Shire strolled leisurely through the tractor factory.
Francis Tractor Factory is considered a large-scale enterprise in France. According to French statistics, there are only 257 companies with more than a thousand employees, most of which are small-scale enterprises with fifty or sixty people.
However, Francis Tractor Factory has more than two thousand employees, thanks to Francis's heavy investment two years ago to import the "Holt 60" from Britain, the world's first crawler tractor using an internal combustion engine, successfully developed in 1911.
After importing this tractor, Francis defeated all competitors, capturing seventy percent of the market share, becoming the leader in agricultural tractors in France, resulting in the factory's current scale.
All the people in Davaz Town got jobs because of this, along with many others coming from elsewhere to earn money, including workers from Paris, which also drove up the prices and rents in Davaz Town.
The assembly workshop was large, with a dozen unfinished tractors parked in the center. Workers were busy up and down, the sound of metal clashing and chains moving parts was incessant, creating a scene of bustling activity.
However, Shire could tell that the workers were more or less distracted, their speed much slower than usual.
This wasn't because of recent unsold tractors piling up in the warehouse, but because the Germans were about to invade, and the workers were uncertain if their efforts still held any meaning.
Just as Shire was considering his next steps, a familiar voice called his name.
Turning his head, Matthew revealed half of his body from behind a tractor. Wearing oil-stained work clothes and holding a wrench, he waved at Shire with a bright smile on his face.
Shire smiled back and quickly walked forward.
Matthew was Joseph's son, two years older than Shire, and had been in the same class with Shire until middle school.
Perhaps because of Joseph's relationship with the Bernard family, Matthew had been looking out for Shire since childhood.
Shire had been bullied a lot over the years.
Most of Shire's classmates were farmers and workers exploited by capitalists. Some couldn't get the expected compensation due to labor disputes or work injuries, while others couldn't repay the high loan interest of 5% to 10% to the banks... The latter was entirely the crime of the two hundred family banks, even unrelated to the Bernard family.
They had nowhere to seek justice and couldn't make ends meet, so their children would vent their anger on Shire, the "capitalist"!
Thus, Shire earned many nicknames, such as "Bastard," "Vampire," "Hypocrite," and so on.
Matthew always stood up, shielding Shire, shouting at those kids with raised fists,
"Do you want to try my fists? Come on, you bastards!"
Matthew never reasoned with them, always solving problems with fists.
This seemed to be quite effective, as Shire successfully survived till now. Even in high school without Matthew, few dared to bully Shire.
Matthew set down his wrench and gave Shire a hearty hug, completely ignoring the oil stains on his work clothes.
"I heard you're going to take charge of the tractor factory?" Matthew's eyes were sincere: "Really happy for you, seems like Francis finally acknowledged you!"
Shire smiled self-deprecatingly: "It's just temporary, I don't care about it!"
"I'm thinking about a problem!" Matthew looked around half-jokingly: "If you manage here, does that make me your employee? How should I address you then?"
Shire seriously "uh-huh"-ed, raised his head, clasped his hands behind his back, adopting an arrogant posture:
"Young Master Shire? Or sir? Or lord..."
"Go to hell!" Matthew laughed heartily, placed his arm around Shire's shoulder, and pushed him aside.
After a while, Matthew said sternly, "But you might not have the chance!"
"Why?" Shire asked, puzzled.
Matthew shrugged: "Did you forget I'm already nineteen?"
"You received conscription orders?" A hint of fear appeared in Shire's eyes.
Matthew nodded: "They need more hands. If nothing goes wrong, I'll go to Paris for training the day after tomorrow!"
French law mandates conscription age at 20, but during wartime, no one cares about this law, just like how the factory is filled with underage child workers.
Shire fell silent, couldn't help but think: Is Matthew going to lose three-quarters or one-quarter? If it's three-quarters, will it be a hand or a foot, or both?
Matthew seemed to notice Shire's worry, casually raised his head, smiled:
"Don't worry, Shire! By the time my training period ends, this war will be over. I'll be fine!"
As previously mentioned, everyone thought this war would end quickly, winning or losing, in one or two months at most.
But Shire knew this wasn't the case!
"Young Master Shire!" Joseph appeared in front of the two, glaring at Matthew as if warning him not to be so casual in front of Young Master Shire.
Matthew rolled his eyes at his father's overreaction, waved at Shire, and turned to face the half-assembled tractors, exaggeratedly shouting:
"Come on, ladies, which one of you needs to get dressed?"
Still ignoring Matthew, Joseph led Shire out of the workshop, saying:
"Sorry, Young Master Shire! Matthew is always so impudent!"
"Young Master Shire, perhaps you should visit the engine production line, that's the core of the factory..."
"No, Joseph!" Shire interrupted him: "I need twelve good tractors!"
"Tractors?" Joseph looked at Shire, puzzled.
"And some steel plates!" Shire asked Joseph: "We have steel plates, right?"
"Of course!" Joseph replied: "This is a tractor factory, many parts are made by stamping steel plates!"
"How thick are they?" Shire asked.
Joseph listed: "We have 2mm, 3mm, 5mm, and 9mm thick!"
The 9mm steel plates are used to make the tracks.
"We'll use the 9mm!" Shire said: "Also, prepare a workshop, welding tools, experienced workers, and some paper and pens, can you do that?"
"Of course!" Joseph responded: "Gladly at your service!"
Joseph was bewildered, was Young Master Shire planning to modify tractors or was he treating them as toys?
Joseph wanted to remind Young Master Shire that this period was crucial, and Lord Francis would decide whether to hand over the factory based on his performance! So obviously he shouldn't mess around!
However, Joseph didn't say these words, he saw determination in Young Master Shire's eyes.
Maybe he knew what he was doing, Joseph thought.
While Joseph prepared, Shire sat in Joseph's office drawing designs.
With ready-made tractor chassis, modifying tanks wouldn't be difficult.
It couldn't even be considered a tank, more like an armored car, just adding steel plates around the tractor with some gun ports... No need for cannons for now, too heavy and would complicate things, machine guns would suffice.
The only problem was the 9mm steel plates were too thin; German Mauser rifles could penetrate such thickness at about 100 meters.
Shire thought about welding two layers of steel plates onto the chassis, but estimated the "Holt 60" couldn't handle such heavy weight.
The simpler solution was to angle the front armor, which would not only increase the chance of ricocheting but also enhance the "effective thickness."
Skins, using Hotchkiss Machine Gun, its downside being the limited rotation angle due to the clip feed.
Two gunners plus a driver, a total of three crew members; the weight should be manageable, right?
As long as it could move, speed and maneuverability weren't required.
After all, this was the first tank in human history, built within a day, good enough without being greedy, there would be plenty of time and space for improvements in the future!