Chapter 39: Change Is Inevitable

Qin Jun watched the crowd at work. They were methodical, with some clearing the kiln, others inspecting, and some handling the transport. Though there was no one in charge, they had a clear division of labor, and their work was efficient.

He turned his gaze to the burned lime. Since the top layer was properly fired, the rest underneath should be fine as well. Following the method he had devised for layering the limestone and coal, he no longer had to worry about poor results.

"Split into four teams. Take your time, there is no need to rush."

As the kiln opening was completely cleared, the ten men divided into four teams and began to unload the kiln rapidly. The lime was mixed with spent coal slag, so it could not be shoveled out directly with tools. Fortunately, there were many hands, and the quicklime chunks were large enough to be sorted out quickly by hand. There was no way around it; that was the downside of an earthen kiln—it could not accommodate machinery. Of course, they had no machinery to begin with.

With so many people, a cart was filled in no time. Each cart held two "fenglous"—large, rectangular baskets woven from wicker. These were tools adapted for the carts; since they were most frequently used to transport fertilizer, the villagers simply called them "manure baskets." These two baskets strapped to a cart could carry three to four hundred pounds, and with a bit of effort, they could hold five hundred! It was said that some strong individuals could haul over a thousand pounds if they were moving stones.

"Five hundred pounds exactly, gross weight!"

As soon as a cart was filled, it was pushed onto a wooden plank, right over a scale. Five hundred pounds; minus the weight of the cart, it was about four hundred and fifty pounds of lime. At this rate, one kiln could yield twenty cartloads. Fortunately, the Eleventh Team was nearby; otherwise, with so few people, twenty cartloads would have taken all day to transport. Even so, no one considered hiring a tractor. A tractor could haul two and a half tons at once, meaning two trips would bring five tons home. However, for such a short distance, two trips would cost at least six yuan in fuel. Six yuan could buy half a ton of lime, so who would be willing to waste money on a tractor? Besides, manual labor was free.

It took over a dozen people half a day just to process ten tons of lime. This was the current level of productivity. Qin Jun couldn't help but shake his head, yet the others were quite satisfied. People nowadays loved the sight of a bustling crowd working together. They worked with a feverish intensity, full of enthusiasm.

"Don't take off your masks! If you're hot, swap with someone else!"

"You might feel comfortable now, but you'll end up with lung disease later!"

Whenever the work dragged on, someone would inevitably start acting up. Qin Jun saw it and had to step in. They might ignore other warnings, but mention lung disease, and most villagers would be terrified. In the eyes of the villagers, lung disease meant a chronic cough. Those who coughed constantly were called "consumptive ghosts," and those who suffered from this affliction lived miserable lives. Thinking of the image of a "consumptive ghost," the man who had just removed his mask shivered and quickly put it back on.

"Swap out, swap out! I've been down there for an hour already."

"Follow the rules for rotating shifts. Anyone caught slacking off on purpose will have their pay docked," Qin Zheng said sternly.

Nearby, Qin Shi laughed and remarked, "Fining them is too harsh. Even state-run factories don't often dock a worker's pay—after all, the workers are the masters of the country. Why don't we follow the Qin family's rules?"

"Qin Shi, you troublemaker! We have to follow factory rules; this kiln isn't just for the Qin family."

"Exactly! Would people from other families in the village agree to that?"

"Isn't my Chu family part of the Tenth Team?"

"That’s just your luck; you don't have to follow the Qin family's rules."

Qin Shi's remark made the scene lively, but visibly, everyone quieted down and began to follow the rules. If you didn't follow the rules, you would be punished accordingly. Earning money was not easy these days. If they were fined, it wasn't just about the heartache of losing money—they might even get a beating when they got home. These first-generation workers were not young anymore, and it would be too embarrassing to get beaten at home! However, compared to the Qin family's practice of locking people in a "dark room," a factory fine was preferable. Nobody wanted to be penalized, so they obediently followed the rules.

Yu Aiguo, who was watching from the sidelines without a word, smiled with satisfaction. He liked the Tenth Team because they truly understood the rules. He looked at the limestone piled up at the kiln; there were over a hundred tons of it. It had cost over three hundred yuan to stock up on that much raw material. He then looked at the coal stacked nearby, all transported by individuals to burn that pile of limestone. In other words, regardless of how much limestone there was, it was all accounted for and already sold. There was no shortage of demand for lime; even when people had to provide their own coal, there were still enough people willing to endure the hardship of transporting it to burn the lime.

These raw materials were enough to fire over twenty kilns. If they burned two kilns a day, that was only ten days' worth of work. If they did four kilns a day, it was only five days' worth. If they really opened things up and had enough coal, could they expand even further?

"One step at a time," Yu Aiguo thought. Although he was a bit impatient, he knew one couldn't become a fat man in one bite.

With many hands, the kiln was cleared quickly. Once all the lime was out, Qin Han immediately jumped into the kiln to direct the sorting of the burned ore. This was what Qin Jun wanted, and Qin Han executed it thoroughly. Even if Qin Jun hadn't been there, he would have meticulously picked them all out. He then began replacing some of the ore in the kiln, allowing the next firing to produce the iron oxide they needed.

"Who is that young man?" Yu Aiguo asked curiously. He had noticed Qin Han early on, knowing he wasn't a regular kiln employee. Yet, here he was, directing others, and doing it quite smoothly.

Qin Jun smiled and said, "He's learning the trade from me—a trainee technician, or an apprentice. I'm just not sure if the factory can offer him an apprentice's wage?"

Yu Aiguo was startled for a moment, then smiled. "It's necessary to cultivate some technicians. Otherwise, when the kiln expands, we won't be able to keep up!"

Qin Jun nodded. "If a technician isn't idle, they can load two kilns in the morning and two in the afternoon."

"That would keep them busy—not the technician, but the laborers responsible for loading and unloading. Look, they unload in the morning and then load, but they have to prepare in the afternoon. Those rocks need to be broken down, and the coal dust needs to be made into coal cakes."

"If we fire four kilns a day, one technician can manage, but we would definitely need more laborers!"

Yu Aiguo paused for a moment and said, "Work must be planned; we cannot be aimless."

"You're a good kid. Work is never-ending, and this is already quite good!"

Qin Zheng wasn't foolish either, and he immediately smiled. "Of course it's good; all our lime production depends on him!"

Qin Jun was satisfied with this attitude, though there were still aspects that left something to be desired.

"See that? The speed has slowed down," Qin Jun sighed. Nobody was made of iron. After working for two hours straight, anyone would be tired. The main issue was that people nowadays didn't pay much attention to breakfast, eating mostly watery porridge, which couldn't sustain them through heavy labor.

Although each kiln only produced five tons of lime—ten tons for two kilns—ten people moving that much meant each person had to carry at least a ton. Two thousand pounds wasn't much for a man used to hard labor, but this work was tedious and couldn't be finished in a few quick movements. The longer it went on, the more exhausting it became. Most importantly, the unloading process couldn't stop; it had to be finished quickly so that loading could begin again.

In one morning, unloading, loading, two tons of work per person, plus the hassle of dealing with coal slag and coal cakes—it was a lot of work. These trivial tasks required over four hours of non-stop labor. In the afternoon, they would have to start preparing the limestone for the next day. The large chunks of limestone had to be broken by hand, which was also heavy physical labor. Breaking rocks was a skilled trade, belonging to the stonemasons. While not delicate, it was heavy, dirty, and exhausting.

Yu Aiguo wasn't oblivious to the hardships of life; he understood the situation in the countryside very well. The rural areas were at a point where change was inevitable. Otherwise, why would he have so easily supported Qin Zheng and Qin Jun in starting this lime kiln? Wasn't it because everyone, from top to bottom, had realized that change was necessary?

Just like now, these young, strong men—if their family circumstances weren't so dire, would they feel so exhausted after doing so little work? Especially with everyone drenched in sweat; it wasn't just the heat—it was a sign of physical weakness, a cold sweat from exhaustion.