Back to 1978

Chapter 158: Production (2000 plus more)

As the wheat harvest had not yet started in Zhongping, Xie Hushan, Han Hongbing and others had not been called back to harvest wheat, and Yang Liming did not have to go to the grassroots production teams to help monitor the wheat harvest, his girlfriend Lu Yuan took advantage of her vacation to come to Zhongping to see him.

There was nothing better in Zhongping, so the two of them rode their bicycles for a while, and then Yang Liming carried Lu Yuan directly to the steel rolling mill to have a meal.

It’s not that the food in the commune canteen is too bad, it’s mainly because Xie Hushan, this guy, got himself a backdoor when he became the factory director, and he cooks his own food every day and never puts himself in a difficult position.

As a result, when the two men arrived, Xie Hushan was standing shirtless at the door of the production workshop, watching the production, and did not even notice the appearance of the two men.

To a furnace of molten steel made from scrap steel, five technical workers from large factories who were hired with the treatment of deputy factory directors, together with Han Hongbing and others, added some ingredients. Then, more than a dozen strong workers from the steel rolling mill worked together to operate the earthen crane, and slowly poured the terrifying-looking molten steel into the refining furnace, officially starting production.

"Run away, damn it! This is the job you do! Why are you running? Follow me! Add gas! Decarbonize!" Seeing the molten steel poured into the refining furnace and sparks flying, Jiang Jingwen, who was wearing a safety helmet and had been fired for work style issues and is now a nominal deputy production director at Zhongping Steel Rolling Mill, shouted at several workers who had followed him just now and were now scared and ran to the workshop door.

The newly recruited workers were so disappointing that they wished they could be eight hundred miles away from home. They were so scared when they saw sparks coming out of the furnace that they ran towards the workshop door.

There was no other choice, so Jiang Jingwen walked towards the refining furnace where the gas had been dumped, endured the high temperature, opened the valve of the gas tank, and added gas to decarbonize it.

This was the first time for this group of workers to engage in actual combat. Although they had learned a lot of theory from five masters and other veteran workers and had demonstrated countless times with unstarted machines, when they really felt the heat and splashing molten steel, they were trembling with fear and their legs felt a little weak.

If the molten steel were poured on me, there would be no bones left.

Yang Limin and Lv Yuan stood far away at the workshop door, watching the molten steel splashing around, their expressions a little out of control. Yang Limin looked at Xie Hushan, who was shirtless next to him:
"I say, your workshop... looks a bit scary. You still need to pay attention to the safety of the workers. How about hanging some slogans in the workshop to remind the workers at all times?"

Xie Hushan then noticed that Yang Limin and Lu Yuan were coming over. He just forced a smile and didn't respond. He turned his head and continued to stare at the workshop. He found that no worker dared to rush forward to help Jiang Jingwen. The old man was busy by himself and almost got angry. He immediately started to curse:
"I asked you to come here so you can be the bosses of the factory? You are waiting for me to help Deputy Director Jiang! Stop working! Chief of Staff Han, go to the dormitory and call out our old workers who are off duty! If these people are scared, let them go back to Xishan and continue to starve!"

The timid workers were suddenly shocked. They had to beg for help from everyone to find such a job. They heard that the workers at Yakou who had come to work there before earned much more money, with a salary of 17 or 18 yuan a month, and food and accommodation provided.

But when the furnace was actually put into production, we found out that the high salary was not without reason. There is no such thing as a cheap job that gives people money for free.

Hearing Xie Hushan's scolding, Han Hongbing, who was originally in charge of the continuous casting machine process, didn't care about the division of labor at this time. When he heard Xie Hushan's words, Han Laoer spit out his cigarette butt, lowered his head, and walked towards Jiang Jingwen with his head down and the heat wave:

"Follow me in."

Seeing Han Hongbing walking over, Chen Daxixi and several militiamen followed him. Then the newly recruited workers from several other poor brigades in Xishan bravely followed at the end and slowly moved closer.

"What can you learn from hiding so far away? I'm not afraid of you, so why should you be afraid?" Jiang Jingwen was so angry at their reaction that he started to curse:

"Look at me, how I add gas! How I take samples! You bastard, you can't do it. You're the same with me or without you. You still want to stay in the factory. Do you really think that steel workers just enjoy themselves? You only see steel workers recuperating in sanatoriums, but you've never seen them risking their lives!"

After cursing, Jiang Jingwen handed the valve of the gas tank next to the refining furnace to Han Hongbing, who came over first:
"Let them learn how to add gas from you. Listen to my instructions. I'll shut it off again and again. Don't be afraid! Even if you put all this gas in, it won't explode! Besides, if the furnace really explodes, hiding at the door will kill you. It's easier to die standing next to the furnace."

Seeing that the other workers were looking at him eagerly, Jiang Jingwen pulled Chen Daxi and said, "Take these garbage buckets and follow me."

He took Chen Daxixi to the other side of the refining furnace and handed him a sampling rod several meters long: "Take samples! Do as I taught you before! Teach them!" Chen Daxixi took a few deep breaths and felt the hot air that could burn his lungs. He picked up the sampling rod and reached it through the observation hole of the refining furnace. He tried hard to remember the techniques he had learned from the old masters and stirred the molten steel in the furnace. He waited until Jiang Jingwen shouted that it was almost done, then he slowly dragged the sampling rod out.

But in just a few moments, he was already sweating profusely. The workers surrounded Chen Daxixi and watched his movements.

The other four veteran workers also came over and gathered around Jiang Jingwen to observe the molten steel being dragged up by the sampling rod.

Among the five of them, the youngest has been dealing with steel for sixteen years. Their many years of production experience in dealing with molten steel allow these people to observe whether the quality of this furnace of molten steel meets the subsequent production requirements simply by looking at it.

"That's enough! Stop!" Jiang Jingwen shouted loudly to Han Hongbing.

Han Hongbing handed the valve to the new worker: "Close it!"

After the worker properly tightened the valve and the gas stopped, Jiang Jingwen, who was just about to take a breath, saw the worker standing there stupidly again and started to curse again:

"What are you all standing there for! Waiting for the factory to give you wives! What are you looking at me for! Am I a continuous casting machine? The continuous casting machine is in place! Fixed flow! Fixed length! Waiting for the slabs to be produced! What a bunch of rubbish! Han Lao Er, teach them a lesson!"

In this way, a group of workers were driven and scolded by five masters to run through each link. Finally, a furnace of scrap steel that they operated with their own hands was transformed, right under their noses, from a furnace of molten steel into a rough billet that was more than one foot thick, more than one meter wide, and dozens of meters long.

After finishing their work, the workers looked at Jiang Jingwen breathlessly, expecting the deputy director to praise them. But Jiang put his hands on his hips and cursed:
"What the hell are you looking at? Do you think it's time to get off work? Do you think you can go back and make some more time? A salary of a dozen or twenty yuan a month is too easy to earn, right? Get to work! I tell you, you can only get off work when your wives are so tired that they are lying on top of you and are reacting! Get ready to cut and heat the slabs! One by one..."

"Well...sister-in-law, come to my office and sit for a while. The worker, the master, has a bad temper and curses as soon as he opens his mouth. He is used to cursing." Xie Hushan saw that Lao Jiang had no intention of restraining himself because of the presence of outsiders, so he could only smile apologetically to Lu Yuan.

Yang Limin also felt that Lao Jiang's words were a bit disgusting, so he took Lv Yuan and Xie Hushan out of the workshop. Lv Yuan smiled and said:

"It can be seen from this old comrade that his production technology must be very good, but his temper is a bit bad and his words are unpleasant."

"It has to sound bad, sister-in-law. This is not farming. It doesn't matter if you plant two more or two less. But here, if he doesn't be so persistent and beat and scold the workers, and keep an eye on the production, if something really goes wrong, the workers will be gone without even any ashes left." Xie Hushan said from the side.

After returning to the office, Lu Yuan asked Xie Hushan, "Where is Taozi?"

She had been here twice before and already knew Taozi.

"I'm staying at home with my grandma today. She should be here soon. When the dishes I prepared are ready, she will help my grandma serve some and send them back." Xie Hushan put on his vest and said to Lu Yuan:
"Would you like something to eat? I'll ask the kitchen to prepare it?"

Lu Yuan just smiled and looked at Yang Limin. Xie Hushan nodded in understanding:
"I see. It's just that Old Yang is greedy and is using your name to eat for free, right?"

Yang Limin explained: "I mainly want to tell you..."

"Third brother~" Taozi appeared outside the office door on a bicycle and said before entering the room:
"Secretary Han asked you to go to the brigade headquarters."

(End of this chapter)