A canteen worker who fed the steel city from four in the morning (1940s generation)

问您大概是哪一代人？

QRoughly which generation are you?

答1940 年代

A1940s

问您与鞍钢/相关单位的关系？

QWhat is your relationship to Angang / a related work unit?

答本人在鞍钢

AI myself worked at Ansteel

问您当年大概做哪一类工作？

QRoughly what kind of work did you do back then?

答后勤/服务

ALogistics / services

问您大概在哪个时期参加工作？

QRoughly in which period did you start working?

答【勾选】1960 年代以前　【手写】时间锚点：大约在建国后厂区大规模扩建那几年。

A[checked] Before the 1960s [handwritten] Time anchor: roughly the years of the big plant expansion after the founding of the PRC.

问您愿意说说当时为什么进这个单位吗？（学校分配/家里安排/自己选择/亲友介绍）

QWould you say why you joined this unit? (school assignment / family arrangement / own choice / introduced by relatives or friends)

答建国初期鞍钢恢复生产，大规模招工，街道统一安排进厂。当时钢厂缺后勤人员，食堂、宿舍、澡堂都要人，能进国营大厂有固定口粮、工资，是全家的指望。

AIn the early years of the PRC, Angang was restoring production and hiring in large numbers; the neighborhood office assigned people into the plant. The steelworks was short of logistics staff — the canteen, dormitories, and bathhouse all needed hands. Getting into a big state plant meant fixed grain rations and a wage; the whole family counted on it.

问您还记得刚参加工作时的一天吗？带我从早到晚走一遍：几点上班、先去哪、主要做什么、和谁一起。

QDo you remember a day when you had just started working? Walk me through it from morning to night: when you started, where you went first, what you mainly did, and who you were with.

答我在职工大食堂后勤，凌晨四点就要到岗，生火、和面、准备一日三餐米面蔬菜。班组一共六人，分工洗菜、蒸馒头、炒菜、打饭。早六点工人上班前备好早餐，中午、晚上两顿正餐供应，收餐后打扫食堂、清洗厨具、储存食材，晚上八点才能下班。全年几乎无长假，车间不停工食堂就不能休息。

AI was in rear services at the big staff canteen. I had to be at my post by four in the morning to light the fires, knead dough, and prepare the rice, flour, and vegetables for all three meals. Our team of six split the work: washing vegetables, steaming mantou, stir-frying, serving. Breakfast had to be ready before the workers came on at six; we served the noon and evening meals, then cleaned the hall, washed the cookware, and stored the ingredients — off at eight at night. Almost no long holidays all year: if the shops did not stop, the canteen could not rest.

问当时学技术主要靠什么？

QBack then, how did you mainly learn your skills?

答【勾选】师傅带、单位培训　【手写】后勤做饭、食材储存、大锅菜火候全靠老炊事员手把手教，没有专业培训，全靠日积月累摸索。

A[checked] A master taught me; unit training [handwritten] Cooking, storing ingredients, the fire-control of big-wok dishes — the old cooks taught it all hand by hand. There was no professional training; you felt it out day after day, year after year.

问您觉得当年最重要的本事是什么？（技术，或吃苦、细心、配合、经验、判断力）

QWhat do you think was the most important ability back then? (technical skill, or endurance, care, cooperation, experience, judgment)

答能吃苦耐劳、手脚麻利，精打细算节约粮食，待人热心，上千名工人吃饭不能出一点差错。

ABeing able to endure hardship, quick hands, careful counting to save grain, and warmth toward people. With over a thousand workers eating, not the slightest slip was allowed.

问有没有书本上学不到、只能靠师傅或经验学到的东西？举一个普通例子即可，不用讲具体技术参数。

QWas there anything you couldn't learn from books, only from a master or experience? A plain example is fine; no specific technical parameters needed.

答大锅菜火候、放盐下料比例没有书面标准，老师傅单凭锅气、食材色泽就能把控味道，新手照着书本下料，大锅做出来饭菜口感差距很大。

AThere was no written standard for the fire or the seasoning of a big-wok dish. The old masters could hold the flavor just by the breath of the wok and the color of the ingredients; a newcomer measuring by the book turned out food that tasted nothing like it.

问「单位」对生活影响大吗？体现在哪些方面？

QDid the "work unit" have a big impact on life? In what respects?

答【勾选】住房、食堂、澡堂、医院、学校、幼儿园、退休、邻里、其他（职工宿舍管理）　【手写】鞍钢包揽职工全部生活，我本身在食堂工作，吃饭更方便；分家属房、职工宿舍，看病、子女上学全部配套，一辈子吃住生老都依托厂子。

A[checked] Housing; canteen; bathhouse; hospital; school; kindergarten; retirement; neighbors; other (staff dormitory management) [handwritten] Angang took care of a worker's whole life. I worked in the canteen myself, so meals were even easier; family housing and staff dormitories were assigned, and medical care and children's schooling all came with the job. Food, shelter, old age — a whole life leaned on the plant.

问先用您自己的词：那时候大家对鞍钢/单位的感觉，像什么？

QIn your own words first: what did people's feeling toward Angang / the unit feel like back then?

答【勾选】一个社区　【手写】厂区、家属院、食堂、学校连成一片，所有人生活工作都在这片区域，互相熟识，是完整的生活社区。

A[checked] A community [handwritten] The plant, the family courtyards, the canteen, and the schools ran together into one place. Everyone lived and worked inside it and knew each other — a complete living community.

问带我走进一个地方：澡堂、厂门口、车间、家属院……挑一个您印象最深的，说说那里的样子、声音、气味、人。

QTake me into one place: the bathhouse, the factory gate, the workshop, the workers' housing compound… pick the one that left the deepest impression and describe what it looked like, sounded like, smelled like, and the people there.

答印象最深职工大食堂。宽大平房，几十口大铁锅，长条木餐桌，蒸汽常年缭绕。耳边是工人打饭交谈、铁锅翻炒、蒸笼沸腾的声响，空气里馒头麦香、大锅菜油烟味混杂。每到饭点上千名工人排队打饭，无论一线、维修、干部全都挤在一起，热热闹闹。

AWhat I remember most is the big staff canteen. A wide single-story hall, dozens of big iron woks, long wooden tables, steam hanging in the air all year round. In your ears: workers chatting in the meal line, woks clanging, steamers boiling; in the air: the wheat smell of mantou mixed with big-wok cooking smoke. At every mealtime a thousand workers lined up for food — front line, maintenance, cadres, all crowded in together, loud and alive.

问那段时间，单位或岗位有没有明显变化？

QDuring that time, was there any obvious change in your unit or post?

答没太大变化

ANo big change

问您当时大概属于哪一类？

QRoughly which category did you fall into at the time?

答已退休

AAlready retired

问单位一般怎么通知这些变化？

QHow did the unit usually announce these changes?

答无需通知，本人早已退休，听子女、老工友闲聊得知。

ANo notice was needed — I had long been retired; I heard about it from my children and old workmates chatting.

问当时对您影响最大的是？

QWhat affected you most at the time?

答影响不大

ALittle effect

问比一比：和您认识的另一种岗位的人（比如您是技术、他是一线，或反过来）相比，那几年你们俩受到的影响一样吗？不用说人名，说大概。

QCompare: versus someone you knew in a different kind of post (say you're technical and they're front-line, or vice versa), were the two of you affected the same in those years? No names—just roughly.

答我早已退休不受调整影响；一线、维修在岗职工面临转岗、内退，生活变动很大，我们退休人员只受养老金小幅调整影响，差距明显。

AI was already retired, so the adjustments did not touch me. Front-line and maintenance workers still on the job faced transfers and internal retirement — big changes in their lives. We retirees only saw small pension adjustments. The gap was obvious.

问岗位变化后，您或身边同事一般去了哪里？

QAfter the changes in posts, where did you or the colleagues around you generally go?

答留原单位、自己做小生意、回家

AStayed at the old unit; started small businesses; went home

问以前学到的本事，后来还有用吗？

QWere the abilities you learned before still useful later?

答很有用

AVery useful

问哪些本事容易带到别的工作里？（认真、守时、机械经验、管理、看设备、带徒弟、与人打交道…）

QWhich skills carry easily into other jobs? (diligence, punctuality, mechanical experience, management, watching equipment, training apprentices, dealing with people…)

答做饭、食材打理、勤俭持家、待人热情周到，不管居家还是做小吃生意都能用。

ACooking, handling ingredients, running a thrifty household, treating people warmly and attentively — useful at home or running a little food stall alike.

问哪些本事离开原单位就用不上了？说大概即可，不必讲流程或内部资料。

QWhich abilities become useless once you leave the original unit? Roughly is fine; no processes or internal materials.

答工厂千人大锅饭操作、厂区食堂物资统一分配流程，离开国营大厂完全没用。

ACooking for a thousand at once, and the plant canteen's centralized supply routines — useless outside a big state factory.

问如果有人离开鞍山去外地，您觉得最难适应的是什么？您身边有这样的人吗（只说方向，如「去南方工厂」，不用姓名）？

QIf someone left Anshan for elsewhere, what do you think is hardest to adapt to? Do you know such people (just the direction, e.g. 'went to a southern factory', no names)?

答有年轻工友去外地务工。最难适应外地没有配套职工食堂，三餐都要自己解决，缺少鞍钢这种集体生活氛围。

ASome younger workmates went off to work in other places. Hardest to adjust to: no staff canteen there — all three meals became your own problem — and none of Angang's collective life.

问遇到岗位变化时，谁对您帮助最大？

QWhen facing the change in posts, who helped you the most?

答没人特别帮

ANo one helped in particular

问大家会互相介绍工作、打听消息、互相照顾吗？说一般情况，不必说人名。

QDid people introduce each other to jobs, share news, look after one another? General situation, no names.

答在岗工友会互相传递消息，退休老同事之间日常互相照看，谁家缺米面蔬菜都会互相接济。

AWorkmates on the job passed news to each other; retired colleagues looked after one another day to day. If a family ran short of rice, flour, or vegetables, others helped out.

问有没有老同事聚会、同学聚会、饭局、微信群帮大家联系？（可只答「有/没有」）

QWere there old-colleague reunions, classmate reunions, dinners, or WeChat groups to keep everyone connected? (a simple yes/no is fine)

答有，老食堂班组每年聚餐，年纪大不会用手机，靠线下串门联络。

AYes — the old canteen team has a dinner every year. We are too old for phones; we keep in touch by dropping in on each other.

问您觉得是正式渠道帮助大，还是熟人/老同事帮助大？

QDo you think formal channels helped more, or acquaintances / old colleagues?

答熟人

APersonal connections

问您现在还和老同事联系吗？

QDo you still keep in touch with old colleagues now?

答很少

ARarely

问您去过鞍钢博物馆、孟泰纪念馆或类似的地方吗？

QHave you been to the Angang Museum, the Meng Tai Memorial Hall, or similar places?

答听说过

AHeard of them

问您觉得这些地方能让年轻人了解以前的工厂生活吗？

QDo you think these places let young people understand factory life of the past?

答不太能

ANot really

问您觉得现在年轻人还了解「钢城」这段历史吗？

QDo you think young people today still understand this history of the "Steel City"?

答不太了解

ANot much

问您家里是否还保存和工作有关的东西？（可多选）

QDoes your home still keep work-related items? (multiple choice)

答没有

ANothing kept

问您的孩子或晚辈有没有进入钢铁、机械、工程、制造相关工作？

QHave your children or younger relatives gone into steel, machinery, engineering, or manufacturing-related work?

答没有

ANo

问您当年希望孩子继续进类似单位吗？

QBack then, did you hope your children would go on to join a similar unit?

答随他们

AUp to them

问您会给孩子讲以前单位里的故事吗？

QDo you tell your children stories from the old work unit?

答偶尔

AOccasionally

问您给下一代最想说的一句话是什么？（工作、做人、技术、吃苦、选城市、选职业…都行）

QWhat one thing would you most want to say to the next generation? (about work, being a person, skills, endurance, choosing a city, choosing a career… anything)

答过日子勤俭朴素，待人诚恳，无论什么岗位都要踏实本分。

ALive plainly and thriftily, be sincere with people, and whatever the post, do it honestly and steadily.

问您觉得年轻一代和您这一代，对「单位 / 稳定工作 / 技术工人」的看法有什么不同？

QHow do you think the younger generation and your generation differ in their views of "the work unit / a stable job / skilled workers"?

答我们那时候国营单位是生存依靠，后勤工人也受人尊重；现在年轻人嫌弃后勤服务类工作辛苦、工资低，一心追求轻松体面的办公室工作。

AIn our day the state unit was what you lived by, and logistics workers were respected too. Young people now look down on service work as hard and low-paid, and set their hearts on easy, respectable office jobs.

问先不看选项：如果用一个词形容以前的鞍钢/老单位，您会用哪个词？为什么？

QWithout looking at the options first: if you used one word to describe the old Angang / old unit, which word would you use? Why?

答词：烟火；理由：食堂、家属院、厂区处处都是人间烟火，我们后勤人守着一日三餐，撑起全厂工人的日常生活，烟火气就是鞍钢最真实的底色。

AThe word: yanhuo — the smoke and warmth of everyday life. The canteen, the family courtyards, the plant grounds were full of it. We logistics people kept the three meals a day going and held up the daily life of the whole works. That everyday warmth is Angang's truest color.

问您觉得这段经历中，最该被年轻人记住的是什么？

QWhat in this experience do you think most deserves to be remembered by young people?

答工业建设不只有炼钢一线，后勤服务工人默默支撑全厂运转，吃苦耐劳、无私奉献不分岗位。

AIndustrial construction was not only the front line of steelmaking. Logistics and service workers quietly kept the whole plant running. Endurance and selfless devotion belonged to every post.

问您觉得像我这样的年轻人，最容易误解你们那一代人的地方是什么？

QWhere do you think young people like me most easily misunderstand your generation?

答觉得后勤工作简单轻松，不知道当年上千人大锅饭起早贪黑，物资短缺时精打细算有多难。

AThinking logistics work was simple and easy — not knowing what it took to cook for a thousand from before dawn to after dark, and how hard the careful counting was when supplies ran short.

问今天有没有哪部分您希望我不要记录、不要引用，或引用前必须再问您？

QIs there any part today you'd like me not to record, not to quote, or to ask you again before quoting?

答没有

ANothing

问整理好后，您想先看一遍再决定是否公开吗？

QAfter it's compiled, would you like to review it first before deciding whether to make it public?

答想看

AI would like to see it first

问以后若需要补充访谈，您是否愿意通过介绍人再联系？

QIf a follow-up interview is needed later, would you be willing to be contacted again through the introducer?

答不用了

ANo need

问您是否愿意日后接受一次更深入的访谈，把您的故事更完整地记录下来？

QWould you be willing to give a more in-depth interview later, to record your story more fully?

答再说

AWe will see