African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 550 Comrades reminiscing about old times

Mbeya City was the first to take action. Because of its early development, Mbeya City’s industrial system is the most complete in East Africa.

“Director of the Kaifendi factory, this is the German technical expert Krimers and his team. They are responsible for developing a new bearing design this time. Look, this is a sample.”

 A small bearing part is placed on the table. This is a bearing used on bicycles, and is processed purely by hand.

“Isn’t this difficult to process?” Kevin Di took the bicycle bearing and played with it in his hand.

“Haha, the axle used on the frame truck is produced by your factory. This one is smaller, so your factory can definitely produce it.”

"Hey, Director Laideen, don't talk nonsense. Don't you know the situation in our factory? It was taught by experts at the beginning. The factory was dismantled as soon as it was built. It took us half a year to stumble. We have just got on the right track, and now those guys are really getting started, but their cultural level is limited and they are not adaptable to new technologies at all. It took a lot of effort for our factory to barely keep up with Dar es Salaam Bearing. One factory.”

Speaking of the No. 1 Bearing Factory in Dar es Salaam, Kevin suddenly had an idea and said: "Oh, that's not right? You can just go to the No. 1 Bearing Factory in Dar es Salaam. Why come to us?" Why do we still have to go to the No. 1 Bearing Factory in Dar es Salaam every year to study?”

"I know you still want to shirk. I know you have no education and are afraid that you can't take responsibility. But after so many years, Mbeya City Bearing Factory No. 3 has developed best in your hands, including Factory No. 1 and Factory No. 2. None of them can compare to you. I absolutely trust you in terms of ability. Besides, you are the director of the factory and are in charge of management. I am not asking you to be a technician. What are you afraid of?"

"You also know that I am just an administrator. Anyone with a little bit of knowledge will be a treasure. But I am of no use in the company. The highest education level in the factory is for elementary school students. There is not even a middle school, so I can only do some menial work. Last year Our factory in Dar es Salaam held a technology exhibition and said that our technology was ten years behind Germany’s, and ten years ago the machines in our factory were the most advanced.”

Don’t look at the fact that compulsory education has been basically universalized in East Africa, but it is impossible to complete compulsory education in East Africa at once. It will take decades for such a large investment in Project Hope, and there is a certain number of schools built in East Africa every year.

Moreover, the quality of education in many middle schools is quite poor, especially in rural middle schools. Many teachers may only teach students according to the textbooks and do not know some topics. Most of the students who can learn in this environment are that kind of students. A smart person who can learn by reading textbooks.

As an important industrial city, the quality of education in Mbeya City is not bad. However, the Third Bearing Factory cannot recruit middle school students and is basically taken over by the First Factory.

 However, in recent years, the performance of the first and second factories has not been as good as that of the third factory under Kevin Di, so the city government will definitely give more support to the third factory next time.

So Director Laideen said: "I know the difficulties of your factory. The first and second factories have had several factory directors in recent years, and there is policy support, but the city is already very dissatisfied with them. Next year's middle school students will definitely Priority will be given to you."

Sure enough, after hearing this, Kevin Di burst into laughter: "I wish I had said no earlier. I am short of capable people."

"I know you are a master who doesn't let go of rabbits before he sees the rabbit. Last year, the city asked you to transfer you to the No. 1 factory as the director. Why didn't you go? The conditions in the No. 1 factory are much better than those in the No. 3 factory."

“Hey, squad leader, don’t you understand me? I’m so nostalgic. When I retired, I couldn’t bear to leave our old comrades!”

Both Kevin Dee and Lederne had served in the East African Army, so the two had been comrades-in-arms and had a life-or-death friendship. Although the main opponents in East Africa at that time were the tribes on the grasslands, and there were not many dangers on the battlefield, East Africa at that time The conditions were also the most difficult. There were not even decent roads. The East African Army often slept in the open air. They also suffered from all kinds of diseases. They shared the same hardships and supported each other, which naturally made them feel much better emotionally.

"Haha, the army is different now from our time. Not to mention the beautiful construction of the barracks, the various facilities are also first-class, not worse than the city government. The accommodation is comfortable, but the training intensity has been increased a lot. So I can’t say whether it’s good or bad. I can’t stand the training of new recruits now, but now the East African army should have the best food, the most oil and water, and the physical strength can keep up.” The Root Military Academy and German veterans served as the skeleton, but it could not change the characteristics of the old-style army of the East African Army at that time.

  After all, the conditions in East Africa were really poor at the time, so Ernst could not follow the rules and suddenly turned the East African army into a well-disciplined "iron army."

 Now that the conditions are good, especially in the East African Army, Ernst can be sure that his salary is the highest among the armies of various countries. Of course, this is without considering salary.

With the excellent conditions, the troops naturally could not be as accommodating as before. A major overhaul of the East African army was carried out, especially training and discipline were greatly improved. The troops' faith was also strengthened. They were loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and obeyed orders and obeyed commands.

“You don’t have access to the army. The situation in the army now is really hard to describe, especially for rough guys like us, it’s absolutely unbearable.”

"what's the situation?"

“The health issues in the army are now too strict.”

“Well! Isn’t this strange? We were very hygienic back then, weren’t we?”

Kaiwendi felt that his old comrades were making a fuss. When he first immigrated to East Africa, he realized that East Africa attached great importance to hygiene. Before he came ashore, he had to get a haircut, take a shower, and change into new clothes. Later, when he was assigned to the army, he paid more attention to hygiene. Because there is always someone supervising me in the army, I have to get up early in the morning to brush my teeth, wash my face, and fold my quilt, and I have to go to the sink to wash my clothes in the evening.

"Hahaha, we were nothing compared to what we are now. Now the quilts in the army are required to be folded neatly. It is said that they must be made of tofu pieces without any warping or wrinkles. I went to the military camp to visit, and the instructor held up Measure wherever the ruler is, and if it doesn’t meet the requirements even slightly, throw the quilt into the toilet.”

“Isn’t it about hygiene? The toilet is so dirty.”

“Toilets have changed now. They have cement floors and are smooth. They are cleaned every day. But you don’t know that the floors have to be wiped with rags until they are shiny. They can be used as mirrors and there is no smell at all.”

"There are also requirements for the placement of items. They cannot be misplaced at all. Someone checks them every day. Towels must be folded into square blocks and placed on the edge of the basin. Now the army also has toothpaste specially used for it. To clean the mouth, toothbrushes and water cups must be placed in fixed positions in the basin without any mistakes. There are also lockers, but the clothes must be neatly arranged..."

Kevindi listened with relish to his old comrades describing the new changes in the army. Of course, only the industrial development of Mbeya City can provide such superior conditions for the local garrison. In some backward areas, life is still miserable.

The troops in the west must have had the hardest time, especially in the tropical rain forest climate area. The environment is inherently poor, the facilities are not perfect, the distance from the developed areas in East Africa is far, and the transportation is not convenient.

 (End of this chapter)