The inheritance and development of technology has always been a major problem in the progress of ancient Chinese industry.
The fundamental reason is that many craftsmen cherish their craftsmanship as a means of making a living.
In fact, this is also true.
For craftsmen with no social status, if they no longer have a unique craft, it is equivalent to a life-or-death situation.
Therefore, when preparing to establish the Chamber of Commerce, Zuo Menggeng paid most attention to the role of the technical committee.
Facts have proved that good technology cannot be widely used not only because of selfishness, but also because craftsmen are under too much pressure to survive.
When the unique craftsmanship of many craftsmen is certified through the technical committee and can be exchanged for generous profits, the craftsmen's recognition of the chamber of commerce is the highest.
The skills of more than 70 craftsmen were authorized through the technical committee, which also made these craftsmen rich.
At first, everyone disapproved of Zuo Mengeng's approach and did not think it would be useful.
As a result, craftsmen are now enthusiastically submitting their own unique secret techniques, and cloth merchants can apply these techniques at a small cost. The entire Songjiang cotton spinning industry immediately glows with greater vitality.
This is how the Chamber of Commerce is recognized.
After the election began, more than 3,000 people attending the meeting received their votes.
Each person has one vote, anonymously, and they can vote for their favorite candidate.
There are three people running for the first president of the Chamber of Commerce. They are Xu Ji, Chen Jiru and Shen Youtian.
Originally, everyone unanimously approved Zuo Mengeng as the president, but Zuo Mengeng said that he would be returning to Shandong soon and would not be able to pay attention to the work of the Chamber of Commerce for a long time, so he declined politely.
The three candidates running are not weak in strength.
Xu Ji, not to mention anything else, is very convincing just as Zuo Menggeng's father-in-law.
Although Zuo Mengeng is not running for president, everyone knows how the Chamber of Commerce operates without Zuo Mengeng's promotion. As Zuo Mengeng's father-in-law, Xu Ji had the convenience of being close to the water.
As a famous scholar in Songjiang Prefecture, Chen Jiru had a wide network of friends and connections, and he had a good status even in the Jiangnan literary world.
Shen Youtian, on the other hand, owns the largest textile workshop in Songjiang Prefecture. He is very powerful and has great prestige within the industry.
At this time, the benefits of voting are revealed.
The three candidates are very calm and can accept the results with peace of mind.
In the end, Xu Ji was elected as the first president of the Chamber of Commerce with the highest number of votes.
There are five vice presidents, namely Chen Jiru, Shen Youtian, Fang Shigong, Zuo Mengeng...
The last vice president was very unexpected, but also reasonable.
That is Chen Acai.
Almost all the craftsmen voted for him, and Zuo Mengeng also did a lot of work, making Chen Acai become the management of the chamber of commerce.
Not only that, Chen Acai is also the chairman of the technical committee.
As the first beneficiary of the Technical Committee since its establishment, Chen Acai has already understood the benefits of the Chamber of Commerce. His personal experience can encourage more craftsmen to invest in technology research and development and sharing.
When she accompanied everyone on stage to express her gratitude, Chen Acai was trembling all over.
He never imagined that a craftsman who had been an honest craftsman all his life would now become a man of influence in the entire Songjiang cotton spinning industry.
It is conceivable that Chen Acai must be the most determined person to protect the Chamber of Commerce.
Tianzhi is the name of the textile factory jointly established by the Xu family, Pan family and Qu family.
It was taken by Zuo Mengeng.
Others are ignorant, but Zuo Mengeng understands the importance of brand very well.
As the first formalized and industrialized textile factory in the Ming Dynasty, its historical significance is extremely huge.
What Zuo Menggeng has to do is to protect this factory and develop it well, set an example for Songjiang cotton spinning colleagues, and let more and more handicraftsmen slowly transform into industrialization.
The Xu family, the Pan family, and the Qu family all have great wealth and power, and they are all willing to invest. They are also the first batch of users of new technologies.
Tianzhi Factory built more than 300 water-driven devices alone, and they were lined up along the Wusong River with an astonishing momentum.
The loom was made by Fang Shigong of Nanqiao Town and the craftsmen of the whole town. The order for 1,800 looms made all the craftsmen of Nanqiao Town go crazy. He immediately gave up his other jobs and devoted all his energy to this big order.
Taking this opportunity, Zuo Mengeng made a suggestion and asked Fang Shigong to jointly build a factory with the craftsmen in Nanqiao Town to specialize in the manufacture and maintenance of looms.
The technological innovations he proposed opened the eyes of the craftsmen in Nanqiao Town, and they discovered for the first time that looms could be made in this way.
The concept of after-sales service is also amazing.
The looms sold in the past had nothing to do with the craftsmen. If it breaks, the buyer has no choice but to throw it away or hire someone to repair it.
But no matter what, it is a huge expense for buyers.
For this reason, Nanqiao Town is the largest supplier of cotton textile machines in Songjiang Prefecture, but it is not the only supplier.
The competitors of the craftsmen in Nanqiao Town even spread throughout Jiangnan.
If the factory is jointly built, water power can also be used, which can greatly reduce the cost of building looms. Using after-sales service as a weapon will firmly stick to customers.
Fang Shigong had a brief discussion with the craftsmen in Nanqiao Town and hit it off, and soon the factory was listed for construction.
These people are quite ambitious. They named the factory after "Tiangong" and established a special sales team under the guidance of Zuo Mengeng.
The Tianwei Factory is expected to be put into production by the end of summer, which also carries the expectations of Songjiang Cotton Spinning.
If Tianzhi Factory can really succeed, then Songjiang Cotton Spinning will enter a stage of rapid development, and traditional handmade textiles will increasingly decline.
What followed was a massive market problem for industrial textiles.
Zuo Mengeng still doesn't know how much pressure he will be under at that time.
After finally finishing his work, he returned home and was invited to the backyard by the servant.
Here, all the women of the Xu family are here, wearing a pair of...new-style leather shoes.
"Third brother-in-law, we have decided that the second brother, second sister-in-law and little sister will go back to Shandong with you and your wife to establish a shoe factory."
The women of the Xu family had long decided to start a new leather shoe business. Zuo Mengeng knew about it, but ignored it.
Using a business to make the backyard peaceful is a tacit understanding among all the men in the Xu family.
But when it comes time to start implementing it, Zuo Mengeng still has to make a decision.
"How can I help you?"
Joe is very positive.
"We are not familiar with the place in Shandong. At least we don't have land to build a factory. This will have to trouble my third brother-in-law."
Any daughter-in-law would probably want to live independently away from her parents-in-law. However, such a life is originally impossible to achieve.
As a result, the women of the Xu family wanted to go into business together, and an opportunity arose.
It's not that the other women don't want to, but they don't know how to do it. Only Qiao, as the second daughter-in-law, got the opportunity and wanted to fly to Shandong immediately.
Important land?
If this matter were in Songjiang Mansion, it would be really difficult. But in Shandong...
"I will handle it."
Zuo Mengeng agreed happily.
Of course, his confidence lies in the fact that there is too much idle land in Shandong.
Xu Ruolin also spoke.
"The eldest sister said that the name you gave to your family's factory is very good, and the leather shoes we jointly operate must also have a good name. Help us think about it."
It’s really difficult to come up with a name.
Zuo Mengeng thought hard under the gaze of the women, and suddenly had inspiration. He lowered his head and looked at everyone's shoes, regardless of whether they were rude or not.
"Wearing these shoes, you will be beautiful and elegant, and your appearance will be extraordinary. How about calling it elegant?"
Later, Artistry is a big brand, and it is indeed very popular. And the manner in which women wear high heels also deserves this name.
The women tasted it and were all very happy, so they decided to adopt "Elegance" as the brand name.
Zuo Mengeng was inspired and suggested again: "Leather shoes are divided into men's and women's styles, so they can be derived into two sub-brands. The men's brand is called Junzi, and the women's brand is called Fengzi. How about it?"
Xu Ruolan clapped her hands and laughed.
"The talent of the third brother-in-law is truly amazing."
Mrs. Yu also said: "Based on the name alone, as long as the shoes are good, you will definitely have a lot of money."
Especially the brand name "Junzi" is actually a bit of a stretch.
In feudal society, "jun" can refer to both the emperor and the gentleman. Although it is taboo for the venerable, the word "jun" is not included in this list.
A gentleman's posture can be said to be that of a gentleman, so it is naturally sought after.
It can be interpreted as the posture of a king...
Neither Zuo Mengeng nor the Xu family would admit it.
As for the psychology of people who buy Junzi shoes, the brand is not responsible.
His proposal was unanimously approved by the women of the Xu family.
The four sisters and the four adult brothers of the Xu family each paid 10,000 taels of silver for each house to invest in the "Yazi" shoe factory and were jointly responsible for the construction and operation.
Apart from giving guidance, Zuo Mengeng did not intend to participate in the specific operations.
Just think of this business as a pastime for the women of the Xu family.
But looking at the energy of these women, they might actually be able to do something great.
