Thirty-Five Stoppages

"One hour of rest! One hour of rest!" Looking at the huge clock on the wall, a small supervisor reluctantly held the report and drew a big "X" on it as if to vent his emotions.

Every shutdown meant that production had to come to a standstill and things got messed up. Similarly, every shutdown means that all employees in the entire production workshop will have less income.

"Alas..." Sure enough, a worker who was rubbing his sore shoulders sighed and complained loudly, "Why is it shutting down again! Are people still not allowed to live? Those guys in the power room, deliberately Looking for something?"

"Using production safety to fool people..." Another worker was also displeased, as if he had swallowed a live mouse.

Originally, there was always the roar of machines here, so everyone's voice was full of heroism. Now the machine stopped abruptly, but everyone was still talking loudly, which sounded a little deafening.

Some workers came out from behind the machine, some pulled out the towels around their waists, and wiped their oily faces. They looked at the little supervisor standing on the stairs at the door with a pair of dissatisfied eyes, as if waiting for an answer.

Don't they work so hard to make their family's life better? You must know that beauty is an expensive word, and it is piled up with countless amounts of money.

Where does the money come from? Don't you have to rely on hard work to earn money? Now, if you stop at every turn to stop production, all you will lose is your own happiness! Where does this make sense?

In order to save money that was not already abundant, Chris and Des played a whole set of "voucher" process. Many wages and bonuses in the factory are actually paid out with white paper-like "vouchers" instead of gold coins. Workers take these white papers and go to others in exchange for soap, matches, clothes, and even some food.

Similarly, other factories that produce these materials can only collect such vouchers and then continue to expand production to buy raw materials. The raw material production factories continue to issue these vouchers to workers, completing a generally closed loop.

Of course, this closed loop is unhealthy and impossible to justify. However, as long as real money and silver are used to make up for the overflowing holes, then all the factories can run well.

The Mifu coupons used by Germany before World War II were such a thing. They could help a poor country to increase its strength by generating ten times as much money in one go.

However, doing so is not without its drawbacks, that is, the cycle will get bigger and bigger. Once the country needs to pay back those blank papers, it will be time for the economy to collapse. Unless this loophole can be slowly filled by means of production or plunder, the entire country will be plunged into disaster.

Whether it is Chris or Des, they all have this consciousness. One person is a traveler who has accumulated thousands of years of economic experience on the earth, and the other person is a businessman who has been engaged in the economy for almost ten years. Of course, they know the huge risk of creating a currency out of thin air.

In the short term, however, the benefits of doing so are all too enticing, and they can't help but hope for the booming "fake" that everything is going fast.

Of course, as a worker, Ailan Hill also provides many preferential policies: all workers who work in the factory and are proficient in production techniques can apply for living allowances from the factory in advance.

These subsidies are living things, everything from quilt sheets to soap mirrors. As long as workers open their mouths, they can use the convenience that these things bring to life in advance. However, once these things are used, part of the subsidy must be repaid each month and deducted from the salary.

Ireland Hill, which was just beginning to industrialize, was no different from Europe during the Industrial Revolution.

There are no labor laws and no worker protections. Workers have to work more than ten hours a day, and some departments even have to work twelve-hour shifts.

If these hours are not met, the factory will extend the off-duty hours. This takes up everyone's rest time - so whenever there is a shutdown, the workers complain instead.

"Is the power room ready?" The little supervisor in charge of production couldn't hold back any longer, and shouted loudly as he turned back to the door on the other side.

Of course he couldn'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 rail crane erected on the roof. Their faces were covered in sweat, because the job was no easy task.

"One, two, three! One, two, three!" With the slogan one after another, these workers laboriously opened a closed cabin, and the huge cast steel parts were lifted by the crane, and the reciprocating motion was rubbed brightly. The internal structure is presented in front of everyone.

"Replace the gaskets! Quick! Remove all those aging gaskets!" A group of workers, carrying various tools, rushed to the machine like soldiers on the front line, and began to remove all the aging rubber gaskets and replace them with new ones. of.

This gasket itself should be made of rubber, but because it is located in the northeast, there is no place in the Duchy of Ireland Hill to grow rubber, whether in Serris or elsewhere.

Because of this, when Chris came up with the steam engine, all the sealing gaskets were made of artificial rubber, and they were all synthesized by hand workshops. Although this kind of preparation method in the laboratory can quickly produce synthetic rubber, it is basically impossible for mass production.

Made by hand in the lab, a clumsy way Chris uses for many problems. Because there is not much demand, this stupid method actually temporarily meets the production demand.

For example, the lifespan of these artificial rubber gaskets is actually no longer than that of natural rubber products. However, because there is no way to obtain a large amount of rubber, most of the factories in Ireland Hill can only use this substitute that requires frequent replacement.

There are many machines that use natural rubber as sealing gaskets, and most of them are concentrated in important factories that produce munitions. Therefore, most civilian factories will stop work from time to time to replace the rubber gasket to ensure the operation of the machine.

In fact, from the aspect of rubber, it can be seen that the industrialization of Ailan Hill is not so clever. Chris is just bluntly promoting the process of mechanical production, and many troubles have not been fundamentally resolved.

For example, the most important cannon in Ireland Hill's military industry, the most advanced 75mm caliber infantry light howitzer, has always used wooden gun cart wheels. This is actually a very funny thing: the barrel of the artillery looks like a product from around 1930, but the bracket and the wheels of the artillery look like something from around 1830.

Now, the troops of Ailan Hill still have a long way to go from mechanization, otherwise, just a resource such as rubber may drag down the entire industrial production of Ailan Hill.

"No way! The parts of the steam engine are being replaced over there! Overtime is guaranteed today! Everyone, take a break! Take a break!" Holding the record book, the little supervisor was about to cry from the frightened workers. Although there is no strike or anything, these irritable brothers beat him up, and he has nowhere to reason.

At the speed of Alan Hill's industrial expansion, every worker is a baby in short supply, and it's easy to get guilty. As for the little supervisor... well, just find a pig to tie it 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 want to go home early, accompany their children and wives, and enjoy a better and better life.

"It's weird if it's reliable. I heard that the customers who come to the No. 2 Steam Engine Factory every day are about to set up a company..." Another worker who knew about it snorted coldly and sarcastically said to his companion: "They How can we have the craftsmanship of our No. 1 Machinery Factory?"

Compared with the first steam engine factory whose quality is not bad, the newly established second steam engine factory is not very reliable. Not to mention more equipment failures, the rubber gaskets used are said to be produced by a new workshop, and the quality is not very good.

However, because everyone is now waiting for a new power source, they can only order the equipment of the No. 2 Steam Engine Plant with their noses pinched. Otherwise, we have to wait for the production sequence of the first factory next year, which is something that no one can accept after all.

Speaking of their craftsmanship, these craftsmen, who were originally blacksmiths or craftsmen, immediately filled with self-confidence: "That is! Look at the products of our first factory, they are all good things used in the arsenal! "

"Isn't it? I heard that there is now a third production line over there, all using our parts!" Everyone was in high spirits when they heard someone talking about their own products. That is a kind of recognition from the times, but also a kind of strength from the heart.

Everyone, you started to brag about your craftsmanship. Some people spread out the yellowed drawings and started to study their crafts. The rest time always passed quickly, and soon in the factory next door , there was a mechanical roar.

"Power is restored! Production continues! The machine is starting! Let's all go back! Go back!" The production supervisor finally got the confidence and started to urge his workers to go back to production.

Everyone walked back to their respective machines in twos and threes, waiting for the machines to start turning. The busyness has begun, one by one, the parts are cut out by the machine tool, completed by one process, and finally turned into qualified products, which are stacked at the feet of the quality supervisors.