novelsite Chapter 24 Manpower
Chapter 24 Manpower
Chen Yishang and his five apprentices stared at the densely packed parts drawings, tolerance tables, and hydraulic schematics, speechless for a moment. This was completely beyond their traditional understanding of "train modification," more like a research and development project for some kind of special military vehicle.
"Dr. Wang..." Chen Yishang began with difficulty, his voice somewhat hoarse, "This system... is theoretically feasible, but the requirements for machining accuracy, assembly tolerance control, hydraulic system sealing, electrical control logic... even with six of us, including you, we might not be able to complete the rough machining of the core components in twenty days."
Chen Yishang unfolded the blueprints and pointed to them: "Just take this second carriage as an example. There are at least 120 kinds of special components that need to be processed: the inner steel lining plates for wall reinforcement need to be slotted and drilled, the mounting brackets for equipment cabinets need to be precisely bent, the flanges for pipe connections need to be threaded... All of these require specialized equipment. We have angle grinders, welding machines, and electric drills, but we don't have CNC machine tools, laser cutters, or precision milling machines."
He paused, then emphasized, "And the project only has twenty days. Even if we have six people working in three shifts, it will take more than thirty days just to process these components, not counting installation and debugging. Even with automated equipment, people still need to supervise the processing. So, manpower is the biggest problem right now."
Li Zhenhua, who was standing next to him, whispered, "Master Chen is right. I did the math yesterday, and just the processing of those eight base pieces for the locomotive—forging, heat treatment, and machining—takes at least fifteen days to deliver to a regular factory."
Zhang Haitao, Liu Qiming, and Wang Jianguo remained silent, but the worry in their eyes was evident. They were all skilled workers, and they were well aware of the gap between the ideal blueprints and the actual construction.
Wang Zhengyang remained silent for a moment. He knew this moment would come, and he had prepared his words.
"I'll handle the processing issues." His voice was calm, as if stating a given fact. "You only need to be responsible for installation and debugging."
"I will be responsible for processing all the complex metal parts." Wang Zhengyang turned off his tablet, his gaze calmly sweeping over the six people, as if stating an objective fact. "Your job is to complete the on-site installation, debugging, and system integration of all parts according to the detailed assembly process documents and quality inspection standards I provide. I will complete all the processed parts required for the next day's construction every night and place them in the designated material storage area. You will carry out the construction according to the drawings during the day and report any problems in a timely manner."
"You'll handle this?" Chen Yishang was taken aback. "Dr. Wang, I know you might have connections, but these precision components aren't something a small workshop can produce. And the quantity is so large, and the timeframe is so tight..."
“I have a team,” Wang Zhengyang interrupted him, looking calmly at Chen Yishang. “A professional machining team with a fully equipped workshop in the suburbs of Berlin. They will process the parts at night and deliver the finished products here the next morning.”
This explanation makes perfect sense. A hint of relief flashed in Chen Yishang's eyes—so that's how it is. No wonder Wang Zhengyang dared to set such a tight deadline; it turns out there's a hidden professional team behind him.
Wang Zhengyang glanced at him and calmly replied, "They have a confidentiality agreement and cannot come to the site. But I guarantee that every morning when you start work, all the parts needed for processing the night before will be neatly stacked in the material area of each carriage, along with a processing quality inspection report."
These words were perfectly worded. Chen Yishang exchanged glances with the others, and finally nodded.
"But..." Chen Yishang was still a little worried, "Even with a processing team, the installation workload is too great. Six people, twenty days, to complete the modification of eleven carriages, this..."
"So we need more manpower." Wang Zhengyang continued, "Engineer Chen, you go find some people today. It's not easy to find work in Berlin right now, there should be quite a few skilled workers available in the Chinese community."
He paused, noticing the disbelief in their eyes, and added, "But we do need more installers. Engineer Chen, go to the central labor market today and recruit thirty temporary workers. Requirements: experience in metal structure welding, mechanical assembly, or vehicle repair; age 25 to 30; good health; no bad habits; able to endure fully enclosed management and high-intensity work. Daily wage, 30% above the current Berlin market rate; three meals and temporary accommodation provided." By the way, I only want Chinese workers; other foreign nationals are out of the question, after all, our project is a national-level overseas testing mission for heavy equipment.
"Thirty temporary workers?" Chen Yishang was taken aback, quickly calculating the costs. "Then the daily labor expenses would be..."
"I've already planned the budget," Wang Zhengyang calmly interrupted him. "The bigger funding gap is in material procurement. Here's the list."
He handed over a stack of printed lists of materials. Chen Yishang took them and flipped through them, his expression growing increasingly serious. The list contained more than one hundred materials, of which more than fifty were marked with a red star—representing "special procurement channels."
"Boron carbide-silicon carbide composite ceramic armor module... shape memory alloy torsion bar... military-grade seals..." Chen Yishang read out a few names, then looked up at Wang Zhengyang, "These... are simply unavailable through normal channels."
"I have special connections." Wang Zhengyang didn't elaborate. "You guys start working, beginning with what you can do. The specific division of labor is as follows: Engineer Chen will oversee the overall work, with a focus on supervising the second and eleventh carriages. Da Li and Xiao Liu will be responsible for the foundation construction of the first and third carriages. Xiao Liu and Xiao Wang will be responsible for the structural erection of the fourth, seventh, to ninth carriages."
He glanced at the five people: "As for Engineer Lin," he said, looking at Lin Luo'er standing to the side, "she is in charge of the technical design and system integration of the fourth carriage—the hydroponic cultivation and life support experimental chamber. You guys help her complete the basic structure construction first. During this time, I'll trouble you to do a good job of implementing this project."
Lin Luo'er nodded slightly. Today she was wearing a simple work uniform, her long hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was holding her design drawings in her hand.
"Oh, right, Dr. Wang." Lin Luo'er suddenly remembered something and lowered her voice, "I have a classmate named Li Xiaowei, who is also Chinese. Her brother owns a local machine shop that I heard specializes in vehicle modification and has even modified tracked chassis before... If Brother Li's shop can handle all the custom parts processing, I can ask if he can bring a team to the site for construction. If he can come, it can speed up the modification work on the power and running gear compartment of the eleventh carriage."
"That's wonderful!" Wang Zhengyang said, his tone clearly pleased. "Lin Nuoer, you're my lucky star. Contact them later and ask them to come and talk to me."