latelenovela Chapter 364: The Stupid Engineer at Nanhua Shipyard (Part 2)
Chapter 364: The Stupid Engineer at Nanhua Shipyard (Part 2)
After a brief silence in the conference room, Antonio put down the newspaper and sighed: "By the way, you all saw it, right? The capital of the Fa country was liberated by the Allied forces."
When the news came out, several Italian engineers had different expressions.
"I'm afraid the Nazis' days are numbered." Luigi lit a cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke with his eyes narrowed.
"Yes, the Allies are approaching the Rhine. The Nazis can't hold out for much longer." Mattia shrugged, a gloating smile on his face. "Our Nazi friends are doomed!"
As soon as these words were spoken, several people laughed.
Although they had more or less cooperated with the Germans before the war, they did not have much affection for the Nazis.
Although Italy fought alongside Germany in the early stages of the war, after the dethronement of the Monarch and the surrender of Italy, the Hans' attitude towards Italy became extremely bad, and a large number of Italian soldiers were sent to prisoner-of-war camps.
Many Italian civilians also suffered oppression in the Hans-occupied areas of the northern Apennines.
"The Hans are about to be destroyed, but that means the war is almost over." Luigi flicked the ash from his cigarette and said with a smile, "Once the war is over, we can go home!"
"Go home?" Antonio sneered and knocked on the table. "You mean, back to that ruined Apennine Peninsula?"
As soon as the words fell, the conference room fell silent again.
They all knew that the situation in Italy was as bad as Hans's.
Since the Allied attack on Sicily in 43, the whole of Italy has become a battlefield.
The Wehrmacht, the Allied forces, the local Italian resistance organization, and the remnants of the Mexican fascist forces, all kinds of forces fought in a melee, with bombs, artillery bombardments, and street fighting, razing many cities to the ground.
What was once your home may now be nothing but rubble and hungry refugees.
"Do you remember my home in Naples?" Antonio sighed and looked at Luigi. "I just received a letter from my brother. He said our home was bombed and the whole family has taken refuge in the countryside, living on the land."
"My hometown of Genoa isn't in a much better situation," Mattia said with a wry smile. "I heard the port was practically bombed, and our Ansaldo shipyard was flattened by Allied bombers."
Luigi frowned, seeming to think seriously about this.
"But we can't stay here forever, right?" he hesitated. "We are Italians after all..."
"But it's really nice to be here." Mattia looked up and around, his eyes settling on the neat industrial park outside the window. "Look at our life now—high wages, meat every day, running water and electricity, and the kids can go to school."
Anyway, they are in a good situation right now.
Compared to starving in post-war Italy, here at least I have food to eat, a salary to earn, and can continue to do my old job.
"They even set up a kindergarten and primary school specifically for the Italian language, and my Isabella is helping out there."
Isabella was Mattia's wife. Antonio remembered her as a gentle Genoese housewife who was now taking care of the children of these middle-aged people in kindergarten.
"Don't forget, there's a car to pick us up and drop us off," Antonio added meaningfully. "Do you think we can get such treatment in Italy nowadays?"
Luigi was silent.
Although these Italian engineers are nominally "technical exiles" in the war, their treatment in the industrial system of the People's Army is top-notch.
Zhang Chi is well aware of the value of industrial talents. He not only gives them generous salaries, but also sets aside areas to build expert dormitories for them and provides complete living facilities so that their families can also enjoy a good life.
"But the problem is..." Luigi frowned, "After all, this is not our home."
"Home?" Mattia scoffed. "What kind of home is left on the Apennines? After the war, most Italians probably won't even have enough to eat."
Several people were silent again.
They knew that Mattia was telling the truth. Didn't they leave their hometown because their family couldn't have enough food to eat?
And it's different from the last world war.
Italy was the victorious country in the last war and gained some benefits after the war, so it is not doing badly.
This time, Italy may not be able to get the same treatment as the victorious country, and those who were born at the end of the last century and the beginning of this century know what happened to the defeated country - Hans.
'50 marks for a loaf of bread' was just an insignificant footnote in the tragedy.
If these technical talents go back, they may not face the glory of rebuilding their homes, but rather material shortages, economic collapse, and even political turmoil.
Go back and eat a pizza that costs 50 lira a plate?
In comparison, although life in Myitkyina is like being in a foreign country, it is at least stable and prosperous.
"Besides..." Antonio sighed softly, "The contract we signed doesn't mean we can just leave whenever we want."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed slightly.
Their original contracts were for at least 10 to 15 years of service before the National Security Army gave them tickets to leave the Nazi-occupied area.
If they want to leave before the expiration of their contract, it may not be an easy thing to do.
"So, we can either keep doing this, or..." Giuseppe paused and shrugged, "take a gamble and see if there are better opportunities in the future."
Everyone looked at each other and no one spoke for a while.
In the shipyard outside the window, the roar of machines is still heard.
In the newly built 3000-ton dry dock, a slightly bloated wide-body ship is being fitted out, and workers are using a crane to lift groups of rocket launch rails onto the hull.
-----
Different from the bustling streets and the eerie silence in the shipyard meeting room, in Yangon Port, at No. 2 Zhujiang Street near the port area, the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce Hall was filled with sorrow and gloom.
The golden wall lamp cast a dim light, illuminating anxious faces.
Huan Borong sat at the head of the table, holding a celadon teacup in his hand, but his eyes were fixed on the people arguing in the hall.
After nearly two years of development and taking advantage of Zhang Chi's four-year plan, Huan Borong has now become the leader of the business community in Bago. He owns many large enterprises covering multiple light industrial fields such as garment and textile, daily necessities production, and food processing.
"It's all over! It's like a plague!" A thin businessman with a goatee slammed the table, his voice sharp and full of undisguised panic.
"I've said it before, Zhang Chi is so young, his hair barely fully grown, how can he possibly fight Great Britain? He's caused a disaster this time, and we'll all be buried with him!"