"Rustle rustle, crackle crackle"

  At 7 o'clock in the evening, the night had already deepened, and at this time, a crisp firecracker sound came from outside the canteen of the factory area. In order to celebrate the successful trial production of the spinning machine, someone specially took the train to Zhangjiakou to buy two strings of 100,000 firecrackers that morning after coming out of the workshop.

  At that time, the revolutionary party in Zhangjiakou celebrated the abdication of the Qing emperor and the success of the revolution with just these 100,000 firecrackers. If they could buy more firecrackers, Sima wouldn't mind spending more money to celebrate the trial production of the first truly mechanized loom in his factory.

  The canteen of the factory was converted from a smaller prefabricated house, and there were dozens of such prefabricated houses with stone walls, stone pillars and asbestos tiles as main walls in the entire factory area.

  Because there is no need to use so many factories now, except for a few factories that have been put into use, most of the others are dormitories for workers. This smaller factory has temporarily become a canteen where workers eat.

  The entire restaurant was pitch black today, fortunately, Sima had installed two 2000-watt diesel generators when he first built the factory.

  These two generating units have long been moved from the semi-open position to a specially built power house, and the diesel fuel used for power generation is American imported diesel fuel transported by the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway.

  These two diesel generator sets normally provide the required electricity for production during the day, but due to the current factory orders and insufficient technical personnel, except for a few trial groups composed of masters who will work overtime at night, most people will be off duty at 6 pm.

  At night, the generator mainly provides lighting power for the entire factory. Like now, if there is no electricity, I'm afraid that only oil lamps can be lit in the canteen, and everyone celebrates the trial production of the first spinning machine under the dim light.

  Master Hu, Master Zhang and about a dozen other masters sat at the main table on the rostrum, wearing red flowers and looking somewhat tense. They gazed down at the dozens of tables below, each over 10 meters long, where more than a thousand people were packed in tightly. Although these masters had mostly come from big cities like Tianjin, Shanghai and Qingdao, they had never seen anything like this before.

  What's more, Master Hu and Master Zhang were still sitting at the main table, just like Old Man Gao, the big boss of the factory, who was only sitting at the accompanying table. They had never enjoyed such treatment before, and these respected masters, although nervous, could be seen from their excited and flushed faces how happy they were in their hearts.

  Master Hu felt his heart beating faster and faster, with sweat accumulating in his palms. He occasionally wiped the sweat off his hands with his clothes, looking at his companions sitting beside him, who were all wearing red flowers and smiling, everyone just sat there stupidly smiling.

  "How great it would be if our family could see this scene!"

  Master Hu looked up at the red banner hanging in the dining hall, although he couldn't read characters himself, but still knew from Master Zhang who could read that it was to celebrate the manufacture of this spinning machine.

  Looking at such a grand scene, Master Hu suddenly thought of his family in Tianjin. If they could see him now, how glorious it would be.

  Although in Tianjin, the factory owner can still speak to a master like myself, but the respect that can be enjoyed here is not something that can be enjoyed in Tianjin.

  "This is the respect that can be enjoyed by soldiers after winning a battle."

  Sitting at the head table, Strom Thurmond finally understood why his father often reminisced about the glory of returning home as a soldier decades ago.

  This feeling of being the center of attention is great. If it were yesterday, Stroud-Gwinnel wouldn't have believed that he would be as excited as he was now, just feeling his throat dry, palms hot, and an inexplicable excitement in his heart, like the kind of feeling he had when he was with his first love in a hotel room on white sheets.

  "Fellow workers: More than four months ago, this place was nothing but a desolate and barren land. I believe everyone remembers what it looked like when we first arrived. At that time, no one would have believed that in just over four months, on this rocky land where nothing could grow, you all used your own hands to build such a large factory. When we were building the factory, no one would have believed that this place, which only produced leather and wool, could also produce machines. But now! We've made it happen! We've created the first spinning machine in all of China! ...We want to turn this rocky land into the largest machinery factory in all of China, so that every factory in China will know about our Northwestern Machinery Company. Whenever someone mentions Northwestern, they'll think of us - the Northwestern General Machinery Company. For now, let's just say congratulations to Mr. Stuart-Gwilt and the thirteen masters, including Master Hu and Master Zhang. The company has decided to reward Mr. Stuart-Gwilt with 1,000 yuan in cash. And for Master Hu, Master Zhang... each of the thirteen masters will receive 800 yuan in cash!"

  Through the four loudspeakers in the dining hall, Sima's words could be heard clearly in every corner of the dining hall. When he mentioned that the Shidao-Mu Guwei award was one thousand yuan in cash, it didn't cause much excitement.

  Giving these foreign technicians a reward of over a thousand or several hundred yuan is quite common, whether in Tianjin, Shanghai or Qingdao. However, when it comes to giving Master Hu and Master Zhang, the big masters of the factory, a reward of 800 yuan each, the whole restaurant suddenly becomes like a beehive.

  800 yuan is a huge sum of money! Even in big cities like Tianjin and Shanghai, it's a substantial amount. It's almost equivalent to two years' salary for a skilled worker! In Shanghai, this amount can support a family of five for four years without worrying about food, clothing, or other necessities.

  "Everyone, quiet down. I've said it before, as long as everyone works hard, our company will absolutely not treat anyone unfairly. Today, we're going to establish a new rule: starting from this spinning machine, every time one is sold, each master craftsman who participated in the trial production will receive 10 yuan as their share, and the factory workers will also receive 10 yuan as their share. In the future, if new machines are produced in the watch factory or flour factory and they're sold, everyone will also receive a share. Although this place may not be as bustling as Tianjin or Shanghai, I guarantee that the wages we pay will absolutely not be lower than those in Tianjin or Shanghai. And it will only get higher! Everyone's life here will only get better and better."

  Looking at the people in the entire restaurant being stunned by their own generous silver bullet benefits, Sima was very satisfied with this effect. In Sima's own view, all the grand principles were empty words, and only improving the welfare and wages of these workers was real. Only in this way could they work for themselves with a clear conscience.

  In the past, due to being in a small city in the central region, salaries were significantly lower than those of people with the same work experience and position in other cities, with differences of up to several thousand yuan. Everyone eats rice and noodles at the same price, and there is no significant regional difference in prices, but salaries differ by thousands of yuan due to differences in counties and cities. Who can work with peace of mind under such unfair treatment? Under those prices, a monthly salary of over 1,000 yuan is barely enough to make ends meet.

  How can one be at ease working for a meager salary? In the end, who with some skills would still be willing to stay in a small town? They all flew away to other places, same reason for moving here too.

  "Everyone, be quiet. I believe you all know about the several Western-style buildings in the green forest near the factory. You know that Liu Gong, Shi Daomu and I are living there. The area around those small Western-style buildings is really beautiful. In the future, I plan to build hundreds of two-story small Western-style buildings nearby, specifically for masters like Hu Shifu and Zhang Shifu to live in. Why? Because they deserve it, considering the work they have in hand. Later on, if they want to, they can bring their wives and children over too. Now, I'm making a promise to Hu Shifu and Zhang Shifu: before the Western New Year, I guarantee that all thirteen of you masters will be able to move into those small Western-style buildings. You'll get to live there solely based on your own work and what you've earned for yourselves. At that time, don't say that I'm being biased! Whoever has work in hand can move into the Western-style building."

  Just as everyone was still reeling from the previous shock, Sima threw out an even bigger surprise. Before that, Sima had not revealed this meaning to anyone else.

  Simma knew that if his words today were to spread, everyone would probably think he was crazy. But Simma felt that if he wanted to keep those people, this method was the best.

  Fame, wealth, and a house. Suddenly, Sima felt like he was repeating some methods from decades ago: holding celebratory parties for model workers, giving them raises, and providing them with good housing; it seemed that what he was doing today wasn't much different.

  However, there are some differences. A master craftsman like him earns dozens of yuan a month, while those small workers earn less than ten yuan a month, averaging only a few cents a day.

  But looking at the enthusiasm of these young workers and apprentices, I think what they are crazy about is their own future. They have seen hope for their own future. Sometimes, it's enough to just let people see the hope for the future. The most frightening thing is that people can't see any hope or future.

  While the whole restaurant was immersed in reveries of thousands of miles away, the dishes that had already been prepared by the chef were carried out by the waiters, and bowls of chicken, duck, fish meat and large pieces of pork were placed on the table.

  The workers looked at these sumptuous dishes and immediately started salivating, although they could eat a few pieces of fatty meat every day, but such large braised chicken and duck meat, large braised fish, and that piece of large braised meat in soy sauce was almost as big as a child's fist, how can it not make people drool?

  "Master Hu, Master Zhang, I'd like to offer you all a toast with this wine. You've worked hard this month."

  Simen held a full cup of wine and walked to the main table, saluting the thirteen master craftsmen who were testing the new silk machine. As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his head and downed the full cup of Laofeng wine in one gulp.

  These masters were so excited that they couldn't say anything, and with trembling hands, each of them picked up their wine cups and drank them down in one gulp, not caring about the amount of wine.

  "Boom!"

  The white light from the flashbulbs illuminated the entire dining hall, where a photographer specially invited by Sima from Zhangjiakou was taking pictures, all in preparation for this celebration.

  Having worked in the government for several years, Si Ma had been involved in propaganda work many times and deeply understood that in most cases people's pursuit of honor was even higher than their pursuit of money.

  By having a celebration that doesn't cost much to honor those who have achieved success, it can put a halo of glory on the achievers and at the same time motivate others, as everyone has a desire for honor in their subconscious mind.

  By doing so, giving them honor and a better living environment, will they still leave in the end? Sima knew that these masters he had brought over were initially unwilling to leave big cities like Tianjin and Shanghai.

  But in the end, they were all invited to come with several times the salary, but these masters only agreed to come and do it for one or two years. In other words, this place is just a place for them to make some extra money.

  Now that they have been given respect and honor in this way, which they could never get in the big cities inside China, will they still think of leaving after earning money?

  Sima personally thinks it won't work. Of course, the premise is still to give them a better living environment. This is the most important thing, and honor will only be more attractive under the premise of having enough food and clothing.

  Everyone got drunk tonight, and everyone also fell into a reverie of a beautiful future.