Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

These heartfelt words struck, and the workers below fell silent for a moment once again.

Finally, an old worker mustered his courage and asked in a trembling voice:

"Boss... are you serious? Can we, who do the manual labor, really offer suggestions to the factory?"

Jiang Fan looked at the old worker and smiled confidently:

"Of course, but I must make it clear from the outset: giving feedback is fine, but it doesn't mean you can mess around in the workshop."

"All suggestions and ideas must revolve precisely around the core principle of doing the job well and ensuring high product quality!"

"Those who can do real work will be rewarded with every single work point. But if you're thinking of taking advantage of the lack of a foreman to slack off and coast along, I'm sorry, I won't keep anyone idle in this workshop."

As soon as he finished speaking, the workers below began to whisper among themselves again.

Although no one dared to voice their opinions out of old habits, a mixture of doubt and fervent anticipation gradually emerged in their eyes.

Standing to the side, Zhou Chunsheng pouted, his mind racing like gears:

"What's he up to now? Every time I hear Engineer Jiang spouting these cryptic remarks, I get the feeling he's about to unleash some earth-shattering secret..."

Sure enough, before Lao Zhou could even finish processing his thoughts, Jiang Fan, without any hesitation, dropped the second bombshell of the day:

"Besides the management system, there is another important matter that concerns everyone's vital interests."

"Regarding everyone's monthly salary, here's what I'm thinking: let's start by changing the old rules of Ansteel, beginning with our steel rolling mill."

"Starting today, our workshop will prioritize eliminating the complex wage-point system and fully switch to a work-point system."

As soon as these words were spoken, even the whispers below instantly ceased, and everyone's face broke into an expression of extreme joy.

It should be noted that the so-called "salary point system" is an old method that Ansteel has been using since it resumed production at the end of 48 in order to cope with price fluctuations.

This involved linking wages to the market prices of basic necessities such as millet, cloth, oil, salt, and coal, and then performing a tedious conversion based on the real-time price trends each month when salaries were paid.

Although this system was slightly more reliable than the gold yuan notes that were practically worthless during the Kuomintang era, it was extremely inhumane to calculate.

Ansteel's "thirteen grades and thirty-nine levels" wage system is so detailed it's mind-boggling.

Before each payday, the dozens of people in the finance and accounting office have to work on abacuses for several nights in a row.

The workers' eyes lit up immediately when they heard the words "work point system"!

After all, with the advancement of rural land reform, everyone is quite familiar with the term "work points".

Back in my hometown, farming meant earning work points for each day you worked, and at the end of the year, grain was distributed based on those work points.

This seems much simpler and more straightforward than that damn salary distribution.

Moreover, in everyone's simple understanding, if work points are calculated by the day, then when you go to work, you don't have to work so hard. As long as you get to the workshop, you can just coast along for a day and still get a minimum number of work points.

Seeing the jubilant expressions on the faces of the crowd below, Jiang Fan chuckled inwardly. His next words, however, were like a bucket of cold water, causing their joy to slowly fade:

"Everyone, don't get too excited yet. I need to emphasize that our workshop's work point system is fundamentally different from the rural system of just getting by with hourly work points!"

"Work points in rural areas are calculated on a daily basis; once a person arrives at the field, they are considered to have worked."

"But here, starting today, we're completely abolishing time-based work points and switching entirely to piece-rate work points!"

As soon as Jiang Fan spoke, everyone in the open space fell silent.

Although most of them had never heard of the term "piecework," its literal meaning was not difficult to guess.

You get work points for every piece of work you do!

Someone in the crowd immediately realized what was going on and couldn't help but mutter to themselves:

"So, does that mean the more you do, the more you earn?"

His coworker next to him gave him a shove, looking distressed, and said:

"Isn't that obvious? But what if I don't do enough? My whole family has several mouths to feed. If I don't get enough work points, we'll starve!"

Once someone takes the lead, this kind of topic, which involves the core interests of everyone, will more or less stir up waves in the crowd.

Various concerns and doubts gradually grew louder.

Jiang Fan heard all these discussions but didn't stop them. He paused for a moment, waiting for everyone to calm down a bit, before continuing:

"From today onwards, our steel rolling mill's dual-use (military and civilian) gas cylinder production line is officially established. All equipment has been reassigned to specific positions, and a clear work point unit price will be set for each production process!"

"For processes that can be performed by a single person, points are awarded per piece. For example, if you weld a tank by yourself, you will receive full work points for that single person."

"If it is a production line with collective operation, we will adopt the process breakdown method. Based on the technical content and labor intensity of each process, we will break down the total score and share it proportionally with all workers involved in that process."

He paused, his tone hardening, and added:

"But listen carefully, everyone. The premise of piecework is that the product quality must be up to standard. No matter which stage you are in, if the product is not up to standard or becomes scrap, the piecework points for that process will be canceled, which means you have worked for nothing."

"All quality inspections are personally overseen by Engineer Zhou Chunsheng and his technical staff. If personal negligence or operational errors result in serious equipment damage or the scrapping of a large number of products, in addition to losing work points for the day, a corresponding percentage of the basic salary will also be deducted!"

Standing to the side, Zhou Chunsheng's lips twitched involuntarily as he listened to these words.

He finally understood that Jiang Fan's system was exactly the same as the detailed management he had seen in advanced factories abroad.

It directly links workers' income, skill level, and sense of responsibility.

Engineer Jiang clearly intends to use the manufacture of gas cylinders to cultivate the first batch of high-tech industrial talents at Ansteel.

Now he's just worried that the workers below won't be able to get over this for a while.

Seeing that no one in the crowd spoke, Jiang Fan continued earnestly:

"I'm not saying this to deliberately make things difficult for you all. But you need to understand that the core of the piece-rate system boils down to four words—the more you work, the more you earn!"

"As long as you have good skills, work fast, and produce high quality, your income will definitely be much higher than others. On the contrary, those who want to coast along in this workshop, from today onwards, this path is completely blocked."