At the end of 1971, I recruited workers from Taiping Commune in Jishou County to learn to be carpenters in the county engineering company and worked for more than 6 years. That period of study and art work experience has benefited me a lot in my life.
▲ In December 1971, Jishou County Taiping Commune recruited workers to enter the county engineering company's xiaxiang Zhiqing group photo (front row from left: Wang Jinsheng, Zhang Shiqing; back row from left: Bukit Hai, Shi Shunfu)
The Taiping Commune, who recruited workers to go to the city with me, went to the countryside to know the youth, and there were 3 people, Wang Jinsheng, Zhang Shiqing, and Shi Shunfu. The company assigned Me and Wang Jinsheng to the carpentry team as carpenter apprentices, Zhang Shiqing to the masonry team to learn to be a mason, and Shi Shunfu to be an auxiliary worker.
▲ In 1972, a group photo of the carpentry company colleagues who participated in the battle to build the Jishou nitrogen fertilizer plant (from left: Wu Youjun, Bu Jihai, Xie Baolao, Zou Shanfu, Tu Yubing. Tu Yubing as carpentry company commander)
To learn a craft, you must be able to withstand the temperament
When he went to work in the carpentry team, he participated in the battle to build the Jishou nitrogen fertilizer factory. The carpentry team arranged for me to apprentice with the young master Zou Shanfu. Master Zou told me to go to the company warehouse to get axes, planers, files, saw blades, nail hammers, angle rulers and other woodworking tools, helped me open (meaning to make) a planer, a saw, an ink bucket, and taught me to make axes and files. With these starter tools, it's time to work.
▲ In December 1977, Zhu Qiangsheng participated in the activities of the company's league branch and took a group photo with the comrades who left the regiment (the first left in the second row: Zhu Qiangsheng, secretary of the party branch of the company. First from the left in the front row: Sun Yingming, secretary of the company's youth league branch. The second from the right in the fifth row is the author of this article)
You can only start by doing the rough work of a carpenter. Assist the master in moving and unloading, making and installing concrete formwork, processing purlins, nail rafters. Meet the master to do door and window work, follow behind to learn to select wood, discharge, ink, eye killing, groove and line, seam panel, assembly molding, and finally light planing. Install doors and windows, make roof trusses, the technology is more complicated, you need to pay attention to speculation, learn to calculate, enlarge the sample.
When you are an apprentice, you cannot be lazy. Before starting work in the winter, build a fire in the shed, and then learn to grind planers, files, axes, and break the serrated teeth. At the end of the work, it is necessary to take the initiative to clean the wood chips shavings in the field and sort out the stacking materials.
▲ In March 1978, some comrades of the company's Youth League Branch bid farewell to Bukit Hai for enrollment (front row from left: Duan Kequan, Hu Shaoxian, Sun Yingming, Bu Ji Hai, Yi Jianxi, etc.)
During the period of learning art with the master, there were also times when things were acute, rough, and messed up. The teachers on the team often remind us that young people should not be too anxious to do things, learn crafts, and be patient.
After more than a year of studying art with the class, the carpentry work of repairing large materials is somewhat smooth. I want to learn a little bit of furniture craftsmanship, but I don't have enough tools at hand. At this time, try to ask the master to teach yourself to prescribe tools. To make a wooden planer, use dry red silk wood, green oak wood, and the wooden planing handle should be yellow sandalwood. Handles of saws and files are also made of hardwoods such as camellia oleifera. I remember that there was very little red silk at that time, and the teacher instructed us to go to the line station to find the hardwood cross-bearing of the wooden pole, and use the old material of the horizontal load to open it into clear planing (long planing for clearing wood board seams), second planing (medium and long planing for discharging), light planing (short planing for smooth surfaces), groove planing, wire planer and other tools. Occasionally finding a piece of red silk wood, we apprentices were almost ecstatic.
▲ In 2003, he took a group photo with some of his carpentry team colleagues (from the second from the left in the front row: Chen Baikang, Chen Liqi, Hu Shaoxian, Bu Jihai. Back row from second from left: Min Yaoqun, Zhang Shiqing, Wu Yuansheng)
When the monthly salary of the apprentice is 18 yuan in the first year, the second and third years are increased to 21 yuan and 24 yuan respectively, and the salary after 3 years of study is 30.6 yuan. At that time, the monthly salary of young and middle-aged masters was only 40 to 50 yuan. When I entered the collective unit and became a carpenter apprentice, I was satisfied with my profession. It was fortunate to be able to return from the countryside to my parents to have a stable job and learn a craft.
Jishou Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant was built in Qianzhou in the second half of 1970, with a design capacity of 12,000 tons of ammonium bicarbonate per year and an investment of 7.3 million yuan, which is a key project of the county revolutionary committee and the "agricultural village". The county set up a construction headquarters at the construction site, and the county leader served as the commander. The construction site is equipped with a loudspeaker to continuously praise good people and good deeds, supervise the progress of the project, and broadcast important notices.
In order to ensure that the nitrogen fertilizer plant was completed and put into operation as scheduled, the county engineering company formed a company of carpenters, masons (including reinforcement workers), and rock workers according to the military structure, plus the professional equipment installation team sent by the Ministry of Petroleum, as well as the newly recruited workers of the nitrogen fertilizer plant, temporarily invited small workers, and more than 600 people were at the construction site at the peak of the battle, which was very lively.
When our apprentices entered the arena, the battle was at an end. After the nitrogen fertilizer plant was completed and put into operation, I accompanied the master to participate in the construction of the county commercial complex and other projects and the maintenance of auxiliary houses such as the county match factory. The teacher said that we had a good chance, and just joined the work to catch the train to build modern industrial buildings.
▲ In August 2020, some colleagues of Jishou County Engineering Company met and took a group photo in Jishou (from left: Zhang Shiqing, Wu Yuansheng, Jiang Shunhua, Wu Jihai, Min Yaoqun, Hu Shaoxian, Chen Baikang)
Craftsmen have some good traditions that are worth cherishing
Later, I learned that the main business of the county engineering company was to engage in industrial and civil construction, that is, industrial and civil construction. The modern industry in western Hunan mainly started from the construction of the chemical industry in the early 1970s. In the past, most of the teachers built civil buildings such as institutions, schools, hospitals, and shops.
▲ Baojing large material carpenter uses two planing to process beams
The carpentry team is still talented and traditional. Those who can undertake the construction of wooden works include Tang Chengshu, Zhang Mingde, Peng Nanjiang, Liu Jinbao and other teachers. There was a lot of contact, and they talked about the local carpenter's funny stories on a whim.
▲ Xiangxi Lüdongshan carpenter ink master (right)
Traditional carpenters are divided into three categories: large carpenters, small carpenters, and barrel carpenters. If further subdivided, small carpenters can also be divided into carvers. The large carpenter mainly focuses on house construction, and needs to know some mechanics and construction knowledge to ensure that the repair of the house is firmly applicable. Small carpenters need to recognize the quality characteristics of wood, the tenons can be accurately matched, and the furniture made is beautiful and durable. The carver must have a certain degree of painting and ancient poetry literacy, and the things carved are vivid and vivid, containing artistic conception. The barrel maker specializes in round utensils such as wooden barrels, wooden basins, and wooden drums, and requires tight hoops to be tight and stylish, and cannot leak water or lose sound.
▲ Old carpenters in rural areas go out to work with tools such as angle rulers, planers, axes, and dancing drills
During the Republic of China period, Ji Shou was more famous as a carpenter, the large material was the Liang family, the small material was the Tang family, and the carver was the Chen family. These carpenter masters are skilled and reputable. Repairing the house to make furniture as a dowry, invite these masters to do things, the host family will be at ease. Master Tang Chengshu was a son who inherited his father's business, studied under his father to make small materials, and when he was young, he played furniture in the Jishou WoodWorking Society, and later the county engineering company transferred him to the carpentry team as a technical backbone. Master Tang is meticulous, calm and good at cost-effectiveness. At that time, he was in his 40s, and in his prime, he had five apprentices, Chen Baikang, Hu Shaoxian, Wu Yuansheng, Xiong Daren, and his son Tang Dengfu. The company contracted the Jishou Sanzhong woodwork project, and assigned him to lead the construction, valuing his craftsmanship.
▲ Use the ink bucket to straighten and draw the ink
Master Zhang Mingde was counted into the party early in the carpentry team, and he was older than Master Tang. He was a barrel maker, a generous man, fair in his dealings, and once served as a member of the company's party branch and a carpentry captain, and was the object of reliance of the party organization at that time. He took Chen Liqi, Zhuo Dongming and other apprentices. When confronted with the company's unreasonable things, he dared to stand up and speak.
▲ Upper house nail rafters
▲ Vertical five-pillar eight-hanging stilt building
These teachers not only teach us techniques, but also teach us some of the rules that craftsmen should follow. When there are difficulties in the family of peers, the teacher beckons to take care of each other. I remember Zhuo Dongming, a baby in Sichuan, who followed her sister to Jishou and learned carpentry with us. After graduating from university, his sister was assigned to participate in the construction of the Jishou nitrogen fertilizer plant, and was a technician in the factory who knew the complex chemical equipment. During the factory commissioning, she directed the installation of equipment in the workshop and was busy. After the nitrogen fertilizer plant was completed and put into operation, she planned to transfer the long refining work in Yueyang. Xiao Zhuo asked a few of our colleagues to use Sunday to help his sister make furniture, making three wardrobes, chests of drawers, double beds, sofas, desks and other household items. Xiao Zhuo entertained the colleagues who helped him to eat two meals, each of them was given a pack of cigarettes, and dinner gave us a beer that is usually rare. Since then, we have also taken turns to help Yang Xiuquan, the mason captain, Qin Mingyue, the carpentry team, and other colleagues and friends to make furniture and repair the house.
▲ Carpenters are installing steel-concrete structure building ring beam formwork, and cement hollow bricks are commonly used in civil building walls
▲ The cooper uses fir wood to make a seedling drum
▲ Wood is used as a carving tool, and the wooden handles are mostly hardwoods such as camellia oleifera and yellow sandalwood
Leading young apprentices such as Wang Jinsheng, Xie Baolao, and Duan Kequan to help with things were young masters such as Zou Shanfu, Zeng Yueshan, and Chen Baikang. They were in charge of the palm ink arrangement, and the apprentices worked hard. Although the help took up the rest time, I learned the small material technique. The exchange of skills between different divisions has broadened the horizon of learning and art.
▲ The newly built five-pillar, six-column dry-column wooden house, the average family in Xiangxi first erected roof trusses and tiles, and then decorated the siding, doors, windows and floor slabs according to the financing situation
▲ The plasterer repairs the old house, and used to use lime mortar powder wall, and now uses cement mortar pictures
▲ The traditional craft of masons making cornice tiles and repairing the cornice tiles of ancient houses with lime and paper tendons
▲ The rock smith who masoned Baokan
The mutual help and mutual comfort between craftsmen shine with the warm light of human nature, often giving people relief and upward strength in difficult times.
▲ Transport hollow prefabricated panels, simple concrete mixers, the use of cement prefabricated hollow slabs to do the floor cost is lower, but the solid is not as good as cast-in-place, the current rural building floor uses reinforced concrete cast-in-place more and more
At low tide, do not be discouraged
In the years of studying art at the county engineering company, I saw some examples of not forgetting to be enterprising in the trough. Zhong Yuelou, director of the company's Revolutionary Committee, a native of Ningxiang, has been a carpenter, shrewd and capable, and is good at business. The superior sent four party branch secretaries to the company, and he could cooperate and pay attention to learning from each other's strong points. If you can't be a secretary, you can still do a good job.
▲ During the Republic of China period, the LalShan Miao swallowed the house
▲ Jishou Qixin Village Miaozhai stone house, this kind of building is built with limestone on the spot, warm in winter and cool in summer
Chen Maogong of the company's design office, who originally worked in Beijing, participated in the architectural design of the Great Hall of the People, he and his lover were sent to Xiangxi, the lover was assigned to the Xiangxi Prefecture Engineering Company, he went to the Jishou County Engineering Company, and it is said that the two cooperated to do the construction design of the state gymnasium, Wuling Mountain Hotel and other buildings. Chen Maogong was low-key and kind, prudent in his handling of things, and sun Changgan, Zeng Jimei and other construction workers asked him for advice, he patiently explained, and the workers called him "Chen Gong". The company's design office also assigned a college student Zhao Qu, who is from Hubei and graduated from the Department of Architecture of Tongji University in Shanghai. Zhao Qu was handsome in appearance and rigorous in his work, and designed buildings such as the county post and telecommunications bureau building. According to the people who contacted them more at that time, they had been studying the drawings and building structures, and did not relax their pursuit of business growth.
▲ Longshan Qing Dynasty houses, the rich families in the past had the money to build this kind of horse head firewall, small green tile roof Huipai house
Hu Shaoxian and Chen Liqi, who came from cadre and staff families, studied hard and worked hard, and stood out among many apprentices. The doors and windows made by the two were praised by the teacher: "Hands and feet are fast, and the eyes are good." "At that time, some of the gift projects were often overtime for the sake of rushing tasks, and the work was very tiring. But they did not forget to read, Chen Liqi often studied construction drawings and wooden quotas, and Hu Shaoxian took the time to write poems and fill in words, and both had some healthy hobbies.
▲ The diaoyu and housing of the Miao Wangfu of Fenghuangshan Mountain, which was built by Long Yunfei, who served as the commander of the provisional division of the Nationalist Army during the Republic of China period
Jiang Shunhua, who has worked as a mason and mechanic, is good at operation and management, and has not entered the field of use of tissue culture for a while. But he did not lose heart, insisted on doing things seriously, and was promoted to manager of the company after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, which provoked the beam of enterprise development.
▲ Yongshun Laosicheng Tujia stilt house, the ground floor is used as a barn or to raise livestock
There are also times in life when you encounter grievances. In order to welcome the 20th anniversary of the founding of Xiangxi Prefecture, the county engineering company dispatched some young workers to participate in the militia parade, and clashed with the workers of the Tiesi Bureau who built the Zhiliu Railway during the parade, and the two sides fought. Several company comrades and I went forward to persuade me, but unexpectedly, together with the fighters, we were taken down by the PLA soldiers on duty and arrested in the detention center of the Public Security Bureau for half a day. After the parade, someone came to screen and let us out. I couldn't stand this grievance, and I couldn't think straight back to the unit. Several teachers advised me that so many leaders of the "Cultural Revolution" were criticized and fought, wearing high hats, and they had not survived, and your grievances were nothing, so don't take them to heart.
To build the company, rely on young people to save energy
When the political climate gradually eased and the infrastructure business began to increase, the company came to Secretary Zhu Qiangsheng. Zhu Qiangsheng was thin in stature, had a bright eye, spoke a Xiangtan dialect, and was a talent who could speak and write. Before the Cultural Revolution, he served as the secretary of the Jishou Town Party Committee. The "Cultural Revolution" was criticized, and after his comeback, he was arranged to serve as the secretary of the party branch at the county engineering company.
▲ Yongsan Riye Residence
After Zhu Qiangsheng took office, he paid attention to giving play to the role of team members and relied on the backbone of the business to do things. He often goes to the workshop and the construction site to understand the construction situation and the ideological dynamics of the employees and listen to everyone's opinions. He has made some explorations in reducing unnecessary meetings, strengthening internal management of enterprises, and cultivating backbones with outstanding business, which has refreshed the corporate atmosphere for a while.
Zhu Johnson employs people not only to see the roots of Miao Hong and honesty, but also to see the business ability and realistic performance. Teacher Fu Tang Chengshu was the captain of the carpentry team, and Sun Yingming, a young party member, was promoted to the secretary of the company's league branch, which showed Master Tang's management ability and Sun Yingming's loyalty and willingness.
▲ Huayuan Chadong Normal School Building in the 1950s
In terms of strengthening basic management and promoting production increase and saving, the company plans the comprehensive utilization of waste materials such as woodworking workshops and sawdust shavings and wood chips. The leader saw that I had a bit of culture, and was also willing to engage, so he pulled me and Wu Yuansheng out to be responsible for preparing for the construction of the particle board processing workshop. After that, I was trained to join the regiment and served as the deputy secretary of the company's regiment branch. Then he worked as an accountant and deputy captain of the carpentry team, and assisted Captain Tang Chengshu in preparing materials, cutting materials, ingredients, and accounting for the quota of woodworking labor. Later, he was transferred to the company's office to do publicity and youth work.
Zhu Qiangsheng went to Sun Yingming to talk to me. He told us that to build a company, we must rely on young people to save energy. The company has business to do, and everyone has food to eat. It is necessary to cultivate young people and encourage everyone to learn more technology. The technology is learned well, the company brand is louder, and the employees can increase their income.
▲ The ancient city of Huangsiqiao in the Qing Dynasty of Phoenix Ala was a military defense facility for the Qing Dynasty to "raise courage in Tuntian and set up cards to defend seedlings"
In accordance with Secretary Zhu's request, I assisted Sun Yingming in finding training targets and strengthening the work of developing the backbone of youth business to join the regiment. Min Yaoqun, a young carpenter, is down-to-earth and righteous, and he is dedicated to his work and has no requirements for joining the regiment. The League branch did his ideological work, guided him to make positive progress, and trained him to join the Communist Youth League. Hu Shaoxian, Duan Kequan and other down-to-earth young people also joined the group at that stage.
Secretary Zhu also participated in the activities of the league branch and took a group photo with comrades who had left the regiment at an old age. These young people who have just joined the group have played an important role in the company's construction of state exhibition halls and county underwear factories. The atmosphere of delving into technology and doing things in a down-to-earth manner has risen in the company. With regard to some young workers who are rough and procrastinating in their work, sometimes grinding foreign workers, and soaking up sick numbers, the league branch reminds them from time to time that they will give affirmation when there is improvement, and several comrades have helped to keep up with the pace of progress.
The young people that Secretary Zhu discovered, cultivated, and paid attention to were considered to be contentious. In the resumption of the college entrance examination, I was admitted to college with Hu Shaoxian, Chen Liqi, Cai Lijun and so on. The few who stayed in the unit grew into the management backbone of the company and supported the development of the company after the reform and opening up.
These 6 years of studying and working as an artist have given me enough inspiration for a lifetime
Among the many apprentices, my understanding of learning art, the fineness of doing things, and my endurance are not very prominent. Later, I went smoothly, thanks to the opportunities and organizational training given by the times, coupled with personal diligence to make up for my clumsiness, my luck was good. At that stage, the education and guidance of the party group organization, the simplicity and kindness of Master Zou Shanfu, the wisdom and tolerance of company leaders such as Zhu Qiangsheng, the rigor and meticulousness of Teachers such as Tang Chengshu and Zhang Mingde, and the positive enterprising and humorous humor of some colleagues gave me a lot of enlightenment and lit up my way forward.
▲ Jishou Tuanjie Road in 1957, the street surface is mostly brick and wood structure two-story buildings (Chen Tingmao's "Xiangxi Centennial Video Record")
At that time, the society's evaluation of the perception of people in the infrastructure industry was positive, and the craftsmen were given due respect. Most of the people who enter the management of the company are skilled, good at laying out, and shouting movingly. The projects in the jurisdiction are handed over to the engineering company to do, and there is no need to give gifts. When the company receives the project, it will carefully organize the construction and strive to ensure the quality and delivery period. Later, the engineering captain evolved into a building chief, a project contractor, or simply called a contract foreman, and became a negative title. With the launch of a large number of infrastructure projects, the competition in the industry has become more and more intense. Then, the wave of urban expansion and real estate rewrote the rules of the infrastructure industry. A bunch of systems designed by the competent departments have not completely controlled the corrupt chaos such as collusion in bidding and bidding, basket kickbacks, etc., making people feel helpless and bitter. It is not fair to put this account on the project contract managers. Since the reform and opening up, the country's construction has undergone historic changes, and engineering designers, managers, and builders have all made great contributions. The operational ecology in the field of rectification and construction needs to be further improved to improve the effectiveness and execution of the system.
▲ In 2020, Tuanjie Road, Jishou City, the frontage is mostly steel-concrete structure multi-storey buildings
The leadership and management work at the grass-roots level should be close to the basic needs of the people to support their families and improve their lives. Working at the grass-roots level knows that it is not easy for the masses of workers and peasants to earn a living, and that the masses of workers and peasants are the parents of public officials. Only those who have suffered hardships at the grassroots level can truly understand the hardships of the grassroots and the people. With the experience of grass-roots work, there will be more ways to deal with complex problems, and ideas, measures, and tricks will also be more grounded. The main leaders of the unit have a larger mindset and pattern of doing things, which can reduce unnecessary suspicion and internal friction. In addition, the time spent by enterprises on retreats should not be too much, and employees should be encouraged to delve into business technology and improve their ability to make a living. Leaders should create conditions for the personal development of employees and the expansion of unit business, and open up new space. Maintaining flesh-and-blood ties with the masses of the people has always been an important guarantee for our party to govern and rejuvenate the country and stand in an invincible position.
(Note: The author of this article, Bu Jihai, is the former vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference)