Chapter 2

Master Gu heard that the car was fixed and immediately walked out of the workshop.

"Hey, let me see, is it fixed?!" Master Gu walked up close to look at the Jeep, and then at Lin Qiangsheng standing beside it.

"Master." Lin Qiangsheng smiled. In his previous life, he had been a military driver, so how could such a task be difficult for him?

"Alright, I'll check it out." Master Gu got into the car, shifted into gear, and drove out of the parking space, circling around the yard.

Lin Qiangsheng watched the Jeep drive around the factory, recalling some events from his previous life.

He had stayed at this auto repair shop for three years before enlisting in the military. He became a military driver and even went to the South China battlefield, where he met his first wife, Lu Na.

Lin Qiangsheng remembered how he had died. When he saw the few trucks in the factory, he recalled a few days ago, after drinking with friends, he was hit by a dump truck at a crossroads. He couldn't avoid it and was hit from the left side. Perhaps that was when he died.

Sigh!

The past is gone with the wind!

Lin Qiangsheng sighed, and someone patted his shoulder.

"Have you fixed cars before?" Chen Bing stood beside him.

Although Lin Qiangsheng was familiar with cars, he could only smile and say, "No, I just read a few books."

Chen Bing looked at him, nodded, and said, "You seem to have a good grasp of car repairs!"

Lin Qiangsheng laughed it off.

"Screech!" Master Gu slammed on the brakes, and the Jeep lurched forward and stopped in front of everyone.

Master Gu got out of the car, glanced at Lin Qiangsheng, and said with a smile, "It's good, the car is fixed. Qiangsheng, you've made your father proud! You're better than my apprentices!"

"Ah!" Gu Hongliang exclaimed, looking back and forth between his father and Lin Qiangsheng in surprise.

"What's with the 'ah'? He found the problem right away. Look at you, you've been here for a while, how did you mess it up?" Master Gu scolded his apprentices.

The young apprentices looked quite embarrassed, feeling uncomfortable being scolded by their master, especially being outdone by a new apprentice!

"Qiangsheng, check the other cars. Chen Bing, take your junior apprentices to have a look." Master Gu called out and walked back to the workshop.

"Yes." Chen Bing responded half-heartedly.

"You, where did you learn this? Not bad!" Gu Hongliang said sarcastically to Lin Qiangsheng.

Chen Bing said, "Enough, don't talk nonsense. Whoever can do it, put in more effort and help the others."

Everyone went to the other parking spots and gathered in groups.

Lin Qiangsheng followed Chen Bing to another 212 Jeep.

The Jiang'an Auto Repair Annex Factory was a provincial-level enterprise, so most of the provincial city's vehicles were repaired here. Now, Jeeps were the norm, as there were no other options. Most leaders preferred to drive the 212, with no other choices.

"This engine has a cylinder wear issue and has been taken to the workshop for honing." Chen Bing pointed to the car.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and asked, "Brother Bing, why are all the masters in the workshop?" He looked around and saw only apprentices in the yard, with no masters. Without the masters, the apprentices were having a field day.

Chen Bing chuckled and said, "The masters are in the workshop, making cars!"

Lin Qiangsheng was surprised. In his previous life, he hadn't noticed this at all! What's this about?!

"Isn't it the nationwide industrial learning from Daqing? So the factory manager and director thought about making a car." Chen Bing smiled.

"Pointless, we can't make cars here, it's just a waste of time!" Gu Hongliang sneered from the adjacent parking spot.

"What's the point? Some small factories can make 212s, why can't our big factory do it?!" Chen Bing said, and Gu Hongliang didn't argue.

In fact, many of the Jeeps they repaired were knockoff 212s.

From the birth of the 212 to the mid-1990s, over 600,000 212 Jeeps were produced. It was impossible for BJ alone to produce so many.

According to records, from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, thousands of car factories across the country produced various passenger cars based on the BJ-212 prototype. Using the BJ-212 chassis and handcrafted bodies, these knockoff products flooded the roads. Just think, how many car factories could there be? They were actually small local factories, producing car bodies by hand and fitting them with power systems from unknown sources, then driving them on the roads. The Chinese ability to produce knockoffs is incredibly strong and has a long history!

Lin Qiangsheng nodded. Indeed, the Jiang'an Auto Repair Annex Factory was of some scale, and could produce many car parts. It wasn't surprising that the factory leaders wanted to make a car.

In 1958, the China FAW Hongqi CA72 sedan was equipped with a 5.65-liter V8 liquid-cooled engine, with 164 kW power.

In 1960, the first Beijing Auto Parts Factory (predecessor of BJ Auto) produced the Dongfanghong sedan based on the GAZ-21 blueprints, with a small batch of 106 units, using a 2.445-liter inline-four engine, 70 horsepower, and a top speed of 125 km/h.

In 1963, the first SH brand sedan was produced by the SH Auto Manufacturing Factory, with a handcrafted six-cylinder engine, and a small batch of 50 units.

The factory leaders must have thought, if the Jiang'an Auto Repair Annex Factory could produce car parts, why couldn't it make a complete car?

Lin Qiangsheng walked around the yard, seeing only Jeeps and a few trucks. Trucks were dirty and heavy to repair, and no one wanted to touch them.

In his previous life, Lin Qiangsheng had been scolded for repairing trucks because it was so difficult.

Back then, the masters usually had the apprentices start with trucks, claiming it was good for training.

Lin Qiangsheng thought, whether or not repairing trucks trained skills, it was more about not getting fingers or toes crushed and building muscles.

He walked into the workshop and saw a group of masters in the conference room.

The conference room was separated from the workshop by glass windows, looking very spacious.

He walked over and opened the door, immediately being hit by a strong smell of tobacco.

Lin Qiangsheng waited outside the door, looking at the red banner hanging above, which read "National Industrial Learning from Daqing." The large characters were quite impressive!

He took a few steps back to look from a distance. Hmm, it wasn't as impressive from far away, it was just a matter of proximity.

After the smoke in the room dissipated a bit, Lin Qiangsheng walked in.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Lin Qiangsheng approached his father, Lin Xiangrong, and saw him drawing a blueprint intently.

The factory manager, Chang Yuanting, and the party secretary, now called the Revolutionary Committee Director, Zheng Yongmin.

The two were writing and drawing on the desk, sometimes shaking their heads and discussing, looking very focused.

The other masters were also in the room, some leaning against the radiators by the windows smoking, others chatting quietly.

The room was large, about the size of a meeting room, and their conversations didn't disturb the few people quietly working at the desks.

"Huh? Why did you come in?" Lin Xiangrong turned around and saw his son, asking.

"It's cold outside! I came in to warm up." Lin Qiangsheng said, looking at the desk.

"Well, come in then, why leave the door open?" Lin Xiangrong grumbled, walked to the door, and closed it.

Lin Qiangsheng looked at the blueprint his father was drawing, seeing a car model similar to the Volga.

"Is this Qiangsheng? Old Lin." Zheng Yongmin, sitting behind the desk, asked with a smile.

"It's my son. Qiangsheng, call Uncle Zheng." Lin Xiangrong said with a smile.

"Uncle Zheng, hello!" Lin Qiangsheng said to the smiling old man.

"Ah, hello. Old Lin, open the door and let some air in, the child isn't used to it." Zheng Yongmin said with a smile.

Don't be fooled by Zheng Yongmin's easy-going demeanor; Lin Qiangsheng knew he was a powerful figure.

Because of Zheng Yongmin, the Jiang'an Auto Repair Factory wasn't affected much, and the workers didn't cause much trouble, not participating in any activities organized by city officials during that period.

"Qiangsheng, don't stay here. This is where the masters work, what are you doing here?" Lin Xiangrong whispered to his son.

Lin Qiangsheng ignored his father and picked up a pen, starting to draw on the blank part of the large blueprint.

"Hey? Qiangsheng, what are you doing?!" Lin Xiangrong quickly pulled his son back.

"What's going on?" Chang Yuanting looked up and asked, and Zheng Yongmin also looked over.

Lin Qiangsheng quickly sketched out a rough model of a car.

"Hey?!" Lin Xiangrong was surprised, staring at his son's drawing, forgetting his own actions.

Lin Qiangsheng, following his memories, became more and more excited as he drew, and his hand moved faster. He didn't even need a ruler, drawing everything by hand.

At first, his lines were a bit unsteady, but as he continued, they became smoother.

Lin Qiangsheng suddenly realized that the information he had seen in his previous life, even just once, was now clearly etched in his mind.

The shapes of some car models came back to him as if they were right in front of him.

The car model he was drawing was unlike any of the models of that era. It didn't have the round, bulging body or the high front and low rear design, but instead used a low front and high rear aerodynamic design to reduce wind resistance and fuel consumption.

This was a popular design that most car companies were adopting as they entered the 1980s.

"Hmm? Old Zheng, come take a look." Chang Yuanting walked over and beckoned to Zheng Yongmin.

Zheng Yongmin stood up in surprise, walked around the desk, and saw Lin Qiangsheng drawing a complete car model on the blueprint with a stroke of genius!

"Wow?!" Both Zheng Yongmin and Chang Yuanting were stunned, wide-eyed!

Lin Qiangsheng finished the side view of the car and said, "Paper."

"Xiaolin, quickly get your son some blueprints!" Chang Yuanting called to Lin Xiangrong.

"Ah, I'll get it." Lin Xiangrong hurriedly took out a stack of old blueprints from under the desk, unfolded one, and handed it over.

Lin Qiangsheng laid out the blueprint, and Chang Yuanting and the others quickly pressed down the edges to keep it from rolling, continuing to watch Lin Qiangsheng draw.

Lin Qiangsheng drew the front, side, top, and rear views, then moved on to the interior and dashboard.

Chang Yuanting and Zheng Yongmin passed around the car sketches, looking very pleased. Some of the masters also came over to see, discussing the drawings.

"This kid is good! The car looks great!"

"I've never seen a car like this before!"

"Of course, it's just that Old Lin's son drew it!"

"Ha ha ha, that's what I mean..."

"Old Zheng, what do you think?" Chang Yuanting liked the car more and more, finding it very appealing.

"Wow, this kid, he's good at drawing cars!" Zheng Yongmin nodded, looking at the blueprint seriously.

It took over an hour for Lin Qiangsheng to finish the interior and dashboard.

Lin Xiangrong repeatedly examined the interior sketches, becoming more and more engrossed.

"How about it, Dad? What do you think of my drawing?" Lin Qiangsheng asked his father.

"Good, kid, you've really grown! Old Lin, your son is good!" one of the masters said with a smile.

"Qiangsheng, did you come up with this car design yourself?" Chang Yuanting asked.

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Yes, Uncle Chang, I got inspired when I saw Dad's blueprints!"

Chang Yuanting patted Lin Qiangsheng on the shoulder and praised him loudly, "Great! Your inspiration came at the right time!"

Zheng Yongmin said, "Qiangsheng's drawing is good. But I have a question."

"Qiangsheng, why did you make the front of the car so low? Our communist cars should be proud and upright. This design isn't communist!" Zheng Yongmin asked, flipping through the car sketches.

"Ah?!" Lin Qiangsheng was shocked!

The car design had such an interpretation!

"Ah! Old leader, you?" Lin Xiangrong was also shocked. He quickly put down the blueprint, trying to protect his son.

Everyone fell silent, staring at the director with wide eyes.

"Ha ha, I was just asking, look at how scared you all are!" Zheng Yongmin's stern face suddenly broke into a smile.

"Phew! Old Zheng, you really know how to scare people!" Chang Yuanting exclaimed, having been quite frightened. This was not a matter to be taken lightly.

"But, I really want to ask. Qiangsheng, why did you make the front of the car so low?" Zheng Yongmin repeated his question.

Lin Qiangsheng took a deep breath and said, "Uncle Zheng, I made the front of the car low because it helps reduce wind resistance and fuel consumption!"

"Is that so? Xiaolin?" Zheng Yongmin asked Lin Xiangrong, the head of the technical team.

Lin Xiangrong, a well-educated worker, was a college graduate. He usually worked in the materials room, responsible for materials and parts blueprints.

He thought for a moment, looked at his son, and nodded, "Yes, a lower front design helps the air flow over the car's surface, effectively reducing wind resistance and saving fuel compared to a high front design." He naturally wanted to defend his son's work.

"Right, I think so too. Lowering your head in the wind makes it easier to walk. If you raise your head, your hat will be blown off!" Chang Yuanting laughed, breaking the tense atmosphere.