The train driver in the courtyard

Early the next morning, Li Aiguo drove his motorcycle and took Chen Baiya to the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

Deputy Factory Director Li had already received a call from Deputy Section Chief Liu and tightly grasped Li Aiguo's hand.

“Nephew, don’t worry. As long as you entrust the task to our steel rolling mill, I guarantee there will be absolutely no problem with the quality.”

No wonder Deputy Factory Director Li was so agitated.

Now is the crucial moment for him to confront Director Yang. If he can secure this order, his voice will be much stronger in the factory committee.

“Uncle Li, how could I not trust you?” Li Aiguo entered the office and handed over the blueprints and materials.

The two companies have collaborated several times and are very familiar with each other.

Deputy Factory Director Li immediately made the decision to have the Production Section Chief personally lead the production team and be responsible for the production of this batch of parts.

As soon as the section chief left, Li Aiguo handed him a cigarette and said with a smile, "I think that Liu Haizhong from last time was a pretty honest worker."

"Most of these parts will be supplied by the forging workshop, so let Liu Haizhong be the deputy team leader to work with your Qianmen Locomotive Depot." Deputy Factory Director Li also thought he was suitable.

Regardless of the circumstances, Liu Haizhong is a man who sticks to his own identity, and there's no way he would side with Director Yang.

Choosing sides is an art; if you waver like a weathervane, you'll end up being disliked by both sides.

Just like Yi Zhonghai, who has been trying to get closer to me lately, but ended up offending Director Yang as well, ending up pleasing neither side.

The position of deputy team leader is only a temporary one; it does not require going through personnel procedures or going to the factory committee.

Deputy Factory Director Li acted swiftly; Liu Haizhong received the notification while he was leading a group of workers in production in the workshop.

"Comrade Liu Haizhong, the Qianmen Locomotive Depot has a cooperative project with our steel rolling mill. The mill has appointed you as the deputy leader of the working group. Are you confident in completing it?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong almost jumped up, and quickly patted his chest to assure everyone: "Don't worry, Factory Director! I, Liu Haizhong, will definitely work my ass off and will absolutely not bring shame to our factory!"

"Okay, from today onwards, you will work in coordination with Comrade Chen Baiya."

A temporary deputy team leader wasn't worth Li's special attention; after giving him a few instructions, he left.

The workshop became lively as Liu Haizhong's apprentices and his close associates, along with other workers, came forward to offer their congratulations.

"O sea, you are making more and more progress."

"If you become the deputy team leader and achieve results, how far away is the position of deputy workshop director?"

Faced with the congratulations, Liu Haizhong calmly waved his hand and said, "This is because the leaders value me. We should still strive to improve and focus our energy on our work."

The news that Liu Haizhong had become the deputy team leader quickly spread throughout the steel rolling mill.

At noon, Liu Haizhong went to the canteen for lunch, and his colleagues from other workshops congratulated him.

Yi Zhonghai's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

Liu Haizhong has now been promoted to deputy group leader, which is a step forward. Not only in the factory, but also in the courtyard, he can now outrank him.

Jia Dongxu noticed Yi Zhonghai's displeasure and snorted coldly: "That bastard is just Li Aiguo's lapdog. Without Li Aiguo, could he have become the deputy group leader?"

"Dongxu, be careful." Yi Zhonghai, worried that Jia Dongxu would cause trouble, quickly stopped him.

"Master, you're getting more and more timid." Jia Dongxu now looked down on Yi Zhonghai.

Nan Yi saw the two whispering to each other and urged, "Are you two still going to get your food? Don't hold up the comrades behind you!"

"Coming, coming." Jia Dongxu quickly handed over the lunchbox, asked for a spoonful of rice and a spoonful of radish greens, and when he saw that it was Ma Hua who was serving the food, he said with a smile, "Ma Hua, your master Sha Zhu and I are buddies, give me a little more."

“Shazhu isn’t my master, my master is Master Nan.” When Ma Hua heard this, he didn’t intend to stir the food, but his hand suddenly trembled twice, and a spoonful of radish and vegetables ended up in Jia Dongxu’s lunchbox, leaving only a small half spoonful.

Jia Dongxu was so angry his face turned green, but there was nothing he could do.

Liu Haizhong finished his meal early and was waiting for Chen Baiya.

Upon meeting, he was incredibly enthusiastic: "Comrade Baiya, I'll have to give you a lot of guidance in the future!"

“My master has other work to do, so I’ll be in charge of this work for now. Master Liu, you have plenty of experience, so let’s work together,” Chen Baiya said politely.

"Of course, don't worry." Liu Hai was extremely shocked.

Now Li Aiguo is even able to send his own apprentice to serve as the factory representative!
The work here is also extremely important. What more important thing could Li Aiguo have that prevented him from showing up?

At this time, Li Aiguo had already ridden his motorcycle to the subway construction site and found Commander Zhang.

Production of motorcycle parts is already underway, and safety helmets also need to be produced as soon as possible.

The subway construction site is currently undergoing a major production operation, with railway soldiers working overtime.

As an advisor to the subway, Li Aiguo was all too aware of the dangers of railway construction sites, and the railway soldiers needed safety helmets even more.

Fiberglass is currently classified as military material, so it is inappropriate for the Ministry of Railways or the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to coordinate the issue. The best solution is for comrades in the team to get involved.

Since the Railway Corps is part of the organizational structure, it is more appropriate for them to take the lead in coordination.

Commander Zhang was directing the tunnel boring machine operation when he saw Li Aiguo arrive. He immediately arranged for the deputy commander to take over the command duties and led Li Aiguo to a secluded place.

"A helmet? You mean, that kind of glass material can be used to make helmets?" Commander Zhang rubbed his ears, wondering if he had misheard.

"Fiberglass is not traditional glass, but a fiber-reinforced plastic composite material," Li Aiguo briefly introduced the properties of fiberglass.

"A helmet with lightweight, high strength and excellent cushioning performance? That's great!" Commander Zhang's spirits lifted. "In that case, I'll personally accompany you, and we must develop the helmet as soon as possible."

Commander Zhang wore a steel helmet year-round and was already dissatisfied with its weight, especially when it was bumped or hit, the vibrations made his eardrums buzz.

Now that they know there is a lightweight and safe alternative, they naturally don't want to miss it.

Seeing Zhang's positive response, Li Aiguo knew he had found the right person.

Clearly, the safety helmet is not yet in mass production, but it has already secured one key user.

This aligns with his research and development philosophy: products that are detached from actual application scenarios will only result in a double waste of effort and resources.

Subsequently, Regiment Commander Zhang reported to the headquarters of the 12th Railway Division.

Although the division headquarters initially had doubts, upon seeing Li Aiguo's name in the report, they immediately replied: "You can contact the Glass and Ceramics Research Institute directly."

Li Aiguo wanted Commander Zhang to drive the jeep, but the guy thought it would be more comfortable to sit on the motorcycle.

Having obtained all the necessary paperwork, Li Aiguo had no choice but to ride his motorcycle, carrying Regiment Commander Zhang, to the Glass and Ceramics Research Institute of the Ministry of Building Materials. The Ministry of Building Materials was remarkably quiet compared to the other ministries.

The leaders of the Glass and Ceramics Research Institute were quite surprised when the Railway Corps comrades came to their door.

They were responsible for researching bricks, tiles, and ceramics, and had no business dealings with the Railway Corps.

“Fiberglass?” A director at the research institute looked at the procurement list with a puzzled expression. “This stuff has long been deemed to have limited application value, and the pilot workshop has already stopped production.”

“We need a ton of fiberglass.” Li Aiguo breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the laboratory was still there.

Although the director of the research institute did not know why these people needed such useless materials, he still contacted Professor Song Yuanzheng, who was in charge of the experimental workshop, in accordance with regulations.

Professor Song Yuanzheng was one of the first seven people to develop fiberglass.

Back then, it was he who led the research team to develop fiberglass without any equipment, technology, or data, and he even received commendation from higher authorities.

Professor Song Yuanzheng had assumed that this new material would play a significant role, but what happened next was beyond his expectations.

The fiberglass that had been painstakingly developed became a pile of scrap after the tank experiment failed.

Professor Song Yuanzheng's main task at present is to lead several researchers to continue optimizing the production of fiberglass and to find ways to develop applications.

Upon hearing that someone was planning a large-scale purchase, Song Yuanzheng was filled with doubt.

He poured tea for Li Aiguo and Commander Zhang, and asked, "Comrades, do you understand the properties of fiberglass?"

"Lightweight and high-strength, corrosion-resistant, and insulating and heat-insulating." Li Aiguo took a sip of tea and said, "The disadvantages are also obvious. The main mechanical properties, weather resistance and temperature adaptability are insufficient. In layman's terms, it is not rigid enough, it is easy to bend, and it is not resistant to high temperatures. It will melt if the temperature exceeds 100 degrees Celsius."

It was precisely because of these two shortcomings that fiberglass tank armor plates were phased out back then.

Imagine this: when the enemy fires a shell, the temperature rises to thousands of degrees, and the tank's armor plates melt! That would be terrible!
"Then why do you still need to make purchases?" Professor Song asked, increasingly puzzled.

“Professor Song, whether a material is suitable depends on where it is used.” Li Aiguo took out a set of drawings and handed them to Professor Song: “This is a drawing of a helmet. Please take a look.”

Professor Song took the blueprints and examined them carefully. At first, he didn't pay much attention, but soon a look of joy appeared on his face.

"The working environment temperature of a helmet does not exceed 60 degrees Celsius, which is the most suitable temperature for fiberglass. Insufficient rigidity can be solved by internal sandwich structure. Fiberglass is simply a material tailor-made for helmets."

“I think so too,” Li Aiguo smiled.

Just kidding, fiberglass is a material that has been carefully selected by workers over decades.

Even with the emergence of various new materials in later generations, fiberglass remains the primary material for manufacturing helmets.

"I immediately ordered the pilot production workshop to be restarted and fiberglass production to be organized!"

For the old professor, nothing is more exciting than seeing the materials he had devoted his heart and soul to developing put into application.

"Old Liu, assemble at the lab immediately! Our fiberglass has a new use!"

"Old Chen, the railway soldiers are here! Come quickly to provide support!"

Professor Song Yuanzheng picked up the phone and contacted the members of the research team.

At the same time, Li Aiguo also asked Commander Zhang to speak with the research institute, and the long-forgotten materials in the warehouse were retrieved.

Two days later, the pilot production workshop was restarted.

Fiberglass was a high-tech product in this era, and the professors and experts acted as workers, with the trial production workshop bustling with activity.

Unlike typical experimental workshops, the equipment here includes woodworking lathes, woodworking planers, and woodworking circular saws. If you didn't know the purpose of the prototype workshop beforehand, you might think you'd stumbled upon a woodworking factory.

Wearing a mask, Li Aiguo walked around inside for a while, then came out, took a few breaths of fresh air, and said, "Professor Song, you're using a hand lay-up process, right?"

"You know this too?" Professor Song Yuanzheng was somewhat surprised and re-examined this comrade who came from a train driver background.

Producing helmets based on the material properties of fiberglass can be considered lucky and ingenious.

Being able to utter such professional process names indicates that this person also has a deep understanding of fiberglass.

"The hand lay-up process is low-cost and easy to manufacture. The person who designed this method is a genius." Li Aiguo didn't answer, but instead looked at Professor Song Yuanzheng with a smile and said.

"Cough cough. This idea was mine, but I'm certainly not a genius." Song Yuanzheng almost choked, putting down his enamel mug and saying, "Fiberglass is indeed a good material, but its uses are somewhat limited."

“Professor Song, you don’t say much. Fiberglass has a wide range of uses because of its characteristics.” Li Aiguo recalled some knowledge from his previous life and said, “I think it’s quite good for making window frames.”

"Window frames? Aren't they too expensive?" Professor Song Yuanzheng asked hesitantly.

“Currently, production volume is relatively small, and costs are indeed very high. If we improve production methods and mass-produce, costs will definitely come down,” Li Aiguo said after considering the situation. “However, I think even so, it would be extremely suitable for manufacturing train window frames.”

The steel used for train window frames is currently very heavy and is prone to deformation due to constant bumps and jolting.

Every so often, the maintenance workshop has to send someone to the vehicle to repair the window frames.

Fiberglass, due to its elasticity, does not have this problem.

"What you're saying is really useful! It's lightweight and shockproof, and we won't have to hear that clanging sound anymore!" Song Yuanzheng's eyes widened; it was the first time he had ever seen fiberglass used in such a way.

He looked the train driver up and down, feeling a sense of disbelief. How could this man's brain be so clever?

What surprised Song Yuanzheng even more was that Li Aiguo immediately took out a pencil and ruler and drew a standard diagram of a train window frame.

"Professor Song, could you please make two samples? I'll take them back and test them."

"Don't worry!" Professor Song excitedly picked up the blueprints.

With orders for safety helmets secured, and if we also get orders for window frames, the fiberglass prototype workshop will be able to operate normally.

Li Aiguo looked at Professor Song and smiled slightly. Professor Song had no idea that he was holding a great treasure.

Fiberglass is a wonderful material with extremely wide applications in later generations. Most importantly, it can also be used in the fields of launch vehicles and artificial satellites.

But you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

First, we'll help set up the pilot production workshop, and then we'll figure out how to apply fiberglass to other fields.

Helmets need a certain amount of time to cool down after molding.

As it was nearing the end of the workday, Li Aiguo, wearing a mask, followed Professor Song for a tour of the prototype workshop before riding his bicycle back to his courtyard house.

(End of this chapter)