"Bring the things here, yes, bury them at both ends of the bridge." Early that morning, Wan Lei led a group of elite guards to the construction site of Marco Polo Bridge and brought two stone tablets covered with red cloth. It looks very mysterious.
Since the Binh Bao River Railway is the first railway built in the province, the investment is not only high, but the risks are also high. The Yan Chamber of Commerce does not dare to be the first to try it, so this railway is "state-owned", regardless of whether it is built or Operations are all managed by the government.
Wan Lei knows that as long as this model road is successfully operated, there will be no need to worry about the source of funds for the second main railway line, the Pingliao Railway. After all, all members of the Yan Chamber of Commerce also have hundreds of thousands of silver dollars in their hands. As long as you can make a profit, are you afraid that these profit-seeking "profiteers" won't rush to inject capital and subscribe for shares?
In order for this railway to be successfully completed and opened to traffic, Wan Lei worked very hard. Since the opening of the railway, he has been riding to and from the construction site almost every day. Every sleeper is discharged and every rail is auxiliary. Strictly check that every screw must be tightened to a tight fit.
The Marco Polo Bridge project is one of the most important projects of the Pingbao River Railway. Because the Marco Polo River is the largest river that needs to be crossed along the railway, the construction is the most difficult and the technical requirements are more stringent. The progress of this project directly affects the entire The opening of a railway line and the fact that it was the first railway bridge made Wan Lei pay more attention to it.
At this time, the entire large frame of the Marco Polo Bridge has been installed. The thick steel bars are fixed on the piers with cement. As long as the cross beams are added to the rails, the bridge can be opened to traffic. However, this all-steel structure The old bridge seems a bit mysterious no matter how you look at it. After all, this should be regarded as the first iron bridge. Most people dare to go on it only if they see it and believe it.
This bridge can also be regarded as a key investment. Not only did it use thousands of tons of steel, but even the tens of thousands of taels of silver just earned from the Japanese country were invested in it. If it hadn't been for the successful trial run of the train, Officials felt confident that this amount of funding might not be approved.
At this time, Kuai Fu, who was supervising the project at the construction site, saw Wan Lei coming and rushed over to greet him. When he saw some Jing Zhong guards digging holes, he couldn't help but asked with some confusion: "Sir, what are you doing?"
"This is the first steel bridge we built, so we decided to erect two town monuments here as a commemoration." Wan Lei smiled and pulled away a corner of the red cloth, and saw a turtle-shaped granite with a hunchback on it. There is a square stone tablet with three large characters "Lugou Bridge" engraved on all sides, and a line of small characters below: It was designed and supervised by engineer Kuai Fu in the third year of Huali.
"Mr. Wan, what are you doing?" Kuai Fu was a little confused. He had been a carpenter for half his life, and he also designed and built many palaces for the Ming Dynasty. He had never been able to leave a single surname behind. All the credit and hard work were lost to those It was taken over by senior officials, and now it's actually, it's on the monument.
"Mr. Kuai, there is no need to think too much. There is no other meaning. You designed and supervised the construction of this bridge. It is your hard work. It should be engraved with a name on the stone. Of course, whether the name is famous or infamous depends on the quality of the bridge. It cannot stand the test of time." Wan Lei said with a smile, erecting a monument can make an engineer, and even engineers diligently study and strive for excellence, this transaction is not an ordinary value.
"Mr. Wan, please rest assured. If something goes wrong with this bridge, I will use my old bones to top it." Kuai Fu was really excited. He set up a monument to commemorate his merits and even left his name for eternity. This was what he had done all his life. Things I dare not think about.
"It's not that serious. No matter how strong the bridge is, it has a service life. My requirements are not high, as long as it can be used for a hundred years. Mr. Kuai, don't have any psychological baggage. After this bridge is successfully opened to traffic, there will be more I will bother you to repair the bridge, and I hope you will continue to work hard and make new achievements when the time comes."
"Definitely, definitely. Mr. Wan thinks highly of Laochan, and Laochan has spent his whole life building bridges for you."
"Haha, Mr. Kuai is indeed a sweet-tempered person. I like friends like you. If possible, I will call you Brother Kuai. You don't want to see anyone outside. Just call me Brother Wan." For senior technical workers, Wan Lei didn't have any airs, he raised his hands and smiled.
"This, I'm afraid this is not good. Mr. Wan, you are the best among men. You are really old..." Kuai Fu was a little flattered.
"Who is the best among people? I am the same as everyone else. I have two nostrils and one mouth. If I don't breathe or eat, I will still die. It's settled. From now on, you will be my eldest brother. When the bridge is completed, I will definitely bring my wife and come to your door to complain."
"This, this..." Seeing Wan Lei's enthusiasm, Kuai Fu was a little at a loss, "Brother Wan Xian is so flattering, I'm so respectful, I might as well obey my orders. From now on, if I have anything to do with my brother, I will directly take care of my orders. Brother, I will go through fire and water without hesitation." .”
"To be honest, Brother Kuai, I really need your help with something." Wan Lei smiled apologetically and said, "That's it, the school term at Peking University of Technology has started, and I would like to ask Brother Kuai to concurrently serve as the dean of the Department of Architecture. If you have time, I can Students take some classes, but the most important thing is to help attract more talents.”
"Oh, what is this dean of the Department of Architecture?"
"It's like this. The College of Engineering has a dean who is responsible for managing the teachers and students of the entire college. The college has departments such as construction, metallurgy, exploration and machinery, and each department has a provost who is responsible for managing the teachers and students of the department. Now the college is just a start-up. I am acting as the dean on a temporary basis, and the candidate for the provost has not yet been decided."
"I'm willing to obey the arrangement, but I've never been an officer before, so I'm afraid I won't be able to do what I can." Kuai Fu said with some worry. Although he still didn't know what type of official the provost was, he was a must. Common people, who suddenly become officials, always feel unsure.
"Brother Kuai, don't worry. You can supervise the construction of the bridge, but some teachers and students will not ask questions. Moreover, our students in Beiping Province respect teachers and value education, and will not cause you any trouble. All you have to do is to have Teach without distinction and introduce more talents.”
"Since my dear brother trusts me so much, I will be more respectful than obey your orders. But if anything goes wrong in the future, I hope that my dear brother will take care of you."
"Brother Kuai is willing to help, but it's too late for me to thank you. I have nothing to offer." Wan Lei handed over his hand and said: "Of course, we in Beiping Province pay according to work. The college will pay wages on time and pay them back at the end of the year. Bonuses will be given based on contribution, so I won’t treat Brother Kuai badly.”
"This, this..." Kuai Fu couldn't help but grinned and said: "Brother Xian, you are arranging advantages and disadvantages for me. I won't say more polite words. Anyway, please don't worry, Xian brother, I will definitely do it in the future." Get all the errands done."
"Haha, with Brother Kuai saying this, why should I be worried?" Wan Lei looked happy. As soon as the topic changed, he started talking to Kuai Fu: "Brother Kuai, listen to my wife, your Xiangzi is smart. , I have only been in school for more than half a year, and I have been promoted to three grades in a row. Tsk, tsk, tsk, this kid will definitely be a genius in the future."
"Brother Xian, you are joking. My boy is smart, but he is also very naughty. As a father, I have been busy outside for many years, so I lack discipline." When talking about his six-year-old precious son, Kuai Fu said with a smile. The face that has experienced many vicissitudes of life is full of tenderness.
"It's good to be naughty. Who hasn't been naughty as a child? The most important thing for a child is to be spiritual and willing to make progress. In our city of Beiping, anyone with real skills can be reused, so brother, you don't have to force Xiangzi to learn from him. What, just follow his temperament and let him use his strengths." Wan Lei looked at Kuai Fu seriously.
As a senior technician hired by himself, Wan Lei certainly knew the situation of the Kuai family very well. Kuai Fu was honest and kind. It can be said that he was an out-and-out obedient citizen. As a craftsman in the Ming Dynasty, his identity and status They are all inferior to others, so he hopes that his only son Kuai Xiang will study and take the imperial examination so that he can escape his status as a craftsman in the future. Now that he has moved to Beiping City, his views are still hard to change, and he still demands this from his son.
However, Kuai Xiang was born with a clever mind and was good at mathematics, especially geometry. Many geometric principles could be understood at a glance and learned quickly. He finished primary school mathematics at the age of six. Although there were still some shortcomings in liberal arts, he was good at mathematics. With his attainments, he could definitely skip a grade and enter middle school to learn more advanced knowledge.
However, Kuai Fu instinctively believed that those who studied mathematics, physics and chemistry were low-level careers, and those who studied liberal arts were on the right path, so he forced his son to practice essays and recite poems every day. However, Kuai Xiang's mind was not on studying literature at all. He preferred to play with mathematics, physics and chemistry. .And Wan Lei has no prejudice against talents who are partial to science, and he is even more partial to young geniuses like Kuai Xiang.
"This little guy has a wild temper, and I, as a father, am ashamed that I, the wise brother, have troubled me so much." Kuai Fu smiled bitterly.
"With Xiangzi's talent, it is really a waste of time to go to elementary school and middle school. Let him come to my house and I will teach him personally."
"This, this is not good, my dear brother, you are always so busy." Kuai Fu declined, but he was already happy in his heart. Even if he could accept the nameless "King of Peking" as his disciple, It is a great honor to be a disciple in name only, and I will not have to worry about my future in the future. This is really a good thing that I dare not even think about.
"The matter is settled like this, but I will tell the ugly story first. If Xiangzi doesn't want to make progress, then I can send him back to school."
The reason why Wan Lei wants to accept nominal disciples is firstly to cultivate talents who are loyal to him. Of course he has to recruit young talents like Kuai Xiang early; secondly, he wants to accumulate connections. Accepting Kuai Xiang is just the beginning. In the future, whether he is a second-generation official or second-generation civilian Whether it is the first generation or the second generation of rich people, as long as they are smart, he will accept them without fail, and will even use his own influence to help them enter officialdom and business. No matter who among them becomes a leader in the future, they will be his disciples. Of course, I dare not rebel against my mentor.
"That's it, that's it. If this kid dares to disobey, I will break his legs." Kuai Fu's old face smiled like a flower. He could predict that the old Kuai family would finally have its day.