Are fully automated production lines good? Of course, they are, but they come with certain prerequisite technologies and require a significant upfront investment and regular maintenance.
Efficiency is indeed high, but their applications are relatively limited.
What about oxen and horse workers? Although their efficiency is nowhere near that of production lines, they're easy to get, cheap, and with a little training, they can be repurposed to make something else.
If we only look at the startup phase, Qiu Qinghong's approach is actually quite reasonable.
First, frantically dig for fuel and stockpile supplies, ensuring everyone has food and warmth when the harsh cold hits, and then everyone works like oxen and horses.
When the technology tree has advanced to a certain extent, they'll gradually replace silicon-based manual labor with more sophisticated automated machinery.
"Okay, then let's start getting to work with this goal in mind!"
