Chen Jin sat down on the ground all of a sudden and couldn't help but breathe heavily.
"Uncle Chen~ hurry up and go eat. If you go late, the good food will be gone."
Next to him, Dong Xiaosan, who was also a porter, quickly reminded him.
Dong and Xiao are very young, only in their early twenties. They are strong and very enthusiastic. When they see Chen Jin struggling, they will come over to help.
"Yes~yes~"
When Chen Jin heard this, he quickly wanted to get up.
However, I hadn't eaten breakfast and had been doing physical work all morning, and I couldn't get up all of a sudden.
Dong Xiaosan next to him immediately helped him up when he saw it, and the two of them started chatting while walking to the cafeteria.
"Thank you~"
"Thank you. I'm young and strong, so I should help."
Dong Xiaosan touched his head and said with a smile.
"Of course thank you. If it weren't for you, I might not be able to survive at noon."
"Uncle Chen, you are already over forty years old, why are you still doing this? I think you should go home early."
"If you can read and write, it's easy to find any easy job. It's so easy to work as a bookkeeper or in charge of other people's affairs."
"Nowadays, all the major business houses need people who can read and write. I have never read and can't write. I have no choice but to do this."
"Oh, you don't understand. It was my own fault, so I have to bear all this."
Chen Jin sighed and said.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the canteen. The whole canteen was already crowded and there was a long queue.
"Uncle Chen, those are Koreans, and those are Japanese~"
"Also, those are female slaves from the Western Regions bought by the owner of our factory. The owner said that as long as we work hard and perform hard, these female slaves will be rewarded to us when the time comes."
Dong Xiaosan's eyes kept looking around at the Japanese, Koreans and slaves.
This Rainbow Textile Factory is very large, employing many Ming people, Koreans, and Japanese people. At the same time, in order to save costs, it also bought many slaves from the Western Regions, Central Asia, and West Asia.
"Haha, then you have to behave well~"
Chen Jin looked at the people Dong Xiaosan was referring to.
Because Korea and Japan were vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, people from these two countries could freely come to the Ming Dynasty. There were a large number of Koreans and Japanese people in many factories in the Beijing-Tianjin area.
These Koreans and Japanese people are very hard-working and hard-working, and their remuneration and treatment are lower than those of the Ming Dynasty people, usually in factories.
The salary of people in the Ming Dynasty is four taels of silver a month. Those who work quickly can even get five taels or six taels of silver a month. Moreover, these are the most common female workers. There are many female workers in textile factories.
If you do physical, tiring, dirty work, the salary will be higher.
The wages of Koreans and Japanese people who came to Daming were generally about one tael a month less than those of Ming people, but the wages were still very high, so a large number of Koreans and Japanese were attracted to work in Daming.
Compared to their respective countries, life here in Ming Dynasty is much easier.
Although it is also tiring, in the Ming Dynasty, at least you can have enough food, live warmly, and get free money regularly. Therefore, Koreans and Japanese are very common in factories in the Beijing-Tianjin area.
Other than that, they are slaves.
According to the laws related to the Ming Dynasty, slaves were not allowed in the Ming Dynasty, but female slaves were no longer included in this category, because female slaves could be used as concubines or something like that, solving the problem of bachelors in the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, these factory owners and workshop owners take advantage of the loopholes and buy a large number of female slaves to work in the factory. Because they are slaves and private property, they do not even need to pay wages. They only need to feed and clothe them and solve the problem of housing.
That’s it.
"Of course. There is a person in my village who was rewarded by his employer with a female slave from West Asia. Now he has children. Working for his employer is called working hard."
Dong Xiaosan nodded solemnly and said.
Soon it was their turn to cook.
Noodles, rice, steamed buns, corn, and sweet potatoes are all staple foods. You can eat them as you like, but you have to eat them all, followed by vegetables, pickled sauerkraut, dried radish, Chinese cabbage, and the never-ending sea fish.
"Today my boss' old lady celebrates her 80th birthday. I'm going to give you a special meal. Today there's braised pork, one big spoonful per person!"
When we got to the last place, where a large plate of braised pork was placed, a man who looked like a manager shouted to the crowd.
“Wow, braised pork~”
When Dong Xiaosan saw it, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
Chen Jin on the side could not help but swallow his saliva. To be honest, in the past, he would not have even looked at these things.
What delicacies has he not tasted?
But he has been here for seven days and has been eating the same thing every day. He has long been tired of eating it, and he even felt nauseous just looking at it.
I didn’t expect to have braised pork today.
“Delicious, delicious~”
"Delicious!"
Dong Xiaosan didn't look like he was eating, and he was making loud noises while eating.
In the past, Chen Jin wouldn't even hesitate to stay with such a person, but now, Chen Jin feels that a person with a true nature like Dong Xiaosan is pretty good, has no scheming, and is easy to get along with.
After eating and taking a short rest, the bell rang again.
Dragging his heavy body, Chen Jin returned to his post and became a porter again.
The heavy cargo weighed on my shoulders, my hands were sore from towing the trailer, and in the middle of winter, my whole body was so tired that I was sweating profusely.
Keep doing it, keep doing it.
He would look at the sky outside from time to time, trying to see how long it would be before it gets dark and how long it would be before he could get off work.
In the past, I felt that time passed very quickly.
Just read a book at home, practice calligraphy, or go out to play with others, and the day will pass.
But now, he feels that time is very, very long, and even every moment is so proud.
Sweat was pouring from my forehead, my body was sore, and I was so tired that I was weak, like a machine that couldn't stop, with no time for rest or pause.
"really tired!"
Chen Jin couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
He had never experienced the bitterness of this before.
He just thinks that he is a noble scholar, and ordinary people are tired, so that is what he should do, and there is nothing to say.
But when he was really involved in it, he finally understood why Liu Jin said that statutory holidays should be established.
Because ordinary people are really tired.
Compared with them, my tiredness in the morning was nothing at all. It was nothing more than getting up early.
We braved the wind and cold to go to the morning pilgrimage, but everyone was wearing mink coats, so it wasn't actually very cold. After the morning pilgrimage, we could go back to sleep and live comfortably.
But what about ordinary people?
In order to survive, they must work hard in this factory for a year to achieve their goals.
They work seven or eight hours a day, and throughout the year, except for a few days off during the Chinese New Year, they must be tied up in the factory like cattle at other times.
But even so, everyone is still willing to do this.
Because working here is tiring, but it is simple and fulfilling. I have enough to eat, warm clothes, and live in a house made of reinforced concrete. I am not afraid of wind and rain, and I can get free money regularly.
When they go home to celebrate the New Year, they can bring things home in large or small packages. This kind of work is countless times better than digging for food on the ground before.
At least, they don’t have to worry about wind or rain, and their income is many times what it was before. After working hard for a year, the couple can build a very nice house at home with the money they have saved.
Therefore, being able to work in the city is something that many rural people yearn for.
"Dang~dang~"
Wait, wait, do, do.
Finally the bell rang for the end of get off work.
Chen Jin sat on the ground, feeling paralyzed with exhaustion.
The business of the textile factory is very good. The owner not only runs a textile factory, but also has a sea trading firm and merchant ship. The cloth produced is specially sold overseas. The business is very good.
Therefore, the entire factory is as busy as clockwork.
"State, let's go eat~"
Dong Xiaosan came to Chen Jin and said.
"Let's take a rest first."
Chen Jin smiled and motioned for Dong Xiaosan to sit down and chat.
"Dong Xiaosan, how do you feel about your life now?"
"It's good. It's good to work here. You can eat well every meal, and there are vegetables and meat. The accommodation is good, and you don't have to worry about wind or rain."
"What's more important is that I can earn money. I have already planned it. After this year's work is completed and I get the money, I will go home and build a house, then marry a wife, and take a Korean or Japanese concubine.
"
"Of course, it would be nice if my boss could reward me with a woman from the Western Region."
Dong Xiaoshan replied with a smile.
"Then do you feel that our working hours are too long now and we don't even have any days off?"
Chen Jin nodded slightly, and for the first time he heard the thoughts of the Ming Dynasty people at the bottom, making money, building a house, and marrying a wife.
"The working hours are quite long, but we also get a lot of money."
"But it would be nice if I could have one or two days a month to rest and not have to go to work. I have been in the capital for almost a year, but I haven't visited various places in the capital yet. I heard that there are many interesting places in the capital.
, a zoo, a football field, something like that.”
"I also want to visit Tianjin. I heard that there are many sea ships in Tianjin Port. In the future, I also want to go to sea and become a sailor. That will make money and I can travel around the world."
Dong Xiaoshan thought for a while and said.
"Liu Jin is right~"
"I was really wrong. I made a mistake. I only knew a little bit about the book, but I didn't really understand everything about my Ming Dynasty!"
After listening to Dong Xiaosan's words, Chen Jin fell into deep thinking.