Scholars in the courtyard

"Okay, now that it's decided, let's divide the work."

Liu Huaimin set the tone.

Yang Youning and Wang Guodong discussed briefly and then spoke.

He glanced at the people below, all of them straightened their bodies, wanting to take over the task.

"Old Sun."

The first one was to name Sun Guo. After all, Workshop 1 still had some strength.

"Leave the pot lid to your workshop. I remember that Lao Guo came with an iron plate relief and asked him to do it."

Sun Guo nodded, but then shook his head, "Director, the iron plate relief is related to the thickness of the steel. Besides, Lao Guo has been doing forging with hammers in recent years. I am afraid that this skill has fallen behind."

Yang Xiaotao frowned slightly when he heard this. This is a traditional craft.

But there's nothing you can do about it, that's not what you're testing in the grade exam, you still have to swing the sledgehammer!

"Let him try it first."

"good!"

"The words on the pot, Lao Zhan. You are responsible."

Zhan Lei, director of the second workshop, patted his chest and assured, "This is simple!"

"Everyone else is ready. If you need anything, you must cooperate."

"Especially the Propaganda Section. The superiors have paid close attention to this matter. Once it is determined, the Propaganda Section must play its role to let the revolutionary compatriots understand our pressure cookers and steel rolling mills."

Yang Youning focused on the Propaganda Department. At this time, he was very dissatisfied with the work of the Propaganda Department, which did not achieve the effect of boosting publicity at all.

"clear."

Director Li nodded and looked at the people behind him. They were all holding notebooks and taking notes, but they just didn't know if they could write good sentences.

"Everyone else, too. Get ready. Meet the mission."

"yes!"

At that moment, the meeting ended and everyone dispersed.

When Yang Xiaotao returned to the office, he found the letter paper and began to practice calligraphy. He wrote twice according to the existing instructions. When he felt that he had found the feeling, he began to write seriously.

Lou Xiao'e kept quiet throughout the whole process. It wasn't until Yang Xiaotao finished writing the last word that he moved his arms and handed the two pieces of letter paper to Lou Xiao'e.

"Send it to Secretary Liu."

Lou Xiao'e looked at the pen calligraphy that looked like iron scratches and silver hooks, and couldn't help but praise, "Director, how did you practice this calligraphy?"

"Normally it doesn't look that good, but when you take it seriously, it looks quite comfortable."

Yang Xiaotao was drinking water from a kettle and flexing his fingers when he heard Lou Xiao'e's words and almost burst out, "What's not good? I don't know anything."

"Send it over quickly."

Lou Xiao'e glanced at Yang Xiaotao, didn't understand how Yang Xiaotao practiced the word, turned around and left the office.

Yang Xiaotao was worried about the engraving of the pot lid, so he got up and walked to a workshop.

When I came to the first workshop, I saw a group of people surrounding me. Liu Daming was holding a small hammer in his hand and kept looking at it. From time to time, there was the sound of banging inside.

"Liu Yizu, what is a fitter doing with our hammer?"

Before he passed, he heard someone yelling at Liu Daming. Yang Xiaotao looked at him and saw that he was a skinny old man, about the same age as Liu Daming. But if he looked carefully, he could see that the muscles on his arms were sharp and angular, and he could tell that he was quite powerful.

"Hey, old Ma Gan, it's often hard to hold it. You're not the only ones playing with hammers."

"Humph, you dare to play? You're not afraid of smashing your own feet."

"You can't even hit the legs of those who don't have a good eye."

"Shut up, don't talk."

The two of them were still fighting, and suddenly a powerful roar came from inside. Although they were not angry, neither of them dared to speak.

When Yang Xiaotao saw Liu Daming like this, Liu Yizuo, who was usually tough with everyone, was actually shouted down, and he immediately became interested.

When they came to the front, Liu Daming and the old man nodded and said hello. Yang Xiaotao smiled and walked into the crowd.

In the middle, an old man was hammering away with a small hammer. Yang Xiaotao saw that the man was a little taller and more muscular than the old man. The difference was that his hair was almost gray.

Sun Guozheng on the side was holding a flashlight and shining it on the lid of a pressure cooker.

Yang Xiaotao didn't speak, just watched carefully from the side.

This person should be 'Lao Guo'. I heard that this craft was passed down from ancestors. After liberation, he entered the steel rolling mill and became a blacksmith with his blacksmithing skills. Now it seems that this ancestral craft has not been lost.

Everyone held their breath and watched carefully.

Half an hour later, a woman's head appeared vaguely, and the concave and convex three-dimensional effect made people feel as if they were floating.

The appearance looked similar to the woman on the one-yuan bill, and her hair was styled with layers. Yang Xiaotao was shocked when he looked at it from the side.

Lao Guo moved his wrist and sat aside to rest.

This half hour spent a lot of energy.

Yang Xiaotao turned around and summoned someone casually, "Ask Master Zhang from the second cafeteria to make a plate of braised pork, more braised pork, and prepare some steamed buns, we'll eat them later."

The man swallowed his saliva and ran away immediately after understanding what was going on.

"Go find Lou Xiao'e and ask her to bring you some sugar."

I clicked on another person, and that person ran away quickly.

Everyone around listened to Yang Xiaotao's arrangement, and Sun Guo helped Lao Guo up.

"Master Guo, your craftsmanship is amazing."

Yang Xiaotao gestured with his thumb. Lao Guo had a long face with slender eyes and two tufts of gray mustache on his lips. When Yang Xiaotao praised him, he smiled sheepishly, but he didn't have the aura to stop Liu Daming just now.

"Director Xiao Yang, don't, don't say that."

"Compared with your craftsmanship, it's still far behind."

Yang Xiaotao shook his head, "There are specialties in the art industry. You can't find anyone with this skill, let alone me, even in this steel rolling mill."

"I really admire you."

"Oh, I'm getting old. If I could knock it out in one breath when I was young, now I'm unfamiliar with it."

"It's okay, as long as it can be done."

As Yang Xiaotao said, Lou Xiao'e hurried over from outside, holding a kettle and a white paper bag in her left hand, and an enamel jar in her right hand.

"Director, this is the sugar you want."

Yang Xiaotao took it and then put a handful of sugar into the jar. Lou Xiao'e poured water into it, "Master, you need to work harder for this job."

Mr. Guo took a big sip from the enamel jar, then smacked his lips, shook his head and exclaimed, "It's so sweet!"

After saying that, he drank a lot of water and said, "Don't worry, this matter will be taken care of for you today."

After speaking, Mr. Guo picked up the hammer again and knocked little by little.

Yang Xiaotao got up and went to the second workshop. Here, the same group of people gathered together. The three people in the middle each guarded a pressure cooker and were carving attentively with a carving knife.

Yang Xiaotao looked at it for a while. The carving technique was obviously less demanding than the relief carving, but the others were still nervous about carving.

Finally arriving at the tenth workshop, Huang Degong was checking the production status.

Yang Xiaotao watched for a while. The workshop was now divided into three groups of people, and the production of heating furnaces and well drilling machines continued.

However, the trends between the two were different after the Chinese New Year. Orders for heating furnaces began to decrease, while orders for well-drilling machines increased.

Of course, the orders for well drilling rigs are much smaller than the other two. If it hadn't been for the steam power involved and the difficulty of production, Yang Xiaotao would have really wanted to send it to the branch factory.

"Lao Huang, in the past few days, we have asked the workers to make more pressure cookers. The other two projects will be put into use first if they can."

Huang Degong immediately understood after hearing this, "You mean, this pressure cooker is going to go up?"

"Think about it, if it happens this time and it gets publicity in the country, do you think it will still be like this?"

Yang Xiaotao smiled and then looked at the production line, "Let's not talk about the distance. Do you think the population's consumption capacity in just a few of our domestic big cities will be less?"

"Besides, we are going abroad this time, so there is no doubt that overseas orders will come."

"The current production will not be able to keep up even if it is doubled by then."

Huang Degong opened his mouth wide. He had never thought about this. In his mind, it would be good to be able to support construction at home, but abroad? Isn't it just a gift? Is it possible that it can still be sold?

He really didn't think that much.

"Okay, okay, I'll go adjust it now and start working tomorrow."

At this moment, Huang Degong felt a surge of motivation in his mind when he thought of this pressure cooker going abroad.

When it was time to get off work, Yang Xiaotao left a few people to look after him, and at the same time arranged for people from the security department to guard carefully, and then let others get off work.

Say hello to Liu Yulan. I will probably go back very late tonight, or even tomorrow.

Liu Yulan also heard that the matter was urgent and said that she would make it clear to Ran Qiuye.

When the workers left the steel rolling mill one after another, Yang Xiaotao asked Mr. Guo and several overtime workers to come to the second canteen.

When several people saw the prepared meals, their eyes shone.

Yang Youning and Wang Guodong also came, followed by Sun Guozhanlei. Accompanied by a group of steel rolling mill leaders, several old masters had a meaningful meal in their lives.

After finishing the meal, Yang Youning and the others left, leaving Yang Xiaotao to stay in the factory and return to the workshop with a few old masters.

Yang Xiaotao and Sun Guo came to the first workshop to help, and this pot must be finished tonight.

While Mr. Guo was burning with his musket, Yang Xiaotao pulled Sun Guo aside.

"Uncle Sun, do you smoke?"

Yang Xiaotao took a lighter and started to make a flame, then approached Sun Guo.

Sun Guo held the cigarette and lit it close.

"You kid."

Hearing Yang Xiaotao's name, Sun Guo understood what was going on.

"Is it because of Lao Guo's idea?"

Yang Xiaotao laughed and put the cigarette and lighter he had just opened on the machine aside, "I can't hide anything from your piercing eyes, uncle."

"Don't come here, you're going to bury me, right?"

"No, no, no, no."

Sun Guo took two deep breaths and said, "Actually, if you don't tell me, I will bring it up."

Yang Xiaotao was stunned, and his face became even more happy.

Seeing him like this, Sun Guo smiled and said, "Old Guo, you still have to wield a sledgehammer at your old age, ugh."

"He has reached the top of his life by reaching the fifth level blacksmith. So..."

Yang Xiaotao nodded quickly, "Don't worry, if Mr. Guo's skills go to the R\u0026D Department, I will give him the same treatment as Liu Yitu."

"If he can bring out an apprentice, if he brings one, I will give him a personal subsidy of ten yuan a month."

"What I said definitely counts."

Yang Xiaotao was eager, as this craftsmanship was not inferior even to the machine stamping machines of later generations.

More importantly, such craftsmen are more valuable than machines in some fields.

"I know that you kid is capable of pulling in all kinds of things, but this time you found a treasure."

Sun Guo felt relieved when he heard what Yang Xiaotao said, and put the cigarettes and lighter on the machine in his pocket. It would be a good idea to hold these things.

Yang Xiaotao was thinking in his mind. If it hadn't been for the pressure cooker as a gift this time, he would have never known that there was such a capable person in the steel rolling mill.

"Uncle Sun, if you have any other capable people, please introduce them to me."

Ahem

Sun Guo choked on the smoke and quickened his pace, "No more, no more."

"Really? I don't believe it."

"It's really gone."

"Okay, I'll ask Lao Yang."

Ahem

"You don't want to be greedy. Oh, let me tell you, there is a little man in the fourth workshop. Don't say anything about this, otherwise Dong Da will definitely come to me."

"Uh-huh"

"That guy's craftsmanship of hollowing out and gilding is also a family tradition."

"anything else?"

"There are also seven workshops."

"Hmm, hey hey"

In the empty workshop, Yang Xiaotao approached Sun Guo and laughed from time to time, making Mr. Guo who was preparing to use his hands shiver with a cold body.

Three o'clock in the morning, a workshop.

Sun Guo was already asleep, and Mr. Guo was rubbing his forehead and moving his waist.

Yang Xiaotao held the newly made pressure cooker lid and looked at it carefully under the lamp.