Xilin Hutong, a dilapidated alley, a dilapidated yard. There are only three thatched houses, and the east and west wing rooms are temporary sheds built with boards. To the south is a fence made of wood and rattan.
Widow Hao's man has been dead for five years. She is now thirty years old and has two daughters, one fifteen and one thirteen years old. There is also a blind mother-in-law. .
The widow of the family is unemployed, and there is no man to stand up for the family. How painful it is.
Fortunately, this family is very hard-working, and all four of their women can spin. Even the blind old lady can sit on the kang and spin yarn with the help of others.
Although life is hard, they work late every day. The hard-earned money is still enough to feed the family. In the past two years, the price of cotton yarn has increased by 20% due to the large-scale purchase of cotton yarn by wool spinning mills, and their lives have improved.
In addition to food and daily expenses, you can also save some money. Because of their hard work, they have saved five taels of silver in the past two years. This is the dowry that Widow Hao saved for her two daughters.
If the family hadn't been too poor, both daughters would have actually reached the age of marriage. The eldest daughter is in her prime, and the younger daughter can stay for another two years at most. After she reaches the age of sixteen, she is considered an old girl.
Today, Widow Hao went to the countryside to buy cotton. She got up early and went to Fangshan County. In the afternoon, when I returned to Xilin Alley with a cart of cotton I bought, I met Sister-in-law Zheng in the front yard.
"The Hao family has something big coming up. Come with me quickly. If you're late, you won't be able to catch up." When the Zheng family's sister-in-law saw her, she quickly pulled her and said.
Widow Hao was a little confused, and Sister-in-law Zheng was also a widow.
If a family like them can encounter any good things there, it's a good thing if no one bullies them.
"Sister-in-law, please allow me to unload the cotton truck first and give you some money." Widow Hao said quickly.
"Hey, you've missed this thing by waiting so long. Let your daughter unload the car, pay quickly, and then come with me." Sister-in-law Zheng said anxiously.
"What on earth is going on?" Widow Hao said inexplicably.
"Haven't you always regretted not being able to work as a worker in Cheng Woolen Mill? Now there is a better opportunity. The woolen mill established an equipment leasing company and gave us a loan to buy their equipment. We will repay the principal and interest in equal installments over three years. . The price of the equipment is twenty taels of silver. This equipment can carry eight spindles per person and do the work of eight people. The equipment rental company will buy all the yarn we spin. It is willing to sign a contract with us. "
Widow Hao's mouth opened in surprise.
How is it possible for one person to do the work of eight people?
"Sister-in-law Zheng, you see, she can really do the work of eight people by herself." Widow Hao knew that this sister-in-law Zheng was a straightforward person, but she was definitely not someone who spoke freely.
"Sister, of course I have seen it before I came back to convince my mother-in-law to get the money. That machine can indeed turn the handwheel hard by one person to drive eight spindles to spin yarn."
"Sister-in-law Zheng, is the interest rate on the loan high? It's not like usury money. We can't pay it off." Widow Hao asked uneasily. There is no such thing as pie falling from the sky in this world. If so, it's most likely a scam.
"Sister, that woolen mill is run by the Empress, and this equipment rental company is run by the woolen mill. How can it be a loan shark? They say that they complete the work tasks every month, pay monthly, and repay the equipment every month. With one machine and one person, you can work four hours a day and still have one tael of silver left. If you stay up late to work, you can earn more. This equipment is not expensive, only two taels of silver a piece. How many uses can it make? Ten years." Widow Zheng said.
Widow Hao was immediately tempted.
With her and her eldest daughter's skills, using this kind of spinning wheel wouldn't be a big problem. If you are afraid of loan shark traps, buy one at your own expense first and try it out. If you can really make one or two silver dollars a month with one machine, it will be so worth it.
She can buy a second device at her own expense. Get her eldest daughter to join in. All are produced using this spinning machine. In this way, you can have an income of two taels of silver a month. The younger daughter continued to spin yarn with her mother-in-law on an old-fashioned spinning machine.
As long as the machine is so effective, she doesn't have to take out a loan, and she won't be afraid of falling into high interest rates.
In the loan trap. She secretly thought that the business opened by the Queen would never be deceptive. The royal family could not afford to lose this person.
So, Widow Hao and Widow Zheng hurried to a shop on Dongsi Street, where many people were already there. There were men and women, old people, and teenage girls. They all came to consult Jenny.
Every other hour, a girl comes to the gate and starts to demonstrate how to use the Jenny Machine. The live spinning performance was very fascinating to other people watching. The most shocking.
When Widow Hao saw that one person could do the work of eight spinners, she was very alarmed.
This was the first time she discovered that being good at using tools was the secret to getting rich.
Such a good device, what are you waiting for? Widow Hao directly grabbed Sister-in-law Zheng and went to the counter to sign the contract.
She made up her mind to spend all her wealth and spent four taels of silver to buy two Jenny machines. Leave one tael of silver for working capital. Since she doesn't have to repay the loan, she can earn one tael or one penny by working eight hours a day every month. Two units are two taels of silver.
They are all very hard-working, and they can even work eighteen hours a day and night. Keep spinning.
They can earn five taels of silver a month, which is sixty taels of silver a year.
Widow Hao did some mental calculations and found out that hiring a spinning girl only cost three coins a month. She can definitely expand production as she makes money, and there is plenty of labor. Develop step by step and build your own workshop. This is also her lifelong dream.
The shopkeeper of the equipment rental company just asked about her situation. She had a receipt for selling cotton yarn to a wool spinning factory. It was very easy to check her spinning level, salary, and product quality. They were all questioned in detail. Finally, the shopkeeper sent a man to go to her house with her to check whether there was a suitable factory building.
In the end, Widow Hao bought two Jenny machines. Widow Zheng also bought a Jenny machine with full payment.
Widow Hao's actions made Widow Zheng determined. I plan to use this efficient spinning machine to improve my life through my own efforts. Let the children also have enough to eat.
Both of them were conservative and did not dare to take out loans, so they paid in full.
The equipment rental company is also responsible for delivering the equipment to your home and installing it. In the remaining days, if there is really a quality problem, users can apply for free repair within three years.
"Mom, what is this?" her eldest daughter asked in surprise.
"This is a spinning wheel. One person can shake the wheel and drive all eight wheels to spin together. The efficiency is increased twelve times.
