It had only been a few minutes since the two of them walked in, and they were already dripping with sweat. [Full text reading] Wu Zhixiang took out a handkerchief and wiped her sweat. Then Zhao Yingong led him into the silk reeling workshop. In the silk reeling workshop, the pedal machine was whirring, and the cocoons in the pot were floating and sinking. The workshop was filled with steam, and the water vapor was even heavier. There were ** on the walls and on the floor everywhere. The stench of scalded silkworm chrysalises, the smell of alum in the pots, mixed with the stench of water vapor, soot and human sweat, makes one's chest feel tight as soon as one enters, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Although there were many workers coming and going in the workshop, they turned a blind eye to the arrival of these two masters and were minding their own business. Only one plumber came up to greet me. Zhao Yingong waved his hand and the other party stepped back and went about his own business.
The entire workshop was like a beehive, and the buzzing sound of reeling cars filled the humid and muggy air. Hundreds of female workers were busy at their respective reeling stations. While pedaling, they kept putting their fingers into the 50-degree hot water to fish out the thread and get on the train. Although the environment in the workshop was harsh, they were all concentrating on it. , barely even blinking an eye. His fingers seemed to be flying, and the car above his head spun so fast that it was dizzying.
In order to facilitate operation, all female workers in the workshop have short hair. There is also a towel wrapped around the forehead - used to absorb sweat, so as not to frequently need to wipe it with a towel. The clothes on their bodies were wet, and there was a small puddle under each person's feet. I don't know if it was the sweat on their bodies or the hot water splashed from the basin.
Wu Zhixiang had never had such an experience. Even though he was young and strong, he still felt chest tightness and breathlessness. He saw hundreds of female workers with the same short hair and wearing the same clothes working at the same pace. The speed was so fast that he couldn't even see clearly. , feel shocked.
Where are the people here? It's obviously like an Australian machine! Wu Zhixiang thought to herself, I really don’t know how the Australians did it? But he was also very excited. Although he couldn't quite see it clearly, he was completely aware of the efficiency involved, reeling silk from household to household. How can it be done so fast! No wonder every time Australians make something, the price drops to the point where others can’t sell it even at the expense of their previous investment!
Although his chest was tight and he felt like vomiting, he was very excited mentally. When I looked up, I saw that there was a walking-horse building surrounding the factory wall. However, this walking-horse building was not open and had a grid wall made of bamboo. There seemed to be a figure moving inside.
"What's this?"
"This is a building patrol. It is specially used for patrols to walk back and forth to supervise the work of female workers."
Zhao Yingong explained that the silk reeling factory has production regulations for its products. Each silk can only be combined with three or four cocoons, so workers reeling is slower than manual silk reeling. Manual silk reeling can only produce one pound of silk per day, but here only six or seven taels are produced. Wages here are based on the piece rate system. Female workers usually try to lift more weight and earn more wages. Often, cocoons are built secretly beyond the limit, that is, more than four or five cocoons per cocoon, which not only wastes raw materials, but also affects the quality of the silk.
The Zouma Tower was set up to supervise female workers. The inspectors patrolled up and down the Zouma Tower, peeking through the grid to observe the female workers' operations - because of the grid wall, the female workers could not see that anyone was supervising. If the inspection finds that there is an over-subscription situation at that job position. Just put the number book on a paper card and throw it to the foreman's office. The foreman's office immediately took the reeling button according to the number and took it for inspection. If it meets the standards, it will not be pursued and will be handed back to the female worker to continue the work. However, if the weight is more than 1/3 of the standard, it means that the silk body has been stretched for a long time, resulting in a rough silk body, and will be punished according to the regulations.
If female workers are slacking off, chatting, or doing other things that violate the rules, they will be punished once they are recorded during inspections.
"That's it!" Wu Zhixiang nodded, "It turns out that Brother Zhao's factory is governed by military law!"
"The military law is serious. However, if you open a factory, you can't produce safely otherwise." Zhao Yingong also felt that he couldn't stand it anymore, but he didn't want to lose face in front of Wu Zhixiang, so he made a nonchalant expression.
Zhao Yingong led him out of a corner of the workshop, and there was another room outside. There are large windows on the wall for ventilation from north to south. Tall and bright, it felt light both physically and mentally after walking out of the hot and humid workshop.
There are many long stools made of wooden strips in the room, and there are long tables along the wall, filled with teacups made of bamboo tubes. Each teacup has a name and mark written on it - almost none of the female workers are literate. People can only use this pattern marking method. There are also several large celadon jars on the table, covered with white cold cloth. There are many towels hanging on the wall, marked like teacups.
There were more than twenty female workers in the room taking a rest. They were all panting and slumped on the bench, using towels to wipe away the sweat that could not be wiped away. They looked exhausted.
Several young girls in green clothes were running around, delivering towels, cleaning and drying, boiling water, delivering tea... all of them were very busy.
Seeing Zhao Yingong come in, the running girls stopped one by one and stepped aside timidly. However, the female workers were not so nervous and just stood up quickly.
"It's okay, you guys sit down and rest." Zhao Yingong said with a smile, but Wu Zhixiang felt a chill.
"Master is here, how can we sit..." said a female worker who looked like a foreman.
"Just sit down when I tell you. I won't have the energy to work for a while." Zhao Yingong's words were gentle but his attitude was very firm. The foreman had no choice but to complain and asked the female workers to sit down again, but this time they were not as relaxed as before, and they seemed Very reserved.
Zhao Yingong ignored them and sat down on a bench, saying, "Sit, sit."
Wu Zhixiang is such an exquisite and clear character, but she already feels that the atmosphere is wrong. Besides, it was a bit unseemly to sit with a group of female workers in this unstructured place. But since it was the host who invited me, I couldn't resist, so I had to sit down.
As soon as he took his seat, several girls came over to serve him. An older girl asked: "Master, do you want some tea?"
Zhao Yingong said: "We have been walking for a long time under the bright sun. The female workers have drunk some Qinghao tea. Pour a cup for Mr. Wu as well."
Two cups of Artemisia annua tea were brought over - these large porcelain jars were filled with various drinks to relieve summer heat and quench thirst, specially prepared for the female workers in the silk reeling workshop. There are both artemisia annua tea and soda water made from salt, sugar and citric acid - of course there is no carbon dioxide in it.
A young girl who was busy outside the house came in quietly now. Seeing that Zhao Yingong looked indifferent and ignored her, she had to come over and kneel down and said: "Master..."
Zhao Yingong drank several sips of tea, took a breath, and finally said: "I asked you to lead people to study, and you really worked hard!"
"Speak to me!" The person kneeling on the ground was Xihua. Because she came from a scholar's family and was literate, she was trained as a normal student. She studied with Zhao Yingong in the private school in the villa and was also responsible for teaching literacy. .
Xihua trembled and forced a smile: "The master has asked these children to be handed over to the slave, and the slave will naturally do his best to repay the favor.
Zhao Yingong sneered and said: "Trying so hard to serve that you don't even listen to what I say?" After saying that, he picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The people in the room were so scared that they didn't dare to speak out.
"I don't dare." Xihua bowed his head and said, "The master sent the female musicians to serve. It turned out to be their fault. It's just that these girls have been learning to tune strings with silk and bamboo. There are too many books missing. I'm afraid it will delay them... "
"It's really ridiculous to delay them. I asked you to teach them how to read and write, not to ask them to take the imperial examination!" Zhao Yingong sneered, "You, this female gentleman, are becoming more and more prestigious -"
"My slaves don't dare!" Xihua couldn't hold on any longer. He touched his head to the ground and said in a trembling voice, "My slaves don't dare to be disrespectful. I just think that the master wants them to study hard and it will be of great use in the future. of……"
Zhao Yingong smiled and said: "Okay, even if you did something wrong out of kindness, I won't hold you accountable for your mistakes today. It's just that you said you wanted to give them lectures and make up classes, so why did you bring them here again?"
"Replying to the master," Xihua said, "After the lecture in the afternoon, I brought them here to help." After that, she kowtowed again, "I don't dare to lie to you."
"You do have a kind heart!" Zhao Yingong sneered and put down the tea cup. Just about to get up and leave. Xihua, who had been kneeling on the ground, suddenly said:
"Master, I have no intention of looking down on you, and I don't dare to make any decisions. It's just that the sisters, aunts and sisters here have to work for six hours every day. The weather is hot now, and everyone is exhausted every time they take a break. It takes a day Several people passed out and passed out. I just thought that I could do something for them to calm down a little bit..."
Zhao Yingong's face was filled with anger: "So, I am torturing them by allowing them to work in Cihui Hall!"
"I don't dare!" Xihua's body trembled, but he continued, "I know that I can't do anything. I just ask the master to reduce the working time here by an hour or two. Everyone really can't bear it. If this continues I'm afraid that something will happen to me. When I enter the workshop, I can't stay there for a moment..."
Wu Zhixiang and the female workers around her were all stunned and turned pale. They all know that what Xihua said is true. The factory is indeed not a place for people, let alone working there for six hours, with only a meal and a few breaks in between.
Zhao Yingong turned pale with anger and sneered: "Listen, it's all my fault."
"Don't dare. My slave deserves to die!" Xihua's face turned red and his whole body was trembling. "My slave deserves to die. But my slave is telling the truth!"
Zhao Yingong was so angry that his hands were shaking, and he said to Wu Zhixiang: "Listen, what are the rules? Come here! Drag him out and beat him to death!"
