Chapter 569: Not Cancer, Better Than Cancer

The next day.

Early in the morning, Liu Haizhong asked his second aunt to make a pie and fried an egg and put it in front of the two brothers, deliberately making them tempted.

"Hmm~ It tastes really good."

Liu Haizhong ate while smacking his lips to savor the food.

The aroma of the meaty pie wafted out, attracting the worms in the two brothers' stomachs.

"Hmm!" The two brothers swallowed hard, looking at the pie eagerly.

My clenched hands were trembling. I really wanted to grab a piece of pie with my chopsticks, but I held back.

In the past, if you stretched out your hand, you would be hit by chopsticks in your bangs, leaving a red mark.

After so many months, both of them have gotten used to it.

"Stop looking and eat quickly." Liu Guangtian suppressed his greed and lowered his head, touching Liu Guangfu beside him.

The two brothers were eating steamed corn bread with porridge and some pickles. What should have been a delicious breakfast seemed bland at this moment.

"Hmph, little brat. I can't handle you two little bastards." Liu Haizhong looked calm and ate his food bit by bit.

It is very comfortable to watch the two brothers' expressions as they are eager to make a move but are constantly trying to hold back.

This breakfast was Liu Haizhong's way of showing his power to the two brothers, letting them know who was the boss.

Liu Guangtian finished his meal in a hurry, immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks, took his schoolbag and left without mercy.

"Wait for me." Liu Guangfu followed closely behind.

The two brothers' actions caught Liu Haizhong off guard. He stared blankly at the two men leaving, then looked at the second aunt.

"Hey, these two little bastards!"

Second Aunt didn't expect that the two brothers could be so tolerant. In the past, when they encountered such a thing, they would always beg Liu Haizhong to give them some money in a humble manner.

Today I actually got tough and dared to say no.

"You bastard, just wait." Liu Guangtian left the backyard, looked in the direction of the Liu family, and cursed inwardly with gritted teeth.

The two brothers passed by the front yard and happened to meet Li Kailang who was on his way to work.

"Brother Li!"

"It's you two. You're leaving for school so early." Li Kailang smiled and took out a few White Rabbit milk candies from his pocket.

"Thank you, Brother Li!" The two brothers took the candies with great joy, unable to hold back their saliva, and opened one to taste it first.

"So sweet."

"Mmmmm~ It's delicious."

"Go to school early."

Li Kailang got on his bike and headed straight for the steel rolling mill.

Steel rolling mill.

"Everyone, check again to see if there is anything wrong with the car and get it repaired as soon as possible, even if it is a minor problem."

"Don't be afraid of being busy. Make preparations early while you still have time."

Zhang Jinwu came back from the meeting and reiterated his request.

Now, the entire city is preparing for the autumn harvest, and everything is giving way to the autumn harvest.

"I have a few tasks to deliver scrap steel to the countryside. I want a few masters to take over."

"I come!"

"Add me one!"

Such an easy job was immediately taken over by a master.

"Alas, it's too late. What a pity."

"If you have a quick hand, you will have a slow hand."

Several masters happily accepted the task and drove to the workshop to get scrap steel.

"Mr. Wang, please keep an eye on the spare parts."

"Don't worry." Master Wang waved his hand and called a few apprentices to make parts.

Suddenly, a young man came towards the transport team, shouting, "Master Li Kailang, Master Li Kailang."

"I'm here, what's the matter?" Li Kailang looked at him, still quite unfamiliar.

"Are you Master Li Kailang?"

"I am."

"Director Yang wants to see you. He's waiting for you in the cadre building."

"What does Director Yang want to see me about?"

"I don't know about that. He asked me to come find you."

"Okay." Li Kailang immediately went towards the cadre building.

I saw a group of people gathered downstairs in the cadre building. Upon closer inspection, I saw Guo Dapiezi, Jin Lijing and other workshop directors.

"Director Yang, you're looking for me?"

"Well, we'll go to the workshop for an inspection later, and you can come with us." Director Yang took the time to respond and then chatted with other directors.

After a while, Director Yang saw that everyone was there, "Okay, now that everyone is here, let's go and inspect the workshop."

"Let's see if there are any problems in the workshop that can be improved. Let's go."

Director Yang is in charge of the workshop and is very concerned about improving and upgrading the workshop.

Under his leadership, the steel mill was able to avoid decline only because he frequently inspected the workshops and promptly corrected and optimized any problems.

The first place we visited was Guo Dapiezi’s first workshop. After a round of inspection, everyone found no problems and could proceed as usual.

Next are the second and third workshops.

Fitters, forgers, riveters, foundry shops, smelting shops.
We visited each workshop one by one and everyone who had problems pointed them out on the spot. The workshop directors did not feel ashamed or embarrassed, but directly ordered rectification on the spot.

"Get out of the way!"

As I was walking, I suddenly heard a series of hurried noises coming from the front.

Everyone looked forward and saw four or five workers carrying several other workers and running out in a hurry.

Everyone immediately made way to let them pass.

"What's going on? Director Sun."

Director Su immediately stepped forward and said: "The worker is ill."

"He's sick? Why did he suddenly get sick?"

"It's not sudden. Every month there are always a few people who suddenly get sick. I don't know why, but the doctor said they would be fine after a few days of rest."

"Is it a sudden onset? Or does it happen every month? What's going on? Has it been reported?"

Director Su nodded repeatedly: "It has been reported and investigated. The doctor said that it was caused by working too long and the problem will be recurring. It will be fine after a few days of rest. It's nothing serious."

Hearing this, Director Yang nodded and said, "Is that so? Let's go in and take a look."

When the group entered the workshop, they saw dust flying all over the sky, forming a "smog" that obstructed their vision.

But they didn't care and walked straight in to watch the workers work.

I saw a pile of metal powder poured into a container, and after a series of processes, a finished product was produced.

The finished product is then placed in a fenced area to wait for cooling. This series of processes is obviously powder metallurgy.

Powder metallurgy is the process of producing metal powder or using metal powder as raw material, and finally producing finished workpieces through processes such as forming and sintering.

“This workpiece is really well made.”

Director Yang commented enthusiastically that many workpieces that are difficult to make are made by powder metallurgy.

"Oh my God!"

Li Kailang didn't even need to come in. Just by looking at the "smog", he could tell how big the metal dust was.

The reason why the workers are in poor health is not because of any illness, but because they have contracted pneumoconiosis.

Pneumoconiosis is an immortal cancer. It is the occupational disease that mining companies fear the most. Once infected, life is worse than death.

The workers did not take any protective measures and just worked in the dust. It was natural that their health would deteriorate over time.

"Cough cough cough~" As soon as Li Kailang stepped in, he was choked by the metal dust in the air and started coughing continuously.

"Hahaha~" A group of leaders laughed when they saw Li Kailang coughing.

"Xiao Li, your body is not in good condition either."

"Young people should exercise more." "You'll get used to it. It was the same when I first came here. Just smell it a few more times and you'll be fine."

The leaders didn't care about the situation at all and were even in the mood to joke around.

"Cough cough~" Li Kailang coughed several times. He really couldn't stand it anymore. He felt like he could inhale a lot of metal dust with every breath.

He immediately retreated several meters away from the pressing workshop and did not stop until he could no longer breathe in the metal powder and dust.

"Huff~" Li Kailang took big gulps of the fresh air outside.

"Huh, I'm alive now. I almost died."

Due to equipment limitations, current medical technology is unable to detect the real cause of workers' physical discomfort.

Unable to find the problem, the doctor asked the worker to go home and rest. He found that the worker felt better after a few days of rest, so he simply used this as the diagnosis result.

Li Kailang watched the leaders and workers walking "openly" under the metal dust, but he couldn't do it.

Pneumoconiosis is more terrible than cancer. It can make a person disabled in just a few months. He will have heavy breathing even when walking and his life will be ruined!
Director Yang said considerately, "Xiao Li, it's very dusty here. If you're not used to it, wait outside for a while."

Seeing Director Yang's kindness, Li Kailang couldn't help but remind him: "Director Yang, why don't you come out? There is too much powder in the workshop, and I'm worried that something might happen."

Director Su immediately went out to maintain the situation: "Something happened? What could have happened? I have been staying in the workshop and nothing happened."

As soon as he finished speaking, two workers started coughing loudly.

"Old Wang, are you okay?"

"It's okay, I'm fine." Lao Wang waved his hands, coughed, and then took deep breaths.

But his face became redder and redder, and then his eyes turned white, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

"Lao Wang, Lao Wang! Someone come quickly!"

Immediately, several workers ignored their work and carried Lao Wang straight to the infirmary.

Look at how swiftly these people move. This kind of thing happens quite often and their movements are so skillful.

Coughing, difficulty breathing, and feeling sick are all early symptoms of pneumoconiosis.

To put it simply, pneumoconiosis is the continuous accumulation of metal powder in the lungs, which makes it difficult to supply the respiratory tract, leads to lung fibrosis, and finally causes fibrosis of other organs.

"This, this." Director Su's face turned black on the spot.

With such a living example right before their eyes, all the leaders couldn't help but take it seriously, as they valued their lives more than anyone else.

But since Director Yang didn't leave, it was difficult for them to leave either.

"Director Yang, how about we go out first?"

Director Yang didn't say anything, but he walked out of the workshop quickly and honestly.

As soon as they came out and breathed the clean fresh air, they all sighed for a moment that they had never breathed such sweet air.

"Director Su, what's going on?" asked Director Yang.

"This, this." Director Su wanted to cry but had no tears. Everything was fine normally, but why did so many people fall ill when the leader came to inspect?

Seeing that Director Su was hesitant and unable to explain, he turned to look at Lu Xiang cheerfully.

"Xiao Li, did you discover something? What's going on?"

Li Kailang nodded and said seriously: "I think the workers are not suffering from old illnesses, but are sick. This illness may be very serious."

Li Kailang immediately expressed his suspicion. As there was no clear definition of pneumoconiosis, he could not talk about the disease without any basis. He could only describe the relevant symptoms.

When Director Yang heard the symptoms one by one, he immediately became serious and didn't care where Li Kailang got the information from.

"Director Su, I just heard you say that several people get sick every month. Are there many people who fell ill this year?"

Li Kailang's question went straight to Director Su's heart.

Director Su was being stared at by everyone, and he had no choice but to tell the truth.

"A lot. Every year, there are people falling ill. This year, for some reason, there are a lot more. I am really troubled and I don't know what to do."

"Master Li, what can you do? Is this disease serious?"

As the workshop director, Director Su was also worried that if a large number of workshop workers fell ill, it would be a major production accident.

It was fine before the famine, but the situation became serious after the famine, especially this year.

He reported it, but the doctor couldn't find the problem, so he had to continue with the treatment.

"To be honest, it's not possible to stay in such an environment every day and have to be on guard against cats that may appear at any time. There is nothing we can do."

"Workers have to support their families, so they have no choice but to work hard. They can't leave even if they want to."

Several workers fell ill, but it did not attract the attention of his superiors, but he had to pay attention to it.

In the past, the workshop still recruited workers, and everyone would do the job after working for a while. Now the factory is not recruiting, and every time one is employed, there is one less person.

If the steel rolling mill was not a large factory with senior workers doing the manual work, the fewer workers would do more.

Li Kailang asked: "When something like this happened and the workers fell ill, didn't their families come to cause trouble?"

"How could there not be trouble? It was just handled well."

The so-called handling is nothing more than paying compensation of a few hundred yuan. If the workers can do the job, they will continue to do it. If they cannot do it, they will retire due to illness and keep their jobs.

Not only did they lose money, but they also retained their jobs. In short, it was a good arrangement. What else could the workers' families be dissatisfied with?

Director Su had thought about solving the problem, but he just couldn't find the solution. He even thought about shutting down the workshop.

But the mission of this workshop is more important, so how can we stop it?

Director Yang looked at Li Kailang and Director Su talking to each other, but he still didn't understand how serious the disease was.

"Xiao Li, the disease you mentioned is a bit confusing. Is there a simpler way to understand it? We've all gone in, so won't our bodies be okay?"

The other workshop directors nodded and stared at Li Kailang nervously; their lives were much more important.

Li Kailang simply explained: "This metal dust is like sand. It's okay to breathe in a small amount of sand. The body will slowly excrete it."

"But the workers in the workshop breathe more, and the toxins accumulate in their bodies, which will have a great impact on their health."

The leaders were relieved when they heard that everything was fine. "It's good that everything is fine."

Whatever comes next goes in one ear and out the other.

Director Yang nodded and said, "Then how can we prevent this? We can't just stop the workshop, right? This workshop stamps a lot of workpieces that are difficult to make."

"It's simple. This disease is easy to prevent and treat. Just make yourself look like a doctor."

Immediately, Li Kailang explained the prevention and treatment methods of later generations.

To put it simply, it means wearing a mask, face shield, and dust-proof glasses to reduce the risk of inhaling metal dust, and replace protective products regularly.

Ensure ventilation in the workshop and conduct regular physical checks on workers.

Director Su listened, his eyes lit up: "That's good, that's good, there's a solution, finally there is a solution."

Director Yang believed in these methods, but he had no other choice but to use Li Kailang's method first.

"Director Yang, I think this kind of incident needs to be investigated as thoroughly as possible. How about we start the investigation from our workshop?"

"This is not just a matter for our steel mills, but for all metallurgical plants."

Since there is no definite diagnosis of pneumoconiosis at present, we should start investigating it from now on. The sooner we investigate it, the sooner we can protect these workers.

Those who can come to the pressing workshop are basically the pillars of their families, and nothing can happen to them.

"You're right." Director Yang nodded.

It wasn't discovered before, but now that it has been discovered, we must take it seriously.

Director Yang turned to Director Su and said, "Tell the workers to stop working now and go to the hospital for a physical check-up. I will ask the logistics director to purchase those things later."

"The factory will pay for all the workers' medical expenses, so they can rest assured to get checked and recuperate, and their wages will be paid during this period."

Director Su wanted to say something, but was stopped.

"The health of the workers is the most important thing. The production in the workshop can be put on hold for the time being. That's the decision."

"Yes! I'll go now." Director Su immediately turned around and went into the workshop, shouting at everyone to stop production and work.

The workers didn't understand what was going on and just walked out of the workshop.

Breathing the fresh air outside, the workers couldn't help feeling refreshed and their depressed chests felt much more comfortable.

The leaders left first. Since they wanted to investigate, they had to investigate thoroughly.

As for how to investigate, the people in the factory are not there to do the work, so they will naturally investigate every detail.

The workers in the workshop were taken to the hospital for examination immediately, and all were diagnosed with lung inflammation.

It was only at Li Kailang's reminder that the doctor conducted another in-depth examination and indeed discovered the specific cause of the disease.

The hospital also cooperated with the steel mill to conduct a detailed investigation.

At this point, Li Kailang has nothing to do.

(End of this chapter)

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