July 15, the 33rd year of Guangxu's reign, 1907 AD, Neijiang, Sichuan.
Sichuan is quite hot in July.
Due to the characteristics of the basin climate, the humidity here is high and the heat cannot be dissipated.
In the summer, the entire Sichuan Basin is just a big steamer.
Even in places with little sunlight, it is still very hot, even in the wind.
It's all hot air.
In Xingke's various factories, workers are still braving the sweltering heat to work.
The 14th workshop of the machine factory where Wang Qinian works is no exception and is producing intensively.
"Huh!"
Wang Qinian put down the portable grinder, took off his protective mask, breathed a sigh of relief, and took out a cloth to wipe the sweat from his lenses.
It's really uncomfortable to wear this thing on such a hot day, but the safety system in the factory is extremely strict, so I have to wear it.
Two full-time safety officers patrolled the workshop.
If they were caught, the fine would be a trivial matter.
It would be a shame to have a public review at a staff meeting.
Because he studied technology diligently and diligently, he made rapid progress and has now been promoted to production team leader.
Wang Qinian didn't want to stand on the stage and be watched by thousands of people because of this matter.
"Buzzing buzzing" At this time, a gust of wind blew, taking away some of the heat.
Wang Qinian raised his head and looked at the electric fan installed on the wall.
"Thanks to this thing, otherwise this summer would have been difficult."
He couldn't help but feel happy secretly.
Then he looked at the eight large fans on the wall and felt a sense of gratitude.
These days, there aren't many people who are willing to use electric fans for workers, at least neither he nor his fellow workers have heard of it.
He took out a towel from the tin bucket next to him and wiped his face.
The towel soaked in well water immediately brought a refreshing coolness.
At this time, a burst of electric bells rang, "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding."
Workers all know that this short bell means that the break time is coming.
After hearing the bell, the workers put down their work one after another.
Come to the rest area and sit down, smoke, or drink water, and there are people chatting.
According to the regulations of Xingke Company, the work and rest time in summer is from 7 to 11 in the morning and from 2 to 6 in the afternoon, avoiding the hottest time at noon.
During the work period, except for positions that cannot be stopped, there is a 10-minute break every 50 minutes of work.
Happiness comes from comparison.
Working 8 hours a day, with a lunch break and rest time in between, in this era, your conscience has reached the sky.
In this most bloody era of capital, the eight-hour work system is considered a very advanced thing.
It has only been popularized among European and American powers for less than ten years.
Moreover, it is only implemented in the country, not the colonies.
In Asia, Africa and Latin America, there is no such concept at all.
For example, most workers in China and Japan have to work 12 hours a day, or even 14 hours, or even 18 hours a day.
Capitalists are not philanthropists.
Several people wearing white cloth aprons came in pushing a trolley.
The words "Machine Factory Canteen" were printed on their aprons.
There was a large thermal bucket on the trolley.
As soon as the car stopped, the person in the lead shouted: "Here comes the salt soda, the cool salt soda.
It was just pulled out of the cold storage."
The workers cheered and immediately took out their containers and surrounded the cart.
Of course, they all knew the necessity of observing order after being trained by military sticks, and they lined up honestly despite being impatient.
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"Ah, today it's ice-cold salt soda, my favorite, An Yi" “I still prefer sour plum soup” “The mung bean soup tastes better, and the herbal tea is also good.”
"Bah, if you don't like drinking and you come to queue, just get out of my way."
Wang Qinian took a sip of ice-cold salt soda and exhaled happily.
“So comfortable” The surrounding workers also expressed similar sentiments.
The workers of Xingke are very proud.
Foreign countries don't know this, but if you look at the entire Qing Dynasty, you probably won't find another company that treats its workers so well.
In winter, there are hot tea, coffee, and brown sugar ginger soup.
In summer, there are various iced heatstroke prevention drinks.
Salt soda is available every day.
Sour plum soup, mung bean soup, and herbal tea are changed every day.
Being able to drink ice-cold drinks on a hot day these days is a very luxurious thing, and even most landlords can't afford it.
In Xingke, even the lowest-level apprentice has this kind of treatment.
Therefore, as long as those who stay in Xingke for a period of time, their loyalty will gradually increase.
The workers used all distributed bamboo kettles.
The main body was made of bamboo.
The outer wall had a brass reinforcement ring.
There were handles and canvas straps on the sides.
The inner cover was also equipped with a thin bamboo tube as a straw.
The overall design was similar to that of later generations.
There is no difference between common stainless steel thermos cups.
The mouth of the pot and the lid were processed with a wood lathe, and a cork lining was added.
Once the lid is closed, it will be very tight.
The inside of the kettle is coated with a layer of edible silver ion waterproof coating, which is both waterproof and sterilizing.
In fact, this kind of kettle was originally rationed to the militia.
Because aluminum and copper in this era were relatively expensive, it was not cost-effective to use it as a kettle.
As for the current mainstream iron kettles, Wen Desi did not consider it at all.
Iron is too easy to rust. , he didn’t want to cause non-combat casualties because of a kettle, and other materials were not suitable.
So Xingke's technicians chose Nanzhu, a very common material in Sichuan, and built a bamboo workshop in the wood factory specifically to produce this kind of bamboo kettle.
The result was unexpected.
Once the product was launched, it was well received.
After equipping the militia, it seemed to work well, so the logistics department simply distributed one to all company employees as a souvenir for the first anniversary of the founding of the factory.
As a result, less than 2 months later, some businessmen came to inquire about prices.
Li Siya, the deputy manager of the Commerce Department who was in charge of reception at the time, didn't take it seriously and casually quoted a price, which tripled the cost.
Unexpectedly, the merchants immediately requested large quantities of purchases as soon as they gathered together.
One of the northern merchants placed a large order for 50,000 Nanzhu kettles on the spot.
The other merchants also placed orders for 5,000 and 3,000 for you and me.
The total amount exceeded 100,000, which made Miss Li Siya dumbfounded on the spot.
The northern businessman introduced himself openly.
He was Yuan Datou's subordinate, and these kettles were purchased for the Beiyang New Army.
Li Siya asked curiously: "Does the New Beiyang Army not have a military kettle?"
"I'm not going to hide it from Manager Li, it's true."
The businessman didn't hide anything, so he explained.
It is said that the logistics of the Beiyang Army is also the best in China at the moment, but this is only relatively speaking.
In the past few years, I really didn't think about small things like kettles.
Later, it was discovered that the armies of all the major powers had this thing.
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Datou and others also felt that it should be equipped, so they sent people to inquire for prices everywhere.
As a result, the prices offered by those foreign devils were extremely sinister.
The French guys offered the cheapest price, with a unit price of three oceans.
Although the kettle is inconspicuous, you can't make it in China.
If it's too expensive, don't buy it.
Later, the royal businessman discovered this kind of bamboo kettle from Xingke Company in Sichuan, and the price was only one ocean.
What's more, this kind of bamboo kettle is not only cheap, but also has a novel design, its thermal insulation performance is much better than the current iron kettles, it will not rust, and it is much lighter.
The most important thing is that the Nanzhu kettle looks simple, but it is actually very difficult to imitate.
Without mechanical processing, it would be difficult to make it by hand.
Even if it is made reluctantly, the cost is still high.
Just a few threads are enough to work for a long time.
There is also the shaping and polishing of the exterior and interior walls, as well as the production of the movable handles, which are all very troublesome to make by hand, not to mention the unique edible silver ion waterproof coating.
As for the other businessmen, they saw this business opportunity.
This thing is not only used by the army, but also by merchants, coachmen, and sailors who are away for a long time.
This thing is countless times better than the traditional water bag.
The water contained in the water bag Stinks easily.
As a result, the bamboo workshop was expanded into a bamboo branch factory, specializing in the production of unexpected products such as bamboo kettles and other bamboo products.
Now these workers would never have thought that the gadget they are holding in their hands to drink water has become popular all over the country.
Since the Beiyang Army bought it, new troops from other places have also come to buy it.
The new army bought it, and the old army came to buy it too, not to mention the civilians.
However, compared to what they are making, this kind of bamboo kettle is completely worth mentioning.
"Wang Qinian, if you are ready, please come over and test drive.
This month we must surpass the 12th workshop.
Last month, we were only 2 units away from the first place."
The leader of the test team over there shouted to Wang Qinian .
"It will be ready soon, don't worry, we are already ten units ahead this month, guaranteed to be first," Wang Qinian promised.
Wang Qinian turned to his co-worker and said, "Zhu'er, check the cylinder and piston again, and look at the flywheel."
After a few minutes, the workers raised their heads and said: "Team leader, okay, no problem."
The 14th workshop of the machine factory where they are located is one of the final assembly workshops of the hot ball machine, responsible for the final assembly and test run.
Wang Qinian is the leader of one of the assembly groups.
Wang Qinian looked up and down again, then took out his whistle and blew a few times, summoning the truck to come over and lift the installed hot ball machine to the test team.
The test team took over the hot ball machine, immediately fixed it on the test bench, quickly connected various pipes and testing equipment, and started test running.
"Turn on the air source, start preheating, start idling, 10 loads, 20 loads, monitor speed, monitor temperature, 50 loads, 100 loads, 120 loads."
Following the team leader's instructions, various tests began step by step.
"The speed is normal, the vibration is normal, the noise is normal, the temperature is normal."
The workers monitoring next to it kept reporting various data.
On the third day, the hot ball machine successfully passed the acceptance inspection after 36 hours of trial operation and was sent to the workshop next door for painting, coating and packaging.
Next, it and its kind will travel down the Tuojiang Channel, land in Shanghai, and be sent to a certain factory that orders orders.
Since the first mass-produced hot-ball internal combustion engine rolled off the production line on April 1, this is already the 100th hot-ball machine sold by Xingke Company, not counting personal use.
The order was placed at a flour mill in Hangzhou.
In 1907, hot ball machines were still a new gadget, not very popular in the world, and especially rare in China.
This thing is much better than a steam engine, with more than double the thermal efficiency.
Compared with other types of internal combustion engines, it is not picky about food.
It can burn gas and natural gas, as well as heavy oil and waste engine oil.
It can even burn vegetable oil, lard and other bio-oils, and even pulverized coal.
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If you spend a little more money and equip it with a gas generating device, coal, charcoal, and even firewood, straw, and hay can be used as fuel.
The adaptability is amazing.
Therefore, when Wen Desi was building the factory, he put this "travel artifact" on the agenda.
Xingke's hot ball machine is a mature design of later generations.
Compared with the simple and similar models now, its performance in all aspects is completely superior.
The difference is insignificant.
At first, the machine factory could only produce two hot ball machines per day.
After adding more manpower and becoming familiar with the production process, the output gradually increased.
By last month, it had reached 20 units per day, and it is still increasing.
So far, more than 500 hot ball machines and more than 300 supporting gas generating devices have been produced.
However, the products in the past few months were digested internally and used by the company itself.
It was not until the end of June, after months of advertising bombardment, that 50 units were sent to Shanghai to test the waters.
As a result, within three days, they were all sold out by the factory owners and mine owners who came after hearing the news.
Can you not grab it?
The performance is more than double that of similar foreign products, but the price is only 70.
Anyone who is not stupid knows how to choose.
Now Xingke Shanghai Branch has received more than 1,300 orders, including not only domestic ones, but also from Japan.
Japan currently does not have the ability to manufacture such machines, and they have a large number of small industrial workshops, so there is a great demand for small power equipment.
Compared with steam engines, gasoline engines and diesel engines, hot ball engines have fewer potential problems due to their simple structure and are durable and durable.
It does not have the electric ignition system of a gasoline engine, nor the external boiler and steam system of a steam engine.
The fuel range is wide and it does not require special attention like a steam engine, so the operating cost is extremely low.
For small business owners in Japan, this hot ball machine is undoubtedly the best choice.
As for whether to sell it to the Japanese, Wen Desi didn't even think about it.
"Of course we have to sell it, why not sell it?
Even if we don't sell it, wouldn't the European and American powers sell it?
This is not an exclusive product.
If the Japanese don't make money, they won't make it in vain."
Xingke Machinery Factory is the flagship of the mechanical factory planned by Wen Desi.
In the future, the incubators of the machinery industry will of course produce more than just hot ball machines.
The hot ball machine is just a product used by Xingke to make money, and it is currently mass-produced.
In addition, there are power equipment such as diesel engines, gasoline engines, and steam turbines, as well as various machine tools, as well as chemical equipment and various professional equipment.
It's just that it's just getting started.
These things are still in the trial production or small batch manufacturing stage, and most of them are for internal use only.
For example, aircraft and airship engines and various machine tools are only used internally because their technological level is higher than that of similar products from the major powers.
Xingke is not very powerful at this time.
If these things are exposed, it will definitely attract the prying eyes of the great powers, and it will be troublesome then. s: 4,000 words.
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