July 2o, 19o6, Changsha.

At this time, Changsha City was particularly miserable, with ragged and yellow-skinned refugees filling the entire city.

Since February, heavy rain has fallen in most areas of Hunan, and the heavy rain has continued until May, with a rainfall of about 67omm, so that the water is rampant, flooding at the intersection of Heng, Yong, Chang and Chang, and the coastal areas are vertical and horizontal, and the lives and property of all residents are washed. Hundreds of miles, the ocean, acres and acres of grass drifting, 30,000 or 40,000 dead, floating corpses cover the river, 300,000 or 400,000 people affected by the disaster, "all are invaded by freezing and frustration, begging for food in the four townships", this strange disaster, for Hunan Province more than 200 years unprecedented.

However, it is not only Hunan that is unlucky, but also Anhui and Jiangsu, which have suffered catastrophic floods, affecting tens of millions of people. Due to the indifference of local officials to the disaster relief work, the disaster situation has become more urgent, and hundreds of people in the Qingjiang and Shuyang areas alone starve to death every day.

"Hey, miserable, so miserable......" Chen Sitang shook his head with a sigh.

Chen Sitang is not a victim of the disaster, but seeing the tragic situation in front of him, he also has a feeling of sadness for the death of a rabbit and a fox, and the feeling of being hurt by things.

He is a native of Neijiang County, a native of Mozikou, 3o years old this year, and already has two sons and one daughter. He was originally a small businessman and became a talent when he was young, but last year when the Qing court canceled the imperial examination, he had to extinguish his desire to continue the imperial examination and concentrate on doing business at home. In March, after he saw Xingke recruiting people, he felt that this was an opportunity, so he closed his shop and joined Xingke. Because he can write and settle accounts, he looks very good among most of the employees who are illiterate.

Gu Xiaolu asked him to go to the human resources department as a clerk, and later saw that he was very effective and active in learning new knowledge, and was promoted to the deputy head of the recruitment department last month, responsible for recruiting workers.

A young man beside him said: "Section Chief Chen, there are too many victims here, there are no less than 30,000 in this city alone, and at least 100,000 outside the city. Mr. Wen asked us to recruit 3ooo people in Hunan this time, I'm afraid it will be full in a few days......"

Chen Sitang shook his head and said: "Not necessarily, the homeland is difficult to leave, if these people don't really live to the point where they can't live, I'm afraid they don't want to go to a place so far away in Sichuan......

At this time, it is not like in later generations, migrant workers are running everywhere, not to mention going to neighboring provinces, even going abroad. So at the beginning, Wen Desi did not plan to recruit workers in other provinces, but after learning that there was a catastrophic flood in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, he ordered the Ministry of Human Resources to immediately send people to recruit workers in various disaster areas, and Chen Sitang was in charge of the Hunan region.

On the one hand, the company now has to set up factories and build roads and houses, which requires a large number of manpower. On the other hand, it is also for disaster relief, this flood is too strict, and Wen Deji can only do this step. As for donating money and food, he didn't think about it at all, and if a tenth of these things could reach the victims, it would be considered a conscience of the bureaucrats. Mr. Wen didn't want to be this kind of wrongdoer.

You say that Xingke Company itself came forward to provide direct disaster relief? This is impossible, and I Daqing is extremely vigilant against this kind of private disaster relief. Dare to buy people's hearts, what do you want to do? Although Mr. Wen is dressed in foreign skin, I Daqing dare not do anything to him, but it is too easy to get stuck in other aspects. Don't forget, this is in the Great Qing Dynasty, so you can only use indirect means such as "recruitment".

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"Knock knock knock......" A few idlers beat the gong and walked among the victims.

They said loudly: "Sichuan's Xingke Company is recruiting, and those who are willing to go to Sichuan to work should go to Beimen Street to sign up." ”

“...... Inclusive of food and shelter, at least 3 oceans per month, 6 sets of clothes per year. Sign a contract for one stone of rice as a settling-in fee......"

"Knock knock knock ......" idlers vigorously promoted, blowing Xingke Company into the sky.

Chen Sitang set a high price for these local snakes, and he could get a dime for each sign a contract, and ten of them were a piece of ocean, and those who ran errands would have a subsidy of 5 dimes a day. Where can you find such good things? That's why they work hard.

Although this salary is less than that of Sichuan recruitment, it is also a rare opportunity for the victims, especially the stone of rice, which is enough for the family to sustain for two or three months. Relying on the little relief from the government and the gentry, every day is a bowl of gruel that can illuminate the figure, don't be too little, this thing is not enough every day. During this time, didn't you carry dozens of people to the transformation field that day?

The bureaucrats are also happy to have someone to help clean up this mess, and one less refugee means less trouble, and the bureaucrats of the Qing Dynasty are the most afraid of trouble. In addition, they also need red envelopes, so they are very supportive of Xingke Company's recruitment, and they also send officials to help maintain order.

The recruitment went smoothly, and in less than three days, the quota of 3ooo people was almost over.

"Name, place of origin...... Ah, where are you from...... Well, age...... Okay, take this form and go to the doctor over there to check your body......" A few clerks accepted the registration.

A clerk walked over and said, "Section Chief Chen, just now there were 3ooo people who have passed the physical examination, and we have recruited enough, should we stop?"

Chen Sitang was not happy to complete the task at this time, but his face was full of anxiety.

He pointed to the long human dragon in front of him and said, "Our business is over, but what about those people......

Compared with the hundreds of thousands of refugees, the 3ooo 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 members who looked at them with blank eyes, hoping to be recruited.

The clerk said: "We are just a company, not a government, what can we do? Now we have recruited 3ooo people, and we have done our best......

Chen Sitang sighed: "Hey, yes." It would be nice if our company was a government......"

The clerk saw his thoughts, so he persuaded: "Section chief, the standard set by the company is 3ooo people, and there can be 2% redundancy, and we can recruit another 6o people." More than that......"

Chen Sitang's face was straight, and he said: "I think we should do something, let's recruit more people......" Seeing those children who even had the strength to cry, he thought of his children and felt very sad.

The clerk was shocked and hurriedly said, "Section chief, the company's order cannot be ......"

Chen Sitang resolutely said: "You don't have to care, I will bear the responsibility, and you continue to recruit...... I went to the company telegram to explain ......"

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Longchang, Xingke Cement Plant.

Just as Chen Sitang went to telegraph, Mr. Wen was accompanying Xiliang, the governor of Sichuan, to inspect the cement factory.

This cement factory was renovated by using a brick and tile workshop that it bought, and it is almost the same as a new construction, except for the land and the kiln workers left behind, which has nothing to do with the brick and tile workshop. The reason for buying this brick workshop in the first place is because of its location, close to coal mines and limestone mines, which is convenient for the supply of raw materials.

The main equipment of the cement plant is two large-scale rotary kilns purchased from the United States, four raw meal mills and four cement mills, all of which are the most advanced at present. Of course, after the purchase of these "advanced" equipment, they have been improved again. Longchang has all the raw materials needed for cement, limestone, clay, gypsum, and fuel coal, which is very suitable for building a cement plant.

There is no way to build a cement factory, at this time China has nothing to do, and cement is no exception, because they are all foreign goods, and the price is ridiculously expensive, and only a few large coastal cities such as Shanghai and Tianjin have to buy. The unit price of a barrel (175 kg) in Shanghai is now 1o yuan, and it costs 57 yuan per ton, which is not counting the freight.

This price is still because there have been more sellers in recent years, and I even bought a barrel of 2o yuan before 19oo. And in Europe and the United States, 1 silver dollar can buy two barrels of cement, imperialism is really too damn black.

Wen Desi wants to engage in construction, and the consumption of cement is not a small number. If you buy it at this pit price, it will be water in the braincase. Mr. Wen doesn't want to be this kind of wrongdoer, even if the money is easy to come by, it's not this kind of usage.

The cement plant was put into operation the day before yesterday, watching busy workers and mountains of cement buckets. Xiliang asked happily, "Xinghai, how much does this ash factory produce?"

"Xinghai" is Wen Desi's cousin, the last time I went to see Xiliang, people asked about his cousin, and Wen Desi casually called one. The meaning of this word is "my journey is a sea of stars".

"Your Excellency, the current output of the cement plant is 36o tons per day, and if it is calculated by barrels, it is 2o5o barrels per day......"

"2o5o barrels a day?" Xiliang was startled at first, and then laughed: "Okay, good! The Qixin Ash Company set up by Yuan Shikai, Zhou Xuexi and others has an output of only 7oo barrels per day, and you are three times as many as them! Hahaha......"

Wen Desi began to wonder a little, thinking that Lao Tzu's factory output is higher than others, why are you so happy?

Xiliang said proudly: "Building a cement plant, although we in Sichuan did not compete for the first, but the output is well-deserved first." Moreover, Qixin Company will not be put into production until next year, and now China's local ash can only be produced by us in Sichuan...... Yuan Weiting and Zhou Xuexi are both veterans of foreign affairs, but this time they are behind Sichuan......"

Hearing this, Wen Desi finally understood why the Governor was so happy, it turns out that this can also be linked to political performance, I rely on it. Well, there is a reason for winning Yuan Shikai.

In terms of ability, Xiliang was also among the top five figures in the late Qing Dynasty. He also wants to make a career, but Sichuan's miserable industrial base and pit traffic are impossible to compare with Hubei and Zhili, which makes him feel a lot of pressure. In particular, his face is not as wide as Yuan Shikai, and there are no people under him who are good at foreign affairs and familiar with modern industry. Now that he finally has Wen Desi, a foreign talent, and has walked in front of Yuan Shikai in the cement industry, he is naturally happy.

Unlike Xiliang, who was excited, Wen Desi really didn't feel much about this cement factory. The output of 36o tons per day is too low, and it is the object of being forced to "shut down and transfer" in the future, that is, at the level of a township enterprise.

Of course, compared with township enterprises, this cement plant has at least done 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, and it has almost become an instinct to consider environmental protection when setting up a factory. Wen Desi is no exception, even in this small cement factory, he did his best to install dust collectors and silencers, and repair sound insulation walls. For exhaust gases such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and fluoride, there is no choice but to wait for a while before installing a recovery system.

Next, Xiliang visited the nearby Xingke Brick and Tile Factory, which is also a mechanized brick and tile factory completely renovated on the basis of the original brick and tile workshop, also for environmental reasons, the products here are not the common clay solid bricks at that time, but the shale bricks and gangue bricks that were popular in later generations, both of which are abundant in Longchang.

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