Chapter 199 Zhang Jiji and Lin Xianming
The closest place to the two people was a three-masted wooden-hulled warship in the dock where the hull was being installed. [Read the latest chapter] Workers are working on the scaffolding. The hull plates bent into a certain arc using steam are lifted in bundles by a steam crane and sent to each installation station.
This warship, assembled with steel ribs and steam engines manufactured using advanced processes from another time and space, will become the most powerful war machine in this time and space.
On the largest slipway, the wrought iron keel of another smaller armed three-masted ship has been laid, and numerous cranes driven by gas engines are moving the iron ribs closer to the assembly position on the keel. The workers wearing safety helmets were busy going back and forth under the command of the red and green flags of the shift foreman, with trumpets and whistles coming and going.
Zhang Jiji is on the dock of Project 854, watching the progress of the ship plate installation project. He was wearing blue work clothes and a rattan safety helmet. In the entire Bobu Shipyard, his status is the highest among the indigenous employees, and his title is Shipbuilding Technician - this title is unique not only in the shipyard, but also among all indigenous workers. In comparison, from Baitu Lin Xianming and Lu Youtian were just assistant technicians when they moved here. Of course, even an assistant technician is very impressive. You must know that in the mechanical system, indigenous workers who can be rated as "technicians" can already walk sideways.
Although Zhang Jiji was not highly educated, he was extremely enlightened and had the photographic memory of traditional Chinese craftsmen. As long as Wen Desi showed him the details of the ship model, he would firmly remember many of the details. With some design structures, he cannot understand "why", but at least he can "know why" quickly. This is enough for the elders - after all, what they need now is only workers with strong hands-on skills, not designers.
Zhang Jiji was originally a naval engineer. After receiving the guidance and education from Wen Desi and others in the past few years - especially after he learned several European ship styles and shipbuilding techniques, he integrated Chinese and Western skills and became more sophisticated in shipbuilding technology. Become the most important indigenous technician in the shipyard. He was responsible for the final assembly of Project 854.
On the railway track, baskets of special nails and buckles for assembly were unloaded from the flatbed pulled by the diesel locomotive. These are all made in the metalworking workshop where Liu Youtian is the workshop director - the standard parts factory in Lingao's industrial system does not produce these special parts. Most of the metal parts required for shipbuilding are made by the shipyard itself. Set up workshop manufacturing.
On the scaffolding, the workers followed the training they received and installed the ship planks in the same manner. hammer. The sound of drilling comes and goes, and sometimes you can hear the call of "Xiao Xin!". Following this sound, a red-hot rivet will roll and fly in the air, and be firmly fixed by the riveter above with iron pliers. Grab it, stick it into the rivet hole while it's hot, and quickly hit it with a sledgehammer to fix it.
Other workers were busy caulking with a mixture of hemp silk, tung oil and oyster shell ash. The process is rigorously calculated to ensure production with optimal efficiency.
Each shipbuilder is trained for thirty days. They do not need to master much theoretical knowledge, nor do they need to learn any special skills or have a high level of understanding. They only need to be able to learn from the master. Such workers do not need to know how to build ships, they only need to know how to hammer nails, drive rivets, install ship planks and caulk seams. This approach greatly simplifies the training process for shipbuilders.
A whistle sounded--this was the whistle preparing to take over. Night shift workers are filing into the factory. It's time for Zhang Jiji to get off work. But he doesn't plan to get off work - the work at the shipyard has never been more intense, and there are currently 6 ships on the slipway starting construction at the same time. However, there are only a few technicians and technicians who can serve as technical guidance.
Zhang Jiji does not have the consciousness that workers are masters, but he has the simplest feeling of repaying kindness. This is not just a material benefit - when he was in Baitu Village, the Lin family treated him as a distinguished guest, but the respect and understanding he gained here was something he could not get anywhere else. . Zhang Jiji knows very well: when it comes to knowledge and ability, the elders are a hundred times a thousand times better than him, but each of them is very polite to him, asking him to sit down when talking, and some elders will give him cigarettes - this It is different from the polite attitude of the Lin family back then. Zhang Jiji knows very well: in the past, he relied entirely on skills to survive in Baitu Village. Once he gets old and frail or loses his technical secrets, he will be of no use to the Lin family. Courtesy and creature comforts will disappear.
But here, he doesn't worry about any of that. Not only do Australians not care about his skills, they also continue to teach him new skills. And as long as he works conscientiously, he can get generous rewards. Even if one day he is too old to work, the Australians will not abandon him - the Australians treat their subordinates surprisingly well. There have been several casualties in the shipyard, and the pensions have always been favorable. Generally speaking, anyone who is willing to reward a few taels of silver for burning and burying is regarded as a kindhearted person. However, the Australians not only give money for burning and burying, but also take care of the families of the dead and injured workers. The children are sent to school, the elderly are supported, and those who are willing to work are given jobs. Even for people who are disabled due to work-related injuries, some work should be arranged as appropriate to prevent them from being displaced.
This kind of thing that Australians call "welfare" makes Zhang Ji full of trust in them. I am willing to use all my strength and ability to do things for them.
Zhang Jiji came out of the duty room next to the No. 0 shipyard - this shipyard was building the No. 0 ship at the time, so it got this name -. He decided to eat something first, and then look at other slipways and shipyards. Shipbuilding progress, are there any problems to be solved?
The shipyard's canteen was a large shed by modern standards, but for 17th-century workers, it would have been nice to have some shelter from the wind and rain. The rows of long wooden tables and the windows selling food gave many elders a familiar feeling. However, the variety of food cannot be compared with the canteens of the 21st century - there are only a few fixed types, and it is not rich and colorful. The protein is mainly provided by seafood, and eggs and meat are hard to see.
However, for indigenous workers, a sufficient amount of brown rice to fill their stomachs is already a good meal, and a little fish sauce and vegetables are a good delicacy. Of course Zhang Ji in the cafeteria is a little more sophisticated than them, and he would be satisfied with just a little bit of vegetables and fish for every meal.
All canteens for indigenous employees under the Chuanchuan Group are not provided free of charge. Instead, workers are given a certain amount of food stamps every month. The level can roughly ensure that they can eat enough to ensure their physical strength and basic nutritional needs. Workers who need to eat better can purchase additional food stamps. All food stamps are valid for the same month. This ensures that workers can eat all the meals themselves instead of buying them back to bring to their families. In the past, factories used to pay food expenses directly, but now most workers use the circulation coupons to subsidize their families instead of eating. Malnutrition occurs from time to time.
Zhang Jiji belongs to the high-paid class of indigenous employees - according to Du Wen's classification, he belongs to the "worker aristocracy" of Lingao. Moreover, Zhang Jiji has no wife and children, he is single, and he can feed himself and the whole family is not hungry. Of course, they are much richer than ordinary workers when it comes to food and drink.
Zhang Jiji bought a portion of fried rice noodles with shellfish and vegetables. The fried rice noodles are made from rice flour mixed with sweet potato flour. They are stir-fried quickly over high heat. They look oily. They are the favorite meal of workers who lack oil and water on weekdays - but The price is also the most expensive. Most workers are used to buying cheaper rice noodles, which are much cheaper. He bought another bottle of kombucha, which was sour and sweet, perfect for drinking after a meal.
Kombucha is a drink that indigenous workers rarely buy. The canteen is mainly reserved for seniors working in the factory. So every time Zhang Jiji raised his neck to drink kombucha, he would arouse a burst of envy from the workers - which also made him very proud.
Zhang Jiji returned to the table with a plate full of rice noodles - the rice noodles weighed a full 25o grams. It is of little concern to workers engaged in heavy physical labor. There are also many workers who eat half a kilogram or even one kilogram in one meal.
He saw Lin Xianming sitting at a table, eating a portion of brown rice, which was just a vegetable. I couldn't help but be very surprised. Lin Xianming is the chief carpentry foreman of the shipyard, with the title of deputy technician. His grade salary plus professional title salary is much less than his own. Moreover, his children are adults, and his wife and children have jobs, so he does not have to save to this extent.
"Old Lin, how do you eat this?" Zhang Jiji put the plate opposite him and sat down.
"It's you," Lin Xianming said a little listlessly. As the chief carpenter, he had a lot of woodworking assembly tasks recently. Like Zhang Jiji, Lin Xianming had not been home for several days. "It's a big burden."
"Are you kidding? Your son and wife both have jobs and incomes. It's enough to make money and spend money by yourself. What's the burden?"
Lin Xianming sighed: "Who called me Lin?"
The Lin family's clan activities have always been active, and many poor immigrants named Lin have joined the Lin family in order to covet the family's financial support. As a result, Lin Xianming, as the patriarch, has a huge financial burden.
Although as the leader of the clan, he was able to collect some money from the clan to help the poor new clan members, but after the Lin family arrived in Bopu, his authority was no longer what it used to be - he could no longer issue an order to open the main gate of the ancestral hall and open the main gate of the ancestral hall. Those who disobey him will be spanked, punished by kneeling, fined, or even directly executed.
Although the current Lin clan still has frequent clan activities, after experiencing two dismemberments, its cohesion is no longer what it used to be. After losing a large amount of income and being included in Lingao's security system, the economic benefits and security benefits that the clan had brought to the clansmen in the past have been reduced.
The distant branches of the soft-spoken clan gradually began to disown the power of the main clan clan - the resentment caused by the unfair distribution of benefits in the past of the Lin clan gradually surfaced. As a result, if Lin Xianming wanted to maintain the entire Lin clan, he would have to pay a higher price than before. Ancestor worship ceremonies are more solemn, and various activities within the clan are more frequent. Almost all the Lin clan members who have recently joined the union are in need of relief, but many clan members are unwilling to spend money to help them. Thinking that they actually have nothing to do with your family is a waste of money.
In the past, the expenses in the clan could be arbitrarily apportioned by each house, but now many clan members refuse to pay or pay less, and he has to make up the shortfall himself. On the one hand, the assessed income is getting smaller and smaller, on the other hand, various expenses have not decreased at all but have increased. Lin Xianming's burden naturally became heavier.
Zhang Jiji knows some of these things. In this regard, he seemed to be watching the fire from afar. After all, Zhang Jiji had a grudge against Lin Xianming in the past over the distribution of interests. But now he feels more open-minded, and the two parties generally had a happy cooperation in Baitu in the past.
"How's the credit?" Zhang Ji pretended to be concerned. In fact, he hated this so-called "nephew" the most. The young master's arrogance and rudeness made him unhappy all the time - even though on the surface he had always expressed his love and tolerance for this "nephew" generously. But when it came time to evaluate the qualifications of the shipyard workers, he gave Lin Gonglao and Lin Gongxun zero points without hesitation. At the beginning of the year, Lin Gonggao was moved to Sanya, which made him even more happy.
"It's very painful!" Lin Xianming felt sorry for his son. He couldn't help but sigh, and then lowered his voice and said, "I heard a message from someone saying that many people died of malaria in Sanya. But the project is progressing very quickly."
"Don't worry. You are young and in good health."
"I have no choice but to think this way." Lin Xianming frowned, "There's no need to talk about credit, he is an adult. Things in this clan are the troublesome ones. The expenses are so huge, and everyone is reluctant to pay. ——They only care about their own family."
"Old Lin, what do you mean by still working so hard to support the clan? This has become your business alone. Do you deserve it?"
"Oh, sometimes I feel like I can't do it." Lin Xianming took a mouthful of boiled vegetables and chewed them without any appetite, "But our family fled from Fujian to Hainan, and it took a lot of effort to survive until now, so we can't bear to be separated like this." ah."
"It doesn't matter to others if you don't give in." Zhang Ji said, "Let's talk about the joint clan. Someone who is totally incompatible with your clan has the same surname of 'Lin', and you are getting monthly money for nothing. ―This is not what we used to be in Baitu. Everyone was living on a salary. Is it okay to do this? Do you owe them or do you hope to get any benefits from them? "
Lin Xianming also found it boring, but he still adhered to the traditional concept of "the more clan members, the better".
"There are many people in the clan and we are not bullied by others. There is great strength in numbers." Lin Xianming said.
"Haha." Zhang Jiji laughed, "Old Lin! Your brain is out of control! There is strength in numbers, and that was in Baitu Village. Now that your family is in Bopu, they still need strength. What are you going to do when you have strength? "
Lin Xianming was taken aback and immediately understood the meaning of his words. He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
"The government is the government, and the clan is the clan. They are two unrelated things. No matter how big the clan is, they would not dare not pay the national tax on royal grain... How could the elders not understand this?"
"If you say you are confused, you are confused." Zhang Jiji glanced around, "Think about it for yourself, if Chang Zhen is like you said, 'understanding this', why did you send your clan members to Sanya? You still have to arrive in one day The late Lian Zong will kill people! I'm not trying to scare you, little brother - if this continues..." He shook his head repeatedly as he spoke.
This sentence was like a thunderbolt, causing Lin Xianming to stop in shock. After a long while, he stammered, "That's not the case. I...we...our Lin family have no different intentions!"
"It doesn't matter what you and I say." Zhang Jiji snored while eating fried rice noodles and smiled.
Seeing Lin Xianming walking out of the cafeteria in despair without even finishing the meal, Zhang Jiji felt a little proud - you Lin Xianming, you are so stupid to be the leader of the clan! What Australians fear most is clan. You still want to wreak havoc on the Lin clan. I would like to remind you for the sake of old friendship, otherwise you will be confiscating your family and annihilating your clan in the future!
While Zhang Jiji and Lin Xianming were having this conversation, Tianzheng, Jiang Ye and others were eating at another table. According to convention, each factory usually has 2 to 3 veterans with professional knowledge working night shifts in the factory, ready to guide work and solve problems at any time. They usually live in a dedicated "senior office" and theoretically have separate meals. However, many people find it troublesome to wait for meals to be delivered from the senior canteen and cannot get hot food, so they simply eat directly in the staff canteen. Invisibly, the distance between them and the indigenous workers has been shortened.
6 One day, I was wearing dark work clothes and was covered in sweat. There were furnaces, forging, sand foundry and casting in the metalworking workshop. The indoor temperature is above 4oc at any time. 6 One day, I ordered a large plate of vegetable and shrimp fried rice. I was devouring it while chatting with Jiang Ye and others about work.
"The editor said that the bottom of the ship should be covered with copper sheet. How to make this copper sheet? Do you use a hammer to knock it? Just like knocking gold foil?"
"It's not a problem to have a rolling mill to make copper sheets." Jiang Ye said, "I just haven't figured out how to wrap it up yet."
6 One day I still couldn’t figure it out: “The bottom of the ship is so big, how big should the copper skin be?”
At this time, Zhang Jiji came over - with the elders present, he felt that he should come and say hello. After the pleasantries were settled, several people continued to discuss the copper cladding process of the ship's bottom at the dinner table.
"I have seen Wen Chang's ship model. The copper sheets are nailed to the bottom of the ship in small pieces one by one. The edges are interlocked with each other." Zhang Ji said, "This should be fine."
Zhou Billy nodded: "So that's it! But the area at the bottom of the ship is not small. The consumption of copper must be indispensable."
"This is a matter of the Planning Institute. I think there is always some reserve of copper." Jiang Ye drank a bottle of frozen kvass in one gulp. "Besides, our rolling mill should be better than the British, and the copper plates rolled out will be better." Thin."
