Volume 1: The Rise of Elanhill Chapter 0035: The gap between work stoppages
"Take a break for an hour! Take a break for an hour!" Looking at the huge clock on the wall, a junior supervisor held the report helplessly and drew a big "X" on it as if to vent his emotions.
Every stoppage means that production must stop and things become a mess. Similarly, every stoppage also means that the income of all employees in the entire production workshop will be reduced.
"Ah..." As expected, a worker who was rubbing his sore shoulder sighed and complained loudly, "Why is the machine down again? Are we going to be spared? Those guys in the power room are deliberately looking for trouble, right?"
"They always use the issue of production safety to fool people..." Another worker also looked unhappy, as if he had swallowed a live rat.
Originally, the place was always filled with the roar of machines, so everyone's voice was full of heroism. Now the machines suddenly stopped, but everyone was still talking at the top of their voices, which sounded a bit deafening.
Some workers came out from behind the machines, some took out towels from their waists and wiped their greasy faces. They looked at the young supervisor standing on the stairs at the door with dissatisfied eyes, as if waiting for an answer.
Aren't they working so hard just to make their family's life better? You know, beauty is an expensive word, which needs to be built with countless money.
Where does money come from? Isn't it earned by working hard? Now they stop production at any time, and the ones who lose are their own happiness! How can this be justified?
In order to save the already limited funds, Chris and Des developed a whole set of "voucher" procedures. Many wages and bonuses in the factory were actually issued in the form of white paper "vouchers" instead of gold coins. Workers took these white papers and went to others to exchange them for things like soap, matches, clothes, and even some food.
Similarly, other factories producing these materials can only collect these vouchers and continue to expand production and purchase raw materials. The factories producing raw materials continue to distribute these vouchers to workers, completing a roughly closed loop.
Of course, this closed loop is unhealthy and impossible to justify. But as long as the overflow holes are filled with real money, all factories can continue to operate well.
The Mifu coupons used by Germany before World War II were this kind of thing. They could help a poor country to generate ten times the funds in one go to expand its own strength.
However, this is not without its drawbacks. This cycle will become larger and larger. Once the country needs to repay the blank paper, the economy will collapse. Unless it can slowly fill this gap through production or plunder, the entire country will fall into disaster.
Chris and Des both had this awareness. One was a time traveler who had summarized thousands of years of economic experience on Earth, and the other was a businessman who had been in the business for almost ten years. They certainly knew how huge the risks were in creating a substitute currency out of thin air.
However, in the short term, the benefits of doing so are so tempting that they can't help but hope to see the "illusion" of prosperity and rapid development brought about by the economic boom.
Of course, as a worker, Ailan Hill also provides many preferential policies: any worker who works in the factory and has mastered the production technology can apply for living allowance from the factory in advance.
These subsidies are all daily necessities, ranging from quilts and sheets to soap and mirrors. As long as the workers ask for them, they can use these things in advance to bring convenience to their lives. However, once they use these things, they have to repay part of the subsidy every month, which will be deducted from their wages.
The newly industrialized Ireland Hill was no different from Europe during the Industrial Revolution. There were no labor laws or worker protections. Workers had to work more than ten hours a day, and some departments even had to work twelve hours a day.
If the working hours are not enough, the factory will extend the off-get off work time, which takes up everyone's rest time - so whenever there is a stoppage, the workers will complain.
"Is the power room ready?" The young supervisor in charge of production could no longer hold it in and turned around and shouted loudly towards the door on the other side.
Of course he didn't get an answer, because in the factory next door, a group of workers were dismantling a huge steam engine with the help of a simple slide crane set up on the roof. Their faces were already covered with sweat, because this job was not an easy one.
"One, two, three! One, two, three!" With slogans one after another, the workers struggled to open a closed cabin. Huge cast steel parts were lifted by a crane, and the internal structure, which was rubbed shiny by the reciprocating motion, was presented to everyone.
"Replace the gaskets! Quick! Remove all the old gaskets!" A group of workers carrying various tools rushed to the machine like soldiers heading to the front line and began to remove all the old rubber gaskets and replace them with new ones.
This gasket itself should be made of rubber, but because it is located in the northeast, there is no place to grow rubber in the Principality of Elanhill, whether in Seris or other places.
Because of this, when Chris invented the steam engine, all the sealing gaskets were made of artificial rubber, and they were all synthesized by hand in a workshop. Although this preparation method in the laboratory can quickly produce synthetic rubber, it is basically impossible to mass-produce it.
Purely handmade preparation in the laboratory is a stupid method that Chris uses for many problems. Because the demand is not large, this stupid method can actually temporarily meet the production demand.
For example, the lifespan of these artificial rubber gaskets is actually not as long as that of natural rubber products. However, since it is impossible to obtain large amounts of rubber, most factories can only use this kind of substitute that needs to be replaced frequently.
There are machines that use natural rubber as sealing gaskets, and most of them are concentrated in important factories producing arms. Therefore, most civilian factories will stop production from time to time to replace rubber gaskets to ensure the operation of the machines.
In fact, from the perspective of rubber, it can be seen that the industrialization of Ireland Hill is not that advanced. Chris is just pushing the process of mechanical production rigidly, and many problems have not been fundamentally solved.
For example, the most important cannon in the Irish Hill military industry, the most advanced 75mm caliber infantry light howitzer, has always used wooden carriage wheels. This is actually a very funny thing: the gun barrel looks like a product around 1930, but the gun bracket and wheels look like something around 1830.
Now, Ireland Hill's troops still have a long way to go before they can be mechanized. Otherwise, the resource of rubber alone could drag down the entire industrial production of Ireland Hill.
"No way! They are replacing parts of the steam engine over there! We have to work overtime today! Let's take a break! Let's take a break!" Holding the notebook, the young supervisor was almost scared to tears by those vicious workers. Although there was no strike, he had no place to complain if these irritable old men beat him up.
With the speed of industrial expansion in Ailan Hill, every worker is a precious treasure that cannot be easily offended - as for the small supervisor... well, just find a pig to tie to the door, the effect is actually similar...
"Change again? Why are those steam engines so unreliable?" The workers complained to themselves regardless of the reason. They also wanted to go home early, spend time with their children and wives, and enjoy a better life .
"It would be strange if they were reliable. I heard that the number of customers who come to the Steam Engine Factory No. 2 every day is almost enough to form a company..." Another worker who knew the situation snorted coldly and said to his companion sarcastically, "How can they have the craftsmanship of our Machinery Factory No. 1?"
Compared to the first steam engine factory, which had good quality, the newly established second steam engine factory was not very reliable. Not only did the equipment malfunction more often, but the rubber gaskets used were said to be produced by a new workshop and the quality was not very good.
However, since everyone is waiting for the new power source, they can only hold their noses and order the equipment from Steam Engine Plant No. 2. Otherwise, they will have to wait for the production schedule of Plant No. 1 next year, which is something no one can accept.
When talking about their own skills, these craftsmen who were originally blacksmiths or craftsmen immediately beamed with confidence: "Of course! Look at the products of our first factory, they are all good stuff used in the arsenal!"
"Isn't it? I heard that they are setting up a third production line there, and they are all using our parts!" Everyone was excited when they heard someone talking about their own products. It was a kind of recognition from the times, and also a kind of strength from the heart.
Everyone started talking and bragging about their own skills. Some people spread out the yellowed drawings and began to concentrate on their craft. Rest time always passed quickly, and soon the roar of machinery was heard from the factory next door.
"The power is restored! Production continues! The machines are starting up! Everyone return to their positions! Return to their positions!" The production supervisor finally gained some confidence, and from a high place he began to urge his workers to return to production.
Everyone walked back to their respective machines in twos and threes, waiting for them to start turning. The busy process began, one after another, parts were cut out by the machine tools, completed by one process after another, and finally became qualified products, piled at the feet of the quality supervisor.
