There are two major events in Songjiang Prefecture in spring.
One is the wedding of the third lady of the Xu family.
It is said that there are a lot of new gadgets at the wedding, which are both local and foreign.
Some contents came out one after another from the mouths of the guests attending the wedding, igniting the fire of gossip among the people of Songjiang Prefecture.
But in the final analysis, Miss Xu San's wedding was just a matter of conversation after dinner.
But another incident caused an uproar in Songjiang Mansion, involving everyone.
That was the establishment of the Songjiang Cotton Textile Chamber of Commerce.
More than half of the population of Songjiang Prefecture relies on cotton spinning to make a living. Such a major event affects everyone's nerves.
Moreover, people from various towns and families have been walking around the streets and alleys during this period, constantly looking for people to talk to. The occasional crazy words made the entire Songjiang Mansion uneasy.
It was under such attention that the Songjiang Cotton Textile Chamber of Commerce ushered in its official establishment.
On this day, more than 3,000 representatives of the Songjiang cotton spinning industry gathered together, and everyone was very serious.
Although compared with the millions of people in Songjiang Prefecture, these people seem to be just a drop in the ocean. But these people all work in all aspects of the cotton spinning industry. They are either representatives of major families or the best in each process.
It can be said that these three thousand people have all the say in Songjiang Cotton Spinning.
Seeing this situation, everyone present at the meeting understood that from now on, the Songjiang Cotton Textile Chamber of Commerce would have unimaginable energy.
The Chamber of Commerce is a novelty.
Although these people have decided to participate, they all have no experience in how the chamber of commerce should be organized.
At this time, Zuo Mengeng needs to take charge.
He first asked people to distribute the manuscript to the delegates.
"Everyone, this is the charter of the Songjiang Cotton Textile Chamber of Commerce drafted by the juniors. Of course, this is just an introduction. A truly effective charter will have to be discussed and decided by everyone at our conference."
Looking at the thick manuscript, Shen Youtian smiled and said: "Who doesn't know how powerful Zhong Heng is? Naturally, what you say should prevail."
Many people followed suit.
They all felt that they didn’t understand what was going on anyway, so they just followed Zuo Mengeng’s lead.
But in the face of the compliments from everyone, Zuo Mengeng didn't look happy, on the contrary, he was very serious.
"Everyone, the original intention of the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce is to unite everyone's strength and seek welfare for everyone. The articles of association are the basis for the Chamber of Commerce to act. If you ignore this, you will have nowhere to redress when your interests are harmed in the future."
Hearing what he said, everyone immediately became nervous.
For a moment, the venue was filled with the sound of people flipping through manuscripts.
There were many craftsmen present who were illiterate and at a loss with the manuscript. Zuo Mengeng had already made preparations, and a staff member immediately walked over and explained the contents of the manuscript to these craftsmen in a low voice.
This method made the craftsmen extremely excited.
They are all leaders in all aspects of the cotton spinning industry and all have their own skills.
When the Chamber of Commerce came to visit them and asked them to join the association, they really had to do a lot of work to succeed.
But when they actually attended the conference as representatives, the craftsmen seemed very inferior and did not feel that they could be on an equal footing with those gentlemen.
Each of them seemed to have a needle under their buttocks, making them almost want to run away.
When they actually started reviewing the manuscript, they felt that they were out of place because of their illiteracy, as if they had become clowns.
However, with the staff's patient explanation, these craftsmen immediately integrated into it, and at the same time they also understood what this manuscript was talking about.
The charter of the chamber of commerce drawn up by Zuo Mengeng adheres to his consistent style, which is concise and full of useful information.
After reviewing it, everyone discovered that this matter really cannot be ignored.
What is most surprising to everyone is that the president of the Chamber of Commerce actually needs to be elected.
"Zhongheng, what is an election?"
Pan Yunlong asked on behalf of the big guy.
Answered by Zuo Mengeng.
"The president, vice-president and committee members of this association are all elected by votes of all members of the chamber of commerce, and the person with the highest number of votes can be elected."
Those who have been in government immediately thought that this method is similar to Ting Tui.
Qu Yin asked again: "This term is five years and cannot be re-elected for more than two terms. What's the explanation for not being able to be renewed?"
Zuo Mengeng answered fluently.
"Take your uncle as an example. If everyone votes and you become the president of this association, then within the next five years, as long as you make no big mistakes, that will be your term. After five years, this association will
Conduct a re-election. If everyone is convinced of you, then you can be re-elected. But no matter how wise and powerful you are, after serving as president for two consecutive terms, you will not be allowed to participate in the presidential election again, and you will not be able to succeed. This way
This is done to prevent the Chamber of Commerce from becoming a family property and monopolizing it for profit."
Everyone listened carefully, their eyes were full of surprises, and they all praised this method.
Bai Sixu from Fengjing Town felt that he had a chance to win the chairmanship and asked: "What's the solution for not being able to be renewed?"
Zuo Menggeng's rule is completely copied from the political system of later generations, and it is very easy to explain.
"Anyone who has served as president will not be allowed to seek election again for life. The specific reasons are the same as before."
Everyone here was a smart person, and they quickly figured out the reason.
This provision is obviously to prevent chambers of commerce from becoming a tool for private profit-making.
Fang Shigong from Nanqiao Town discovered another problem and asked in surprise: "Those who have served as president, their close relatives within three generations are not allowed to run for president?"
This is a measure that Zuo Mengeng thought about himself, and the reason is the same as before.
Although it has not been tested in practice, everyone discussed it and agreed with these measures.
It was also from these rules that everyone finally realized that this chamber of commerce is really a good thing that unites the entire industry.
From these conversations, the most inspiring people are craftsmen like Chen Acai.
Facing all major families, they are undoubtedly a vulnerable group.
Even though they joined the Chamber of Commerce this time, many of them came because they did not want to offend the wealthy merchant family.
Now that we know that the Chamber of Commerce has such rules, even the most powerful people cannot act arbitrarily here, doesn't it mean that they can also speak out?
The following structure of the Chamber of Commerce is even more refreshing to everyone.
The chamber of commerce structure designed by Zuo Mengeng is divided into the following parts.
The most important thing is the general meeting.
The general meeting is held every five years to elect the leading members of the chamber of commerce, discuss, add and modify the charter of the chamber of commerce.
Then there is the Standing Committee, which is responsible for the daily operations and management of the Chamber of Commerce and is regarded as the permanent body of the Chamber of Commerce.
The president of the Chamber of Commerce concurrently serves as the chairman of the Standing Committee, and the other vice presidents also serve as vice chairmen.
There are several other agencies under the Standing Committee.
For example, the main responsibility of the External Affairs Committee is to represent the Songjiang cotton spinning industry in external negotiations, signing contracts, and price negotiations.
In this way, the current situation in Songjiang's cotton spinning industry has been changed, and it has avoided the dilemma of being defeated by outsiders and wantonly lowering prices.
In the future, if foreign merchants want to buy and sell Songjiang cotton, they will have no choice but to negotiate the price with the merchants.
Without the approval of the Chamber of Commerce, members are not allowed to sell to outsiders at will, let alone sell at low prices.
What is even more unexpected is that the Chamber of Commerce has also established a technical committee.
The responsibility of this department is to discover and summarize the technical advantages of the cotton spinning industry, cultivate technical talents, and protect technology at the same time.
Take Chen Acai's unique needlepoint technology as an example. Through the operation of the technical committee, all companies in the Songjiang cotton spinning industry can use his technology in the future, and he will also be responsible for worker training.
No matter who uses his technology, they need to pay a patent fee of thirty taels of silver every year.
The patent is valid for fifty years.
In other words, Chen Acai could do nothing and collect fifty years of expenses just by relying on this technology.
Is it expensive?
Of course it's not cheap.
But before the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce, this technology was owned by Chen Acai alone, and he would rather die than spread it to others. Every household had no choice but to be jealous.
Now you only need to pay thirty taels of silver a year to use this technology, and cloth merchants will laugh out of their dreams.
Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce has formulated strict regulations. If anyone dares to use Chen Acai's patent without authorization, he will not only be expelled from the Chamber of Commerce, but will also be cut off from his cotton supply and business dealings.
This is a patent protection measure.
With this regulation, craftsmen with skills had a new way to make a fortune, and they suddenly became the strongest supporters of the Chamber of Commerce.
After the Chamber of Commerce's regulations were promulgated, fifteen cloth merchants came to Chen Acai to discuss patent authorization.
If the negotiation is successful, then Chen Acai's annual patent income alone will reach as much as 450 taels.
This is a profit that Chen Acai never dared to imagine before.
Moreover, once the patent fee is collected, it lasts for fifty years, so that he no longer has to worry about the livelihood problems of future generations.
In addition, the Chamber of Commerce also has more than ten departments such as the Dispute Resolution Committee, the Product Evaluation Committee, the Transportation Coordination Committee, the Mutual Aid Committee, and the Commodity Exchange, covering almost all areas of the Songjiang cotton spinning industry.
It has truly achieved the goal of integrating the Songjiang cotton spinning industry into one and strengthening its strength.
With the size of Songjiang Cotton Textile, as long as they are truly united, they are enough to fight against any force in the world.
Seeing the enthusiasm of everyone, Zuo Mengeng laughed secretly in his heart.
He had already foreseen that in the near future, the Songjiang Cotton Textile Chamber of Commerce would lead merchants and workers to rise up against the tyranny of the Ming Dynasty.
No one knew what he really thought. After the Chamber of Commerce was announced, the most important step came.
That is the election of the Chamber of Commerce management.
