National Tide 1980.

Chapter 573 One size fits all

The master craftsmen of the Palace Lantern Factory were dissatisfied with the younger generations in the factory, thinking that the successors they brought out had forgotten their roots.

But to be honest, the young people in these factories are a bit wronged.

Because society is developing and times are developing.

Of course, everything must develop and progress together in accordance with this environment.

Human thinking is also inevitably affected by changes in the environment of the times, and it will gradually become different from the past.

In fact, it's not that these apprentices are unwilling to do it, let alone that they don't love the factory and have no dedication.

Otherwise, even the current situation of falling into the bottleneck period of technology research and development will not exist.

It's just that as a social person, in an increasingly materialistic social environment.

If they don't pay attention to reality, become more philistine and selfish, then life will be even more difficult.

To put it bluntly, it was purely out of control and forced by the environment.

If they want to jump out of the small circle of the Palace Lantern Factory, it will be very valuable and cute.

What's more, the Palace Lantern Factory has leaders like Hu Kuanfu and Xu Pingzhi who attach great importance to traditional crafts, and there is no soil for "forgetting the origin" at all.

In fact, the real forgetting of one's roots often does not happen to people who overcome difficulties and face adversity.

On the contrary, it tends to happen to those who seem to be at ease and have a good life.

How else can we say that we are born in sorrow and die in peace?

On January 1, in the meeting room of the state-owned Beijing Material Equipment Factory.

The slogan "Farewell to old workers for retirement" on the wall is prominently hung in front of them in the form of white letters on a red background.

Apart from the factory director and secretary, there was a row of retired workers wearing flowers sitting on the rostrum.

There are rows of artificial leather chairs below, the middle-level leaders of the factory are in the front row, and the apprentices of these retired workers are in the back.

The representative of the retired master chef is Jiang Sanchang Jiang, who has been in the industry since he was 12 years old and has been blowing feeders for 45 years.

He is the direct heir of the "Jiang family" who ranks first among the "four gates" of the material utensils industry in Beijing - "Jiang (Wen Liang), Wang (Fu Chang), Zhao (Jiu Nian) and Yue (Zi Yuan)".

The "Twelve Zodiac", "Fenghou Hanging Seal", and "Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday" that he blown before liberation.

Because of its vivid image and bright colors, it was bought out by Dongji Pearl Flower Shop in Dong'an Market with a lot of money and sold all over.

Nowadays, there are very few people left in the feeder industry in the capital who can do fine work to feed birds, animals, and vivid historical figures.

In 1978, at the request of the embassy of a friendly neighboring country, Master Jiang made a 65-meter-high bonsai "Magnolia" for the 1.7th birthday of their leader Jin.

This work is made of diamond white material, with fifty flowers and fifteen buds in each pot.

The most amazing thing is that Master Jiang made the flower buds, all of which are made of air-blowing techniques and have openings, which can store spices and waft out bursts of fragrance.

There is no precedent for this in the production of feeding utensils. With this one hand, this work has reached the level of a national treasure handed down from generation to generation.

Moreover, Master Jiang is still working hard on the shades, sizes, and tenderness of the leaves and roots.

The bottom of the flower plant breaks the previous routine of only laying white sand, and matches the rocks, flowers and plants to set off the lush leaves and strong branches of the magnolia.

Ambassadors of friendly neighbors were particularly pleased with this piece.

Later, on behalf of the leader surnamed Jin and his wife, he wrote a letter of thanks to Jingcheng Special Art Company and Jingcheng Material Equipment Factory.

But it was such a master-level old craftsman who encountered "early layoff" in disguise.

Ganqing Jingcheng Material Equipment Factory needs to expand not only the research and development team, but also the production capacity, and install modern equipment.

However, the space in the factory is limited, so the traditional blowing workshop for feeders was requisitioned.

As a result, Master Jiang, who is only 57 years old this year, and several other masters in the same workshop who are over 55 years old, all "one size fits all", were counted as 60 years old by the factory and asked them to retire early.

For this reason, Master Jiang and the others have approached the factory leaders to argue and express their dissatisfaction.

It is said that they can still work for several years, and hope that the factory can recover.

But although the factory leaders were polite and thoughtful to these old workers, they only patiently comforted them, repeatedly persuaded them, and resolutely refused to give in.

The reasons given by the factory leaders seem to be sufficient.

First of all, from the perspective of the factory, the high-end products of traditional feeders are completely unprofitable.

In terms of domestic demand, very few Gongmei Buildings can be sold.

In terms of foreign trade, Special Art Company controls and monopolizes the channels, and the purchase price is set at an extremely low level.

Even now, even countries are focusing on economic construction, and the need for political tasks is decreasing.

The foreign affairs department has not placed an order for the Jingcheng material equipment factory for several years.

So in recent years, almost all the things made by the master craftsmen are displayed in the factory, occupying several warehouses for nothing.

Even if there are political missions in the future and state gifts are needed, those things are enough.

Secondly, on the other hand, the categories of modern industrial production in the factory are getting stronger day by day.

Whether it is a card, a material bead, or a practical lamp, because of its low price, it is very popular and purchased in large quantities by foreign customers.

Small potted flowers in feeders, imitation jade beasts and men imitated by machine die-casting, and key chains with pictures of scenic spots also cater to the needs of low domestic consumption capacity, and have become relatively popular types of tourism products.

What's more, since November 1981, Beijing Material Ware Products Factory established an artificial amber test team. Although it has been in the experimental stage, it has repeatedly achieved technical breakthroughs.

In the not-too-distant future, using plexiglass or unsaturated resin to imitate the color of natural amber and process it into insect key rings and paperweights is almost a visible fact.

In this way, the production of traditional feeders, especially the production of traditional high-grade feeders.

For the Jingcheng material equipment factory, it has been completely reduced to a situation where it has no practical significance and will be replaced by new technology sooner or later.

In fact, there have been no newcomers in the traditional blowing workshop for several years.

Even the old ones keep applying to be transferred to other workshops.

Since the workshop is destined to have no prospects, why not close it earlier and replace it with a more advanced industrialized mass production model?

In the end, several master craftsmen have made great contributions to the Jingcheng Material Equipment Factory, but they are old after all.

It is too dangerous to engage in the traditional blowing industry now.

Even if the factory is concerned about their safety and health, there is no need for them to work so hard anymore.

In the words of the factory leaders, the master craftsmen, the material blowing workshop, and the traditional skills have all fulfilled their due historical missions.

Things that are not advanced are destined to be submerged by the torrent of history.

Forcing self-preservation, or even protection, is completely meaningless. It is a retrogression of history.

If something is really good?And how can it decline?

History is the best ruler to verify the true value of a thing.

As the saying goes, long-term pain is worse than short-term pain. The old masters have worked hard for half their lives, so it is better to retire early and go home to enjoy their old age.

If everyone is worried about retirement, according to the policy, the salary will be reduced to only 80.00% of the original.

It doesn't matter, the factory will not give you less money.

Then according to the amount of the original salary of the individual, it will be paid to everyone until the age of 60.

In short, as long as the masters are willing to retire and give up the place, it will be the greatest contribution to the factory.

Needless to say the end result, the clumsy old craftsmen suffered a crushing defeat in front of people who depended on their mouths for food.

As the saying goes, the arms can't twist the thighs. Since the masters are holding the bowls in the factory, they have to serve the pipes in the factory.

No matter how much they miss the factory, they cannot disobey the arrangement.

This is the real reason why they are sitting on this rostrum today.

(End of this chapter)