After arriving in Pretoria, Coubertin and Latour had fully realized the architectural achievements of southern Africans.
Whether it’s a skyscraper that towers into the sky, or a park in the middle of the street with every scene, Southern Africans have done it to the extreme.
After dinner last night, Coubertin and Latour went downstairs for a walk. Originally, Coubertin and Latour only planned to walk in the garden below the hotel, but accidentally walked to the Apis River.
Coubertin swore that he didn’t want to go too far. Based on Coubertin’s experience, it was not a good idea to leave the hotel too far at night. After all, even in Lausanne, Switzerland, the security situation was not very good.
It’s just that the greening in Pretoria was so good that Coubertin and Latour didn’t even notice that they had reached the Apis River.
At this time, Coubertin discovered that the southern Africans were so wealthy that they completely hardened the banks of the Apis River, and then built gardens and trails along the river. The trails were paved with solid wood, and the surface was treated with waterproofing and anti-corrosion. Coubertin
After walking dozens of meters along the railing, there was no dust on my hands.
This fully proves the excellent air quality in Pretoria.
After discovering this fact, Coubertin had the urge to come to Pretoria to retire.
Latour also has the urge to move the headquarters of the Olympic Organizing Committee to Pretoria.
The construction site in front of me is completely different from the delicate and exquisite one I felt last night. The deafening machines, complex scaffolding, workers shuttled among them, the sharp whistle of the dispatcher and the angry roar of the engineer are intertwined, presented in Coubertin's eyes.
What he and Latour saw before his eyes was the beauty of industry that he had never experienced before.
"Gentlemen, if you want to enter the construction site, please wear a safety helmet and don't get too close to the construction site. Safety helmets cannot provide perfect protection." The person in charge of the on-site construction brought safety helmets to Coubertin and Latour.
cap.
Coubertin and Latour were surprised to find that the person in charge of the on-site construction was an African.
Coubertin and Latour then realized that most of the construction workers on the scaffolding were Africans.
Recalling the trail he walked last night, Coubertin was thoughtful.
“Haji, we need to speed up the construction progress. Our current speed is too slow and we will not be able to complete the construction before June.” Lei Yiming’s voice was fierce.
"Sir, we have tried our best. Two more workers fell from the scaffolding yesterday. Now we work in three shifts 24 hours a day, and the workers can't take a break." Haji looked sad. The scaffolding, which is more than 20 meters high, does not need to be used.
Ask for the result.
"If it can't be completed before June, you and your boss will have to jump off the scaffolding. Don't tell me that you have tried your best. You can do better!" Lei Yiming is demanding, and he still is.
It's the rainy season. If it rains, everyone will be in trouble.
Well, it seems like it will be more troublesome if it doesn’t rain.
But it doesn’t matter, Christian’s construction company has already made preparations, and even if it rains, it will not affect the construction.
"Yes, sir, I will work hard." Haji turned around and ran away with a fierce look on his face: "Cheer up and speed up, don't let me see you being lazy, otherwise I will hang you.
On the scaffolding”
Coubertin and Latour were completely numb. At this time, they finally understood how Pretoria's nearly perfect urban construction came about.
"Sorry gentlemen, these Africans are like this. If they don't kick their butts all the time, they will just lie on the ground and sleep." When Lei Yiming faced Coubertin and Latour again, he looked gentle again.
Elegant.
“It’s normal, Africans in Europe are like this too.” Latour is not surprised. Behind the shiny surface, there is usually darkness and filth. This is not unique to southern Africa, it is the same all over the world.
“Haha, it’s not just Africans, it’s the same for Europeans.” Coubertin was not surprised. Europeans are also divided into poor and rich. If there is no supervision, European workers will also work hard.
Otherwise, where do you think the word "worker" comes from?
It is said that in 1917, the United States used the "Gengzi Indemnity" from the Qing Dynasty to build Union Medical College in Peking. The project cost 5 million US dollars and covered an area of 22 hectares. This project was funded and designed by Americans. The workers at the time called it
As a "foreign worker".
Americans have high requirements for building quality. The appearance of Union Medical College adopts the traditional Chinese polished bricks with seams and glazed tile roofs. Since Union Hospital has 14 main buildings and is a high-rise building, the "grinding" process is very complicated, so it is necessary to participate in the construction.
Many workers in the project call this process "moyang work".
After that, "meaning work" became synonymous with slacking off and slowing down work.
"A total of six venues have been started at the same time. In addition, there is also an athletes' village where athletes live. A total of 12 buildings will be built to accommodate nearly 1,500 athletes. These apartment buildings will not be demolished after the Commonwealth Games.
It will be sold to the citizens of Pretoria at that time. In short, all buildings are not one-time buildings." Lei Yiming had just walked a few steps and found two reporters taking pictures.
“Which newspaper are you a reporter from?” Lei Yiming asked proactively.
"Mr. Lei, we are reporters from The Times. Can you accept our interview? It won't take long." The reporter was very happy after seeing Lei Yiming.
"Sorry, if you want to interview, you can go to my studio to make an appointment. It's definitely not possible now." Lei Yiming is also very busy at work, and only Luo Ke's order can allow Lei Yiming to spare time from his busy schedule.
Time to accompany Coubertin and Latour to visit the construction site.
Roque has not had time to see Coubertin and Latour these days, and he will certainly not neglect them.
In order to increase Coubertin and Latour's understanding of Pretoria, Roque took the initiative to send a car and driver to Coubertin and Latour. This was certainly not to monitor Coubertin and Latour. After all, Roque
What bad intentions can Ke have?
Seeing Lei Yiming dismissing reporters, Coubertin took the initiative to ask: "Is there a model room in the athletes' village where athletes live?"
Coubertin was excited. He learned and learned again.
The last time the Olympic Games were held in Paris, a row of wooden houses was built next to the Colombes Stadium for athletes to live in.
Those wooden houses have all been demolished after the Olympic Games. They are equivalent to one-time buildings. The pure expenditure has not produced any benefits, and the athletes are not comfortable living there.
After seeing how Pretoria organized a large-scale comprehensive sports meeting, Coubertin realized that it could still be done this way.
In this case, not only will the large-scale multi-sport games not lose money, but they can also make a profit. By then, the Olympic Organizing Committee will no longer have to cry and beg a certain city to host the Olympics. Instead, all cities will cry and hope to host the Olympics.
That scene is really exciting to think about.
"No, it's just a common apartment building in southern Africa. Of course, in order to allow athletes to compete in a better condition, the facilities in the athletes' village will be better, the greening will be better, and the services will be more attentive." Lei Yiming
Complete Versailles, if you add the three "some" together, when the Commonwealth Games is over, I'm afraid it will be snatched up by the people of Pretoria.
“This is simply great!” Latour couldn’t hold it in for a long time before he finally said this.
I have to say that compared to other countries, Southern Africa’s approach is too humane.
In this era, the social status of athletes was not high. When the NBL was first established in the United States, the stadium was surrounded by barbed wire to prevent spectators from harming the players.
This is useless. The barbed wire fence can indeed prevent spectators from rushing into the stadium, but the spectators will burn the athletes with cigarette butts. Let’s just say how low the quality of Americans is.
Jesse Owens, who was rated as one of the best athletes in the world in the 20th century, won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. After returning to the United States, he couldn't even find a job. He had to use the back door to take the bus.
You can’t sit in the front seat of a car. You have to race cars, motorcycles, and even animals in order to make a living.
United States: If you don’t criticize France, then start criticizing me, right? Can you stop feeling uncomfortable if you don’t criticize me day by day?
France: If you don’t blame anyone, don’t think that your name is beautiful because it’s called America. That’s all nonsense translation. The real meaning of your name is “the land discovered by America Vespucci”.
American Vespucci was an Italian merchant, navigator, explorer, and traveler.
Even though there are so many suffixes in names, everyone knows what a navigator or explorer actually meant in the fifteenth century. Even if we don’t mention these, what’s the beauty in using a businessman’s name as the name of a country?
"We have always put people first. The ultimate purpose of all these great buildings is to provide better services to people. In our stadium, there are even special passages for wheelchairs, as are the toilets in the stadium." Lei Yiming
The expression is proud. Being able to achieve this level in 1926 is indeed something to be proud of.
Coubertin and Latour could only nod their heads. Southern Africa has fully taken care of the interests of the disabled, but there is not even a decent stadium in Europe. In terms of infrastructure, the gap between Europe and Southern Africa is too big.
.
Just when Coubertin and Latour were in a state of excitement, on February 5th, the American "Washington Post" suddenly published a report about the Commonwealth Games.
The report exposed southern Africa in a critical tone, claiming that dozens of workers had died accidentally during the construction of the Crown Stadium in Pretoria.
The federal government of Southern Africa has also been accused of disregarding human life and arbitrarily squeezing Africans to achieve the economic miracle of Southern Africa.
This report did not cause much of a stir. After all, the status of Africans in the United States is not high. The safety facilities of large-scale projects these days are not perfect enough. Deaths are commonplace. When the United States built the Pacific Railway, it was said that "there is a person under every sleeper."
"With the bones of Chinese workers", this is not an exaggeration.
ps: Brothers, the updates in the past few days are great.
