepdog?

For him, this was an absolute insult, a disgrace for life, and he could not accept it!

"Mr. Ishino, what do you think?"

Qin Chuan said, "If we do as he says and test it for ten days or half a month first, we don't mind, but..."

"But what?"

"I heard that the currency has depreciated a lot recently. Sigh, those people just print money like that, and now money is worthless. The price of three thousand US dollars per ton that I mentioned originally meant signing the contract now. If it's a few months later, the price will probably be five thousand US dollars per ton."

After saying that, Qin Chuan unconsciously bent the steel wire back and forth with his hands.

One, two, three... After about ten tries, he finally broke the steel wire that he hadn't been able to break with pliers: "You can take this sample back to Japan and have it tested by the most professional institution."

Hiromitsu Ishino's eyes widened.

The harder the steel, the more brittle it is. This is a phenomenon known to everyone in the metallurgical industry. However, the scene before him was beyond his expectations. Qin Chuan seemed to be bending the steel wire unconsciously, but in fact, he was demonstrating that this steel had a high degree of toughness!

It has both hardness and toughness. Even if this steel cannot be used as ballpoint pen tip steel, it has many other uses. He had also seen and memorized the entire smelting process.

This batch of Russian steel is indeed very useful!

What are you waiting for?

"No need! This steel is of top quality, we are very satisfied!"

Ishino Yutaka said, "Your visit to Yangchang has broadened my horizons. I never imagined that such a first-class steel plant was hidden in this remote mountain valley!"

"Thank you for the compliment. Many companies in your island nation are small businesses, but they still have advanced products."

After these words, the relationship between the two parties became warm again.

"Mr. Qin, at the price you mentioned, three thousand US dollars per ton, we'll buy five thousand tons!"

"it is good!"

Everyone else present became excited upon hearing the news.

They bought nearly 30,000 tons of steel at $200 a ton each, and now they're reselling 5,000 tons for $3,000 a ton! These 5,000 tons of steel not only offset all the costs, but they can even make several times the profit!

Five thousand multiplied by three thousand, how much is that again?

Fifteen million US dollars, which is over 100 million RMB!

Easy peasy, one small goal achieved!

Although gas cylinders can be quite profitable, they require processing! But now? Just by flipping them around, without any processing, this much profit is made!

Ogawa is really amazing!

Pan Yang's eyes widened. It really worked? Three thousand US dollars for this kind of scrap steel? Even brand-new steel smelted by a steel mill wouldn't sell for that price! What was Mr. Ishino thinking?

Wait, if Mr. Ishino approves, then I...

At this moment, Qin Chuan looked at him with hostility: "Pan Yang, right? A bet's a bet, you should know what to do next, right?"