Spy Wars: I can get rewards by being a bully!

Chapter 1018 Literacy Class at the Dock

The hottest days have passed, and life is much better for the people of Tianjin.

Tens of thousands of laborers at the dock have to work regardless of whether the weather is cold or hot.

During the first two months of heat, people suffered from heatstroke every day. Fortunately, the person in charge at the dock had people make cold tea. Whenever someone suffered from heatstroke, they would quickly take him to the shade and have him scraped.

Even so, a person died last month and the matter was reported to Lin Ze. Lin Ze could only instruct the port company of the North China Transportation Corporation to find more ways to prevent heatstroke and cool down the workers.

In those days, there were not as many methods as in later generations. At most, we could take a two-hour break at noon. It was impossible to rest more. It was not that the docks were unwilling, but that the workers were unwilling.

Han Dagang is a dock worker. About ten years ago, there was a drought in the countryside and people had no food to eat, so Han Dagang followed his father to Tianjin to make a living.

Two years later, his father caught a cold and died because he had no money to buy medicine.

There was no other way, so Han Dagang dragged his father to the mass grave outside the city on a rolled-up straw mat, then pawned all his belongings at a pawn shop, rented a broken rickshaw from a rickshaw company, and became a rickshaw driver.

When Han Dagang thinks of those days now, he still feels scared.

What a shabby rickshaw it was, and what a hard life it was!

At that time, he was young and his cart was old, so customers didn't like him. He could only learn to hawk his wares. Others asked for ten cents for a trip, but he asked for eight. Others leaned over and pretended to try hard, but he just gritted his teeth and ran in one breath. If he met poor people who had no money, he would also be willing to give them a ride, and when they got to the place, he would buy them a straw-oven baked bun to eat as compensation for the fare!

Don’t be fooled by the broken car, mottled paint, and non-working horn, not to mention the carbide lamp, the car is not cheap!

That car dealership is owned by a disciple of the gangster Yuan Lao Da. The daily fee for the car is 20 cents, and there is no room for credit. If you dare to owe the car fee today, I will throw you out with your luggage and give you a beating tonight.

In this way, Han Dagang, who was sometimes hungry and sometimes full, finally grew into a human being. He was not tall, but his body was miraculously strong.

One day, an old rickshaw driver advised him, "Son, how long will it take for you to drive around like this with this old rickshaw? Go carry heavy bags! You look strong enough to do this, so you don't have to wait for work. Just carry bags as often as you can. Carry them for a few years, and then you can save up enough to start a small business, or buy your own rickshaw. Otherwise, I'm afraid it'll be hard to survive in this world!"

Han Dagang had never thought about these things before, and only after someone pointed them out to him did he suddenly realize them.

Yes, I am not tall and I am not outstanding among the rickshaw drivers, but when it comes to carrying heavy bags, people prefer short and strong men like me!

Carrying heavy bags is also very hard. A sack of more than 200 pounds is pressing on the spine. Getting off the deck is the first hurdle. The deck, half a meter wide and several meters long, connects the boat to the dock. You have to carry heavy objects and keep your head down, but you can't make any mistakes.

After arriving at the dock, the two or three hundred meter walk to the warehouse is another hurdle. You must walk without stopping. If you put such a heavy sack on the ground, one person will not be able to carry it.

The third hurdle is counting chips at night to collect wages. The old man told Han Dagang that he should bend his waist, speak sweetly, and call everyone "Master" regardless of age, otherwise they will deduct chips from him and not pay him at all!

If it were when he first came to the city, Han Dagang would have thought, why should he work hard to make a living and still be humble?

Now he no longer wants to think about it.

He did this for two years, and when he had some savings, he fell in love with a young girl who was selling sorghum rice at the dock.

Just when people thought good days were coming, a gangster publicly molested a young woman selling food. Han Dagang finally couldn't help himself and took action.

The result is predictable. Han Dagang was injured. Not only was he beaten, but he also had to pay compensation. Not only that, the other party also claimed that they would send Han Dagang to jail.

Just when they were in despair, news suddenly came that the arrogant boss Yuan in Tianjin was actually killed by a man!

Immediately afterwards, various changes made Han Dagang dazzled.

All the dock workers were recruited into some company.

A workers' joint defense team was established, and those who were strong and intelligent were selected for training.

When paying wages, no one is allowed to cheat, and you are paid according to how much you work. The wages have also increased a lot.

I used to work myself to death and barely have enough to eat, but now every now and then I can pool some money with my coworkers to go to the meat shop, order two dishes and have a glass of wine!

Han Dagang cherishes his current life very much!

After work in the evening, Han Dagang handed in his chips and prepared to go home excitedly.

I don’t know what my wife prepared for dinner. Is it steamed buns with two-grain flour or fish with noodles?

If there's any pickled vegetable vendor on the street, I'll buy a piece and ask my wife to stir-fry it with some chili peppers and drizzle with sesame oil...

"Dagang, Han Dagang!"

Han Dagang came to his senses and turned around to see that it was a squadron leader of the workers' joint defense team, wearing a blue uniform and holding a pen.

"Captain Qi, are you looking for me?"

"Old Han, why are you in such a hurry to go home? What delicious food did your sister-in-law prepare for you?"

Han Dagang chuckled. He was not very good at expressing himself, so when faced with well-intentioned teasing, he would often use a smile to express his happiness and closeness.

"Old Han, don't be in a hurry to rest after dinner. You still have to come back."

"Captain, are you transferring me to the night shift?"

"It's not the night shift, it's a literacy class. You're also a member of the joint defense team, and I'm planning to promote you to team leader, but you can't even read a single word. That won't work. There's a literacy class at the dock, and you should come and join it today!"

Han Dagang blinked, opened and closed his mouth, and said after a long while: "Captain, me? Can I read? Oh, Captain, to be honest, my father told me that in our family, for several generations, no one has been able to read. This..."

"Dagang, don't be so fussy. This is Master Lin's order. You have to learn it, whether you want to or not!"

.....................

At the Lin Mansion, Niu Saner was reporting to Lin Ze with documents in hand.

"Literacy classes have begun in various places..."

Finally, Niu Saner asked, "Master Lin, aren't you a little too anxious?"

Lin Ze shook his head. "Niu San'er, illiterate workers are not qualified workers. Look at the docks now. Tens of thousands of people can only do the simplest handling work. But the prosperity of the old docks in Tianjin is a deformed prosperity. It's because the Japanese have to constantly transport supplies between North China, the outside of the Great Wall, and their own land. So what will happen in the future? After the Japanese are gone, will there still be so many big bags for them to move? However, there will definitely be large-scale construction in the future. We don't need so many people who carry big bags, but we do need all kinds of workers. The sooner they become qualified workers, the sooner they can live a good life."

This is a conservative statement. Once they become industrial workers, these people will most likely keep their previous jobs. At that time, they will have to thank Lin Ze for his original decision!

Lin Ze stood up and took two steps with a cigarette between his legs.

"So make plans early. Of course, it's not too early now. One year to learn to read, one year to learn some simple arithmetic and reading, and another year..."

"Master, what about another year?"

"We'll talk about it next year later!"