Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 79 Sizzling

Sizzle.
Sizzle.
Over the course of more than an hour, Yan Hui's ears were almost deaf, and his head was covered in countless wood shavings. These wood shavings did not scratch his skin, but Yan Hui smelled of wood all over.

He didn't talk much with the workers because the band saws were too noisy to communicate. He noticed that the workers operating the band saws usually wore Lei Feng hats, and also covered their mouths and noses with something like scarves.

Yan Hui has nowhere to look for him now, so he can only wait until lunchtime to talk to him. Everyone is busy right now, and no one is paying any attention to him.

The weather was hot, so Yan Hui took off his clothes and wrapped them around his mouth and nose to act as a mask.

He was covered in sawdust from sweating, but he couldn't stop. He absolutely couldn't stop here. If he stopped for ten minutes, the entire factory would come to a standstill.

Yan Hui wasn't one to give up easily, and he worked for almost two hours straight.

To be honest, this job isn't too tiring. Just like my fourth uncle said, it doesn't require much physical exertion, and there are occasional breaks.

But the break only lasts for a minute or two.
Fortunately, Yan Hui is not addicted to smoking, otherwise he wouldn't even have enough time to smoke during his breaks.

As for smoking while working?
Strictly prohibited!

Before Yan Hui came to work here, his fourth uncle specifically asked him if he smoked. At the time, Yan Hui said he didn't, so he didn't think much of it.

Upon arriving at this work environment, Yan Hui immediately understood his fourth uncle's intention.

First, there was simply no time to smoke; second, smoking in Yan Hui's workplace was extremely dangerous. Wood chips are flammable, and underground, in poor lighting, they could easily blind the eyes, making it easy for a lit match to cause a major disaster.

Sizzle...sizzle...sizzle.
At this moment, the band saw's rotation speed began to decrease. Yan Hui thought it was because he hadn't cleaned up the sawdust in time, so he hurriedly used a stick to scoop it out. As a result, the stick hit the band saw and was instantly cut off at one end.

This kind of cutting won't send the stick flying at all, because the stick is no different from a candle in front of a band saw.

A small section broke off, but the stick was still usable. Yan Hui quickly tidied it up, only to find that the band saw had gradually stopped after cutting the log.

This startled him. Could it be that the band saw stopped because it cut into a foreign object? Had he caused trouble as soon as he arrived? Yan Hui suddenly became somewhat frustrated, bracing himself for a scolding.

The band saw stopped, and Yan Hui crawled out from underground. He saw that Brother Zhao had already arrived.

The band saw stopped making no sound, and Yan Hui suddenly felt that the surroundings had become extremely quiet. Although the other machines were still running, it was as if the world had lost its sound, as if the tape recorder had lost power.

A few seconds later, Yan Hui's hearing gradually returned, and he came to his senses and moved closer to Brother Zhao.

Brother Zhao and two workers were disassembling the saw blade when Yan Hui hurriedly asked what was going on.

"That's normal. The saw blade is worn out and needs to be sharpened and replaced with a new one," Brother Zhao explained. "This morning we were cutting white pine, which is relatively soft, so we changed the blade about every two or three hours. If we were cutting hardwood, we would have to change it more frequently."

"How long does it take to change it?" Yan Hui asked hurriedly.

"Fifteen minutes?" Brother Zhao was a little uncertain. "I'm not going to talk to you now. I have to take this thing apart myself." While Brother Zhao was taking apart the saw blade, Yan Hui had a rare break. Since it would take more than ten minutes, he could go to the yard to shake off the sawdust.

The weather was hot, and Yan Hui's sweat had mingled with the sawdust on his body. It was still refreshing to be outside in the wind. He brushed the sawdust off his body and a few minutes later ran into Brother Zhao, who was going out for a smoke.

“You have no experience. Look, the workers are all wearing big hats. That’s because they’re afraid their hair will get stuck with sawdust and be hard to wash. Besides that, they also have cotton stuffed in their ears,” Zhao said, handing Yan Hui a wad of cotton. “Try it.”

"Thank you, Brother Zhao!" Yan Hui felt that Brother Zhao had treated him quite well.

Cotton's sound insulation isn't great, but it's better than nothing. Yan Hui can't get a hat yet, but he's not in a hurry. It's only early August, and the weather is too hot; wearing a hat has its advantages and disadvantages. As for the hair sticking to his hair... he'll get a short haircut!

After Zhao finished his cigarette, Yan Hui followed him back. By then, the workers had already installed the new saw blade, and the machine would soon be running again.

Not far away, there was a place specifically for sharpening saw blades. Two workers were sharpening band saws there, and they looked very tired. After thinking about it, Yan Hui still felt that moving sawdust was easier.

Sizzle.
The band saw started running again, and Yan Hui then took the wooden stick and went down to dig.

In one morning, the saw blade was changed twice, and Yan Hui took two breaks.

To be honest, my arms and legs weren't that tired. The most troublesome things were the sawdust, the noise, and the dust.
The lunch break was only an hour long, but what Yan Hui wanted to do most wasn't eat. After a busy morning, it wasn't that Yan Hui wasn't hungry, but rather that his whole body was itchy and...
Yan Hui didn't know how to describe it, but he just felt terrible.

The only consolation is that Yan Hui is relatively adapted to the heat and humidity. Although the job is hot and sweaty, people from southern Fujian are indeed more adapted to this condition than people from Fengtian, after all, the climate of southern Fujian is what it is.

There were showers at the back of the factory. When Yan Hui arrived, two workers were already showering, and there was only one tap left.

There were four or five black water bags on it. The water inside was very hot after being exposed to the sun all morning. Yan Hui adjusted the temperature and rinsed off the sawdust on his body.

Yan Hui's hair was impossible to wash clean; it was completely entangled with sawdust and wood powder. He planned to get it all cut off after get off work that evening.

While he was showering, several more people came to line up. To avoid running out of water, Yan Hui finished showering in just two or three minutes, quickly got dressed, and went out.

The washing time was too short; Yan Hui's elbows, groin, hair, and many other areas were still covered in sawdust, especially his ears.
Yan Hui then remembered that he still had cotton balls in his ears; he had actually taken a shower with them in! The worst part was that he hadn't even realized it!

The cotton was soaked in water and covered in wood powder. After taking it out, Yan Hui felt much better, but he still threw away the two lumps of wet cotton that looked somewhat disgusting.

He planned to go back to his room and pull out some more cotton from his quilt before going to work in the afternoon.

After grabbing a bite to eat at the entrance, Yan Hui bought a handmade mask. He tried it on and was immediately satisfied, which gave him renewed confidence for the afternoon's work. It was just a pity that he couldn't buy earplugs.

Throughout the noon, including the time Yan Hui spent showering, he was only out for about 50 minutes, and the factory had already resumed operation. This period has been busy; orders have been piling up for at least a month. If it weren't for the fact that leaving the lights on at night is too dim and could easily cause accidents, working overtime would probably be a given.

Seeing the band saw running, Yan Hui put on his mask and earplugs, and then went to the basement.

Sizzle.
(End of this chapter)