July 20, 1906, Changsha.
At this time, the city of Changsha looked particularly miserable.
Refugees in ragged clothes and sallow faces filled the entire city.
Starting from February, most areas of Hunan experienced continuous torrential rains, which lasted until May, with about 670 rainfall.
As a result, water accumulated horizontally and flooded at the intersection of Heng, Yong, Chang, and Chang prefectures, criss-crossing the coast.
The lives and properties of all residents were wiped out.
For hundreds of miles, there was a vast expanse of ocean, and acres of fields were left without grain.
Thirty to forty thousand people died, and corpses were floating in the river.
Thirty to forty thousand people were affected by the disaster.
"They were all frozen and exhausted, and they were begging for food from all over the country."
This strange disaster was a disaster for Hunan.
This is unprecedented in the province in more than 200 years.
However, it was not just Hunan that was unlucky.
At the same time, Anhui and Jiangsu also suffered from severe floods, with tens of millions of people affected.
Due to local officials' indifference to disaster relief work, the disaster became more urgent.
Hundreds of victims died of starvation every day in the Qingjiang and Shuyang areas alone.
"Hey, it's miserable, it's so miserable."
Chen Sitang sighed and shook his head.
Chen Sitang was not a victim of the disaster, but when he saw the tragic situation before him, he felt sad that a rabbit would die and a fox would be killed.
He is a native of Neijiang County with a surname from Haozikou.
He is 30 years old and has two sons and one daughter.
He was originally a small businessman and was selected as a scholar when he was young.
However, the Qing government canceled the imperial examination last year, so he had to give up his intention to continue taking the imperial examination and concentrate on doing business at home.
In March, after he saw Xingke Company recruiting people, he thought it was an opportunity, so he closed his store and joined Xingke.
Because he could write and calculate accounts, he stood out among the mostly illiterate employees.
Gu Xiaolu asked him to work as a clerk in the human resources department.
Later, he found that he was very efficient at work and active in learning new knowledge.
Last month, he was promoted to deputy section chief of the recruitment department, responsible for recruiting workers.
A young man next to him said: "Chief Chen, there are too many victims here.
There are not less than 30,000 people in this city alone, and there are at least 100,000 people outside the city.
Mr.
Wen wants us to recruit 3,000 people in Hunan this time.
I'm afraid it will take a few days."
It can be filled” Chen Sidang shook his head and said: "Not necessarily, it's hard to leave our homeland.
If these people are not really unable to survive, I'm afraid they won't want to go as far away as Sichuan."
This time is not like later generations, where migrant workers are traveling all over the world, not to mention neighboring provinces, and it is not uncommon to even go abroad.
So at the beginning, Wen Desi did not plan to recruit workers from other provinces.
However, after learning that there were severe floods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, he ordered the Human Resources Department to immediately dispatch personnel to recruit workers in various disaster areas.
Chen Sitang was responsible for the Hunan region.
On the one hand, the company now has to set up factories and build roads and buildings, which requires a large number of manpower.
On the other hand, it was also for disaster relief.
The flood was so serious that Wen Desi could only do this.
As for donating food and donations, he didn't consider it at all.
If one-tenth of these things were distributed to the victims, it would be considered a conscientious bureaucrat.
Mr.
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Wen doesn’t want to be taken advantage of.
You said that it is impossible for Xingke Company to directly provide disaster relief on its own.
I, the Qing Dynasty, are extremely wary of this kind of private disaster relief behavior.
You dare to win people's hearts, what do you want to do?
Although Mr.
Wen is a foreigner and I dare not do anything to him, in other aspects it is too easy to get stuck.
Don't forget, this is in the Qing Dynasty, so we can only use indirect methods such as "recruitment".
"Dong dong dong" Several idle men beat gongs and walked among the victims.
They loudly said: "Xingke Company in Sichuan is recruiting workers.
If you are willing to work in Sichuan, please go to Beimen Street to sign up."
"Food and accommodation are included, at least 3 yuan per month, and 6 sets of clothes are given every year.
If you sign the contract, you will be given one stone of rice as settlement allowance."
"Dong dong dong" the idle people promoted vigorously, blowing the Xingke company to the sky.
Chen Sitang offered high prices to these local snakes.
Every time one signed a contract, he would get a dime, and if he signed up ten, he would get a piece of ocean.
Anyone who ran errands would receive a daily subsidy of 50 cents.
Such good things are nowhere to be found, so they work very hard.
Although the salary is lower than that of Sichuan workers, it is a rare opportunity for the victims, especially since one stone of rice is enough to sustain a family for two or three months.
Relying on the small amount of relief from the government and the gentry, every day is a bowl of gruel that can reflect people's figures.
Don't be too little, this is not enough every day.
During this period of time, I didn’t carry dozens of people to the cremation field that day.
The bureaucrats are also happy to have someone to help clean up this mess.
One less refugee means less trouble.
The bureaucrats in the Qing Dynasty are the most afraid of trouble.
In addition, they also wanted red envelopes, so they were very supportive of Xingke Company's recruitment and even sent yamen to help maintain order.
Recruitment went smoothly, and within three days, the quota of 3,000 people was almost filled.
"Your name, place of birth, where you are from, and your age.
Take this form and go to the doctor over there for a physical examination."
Several clerks quickly accepted the registration.
A clerk came over and said: "Chief Chen, 3,000 people have passed the physical examination just now.
We have recruited enough.
Should we stop?"
At this time, Chen Sitang was not happy about completing the task, but was full of anxiety.
He pointed to the long queue of people in front of him and said: "Our affairs are finished, but what about those people?"
Compared with hundreds of thousands of refugees, the 3,000 people recruited by Xingke are only a small part.
In addition to the lucky ones in front, there was also a large group of staff looking eagerly, hoping to be recruited.
The clerk said: "We are just a company, not a government.
What can we do?
We have hired 3,000 people now, and we have tried our best."
Chen Sidang sighed: "Hey, yes.
It would be great if our company was a government agency."
The clerk saw what he was thinking and persuaded: "Section chief, the company's standard is 3,000 people.
There is still a redundancy of 2.
We can recruit 60 more people.
No more will be enough."
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Chen Sitang's face straightened and he said, "I think we should do something.
Let's recruit more people."
When he saw those children who could not even cry, he thought of his own children and felt very sad.
The clerk was shocked and said quickly: "Section Chief, the company's order is not allowed."
Chen Sitang said resolutely: "You don't have to worry about it.
I will bear all the responsibilities.
You continue to recruit me to send telegrams to the company to explain."
Longchang, Xingke Cement Factory.
Just when Chen Sitang went to send the telegram, Mr.
Wen was accompanying Sichuan Governor Xiliang to inspect the cement factory.
This cement factory was renovated using a brick and tile workshop that was purchased.
It is said that the renovation is actually similar to a new construction.
Except for the land and the kiln workers left behind, it has nothing to do with the brick and tile workshop.
The reason why I bought this brick and tile workshop was because of its good location, close to the coal mine and limestone mine, which facilitated the supply of raw materials.
The main equipment of the cement plant is two large rotary kilns purchased from the United States, four raw meal mills, and four cement mills, all of which are the most advanced at the moment.
Of course, these "advanced" equipment have been improved again after they were purchased.
Longchang has all the raw materials needed for cement, including limestone, clay, gypsum, and fuel coal, making it very suitable for building a cement plant.
There is no other way to build a cement plant.
At this time, China has nothing to ask for, and cement is no exception.
Because they are all foreign products, the prices are outrageous, and they are only available in a few coastal cities such as Shanghai and Tianjin. .
The current price in Shanghai is 10 yuan per barrel of 175 kilograms, which works out to 57 yuan per ton, not counting shipping costs.
This price is due to the increase in sellers in recent years.
Before 1900, I even bought a barrel for 20 yuan.
In Europe and the United States, one silver dollar can buy two barrels of cement.
Imperialism is so damn black.
Wen Desi wants to carry out construction, and the consumption of cement is not a small amount.
If you buy them all at this ridiculous price, you’re going to have water in your head.
Mr.
Wen doesn't want to be taken advantage of like this.
Even if the money comes easily, it's not the way to use it.
The cement factory was put into operation the day before yesterday.
Looking at the busy workers and the cement barrels piled up in a hill, I saw them.
Xiliang asked happily: "Xinghai, what is the output of this cement factory?"
"Xinghai" is Wen Desi's cousin.
Last time I went to see Xiliang, someone asked him about his cousin, and Wen Desi randomly picked one.
The meaning of this word is "My journey is the ocean of stars".
Wen Desi replied: "Your Majesty the Governor, the current output of the cement plant is 360 tons per day.
If calculated in barrels, it is 2050 barrels per day." "2,050 barrels per day."
Xiliang was surprised at first, and then laughed: "Well, the Qixin Cement Company organized by Yuan Shikai, Zhou Xuexi and others only has an output of 700 barrels per day.
What you have here is three times theirs, hahaha."
Wen Desi was a little confused at first, thinking that my factory’s output is higher than others, why are you so happy?
Xiliang said proudly: "Although we in Sichuan did not compete for the first place in building cement plants, our output is well-deserved.
Moreover, Qixin Company will not be put into production until next year.
Currently, only our Sichuan can produce China's local cement."
Yuan Weiting and Zhou Xuexi are both veterans of Westernization, but this time they fell behind Sichuan."
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After hearing this, Wen Desi finally understood why the Governor was so happy.
It turned out that this could also be linked to political performance.
Damn it.
Well, there is another reason than beating Yuan Shikai.
In terms of ability, Xiliang was among the top five governors in the late Qing Dynasty.
He also wanted to make a career, but Sichuan's miserable industrial base and poor transportation were simply impossible to compare with places like Hubei and Zhili, which made him feel a lot of pressure.
In particular, his popularity was not as broad as that of Yuan Shikai, and he did not have anyone who was good at Westernization and familiar with modern industry.
Now that Wen Desi, a talent for Westernization, was finally there, and he was ahead of Yuan Shikai in the cement industry, he was naturally happy.
Unlike the excited Xiliang, Wen Desi really had no feelings for this cement factory.
The output of 360 tons per day is too low.
In future generations, it would be at the level of a township enterprise and would be subject to forced "shutdown and transfer."
Of course, compared to township and village enterprises, this cement factory at least does a better job in environmental protection.
In the 23rd century, the concept of environmental protection has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
It has almost become an instinct to consider environmental protection when setting up a factory.
Wen Desi was no exception.
Even in this small cement factory, he did his best to install dust collectors and silencers and build soundproof walls.
For exhaust gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and fluoride, there is currently no solution.
We can only wait for a period of time before installing a recovery system.
Next, Xiliang visited the nearby Xingke Brick and Tile Factory, which was also a mechanized brick and tile factory that was completely renovated on the basis of the original brick and tile workshop.
Also out of environmental protection considerations, the products here were not the common clay solid ones at that time. bricks, but the shale bricks and gangue bricks that became popular in later generations.
Both raw materials are abundant in Longchang
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