Chapter 74

Chen Geng said that he had already fully considered the current actual situation: "As you said, so considering all the actual conditions, I designed this engine to be a two-stroke, 100cc displacement. When designing it, I also considered the current material levels and precision processing capabilities in our country, making it highly possible to produce a finished product. The current difficulty lies in the fact that we are just a repair shop, capable of only simple processing and heat treatment. We have no experience in production, manufacturing, or assembling engines, nor do we have the experience and technology for precision processing. We can't even assemble a small batch of machines to test their performance. So, teacher, could you come and serve as our technical advisor for the engine crankshaft manufacturing?"

This guy finally revealed his true intentions.

Chen Geng, who is both a designer and an engineer, of course understands mechanical processing. However, Chen Geng is familiar with numerical control (NC) processing, and his skills in using ordinary machine tools in the country have fallen behind by several decades. Under the current conditions where the technical level of processing workers is more important, his NC processing programming skills are basically useless. Chen Geng himself has no confidence in being able to process a qualified high-precision part under the current industrial conditions in the country. The only way is to invite these skilled old technicians to take charge.

But Xia Shifu's eyes were almost popping out in shock: "You completed the design based on the industrial and material conditions of our country?"

His surprise was not that Chen Geng had completed the design of a 100cc two-stroke gasoline engine, but rather the keywords "100cc" and "two-stroke." As a professional in the domestic engine manufacturing industry, Xia Shifu had heard that Changling Group had introduced a motorcycle from Suzuki in Japan, the model of which he couldn't remember, but this motorcycle seemed to be equipped with a 100cc two-stroke engine.

Could Chen Geng's "design" be that Suzuki two-stroke engine?

"Indeed, I did take some inspiration from the Suzuki AX100 engine, but I made many improvements and adjustments," Chen Geng did not deny this.

As a classic two-stroke gasoline engine, Chen Geng really knew the detailed design data of the AX100.

Would there be a problem with Chen Geng designing a completely new engine? Of course not. If he didn't consider the current processing capabilities in the country, he could even make this 100cc engine produce a maximum power of over 40 horsepower. But would that be useful? Designing it doesn't mean it can be produced. If the industrial foundation and processing capabilities are not considered during the design phase, the design would only remain on paper.

Several years later, there was a saying on domestic military forums, roughly: "Actually, our country's aviation engine designers are very capable and can design world-class aviation engines, even better than the F119 of the United States, but we can't produce them because our industry is not up to the task."

But in Chen Geng's view, this statement itself is a form of bullying.

Let's not even talk about the credibility of this statement. A domestic aviation engine designer, who has almost no foundation or accumulation in aviation engine technology and has never seen how world-class aviation engine designers and design institutions work, can they really design a world-class aviation engine (even if it's just on paper)? But as a designer, every time Chen Geng sees such statements, he wants to curse: Any designer must have a premise when designing a product, which is to comprehensively consider factors such as cost, material foundation, industrial foundation, heat treatment capabilities, and precision processing capabilities before starting the design, not just to say, "I want to design it this way," and then completely ignore whether the country's industrial foundation can process the parts, thinking, "My job is done, it's your problem if you can't produce it, it has nothing to do with me."

Every time he sees similar statements, Chen Geng feels that the military industry is too lenient with designers. If it were a foreign company, a designer who said, "My job is done, it's your problem if you can't produce it," would be fired within half an hour. Capitalists are very practical; they pay you to make money for them, not to be a boss. If you're so arrogant, go be arrogant somewhere else; there are plenty of non-arrogant designers waiting to be exploited!

Okay, this is a bit off-topic. When Xia Shifu confirmed that Chen Geng was not joking, he had to accept this seemingly absurd answer. But then, the old man felt relieved and even thought he was overreacting. Chen Geng is a top student from the Automotive Engineering Department of Huqing University, and with a reference model, designing a simple 100cc two-stroke gasoline engine shouldn't be difficult, right?

He didn't know that Changling Group actually hadn't obtained the AX100 blueprints yet.

Compared to this, his professional nature made him more concerned about the performance of the engine.

"Displacement 98cc, 4-speed transmission, maximum power 7.4 kW..."

This data is slightly higher than the 7.3 kW of the AX100.

"7.4 kW?" Old Mr. Xia was very surprised: "Really? Our Xingfu 250 only has 7.3 kW, right?"

He had a good reason to be surprised: the Xingfu 250, one of the only two "large-displacement" motorcycles currently available in the country, is equipped with a 250cc single-cylinder two-stroke engine, with a maximum power of only 7.3 kW. The engine designed by Chen Geng, with only 98cc displacement, has a maximum output power that is actually higher than the Xingfu 250?

"It's true," Chen Geng nodded: "Also, I specifically designed an oil system with a dedicated oil tank that can store 4.5 liters of oil and a dedicated oil pump to inject oil into the mixture. In the future, there will be no need to mix oil into the fuel tank as with current two-stroke gasoline engines..."

Current domestic two-stroke gasoline engines, such as the Jialing 50 and Qingqi 15, all require mixing two-stroke gasoline engine oil into the fuel tank at a certain ratio. With this separate oil supply system, this hassle will be eliminated.

Of course, the "gasoline-oil" mixed power engine from Wolfsburg doesn't need a separate oil tank and oil pump; their technology is more "advanced."

Old Mr. Xia nodded in agreement, appreciating Chen Geng's design: "This design is good. With this separate oil tank, there will be no need to carry a bucket of oil to mix with the fuel, which is very convenient."

"But this way, the problem returns to the starting point; we have no experience in producing engines, processing parts, or assembling them," Chen Geng looked pitifully at the old man, clasping his hands together: "Teacher, could you come and help me?"

After saying this, Chen Geng patted his head: "Look at me, I can't just let you help us for free. Let me tell you the conditions for our company's technical advisors: For a technical advisor like you, in addition to providing housing, the advisory fee is 200 yuan per month, and the bonus is at least 20% of the salary, with no upper limit. We pay 14 months' salary annually, and there are New Year's and festival allowances and benefits.

"Also, for out-of-town advisors like you, there are 4 days of family visit leave each month, and travel expenses are reimbursed at 150% of the actual cost. If your children come to visit you, the reimbursement rate is the same."

The 150% reimbursement rate is easy to understand. Besides travel expenses, you need to eat on the way, and when you finally get home, you need to buy some gifts for your family. The extra 50% is for these expenses.

Aunt Ren, who had been sitting beside them, was immediately tempted by the conditions Chen Geng offered.

Although their family is a dual-income household with only two children, the eldest has already started a family and the second is a temporary worker at the factory, who will soon take over the old man's position. It seems like there is no pressure, but in reality, it's not the case. Six people live in a 30-square-meter house, and the eldest daughter-in-law has been complaining for a long time about wanting to rent a separate place to live.

Aunt Ren can understand the eldest daughter-in-law's thoughts. With the current living conditions, even a family of three feels cramped, let alone a family of six across three generations. The young couple can't even have a private moment without sneaking around, which is very uncomfortable.

If she and her husband go to work elsewhere, even if they don't let the children rent a place, at least they can free up some space, making life more comfortable for the children. They can also help the two children financially and save some money for the second son's wedding... If the son takes over the old man's position and the two of them rely on their retirement pension, the second son's wedding would be a big problem.

Pushing Xia Shifu, Aunt Ren said: "Old Xia, you just turned 50 this year, and you have at least 20 to 30 years left to live. Do you plan to just grow flowers and grass for the next 20 to 30 years? Chen Geng is your apprentice, and you've told me many times how talented this child is. Since he needs your help, why don't you go and help him?"

Xia Shifu was also tempted, but he was a bit hesitant: "But my expertise is in crankshaft processing, and I don't know much about the other aspects."

"Teacher, besides you, I plan to invite some other senior technicians from our factory to join us. Oh, right, although our company's conditions are still relatively tough, our profitability is very good. We modify hundreds of vehicles each month, so I plan to build several houses. If you are willing to sign a 5-year advisory contract with us, both of you can come, and I will try to find a job for Aunt Ren. At the latest, you will be allocated a 2-bedroom, 1-living room apartment within half a year."