Chapter 117: Clothes and quilts for the world (please vote for me)
The nobles on the plateau have always been simple and unpretentious.
Cups made of gold, plates made of silver, necklaces inlaid with precious stones, and blankets woven with gold threads.
Even the Buddha statues made at home are made of pure gold and can weigh dozens of kilograms.
There are flocks of cattle and sheep, and serfs are everywhere.
The highland barley ripples, giving off the fragrance of wheat.
Zhu Cunqu was shocked by the luxury that hit him. It was so unrestrained.
"Your Highness, this is tsampa, highland barley powder is mixed with sugar, and these spices are added to make it a delicacy!"
Zhu Cunqu ate the ball-shaped delicacy and glanced approvingly at the nobleman serving him.
A greasy feeling gets stuck in the throat and goes straight to the brain.
Fighting back his nausea, he swallowed.
In front of him was a rickety servant with a bent neck and a lantern hanging around his neck. He was like a human-shaped lantern.
Serfs were cheaper than livestock.
He looked up and saw a human-shaped scroll hanging in the lobby, blue, red and white, depicting Buddha and Bodhisattva.
"What's this?"
"Your Highness, this is a thangka, painted on human skin." The nobleman bowed and said:
"The human body is just a skin. It is their greatest honor to use the humble skin of a serf to depict a thangka!"
Zhu Cunqu's eyelids beat uncontrollably.
Even though he had been baptized on the battlefield, he still felt extremely disgusted with such inhumane behavior.
At this time, he caught a glimpse of the Buddhist beads in the hands of the nobles. They were not round, but were made up of finger rings, which was very strange.
"Your Highness, this is a human bone Buddhist bead, which is composed of the bones of a slave."
Next, he inspected these manors and somehow came across the serfs.
The third-class serfs, Chaba and Duiqiong, were free-range serfs, while Langsheng was a domestic serf and suffered the most miserable treatment.
Most people have never raised their heads in their entire lives. They are dirty, kneeling on the ground, and dare not move rashly.
There are not a few people with broken limbs and arms, mostly caused by the owner's wanton behavior, which can be described as miserable.
But this is normal on the plateau.
He turned around and saw a wooden basin placed in front of the door, with hair and clothes on it.
Taking a closer look, a scrawny child's corpse was placed inside and combined with the wooden basin, how harmonious and reasonable it was.
Zhu Cunqu's heart couldn't help but beat a few times.
He closed his eyes, and it seemed as if the sound of Buddhist scriptures was coming to his ears, but his heart could not calm down.
The place where the Buddha's light shines is the place where the most sins occur.
After a cursory stroll around, Zhu Cunqu left the manor.
There was a bit of compassion and a bit of hatred in his heart.
"The nobles on the plateau must be eliminated."
"The serfs have to be released!"
Although there are a lot of interests mixed in, for example, the nobles occupy 90% of the land on the plateau, 70% of the serfs, and half of the wealth.
But at this moment, coupled with the miserable life of the serfs, Zhu Cunqu was firm in his determination to reform the system, and he was also full of confidence.
"My father once said that whenever you do something, there must be many people traveling with you and few people going against you. Such a huge wave is overwhelming and irresistible."
Zhu Cunqu returned to Lhasa and began to prepare to attack the nobles.
"Among the nobles, the small nobles who own some land rely on the big nobles and are bullied, so they can cooperate."
"At the same time, Chaba, Duiqiong, rents a small part of the land, and is quite resistant to the nobles, while Lansheng, who is at the bottom, is like a tamed domestic dog, showing no resistance and even helping the evildoers."
He began to select hundreds of nobles.
The first thing to deal with is naturally the big nobles who have a bad record and are hated by the small nobles and serfs alike.
One can establish authority, just like Shang Yang established a tree as a trust, and established the authority of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, how could those serfs and nobles know my name?
As for the best candidates to establish authority, are there any other people like Da Lai and the Banchan family?
Relying on his power, he created a great lama in his family and took advantage of the resources at the top, thus invading the interests of others.
This kind of family is the best target!
If you are said to do evil, you will definitely do evil. If the great lama is not around, who will speak for you?
A vigorous serfdom reform began to unfold slowly under the prince's plan.
…
As the Mid-Autumn Festival passes, the scene in Songjiang Mansion becomes increasingly fascinating.
The prosperity is like a hot fire cooking oil, making the entire Songjiang Mansion busy.
Throughout the first half of the year, Songjiang cotton sales at home and abroad reached 20 million pieces, and exports to overseas countries reached 1.5 million pieces, which can be said to have reached a new high.
The world of clothes and quilts is truly worthy of its name.
Fucheng, Zaifanghao.
"Boy, how much does your Songjiang cloth cost per foot?"
The pot-bellied businessman came with two attendants, and asked the price directly.
"This guest, a piece of cotton cloth is forty feet, which is four feet. One foot is four cents, and a piece of cotton cloth is one hundred and sixty cents!"
The waiter smiled and quickly said the number.
"It's too expensive!" The businessman lowered his head and said, "I'll buy five thousand horses, it's cheaper!"
"I can't be the master, I have to be the boss!"
Soon, the shopkeeper in silk satin came out and chatted about the price with a smile.
After a while, each piece of cloth was sold for 150 yuan.
"The deposit is 30%, and two hundred and fifty silver dollars are credited to the account!"
Fiddled with the abacus, the shopkeeper smiled broadly.
"Shopkeeper, the cotton cloth is almost sold out again today!"
The waiter sent the guests away, then came back and whispered:
"We're running out of stock."
"How many more are there?" The shopkeeper frowned.
"There are only two thousand horses, half a warehouse."
"Go and urge me!" The shopkeeper put down the abacus, but regretted it as soon as he said it: "I'll go there in person, and you can watch the shop."
"Remember, if you have business, just serve tea. I'll be back in a minute."
The shopkeeper put on his hat, and the autumn wind suddenly hit him. He couldn't help but shiver, and then walked out with small steps.
The rickshaws lined up on the street reacted immediately:
"Sir, my car is spacious!"
"I run fast!"
"My car is clean!"
I found a car at random, and the shopkeeper hurriedly got in: "Go to Xingxin Street, No. 67!"
"Are you talking about Anren Cotton Farm? I know that place well, and my brothers and sisters are working there!"
The driver smiled and started running away.
The green brick road in Songjiang City was swaying when running, which made him quite uncomfortable: "If I had known, I would have built a bridge."
After a while, he arrived at Almond Street.
"Is your boss here?"
The concierge saw an acquaintance and opened the door immediately.
"It's in the backyard!"
The shopkeeper took a breath, adjusted his clothes, and then walked in with his head held high.
Immediately, there was a dense sound of machine chattering in my ears, which was very annoying.
He was not very bored, but rather friendly.
This represents money!
When he came to the backyard, Boss Zhao, who had already put on a thin cotton coat, was scolding him with spittle flying:
"If you were asked to find someone, would you just look for these crooked people?"
"You are so clumsy. Three people are worth one person. You have been working for half a month in vain. Don't you want to do it anymore?"
The man who was scolded lowered his head and said nothing. After he rested, he said:
"Boss, you can't blame me. There are not many people in the five counties of Songjiang Prefecture who are good at textile work. I spent all my efforts to find these crooked melons and cracked dates..."
"Go down and reflect!" Boss Zhao was so angry that his face turned red and his eyes widened: "Go and keep looking. If you can't find it, I will deduct your salary this month!"
The man lowered his head in embarrassment and could only give an example.
"Brother Zhao, don't get too angry. It's hard to find a female worker these days, so you have to relax!"
Shopkeeper Qian walked in and said with relief: "There are at least three to five hundred weaving workshops in Songjiang Prefecture, and there are eighteen of them with over a thousand looms."
"How many female workers are there in this city for all of you?"
"It's not just inside the city, it's also very difficult outside the city!"
Boss Zhao sighed, drank the tea handed to him in one gulp, and said slowly:
"Many weaving factories have opened branches in various counties, and then opened in towns and cities. It is difficult to find female workers in the countryside."
"As you know, there are not many men in my family, and not many capable ones. How can we have any spare time to organize a separate show?"
Shopkeeper Qian chuckled: "Don't think it's a good idea to have separate games. I don't know how many people deceived the superiors and deceived the inferiors, and stole a lot of money!"
"I can't tell you the pain!"
"Who says it's not?" Boss Zhao sighed: "That's it, I don't dare..."
The shortage of female workers is extremely obvious in Songjiang Prefecture.
The market for clothes and quilts has enabled one-third of Songjiang Prefecture’s young labor force to engage in the textile industry.
There are a large number of market segments under silk, cotton, linen and other categories.
For example, Huating socks are breathable and have the effect of preventing heatstroke, and are very popular throughout the Jiangnan area; Qingpu's turbans, which are close to Suzhou, have endless embroidery patterns; Jinshan's short jackets are lightweight and heat-dissipating, and are the favorites of the people at the bottom.
Those who make shoes, clothes, hats, belts, etc. have gathered a lot of wealth.
And compared with factories, most of them are based on ethnic groups, connected by blood, strong organizational skills, and the technology is not easy to spread to others, so they are highly recognized.
Under such circumstances, female workers have become increasingly difficult to find.
Skilled female workers are hard to come by.
"By the way, Shopkeeper Qian, what are you doing?"
"We don't have enough cotton cloth, so we need to add another hundred thousand pieces."
Storekeeper Qian Shizi opened his mouth and said: "Winter is coming to the north. More and more merchants are coming from the north these days, and the supply of cotton cloth exceeds the demand."
"I have to prepare in advance, otherwise I will be in big trouble if I can't make it."
"I can only give you 50,000 horses!" Boss Zhao said in confusion: "Recently, various cloth shops are asking for more and more, and there really is nothing left to give you."
"Look, I can't even find a female worker. Where can I find cloth?"
"In this way, if you find me ten female workers, I will give you another fifty thousand horses!"
"How can I do this?" Shopkeeper Qian spread his hands helplessly: "I have a few apprentices in my cloth shop, do you want them?"
"What am I going to do clumsy man?"
Boss Zhao immediately showed a disgusted expression: "We have the same salary, but the work done is less than half. It's not like I have more money to support myself."
"I can only give you 50,000 yuan. Come and get it in ten days!"
Shopkeeper Qian left reluctantly.
In autumn and winter, when cotton cloth is sold in large quantities in the north and south, their cloth shop alone can buy more than 200,000 pieces. The market is so good this year. If there is enough cotton cloth, it is not difficult to buy 300,000 pieces.
.
It's a pity that even though his cloth shop has enough dyes, it can't cope with the shortage of cotton!
He visited several familiar workshops, but as expected, they all lacked manpower and could only squeeze out 50,000 horses.
There are only 100,000 horses in total, which is not even half of previous years.
This made his heart go cold.
After shopkeeper Qian left, Boss Zhao received requests from several female workers to meet him.
The three female workers were broad-shouldered and round-waisted, with tall bodies like men. They were not afraid at all when facing their boss, and said directly:
"Boss, the factories next door all give them two yuan a month, but our factory only pays one yuan and eighty!"
"Our family is our family, what does it have to do with their family?"
Boss Qian was stunned, blood immediately rushed to his forehead, and he was very angry.
Well, you dare to raise the price, you don’t have any respect or inferiority.
"It's okay if you don't increase the price, but some of my sisters have to save their dowries to get married, so they can't delay, so they have no choice but to quit their jobs..."
The woman said with a grin.
"Didn't you sign the contract? It's not even halfway through three years?"
"Boss, this is not a matter of contract..."
When Boss Zhao heard this, he opened his mouth, waved his hand and said, "Go down and I'll give you an answer tomorrow."
After he left, he cursed angrily: "Bitch, there must be someone behind you."
If he directly litigated the case and spread the money without mentioning it, he would not be able to recruit anyone in the future.
And if someone is forcibly refused to be released, then a lawsuit will come.
Female workers have small families.
For a moment, he felt that his role as a boss was meaningless:
"If it goes up to two yuan, I will have to earn hundreds of yuan less every month..."
At Songjiang Guixiang Tower, the prefect Wang He is holding a birthday banquet.
As the former Minister of Internal Affairs and now the Magistrate of Songjiang, no one knows that he has great connections and will only be promoted in the future.
Therefore, it can be said to be a grand event for everyone to participate.
The value of the congratulatory gifts alone exceeded 30,000 yuan.
This is an honest profit.
Wang He looked at the gift list with a drunken look on his face.
He may not remember who gave the gift, but if he didn't, he knows very well.
In the huge Songjiang Prefecture, there are thousands of wealthy businessmen, and the accumulation of small sums is also a huge number.
At this time, his nephew came over, gave a birthday greeting, and then said with a smile: "Uncle, my nephew is here to see you!"
"Why, do you have something to ask me for?"
Wang He squinted his eyes, feeling clear in his heart.
This nephew, who has nothing to gain, must have an agenda when he is so flattering.
"Hey, I knew I couldn't hide it from you, old man!"
The nephew beat his legs and said flatteringly: "Isn't it almost winter? In the northeast, there is a shortage of cotton in the Yue Kingdom, but there is an abundance of cloth here in Songjiang. Can't I beg you?"
"I don't have a cloth field!" Wang He shook his head: "If you want to buy cloth, just go to those merchants, but I can't help you!"
"Don't mention it!" the nephew said with a wry smile: "The businessmen in Songjiang Prefecture are very wealthy, but one disadvantage is that they only do business with acquaintances."
"Why don't I know?" Wang He said with a half-smile but not a smile: "When people do business with acquaintances, they only take 30% of the deposit, and the rest will be paid in half a year."
"As a stranger, you have to pay a 50% deposit, and you have to pay the full amount when harvesting, right?"
"You know that I can still get the deposit, but I can't get the full payment, which is tens of thousands of yuan..."
The nephew said aggrievedly: "And now there is no market for it, and even if you have money, you can't order cotton!"