Nanjing, with the end of the annual vacation, the start of the new year has also arrived. On the roads leading to Nanjing, you can see many pairs of young couples or many groups of fellow villagers walking together.
When I come to Nanjing to work, I can even see people riding bicycles in a cool way from time to time, pedaling their bicycles very fast in the eyes of passers-by with envy.
"What a great era!"
Sitting in the four-wheel carriage, Liu Jin also watched this scene with a smile on his face.
Many scenes from later generations resounded in my mind, and the scene before me would appear every year before and after. It was so similar. Perhaps the only difference was that the four-wheeled carriages on the road were replaced by cars.
Of course, the expressions on people's faces also carry their hopes for a better life and their expectations for the future.
It's just that later generations, because of a hundred years of suffering, started development late, had a weak foundation, and the industrial chain was at the lowest end, and could only rely on cheap labor to earn a meager hard-earned money.
It was very pitiful when it finally fell into the hands of lower-class workers. The couple worked hard in the city for a year and could not earn much money. They also had to endure the pain of being separated from their parents and children.
A whole generation of people sacrificed themselves and used their hard work and dedication to finally achieve the rise of the nation and the prosperity of the country, but this generation is really suffering.
However, even after decades of development, although conditions and status have improved, involution is still serious, and high housing prices, medical care and education are still weighing down this hard-working and intelligent nation.
Even though I am diligent, I still cannot live the leisurely and prosperous life that Europeans and Americans do.
Looking at now, looking at the smiles on the faces of the Ming people on the road, Liu Jin immediately felt that everything he had done was worth it.
Because Liu Jin feels that only a nation as diligent, intelligent and open-minded as the Chinese nation is worthy of such a life and such prosperity.
The Ming Dynasty is now the most powerful country in the world, at the top of the food chain. The emerging textile industry, steel industry, shipbuilding industry, infrastructure industry, etc. are also at the high end of this era.
From top to bottom, the Ming Dynasty did not need to be involved at all. It could obtain a steady stream of huge wealth from overseas every year, and everyone from top to bottom could have enough to eat.
The upper ruling class can acquire huge wealth, and their wealth is so huge that it is unimaginable; the middle-level factory owners, workshop owners, businessmen, etc. can also rely on their own wisdom and hard work to earn huge wealth.
, there is endless money to spend no matter what.
When it comes to the people at the bottom, they can also rely on their hard-working hands and hard work to earn considerable income and live a well-off life with plenty of food and clothing.
Calculated based on the current income level of the Ming Dynasty, if a husband and wife work in the city, even if they are the lowest-level factory worker, the average monthly salary will be at least five taels of silver.
There was no way, a large amount of wealth poured into the Ming Dynasty, allowing the Ming Dynasty to have the most gold, silver and wealth. Coupled with the immigration strategy that it had always adhered to, a large number of vassal states and colonies absorbed a large number of people.
This caused an unprecedented shortage of people in the Ming Dynasty.
This is something that has never happened before. The land of China has always had a lot of people but little land. In the past, the involution was extremely serious. Everyone was scrambling to cultivate the land of the landlords. Even though the conditions were harsh, they were still working hard.
Rush to plant.
Various places have been cultivated into fields as much as possible, and terraced fields are the most typical example. Turning a mountain into fields shows how tense the land is.
Perhaps the shortage of people will only occur when there is a large and unnatural decrease in the population after the change of dynasties, great turmoil, and great death.
In the middle period of the dynasty, when it was prosperous, there were always many people but little land, so there was no shortage of people.
But now the Ming Dynasty is short of people. Whether it is the two capitals and thirteen provinces in the country, or overseas, outside the customs, there is a shortage of people everywhere. People have become an extremely precious resource, which makes the Ming Dynasty the largest slave market in the world. Every year
Millions of slaves were continuously imported into the Ming Dynasty overseas and outside the customs.
However, in the Ming Dynasty, the use and existence of slaves was strictly prohibited, which greatly aggravated the shortage of labor and also increased the labor price of workers in disguise.
Five taels of silver a month, which is already the lowest wage in the Ming Dynasty.
This is not because the capitalists have a conscience, or because they have too much money, so they want to offer such high prices to everyone, but if you don't offer such a price, it will be difficult for you to recruit enough people.
And even if you are given a monthly salary of five taels of silver, you still have to pay attention to accommodation and food. Otherwise, if you don't feel comfortable eating and living well, the workers will fire you and move you to a factory with better treatment.
Therefore, the owners of many factories not only have to increase wages, but also provide good accommodation and food, and they also have to play the emotional card. We are all fellow villagers, and everyone helps me do things. I will not treat you badly. It is the New Year and the holidays.
Everyone sends something or something.
A person's net income of 5 taels a month is 60 taels a year, and a couple can get a net income of 120 taels a year.
This is still the lowest income. If one of the couple has a skill, such as a mason, carpenter, etc., the income will be higher. If the couple runs a small business of their own, the income will naturally be even higher.
The couple earns 120 taels of silver a year, which is a very considerable income. spanstyle>谷/spanstyle>
You must know that in the Beijing-Tianjin area, even if housing prices continue to rise, buying a large apartment of more than 100 square meters only costs more than 1,000 taels of silver. In other words, the couple has worked hard for ten years and it is almost enough.
I bought the most expensive property in the Beijing-Tianjin area.
Converted into the monetary value of later generations, the average price of a house is 40,000. Even if it is calculated as 100 square meters, it is 4 million, and one-tenth of it is 400,000.
In future generations, if a couple can have 400,000 yuan left after deducting living expenses, they will probably be able to overwhelm at least a large number of people, and they will be able to live a pretty good life.
What's more, it's the Ming Dynasty now.
Now, because Ming Dynasty has a vast enough land and is at the top of the global food chain, it has abundant products and extremely low prices. Whether it is food prices or other expenses, it is very small, and money is still very valuable.
Moreover, in terms of education, free new schools can also provide your children with a lunch, unless you want to take the imperial examinations, attend private schools and academies, which will require a lot of money.
This means that even with the same annual net income of almost 400,000 yuan, people in the Ming Dynasty during this period lived a much more comfortable life than people in later generations, and they lived a truly well-off life.
And in later generations, no one is willing to have children because of great pressure, and the per capita fertility rate has dropped to the lowest level in the world. Many are only children, and two are not too many.
But the people of Ming Dynasty are different in this matter. They have always adhered to the principle that more people are more powerful. Every household has a few children, as few as three or four, as many as seven or eight, and there are more than a dozen. Don’t think so.
It's strange, it's normal.
Anyway, food is cheap, the pressure is low, and you have to work hard to give birth. I used to worry about the capitation tax, but now the capitation tax is waived. The more children you have, the better for you. You can emigrate at will and become a small landowner.
This is today's Ming Dynasty. Even ordinary workers at the lowest level can still live a dignified life and a well-off and happy life as long as they work hard.
This is why Liu Jin lamented that this is a good era.
Such a life is worthy of this hard-working and intelligent nation.
Dignified, confident, and wealthy.
Think about the European and American people of later generations. They are obviously not as diligent as us, and they are not as hardworking as us, but they live a carefree life.
Eight hours a day is too much, and many places have a six-hour work system. In the afternoon, I get off work early and go home to spend time with my children.
Not satisfied with working five days a week, they actually clamored to implement a four-day work system. Counting all the holidays throughout the year, half of the time is spent on vacation.
Even so, their income is still much higher than ours, and their social security and welfare are extremely complete, completely crushing us.
Liu Jin could not figure it out before.
How come they can live a good life and yet be so lazy, while we are tired of our hard work.
Now, Liu Jin finally thought it through and figured it out.
In the final analysis, it is because their ancestors occupied the most resources and wealth in the world during the Age of Discovery, and in the following industrial revolution and technological development, they established their position at the top of the food chain.
Therefore, they can easily obtain huge benefits and unimaginable wealth, easily crush you, and live a prosperous life.
This gap cannot be easily surpassed by hard work. It takes time and opportunity. But in the end, a hard-working and intelligent nation will eventually stand among the world's powerful nations and reach the top of the world.
Just like the current Ming Dynasty, it is already the most powerful country. Years of expansion and development, coupled with its many advantages, have created the current prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, and also made ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty live a prosperous life.
a well-off life.
Sitting on the four-wheeled carriage, Liu Jin's thoughts were far away and he thought about many things.
This is only the life lived by the Ming people who stayed in the mainland. As for the Ming people who moved overseas, their lives were even better than those of the local Ming people.
Overseas, with the vast land outside the customs, massive resources, and the strength of the Ming Dynasty, their lives are no worse than those at home.
"It's strange, there are a lot less people~"
Liu Jin's thoughts were racing, but Wang Shouren on the side made a surprised sound and suddenly pulled Liu Jin back.