Chapter 8 Aviation Aluminum Materials

  At this time, Lin Hongfei didn't really have an impression of the domestic metal industry situation, but thinking carefully, it was also very possible. Since aviation aluminum was hopeless, Lin Hongfei couldn't help but ponder, why not try a piece of stainless steel?

  "I say, brother, what are you looking for this aviation aluminum thing?" The boss had walked out of the inner room at some unknown time, curiously staring at Lin Hongfei.

  At first, the boss thought it was one of his competitors trying to cause trouble on purpose. However, after secretly observing for a while, he felt that didn't seem like it either. Although what the young man was looking for wasn't available here, he didn't have any intention of causing trouble at all. This suddenly piqued the store owner's interest: What did this young fellow want to do with aviation aluminum?

  "What? Boss, can you help me get some of this stuff?" Lin Hongfei didn't answer, but instead asked a question back.

  "I wouldn't be so capable if I could get my hands on aviation aluminum, I wouldn't be stuck here," the chubby shop owner laughed. "To be honest with you, little brother, I'm just curious, my store is one of the earliest hardware stores in Beiguan City, but you're the first person to come to me looking for aviation aluminum."

  This is not an exaggeration. For those who are not in the industry, they have no idea that aluminum materials can be so different. In the eyes of ordinary people, aluminum materials may only include household items such as aluminum pots, spoons, and water bottles. In this era where wooden doors and windows and steel doors and windows are still widely used in the construction industry, even aluminum alloy doors and windows are a rare and unheard-of thing. It's hard to imagine that civilian-use aluminum can be divided into so many categories. The owner of this hardware store suddenly encountered a young man who came to his store looking for aviation aluminum, and after ruling out the possibility that he was just causing trouble, it would be strange if he wasn't curious.

  The boss was quite talkative, and Lin Hongfei, who had not found the ideal material in his mind, originally planned to leave directly. However, since the boss was so "enthusiastic", it would be good to let him help himself out for a while.

  Having made up his mind, Lin Hongfei didn't rush to leave. He took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to the boss - Lin Hongfei wasn't a smoker, but before leaving, he thought that since he was asking for help, he would inevitably need to offer a cigarette, so he had stuffed a pack of Zhonghua into his pocket. "Boss, I plan to do something, but I'm not very familiar with the materials. Can you help me out?"

  The boss is a warm-hearted person. Nowadays, everyone is generally more enthusiastic. With Lin Hongfei's Chinese cigarette lit up, the boss's eyes suddenly lit up.

  Nowadays, although Zhonghua is not a so-called "internal supply", there are also a small number of Zhonghua cigarettes sold on the market. However, ordinary people can't afford to buy Zhonghua to smoke, just like the owner of this hardware store, who usually only smokes White Lotus and Da Qianmen, unless they need to ask for help from officials or something, they would never dare to spend money on a pack of Zhonghua. Now seeing Lin Hongfei casually taking out a box of Zhonghua from his bag, how could he not know that Lin Hongfei's background is absolutely not small?

  Realizing this, the hardware store owner's gaze towards Lin Hongfei suddenly became more respectful, and he hastily instructed his daughter who was helping out in the store, "Girl, hurry up and get some tea for this brother, yeah, use that Bi Luo Chun I put on the top shelf of the cabinet."

  From the tone, it can be known that this Bi Luo Chun is a good thing that the shop owner usually doesn't drink. After seeing the Zhonghua cigarette taken out by Lin Hongfei, the hardware store owner suddenly raised Lin Hongfei's level by several grades.

  The change in the hardware store owner's expression made Lin Hongfei involuntarily laugh, and he didn't bother to care about the little girl going in to make tea. Smiling at the store owner, he said, "By the way, I haven't asked your honorable surname yet?"

  "What's expensive or not, let's just open a shop to make a living," The tone of the hardware store owner was much more polite than before, and he took a comfortable drag on his cigarette. "You can just call me Old Huang."

  "It was Old Man Huang," Lin Hongfei smiled and nodded, his tone still very warm and respectful, making people feel comfortable. "Old Man Huang's business has become so big, with such accurate vision, it's really admirable."

  "This is how it's said," Huang boss obviously didn't expect Lin Hongfei, a young man with a big background, to be so respectful to himself. His face suddenly burst into laughter, and he repeatedly waved his hand, indicating that he couldn't bear it. "Hey, I just thought that the salary at that time couldn't support my wife and children, so I quit my job and opened this small store after gritting my teeth? And thanks to the country's good policies, business has been pretty good in the past two years."

  It's one thing to say that, but it's clear that this Mr. Huang is still quite proud of his current situation. Saying business isn't great is just a humble remark. Just by looking at this guy's corrupt belly, you can tell he's living a very comfortable life.

  "By the way, young brother, what's your surname? If there's anything you need help with from old Huang, just say it."

  "Lin, the surname is Lin," Lin Hongfei waved his hand. "Old Huang, I want to make something that has high strength, good toughness, but not too heavy, and easy to process. Do you have any good recommendations?"

  Lin Hongfei said that, and Boss Huang suddenly understood. No wonder this person came to his place looking for aviation aluminum alloy. The thing had to have high strength, good toughness, but couldn't be too heavy, and its performance had to be similar to that of the aviation aluminum alloy. Frowning in thought for half a day, Boss Huang finally gave up: there were many things with high strength and good toughness here, but when it came to weight requirements, this was quite difficult to do, at least he didn't have any such thing here.

  Furrowing his brow and thinking hard for half a day, Old Huang let out a bitter laugh. "Mr. Lin, I'm afraid if you insist on something similar to aviation aluminum, I really haven't heard of anything that can meet your requirements."

  "Ah," Lin Hongfei had expected as much, but hearing Old Man Huang say it still left him somewhat disappointed. Since there were no leads, Lin Hongfei stood up dejectedly, "Old Man Huang, thank you, sorry to have wasted your time."

  "Must we really wait until it's made into a real object before finding someone to get some aviation aluminum?" Lin Hongfei muttered to himself as he walked away.

  What? This guy can actually get his hands on aviation aluminum? Lin Hongfei's casual remark made Huang Lao's heart skip a beat. The sensitivity of a businessman made Huang Lao immediately realize the great value of Lin Hongfei to himself: In this day and age, anyone who can get their hands on aviation aluminum is not an ordinary person. They are all big shots, with connections not only in official circles but also in the military. If he could get close to such a big tree, his business would surely take off, advancing one step at a time?

  At this thought, Old Master Huang couldn't sit still. If this young man with the surname Lin were to leave, wouldn't that mean a big tree would be gone?

  "Mr. Lin, Mr. Lin," Old Huang, with a swiftness that belied his stout body, darted to the front of Lin Hongfei and beamed with a radiant smile on his chubby face, "Mr. Lin, this..."

  "What? Does Old Huang have something else?" Lin Hongfei furrowed his brow, what was this fatty Huang trying to do by blocking him?

  "Mr. Lin, may I ask boldly, are you looking for aviation aluminum to do some metal processing or something?"

  Lin Hongfei's eyebrows furrowed instantly: This fatty is so enthusiastic, seems to be a bit over the top? He didn't want to answer, but earlier he was still asking for help from others, and it would be embarrassing not to put on a good face. After thinking about it, it wasn't anything major anyway, so Lin Hongfei nodded, "Yeah, what's up? Can Old Master Huang help with something?"

  "As for the materials, I'm afraid I won't be of much help. However, if Mr. Lin needs to find a master craftsman in metal processing, I can recommend one." Huang boss smiled with a pleased expression.

  Master of metalworking?

  Lin Hongfei patted his forehead and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed: he had overlooked this question.

  In his previous life, Lin Hongfei was an internationally renowned expert in mechanical, electronic and engine design. His hands-on skills were also quite impressive. But what about his current situation? In the US, he had access to top-notch CNC machining equipment, which allowed him to produce parts that met his exacting standards with ease. But now?

  Not to mention that for many years, he hasn't used those purely mechanical processing equipment, and whether he still has that kind of hand feeling. Just the domestic CNC machine tools now make Lin Hongfei's heart slightly worried.

  In the era of the Republic, mechanical processing equipment was still dominated by traditional machine tools such as lathes, drilling machines, milling machines and planers. CNC machine tools were almost non-existent, and even these traditional lathes were only at the technical level of the former Soviet Union and Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. However, relying on these machine tools, our skilled workers managed to produce ultra-high-precision parts that even modern CNC machine tools may not be able to process.

  Lin Hongfei certainly didn't need such a nationally renowned eighth-level technician, but as for the current machines, he wasn't sure if he could use them with ease.

  Of course, the things that Lin Hongfei needs to process do not have very high precision requirements and will not require processing accuracy to be as precise as a single thread unit. Let him slowly process it himself, Lin Hongfei thinks that if he uses enough time, he can also do it, but his old father's affairs cannot be delayed for so long. If there is a master with rich metal processing experience to help, it will undoubtedly be a great help to himself.

  At this point, Lin Hongfei also didn't rush to go out, "Master Huang, do you really know that experienced master who is good at metal processing?"