004 The troubles of happiness (fourth update, please subscribe)
In the past, Rock always heard people use "mines at home" to describe people who are relatively wealthy, but Rock couldn't understand what it felt like to have mines at home.
Now Rock finally realizes it.
In the first week of the Matilda Gold Mine's re-operation, the gold mine's profit exceeded 5,000 pounds. This was under the premise that Rock significantly improved the miners' treatment. If the gold mine's treatment of miners is based on the standards of other gold mines, the gold mine's
Profits will further increase.
In fact, improving workers' treatment will not increase much expenditure, because camps, equipment, tools, clothing, etc. are all one-time expenses, so this part of the cost can be ignored, so the largest expenditure is food expenses.
Including managers and security personnel, the total number of people in the Matilda Gold Mine does not exceed one thousand. In Johannesburg, if it were replaced by other gold mines of the same size, the daily expenditure on food would probably not be
Over £50.
In other words, about one shilling per person.
But in the Matilda gold mine, the daily expenditure on food is about 100 pounds, which means that each person spends about two shillings on average.
It sounds like the standard has been doubled, but how much support is added every day?
Just £50.
It may not be enough for those extravagant mine owners to pay for cigars for a day.
But the benefits of this mere £50 are immeasurable.
For example, when standards are raised, workers will work harder, unit efficiency will be higher, and mines will spend less on management.
At the same time, there is also an increase in workers’ sense of identification with the mines, which is very important. Why is there a shortage of miners in Johannesburg?
Due to the harsh working environment and the harsh treatment of the mine owners, the mines are always unable to retain miners, whether they are Boers or Zulu. After the contract ends, they usually leave Johannesburg and try their luck elsewhere.
, instead of staying at the mine to start the next contract.
This is the real reason for the lack of miners in Johannesburg.
Relatively speaking, the Boers are actually better. Those Zulu talents are really "innocent." Through the Zulus under Christian's command, Rock's original impression of the Zulus has changed, but after talking to Christian
After An's exchange, Rock realized that those Zulu people were indeed unable to hold up the wall with mud.
It is undeniable that some Zulu people are indeed practical and capable, but most Zulu people are lazy. If there is no supervisor to supervise, most Zulu people will be lazy at work. After every salary, Christian will have to
Worry about the loss of workers.
Most Zulu people have no concept of saving. They spend whatever money they have and never save money.
Some workers will disappear for no reason after receiving their salary. They will not come back until they have spent all their salary to start the next job, and then repeat the previous process.
So Rock now dislikes the Zulus very much, even the gangsters in the Johannesburg Police Department. What Christian said is true. Some Zulu policemen will disappear after receiving their salary, and then come back after the salary is spent.
, I hope to continue to be a police officer.
For such a guy, Rock will never re-accept him. After knowing that most black guys have this kind of character, Rock warned Yaya and asked him to remind all the Zulu policemen that if they dare to disappear, then Rock will
Gram will sell them to the mine for mining.
In contrast, Chinese miners must be hardworking and hardworking.
According to Sam, he has managed workers of many races, and Chinese miners are the most self-controlled, hardest-working, best-managed, and most frugal group that Sam has ever seen.
After experiencing the initial discomfort, the Chinese miners soon began to get on the right track.
In fact, it is really simple to change a person's habits. After a Chinese miner was publicly flogged for urinating, all the Chinese miners remembered to go to the bathroom.
After a Chinese miner urinated outside the pool and was publicly whipped, all the Chinese miners remembered to take one small step forward when urinating.
After a Chinese miner appeared in the canteen disheveled, was whipped in public, and then starved, all the Chinese miners remembered to take a shower after work and change their clothes for the day.
Yes, the punishment method at Matilda Gold Mine is simple and brutal, that is, whipping, whipping, whipping
And he was whipped in public.
You must know that Chinese people are very concerned about face, and it is undoubtedly a very embarrassing thing to be whipped in public. Therefore, it only took a week for all Chinese miners to meet the hygiene standards required by Rock. This kind of adaptability allowed
Sam was stunned.
Sam has worked in the mines for many years and knows what most miners look like. Under normal circumstances, miners are disheveled, rude, and dirty, and are almost the same as those homeless people in the city.
In fact, when Sam arrived at the Matilda Gold Mine, in Sam's opinion, the Chinese miners in the Matilda Gold Mine were no different from other miners in Sam's impression.
But the miners who have adapted to the rules of the Matilda gold mine have obviously made great progress. Maybe their behavior is still rude, but they are neatly dressed, clean, and have no unbearable smell. If they must
In comparison, Sam was surprised to find that even many British freemen were not as hygienic as the Chinese miners working in the Matilda gold mine.
This is really a surprising discovery.
What is even more surprising is that Rock did not stop educating these miners. During the day, the miners had to work in the mines, and at night, the night school teachers hired by Rock would train these miners' English skills.
This is also a mandatory requirement of Rock. Everyone must learn three English words every day, otherwise the food supply for the next day will be halved.
The Matilda Gold Mine now provides miners with three meals including eggs, milk, bread, vegetables, chicken legs and beef.
Supply halved?
That would be more serious than killing the miners.
So only a week later, there were already Chinese miners greeting Sam in English.
The weekend is pay day.
This is definitely a novel experience for Chinese miners.
Because no matter how long they have been in Johannesburg, they have never received a salary before.
So when Hoover took them away from De Beers Consolidated Mining Company, most of them were penniless.
It's so sad, they collect the most precious metals in the world, but they are almost the poorest people in the world.
The salary offered to Chinese miners in the Matilda Gold Mine is three shillings a day. Compared with the Transvaal period, it is a little lower than the Boers and a little higher than the Zulu. So after working for a week,
Each worker received a pound plus a shilling as salary.
Even if a few workers did not go down the mine because of illness, they received half their salary, which was one shilling plus six pence a day.
This is because of the regulations of the Matilda Gold Mine: miners are entitled to sick leave, and during sick leave, the gold mine will reduce their salary by half.
A shilling is actually a silver coin slightly smaller than an ocean. An ocean is roughly equivalent to two shillings.
In other words, the monthly salary of these Chinese miners is about 45 oceans.
What is the concept of forty-five oceans?
In this era, if a girl from a poor family in the Qing Dynasty worked as a servant in a rich family, she would receive a salary of about ten taels of silver per year in addition to food and accommodation.
Ten taels of silver is about twenty oceans.
Soldiers in the Qing Dynasty were paid one tael and five taels of silver per month and three dou of rice. Calculated annually, the total of silver and rice was less than 30 taels. Even if calculated at 30 taels, it was only 60 yuan.
Being a soldier is a job with your head in your belt.
So one can imagine the joy that the Chinese miners felt when they received their salary.
This was the first money they got after arriving in Johannesburg. Especially when they knew that one shilling was almost equal to half an ocean, their joy reached the extreme.
In fact, the joyful mood did not last long.
When De Beers Unified Mining Company hired these Chinese miners, they talked about things like salary being paid on time, extra meals every other day, fixed paid annual leave, etc. In the end, none of them were fulfilled.
In fact, the Chinese miners do not have much requirements for extra meals and vacations. Salary is the issue that the Chinese miners are most concerned about. As a result, De Beers Unified Mining Company broke its promise. There are no extra meals, no vacations, and not even the most basic salary.
, this is really unacceptable.
In the Matilda Gold Mine, Chinese miners finally received the legendary "weekly salary."
This was originally a good thing, but some thoughtful miners soon discovered that a good thing could turn into a bad thing.
After all, Johannesburg is not a Qing Dynasty, and the salary cannot be delivered to the family in time. At present, there are only three ways to get this small salary, either to send the money to the family, or to deposit the money in the bank, or
Or take the money with you.
No matter which one, it is actually not the best way.
If such a small amount of money were to be sent back to the Qing Dynasty,
I guess this amount of money is not enough for postage.
If deposited in the bank
Let's not talk about whether the foreign devil's bank can be trusted. I guess the bank will look down on this small amount of money. I heard that if you want to open a bank account, there will be no interest, and you have to pay account opening fees. It doesn't count, it doesn't count.
Seems to be the safest thing to carry around
That’s even worse, what if I lose it? What if it’s stolen? Do I have to hang money around my neck when I go to take a shower?
It's better now. If in a few months, I can save more salary and hang it around my neck, I won't be exhausted to death!
Even if you don't die from exhaustion, you will be crushed to death!
Only then did the miners realize that when the mine did not pay wages, the miners were very upset.
Now that the mines are offering wages, the miners seem to be even more upset.
