Chapter Twenty-Six: The Ore Wharf

After returning to Lin’gao, He Ma first went to the Ministry of Health to report on his work. He handed over several thick volumes of case files, the majority of which were clinical observations and treatments of malaria. These materials were extremely valuable data for modern medicine, which was struggling to survive in this new era. In the future development of Taiwan and Southeast Asia, malaria would be an unavoidable and real threat.

No one in the Ministry of Health was familiar with treating malaria, and they had never encountered an explosive outbreak of malaria like the one in Sanya.

He Ma also consulted with Shi Niaoren about the X-ray machine. At this stage, the Ministry of Health not only had few large X-ray machines—only three—but also faced a series of problems such as the supply of film and developing chemicals.

X-ray machines are radioactive and not something that can be obtained just by having money. Purchasing X-ray machines and related spare parts required a series of complex procedures. Compared to the relatively easy-to-obtain industrial X-ray machines, medical ones were much harder to get. The Senators had used all their legal and illegal means and spent a lot of money to obtain three large medical X-ray machines, three portable X-ray machines, and far more spare parts and consumables than normally needed.

The Sanya Health Center was equipped with a portable X-ray machine—this was the kind of equipment that would be equipped in a health center in the old world, but He Ma wanted to get a large one. The portable machine was not very convenient for diagnosis.

“Since Sanya is going to be a key development city in the future, the medical institutions will inevitably have to expand. The portable machine is not powerful enough,” He Ma complained.

“What can I do? There are only three in total,” Minister Shi spread his hands. “You should be content. In the future, when the scale expands, it might not even be possible to equip each hospital with one.”

“We should be able to produce them ourselves, right?”

“I’m not particularly optimistic about this problem. Of course, the industrial sector will solve it sooner or later, but will it take 20 years or 30 years?” Shi Niaoren said, “As a compromise, we have to rely on these three large and three small ones for 25 years.”

He Ma’s attempt failed, but according to the general rules of bargaining, if you don’t get a big prize, you should at least get something small to appease you. He Ma managed to get a dental chair and a trained naturalized citizen dentist for the future Sanya General Hospital. In addition, he also got a quota for several nurses and medical assistants.

Finally, He Ma had a ten-minute private talk with Shi Niaoren about his personal problems. Guo Fu was different from the daughters of ordinary landlords or female laborers. She was a female medical student that the Ministry of Health was focusing on cultivating at this stage—a future social elite. He Ma hoped to get the leadership’s support on the matter of marriage.

Of course, Shi Niaoren expressed his support. The union of Senators and naturalized citizen elites would help to consolidate and expand the ruling base. Besides, even if He Ma didn’t “push over” Guo Fu, he would have to “push over” some other female naturalized citizen. In Dr. Shi’s eyes, there was not much difference. Dr. Shi also promised that after He Ma officially got married, he would give Guo Fu a spot in the first advanced medical training course taught by him personally.

“When we have a medical university in the future, I’ll open a master’s program, and your wife will be admitted without an exam…” Shi Niaoren made empty promises. “Of course, you have to make sure her basic education is good in your daily life.”

As they were talking, He Ping, the director of the Ministry of Health’s office, peeked his head in the door. “Minister Shi, Zhao Yanmei is here—she wants to talk to you about penicillin production.”

“Can we make penicillin now?” He Ma’s spirits lifted. “I’m applying for the first batch of clinical trials.”

Shi Niaoren shook his head. “How can it be so fast? Zhao Yanmei is looking for me for one thing, to ask for resources—most likely still first-level materials controlled by the Planning Institute.”

“No matter how many resources, it’s always a great thing to produce penicillin. The Planning Institute won’t disapprove. The first batch of clinical trials must be given to us…”

“Of course, of course,” Shi Niaoren knew that there would be another round of fierce debate at next week’s Executive Committee meeting. Last week, he had just submitted a request for additional controlled materials for the research and development of vaccines and antiviral serums, and now he had to request more for antibiotics. Although all of the Ministry of Health’s requests had never been rejected at the meetings—the Senators certainly knew that rebuilding a modern health system was not only beneficial to the country and the people but also a guarantee for their own health—such high-intensity and large-scale consumption of high-level resources would not leave a good impression on everyone.

Afterwards, He Ma went to the General Office. The General Office readily issued him a marriage certificate and a marriage ration slip, which he could use to collect a set of “Senator marriage use” items at the cooperative’s main store.

He Ma was very satisfied with his trip to Lin’gao. After attending the annual meeting, he bought many things in the East Gate Market—it felt a bit like setting up his own home. Guo Fu was not a beauty with both a good figure and a good appearance, but she had received a good education in the Ministry of Health, and her temperament and conversation were far superior to those of the maids who had undergone crash training. This was precisely the reason why He Ma had taken a fancy to her.

However, his formal wedding had to be postponed. After returning to Lin’gao, Wang Luobin said it would be best to hold the ceremony after the ore was shipped out—everyone was too busy recently and couldn’t attend the celebration.

“Anyway, you’ve already ‘pushed her over,’ so just take her to the little black room… no, the little cabin to live together,” Wang Luobin chuckled. “Dr. He, I didn’t expect you to be a hidden master. I see that the basic quality of the students in the Fangcaodi nursing class is not bad. It really has the feel of a Ministry of Health concubine school—”

“Not at all, not at all,” He Ma said modestly. A doctor getting involved with a young nurse was something that easily attracted hatred in both the new and old worlds. “Our feelings developed over time. It was a case of being in a favorable position.”

Ji Runzhi had also received his maid. He felt that her looks and figure were passable. But he was in a bit of a dilemma. He already had housing problems—his two apprentices lived with him for ease of daily instruction. Now with another woman, the soundproofing in the cabin was terrible. At night, it would be a live broadcast.

In the end, it was Xi Yazhou who extended a helping hand, saying that as long as he was staying in the barracks, Ji Runzhi and his maid could use his cabin at any time.

The bucket elevator unloaded from the “Great Whale” was installed at the Anyoule ore export wharf. The wharf for the ore ships had been completed earlier—a fence was built with wooden piles and then filled with a large amount of stone. The foundation was so luxurious to prepare for the installation of heavy machinery and the construction of a large iron ore storage warehouse.

The installation of the loading and unloading equipment required the cooperation of the construction company. Xiao Gui, who came along for the installation, brought a full set of supporting architectural drawings and specific technical parameters. Ji Runzhi only needed to organize the construction according to the requirements.

The bucket elevator had to be installed on a reinforced concrete foundation, or “concrete foundation” in technical terms. To ensure that this large machine could operate stably, the entire concrete foundation had to be as flat and solid as possible.

Ji Runzhi assigned the task of supervising the foundation construction site to Ji Shu.

“It must be absolutely level. You need to measure the level at several points,” Ji Runzhi instructed his young apprentice. “You’ve used a level before. When mixing the concrete, pay attention to the mixing ratio and mixing time. Don’t forget to measure the concrete temperature during pouring…”

Ji Runzhi nagged on, explaining all the key points one by one. He was still a little worried. This was the first time a native construction technician was in charge of a project alone.

“The steel bars and the iron wires for tying them are controlled materials. Pay attention to the collection and use of materials and absolutely prevent waste.” Because of the strength requirements, bamboo reinforcement could not be used as a substitute in the foundation.

“Yes, master,” Ji Shu listened very carefully.

“And…” Ji Runzhi felt there was still much to say, but he didn’t know where to start. After holding it in for a long time, he finally said, “If you have any problems, come and ask me in time!”

“I know, master.”

“The foundation must be level,” Ji Runzhi repeatedly stressed.

The reason for emphasizing the use of a level to measure the foundation and going to great lengths to build it was to ensure that the elevator frame remained vertical after installation.

Because this elevator was relatively tall and sealed, the overall design had the lower and middle casings connected to the ore silo, using the mass of the building itself to increase its stability. This was a very important aspect in Sanya, which was often hit by typhoons. The ore silo itself was also a reinforced concrete frame structure, made as sturdy as possible.

The construction of the foundation and the silo took almost three weeks. During this period, Sun Li, who had no work, fully enjoyed the seaside life in Sanya. When he was not working, he swam and fished in the bay. The fish he caught were grilled and eaten directly. He also tasted the locally brewed “Arak.”

This arak was brewed from the sap of coconut flowers and had an alcohol content of up to 75%. It was very popular in Southeast Asia. Europeans called it a strong liquor that would “turn you into a fool if you drink it.” Ye Yuming, representing the Tiandihui and the Agriculture Committee, came to Sanya to inspect the work and prepare to promote coconut plantations. He found that there were many wild coconut trees locally and immediately came up with this idea. The Grain and Oil Corporation immediately followed up, building a distillery in Sanya to specialize in brewing arak—another popular commodity for trade in the future slave trade.

Sun Li thought the taste of arak was not bad and said a few words of praise. That night, Wang Luobin had a small five-liter barrel of the liquor sent over.

Sun Li had already led a team to assemble equipment several times in Lin’gao. This time, he was familiar with the process. A few workers spent two or three days assembling the machine. He then adjusted the chain, tightening it appropriately. Then he added lubricating grease to the reducer and bearing seats. Since the Transmigration Group had no petroleum industry, lubricating grease came from two sources: coal tar refined from coal chemical industry, and natural fats and oils, the latter including vegetable oils such as castor oil, and animal fats such as tallow.

After the machine was installed, it was first run without a load to prove that it was in good working condition. Then, sandbags were gradually added for a load run. During the debugging period, everything ran normally except for the chain tension being set improperly, which caused the sprocket to overheat.