wavenovel Chapter 162 First Product: Wear-resistant Accessories
Chapter 162 First Product: Wear-resistant Accessories
As the last snow of 1980 fell on the asbestos-tiled roof of Chenqing Hardware Factory, Lin Chen was squatting beside the furnace in the center of the workshop, stirring the molten iron churning inside with a steel spatula with an alloy tip welded to its end. The orange-red flames reflected on his face, which was covered in soot, and refracted the beads of sweat on his forehead into tiny specks of light. The workshop was filled with the scorching heat of molten iron, which mingled with the cold air drifting in from outside the window to create a peculiar warmth.
"Director Lin, the furnace temperature is almost 1300 degrees!" Old Chen, who was in charge of watching the fire, ran over with a thermometer in hand, rubbing his rough hands on his apron. His voice was filled with barely concealed tension. Behind him were two young technicians, holding freshly polished cast iron molds. The molds still bore the fine polishing marks on their surface, having been processed overnight according to the drawings made by Lin Chen.
Lin Chen didn't immediately respond. Instead, he pulled the steel spade out of the furnace and carefully examined the crystals formed by the cooled molten iron adhering to its top with his magnifying glass. The crystal structure was uniform, with no obvious pores, which meant that the deoxidation treatment inside the furnace was very effective. He stood up and patted Old Chen on the shoulder: "Add another handful of coking coal, raise the temperature to 1350 degrees Celsius, and we'll start casting the first set of samples."
Since receiving an order for 500 sets from the agricultural machinery station on the day the factory was officially opened, Lin Chen has devoted all his energy to the research and development of his first product, the "wear-resistant and rust-proof plowshare accessory." The area surrounding Zhangcheng is mostly hilly, and the traditional plowshares used by farmers are mostly made of ordinary cast iron. When encountering hard soil, the cutting edges would wear down and curl within half a month, and they were prone to rusting and clumping after a spring rain. Having been exposed to a great deal of wear-resistant alloy technology in his previous life working in a military enterprise, and with the support of the "All Things Fusion System," Lin Chen decided to fuse scrap steel with chromium alloy offcuts to create a plowshare accessory with a cost-effectiveness far exceeding that of traditional products.
On the iron rack beside the furnace, scrap steel collected from the junkyard was neatly stacked. Most of it consisted of gear scraps discarded by state-owned machinery factories, with a moderate carbon content, making it a good material for refining wear-resistant alloys. Lin Chen pointed to the scrap steel and explained to the gathered technicians, "This scrap steel can't be used directly; it contains impurities and pores. We need to smelt it three times to remove impurities before adding chromium alloy powder. This way, the resulting parts can reach a Rockwell hardness of over 50 degrees, making them more than three times more wear-resistant than traditional plowshares."
As they spoke, the furnace opening began to glow red. Old Chen pulled the bellows, the whooshing sound intensifying the fire, and the molten iron inside the furnace churned more violently, making a "glug-glug" sound. Lin Chen put on thick asbestos gloves and fixed the preheated mold onto the casting platform. The mold's feed inlet was aligned with the furnace's taphole. Next to it was a long-handled iron ladle, the handle wrapped with water-soaked cotton cloth for insulation.
"Open the furnace!" Lin Chen shouted. Old Chen and another technician worked together to tilt the furnace. The orange-red molten iron slowly flowed from the tap into the ladle, emitting a faint blue flame in the cold air. Lin Chen held the ladle steadily, his wrist slightly heavy, and poured the molten iron into the mold's feed port at a uniform speed. The molten iron filled every corner of the mold's channels, and the white smoke rising from the mold's gaps carried a pungent sulfur smell, the smell of the release agent evaporating when heated.
After the first set of molds was cast, Lin Chen didn't rest. Instead, he led the technicians to immediately clean up the slag and add scrap steel and coking coal again. Looking at the order progress chart on the wall, he said to everyone, "The agricultural machinery station is pressing us hard, requiring delivery by the end of the month. We need to cast at least two hundred sets of parts every day to meet the deadline. Everyone, please work hard. Tonight, I'll have the canteen kill a chicken and make us an extra dish!"
After three consecutive days of intensive production, the first batch of fifty sets of plowshare parts finally cooled and solidified. When the technicians carefully opened the molds and saw the smooth surfaces and sharp edges of the parts, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted in the workshop. Old Chen picked up a part, gently tapped it with a hammer, producing a crisp metallic sound, and exclaimed with admiration, "Director Lin, your technique is truly amazing! Look at the luster, it's even brighter than the products from the state-owned factory!"
Lin Chen frowned. He picked up a component, weighed it on a precision scale, and measured its key dimensions with calipers. His expression gradually turned serious. "Everyone, hold on a minute," he said, beckoning everyone to gather around. Pointing to the numbers on the scale, he said, "Our component weighs five grams more than the design value, and the cutting edge tolerance exceeds 0.1 millimeters. More importantly, I just calculated that the pig iron utilization rate for this batch of components is only 60%. Half of the material has become slag and scraps. At this rate, we simply can't control the costs."
The atmosphere in the workshop instantly fell silent. The technicians looked at each other, all showing signs of difficulty. Xiao Li, who was in charge of mold processing, scratched his head: "Director Lin, this is already the best precision we can achieve. Even state-owned factories can't reach this level of precision. Besides, there's always waste in pig iron smelting; a 60% utilization rate is already pretty good."
Lin Chen didn't refute, but instead turned and walked into his office, taking out a sheet of draft paper covered with drawings. The paper showed a complex structural diagram of a device, including an inlet, melting chamber, filter layer, and outlet, with detailed dimensional parameters marked beside it. "I spent all night designing a waste remelting device," he said, pointing to the drawings. "We'll re-crush the slag and scraps left over from casting, remelt and filter them through this device to remove impurities, and then recast them into steel ingots. This will improve utilization. As for precision, I improved the mold's cooling system, adding a circulating water jacket inside the mold, which will allow for more even cooling of the components, controlling the tolerance to within 0.05 millimeters."
Without further ado, Lin Chen and his technicians dismantled an abandoned old boiler, using the boiler's outer shell to renovate the smelting chamber. They also salvaged several seamless steel pipes from a scrap yard to make water circulation pipes. Old Chen, with his years of blacksmithing experience, was in charge of welding and assembly, while Su Qing stood by, keeping track of costs and occasionally reminding everyone: "Don't use steel pipes that are too thick, or the cost will exceed the limit," and "Use welding rods sparingly; we're short on funds right now."
Two days later, the waste remelting unit officially went into operation. When the first batch of crushed slag was poured into the unit, and after high-temperature melting and filtration, clear molten iron flowed out again, everyone applauded excitedly. Lin Chen weighed and calculated on the spot, and this time the pig iron utilization rate reached 85%, an improvement of 25 percentage points compared to before. The improved mold cooling system also had a significant effect, with the tolerance of the parts precisely controlled within 0.05 millimeters, and the weight also meeting the design requirements.
"Great!" Su Qing ran over with the new cost accounting sheet, her face beaming with excitement. "Lin Chen, look! After the utilization rate improved, the cost of each set of parts dropped from 1.2 yuan to 0.8 yuan, and our profit margin has increased dramatically!" She paused, then added with some concern, "However, the agricultural machinery station only ordered 500 sets, which our current production capacity can fully meet. What about the next orders? We can't just let the equipment sit idle."
Lin Chen had already planned ahead. He took out a map of Zhangcheng County from his drawer, with the locations of more than a dozen communes circled in red. "Su Qing, take the samples tomorrow and go to the agricultural machinery stations in the surrounding communes. Our product quality is better than the state-owned factories, and our price is a penny lower. Plus, we promise a money-back guarantee if it doesn't work after a one-month trial. I don't believe we can't get the orders." He paused, then added, "By the way, bring our test reports. Show them the hardness and abrasion resistance test data. Let the data speak for itself."
The next morning, Su Qing set off with a canvas bag full of samples and documents. She first went to Qingxi Commune, the closest commune to Zhangcheng. The station chief, Wang, a veteran farm machinery operator in his fifties, looked disdainful upon hearing that Chenqing Hardware Factory was a newly established private enterprise. "Comrade Su," Station Chief Wang said, leaning back in his chair and slowly smoking, "it's not that I don't trust you, but we've been using parts from state-owned factories for over ten years; their quality is guaranteed. If your small factory's products break down and delay the farming season, who will be responsible?"
Su Qing wasn't angry. Instead, she took out two plowshare parts from her canvas bag—one from Chenqing Hardware Factory and the other an old part from a state-owned factory—and placed them in front of Station Chief Wang. "Station Chief Wang, you're an experienced farm machinery operator. Take a look at the workmanship of these two parts." She then took out a hardness test report, pointing to the data, and said, "Our parts are 15 degrees harder than the state-owned factory's, and they've been treated to prevent rust. They won't rust even after being soaked in water for a month. If you're not comfortable with that, we can send you twenty sets to try first. If you're not satisfied after a month, we'll give you a full refund and replace the old part with yours."
Station Chief Wang picked up the two parts and carefully compared them, then reviewed the test reports, his expression gradually becoming serious. He went to the experimental field in the yard, installed the plowshare from Chenqing Hardware Factory, and started the tractor to plow a circle. After stopping, he squatted down to examine the plowshare's cutting edge and found that it showed no wear whatsoever, plowing faster and deeper than the parts from the state-owned factory. "Excellent, excellent!" Station Chief Wang immediately approved, "Comrade Xiao Su, I'll order one hundred sets! If they work well, we'll get all our agricultural machinery station's parts from your factory from now on!"
The initial victory boosted Su Qing's confidence, and she rushed to the next commune. At the Liuxi Commune Agricultural Machinery Station, she encountered even greater resistance. Station Chief Li was a stubborn man; no matter how Su Qing explained, he insisted on purchasing only products from state-owned factories. Just as Su Qing was about to leave, she saw several farmers pushing in a broken tractor. The tractor's plowshare parts were worn beyond recognition, with severely curled edges.
Su Qing's eyes lit up, and she stepped forward to Station Chief Li, saying, "Station Chief Li, why don't we do an experiment? Have the farmers install our parts and plow the land together with the parts from the state-owned factory, and see which one is more durable. If our parts are inferior to the state-owned factory's, I'll smash the sample on the spot and never bother you again."
Station Chief Li was impressed by Su Qing's confidence and agreed to her suggestion. He found two tractors of the same model, one equipped with parts from Chenqing Hardware Factory and the other with new parts from a state-owned factory, and had the two farmers compete in plowing the same field. Two hours later, when the tractors stopped, everyone gathered around. The tractor with the Chenqing Hardware Factory parts had plowed fifteen mu of land, and the cutting edge of the parts was intact; while the tractor with the state-owned factory parts had only plowed ten mu of land, and the cutting edge was already curled.
"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" The farmers watching exclaimed in admiration. An old farmer grabbed Su Qing's hand and asked, "Young lady, how much is a set of these parts? My plowshare is due for replacement, and I'd like to order two sets!" Station Master Li was completely impressed and signed an order for two hundred sets on the spot. He even took the initiative to introduce Su Qing to customers from agricultural machinery stations in neighboring counties.
Three days later, Su Qing returned to the factory with a bountiful harvest. When she placed the eight signed orders in front of Lin Chen, he was so excited he almost jumped for joy. The total order quantity reached 1,500 sets, far exceeding expectations. "Su Qing, you're truly a hero to our factory!" Lin Chen said, his hands trembling slightly as he held the orders. "With these orders, our factory can finally stand firm!"
A new production boom immediately swept through the factory. Lin Chen optimized the production process, dividing the technicians into three groups and implementing a three-shift system for 24-hour continuous production. He himself spent his days guiding production in the workshop and his nights researching new technical improvement plans, often only getting three or four hours of sleep. Su Qing saw this and felt sorry for him. Every night, she would make Lin Chen a strong cup of tea, work overtime with him, and help him organize technical documents and order contracts.
One evening, Lin Chen was drawing up new product blueprints when Su Qing brought in a bowl of hot ginger soup and placed it in front of him. "Lin Chen, don't overwork yourself. Your health is the foundation of everything," Su Qing said softly, looking at his bloodshot eyes. "We've already received enough orders. You don't need to work so hard. We can take it slow."
Lin Chen looked up at Su Qing's concerned eyes, a warm feeling welling up inside him. He took a sip of ginger soup, the warmth flowing from his throat to his heart. "Su Qing, I know you care about me," Lin Chen put down his paintbrush and said earnestly, "but this is a crucial period for our business. How can we not give it our all? The reform and opening-up policy is so good; if we don't seize this opportunity, we'll never have another chance like it. Once our factory is big enough, I'll take you to Beijing, to see Tiananmen Square, and to eat Peking duck at Quanjude."
Su Qing's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head to say softly, "I don't mean to hold you back, I'm just worried about your health. Actually... whether or not we can go to Beijing, I'll be content as long as we can run the factory together."
Thanks to the combined efforts of Lin Chen and all the employees, 1,500 sets of plowshare parts were finally produced by the end of the month. When the first batch of parts was loaded onto trucks and sent to various agricultural machinery stations, Lin Chen and Su Qing stood at the factory gate, watching the dust kicked up by the trucks, and smiled at each other. They knew that this was only the first step for Chenqing Hardware Factory, and their entrepreneurial journey had just begun in the spring breeze of reform and opening up.
Two weeks later, good news followed one after another. Reports from various agricultural machinery stations indicated that Chenqing Hardware Factory's plowshare parts were very durable, and farmers were very satisfied, requesting increased orders. Station Chief Wang from Qingxi Commune even personally visited the factory, signing a long-term supply contract for 500 sets, and bringing even bigger news: the regional agricultural machinery bureau was holding a spring agricultural machinery product exhibition and invited Chenqing Hardware Factory to participate. If they could gain recognition at the exhibition, they could become a designated supplier for the region.
Lin Chen and Su Qing exchanged a glance, both seeing excitement in each other's eyes. Lin Chen gripped Su Qing's hand tightly and said firmly, "Su Qing, let's go to the trade fair! This is a great opportunity for us to open up the regional market; we must seize it!"
That night, the lights at Chenqing Hardware Factory stayed on until late. Lin Chen was in the workshop testing the latest research and development samples, Su Qing was in the office organizing materials from the trade fair, and Old Chen and the technicians were inspecting the equipment, preparing for the next batch of production. The snow had stopped, and moonlight streamed through the windows into the workshop, illuminating the hopeful smiles on everyone's faces. On this cold winter night, Chenqing Hardware Factory, like a rising star, shone brightly in the tide of reform and opening up.