Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 55: Craftsmen are enthusiastic, the foundation of steel [Seeking follow-up reading]

In the midst of silence, all the craftsmen present looked at Liu Kuan.

But some people have secretly decided that they will never join that steel plant and will find ways to return home.

Liu Kuan said, "Steel plant employees will receive monthly salaries. This salary is divided into two parts: one is the base salary, and the other is the bonus."

"The base salary and bonus amount depend on the craftsman's level, position, and the work they do."

"Take the ironworker as an example. His base salary is one guan of cash per month, and his bonuses can range from tens to hundreds of wen."

After listening to Liu Kuan's two or three sentences, some craftsmen's eyes lit up and their ideas changed.

There is no other reason, the basic salary and bonus mentioned by Liu Kuan are really attractive.

During the first ten years of the Hongwu reign, prices were quite low, and one guan of money could buy two dan of rice and flour.

One stone of rice and flour weighs about 182 kilograms, and a young adult, even if he only eats rice, only needs four kilograms of rice and flour a day to be full.

In reality, people cannot live on just rice and flour. With vegetables, oil, and other accompaniments, the need for rice is less. If you don't work, you don't need to eat a full meal every time.

Therefore, generally speaking, a young and strong person only needs more than two kilograms of rice and flour a day, and only needs to eat sixty to seventy kilograms of rice and flour a month.

A craftsman could receive a basic salary of one guan after joining the steel mill. Even if he used half of it for other expenses, he could still buy a stone of rice and flour with half a guan left, which was enough to support two or three young and strong people.

Not to mention there are bonuses to be won.

In addition, if there are other young and strong people in a family who can also earn money, even women and children will do what they can to supplement the family income.

This means that if a craftsman works in a steel plant, he can definitely support a small family of four or five people!
You should know that in the Ming Dynasty, a craftsman working for others could earn at most eighty or ninety coins a day, and the least could be as little as twenty or thirty coins.

It sounds good. If you have an average of fifty coins a day, you can earn one and a half copper coins in a month.

But in fact, the reason why craftsmen are paid on a daily basis is because it is impossible for them to have work to do every day.

Most of the work only takes a few days. If you can work for 10 to 20 days in a month, you are considered busy.

Therefore, on average, a craftsman would only earn about one guan of money per month, and his income was extremely unstable.

The fact that working in a steel mill can provide a stable income will naturally attract some craftsmen.

What Liu Kuan said next made most of the craftsmen interested in joining the steel factory.

"Once a craftsman joins the steel mill, it is equivalent to serving in the army, which means that he will not be conscripted to work or serve elsewhere!"

Upon hearing these words, almost all the craftsmen present had their eyes shining with excitement and surprise!
As mentioned earlier, a craftsman earns an average of one kan of money per month, but this is actually just an ideal situation. One of the main reasons is that he needs to perform labor service.

Shift workers like Zhang Qiba were recruited from Huangzhou, Huguang to serve in the ironworks and had to work for several months.

Although the court provided subsidies, they were only enough for their own food and drink, and even if they were frugal, they could not save much.

This means that if there are no other young or strong people in the family who can earn money, women, children and the elderly can only live on their past savings.

In addition, when craftsmen work in other places, there is a certain possibility that they will die in a foreign land due to illness, injury, etc.

Although craftsmen often work in shifts of several years, many craftsmen are still afraid of them and are terrified when talking about them.

It can be said that they have dreamed of avoiding the suffering of shift labor. Now that the opportunity is right in front of them, how could they not be surprised and excited?
The local resident carpenter was also excited.

Being a resident craftsman does not mean that he will not be conscripted to other places to become a shift worker.

Moreover, even if they serve locally, they can only receive some salt and food subsidies, but if they join the steel plant, they can get salary and bonuses. Do they need to think too much about which choice to make?
Because this thing was so beautiful, many craftsmen couldn't believe it and couldn't help asking, "Is what the master said true?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Of course it's true."

After hearing Liu Kuan's affirmative answer, the local craftsmen were the first to express their opinions.

"Master, we are willing to join the steel mill!"

"Master, you keep your word. I am willing to join you!"

"···"

Shift workers like Zhang Qiba hesitated when they really had to make a decision.

It’s simple. They are from outside the place. If they join Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant, what will happen to their families?
Am I going to be separated from my family forever?
At this time, Liu Kuan made a gesture of pressing down with both hands, and when the craftsmen were quiet, he said, "Don't be impatient, just listen to me and make a decision."

"Joining the steel mill has more benefits than what you're used to. One of them is that, except on days off, steel mill workers are not allowed to do private work for others."

"In addition, if shift workers want to work in the steel mill, their families will also move to Liuhe County to settle down."

"Finally, compared to the ironworks, the rules in the steel mill are much stricter. Those who do not follow the rules or make mistakes will be fined or have their wages deducted, or even fired."

"The specific regulations for joining the steel mill and what rules and regulations the steel mill will have will be announced in a notice from the Iron Smelting Office later. You will all know after reading it."

"However, after you go back, you can first tell the other craftsmen what I have said, and try your best to explain it clearly, and then wait for the news that the ironworks has been officially reorganized into a steel plant." The meeting ended here.

As the foremen, master carpenters and senior carpenters who had attended the meeting returned to their respective construction sites, the news that the iron yard would be reorganized into a steel plant spread.

Many craftsmen were extremely surprised when they heard this.

Kiln yard, in front of brick kiln No. 4.

Zhang Daniu said excitedly, "Second Uncle, is there any need to consider such a good thing? We must join!"

"Not only will you have a stable salary after joining, you won't have to serve elsewhere. As for moving here from Huangzhou, it's even better - this place is at the foot of the emperor, it's much better than Huangzhou!"

Zhang Qiba had actually also made up his mind to join, but as he was older and more stable, he said, "I know I should join, but don't be impatient. As the deputy master said, wait patiently for the official announcement."

At the same time, Zhang Qiba was a little worried.

Although this is a good thing, it seems to be a huge matter. Can that young deputy master really make the decision?

But don't let anything else happen.

···
Iron smelting office.

Liu Kuan said, "After the ironworks is converted into a steel mill, Director Wang will temporarily serve as the factory supervisor, Ambassador Gong will temporarily serve as the factory director, and as for the deputy factory director..."

At this point, Liu Kuan glanced at Zhang Yi and said, "The Ministry of Personnel will appoint someone later, and we can recommend another one from the craftsmen who originally joined the steel plant."

Although Zhang Yi was mentally prepared, he was still disappointed that Liu Kuan did not mention his name.

It can be predicted that Liuhe Iron and Steel will definitely receive special attention from the court in the future. If he can hold an official position here and make achievements, he may be able to break free from the shackles and become one of the blue-robed officials.

Unfortunately, he had previously arranged for his nephew to be in charge of the public kitchen out of personal favor, and this led to corruption, thus ruining this opportunity.

Even if he is the deputy envoy of the Iron Smelting Institute, I am afraid he won't be able to hold on for long...

Another day passed.

Liuhe Iron Works was officially renamed Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant.

Almost all the former ironworks workers were willing to join the steel mill, but a small number of shift workers were unwilling to join due to various reasons such as difficulty in leaving their hometown.

For this small group of shift workers, Liu Kuan allowed them to end their service early and send them back home.

At the same time, Liu Kuan also had dozens of prisoners who were doing hard labor in the ironworks sent to other places - even if he was still trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang, he could not exempt these prisoners from hard labor and allow them to work in the steel mill like normal people.

After this, the number of craftsmen in the steel plant was actually one or two hundred less than that of the previous ironworks.

But the problem is not big. Given the steel plant's attractiveness to craftsmen, the missing staff can be recruited.

On the day when the steel plant reorganization was completed, another good news came - cement was successfully fired!
Although Liu Kuan gave a specific formula and process flow, it may take only a few days to successfully burn the lime. This shows that the craftsmen who burned the lime were very motivated and had good experience and wisdom.

After Liu Kuan personally tested the performance of the cement and found no problem, he issued a bonus of thirty strings of cash as promised...

The day after the steel plant's reorganization was completed.

Outside Liuhe County, at the dock.

Liu Kuan, accompanied by Shen Lin, Zheng Zhiliang and other entourages, as well as soldiers from the Yiluansi and Feixiongwei, were about to board the navy warship.

The autumn wind is blowing and the Chu River is surging.

Before boarding the ship, Liu Kuan couldn't help but give some instructions to Wang Buqun who came to see him off.

"Now that the steel mill is restructured and refractory bricks and cement have been fired, your next job will be to oversee the construction of the coke ovens and blast furnaces, as well as the brickyard and cement plant attached to the steel mill."

"As for refining coke, smelting iron and steel in blast furnaces, there's no need to rush. Things have to be done step by step."

"After I get married, I will find time to come here for an inspection. However, if there are any problems with the steel mill, you can also write to let me know."

In the past few days, Liu Kuan was not afraid of dirt or tiredness, and he mingled with the craftsmen at almost every construction site in Liuhe Ironworks, winning the respect of all the craftsmen.

Wang Buqun followed Liu Kuan for a few days and learned a lot. At the same time, he also realized that Liu Kuan was a man of real ability and was definitely not someone who got promoted by luck.

After witnessing the magic of cement, he became even more confident in the cause of the Science and Technology Department, and naturally had even more respect for his boss Liu Kuan.

After hearing Liu Kuan's instructions, Wang Buqun said sincerely, "Don't worry, Vice-President Liu. I will do my best to run the steel mill well."

"It's a pity that I won't be able to attend Deputy Prince's wedding, so I'm offering my congratulations in advance. May Deputy Prince Liu and the Third Princess live in harmony and be together forever!"

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(End of this chapter)