Linxia

Chapter 199, One Day

"First, considering that workers live far away and have difficulty going to work, we will build workers' dormitories near the factory and rent them to you at a low price. When you have worked for a certain number of years and meet the standards, you can buy them in installments at cost price without interest... Second, we will set up skill training classes, and the children of factory workers can all attend at a low price. After graduation, the outstanding ones can enter the factory or fleet as a small manager... For the above two items, the outstanding workers in the factory will be given priority and some fees can be waived."

When the workers in the weaving workshop heard this, they were all stunned and couldn't believe it. Today's announcement that wages would not be reduced and the original benefits would not be cancelled was already a great joyous event, but they didn't expect that there would be two such new benefits, and both of them were so practical.

Needless to say, many of the factory workers rented dormitories in remote places to save money. They had to get up very early every morning to go to work. Once there were dormitories for workers, it would be much more convenient to live in them. And I heard that they were rented to them at a low price? Maybe they could save a lot of money!

The most important thing is the sentence 'purchase in installments at cost price with no interest'. Cost price, it's a good thing that they dare not even think about, let alone no interest. After the party leader explained it, they all knew that this meant not having to pay a penny of interest. Compared with the 'nine out and thirteen back' of private lending, in their eyes, Lord Fang is simply a living Buddha!

It's no wonder they were excited. No matter what era, housing was always a thorn in the hearts of ordinary people. Only with a house could they truly settle down and feel at ease. If they could really buy the factory dormitory and completely transfer their household registration here, they would also be considered city dwellers!
Another benefit is also exciting. In the skills training class, your children can graduate and become managers if they learn well. This is an excellent future.

——In this land, from ancient times to the present, there are few parents who do not love their children. Although many parents appear to be deep and introverted, they all love their children deeply. For the sake of their children, they are willing to endure any hardship.

Parents love their children and have long-term plans for them. This benefit gives their children a future and a bright future. It can be said that the importance of this benefit is no less than that of a factory dormitory.

At this moment, the big picture that Fang Lin painted made all the factory workers below the stage envision a bright future. They thought that in the future they would rent factory dormitories, buy houses in installments without interest, and become city dwellers. Their children would also enter skill training classes and become small managers after graduation... Just thinking about those days, they couldn't imagine how beautiful they would be!

They fantasized that they were deeply grateful to Fang Lin for doing all this. With their emotions running high, if Fang Lin said he wanted to rebel, many people would probably follow him.

——Of course, this was just a momentary impulse, but it is conceivable that if Fang Lin could really do it and tie the lives and honor of these people to himself, if he wanted to take these people out to sea in the future, it would only take a word.

"it is good!"

"Master Fang is mighty!"

"Master Qingtian!"

……

The cheers from the audience broke through the sky.

Fang Lin looked at the happy faces of the workers in his own factory. He felt happy but also a little sad.

He knew that he was not as good as these people imagined, nor was he a saint. All that he did was mostly just for himself.

"I will gradually implement these benefits, and these people will become more and more closely tied to me, becoming my base and part of my back-up plan... However, this is not a bad thing for them."

"I came to this world, bringing bigger and bigger changes, and will also change the fate of more and more people." Fang Lin thought of this, and inexplicably felt a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

……

Below, Tian Wu was also one of the people cheering, and his voice was almost hoarse from shouting.

Tian Wu was a flood victim who came to the city during last year's flood disaster. He and his aunt Ren Sun were from the same place, Dashe Village in Guyang County.

Tian Wu was the fifth child in the family. Coincidentally, when the family was divided, he got exactly five acres of land. However, only one acre was superior water-rich fertile land, one acre was medium-quality thin-ridged land, and three acres were inferior waterless high fields.

——The value of top, middle and bottom grade fields varies greatly. Top grade fields with good water resources and fertilizer can be used to grow rice, and have the best harvests. Middle grade fields with thin ridges have much less yields, and bottom grade fields without water can only grow some vegetables, sweet potatoes and other grains.

When Tian Wu's eldest son was born, the family still had four mu of land. He wanted to name his eldest son Tian Si, but was persuaded by someone who said that if the family still had four mu of land when the second son was born, it would be the same to name him Tian Si. Besides, if you were named Tian Wu and your son was named Tian Si, people would laugh at you if you told others about it.

However, that person's worries were unnecessary. When the second son was born, the family only had three acres of land.

——Tian Wu didn't know why his family's land was becoming smaller and smaller. He was obviously not the lazy man in the village. He worked hard from beginning to end every year without any laziness, just like the old ox of Muramasa's family. But his family's land was becoming smaller and smaller and eventually passed into the hands of others.

Last year, the family had only one acre of land left, an acre of excellent water-rich fertile land that they were reluctant to sell. Only three of the six children in the family survived, but because there were too many people and too little land, it seemed that they could not support the remaining three.

It happened that there was a flood, and when he arrived at the provincial capital, Tian Wu thought that he would starve to death if he went back, so he might as well try his luck in the provincial capital. He sold the one acre of land left in the village and went to work in Fang Lin's No. 1 Good Weaving Workshop.

Tian Wu is very satisfied with his job in the weaving workshop. Not only can he feed his children, but he can also save a little money after spending on his own food and clothing. This was something he could never have imagined in the village before.

At this time, Fang Lin finished his lecture, and Tian Wu and a worker named Zhang discussed going to work.

"Our factory will have dormitories in the future, which will make it more convenient to live in. If we can buy it and transfer our household registration here, we will become city dwellers."

"Yes, I had a big fat boy last year. I plan to save up some money and send him to a certain class in the future. When he graduates, he can become a small manager... There is hope for the future!"

"I have three children at home. Not only the girl, but also the two boys have to be sent in... By the way, I was an outstanding worker last year. I heard from Mr. Fang that I can get priority in housing allocation and get some money off!"

When Tian Wu said this, not only the worker named Zhang, but everyone around him looked at him with envy.

Today, perhaps because of the gratitude of the other party, or perhaps because they were encouraged by the benefits linked to outstanding workers, the workers were all motivated and working extra hard.

The same goes for Tian Wu. He doesn't want to fall behind others and wants to get the title of outstanding employee again this year. Not to mention that the benefits of factory dormitories and skill training classes are all related to it, the bonuses and lucky draws for outstanding employees are very attractive!

During the Chinese New Year last year, he was an outstanding worker and was awarded half a month's salary. He also participated in three lotteries and won a piece of bacon, a wooden basin, and a candle - the bacon was delicious, the wooden basin was sturdy and durable, and the candle was also a good thing.

There are rewards and punishments. Fang Lin also asked the party leader to set the minimum quota and defective rate. As long as you work hard, you can basically complete it. If you can't, it means you are lax. If you fail to complete it three times, you will be dismissed.

Nowadays, there are some people who have been dismissed from the factory. They regret it after leaving, but they cannot come back when they want to.

……

Putting energy into the work, time flies by quickly. When the urgent whistle blows, the workers know it is time to eat, and they run fast when they hear the whistle. Tian Wu also ran over. It doesn't matter if he runs slower on other days, the portions of food are about the same, but today is different. Fang Lin came to inspect, but there is a "welfare meal".

——The so-called 'welfare meals' meant that every time Fang Lin came to inspect, he would pay out of his own pocket to subsidize the meat and vegetables for the canteen. The subsidy was only half of the normal price, which was considered an excellent welfare. Therefore, the factory workers all liked Fang Lin's visits to inspect.

Factory workers privately called this "welfare meal" "Mr. Fang's meal."

Each person is limited to one benefit, but even so, if you run too slowly or go too late, it will be gone. Don't you have to run faster?
Tian Wu's Dashe Village is far from the county town, so they used to hurry to the market to avoid being late. So they trained themselves to run. When the whistle sounded, they ran very fast and disappeared in a flash.

When he arrived at the cafeteria, there were only three or five people in front of the "welfare meal" window. He hurried over to line up, and when he smelled the rich aroma of meat, he couldn't help swallowing.

Before I could even ask, the person in front of me had already announced the name of today's 'welfare meal': pork stewed with radish!

Soon, a long line of people formed behind Tian Wu. He looked behind him, feeling a little proud. Soon it was his turn, so he stepped forward and said, "Madam Ren, I want a serving of pork stewed with radish."

The 'Madam Ren' he mentioned was Fang Lin's aunt, Ren Sun - Sun Hongye.

"Is it Tian Laowu? Okay!" Sun Hongye took eight copper coins and gave Tian Wu more out of friendship, which was 10% or 20% more than the normal amount and had a little more meat.

"Mrs. Ren, thank you so much." Tian Wu said gratefully, turned around to look at Sun Hongye, and walked away.

——Whenever his wife talked about Sun Hongye cooking in the factory, she was extremely envious. But she heard that the Ren family was a relative of Lord Fang’s family, and his family did not have that luck!

Isn't that fate? In the past, the Ren family lived in the village, but they lived a miserable life, even worse than his family. But after coming to the city and recognizing the relatives of Lord Fang, not only did Sun Hongye cook in the canteen, but even her children came to the factory and had jobs. Just looking at their complexions, you can tell that their faces are rosier than those of the former wife Ren!
Tian Wu ordered a welfare dish but did not eat it, planning to take it home in the evening to eat with his family. He then ordered another portion of cabbage and brown rice, mixed the two together, and started eating it in big mouthfuls.

Brown rice is cheaper than refined rice, but it tastes relatively rough. However, for him who had hardly ever eaten enough before, it is already a delicacy, and this can only make him about 60% full.

——It’s not that he is so generous to himself, but if he eats less, he will be hungry in the afternoon, which will affect his work.

During the meal, the storyteller invited by the factory would tell stories, basically all of which were Fang Lin's books "Journey to the West" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Today he was telling the first part of "Journey to the West", and it was the third time he had told it, but the workers still listened with great interest.

Tian Wu did the same, listening and taking notes, preparing to tell them at dinner time in the evening, earning the admiring looks of his children.

Wait for the storyteller to finish a chapter and then stop to rest.

When Tian Wu saw someone coming, he suddenly became uneasy. It was Fang Lin.

"Don't be nervous." Fang Lin sat down opposite him, smiled gently, and started talking about family matters. He then asked some questions, such as whether the factory money was paid on time, whether the food in the cafeteria was usually sufficient, whether he had any opinions about the factory, etc.

Tian Wu was so nervous that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet, and just kept saying "OK" and "All is good".

When Fang Lin learned that this person was an excellent employee, he patted him on the shoulder and paid for a dish for him out of his own pocket - the most expensive braised pork in the cafeteria, which was more expensive than pork stewed with radish. It looked greasy, moist, and exuded a fragrant aroma!

Tian Wu was so grateful that he could hardly speak. Who was Lord Fang? It was said that he was a fourth-rank official, much higher than the county magistrate whom he had met from afar. Yet he sat opposite him and did not look down on him at all. He spoke to him so kindly and even served him food.

At this moment, he wished he could kowtow to Fang Lin. He really felt like "a gentleman will die for his friend". If someone really wanted to chop Fang Lin at this moment, he would be willing to block the knife for Fang Lin without any hesitation.

When Fang was about to leave, the familiar workers who were sitting nearby came over and said that he was very lucky. They asked why Lord Fang chose him today.

After hearing this, Tian Wu also became proud. This was enough for him to brag about for a month!
……

In the evening, Tian Wu finished work and went home.

His family rented a house in a remote place in the west of the city. When he was almost home, he met a man on the road. As soon as he saw him, he smiled and asked, "Tian Laowu, the factories in the city have been reducing wages recently. I heard that your factory's wages will also be reduced. How is it, have they been reduced? Are the benefits also cancelled?"

This man's name was Ma Wang. He used to work at Fang Lin's 'First Quality Weaving Workshop'. Later, he was fired because he was lazy and failed to reach the set benchmark three times.

However, he resigned quite early. At that time, the factories in the city were still in need of people. Later, he went to other factories in the city. When he arrived there, he found that the treatment was far worse than that in Fang Lin's place. He regretted it, but it was too late to go back.

Recently, the factory where Ma Wang works has even reduced his wages. Now he is asking Tian Wu about this, and it is obvious that he is gloating over other people's misfortune and cannot bear to see others doing well.

Tian Wu now admired Fang Lin very much and had deep feelings for the "First Quality Weaving Workshop". He would not tolerate Ma Wang's slander and immediately said, "Our factory has not reduced wages, nor has it cancelled benefits. We have even provided new benefits..."

He talked about the workers' dormitories and skills training classes, but because he was a bit slow, he couldn't speak clearly, so Ma Wang had to listen and ask questions at the same time, and he was almost getting anxious.

When Ma Wang understood everything clearly, his eyes turned red with jealousy, and he murmured, "No, I have to go back. I have to find a way to go back. I will go to give gifts to Mrs. Ren tomorrow. It will definitely work."

Tian Wu sneered after hearing this. Why would Mrs. Ren waste her favor for a rotten person like you? You are dreaming!
Next to him, another person came over and listened with envy.

The man's name was Ye Ping. He arrived too late and Fang Lin's "First Quality Weaving Workshop" was already full, so he had to go to another workshop. At this time, he was holding a few sweet potatoes, which were obviously dinner for home.

Tian Wu was still willing to talk a little more about Ye Ping, saying that he was "received" by Fang Lin today and was given braised pork, which earned him another wave of envy.

"It would be better if you came to our workshop earlier."

"Yes, but your factory is full now and we can't get in. I'm working here and I don't dare to leave. There are still many people in the city who want to get into the factory but can't!" Ye Ping sighed.

Tian Wu chatted with the other party for a while, then took his pork stewed with radish and braised pork, humming a tune and went home happily.

……

(End of this chapter)