Chapter 95

"Yuanzhao, Uncle Wu and the others are all very decent. When the Baokeng Company was established, you made so many concessions, only asking them to learn. How could they not take it to heart? Moreover, now there are the flour mill and the brick factory, both of which rely on your machines. They are even more dedicated than before!"

Yang Yuanzhao was puzzled and asked with a hint of confusion, "Then why is it such a result? The literacy rate is still so low?"

Liu Shu smiled bitterly and said, "I started my education at the age of six and studied for over ten years to reach my current state. It took me several years to learn 500 characters. These are farmers who don't know a single character. The difficulty of learning to read is enormous, especially at their age, making it even harder! Since you left, Uncle Wu and Uncle Zhao have been organizing the teaching, even hiring seven scholars to teach. In over a month, only five people have received 15 pounds of white flour."

"Five people, though few, still show some results. With such a demonstration, I think these workers will try harder to learn!"

"Trying harder, they all gave up. The five who received the flour had previously worked in shops and had a basic understanding of writing, recognizing three to four hundred characters. With that foundation, reaching 500 characters was relatively easy. But for completely illiterate people, the requirement of 500 characters is too high. Although the 15 pounds of white flour is a great incentive, no one is willing to continue learning when it's impossible to achieve. Now, no one is learning anymore!"

Yang Yuanzhao didn't expect such a result. He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word. Eradicating illiteracy is indeed not easy; otherwise, it wouldn't have been treated as an important task in the future.

"Maybe we should pause for a while. The workers are already tired from their daily labor, and they still have to go to school!"

"Absolutely not!" Yang Yuanzhao shook his head like a rattle drum, firmly rejecting the idea.

"But..."

Yang Yuanzhao interrupted Liu Shu, frowning and said, "We still need to continue. When I have some free time, I'll go and take a look!"

"Ah, I really don't understand what you're thinking. Making them literate is really a thankless task!"

Looking at the nagging Liu Shu, Yang Yuanzhao was at a loss for words. Industrialization not only requires a large amount of machinery, capital, and raw materials but also a vast number of industrial workers. Illiterate workers can be good workers, but they have no prospects for development. Yang Yuanzhao wanted a new generation of workers who not only understand knowledge and can research but can also sustain development. Only then can a large industrial area be built in a few years in the barren land of Baotou, and only then can the lost time of China be reclaimed in the coming years.

Knowing the situation of the literacy campaign among the Baotou workers, Yang Yuanzhao didn't have time to go and see it. Literacy is important, but the cement factory is even more critical. This is the first large-scale mechanized industrial enterprise in Baotou. The flour mill and the brick factory, to a certain extent, can only be considered small workshops. In the future, a simple village or even some villagers could start production by purchasing some machines.

The cement factory is completely different. It uses more machines and has a very high degree of automation. Without some knowledge and technical skills, it is extremely difficult.

Yang Yuanzhao looked at the documents in his hand. Most of the people left in the Baokeng Company are from Baotou, with a small number from other places. After pondering for a long time, he asked, "Can these people be gathered?"

Liu Shu nodded and said, "Yes, I have already recorded their addresses. Some have been temporarily settled. If you want, they can report for duty tomorrow. But your factory is still a wasteland!"

"Because it's a wasteland, I need to gather them now. A modern factory cannot be produced casually. Just for a trial production, it takes at least a few months, even with all the preparations in place!"

"Will it take that long?" Liu Shu was stunned. The factories he knew were only in Taiyuan, and the flour mill and brick factory in front of him, which were very valuable and profitable. In his view, as long as the machines were installed and the personnel were in place, production could continue without interruption. He never expected the cement factory to be so difficult.

In fact, as Yang Yuanzhao knew, even in the future, a cement factory, from investment to completion, would take some time. The process of debugging and trial production could take anywhere from three to five months to one or two years. A factory with a thousand people and various machines, a large-scale factory, would take a considerable amount of time to debug, let alone in 1908, when China was poor and backward. Even gathering the workers would take a long time.

"By the way, Liu Shu, when will the workers recruited through the Yang family and the Wei family arrive?"

Liu Shu casually searched through the pile of documents and said, "According to yesterday's news, they have already disembarked in Taiyuan and are on their way here with the help of the Yang family's caravan!"

Yang Yuanzhao had walked this road before. If everything goes well, it would take about two and a half days; at most, it would take three days. After some thought, he said, "Brother Zeling, the personnel matters will be handed over to you. I'll give you two days to prepare. When the recruited personnel arrive, I will start the training!"

"Alright!" Liu Shu nodded. With two days left, it wasn't too tight for him.

Leaving the still crowded Baokeng Company, there were at least several thousand people outside. Unfortunately, it was impossible to recruit all of them. Only a few could be carefully selected.

Yang Yuanzhao left the Baokeng Company and didn't return to his residence. Instead, he went to the old courtyard. Since he left, the courtyard had expanded, with part of it used as a warehouse and another part for steel structure research. In fact, steel structures are quite simple. With enough steel, welding, and a bit of mechanics knowledge, it's possible to build one or two-story buildings.

Entering the room, a wave of heat hit him. The enclosed room had a distinctive smell of welding. Several blacksmiths were still focused on their experiments. On the rack, there were about ten structures of various sizes. These were all based on Yang Yuanzhao's memories from the future and computer calculations, scaled down and tested under certain pressures to help them become familiar with the process.

When Yang Yuanzhao entered the room, a burly man who was operating the welding machine heard the noise and stood up. Yang Yuanzhao asked him, "Qian Hu, how is it going? Are you familiar with it?"

Qian Hu was the leader among the remaining blacksmiths. Although his blacksmithing skills were not outstanding, he was quick-witted and had a strong ability to learn, making him the best at mastering steel structures and using welding.

"Boss, I'm familiar with it. If you give us enough materials, I can build one right now!" Qian Hu said nonchalantly.

From the start of the steel structure research to now, it had been almost a month. They had repeatedly practiced welding and familiarized themselves with the nodes and support points of steel structures, all to make steel structure buildings stand in the wilderness. Now it was finally time for them to take action.

Yang Yuanzhao inspected Qian Hu's work. Construction is a serious matter and cannot be taken lightly. The steel provided by Yang Yuanzhao was not ordinary iron or steel structures from the future. He had selected the best welding results, the strongest structure, and the best flexibility, including some special materials from BMW engines. These materials, due to their high cost, could not be used in ordinary steel structures in the future. With the existence of the integrated machine, as long as there were enough materials, these could still be produced.

A level 3 integrated machine, used to produce steel structures, could only produce 2-meter-long steel structures, which might be cumbersome. However, with Yang Yuanzhao's ingenious design, it could reach about 6 meters. A 6-meter by 6-meter house, though not as spacious as modern steel structures, was still sufficient. At least, small rooms would be well-supported, making the house more solid.