Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 985 Learning is Everywhere

Uncle Wang said, "Let's not even talk about the national power grid, just look at the trains. That finger-thick bare wire on top of the railway tracks, it's made of copper. Do you know how much copper costs these days?"

Aunt Wang said, "You're just having a meal, and you're already worrying about the country and its people. Hurry up and finish your meal so you can go sit down and chat."

Chen Xiao gave the two children two crab claws to play with. Xiao Wei's mother turned her head and saw this, quickly snatched them away, slapped Chen Xiao, and said, "You brat, are you crazy? You dare to let the kids play with these sharp and hard things? They'll poke their faces or eyes and you'll be crying."

Turning to Xiaowei, Chen Hui, and Xia Maosheng, he said, "You three shut up and eat quickly. After you finish eating, take the children to play somewhere else and let Xiaoxiao and Xiaohui eat properly."

The three men hunched their shoulders and started shoveling rice into their mouths. All three of their crabs were taken, each getting two legs, without a single complaint. Actually, none of the men at the table had eaten. It was a habit: if their wives liked something, they ate it; if they left anything, they ate it. It had nothing to do with whether they ate it or not.

After quickly finishing their meal, the three brothers carried the two little boys upstairs to the living room. They were happy because they didn't have to clean the table or wash the dishes.

……

The next day, noon.

Huang Laowu's family and Hao Xiaodong's family arrived in Wanliu in three large Jiefang trucks.

Hao Xiaodong, Hao Xiaobo, and Huang Laowu came over in the truck bed. As soon as they got off, the three of them had such cool hairstyles that they couldn't be knocked down.

Shunzi found a few people to help unload the truck and carry it upstairs. Hao Xiaodong's parents lived with him in a three-bedroom apartment, while Hao Xiaobo and Huang Laowu had a two-bedroom apartment. These days, no matter how many rooms an apartment had, it usually only had one bathroom.

After the three families finished getting ready, more than two hours passed before Huang Laowu and Hao Xiaodong came upstairs and went to Xiaowei's office.

It was the first time in their lives that Hao Xiaodong and his brother had ridden an elevator. They held tightly to the handrail and were sweating profusely with nervousness, which amused Huang Laowu greatly. Little did he know that he himself was also feeling nervous and his heart was pounding the whole time.

Hao Xiaobo's face was a little pale. He forced a smile and said, "This building is really tall. It would take hours to climb up here!"

Huang Laowu said, "Why climb stairs when there's an elevator?"

Hao Xiaobo said, "What if... what if the power goes out?"

"Ding!" "Elevator arrived, 33rd floor. Chairman's office."

Li Na added annotations to the audio for each floor, announcing the company name for each floor. For floor 33, which only had Xiao Wei, she simply said "office".

Hao Xiaobo peered cautiously into the slowly opening elevator doors.

Huang Laowu said, "What are you looking at? Get down here." He took the lead and stepped out of the elevator, blocking the elevator door with his hand: "Hurry up and get out, this thing will close automatically."

Hao Xiaobo and Hao Xiaodong stepped out of the elevator and looked around at their surroundings.

Milina stood up and asked, "Is there something you need?"

Huang Laowu said, "Looking for Xiaowei, he sent us. Is he there?"

Milina smiled and said, "Yes, I didn't go out today. What's your surname?" She turned and walked ahead.

Huang Laowu said, "My surname is Huang, and theirs is Hao."

Milina knocked on the door and pushed it open: "Chairman, someone is looking for you. They said you summoned them. One is surnamed Huang and the other is surnamed Hao."

Xiao Wei said, "Oh, right, let them in. Huang Yaowu will be the property manager from now on. Make a note of this and get his contact information."

Milina gestured to let Huang Laowu and his two companions into the house. She followed them in, made tea for them, and then quietly asked Huang Laowu, "Manager Huang, could you please provide your contact information? I need to make a note of it."

Huang Laowu gave her the pager number, and Milina thanked him and turned to leave. Xiao Wei walked over and asked, "Is everything set up?"

Huang Laowu said, "I'm keeping it simple here. I just brought a few beds and some clothes. I'll buy whatever I need. But they're really moving; they have a lot of stuff."

Hao Xiaodong said, "My wife and my mom are cleaning up. There are a lot of people, so it'll be quick."

Xiao Wei said, "I bought a hotel on Zhongjie Street and installed an oil-fired boiler. It will need to be run in both winter and summer, so you two will have to work hard. If you feel that two people are not enough, you can find a few more. Anyway, I don't know anyone in this field, so I'll have to rely on you two."

Huang Laowu laughed and said, "I understand all of this. A shift has at least five people. If you're burning it in rotation, you'll need fifteen people, plus repairmen and electricians. The whole shift will need at least twenty people."

Hao Xiaodong nodded and said, "That's right. Fuel oil is much more delicate than coal, and you can't have too few people; it's easy to have accidents. There are regulations for this. One main operator, two assistant operators, one plumber, and one electrician make up one shift. Repairs are done on the day shift."

Xiao Wei touched his nose and laughed, saying, "I really don't understand. I thought it would be the same as before. So, Brother Hao, how come you burned yourself all by yourself?"

Hao Xiaodong said, "That boiler isn't big. Besides, coal-fired boilers are easy to operate. It's just a matter of how fast or slow it takes to heat up. It only takes a little effort. But oil-fired boilers are different. You have to keep an eye on several parts of the boiler at all times. Just shutting it off requires three people to work together, otherwise, it will be a disaster."

Huang Laowu said, "This thing is precious and troublesome. Coal-fired ones are more durable; even if they leak, they can still keep burning."

Xiao Wei looked at Huang Laowu and said, "I've discovered that you know everything, huh?"

Huang Laowu said, "You've never worked in a factory. Even if you worked there for two or three years, you'd know everything. You just wander around all day, spending a day here and a little time there, and in the end you'd know everything. What's the use?"

Xiao Wei asked Hao Xiaodong, "Can we gather enough people? No rush, we've just buried the pots, it's still a long way to go before we start the furnace, it'll take a few months."

Hao Xiaodong nodded and said, "There's still time. I'll look around. There aren't many people dealing in fuel these days."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, let your sister-in-law start working at the factory tomorrow. You and Brother Bo will take care of this. It's not just about finding people; you also need to finalize the procedures and regulations for me."

Huang Laowu said, "There are many places in Fengtian that use fuel oil, and there are already established regulations. Just find one; it's a national standard, and it's the same everywhere. That's all. Isn't your father-in-law in the Urban Construction Bureau? The Housing Bureau is under his jurisdiction, right? There are many stokers there; just go and get a few."

Xiao Wei said, "I don't know, why are there so many stokers at the housing bureau?"

Huang Laowu said, "There are so many government-owned properties, they all need heating, right? Heating used to be managed by the Housing Bureau. It's easy to poach people, but the benefits in government jobs aren't very good. In some places, you don't even get basic pay in the summer."

Hao Xiaodong nodded and said, "Yes, I didn't get paid in the summer, I just got a 55 yuan subsidy. But I didn't have to go to work, I could just stay at home and do something else."

Hao Xiaobo said, "We had that in our area. In the summer, we would open 70% of the machines, and we still had to go to work. Later, someone took over the job."

Xiao Wei got up and walked to his desk to make a phone call.

"Old Xia, I have a task for you: get me twenty stokers from your local housing bureau. They need to be experienced, working on oil-fired boilers."

Hao Xiaodong followed and said, "No, no, you can't do it like that."

Xiao Wei turned to Hao Xiaodong and asked, "What's wrong?"

Hao Xiaodong reached out and took the phone, saying, "Hello. Mr. Zhang made a mistake earlier. We need three main operators, six assistant operators, three plumbers, three electricians, and two or three repairmen."

Xia Maosheng said, "Dong-ge? You're here?"

Xia Maosheng said, "My name is Xia Maosheng. Say it again, I'll write it down."

Hao Xiaodong then relaxed.

(End of this chapter)