60s: I have a store

Chapter 424 Design Drawing

Zhou Dazhong pushed the door open and Zhou Yimin saw that it was Zhou Dazhong. He knew what he wanted to do without even thinking about it.

"Put the money down, and you can leave if you're fine."

As he spoke, he didn't even put down the pen in his hand.

Zhou Dazhong scratched his head a little embarrassedly, but in order not to be burdened with foreign debt, he put the money he had just received from the Finance Department on the table and then left the office.

Zhou Yimin just took a look at the money on the table and put it directly into the store space.

I continued to work hard and promised Director Hu that I would do this job well.

Zhou Yimin immediately devoted himself to the design of the suitcase.

This was 1961, and there was no computer graphics software, or even a complete set of drawing tools.

All I could do was find a pencil, a ruler and some worn-out coordinate paper, and draw the design bit by bit based on the impression in my mind.

If the lines were crooked, he would use an eraser to draw them again. If he was not sure about the size, he would repeatedly consult the few industrial manuals he had.

In order to design a suitcase that is both practical and beautiful, Zhou Yimin can be said to have tried his best.

I have drawn many draft papers during this period, but none of them suits my taste. I can only continue drawing. It is indeed a life of hard work!
Zhou Yimin looked focused, holding a sharpened pencil tightly in his hand, his eyes moving back and forth between the blank drawing and the ideas in his mind.

He frowned slightly, as if carefully outlining the outline of the suitcase in his mind. Then, he decisively placed the tip of the pencil on the paper, starting from a point, and gently drew a smooth straight line, which was part of the outline of the suitcase.

Zhou Yimin's wrist turned flexibly, and the lines continued to extend, outlining a rectangle, which would be the main body of the suitcase.

Then he picked up an eraser to erase some minor flaws and retraced the drawing to make the lines more precise and clear.

On the top of the box, he carefully planned the position of the pull rod, measured it with a ruler, and drew two parallel lines to represent the slide of the pull rod. The lines of the slide were straight and even, and every stroke showed his obsession with details. It can be said that this is something that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder would do.

Next, he began to design the wheels of the suitcase. At the four corners of the bottom of the suitcase, he carefully drew the circular outlines of the wheels. The wheels were of moderate size and harmonious proportions, complementing the style of the entire suitcase.

In order to ensure the flexibility of the wheel, he also deliberately put a small black dot in the center of the wheel to represent the axis, and drew some simple lines around the axis to indicate the direction of rotation of the wheel.

He then turned his attention to the front of the suitcase and began to sketch the location of the latch and handle.

The shape of the lock is small and delicate, and it repeatedly modifies the curvature of the lines, making it look both beautiful and practical.

The design of the handle pays more attention to ergonomics. He used his fingers to gently simulate the posture of holding the handle, and adjusted the curvature and length of the handle according to the feel. The lines drawn fit the curve of the palm, allowing people to lift the suitcase comfortably.

During the whole process, Zhou Yimin sometimes stopped and squinted his eyes to examine the drawings, and sometimes leaned forward and concentrated on adding some details, such as the texture and decorative lines on the surface of the suitcase.

His breathing was steady and even, and he was completely immersed in the world of creation, as if everything around him had ceased to exist, and there was only the design drawing in front of him that was gradually becoming fuller.

With the final stroke, a complete and exquisite suitcase design appears before our eyes, with smooth lines, harmonious proportions and rich details.

He put down the pencil in his hand, stretched his sore hands and neck, breathed a sigh of relief, and finally finished drawing the design. The next step was to find someone to make it.

I stood up, stretched, and walked out of the office. I didn't see anyone. I looked at my watch and realized it was already past twelve o'clock. No wonder there was no one in the purchasing department. It turned out that they all went to the cafeteria to eat.

At this time, his stomach was growling. He couldn't bear it, so he went to the canteen to eat. After eating, he went back to the office to rest for a while. When he heard the bell for work, Zhou Yimin came to the workshop.

When Director Liao saw Zhou Yimin coming over, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "Yimin, who do you want to ask for help this time?"

He had received instructions from Director Hu, so this scene happened.

Zhou Yimin thought for a while and said, "Then let's go with Engineer Kong and Engineer Zhou!"

"We worked together last time, so we have a tacit understanding."

After hearing this, Director Liao breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, not all the senior workers were arrested at once, otherwise the tasks in the factory would be a bit dangerous. After all, many tasks require senior workers to process.

Then he called Engineer Kong and Engineer Zhou over.

The two of them came to Director Liao and saw Zhou Yimin there. Without even thinking, they knew that the factory must have assigned them a new task.

Otherwise, it would be a bit difficult to see Zhou Yimin on a regular basis as he doesn't spend much time in the factory.

Kong Gong said straightforwardly: "Director Liao and Section Chief Zhou, you asked me and Lao Zhou to come here. What is the mission?"

But he believed that as long as he had Zhou Yimin's help, there would be no task that could not be accomplished.

Director Liao said truthfully: "Let Yimin tell you about this. I don't know the details."

After saying that, he looked at Zhou Yimin.

Zhou Yimin understood what he meant, and then went straight to the point: "The task to be completed this time is the suitcase."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kong Gong was a little puzzled: "Section Chief Zhou, a simple thing like a suitcase should not require us!"

This kind of thing is enough for not only level 8 workers, but even level 5 workers.

After all, as eighth-level workers, they still have a certain pride. They won’t take on everything. At least the job has to be of a certain degree of difficulty or challenge.

Although Mr. Zhou didn't say anything, it was not difficult to tell from his expression that he agreed with what Mr. Kong had just said.

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, "Don't be so anxious, Mr. Kong. Let me finish what I want to say."

"This suitcase is completely different from the traditional ones. Take a look at the design!"

I don’t want to waste time explaining, so it’s faster to let them look at the design drawings directly.

Engineer Kong took the design drawing with doubt. He looked at it with disdain at first glance, but at the second glance, he couldn't take his eyes off it and kept staring at the design drawing.

When Engineer Zhou saw Engineer Kong's expression, he knew that this design drawing must be extraordinary. He walked forward to take a look and his reaction was the same as Engineer Kong's.

Zhou Yimin and Director Liao did not interrupt Engineer Zhou and Engineer Kong, and this continued for a few minutes.

Engineer Kong stepped forward and asked, "Section Chief Zhou, which master created this design? I have never seen such a well-drawn design."

(End of this chapter)