Chapter 275 Labor is the Most Glorious
On the morning of April 16th, after Zhou Yi and Zhou Jianguo finished their noodles, Zhou Yi went to work at the Municipal Bureau, while Zhou Jianguo was full of energy, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
When Zhang Qiuxia got home and saw her husband's expression, she quickly asked, "What's going on? Is there a turning point in the layoff issue?"
Zhou Jianguo changed into his work clothes at Ergang and said, "There's no turning point, but my son taught me a lesson: it's better to rely on yourself than on others. This matter still depends on us."
"On your own?" Zhang Qiuxia was stunned. Seeing Zhou Jianguo changed his clothes and walked out directly, she asked, "Where are you going? Didn't you say you didn't have to go to work after the list was announced yesterday?"
Yesterday, after the Human Resources Department announced the layoff list, they also stated that starting tomorrow, the workers on the list would no longer need to come to the factory to work. The labor transfer process would take some time. As for the outstanding wages, the factory would find a solution as soon as possible.
Yesterday, many people were discussing whether or not to go to work.
Many people answered no, because it has been a while and there is no work to do in most workshops. Many people are either chatting or playing cards, and some women are knitting.
Everyone felt that instead of wasting time, it would be better to find a way to make a living and see what they could do to make money.
Therefore, Zhou Jianguo and his wife had no plans to go to the factory today.
Zhou Jianguo went out, got on his bike and headed straight for the No. 2 Steel Dormitory.
Because they now live in the dormitory of No. 1 Steel, most of the old workers are old neighbors in the dormitory of No. 2 Steel who have seen each other for many years.
According to Zhou Yi, the first step is to unite this group of people.
When Zhou Jianguo returned to the Ergang dormitory, the first person he looked for was a man named Kong Laosan.
This man's real name is Kong Jingang. He is the third child in the family, and everyone who knows him calls him Kong Laosan.
Kong Laosan also has a nickname in the factory, called Kong Model. The young people who came into the factory later may not know it, but old people like Zhou Jianguo know it very well.
In 1985, a major safety accident almost occurred at the No. 2 Steel Plant. The cause was that in order to catch up with the production schedule, the workshop used a crane in violation of regulations and lifted the ladle for operation without sufficient safety inspections.
It was a ten-ton ladle containing molten steel at 1,500 degrees Celsius.
When steelworker Kong Laosan was lifting the ladle with a crane, he noticed that the ladle seemed to be tilting to one side, and immediately rushed over to stop the crane from moving.
The worker operating the crane didn't take it seriously, so Kong Laosan went up to him and forced him to put the ladle down.
The team leader rushed over and was furious, thinking that Kong Laosan was crazy and causing the entire team to fail to complete production schedule.
Because the matter was so serious, the factory safety officer came to conduct a re-inspection immediately. As a result, the safety officer found that there was indeed a fault in the mechanical part on one side of the crane, which caused a slight tilt when the ladle was lifted.
Moreover, according to the safety officer's calculations, if the operation was not stopped, it was very likely that the faulty part would not be able to bear the weight and would fall off during the lifting process, causing the ladle to fall.
No one could bear the consequences of that, because there were more than twenty workers in the workshop at that time.
If casualties are caused, it will be a safety accident that will shock the whole country. Not only the factory leaders, but also the city leaders will be in trouble.
Kong Laosan prevented such a huge accident from happening and immediately became the focus of the entire factory and a hero.
Not only did the factory hold a commendation meeting for him, it also solved his housing allocation problem that had lasted for many years. He was also awarded the honors of Top Ten Model Workers and Model of the Times by the city.
That's why he was called Kong Model, even the factory director would call him that when he saw him.
But some honest people are easily taken advantage of, or they are too stupid and stubborn.
The factory originally wanted to promote Kong Laosan to be a reserve cadre. After all, he made great contributions in this matter.
As a result, he felt that being a worker was the most glorious thing, so he had to stick to his post. Besides, he was not cut out to be a cadre.
This kind of thing was actually very common in the 1980s. Most workers believed that labor was the most glorious.
But this kind of thing, if you miss it, you will never get it again.
Moreover, honor is something that, apart from the person himself, outsiders will not pay much attention to it for long.
It wasn't a big deal, as the situation was similar for most steel mill families anyway.
Kong Laosan is over 53 this year and will be able to retire in a year and a half. This is because he is a front-line worker on the steel production line, a special job that requires him to work in a high-temperature environment for a long time. Unlike Zhou Jianguo who drives a forklift, theoretically he can apply for formal retirement at 55.
As a result, Kong Laosan's name was on the first list yesterday. Kong Laosan was stunned immediately and it was said that his eyes went black and he fainted.
According to Zhou Yi, if you want to find someone, you should look for those with longer experience and those whose layoffs will have a greater impact on their families.
This type of people are the easiest to stand up, provided that their remaining illusions are broken first and they are made to face the facts.
On the way to the Ergang dormitory, Zhou Jianguo was thinking about who to look for, and the first one on the list was Kong Laosan.
He knocked on the door, and a weak voice from inside asked, "Who is it?"
"Third brother, it's me, Zhou Jianguo."
After a long while, the door opened.
Kong Laosan was bent over with a look of pain on his face.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"My back hurts, it's an old problem." After opening the door, Kong Laosan lay down directly on a single bed at the door.
The dormitories at Ergang are basically one-bedroom and one-living room houses, ranging from 30 to 40 square meters, and the largest is only 60 square meters. However, there are only a few of them in total, and they are all allocated to veteran cadres of the factory.
The house of Kong Laosan is just over 30 square meters and is the smallest apartment.
Because dormitories are limited, priority is given to dual-income families. Kong Laosan comes from a single-income family, but his wife and child are both disabled. He applied for a house many times.
Finally, after I became a model worker, the factory director specially approved the solution to my problem.
Next to the window at the door was the single bed where Kong Laosan usually slept. He held his waist and lay down in pain.
The house was filled with all kinds of junk, all of which were scraps his wife had picked up. The lighting was poor because the floor was low, and it was even harder to see after it was filled with things.
On the wall next to the single bed, there were several award certificates issued by the factory. They had faded and turned white, and were covered with a thick layer of dust.
These things were once the honors that Kong Laosan was most proud of.
Now, it's worthless.
"Where is my sister-in-law?" Zhou Jianguo asked.
"I took Xiaohua to the vegetable market to pick up vegetable leaves."
Kong Laosan's wife was born with uneven feet, with one leg longer than the other. Even the street office approved her disability certificate only after Kong Laosan became a model worker.
When she married Kong Laosan, he was an old bachelor from a very poor family.
I thought I had someone to rely on, but it turned out that the hemp rope broke at the thinnest part. I gave birth to a daughter, but she got polio.
He has little ability to work and has to take care of his daughter who cannot take care of herself. The family's life depends entirely on Kong Laosan.
After hearing this, Zhou Jianguo couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that his family's situation was indeed very good among those laid-off people.
The two began to chat idly, sighing after every three sentences.
Zhou Jianguo spoke up for Kong Laosan, saying he was still just over a year away from retirement and that the factory was being too harsh. But at least if he could make it through another year and a half, he'd get his pension and wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
But Kong Laosan sighed and said that he was afraid that he would not be able to receive his pension in a year and a half. How would his family eat to survive?
"Hey, I thought about it last night. If it really doesn't work out, I will hang myself at the factory gate. After all, I am a model worker in the city. I... I will make them embarrassed. I will let the whole Hongcheng know how they forced us, the second-class steel workers, to death." Kong Laosan said angrily with his eyes wide open.
Zhou Jianguo patted his arm and said, "Don't say that. Can a living person be killed by holding their urine? I have an idea, but I need the support of all you old people, especially you. You are the model of our Ergang."
When Kong Lao San heard this, he turned sideways and looked up at Zhou Jianguo and asked, "What's your idea?"
"Listen to me..." Zhou Jianguo repeated what he wanted to do.
After hearing this, Kong Lao San sat up from the bed and asked, "Is it reliable?"
"My son... our fourth son is doing business in the south, and he just happens to have connections there. You know how long have these steel coils been gathering dust in the warehouse? Why aren't we allowed to sell them? But it's no use for me to make a fuss alone, and it's no use for the two of us to make a fuss either. We have to get everyone together."
"Is this... illegal?"
"What law have we broken? We didn't steal or rob, so isn't it only natural for us to seek justice?" Zhou Jianguo's chest was filled with anger. "Besides, there are so many of us, what can they do to us?"
"Kong Laosan, you dared to hang yourself at the factory gate, don't you dare to ask for an explanation?"
This sentence ignited the fire in Kong Lao San's heart. His waist pain was gone, and he climbed directly onto the single bed, tore down the pictures of his former glory from the wall, and rolled them into a ball. "Zhou Jianguo, I'll listen to you. If they don't agree, I... I'll fight them!"
…
There was dead silence in the Ergang dormitory.
There are more than 5,000 people working in the entire No. 2 Steel Company. Yesterday's layoff list directly announced that more than 1,300 people were laid off, most of whom were old workers at the bottom level.
Most people have not yet recovered, and like Zhou Jianguo and Kong Laosan, they did not sleep all night.
They are at a loss as to life and the future.
Suddenly, someone heard the sound of a spoon hitting a metal basin outside.
There was a constant banging sound, and at the same time, someone could be vaguely heard shouting, "Come out, everyone come out."
One after another, people opened their doors and came out to look out from the balconies.
Zhou Jianguo and Kong Laosan each held a metal basin and a spoon, banging and shouting.
Zhou Jianguo raised his head and shouted at the people upstairs, "Don't hide in your rooms! I have something to say to everyone about layoffs!"
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