"Your Majesty, Uncle Dingyuan and Laifu said that two stocks will be listed in the next few days. If the palace is interested, they can participate in the launch as a sponsoring shareholder."
Chongzhen asked: "What kind of stock is it? I will help you check it."
Queen Zhou said: "One is called Railway Construction, and it is said to be specialized in building railways. It will be on the market in a few days. The other is called Steam Power, and it is said to produce some kind of steam engine. It will be on the market before the Spring Festival."
Chongzhen nodded and said: "I heard from Uncle Dingyuan about these two stocks. You can participate more. Those who build the railways are the railway companies who give them money, and they are responsible for building the roads. This is a guaranteed profit. Once it is built, After the railway, whether the railway makes money or not has nothing to do with the road builders. As long as they keep doing road construction projects, they will keep making money."
When Queen Zhou heard this, she realized that this was indeed the case. Uncle Dingyuan wants to build five railways. There is still little work left, enough to last five years.
Whether the court approves it or not, I will definitely know it immediately. No one can compare with me about this inside information. This is definitely profitable.
"Your Majesty, what's going on with that steam power?"
"Hasn't the palace begun to install running water and heating boilers? The machine that burns coal to pump water is a steam engine. The steam engine is used to pump the water out of the ground, then send it to the high tower, and then use iron pipes to flow down and transport it to various places. Room, this is running water.”
Queen Zhou's eyes lit up and she said: "Your Majesty, this thing can pump groundwater. In recent years of drought in the north, many landowners will buy one. It can be used to pump groundwater and irrigate their fields. This is beneficial to the country and the people. That’s a good thing.”
Chongzhen nodded with satisfaction. The queen was smart and could answer many questions at once.
"That's true. This business can definitely make money. But I plan to restrict them. The drought is more serious in Jiannu, so water pumping machines cannot flow into Liaodong. Therefore, those who buy steam engines must be registered. Smuggling and reselling steam engines Those who go to Liaodong must be punished."
Empress Zhou nodded and said: "Your Majesty is wise, this is a sharp weapon for the country, and naturally it cannot be used by the enemy."
Chongzhen put down the bowl. He had already finished eating and was going to Xinuang Pavilion to continue reviewing the memorial. Said: "You can participate in both stocks, and you can buy more. If you hold them for a long time, you will make more money than ordinary shops."
Concubine Tian and Concubine Yuan were scheming. Your Majesty would not let us go to Uncle Dingyuan, and we would not be able to participate in the primary market. Can't you buy it on the secondary market? After we give birth to a prince, we have to prepare more money for him. Without money, there are many things that we cannot do.
Besides, even though the queen is favored now, who knows what her son will look like, what if he grows crooked? Doesn't his son still have a chance? Everything has just begun, what's the rush?
Today, Daming Railway Construction Company has been listed. The office is located in a courtyard in Dongsi. At the same time, three thousand people from Zunhua were already in place. Recruitment of refugees as railway construction workers began again outside the city.
Outside You'anmen in Nancheng, the place where workers are recruited is surrounded by flood victims. Yang Fan's soldiers were maintaining order. These people were starving. When they saw someone recruiting workers, they pushed forward as hard as they could.
The elderly, children, women and children could not squeeze in, so they were piled up and crying outside. The scene was so miserable.
Yang Fan couldn't stand it when he saw it like this. He said to Lin Dong: "Build a refugee camp opposite. Burn the wasteland in this area, remove the shrubs and weeds, dig some underground tunnels, and settle them down. Otherwise, if it snows, half of the people will freeze to death." "
"Okay, sir, I'll arrange for someone to do it right away."
"Let's find a place to make porridge first and cook some cornmeal. These people have been hungry for a long time and cannot eat food. Otherwise, they will have gastrointestinal problems. Let's eat some soft stuff first."
Chen Jin held the gong and banged it while shouting: "Those who don't have home certificates don't want it. Those who don't have household stamps don't want it. Those who don't have strong laborers under 30 years old don't want it. Others shouldn't push forward. Those who meet the requirements will be together with the whole family." Meet at the east side. Waiting for the interview."
Officials from Shuntian Prefecture also sit here. For the workers selected by Uncle Dingyuan, they will apply for temporary household allowances in the capital. First go to the camp opened in the wasteland inside You'anmen of Nancheng to settle down.
In the future, if you pass the probation period and become a formal worker, you will be granted a household registration in the capital. From now on, he will be considered a native of the capital city.
Most of the central and southern parts of Nancheng are uninhabited wasteland. Yang Fan built a lot of cotton tents here and installed iron stoves for burning briquettes, one for each railway worker's family.
In the future, railway construction workers would go to other places to build railways from all over the world. Their families would live here and their children would go to school locally. Yang Fan has already started recruiting teachers for railway construction primary schools.
Women will also be considered for employment opportunities.
Everyone knows that Uncle Dingyuan recruits and treats people well. These refugees who have lost their land also know it. Such good treatment made them come from all directions like crazy.
"These people are so hungry that they are naked. Let's give them porridge first. After eating for two days, let them apply for the job. It's impossible to choose suitable candidates now." Yang Fan said.
Yang Fan transferred 3,060 people from Xinghe Tuan who were training in Nanyuan. Burn the wasteland to the west of the lotus pond and clear out a camp. These victims rushed over, old and young, to receive food.
People from Shuntian Mansion were registering on the side. This was only agreed by Shuntian Mansion after Yang Fan's persuasion. Originally, they were too lazy to take care of it. After all, it is very dangerous for so many people to gather without management.
How many refugees are there outside the city? Where are they from? Are they single or married? What were their previous occupations? Once the registration is clear, if something happens, you will know how to deal with it.
After hearing about this incident, Chongzhen also expressed his approval of Yang Fan's approach. Since he has no money or food, he is not very motivated to provide disaster relief. But he is still very willing to monitor it and prevent trouble.
Three days later, the first batch of recruited workers, about 3,000 people, finally entered the city. They are all sons of good families with their families. These people cried all the way and entered You'anmen with the temporary Beijing household stickers they had just been issued.
They knew that finding this job would save a family's life.
Xinghe Tuan has become very skilled at doing this kind of thing. Everything is done according to the process.
All these people were first screened by doctors, those who were sick were registered, and infectious diseases were isolated. First wash your hair, scald it with hot water, and then wash one side with kerosene to remove lice and fleas.
Then the men and women went to take a bath. After soaking in hot water for a quarter of an hour, they lay on a narrow wooden bed. The regiment and the hired strong women used burlap to scrub away the old mud accumulated on the skin.
Sterilize the clothes you took off by boiling them in a large pot and drying them over fire.
After taking care of their personal hygiene, they entered the camp in groups of fifty, and each family was assigned a cotton tent. Distribute some necessary daily necessities.
Workers are given half a month's salary as settlement allowance, and another month's wages are paid in advance. And apply for grain coupons to buy low-priced grains from Xinghe Supermarket.
The people from Xinghe Tuanlian temporarily serve as captains and are responsible for management.
"Listen, all of you, don't leave the camp if you have nothing to do. You can only leave the camp after asking for instructions in advance and getting approval. Use the toilet to urinate and urinate. If you defecate anywhere, you will be whipped. To drink water, you can go to the boiler room to open the water, and you are not allowed to drink raw water. First. You will be given briquettes every month, and you can buy them yourself in the future. This place is temporarily under military management, and anyone who fights, steals, or bullies women will be punished according to military law."
Looking at the people below, all of them shrank their heads, as frightened as quails. The officer calmed down and said: "The probation period is three months. When the urban railway construction in Beijing is completed, you can become regular employees. I hope you will work hard and become full-time employees."
The people below listened excitedly, and they all heard clearly. Railway construction is heavy physical labor, and the pay is a full 500 Wen Xinghe a month. It's equivalent to one tael of silver. Coupled with the benefits of low-priced corn, it is enough to feed a family.
Even if he fails to become a full-time employee, with these three months of work, the family can survive this winter safely.
