Development of productivity started in 1981

Chapter 4: Fengshan Trip

Wang Jiankun went back to his room and took a nap before coming out. His grandfather and father had also gotten up and prepared two kilograms of bacon.

Tell him to bring a water bottle, paper and pen.

Because it is 10 miles to Fengshan Commune and it takes an hour to walk, you must bring a kettle in the hot weather.

Wang Jiankun responded, went back to his room, got a pencil and a blank exercise book, and went to the small treasury to get two dimes. He came out, put on the water bottle that had been prepared for him, and set off.

The younger sister chased to the door and shouted, "Brother, don't forget what you promised me."

Wang Jiankun replied: "I won't forget it and will bring it back to you."

The younger sister replied: "It's good that you haven't forgotten, otherwise I will never call you brother again."

The corners of Wang Jiankun's mouth twitched. This threatening remark was quite cute.

At this time, my father asked, "Kunli, what did you promise her?"

Wang Jiankun replied vaguely: "Nothing, just teaching him to study."

Because my grandfather and father are very frugal, they plan to repair the house with bricks and tiles this year. We live in a wooden house now, which is leaky due to poor joints and is cold in winter and hot in summer.

Wang Jiankun also needed tuition and living expenses for high school, so he had been saving money. If he told his sister about buying snacks, she would definitely scold him when she got home.

Wang Jiankun's private money mainly came from rewards from the school for good grades and some prizes such as pens and exercise books that he sold to classmates.

The weather was very hot and the sun was scorching. The three of us spoke very little along the way. There were not many people on the road, and we didn't see any cars.

I heard that this dirt road, which is only 2 meters wide, has begun to be rebuilt, starting from Tuokou Production Brigade and going upstream along the river.

At that time, a layer of gravel will be laid, and then concrete will be laid, but no cement will be used.

The nearest cement factory is still in Tsinghua Commune, and priority will be given to the construction of the road from the county seat to Tsinghua.

Wang Jiankun had several good classmates who were from the Tuokou Production Team. They said they would go to the road construction site to work this summer to earn a living.

Wang Jiankun also wanted to go, but it was too far. It was not realistic to go early and come back late. He would not be able to work if he walked such a long distance.

I took a break in the shade and drank some water.

Before we knew it, we arrived at Fengshan Commune.

My grandfather was very familiar with Fengshan Commune and would come here for meetings every month.

So under his leadership, the three of them came to the brick kiln.

There were not many people in the kiln at that time. Later, Wang Jiankun learned that this kiln was not fired every day, and most of the time it was used to make bricks and tiles.

Wooden molds are used to make brick and tile blanks, and the pressure is provided by water wheels. The only step that uses original power is the step of pressing the brick blanks.

Because the bricks and tiles made in this kiln are pressed by the force of a water wheel, they are better than those made in other kilns that use manual pressure.

Grandpa carried the bacon and found the person in charge of the brick kiln. His surname was Cha, and we called him the Kiln Master.

He also knew my grandfather and they often sat together and chatted during meetings. After all, the kiln manager and the production team leader had the same rank, although the production team leader was in charge of more people.

After my grandfather explained his purpose, the kiln manager was very enthusiastic, of course, and he would not hesitate to give him the two kilograms of bacon.

The kiln manager took the three of us and explained everything from selecting the mud, digging the mud, mixing the mud and pressing the embryos, to drying in the shade, and finally placing the pieces in the kiln and lighting the fire, including how to control the temperature.

After my grandfather and father looked at it, they felt that it was not that difficult. The main difficulty lay in the shape of the kiln and the placement of bricks and tiles in the kiln.

So he asked Wang Jiankun: "Kunli, can you draw a picture of the shape of this kiln and the arrangement of the bricks and tiles?"

Wang Jiankun said: "It would be best if I could measure the dimensions of the kiln inside and out so that I can draw a diagram. I will also draw a diagram of the brick and tile placement later and let the kiln manager check if it is correct."

In fact, Wang Jiankun had projected this kiln into his consciousness when he visited it just now, and he already had a three-dimensional image of the brick kiln in his mind.

Now I say I need to measure it again only to cover up the problem by drawing the diagram. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain if we could get the exact size just by looking at it from thin air.

So Wang Jiankun and his father took a borrowed tape measure and measured the brick kiln inside and out.

Wang Jiankun measured and recorded, then found a shady place to draw the blueprint.

He first closed his eyes and imagined the three-dimensional picture in his mind, then opened his eyes and started drawing on the notebook. Not long after, a three-dimensional picture of a brick kiln was completed, with the dimensions marked on the edge of the picture.

Then he drew a picture of the arrangement of bricks and tiles. In fact, this was a picture made by Chieko based on Wang Jiankun's description and displayed on its big sphere, and Wang Jiankun copied it down.

After finishing the painting, I gave it to my grandfather, and he asked the kiln manager to help check whether it was correct.

The kiln manager took a look and found that the shape and size of the drawing were exactly the same, and the brick and tile layout was also the same as he described.

The kiln supervisor said to the grandfather: "Captain Shunxiang, you have a good grandson. The blueprint is correct. Where is your grandson studying now?"

Grandpa was very happy to hear him say this, and took the homework book and said, "You just graduated from junior high school, and you ranked third in the county in the high school entrance examination. You were admitted to the county high school and will go to high school in September."

When the kiln manager heard the result, he immediately asked, "With such good results, why don't you go to a technical secondary school? After three years of studying at a technical secondary school, you will be a cadre and have a stable job."

The father took over the conversation and said, "The child is very ambitious and wants to go to college. We see that he usually has good grades, so we let him do it."

Kiln Chief Cha said: "Of course it is better to go to university. After graduation, you will be a high-ranking official, and an official in a big city."

After chatting about other things, the three of them left the brick kiln factory.

Grandpa and father were going to go to the blacksmith shop to see if one of the production team's plows was broken, so they wanted to ask if it could be repaired. If not, they would see if there was a ready-made one available and buy one.

His father asked Wang Jiankun whether he wanted to go to the blacksmith shop together or make his own arrangements.

Wang Jiankun promised his sister to buy snacks and not go with them. He agreed to go for a walk first and then meet up with them at the blacksmith shop.

Then Wang Jiankun turned towards the supply and marketing cooperative.

Arriving at the supply and marketing cooperative, Wang Jiankun first went to the food counter, where seven or eight kinds of snacks were placed, including White Rabbit milk candy, fruit candy, fruit jelly, hawthorn slices, sour plum powder, etc.

Wang Jiankun asked about the price and spent 1 cents to buy five fruit candies and two fruit leathers for his sister, all wrapped in transparent plastic paper.

After buying the snacks, Wang Jiankun decided to go to other counters. He had not yet decided what to buy with the remaining 1 cents.

At this time, four young men walked into the supply and marketing cooperative, one of them carrying a long wooden box on his back. They went to each counter and asked the salesperson if they had steel balls for sale.

The salesperson at one of the counters asked us what size of steel balls we wanted to buy.

The young man carrying the wooden box said, I don’t know the size either, just take out all you have and let me try.

The salesperson was unhappy and said, "You don't know if you want me to take out all of them for you to try? You're just dreaming. You can buy it if you want."

Before the young man who asked the question could say anything, the three young men next to him started talking about their origins one after another, trying to scare the salesperson and ask him to bring out the goods quickly.

After listening for a while, Wang Jiankun learned the origins of these four people.

The young man carrying the wooden box is the son of the commune secretary, named Cheng Hongbing. The other three are the sons of commune cadres, namely Zha Jianguo, Zha Jianjun, and Hu Chunlai.

At this time, the salesperson may have felt that these four young men were not easy to deal with, so he took out three kinds of steel balls, two smaller ones for bicycles, and one large one for carts.

These steel balls were only recently purchased. We didn’t sell them before because no one wanted them.

Cheng Hongbing picked up the three types of steel balls and looked at them, but he was not sure which one to use.

He put the wooden box on the counter, unfastened the buckle, and revealed the contents.

It turned out to be a gun that fired steel balls. Cheng Hongbing took out the gun and tried three kinds of steel balls against the muzzle. He found that the largest one was too big to fit in, and the other two were too small and would slide out when they were put in.

Cheng Hongbing was a little angry, and the three people beside him asked again: "Hongbing, how is it, can it be used?"

Cheng Hongbing said: "No, it won't work. It will either be too big to fit in, or too small to fit in."

The three men were dumbfounded after hearing this. What should they do? Having guns but no bullets would be such a torture for them.

There is no man who doesn't love guns. Now my friend has got a gun, but he has no bullets.

At this time, Wang Jiankun said: "Can you show me the gun? Maybe I can help you solve the bullet problem."

The four of them looked at him without saying anything, but their expressions showed, "What can you do about it? You don't just want to touch the gun, do you?"
Wang Jiankun had no choice but to introduce himself: "Hello, four brothers. My name is Wang Jiankun, from the Wang Family Production Team. My method will definitely work. I can tell you first, but you have to promise to show me this gun."

At this time Cheng Hongbing said: "Okay, I promise you, as long as you can help solve the bullet problem, I will show you the gun and even let you shoot two bullets."

So Wang Jiankun said, "You can make a wooden base, glue the steel ball of the middle model to the wooden base, and then it will become a bullet."

Seeing that the four people did not react, Wang Jiankun explained the reason for doing so.

Because the steel ball is small, it will slide out when put into the barrel. If you make a wooden base of the right size and then glue them together, the wooden base will play a role in fixing and sealing. This kind of bullet may be able to shoot farther and more accurately than pure steel ball bullets.

At this point, the four young men finally understood.

At this time, Cheng Hongbing handed the gun to Wang Jiankun and asked him to try it out while he explained it to him.

It turned out to be an air gun that fired steel ball bullets. It was bought by Cheng Hongbing's brother in Hongdu as a gift to him, but he didn't buy many steel ball bullets as he thought he could buy them at any supply and marketing cooperative.

Following his explanation, Wang Jiankun understood the firing principle of this air gun and the functions of each component.

Wang Jiankun also used his ability to project the gun into the consciousness space.

It turned out that he discovered that as long as he ignored what he saw with his eyes and focused his mind on the objects that his hands were touching, he could project the objects into the space of consciousness.

This way, you don't have to close your eyes every time you use your ability, but your eyes will be unfocused. As long as you pay attention to the angle, it won't be easy for others to notice this.

After Cheng Hongbing finished his introduction, he said, "Brother Wang, you said to use wood to make the bullet base, then please tell me how to do it specifically and what to prepare, and I will arrange it."

Wang Jiankun said: "You need to buy some glue, medium-sized steel balls, and a knife for cutting wood. It needs to be very sharp."

So Cheng Hongbing went to the salesperson and bought glue and steel balls.

Then he said to Wang Jiankun: "Jiankun, you still want to fire two more shots, right? Come back with me first and make the bullets. Then I'll let you fire a few more shots. I have a sharp knife at home."

So Wang Jiankun did not spend the 1 cent and followed the four of them to Cheng Hongbing's house.

When passing by the willow trees by the river, he shouted, "Brother Soldier, break off some willow branches and go back to carve them to use as bases. Willow wood is light and the bullets can shoot far."

Without waiting for Cheng Hongbing to reply, he went to the willow tree and selected some branches that were thicker than the gun barrel and broke them off.

I gave four people a few branches and asked them to learn how to peel off the bark so that they could use it after processing it with a knife.

When we arrived at Cheng Hongbing's home, it was a large blue brick and tile house with a large courtyard surrounded by a wall.

Cheng Hongbing said that this was once the home of a landlord, and now it is used as housing and office for commune cadres.

His family only came here two years ago, and his father was assigned here to be the commune secretary.

The five of them entered Cheng Hongbing's room. After putting the gun box on the desk, Cheng Hongbing asked Wang Jiankun if he wanted some water.

Wang Jiankun said, "No, I still have some in my kettle. I just drank it not long ago."

Wang Jiankun also knew that he was just being polite, so he just wanted to teach them how to make bullets as soon as possible, fire a few shots himself and leave early, otherwise his grandfather and father would be waiting anxiously.

So Wang Jiankun went to the desk and asked Cheng Hongbing to give him the knife.

Cheng Hongbing took out a dagger from the drawer.

Wang Jiankun took it and tried it on a willow branch and found it was okay.

So first slowly thin the branches and keep testing them with the muzzle. When the thickness is just right with the muzzle, cut off small sections of 1 cm in length.

This is kept as a demonstration so that you don't have to keep facing the gun later.

Then cut the shaved wood into small sections about 3 mm long, and then use a knife to dig at one end of the cross section to fit the small steel ball, so that the small steel ball can fit perfectly with the wooden base.

Wang Jiankun didn't do much, just 10 of them, then he took some glue and put some on the wooden base, put the small steel ball on it, pressed it down a bit, and let the small steel ball bond to the base.

While waiting for the glue to dry, Cheng Hongbing and three others cut a piece of willow branch according to the sample. However, their cuts were uneven, with some being thick and some being thin, and perhaps less than half of the branches were usable.

Wang Jiankun didn't care and continued to instruct them to cut, dig grooves, and use glue to fix the steel balls.

During this time, Wang Jiankun saw three years of high school textbooks on the table and asked Cheng Hongbing if he could take a look.

Cheng Hongbing said, "Just watch there and wait for us to finish."

So Wang Jiankun picked up the textbooks and flipped through a few pages of each one. In fact, he was just pretending, because after picking up the textbooks, he projected them into space.

After waiting for a while, the four of them prepared some bullets.

Wang Jiankun took a look and found that the four of them had only prepared 15 bullets. After checking, he found that only 10 of them were usable.

But everyone couldn't wait any longer, as Wang Jiankun had already finished what he had done first, so they took the 10 bullets made by Wang Jiankun and went to the yard. The yard was very long, almost 20 meters.

At one end of the yard, there is a wooden board with numbers of rings drawn on it. It was made by Cheng Hongbing himself and used for practicing his aim.

Chen Hongbing opened the magazine, loaded a bullet into it, closed it, walked to the other end of the yard, raised his gun and aimed.

When the trigger was pulled, the board shook, and everyone ran to the target and saw that the steel ball had been embedded in the board, and the wooden base had fallen off and onto the ground.

The steel ball is embedded deeper than other pits, which means that the power is indeed much greater.

Cheng Hongbing handed the gun to Wang Jiankun. Wang Jiankun loaded the gun and aimed and shot, but he missed. He shot too high and hit the wall, causing a small piece of lime to fall off.

Then he shot again, but missed again, this time he aimed too low. He fired five shots in a row, and the last two shots hit the target.

Wang Jiankun thought to himself, it seems that I have no talent for shooting.

There were four bullets left. Hu Jianguo and Hu Jianjun shot one each, and Hu Chunlai shot one, and they all hit the target.

Seeing that the bullets were all used up, Cheng Hongbing entered the room and took out the ones they had made themselves and used them all for target shooting.

Four of them were completely unusable and could not be inserted into the barrel. One could be inserted with difficulty, but it could not be shot far because the resistance was too great and the speed of the bullet was too slow.

Cheng Hongbing and his three companions found that making bullets was also a hassle. They just wanted to have fun and didn't want to go through the effort of making bullets.

Wang Jiankun gave him an idea, that is, let others do it, and they would pay for it and set a suitable price, such as 1 cent for two. Many children should be willing to help with it, and they could just take the good ones and not the bad ones.

Cheng Hongbing thought this was a good idea. They only fired two or three hundred rounds a day, so spending a few dollars was not a big deal.

He asked Wang Jiankun if he was willing to do it. Wang Jiankun said that he could do it at home and send it over when he had 1 pieces.

But he wanted Cheng Hongbing to buy him steel balls and glue first. Cheng Hongbing agreed, went with him to buy steel balls and glue, and agreed that he would deliver the bullets in 5 days.

Wang Jiankun put away the steel balls and glue and parted ways with them at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative. He was going to the blacksmith shop to find his grandfather and father.

(End of this chapter)