The sun never sets in America

Chapter 90 Ironworker
In the newly established industrial zone in Xijing City, gray smoke billows from dense chimneys, turning the sky above the entire industrial zone almost gray.

When you walk into the industrial area, you can still hear the roar of machines and a hint of heat caused by burning coal.

Especially in those iron smelting plants, the internal temperature is much higher than the outside temperature.

Coupled with the factors of summer, the sweat on the workers inside was pouring down like they had just been caught in the rain... Everyone's face was flushed with heat.

But even though it was so hard, everyone added coal to the machine and operated the machine leisurely. After the machine stopped, batches of iron blocks and iron bars were pulled out of the boiler.

The newly smelted iron has to go through several processes such as washing, cooling, etc. before being sent to other factories where it is needed.

In this era when the first industrial revolution has not yet completely swept the world, measuring a country's strength is not entirely about steel, food, population, etc. These other indicators are important measurement indicators.

But one thing is certain, a country with a large amount of steel production, or rather pig iron production, must be powerful.

The main reason why it is expressed in terms of pig iron production rather than steel production is that during this period, the market for the use of steel was not as wide as it was later. Even the British Empire, the most powerful industrial country at present, actually produced 1840 tons of steel a year. Without steel production, the real output is iron, that is, pig iron output. In 140, a year that had an important influence on China's history, it was about [-] million tons.

What we are talking about here is pig iron production! !

The importance of iron, even in this era when industry was just emerging, has already shown its importance.

The emergence of trains and railways accelerated this process.

And the various mechanical applications that will follow will also change human beings to the greatest extent.

It can be said that the entire second half of the 18th century was basically the age of steel. Which country had more steel had greater war potential, and vice versa! !

"Brothers, work harder." In the sweltering factory, the Chinese foreman, who was wearing a towel and a vest with sweat all over his body, shouted to the Indian naturalized workers below him, "Today at noon, we will eat braised pork. Another glass of soju." The Chinese foreman tempted the Indian workers with braised pork and soju...

"it is good……"

"it is good……"

What responded to him was enthusiastic cheers. For these Indian workers who had not been naturalized for a long time and were not very good at speaking Mandarin, braised pork was the most delicious food they had ever tasted. As for soju, then This feeling is as uncomfortable as a cat's claw scratching your heart, but you can't stop.

Moreover, the potency of shochu is just right for these Indians. For them, drinking shochu and eating braised pork is already a good day. If such a day exists every day, it seems like it has already been a good day. Entered heaven.

"One, two, three..." shouting slogans, pulling the heavy iron ore into the smelting furnace where the huge waves are baking. Because of the heat waves and red light, everyone's face is covered with I was sweating, as if I had just washed my face.

hum... hum...

Above the factory, there is an air exchange port driven by a steam engine, which continuously pumps hot air downwards and exchanges it with the air inlet above.

It is true that the temperature inside the iron smelting plant is too high, to an unacceptably high level. If people stay there for a long time, they will definitely not be able to bear it, so necessary ventilation has become inevitable.

"Huh..." When this round of process was completed, everyone exhaled. They picked up the towels on their necks that were soaked with sweat and dyed black, and wiped their faces and necks. As for their bodies, they had already been wiped. Just like in a sauna, everything was soaked with sweat.

"Everyone, take a rest..." The voice of the Chinese foreman sounded like the sound of nature. The Indian workers immediately sat down on the cement floor in the factory and took a rest. From time to time, they used Indian slang from their hometown to chat in a low voice.

Gollum...

Others held water glasses and drank gurglingly. They didn't stop until they drank all the water, wiped their mouths, and found a cool and ventilated ground to sit down.

"Shanhe, is your wife about to give birth?" While we were sitting together, an Indian worker asked Shanhe from the tribe next door.

"She's about to give birth, it should be two months away." Shanhe wiped the sweat from his face and said happily, "I haven't been home for several months while working here. When I get home, I will Bring my wife to the city so that she can also enjoy the blessings...see how the Chinese live." Shanhe said to the others with some expectation. In his opinion, if he hadn't learned Mandarin early, he would have learned Chinese in advance. I was assigned to work in the ironworks, otherwise I could bring my wife here? ?
You have to know how many people in their tribe want to find a job in the city, but there is no way! !

"You're really happy. You brought your wife to the city and gave birth to a baby." After listening to Shan He's words, another Indian worker nearby sighed with envy, "You can't be like me. There are seven people in the family." There are eight people to support, and with the little land cultivated by the tribe, there is no way we can bring so many people to live in Xijing City..." The Indian worker continued a little lonely.

After all, his salary, although it is slightly higher than other jobs in the outside world because of the hard work in the ironworks, is not that much higher. If he really brings a big family of seven or eight people here, Come.

Not to mention anything else, just eating and drinking can make him worry to death.

So he envied Shanhe's situation, where a family of two (and three in the future) had enough to eat.

"Just like that, in Xijing City, you don't have to spend money on anything." Although Shanhe felt secretly happy after hearing what he just said, he still showed an unhappy expression on the surface, "If nothing else, this woman comes to the city I'm here, don't buy anything. My wife has been arguing so many times just because of those cosmetics. This time when we got to Xijing City, she was bleeding a lot." Shanhe looked at the people sitting around him with some distress. said the Indian workers who were together.

For an ordinary Indian like him, the most delicious thing he had eaten since he was a child was the cake on Xijing Street. It was the first time he had eaten such sweet and fragrant food. I will never forget it in this life.

And he only ate this kind of cake for a few moments and then stopped eating it.

The main reason is that he wants to save money and buy a house in Xijing City, like those houses where the Chinese live, with a small yard and the ability to grow vegetables and flowers.

The main reason why we need to save money to buy a house is that the current housing prices in Xijing are rising too fast, especially in prosperous areas. A house can cost thousands or even thousands of Chinese yuan. No joke...

In fact, the most fundamental reason is that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xijing City accepted a large number of wealthy people from all over the country. Chinese, honorary Chinese, Indian chiefs and elders, and even white people from all over the country were proud to have a house in Xijing.

This has led to the fact that even though Xijing City is still being expanded and renovated, the housing prices in the core area are still rising. The prices will be different every month. Although there are occasional fluctuations, the overall trend is upward...

And this person always buys up and not down. The more you go up, the more he wants to buy. And people have a habit, that is, if most people buy the same thing, even if they don’t want to buy, they will follow it and take a look. Watching it, in the end, you will slowly think about paying for it. In the end, the result is that just after the founding of the People's Republic of China, other industries have not yet become prosperous, but real estate has become popular first! !

The various areas in Xijing City are divided into the central area where Central Street is located, the government area including South Street and East Street, the northern area of ​​North Street and West Street, and then the peripheral area, where the industrial area is located, Niuling District. (named after a Niuling Mountain).

Among them, the Government Affairs District is the most expensive. The main reason is that the Government Affairs District contains a large number of government agencies, including the Government Affairs Office and the Xijing Municipal Government, and a large number of officials live there.

This has led to the fact that in the government district, the local medical care and food are the best in Xijing. There are even wealthy white businessmen who want to build the largest theater in Han Dynasty in the government district, specifically for enjoying Western-style operas and Chinese-style dramas...

I even thought of a name, so I just called it the [-]th Century Theater! !

With so many supporting facilities and the proximity to the core of Hanguo, housing in the government district is often in short supply, attracting many new real estate companies to covet it.

All companies are proud to get houses in the government district, followed by the central district where Central Street is located.

"I don't know if it will be possible for me to live in a house in the government district in my life??" Shanhe asked himself with some uncertainty and expectation. In his opinion, ordinary Indian workers like him can live in the government district. The house has been blessed by God. In the words of the Chinese, it is called... blue smoke rising from the ancestral graves! !
"I see, Shanhe, this kid, doesn't think about anything day by day. He can't help but dream about getting rich... Haha..." After hearing what Shanhe just said, an Indian worker nearby laughed and teased Shanhe. As he said that, he burst into laughter.

"Ha ha……"

"I think it might be better for Shanhe to buy lottery tickets, and it will be easier to make a fortune..."

"That's right, Shanhe, why don't you buy one today and see if you can win??"

When the workers around him heard what the man said, they immediately burst out laughing, and then joked to Shanhe.

After hearing this, Shanhe blushed and walked away, leaving the remaining people behind to continue discussing the topic...

The lottery that these Indian workers just mentioned can actually be called patriotic lottery tickets and war tickets.

And the main purpose is to obtain funds from the people for the next war.

Because it is a small game with a maximum prize of [-] yuan, it has won the support of the people at the bottom once it was launched.

After all, no matter what, this is a shortcut that can lead them to wealth. The cost is only a few copper dollars, but once they win the prize, they will get a hundred thousand white Han Dynasty dollars. For those at the bottom, Especially for Indians like Shanhe who have just entered the city and are still working hard to get the first pot of gold left in the city, even Indians of mixed Indo-European descent, and even honorary Chinese, it is not a small temptation.

Even the orthodox Chinese have been affected by the lottery trend and have joined the ranks of buying lottery tickets.

In just one week, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on the lottery received more than 60.00 Chinese yuan in funds, and what they paid was only a few third prizes worth [-] Chinese yuan, and some lower fourth prizes. For the fifth prize, the total income reached [-]% of the total income. What is huge profit? This is huge profit! ! !

"Everyone, keep on working. Let's eat when we're done." Seeing that it was almost time to rest, the Chinese foreman immediately called out to the Indian workers who were resting on the ground to get up. "One, two, three..." The same shout as before resounded throughout the factory.

"Everyone, do your best..." The Chinese foreman looked at the blazing fire in the furnace and then said hello.

After finishing this batch, everyone was so tired that they didn't want to move. They were too tired, tired and hot.

If it weren't for four Chinese dollars per month, it would be considered a mid-level salary in Xijing, and for Indians like them with a low level of education, four Chinese dollars would already be a high salary.

At least it’s better than those Indian workers moving cement in the cement factory! !
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...

In the bathroom, Indian workers holding buckets of hot water were wiping their bodies with towels. Some even poured water from the buckets directly on their bodies.

Shanhe took out the soap issued by the factory and wiped his body, which smelled of sweat. After wiping it, he rubbed it until the soap foam covered his whole body, and then he stopped...

wipe……

Shanhe took the trouble to rub his back with a towel. When his skin turned red, he stopped. Then he wiped his body with water, wiped it dry, and walked out of the bathroom.

There were workers putting on their clothes everywhere outside the bathroom. When they saw Shanhe coming out, they didn't say hello, they just glanced at him and then continued to put on their own clothes.

Shanhe didn't care. He opened the cabinet numbered eighteen, took out the brand-new shirts and trousers inside, and put them on on his own.

After everything was put on, a kraft paper box was taken out from the depths of the cabinet. When the paper box was opened, a leather shoe wrapped in several layers of paper was revealed. The leather shoe was polished and had a black and shiny feel.

Shanhe carefully put it on his feet, walked to the mirror, looked at himself, combed his hair upward, then sat down and looked to his right, with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Shan He... is dressed so well, where are you going?" A worker in the bathroom saw the beautiful Shan He in front of the mirror, and asked with some doubts, "Isn't he looking for a sweetheart?" The man suddenly made fun of Shan He. .

"Ha ha……"

In the bathroom, there was a burst of laughter.

Shanhe didn't say anything, but felt a little embarrassed and walked out of the bathroom.

After returning to the dormitory, I simply packed up my things and hurried out of the factory, walked out of the industrial area, and came to the platform waiting for the rail carriage.

The so-called platform is actually similar to the bus platform in later generations. There is a simple wooden canopy, a few yellow stools for people to sit on, and then there is a sign on the wall with the track route and where to get off. The diagram of the station does not look any different from the buses of later generations. The only difference may be that in this time and space, they are still track carriages pulled by draft horses.

On the cold rail platform, there were only Shan He and a few waiting workers. They glanced at each other and then sat on their own stools waiting for the arrival of the rail carriage.

boom……

squeak……

The sound of horse hooves and the pulling of carriages came from not far away. A carriage pulled by two tall European draft horses passed quickly along the tracks on both sides, and then under several shouts from the coachman, Stopped in front of the platform.

Shanhe handed the monthly ticket book in his hand to the ticket inspector, who stamped a stamp on one page, and then let Shanhe get on the bus.

Scenes like this abound in the back.

The so-called monthly pass, as the name suggests, is a monthly ticket, usually in the form of a monthly pass book. At the end of each month, you can go to the Railway Bureau to buy a monthly pass. A monthly pass book can be used for unlimited rides for a month. Of course, the prerequisite is one person.

Because of the anonymity, the family only bought one month's pass book, and the whole family used it in rotation, causing the rail bureau to lose a lot of income. You must know that due to the auction of the rail carriage, there are private shares in it, even if it is not a large proportion. But as a shareholder, you still have the right to ask the Railway Bureau to ensure a certain profit...

If even this requirement cannot be met, then no one will do a similar auction next time. After all, everyone invests for profit. If you use the money everyone invested for charity, it will be an infringement. investors' interests.

Since then, the so-called unlimited amount has become twice a day. There are also [-] more small tickets in the monthly ticket book. Every time you get on the bus, one of them will be stamped to indicate that this chapter has been used to avoid It turns out that because it is unlimited and anonymous, several people share one monthly pass.

squeak……

The carriage started quickly, and the speed became faster and faster. The carriage kept sliding on the track, and the scenery outside the window changed back and forth.

Gradually, we walked out of the industrial area and arrived at the outskirts of the entire Niuling District. After passing through the street in front, we will enter the main city of Xijing.

During this process, the coachman had to stop back and forth to ensure that waiting passengers on each platform could get on the bus in time.

As more and more people get on the bus, the seats gradually fill up, and many people can only stand on the bus and hold on to the wooden handrails. If Liu Peng were here, he would definitely sigh that he finally recovered in traffic. The situation of future generations is engraved...

Soon, Shanhe got off the bus at a platform on South Street and walked towards the nearest jewelry store.

"Sir, what kind of jewelry do you want? Is it for your wife?" A young Indian-European shopping guide girl greeted Shanhe enthusiastically when she saw Shanhe coming in through the door.

"I..." Shanhe looked at the gorgeous shopping guide in front of him, and was a little nervous and speechless. After all, most of the people in the industrial area are men, not to mention beauties, there are not even a few women. The most popular ones are Indian aunts who cook in the canteen.

"Do you have a necklace?" Shanhe then bravely replied to the shopping guide.

"Yes, yes..." When the shopping guide heard that the man in front of him wanted a necklace, he immediately became more enthusiastic. "We have gold necklaces, diamond necklaces, and pearl necklaces. I don't know which one you want?" The shopping guide led Shanhe to the counter. Go up, look east and west, and while looking, introduce the necklaces inside the counter.

"Which one is better?" Shanhe looked at so many necklaces and couldn't tell which ones were good and which ones were bad.

"The gold ones hold their value the best, the diamond ones are the most beautiful, the pearl ones are also good, and a lot of people buy them." After hearing what Shan He said, the shopping guide immediately explained.

"Gold is a store of value!!" After the shopping guide said so much, Shanhe remembered a store of value, "Here comes a piece of gold." Shanhe immediately said to the shopping guide.

"Okay, okay, I'll wrap it up for you right now." When the shopping guide heard that Shanhe ordered one so quickly, his eyes burst into laughter.

"Sir, here you go, 12 Huayuan." After the shopping guide wrapped the things, he handed the things to Shanhe. Thanks to the large number of gold mines produced in Han, although most of them were used by the government as guarantee for the issuance of Huayuan, and collateral, but there is still a large amount of gold flowing into the market, which inevitably affects the price of gold.

Coupled with issues such as the refining process, most gold jewelry is actually not pure gold. Gold is not expensive, but processing is more expensive.

"Here..." Although he was very reluctant to part with it, Shanhe still gritted his teeth and took out the 14 yuan he had saved for a long time. Because he joined early, he was also a team leader in his group, and his salary was higher than other workers. , there is such an extra piece, and due to urban construction these days, a lot of steel is needed, so he also gets a lot of overtime pay, so he can use these 12 silver dollars.

"Sir, go slowly..."

Amidst the enthusiastic voice of the shopping guide, Shanhe, who had never seen anything big in the world, left the jewelry store in a relaxed mood.

After that, Shanhe went to his favorite cake shop and bought two boxes of cream cakes and two packages of cookies.

Then he went to the clothing store on East Street and bought two clothes that his wife could wear, and an embroidered sun hat.

When passing by a store selling children's toys, Shanhe hesitated for a while, and then walked in. When he walked out, he was holding two dolls carved out of wood. The dolls were two Sun Wukong dolls. Because of the coloring and the Because of the carving process, it looks lifelike...

Just like the real thing! !

And when Shanhe finished all this, he took a rail carriage to the long-distance carriage station in the suburbs, and got on an extra large long-distance carriage, pulled by four tall draft horses, which could accommodate fifteen people. This way The price of a long-distance carriage is not cheap either. It costs half a Chinese dollar per person. Few people are willing to take it often unless needed.

This long-distance carriage mainly passed through the vicinity of Xijing City, as well as some towns along the highway, and even the Indian tribes settled near Xijing (actually, they are tribes, but those settled next to the capital are basically naturalized, The so-called tribe is just a place name. Maybe after a while, the administrative naturalization changes and it becomes a certain town or a certain village).

And when the carriage started, looking at the station that was getting further away, and not far from the station, the tall and majestic city of Xijing, full of civilized atmosphere, the mountains and rivers shed tears. This was the first time that he didn't know how many times he had been moved by this city. shed tears.

He just felt that the life in front of him was unreal, like a dream! !

(End of this chapter)