Hearing Wang Shouren's words, Liu Jin rarely had any doubts. Then he looked at the crowds of people returning to the city on the road. The flow of people was quite large. Everywhere he looked, there were people. Why did he say there were so few people?
"There are a lot of people."
Liu Jin was very confused.
"No, a lot less!"
Wang Shouren said firmly: "Nanjing is currently the largest city in the entire Jiangnan, and it is also the city with the most factories and workshops. Although it cannot be compared with Beijing and Tianjin, it is definitely the third largest city in the Ming Dynasty, with a population of more than five million."
"So every year before and after annual holidays, the number of migrant workers who return to their hometowns or cities is very large, between two and three million."
"Today is the last day to return to the city. In the past, the flow of people on this road was very heavy, and sometimes it was difficult for four-wheeled carriages to pass."
"But now look at the flow of people on this road. Although there are a lot of people, it is much worse than before."
Wang Shouren frowned.
As the chief envoy of Southern Zhili, he is very concerned about this aspect.
The safety of migrant workers who return to their hometowns before and after this year is a big deal. During the winter, the government needs to make preparations in all aspects for the stations along the way.
So he would personally inquire and make arrangements, and every time he would personally walk a distance to see how the various post stations and the government were doing.
"It shouldn't be the case. Maybe many people came back early. Also, the city is developing very fast now. Many people buy houses in the city and then settle down in the city."
Liu Jin thought for a while and guessed.
"It's possible, but I still feel it's abnormal. The flow of people is much less than before."
Wang Shouren nodded, but his frown remained.
If the population of a city decreases significantly, it is not a good thing. It means that the city will soon enter decline. Without people, there is nothing. Only those who have everything have everything. This is the simplest truth.
"Yeah~"
Liu Jin looked at the pedestrians on the road and pondered slightly. He had read the problem correctly.
But who is Lao Wang?
He is the most awesome person in this era. Since he said this, it must be right.
"Is it because we have hit local capital in Jiangnan too hard that many people are worried that they can't find a job in Nanjing?"
Liu Jin thought so in his heart.
But he quickly rejected his own conclusion, because although he had severely attacked the local big businessmen, big gentry, big landowners, and big families in Jiangnan, he had sealed up a large number of factories and workshops.
But not everyone here in Nanjing is like Zeng Qing, Jiang Cheng, Zhang Yuanting and others, who deliberately banded together to not pay wages and cause workers to cause trouble in order to bring down Wang Shouren.
Most of the factories and workshops here, especially those small and medium-sized factories, still followed the agreement with everyone and paid the workers full wages for their hard work for a year before the year.
After all, for most of the owners of small and medium-sized factories and workshops, what they consider is how to make profits and how to make money, and they simply do not dare to go up to the level of going against a feudal official like the Chief Envoy.
As for paying taxes, just follow the rules and regulations. The Yankees can all pay taxes according to the rules and regulations. They can also become bigger and stronger and make a lot of money. Why can't we Southerners?
They are different from Zhang Yuanting, Zeng Qing, Jiang Cheng and other top families, wealthy families, businessmen, and gentry. They dare not do such a thing, and they do not have the ability to make such a layout.
Therefore, we must act honestly and in accordance with the law, and pay out the wages that should be paid. If wages are not paid, when the workers cause trouble and the government intervenes, and they do not have enough connections, they may be doomed by then.
This is the thinking and practice of most owners of small and medium-sized factories, workshops, and trading houses.
All they can do is act in accordance with the law and earn their own reasonable profits.
Small and medium-sized factories and workshops are the mainstream, with the largest number and the largest number of employees. This is why there were only a few hundred thousand workers in the riots before the end of last year.
These hundreds of thousands of workers are all workers in big factories and workshops. If all the factories and workshops in Nanjing were working together, it would not be hundreds of thousands, but millions.
With this doubt, the carriages of Liu Jin and Wang Shouren quickly returned to Nanjing, but before they entered the city, they saw many people recruiting workers on the road into the city.
"We're hiring, we're hiring~"
"Zijin Textile Factory is recruiting workers. Food and accommodation are provided. The dormitory is a newly built building. It is clean and tidy. There are also rooms for couples."
"I will give you five taels of silver a month, and you will get another month's wages when wages are paid at the end of the year, for a total of sixty-five taels of silver." spanstyle>谷/spanstyle>
A man wearing purple textile factory clothes held a tin horn and shouted loudly on the roadside. At the same time, there were more than a dozen men wearing the same clothes beside him, desperately greeting people passing by and asking for their orders.
Don't go work in your own factory.
“Fellow, I’m going to work in the city~”
"Come to our Capital Textile Factory. The dormitories are all brand new. If you are a couple, we will also provide you with a couple's room."
"Zijin Textile Factory?"
"A small factory?"
"Yes, yes, our factory is not big, but it is not a small factory either. It is considered a medium-sized factory. There were more than a thousand workers last year."
“A factory with more than a thousand people is not a small factory?”
"What's your boss's name? Where is he from? Did you pay everyone full wages last year?"
"Our boss's name is Xia Liangsheng. He is from Yangzhou Prefecture. He is also a wealthy family in Yangzhou. You can rest assured that the workers who worked for us last year all received their wages in small sums. If you don't believe me, you can ask anyone around you who knows.
People from our factory.”
"Who knows, big factories like Jinling Cement Factory and Textile Factory didn't pay us wages last year. If Mr. Wang hadn't stepped forward in the end, we would have worked in vain for a year."
"Yes, yes, if it weren't for Mr. Wang, our work would have been in vain for a year, and there are still people who were beaten and disabled for asking for wages."
"I don't plan to join the factory this year. There are not many conscientious employers in Nanjing. They don't pay wages and even beat people. I will never work for them again."
"I'll take a boat to Songhu later. I heard that there are many big factories run by northerners in Songhu. The pay is good, the reputation is good, and the owners are kind to our workers. I've wanted to go to Songhu for a long time."
"Me too, me too, brother, let's go together later. I have a brother who works here in Songhu."
"Okay, let's go together, let's go together~"
"A few fellow countrymen, a few fellow countrymen~"
"Although our Zijin Textile Factory is not a big factory, our employer treats everyone very well. They have built a new dormitory and specially take care of couples, leaving a couple's room. The wages have also been increased for everyone. Why do you have to go to Song
Shanghai, not to mention the extra travel expenses, I know a little bit about Songhu, but it may not be better than Nanjing."
"Those northern bosses are northerners after all. If something happens and they lose money and have no money to pay their wages, they will just leave. We can't find anyone even if we look for them. But our local bosses are different. They all
Folks, people who leave can’t leave the temple, right?”
Seeing that they were about to leave, the clerk from Zijin Textile Factory immediately became anxious and said quickly.
"Go, go, don't stop us, we are rushing to take the boat."
"Whether the bosses in the north are good or not is not just their words. Everyone has the eyes to see and the heart to feel. At least they pay enough wages at the end of the year. Unlike you Nanjing people, who don't pay wages and beat people even if you don't pay them. Only the devil gives it."
You do things."
"That's right, that's right. Many of my fellow villagers have gone directly to Songhu. Some of them are even going to go overseas this year. Everyone has said that they will never work for your Nanjing boss again."
A few people left a few words and walked straight towards the Nanjing Pier. There are ships going to and from Songhu there, so you can quickly go to Songhu.
"Fellow, are you going to the city to do some work?"
"Come to our Zijin Textile Factory. The treatment is good, the dormitory is good, and the food is good."
The clerk at Zijin Textile Factory sighed helplessly when he saw this, and then went to recruit people with a smile on his face.
It just seems that these people who come to the city are not here to work in Nanjing. It is very difficult for them to recruit people.
And the same scene is constantly playing out on both sides of the road. A large number of factories and workshops are on both sides of the road, just like the people in the capital textile factories.
While shouting constantly, he told me about the generous treatment at his factory.
Some have increased their wages, while others have emphasized their work, living environment, etc. They are all trying to recruit people, but almost all of them are similar to those in Zijin Textile Factory, so it is difficult to recruit workers.
This scene was also witnessed by Liu Jin and Wang Shouren who were sitting on the four-wheeled carriage.
"Have all these people been recruited on this road?"
Liu Jin frowned as he looked at the lively scenes on both sides of the road in front of him.
There is only one explanation for this situation, and that is that the factories, workshops and the like here are in great need of workers. They have not recruited enough workers, so they can only find ways to recruit people on the way into the city, hoping to be the first to recruit more workers.
some workers.
If there are enough workers, it is absolutely impossible for these factories, workshops and the like to come here to recruit people. Just like in later generations, when it first became popular to work in cities, there were few factories and many people came to work in cities.
Each of those factories has harsh conditions, but there are still countless people who want to work in the factory, and many times they have to rely on connections to work in the factory.
Because there are many people and few jobs, the factory can impose harsh conditions and people will still do it.
Now the situation is reversed. There are more factories and fewer workers. These factories and workshops have to offer better conditions to attract workers to come and work, and they even have to come to the road to rob people.