Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 148: Company

"Find the latest chapters of the novel 'Humans Shrunk 100 Times'!" Tang Jing explained, "The Huangli (Chinese almanac) has always had various versions, and there has been constant disagreement about which version is correct. With the advent of computers, it has become easier to compile the Huangli."

"Why do you claim your version is authentic then?" Chen Mu asked.

"In truth, it's not about right or wrong," Tang Jing chuckled, "During the Qing Dynasty, there were multiple versions of the almanac, often contradicting one another. Emperor Qianlong ordered a unification, resulting in the book 'Xie Ji Bian Fang Shu' (A Book Refuting Calendar Errors)."

"Alright," Chen Mu still didn't fully grasp it and inquired, "So, are we really going to follow this almanac for our future actions?"

"Such mystical things are just for fun, it's not something to be completely believed," Tang Jing smiled.

"Then why do you spend so much time writing it?" Chen Mu was speechless.

"What else can we do?" Tang Jing shrugged, "Now that we have paper and pens, we might as well write something. I'm currently transcribing 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' and you guys will have time to read it. Besides, history books record the past, while almanacs provide glimpses of the future. They complement each other, isn't that great?"

This reason was quite compelling, leaving Chen Mu at a loss for words.

...

But that's not all.

With these two "books," everyone's intellectual life became much richer.

After a busy day, everyone gathered around the towel and participated in composing the history of the day together.

It felt like everyone was writing a diary together.

At this moment, everyone was most relaxed, lying or sitting randomly on the pristine towels.

Above them was a street lamp rising from the ground and curving downward.

Chen Mu crafted the lamp post, and Dong Junwei naturally contributed the light bulb, a masterpiece.

The lighting wasn't very bright, and to avoid exposure, they only lit it for a while each day when the sky was half dark.

However, the atmosphere was extremely pleasant.

Everyone chatted and helped Tang Jing gradually perfect today's diary, recording and reminiscing about the day's events.

With about twenty people, there were always some interesting anecdotes every day.

For example, today, when Wei Dalei and Zhao Xiaoyan were moving things together, Old Wei accidentally carried the goods with Zhao Xiaoyan still holding onto them.

And then, Du Jiajia would secretly bring back a few strands of cat fur every time she met with Xiao Huang. Dong Junwei collected all these fur strands, saying she could use them to weave some sweaters in the future.

...

The construction of the lookout tower's elevator was underway with great urgency.

The most challenging part was the steel columns used as tracks.

One elevator required four tracks, and the 80-centimeter height meant these tracks couldn't be too thin; otherwise, they would bend.

Unlike the steel pipes used as sliders, human weight could be almost negligible on these tracks, but it was different for the elevator. If the tracks had even the slightest bend, the lifting platform would get stuck and couldn't function properly.

In the end, these four tracks were made to be about the thickness of a person, and if viewed from an old perspective, they would be similar to knitting needles for making sweaters. They were made entirely of stainless steel, so their hardness wasn't a problem.

As for the material of the lifting platform, a lighter plastic was chosen to make it easier to control the friction between it and the metal tracks.

Regarding the cables, they initially intended to use cotton threads, but the lifespan of such material was too short. It would likely break after just a few days of friction with the pulleys.

However, if they used metal or plastic, the flexibility wouldn't be sufficient, considering that the function of this thing was that of a rope.

In the end, Chen Mu made up his mind to create a real chain.

It would be the kind of iron chain formed by countless oval-shaped iron rings linked together.

The height of the elevator was 80 centimeters, but the length of the chain needed to be much longer.

Thinking about making such a chain manually, it seemed unreliable, but at the moment, there didn't seem to be any other options.

Luckily, the structure was simple, and for Chen Mu, mass-producing such items wasn't too difficult. Once he became skilled, he could work at a decent speed.

Tang Jing remained the chief engineer.

She calculated all the required structural components and parts, and then provided Chen Mu with the dimensions. After all the components were manufactured, they assembled them one by one.

It took about a week.

Finally, both elevators were completed.

Du Jiajia excitedly went up first to experience it.

Since the elevators relied solely on changing the counterweight to achieve vertical movement with a constant acceleration, the initial speed couldn't be too fast; otherwise, people might be thrown out at the end.

Of course, there was a manual braking device on the lifting platform to slow down or stop the elevators in case they were moving too fast.

Though this project didn't have the significant importance of the water diversion system, its construction difficulty and complexity were still considerable.

However, the number of people involved in the entire construction process wasn't many—only six in total.

Tang Jing was the chief engineer;

Chen Mu was the materials and process supplier;

Wei Dalei was the transporter and installer;

Lu Liangliang and Lu Shanshan provided material processing services;

He Ying was the supervisor, responsible for overseeing and inspecting the entire project, mainly testing the lifting platform from top to bottom to ensure it met the required standards.

In just a week, the six of them successfully completed this large-scale project. From the current perspective, this elevator system was equivalent to a towering building 80 meters high, which was unimaginable in the past.

Tang Jing suggested that the six of them could establish a company called "Qiming Architectural Design Co., Ltd.," with Chen Mu as the legal representative and herself as the chief designer.

The purpose of this company's establishment was to provide various architectural equipment needed for Qiming.

According to Tang Jing, Qiming Architectural Design Co., Ltd. was an architectural company with general contracting qualifications, capable of offering comprehensive services such as design, construction, and decoration.

Their next project would be the construction of bathrooms and the renovation of toilets.

Tang Jing had long-term plans and even thought about expanding the business in the future, perhaps constructing residential buildings for Qingbei or even building a monument for them when human society became stable.

Chen Mu found this joke quite amusing and didn't decline the position of the legal representative. He encouraged the other five in a boss-like manner, saying that if the company performed well by the end of the year, he would give them a substantial year-end bonus.

Of course, the company hadn't generated any profit yet as they currently didn't have any income-generating projects. As a result, Chen Mu didn't need to worry about paying the employees.

However, during the regular Qiming assembly that occurred every seven days, Dong Junwei, acting as the Chief Decision Officer, approved the establishment of Qiming Architectural Design Co., Ltd., appointed Chen Mu as the legal representative, and issued the business license prepared by Tang Jing.

Inspired by this event, Tang Jing proposed the idea of creating a set of corporate laws to regulate the procedures and requirements for establishing, operating, and dissolving companies.

The others were almost caught off guard and nearly burst into laughter.

With only seventeen people in total, the idea of formulating corporate laws seemed quite excessive. After all, each person would have their own company, making it a total of just seventeen companies.

If someone else had said this, they would have probably been laughed to death. But since it was Tang Jing, they didn't take it too seriously.

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