Chapter 4

The car model has been decided. Although Lin Xiangrong still had some minor concerns in his heart, he was quite happy and proud that his son had designed the car.

Under the encouragement and leadership of the two factory leaders, all the mechanics immediately threw themselves into the production of the new car with great enthusiasm!

Can mechanics also build cars?!

When outsiders hear this, they might think it's a joke. But don't really think that the mechanics of today only know how to disassemble and install parts.

Because in 1977, it was not yet common for cars to be sent back to the factory for repairs. The use of car parts also followed the traditional idea of "repairing and patching for another three years."

Therefore, anything that could be resolved in the repair shop was handled there, including the manufacture of some parts. Thus, the Jiang'an Auto Repair Factory also had a small parts processing workshop.

The mechanics were not just mechanics; there might be skilled machinists and lathe operators among them.

"Xiaolin, call your son in. Don't let him wander around outside. Qiangsheng is a talent who can design cars!" Chang Yuanting said to Lin Xiangrong in the body shop.

"Yes, call Qiangsheng over. Let him give some suggestions on the car body during the bodywork." Zheng Yongmin also said.

"Alright, I'll go get him." Lin Xiangrong, feeling helpless, went to find his son.

After five or six days, Lin Qiangsheng had already adapted to his life back home, happily acting like a teenager.

During these days, the mechanics were busy in the workshop. With his technical skills, he had clearly become a big shot in the yard. When a car had a problem, he could usually identify the issue with just a glance and a listen.

At that moment, Lin Qiangsheng was standing next to a parking space, hands in his pockets, directing the repair of an old green Jiefang.

"Qiangsheng, the factory manager and director want to see you." Lin Xiangrong walked over and said in a low voice.

"Okay, I'm coming." Lin Qiangsheng adjusted his hat and walked behind his father.

"Qiangsheng, going to build a car?" Gu Hongliang called out.

"I don't know." Lin Qiangsheng replied, looking back.

"Ah, this kid has only been here for a few days, and he's suddenly acting so cocky! He can fix cars and draw designs, but why haven't we heard about him being so great before?!" A disciple in the crowd sighed.

"Ha, showing off!" Gu Hongliang said, envious and jealous.

Chen Bing jumped off the car, put the wrench in the toolbox, grabbed some snow to rub his hands, and then walked towards the body shop.

Gu Hongliang glanced at Chen Bing's back and muttered, "So what if he can draw designs? In the end, he's not as good at fixing cars as I am!"

"Qiangsheng is good at fixing cars too!" Zou Xue said,不服气 (unconvinced).

"What, do you have a crush on him? Want me to introduce you?" Gu Hongliang laughed loudly.

"Go to hell." Zou Xue, her face red, turned and walked away.

"Uncle Chang, Uncle Zheng." Lin Qiangsheng walked into the meeting room of the body shop and greeted the two leaders.

He was only 14, so calling the factory managers and directors by formal titles didn't feel right. So he just called them "uncle."

"Ah, Qiangsheng, come and help us look at the car's design. This is your Uncle Wang Daming. He's in charge of the bodywork. Talk to him." Chang Yuanting said with a smile.

Lin Qiangsheng looked at a middle-aged mechanic who had just stood up. This was Master Wang Daming.

He called out, "Uncle Wang."

Master Wang was wearing a blue work uniform with a few patches, neatly sewn.

He smiled and patted Lin Qiangsheng, saying, "Good, good boy! Uncle will be doing the bodywork, and you can watch from the side."

Wang Daming was a bit hard of hearing, so he spoke loudly. Lin Qiangsheng's ears were slightly itchy from the noise, so he quickly said loudly, "Uncle Wang, just do your thing. I'll follow your instructions from the side."

Wang Daming, seeing Lin Qiangsheng's politeness, smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll leave it to you."

The body shop had three masters and over twenty apprentices. They chose an open area and started hammering the steel plates.

Wang Daming and the other masters held the steel plates with tools, and the apprentices held the tool handles and pressed down hard.

Lin Qiangsheng saw that his father, the factory manager, and the director were all nearby. He didn't want to back down, so he covered his ears and closed his mouth tightly.

Wang Daming, holding a huge iron hammer, gathered his strength and shouted, "Hey!!!"

"Duang..." The iron hammer, lifted high, struck the steel plate, producing a loud noise that echoed repeatedly in the workshop, the reverberation lasting for a long time!

"Ha, good! Good, Wang Daming! Yes, that's the spirit!" Zheng Yongmin laughed loudly.

"This Wang Daming, we should call him Wang Dachui from now on. That sound! So powerful!" Chang Yuanting, digging his ears, said loudly.

Lin Qiangsheng, seeing Wang Daming swing the iron hammer again, quickly covered his ears. He didn't care what others were saying; he just didn't want to damage his ears!

"Duang, duang, duang..." The hammering continued. Wang Daming, with the help of the others, hammered the steel plate forcefully.

The two factory leaders finally couldn't take it anymore and left the workshop on their own.

"Qiangsheng, how's it looking?" Wang Daming shouted to Lin Qiangsheng.

Lin Qiangsheng quickly put down his hands and walked over to the bodywork.

Wang Daming touched the bent part of the steel plate and shouted, "Do you think this is okay?"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Yes, it's good! Just like this."

Wang Daming laughed loudly, "Thank goodness you designed a car without curves! If it had curves, it would be much harder! Your car is great, with its sharp edges and corners!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said loudly, "Yes! Master Wang is really skilled!"

Wang Daming laughed a few times, then waited to move the steel plate to the other side and lifted the hammer again.

Lin Qiangsheng quickly ran to the side; he couldn't stand it near the steel plate, it was too intense!

Wang Daming hammered with great pleasure and ease.

Lin Qiangsheng had previously thought that the square shape of the Jetta was too simple and clever.

Later, he realized that this was a manifestation of the ultimate simplicity and beauty achieved by mechanical engineering at a certain level.

Why did the Chinese people persist with the Jetta for 30 years and even call it a "god car"? In the 21st century, when many new cars were launched, the Jetta remained popular, maintaining a price of over 100,000 yuan without any discounts.

Lin Qiangsheng felt that it was because of the Jetta's square shape and its simple beauty.

In Chinese life, there is too much smoothness and sophistication, too many troubles and concerns, and too many relationships to manage. Often, people have a place in their hearts where they seek simplicity and squareness, not luxury, but simplicity. The Jetta, with its simple and square shape, perfectly met this psychological need.

One could say that the Jetta, which had no special significance abroad, was born for the Chinese.

The square shape was really easy to hammer. Wang Daming hammered wildly, without worrying about any curves, easily shaping the body parts.

"Great! This is really satisfying! I haven't hammered so smoothly in a long time!" Wang Daming laughed loudly, put the hammer on the ground, and happily examined his work.

"Master Wang, this is how the car should look." Lin Qiangsheng said, moving closer.

"Good, let's release the bodywork." Wang Daming nodded in satisfaction and smiled at everyone.

The apprentices removed the clamps, and the bodywork made a creaking sound.

Lin Qiangsheng looked at the shape and nodded, finding no issues.

This was the front hood, including the fenders, which were still a single piece, waiting to be cut and processed separately.

In China, to build a car model, they could only hammer it out like this, with the masters using hammers and mallets to shape it by hand.

The models of the Dongfeng, Hongqi, Jeep 212, and Shanghai sedans were all hammered out this way. There were no clay models or alloy cut models; they didn't have the conditions for that.

Therefore, the work of the bodywork masters was a crucial part of the process.

Lin Qiangsheng spent two months in the body shop, hammering the car model with the bodywork masters. Fortunately, the time spent with the large hammer was not too long; most of the time was spent using a small hammer to carefully shape the car body.

After two months, the Jetta's shell was finally hammered out piece by piece.

This not only made Lin Qiangsheng realize the benefits of teamwork. At least, this way, the technical requirements became much simpler.

"Master Wang, my dad said the car body will be installed on the car tomorrow." Lin Qiangsheng said with a smile to Wang Daming.

"Uh-huh, that's good! Whether it's a donkey or a horse, we'll see when it's out for a test drive. Our car body is so well-made and so quickly, it will definitely be impressive! I'm excited!" Wang Daming laughed loudly.

Lin Qiangsheng, looking at the masterpiece of the past two months, felt a genuine sense of satisfaction.

The car body was placed on an iron frame, surrounded by people. It still looked quite ugly, unpainted, with a dull metallic sheen on the steel surface.

Lin Qiangsheng thought this was due to the incorrect metal formula of the steel plates. This would need to be improved in the future to develop better car materials.

Lin Xiangrong walked into the body shop, circled the car body, and happily patted the metal surface.

"Dad, how's it going? How's the chassis coming along?" Lin Qiangsheng asked his father.

The car's chassis was modified from the Shanghai sedan's chassis, just a temporary setup to see the effect. It would need further improvements to create a truly suitable car chassis.

"Uh-huh, the chassis is almost done. The rest will be adjusted after a test drive. We can install it tomorrow. The dashboard and interior are also done, and we'll use the iron body for now. The seats are a bit tricky; the type you designed is hard to make." Lin Xiangrong said.

"Ah! It's stuck on that part!" Lin Qiangsheng said in surprise.

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