African Nationhood

December 1906, 12, Fuxin Town, Zhongjing Region (now Vereeniging City, South Africa).

This town was established in 1892, adjacent to the Vaal River. It was originally an agricultural and pastoral town.

(After the Second Boer War in the original time and space, the British and the Boers signed an armistice agreement here.)
With the exploration of nearby coal resources, a new hydropower station was built here.

With convenient water and electricity resources and abundant underground coal resource reserves, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce plans to build a large steel plant here.

There are railway lines connecting the city with Landfortress (now Johannesburg, South Africa) and Hanking (now Pretoria).

The iron ore required for the steel plant comes from the Tabachinbe Iron Mine in the Clorocordy Valley, 200 kilometers north of Landfortress.

The ore mined in this iron mine is high-grade hematite, and both coke and lime can be produced on-site.

The overall plan is to build this place into one of the steel and coal bases in South China. In the future, this place will be the main supplier of coal, steel pipes, steel castings, etc. needed for the industrial and mining industries in the Rand Basin area.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce planned to establish a large industrial zone in the Zhongjing Region (today's Wiwasland Industrial Zone in the Capital Circle of South Africa) stretching from Randfontein (today's town in South Africa) in the west to Spree (today's town in South Africa) in the east.

This will include industrial enterprises such as machine tool manufacturing, mining, agricultural machinery, chemicals, and wood processing.

The steel plant in Xinwa Town will be the first project in this large industrial zone. The planned annual production capacity of this new steel plant is 150 million tons, including a 20-ton electric furnace steelmaking project.

In addition, the coal preparation plant, coking plant and lime burning plant supporting the steel plant are all planned near the steel plant, and several major plants can be connected by railway transportation.

All the equipment in the steel plant and supporting factories came from the British mainland. Half of the workers were transferred from Shuangkui Steel Plant, and the rest were new immigrants who had passed primary education.

It will be easier for these immigrants who have passed literacy training to receive steel mill training.

……

Lu Xigui has thin, pointed cheeks and single eyelids. He is 43 years old this year.

He was one of the second batch of young children studying in the United States, and he was not very familiar with Ouyang Geng, the first batch of Shi bosses.

When Boss Shi asked Ouyang Geng to recruit people, he did not agree, and was later recalled to the country by Qing Guoqiang.

He worked in the Tangshan coal mine of the Qing Dynasty for several years and felt that there was no way out, so he contacted Rong Kui, who was in the same batch, and came to Nanhua.

After arriving in Nanhua, he has been engaged in work such as railway engineering. Although he has been the main force at work, he has never been promoted.

He had no choice but to find Rong Kui, hoping that Rong Kui could put in a good word for him.

When the Ministry of Industry and Commerce wanted to establish the Rand Steel Plant, Rong Kui mentioned it to Cai Shaoji, who was in charge of personnel work.

Cai Shaoji submitted his resume to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, so he was able to take up the important position of director of Rand Steel Plant.

……

Lu Xigui stood at the gate of the steel plant, looking anxiously at the intersection in the distance, fearing that officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce would miss the auspicious time for the opening of the steel plant.

Seeing that there were still more than ten minutes left, the front of the Crown car appeared at the intersection. Lu Xigui showed a smile on his face, and then quickly arranged his clothes for fear of losing his manners in front of his boss.

The Crown car arrived quickly, and Lu Xigui stepped forward and opened the door.

Minister of Industry and Commerce Wang Zhongyi got off the bus first, followed by Director of the Department of Heavy Industry Li Jingmai, Director of the Department of Light Industry Tang Yan, Director of the Department of Metallurgy Zheng Tingxiang, and other entourages.

Lu Xigui enthusiastically led many superior officials into the steel plant.

"We have been ready for a long time. Please come with me to cut the ribbon for the opening of the steel plant."

"Director Lu is not busy cutting the ribbon for the opening. The main reason we came here is to see your preparations. Will you be able to start production immediately after the opening?"

Lu Xigui stopped and turned to face Minister Wang Zhongyi with a smile.

"Minister, please rest assured that everything in our steel plant is ready, and production can start as soon as the ribbon is cut." Wang Zhongyi also smiled after listening to Lu Xigui's words, "That's good, I'm afraid that we are not fully prepared and will delay the cabinet." The realization of the medium-term plan.”

Lu Xigui said with a smile: "Minister Wang and colleagues, please rest assured. From the beginning of our factory project to the construction of the factory building, I have not left a step. I cherish every plant and tree here."

Tang Yan, who was following, burst out laughing when she heard what Lu Xigui said. She felt that Factory Director Lu was too exaggerated.

She came up from the grassroots level, and she basically knows the tricks of the people below her.

This smile contained the meaning of ridicule. Lu Xigui did not pay attention to Tang Yan's ridicule.

He continued: “This steel plant is generally divided into raw material workshop, power workshop, ironmaking workshop, steelmaking workshop and steel rolling workshop.

The raw material workshop includes freight, raw material, transportation, lime kiln, grinding, equipment and other departments.

The raw material workshop station has a dedicated unloading crane and supporting loading and unloading belts, with an annual loading and unloading capacity of more than 700 million tons.

The raw material workshop has a 11.8 square meter closed mechanized material yard for raw material storage.

At the same time, the raw material workshop also has a slag powder crushing production line with an annual output of 50 tons.

The ironmaking workshop consists of two 2 m blast furnaces, seven regenerative hot blast furnaces and auxiliary facilities, with an annual output of 500 million tons of molten iron.

The lime kiln workshop has a lime kiln with a daily output of 50 tons and an estimated annual output of 16 tons of lime blocks (powder).

炼钢车间设计年产钢坯160万吨，主要装备有50吨转炉2座、50吨精炼炉3座、50吨电弧炉1座。

The steel mill currently produces steel billets in two specifications: 155×155mm and 180×220mm.

The product steel types are mainly steel for high, medium and low pressure steam boilers, steel for pipelines, steel for rails, steel for machinery and steel for construction..."

After hearing Lu Xigui's talk, Tang Yan had a changed opinion on Lu Xigui's ability.

She interrupted Lu Xigui's report and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Director Lu, it was my fault. I shouldn't have challenged your professional ability."

Lu Xigui waved his hand to Tang Yan, "It's nothing. I originally wanted to report the situation of the steel plant to Minister Wang."

Through previous reports and Lu Xigui's proficiency in speaking out about steel mill data, Wang Zhongyi also had a clear understanding of Lu Xigui's professional capabilities.

He smiled and said: "Director Lu is not a stingy person, and Director Tang should not take it too seriously.

I didn't interrupt Director Lu just now because I wanted to hear more from him about the steel factory.

Since Director Lu spoke in such detail and the data came out of his mouth, it shows that you are indeed a good, responsible and conscientious factory director. Prime Minister Ouyang did not pick the wrong person! "

Lu Xigui smiled and waved his hand, "Minister Wang, you are being ridiculous, and I also intend to show off in front of you.

Let’s stop talking about this matter here. Everyone go and cut the ribbon for the opening of the steel plant. The auspicious time is coming soon. "

Zheng Tingxiang also smiled and said: "Minister Wang, we need to do more opening ribbon-cuttings. The more people who participate, the more developed our business will be, and the better the steel industry in South China will develop."

Since Director Lu has already invited us, let’s just do as we please. "

Wang Zhongyi nodded, "Director Zheng is right, Factory Director Lu, please lead the way."

Lu Xigui led the guests to the entrance of the steel plant workshop with a smile. A red ribbon lay across the entrance of the workshop.

Wang Zhongyi and others each used scissors and cut the red ribbon, and firecrackers went off.

Workers throughout the factory smiled, and under the leadership of their respective workshop directors, they pulled the switch.

With the rotation of the electric motor, the entire steel plant officially began to operate. (End of chapter)