Siheyuan: Craftsmen of a Great Country

The blast furnace in the village is built at the foot of the mountain.

The originally green green hills had now become bare and dim.

The trees have long been burned into charcoal and used to make steel.

Only the densely packed tree stumps on the ground seem to tell how beautiful this place once was.

This path of seeking development without arms lasted for a long time.

Then, it cost dozens of times more and took a long time to plant trees and protect the environment.

The blast furnace is small and arched in shape, with an archway underneath for adding charcoal.

Probably because it is close to the Sichuan Steel Rolling Mill, the blast furnace here is much larger than those in other places, with a visual inspection of seven or eight meters high.

The open space next to it is filled with homemade charcoal and pig iron waiting to be processed.

A large banner was tied between the two numbers, which read "Sichuan High-Quality Steel Production Demonstration Site."

Next to the blast furnace, temporary steelmaking workers are busy.

Add coal below, or add charge into the blast furnace from above through high stairs.

The air box at the air intake was at full power, making a harsh buzzing sound.

It was the first time for Luo Xue and Liu Yue to see such a scene.

Speaking of which, this indigenous method of blast furnace steelmaking was originally developed by outsiders who came to Sichuan specifically to learn and improve it.

Luo Xue couldn't help but said: "I feel that it is so dangerous for the person adding the furnace materials. The stairs are so high and they are carrying heavy furnace materials."

Jiang Chen nodded: "So, every piece of steel we use has the blood and sweat of steel-making workers in it."

The three of them walking together were really eye-catching, and Zhang Huajun saw a few of them from a distance.

So he took out his cigarette and let it go: "Uncles and brothers, my old cousin and sister-in-law are here. I'm going to take a look."

Everyone accepted the cigarette, and naturally it was hard to say anything: "Go ahead, don't take too long."

"Hey, who's your cousin?"

Zhang Huajun said: "I am just an old cousin, Jiang Chen from Sanniang's family." (Sanniang, mother, speak softly, not twice.)

"Oh, is it the one that was in the newspaper?"

"I heard that the chief even received him."

"Go ahead. If you have something to do, you can come back later. With a little effort, I can get the job done."

When they heard that it was Jiang Chen who was looking for them, everyone's tone immediately changed.

When Zhang Huajun left, everyone was still discussing:

"This Jiang Chen took off after hearing that he arrived at Sijiu City and did several big things in a row."

"Look, those two girls are so beautiful. No wonder he didn't like the children of the old Zhao family."

"Didn't he go to work at the beginning yesterday? Why are they still here? Couldn't he have been fired from the factory?"

"You are stupid. Who dares to speak to someone who has been interviewed by the chief? He is 21 this year. I guess he took marriage leave."

Zhang Huajun came to the three of them and said, "Old cousin, are you looking for me?"

Jiang Chen shook his head: "Let me take a look at your steelmaking situation. How are you doing here?"

Zhang Huajun said: "Hey, what else can we do? It's just a matter of catching a duck and putting it on the shelves. It is mandatory that at least one person from each family should participate in steelmaking. If there is a large labor force, two or even more people will be arranged."

"The young and clever ones are involved in steel-making right here in the blast furnace. Others, those who chop down trees, those who burn coal, those who burn coal, and those who transport, all have something to do."

Jiang Chen said: "I see that you have no safety protection measures at all. Is there anything going on?"

Zhang Huajun sighed: "Who can say that something happened? The boss of the old Qian family fell in while loading the furnace materials because he was too tired. Not even the slag was left."

"Brother Tuesday fell down the stairs and broke his leg. He probably will never stand up again in his life. There are even more minor injuries from bumps and bruises."

"The bosses only care about the workload, not your safety or insecurity."

Jiang Chen said: "You are the only son in your family, so you are not afraid of anything unexpected?"

Zhang Huajun smiled bitterly and said: "What can we do? If I don't come, my father will come. I am young and better than him."

"Sometimes he works here until night. With his eyes, he can't see anything when it gets dark, only me."

Jiang Chen did not continue the topic: "How is the steel production here?"

Zhang Huajun shook his head: "Not very good. It takes two days to practice a furnace of steel. The qualified one only weighs a few hundred kilograms, less than half a ton."

Luo Xue's eyes widened: "There are about ten of you here, plus the people from other places, there must be dozens, right?"

"It only takes two days to produce half a ton of steel, this"

Luo Xue didn't finish her words, but everyone understood the meaning.

It is a bit wasteful to produce so much steel in two days with so many dozens of workers.

Even if it's farming, it's probably more valuable than this.

Zhang Huajun looked around: "Actually, many people think this is unreasonable, but I can only say this in private. After all, it is a call for all the people to make steel."

"Our situation is pretty good. I heard that in some places, in order to respond to the call, even the pots and ladles at home, as long as they are iron, have to be sent for steelmaking. The result is scrap iron slag."

"We have an iron ore nearby and pig iron is shipped here. In addition, we are close to the steel rolling mill. Occasionally they will come to guide us. Even if the quality is not up to standard, we will not produce scrap iron."

Jiang Chen said: "I heard that it only takes seven or eight hours to make a furnace of steel. How can it take you two days?"

Zhang Huajun said: "Before, we used to make one batch per day, but after New Year's Day, the quality was not up to standard, so we were approved by the superiors."

"Then the refining idea was adjusted. The steel produced was cooled in water and then returned to the furnace for refining the next day. Don't tell me, the steel produced in this way is of better quality than normal steel after testing."

"Our steel is sent to Sichuan Steel Rolling Mill, and they are very satisfied with the quality. Now surrounding towns and villages are learning our refining method, and the results seem to be pretty good."

"The only bad thing is that the output has dropped. It is estimated that by the middle of the year, in order to keep up with the progress of the task, we will have to ignore the quality and cook one furnace a day."

Jiang Chen keenly grasped the key: "You just said that the quality of your steel is better than normal steel?"

Zhang Huajun said: "We make steel twice in one furnace, so of course the quality is better."

"This was personally tested by the steel rolling mill. This is how the honor of our demonstration site was earned."

To make steel a hundred times means to refine it a thousand times, not to smelt it many times.

It is indeed possible that one more smelting will reduce the carbon in the iron, thereby slightly improving the quality. It makes sense to move from unqualified to qualified. .

But it is never possible to turn scrap into good steel.

So, what's the problem?

Jiang Chen thought about it for a long time, but couldn't find the answer, so he said to Zhang Huajun: "Okay, you go and do your work. I'll take a look at your steel-making process."

Zhang Huajun nodded: "Then I'll go first."

Jiang Chen warned: "Pay attention to safety."

Zhang Huajun nodded and went back to work.

Jiang Chen turned to Liu Yue and Luo Xue and said, "I may have to stay here for a while. Do you think you should go back to rest, or should you wait here?"

"The sun here is a little bit poisonous. I'm worried it'll tan you."

Luo Xue said carelessly: "If you marry a chicken, you can marry a dog, if you marry a dog, someone will want it anyway. It doesn't matter if you get tanned."

"We'll stay here with you."

Jiang Chen smiled and said, "You haven't even gotten married yet, and you're already giving up on yourself. Be careful that I don't want you anymore."

Luo Xue snorted: "How dare you? If you want to let me down, I will go back and tell my mother and let her chop you to death with a knife."

Liu Yue chuckled and said: "We also want to see how steel is made. If you have anything to do, go and do your work. We will stay well and won't run around and cause trouble."

Jiang Chen said: "Look at Xiaoyue, she is a model of a good daughter-in-law."

"Okay, please be safe. I want to take a closer look. I always feel that there will be unexpected and huge gains today."