Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 746 A Different Life
"Old Liu, what did the Chief Secretary say?"
"What else can I say? They didn't even say anything about insufficient transport capacity or difficulty coordinating with other provinces. They just said no."
"What can we do? If the coal problem is not solved, how can we ensure quality?"
"What can I do? Yes, we are directly under the Ministry of Heavy Industry, but our factory is located in Lanzhou. Apart from other things, the new thermal power plant has insufficient power generation. He Fangbo's own government office has to cut off power and work by candlelight at night just to ensure the production of our steel plant. How can I file a complaint? After filing a complaint, the coal problem may be solved, but what about other problems?"
"But you've also seen, Old Liu. It's not that those small coal mines in Longzhong are not working hard, but that all the good coal has been dug out. The quality of the coal delivered now is getting worse and worse, with less coal content and more impurities. We have to refine it, otherwise we can't guarantee the quality of the rails. If this continues, if the brittleness of the rails increases, and when we lay them on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang double-track line, and the train has problems, we will all be invited to have tea by His Royal Highness Prince Xin!"
"Ha~" The sturdy man in his thirties laughed softly: "Hao Yaoqi, who do you think you are? If you have committed a crime, would you bother His Highness Prince Xin to come down and invite you for tea? Even if I, Liu Zongmin, committed a crime, I would not alarm His Highness Prince Xin."
As a famous general in the Dashun Army in the historical plane, Liu Zongmin was born in a farming family, but he had a high talent in blacksmithing. In this plane, because the tea from Huguang was initially guided by Zhu Youdong to the southeast sea trade and then protected the tea-horse trade in Shaanxi, and Yuan Yingtai was sent to Shaanxi to preside over the water conservancy project, the disaster was not as serious as in the historical plane. Of course, the more critical thing is that the court's finances have improved. Not only did it not collect taxes from Shaanxi, but it also provided a large amount of money and grain to provide relief to Shaanxi, which was frequently hit by disasters. Therefore, the Liu family did not commit suicide because of not being able to pay taxes, and the mother became a beggar, as in the historical plane. On the contrary, although the entire Liu family was not rich, they were not worried about food and clothing. However, Liu Zongmin was still destined to blacksmithing. In his youth, he became a blacksmith after learning from a master.
When Yuan Yingtai was in charge of Shaanxi, Liu Zongmin was discovered and appreciated by Yuan Yingtai because of his hard work and talent in making ironware. Later, Yuan Yingtai was transferred to Baotou to build the first heavy industry base of the Ming Dynasty, and he brought Liu Zongmin with him. Over the past ten years, as Yuan Yingtai's official position became higher and higher, he also grew up with him. Finally, when Yuan Yingtai took over the Ministry of Heavy Industry, he directly sent him to Lanzhou to serve as the director of the Lanzhou Iron Factory.
This man in his thirties from northern Shaanxi worked very hard after getting this position. Over the years, he played a big role in the development of Lanzhou Iron Works to the current situation where the prosperity of the factory determines the prosperity of the entire city.
After smoking many cigarettes repeatedly, he fiercely extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand: "Never mind, He Fangbo has been very good to our factory in the past two years in Lanzhou. But in order to protect the coal mines in Gansu, he is forcing our factory staff into an extremely dangerous situation. I won't do that. To put it another way, I was picked up as the factory director, so it doesn't matter if I lose it. But if there is a problem with the rails, causing the Lanzhou-Xinjiang double-track project to be delayed, and thus delaying the emperor's important affairs... Never mind, let's not talk about any favors for now. I will write a letter to the chief architect (Yuan Yingtai) tonight, and ask him to transfer good coal from Shanxi !"
After he made this statement, the straightforward deputy director Hao Yaoqi slammed the table and said, "That's it. We can't bear this responsibility, and it shouldn't be our responsibility. Let the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Gansu Provincial Government file a lawsuit!"
The factory director and deputy factory director said so. Of course, the workshop directors who were directly facing the production line and were already furious because of the decline in coal quality supported it even more:
"Old Liu is right!"
"This should have been done a long time ago."
But in the midst of such a turbulent crowd, a trembling hand was raised. Liu Zongmin looked and said, "Sun Kewang, do you have any different opinions?"
"Director, everyone. I am not in charge of production and I don't know much about production. But I am the head of the General Affairs Section and everyone's logistics manager. I usually deal more with the governor and the people in Lanzhou Prefecture. So if the factory really does some things, then our factory will definitely encounter some difficulties in the future."
"You and I are both from northern Shaanxi, so why are you so blunt in your words? Can you be more specific?"
"Okay." Sun Kewang was so excited that he stood up and said, "Everyone, our factory produces steel, mainly various steel structure load-bearing parts. Although our factory's product types have increased in recent years, they are still centered around steel. For food, clothing, housing and transportation, we still have to rely on the local environment.
Now our factory has a very good relationship with Lanzhou Prefecture and the Governor. Every year, rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, and various meats, as well as milk powder for the children and cloth for the women, are all purchased by the Governor. The Governor is in charge, and the product quality is not only good, but the price is also cheap. If we offend the Governor, he will not help with the centralized purchase... Of course, the factory has money, and you say that we buy at the market price, and we have money in the factory. But everyone, we are a large factory with more than 150,000 people including their families and children. If we don’t find a good supply channel in advance and mess up the relationship with the Governor, I’m afraid that for a while, it will be a problem for the factory to eat!"
Glancing at the crowd that had been agitated just now but now calmed down, Sun Kewang perked up: "Just now we were talking about food and clothing, now let's talk about education. Lanzhou Primary School and Gansu Middle School now allocate 200 quotas to our factory every year. When the children of our factory reach the age, they can go to school without waiting or taking exams. If this offends the governor, it is possible that this quota will be completely eliminated or more than half will be cut. By then, if there are not enough places, whose children will go to school and whose children will not?
In addition to studying, there is also medical treatment. In recent years, whether it is Lanzhou Prefecture Hospital or Gansu Hospital, the workers in our factory have to see a doctor first and pay later, and they can get a discount when paying. If this offends the governor, it will be very difficult to get medical treatment in the factory in the future!
As for travel, people from our factory can get discounts on four-wheeled buses and horse-drawn carriages when they go out. If you go back to your hometown, you can also stay at the official post house of the governor in Gansu Province...
In short, if we fall out with the Chief Secretary, all of this will be gone. Ladies and gentlemen, don’t turn the tables just because the coal quality is not good. Before turning the tables, you need to think these things through first.”
He went on talking one by one, and the more he talked, the more silent the workshop directors who had been making such a fuss just now became. In the end, one workshop director even mumbled something like, "Why don't we just hold back and hire some more local people from Gansu to select the coal?"
"Bang!" When Sun Kewang was talking, Liu Zongmin just smoked silently. But when a workshop director changed his attitude and expressed his willingness to compromise with the Gansu Provincial Government, Liu Zongmin angrily slammed the table!
"What's wrong? How can there be such a person? Whose factory is this? It's not ours, it's the emperor's! It's the Ming Dynasty's! What are the steel rails we produce used for? They are used to pave the new Silk Road, alleviate the overproduction of our Ming Dynasty, and open up financial resources for the country! How come, after only a few years of having full meals, you have forgotten the hard days in the past? I, Old Liu, am only 36 years old this year, and I still remember that before I was 13 years old, I had never eaten a meal of white rice!
I want to ask everyone to remember, who let you enter the factory, eat enough, and have money to marry and have children. Who let you hold your head high when you leave the factory? It was the emperor and the court! What, didn’t you just yell that you were going to complain to the Ministry of Heavy Industry, but you didn’t dare to do it when Sun Kewang told you about the possible losses? If you act like this, are you still a steel man? We ironworkers are engaged in the most masculine and masculine industry, and we don’t allow such cowardly words and deeds! "
Seeing everyone bow their heads again, Liu Zongmin ignored them: "Old Hao, I have endured the decline in coal quality for more than half a year, and I am not going to endure it anymore. I have made up my mind and I am going to file a complaint. Will you co-sign it?"
"Don't worry, Old Liu. I, Hao Yaoqi, will just as easily spit on you as nail you down. I will sue you together on this case!"
"Uh... two factory directors." Just when the two were about to completely ignite the atmosphere, Sun Kewang raised his hand again.
"What's the matter again? Hey, Lao Hao, this guy doesn't really look like a native of northern Shaanxi, except that his accent is heavier than ours. Okay, okay, if you have something to say, just say it."
"Two factory directors, we don't need to make the relationship with the governor so tense." At this point, Sun Kewang took out a piece of paper from his arms: "Please look, the Gansu coal we use now mainly comes from Longzhong and Hexi, but the eastern part of Gansu is closely adjacent to the coal-producing areas in Mongolia. I think, since Mongolian coal is easy to mine and of good quality, there is no reason why there is no coal in the Longdong area, which is close to the coal-producing areas, right? If the two factory directors can persuade He Fangbo to send engineering exploration personnel to Longdong to investigate, they will find a coal mine? To put it another way, even if we can't find a coal mine, we have reached the border of Mongolia anyway. Discuss with the Zhonglangjiang of the Mongolian area, we buy coal from the Mongolian area, and let them accept us Gansu people to work in the mine. In this way, He Fangbo may not be so disgusted with us using coal from other places!"
