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Section 3 Five-Year Plan Three
"As long as the system is established, in theory, any device can be downloaded," Wang Luobin said.
"It's so ideal," Wen Desi said. "First let's talk about what enterprises we need now, and then we'll see what the machinery factory can support."
"Light industry has not developed much now, but I think light industry will be the bulk of foreign trade in the future, and it is also necessary to improve the living conditions of ourselves and our subjects." said Mo Xiao'an, the new minister of the Ministry of Light Industry.
Mo Xiao'an's appointment as the Minister of Light Industry is quite unexpected. This person has been an unknown member of the basic labor force since D-Day. Because of his good physical strength and long-term military fever experience, he has always been the backbone of the militiamen across time. After his appointment was announced, people generally speculated that his title of bachelor's degree in administration and master's degree in law confused the executive committee.
No matter what, he, like a large number of cadres promoted after organizational restructuring, is very positive about his new position. In preparation for this meeting, a huge five-year plan for light industry was proposed.
First up is the sewing needle. Such products were certainly available in ancient times. The advantage of time travelers is that they can use machines for mass manufacturing, and their advantages in raw materials and processing precision are unmatched by craftsmen in this time and space. Although the unit price of sewing needles is very small, they are small in cost and huge in profit. They are widely used and shipped in large quantities. They are dumped in large quantities to mainland China, Japan, North Korea and Southeast Asia. After the scale effect is achieved, the profits are also very considerable. It can also be sold back to Europe within a certain period of time.
“Is it difficult to make sewing needles?”
"Haha, sewing needles are so simple that they can be made by hand," Wang Luobin said, "but I know that all companies use automatic machine tools to make them."
Modern sewing needles are made from wire rods from steel rolling mills. They are first drawn to the required diameter, then blanked according to the length of the two needles, and then sharpened at both ends. The next nose-making process will One strip is punched into two needles. Use straightening and punching of the steel wire - punch the nose of the needle into a round cake shape with a diameter of about 4, then punch out the nose of the needle, then punch the characters and wire grooves - punch out the excess part - sharpen It is divided into several stages - deburring - grinding - polishing, and finally polishing and packaging before leaving the factory.
"That's right, it's an electromechanical-controlled automatic machine tool production line. This equipment also has a patent."
"Can it be copied? I think there should be design drawings. The patent law doesn't control it here."
Zhan Wuya shook his head: "It's definitely impossible to completely imitate automatic machine tools, but it's possible to make special equipment."
"It's okay, it's just that the production efficiency is lower. No matter how low it is, it may not be lower than the craftsmen who hammer and grind it by hand."
"Then there is the textile industry. It is not difficult to imitate textile machinery such as the Jenny machine of the 19th century. We purchase local raw cotton for processing and produce high-quality cotton yarn. In addition to producing ordinary cotton cloth, we still look at the differences in design, color and texture. There has been no breakthrough, so we have to establish cloth-making and dyeing factories—"
"Excuse me," Wen Desi interrupted, "I have a different opinion. According to my opinion, the textile industry should not become too large."
"Cloth is a basic livelihood commodity." Someone immediately raised an objection, "Exports are also very popular."
"Hear me out."
Wen Desi first drew their attention to the fact that since they landed, at least in Lingao County, no large-scale cotton planting has been found. Most of the local cotton cloth is collected from woody wild cotton plants that have been growing for many years. Processed from flowers, although the quality is pretty good, this method of supplying raw materials can only adapt to the small manual production methods of each household.
Hainan Island itself is not suitable for large-scale cotton cultivation. This is the birthplace of China's cotton textile industry. However, for a long time, the cotton textile industry has basically been a small-scale sideline industry for the Li people. It has not formed a large-scale cotton textile industry. The production technology of Songjiang cloth in the Ming Dynasty was first introduced from Hainan Island. However, the cotton textile industry has formed an industry in Songjiang - "clothes and quilts all over the world". Hainan's Qiongbu has long been just a "local product".
Once the travelers established a large-scale textile industry, in order to ensure the supply of raw materials, the travelers had to plant cotton in a place that was not suitable for large-scale cotton planting.
"And the competition faced by cotton textile itself is also very fierce." Wen Desi added.
As far as the Ming Dynasty itself is concerned, there is the giant Songjiang cloth. How powerful the penetration of Songjiang cloth is. We can see it from the gifts we received locally more than once: almost all high-end cloth is produced in Songjiang.
Looking at the whole of East and Southeast Asia, there is a strong competitor of Indian cotton cloth trafficked by the East India Company. Indian cotton cloth is not only of good quality, but also has its own unique dyeing and printing technology. It is very popular all over the world at that time. It is the East Indian cotton cloth. One of the company's main trading items.
Finally, there are all kinds of real estate cotton cloths, which are coarse cloths handmade by farmers themselves. This stuff has always been the strongest bulwark against foreign goods. Even cheap and high-quality Indian cotton has never opened a market in China. Since the 17th century, the various textiles shipped to China by the East India Company have never been sold. Some goods even need to be sold on credit for two or three years before they are sold out. .
"If we build a huge cotton textile industry, who will we sell the cloth to?" Wen Desi asked sonorously.
"Local people will also have great demand in the future -"
Xiao Zishan said: "We are at a very late stage. Expanding domestic demand is not a matter of a day or two. We can only pay attention to two points in light industrial production at the moment: self-use and export."
"That's right, so the scale of our cotton textile industry can only be limited to meeting self-use."
"Do you supply people like civilians, the army, and laborers?"
"It's better to outsource processing," Wang Luobin said. "We sell some new hand-made cotton spinning machinery on credit to textile farmers to help them improve product quality and increase variety, and then purchase homespun cloth from them for use."
"In this way, the circulation coupons can also be used." Yan Ming, who has just been promoted to the president of "Delong Grain Bank", agrees. This man was in favor of everything that extended the use of negotiable instruments.
"You can also import Indian cotton cloth and Songjiang cotton cloth. This way you can achieve a balanced trade balance. Otherwise, what's the use of exporting goods if they are all replaced by gold and silver?"
"Agree"
Li Haiping objected: "This won't work, it won't work." He reminded everyone: "The navy's canvas has not been solved yet. Your industrial department can solve the marine prime mover within one year. If you can solve this, it doesn't matter. Otherwise, President Wen will make those What do you use to make sails for a Western-style sailboat?”
"It can be imported."
"Canvas is a strategic material. The Ming Dynasty did not produce this stuff. What if we go to war with the Europeans and they impose a canvas embargo?" Li Haiping continued.
Wen Desi nodded: "That's right, I was negligent. It seems that the textile factory still needs it."
Indeed, canvas has so many uses. Not just as a sail. Its texture is firm, wear-resistant, dense and thick, and has certain waterproof properties. The ancient Romans used it in large quantities to make marching tents. The first modern parachutes were also made of canvas. Due to the strong and wear-resistant properties of canvas, it is also widely used to make labor protection clothing, replace leather to make military equipment, and make comfortable and durable canvas shoes.
Mo Xiao'an sorted out his thoughts: "This is how it works: Spinning is done on a package basis, and the machines are given to processors on credit, and we recycle the cotton yarn. Then we set up a small special textile factory to manufacture canvas, towels and knitted goods." The latter two It is an urgently needed thing for people across time. Towels are also very useful in improving the sanitary conditions of people who travel across the group.
"There will also be a printing and dyeing factory." Wang Luobin added.
"Haha, not only printing and dyeing factories are needed." Wen Desi said, "In fact, it is best for us to control the processing of raw cotton ourselves, not for monopoly. If the people are required to process raw cotton by themselves, it is difficult to guarantee the quality of the cotton yarn produced. It is necessary to set up a carding and dyeing factory. The cotton factory cleans and grades the raw cotton and then outsources it to processors.”
"The machines used to weave towels and knitted goods are very simple. I have helped people do it." Zhan Wuya said, "But I don't understand the carding machine. I don't understand what kind of machine is used to weave canvas."
"The carding machine is easy and the structure is very simple. I will draw it later." Wang Luobin is confident. "Theoretically, canvas making should be the same as other cotton fabrics, except that both warp and weft yarns use multi-strand threads."
"Recruit some craftsmen from Europe. In addition to canvas craftsmen, we also need professional workers who can sew canvas. These are not found in China." Wen Desi said.
“I just don’t know if the local raw cotton production is enough.”
"It should be enough for small-scale use. If it doesn't work, you can import cotton yarn from Songjiang." Wen Desi said, "Or let the British provide it."
The technology of the printing and dyeing industry is relatively simple and does not require too complex machinery and equipment. The travelers did not intend to use cotton as a commodity, and they did not need to invest too much in this aspect.
With the cotton textile industry, the establishment of a unified quilt factory has also been put on the agenda.
The main purpose of the quilt factory is for personal use. Local people will not buy ready-made clothes, shoes and hats unless they are cheap enough or they cannot make satin clothes themselves. The fact that there is only one tailor in the county illustrates this point.
There is currently a garment factory in Bairen Commune. It was formed by Wu De recruiting women from the commune. Several women who can use sewing machines serve as technical guides and can manufacture cloth shoes, straw sandals, uniforms, hats, overalls, underwear, etc. Quilts and cotton socks, but on a small scale. In addition, there is a leatherworker who specializes in manufacturing various leather equipment for the army.
In Mo Xiao'an's plan, the size of the quilt factory was to be expanded. In the future, with the continuous expansion of the army and labor force, as well as the influx of a large number of immigrants from other places, the clothing of these people will have to be updated. The demand for clothing from the Travel Group will grow exponentially. ,.
