Zhao Tai still has 100,000 guan, two months of grain, and the autumn tax, which means he can collect 89,000 guan, but he still lacks 200,000 guan to survive until the end of the year.
It is now past the farming season, and Zhao Tai wants to double his money within a few months, so he can only use business.
Along the Suishui River, several workshops are beginning to take shape, and all kinds of tools are fully equipped for production.
Suining is close to Chuzhou, and there is almost no handicraft industry in the county. The large pots and equipment needed for the workshop are all bought from Chuzhou, and tens of thousands of dollars have been invested.
If it fails this time, Zhao Tai will immediately fall into a financial crisis. Not to mention staying with good treatment, Chen Zhong's group of officers, even the 30,000 standing army he raised, will have to be demobilized from farming.
Early in the morning, in the shantytowns outside the city, large groups of people who had been resettled to Suzhou and Sizhou were packing their bags, dismantling their shacks, and leaving Suining County in droves.
In a shack, a fourteen-year-old boy changed into relatively clean clothes, washed his face, and shouted inside: "Mom, let me go to the workshop to have a look. Wait while I bring you some food." Come back with food.”
"Son! Mr. Zhao is a good man. You should work hard for Mr. Zhao." A weak voice came from inside.
The young man's name is Jincheng, a refugee from Hebei. Unlike those clansmen who fled famine, he and his family fled south. On the way, they encountered robbery and exploitation by Mongolian and Han warlords and bandits. The team of more than a thousand people was now Only he and his elderly mother were left.
At this time, Jin Cheng was walking in the shantytown and saw that the place where he had lived for several months was being demolished. Groups of hungry people left here and headed for resettlement sites. He had mixed feelings in his heart.
The government issued a resettlement policy that allowed him to be resettled in Suzhou, but Jin Cheng wanted to stay in Suining when he heard that a workshop outside Suining was recruiting people and he would be paid monthly.
Jin Cheng came from the village. A single family like him was placed in a village where locals gathered. Dozens or hundreds of families had the same surname. As an outsider, he was young and would most likely be bullied. There wasn't even anyone to reason with or help.
If the workshop could provide consistent money every month, then the harvest would be no worse than farming, and he and his wife would be able to live on.
Therefore, Jin Cheng did not choose to go to Suzhou, but hoped to try his luck in Suining.
Early in the morning, without eating, Jin Cheng came to the workshop by the Suining River hungry and found that thousands of people had gathered outside the workshop.
Many people were attracted to it because they heard that working in a workshop could make a consistent amount of money a month.
Jin Cheng stood behind the crowd and looked at the long queue, which made him a little anxious and regretted that he had not come earlier.
There are so many people lining up in front of him. When the workshop recruits enough people, he will have no choice but to go to Suzhou.
He was the only boy in the family. The old mother was in poor health and could not work. Without the help of the clan, she could not grow much food even if the fields were divided.
In front of the workshop, thousands of people were waiting in line, chatting with each other and telling rumors about the workshop.
People waited for a long time before two accounting rooms came out of the workshop, brought tables and chairs, and registered the people who came.
Jin Cheng was at the back, and it took a long time for the team in front to move a little, which made him feel uneasy.
At this time, Zhao Tai appeared in front of the workshop. He saw the long queue and found that there were many old people and children among them, so he said a few words to Wang Wentong.
Zhao Tai is setting up a factory and engaging in industry. His purpose is to make money as a capitalist, not to engage in charity. Naturally, he can only recruit young and strong migrant workers, not the old, weak, sick and disabled.
He saw that many old people and children were also applying for jobs, which was delaying the registration process, so he asked Wang Wentong to persuade them to leave.
After Wang Wentong heard this, he immediately walked out of the workshop, loudly attracting the attention of the crowd, and then said loudly: "Fellow fellows, many of the jobs in the workshop are manual work and require young and strong men. Among you, you are over forty years old. Anyone under the age of fifteen should go back."
After everyone in the crowd listened to Wang Wentong's words, many old people and children could only leave in disappointment.
After hearing this, Jin Cheng's face turned pale, but thinking about his mother at home, he needed this job so much, so he stood nervously in the crowd and did not move.
At this time, as the elderly and children left, there were a lot less people, but it was still too slow to check and register one by one.
The money in Zhao Tai's hands is very tight now. The sooner he produces the goods, the sooner he can ship the goods and collect the funds. Therefore, Zhao Tai's time is very urgent.
"Everyone, hold out your hands, make a fist like I did, and then let go." Zhao Tai also came out of the workshop and demonstrated to the workers who applied for the job.
Jin Cheng and others followed Zhao Tai's example and showed their hands. Zhao Tai quickly scanned the crowd and found that several people in the crowd had hand disabilities, so he asked them to leave.
Unqualified people were constantly being kicked out of the crowd, making Jin Cheng even more nervous, with a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead.
At this time, Zhao Tai walked up to him, pulled up his sleeves, revealing a pair of thin arms, "Where are you fifteen?"
Jin Cheng's voice trembled with nervousness, "Master, I can endure hardship and work."
Zhao Tai saw his eyes full of pleading and exhaled, "Probation for one month, if not qualified, you will be dismissed immediately."
Jin Cheng was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but kneel down and thank Zhao Tai.
After Zhao Tai's initial screening, registration was much faster.
Registration ended in the morning, and the soap workshop had recruited more than 800 people. Adding in the manpower recruited earlier, there were already 1,000 workers in the workshop.
This scale may not be comparable to those silk weaving workshops in Jiangnan during the Southern Song Dynasty, but it can be called the only large factory in the entire north.
The soap workshop provides food and accommodation. In order to relieve the pressure of providing relief to the victims, after being successfully admitted, you can get an advance payment of seven days' wages.
In this way, when the workers get the money, they can buy rice and grain for their families, which can save Zhao Tai some expenses.
At noon, Jincheng ate in the workshop canteen, with a steamed bun and a bowl of soup. In the afternoon, he was the master of the workshop, giving simple training to the workers, explaining working hours, matters to be paid attention to during work, and fire prevention and other matters.
The workshop contains grease that Zhao Tai collected at a high price from the Southern Song Dynasty. If a fire broke out, the consequences would be disastrous.
After a day of training in the workshop, Jin Cheng received seven days' wages in advance, bought some rice and returned to the shack to cook a pot of thick white rice porridge for his wife.
When I heard that Jincheng hadn't worked yet, the workshop gave Jincheng seven days' wages. While drinking porridge, she told Jincheng that he must repay his kindness and not be lazy.
"I understand, mother!" Jin Cheng smiled with a smile on his face, "My child knows."
That night, Jin Cheng fell asleep and it was difficult to escape. He had the most delicious sleep.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Jin Cheng got up early and went to the workshop to catch up on work.
When he arrived at the door of the workshop, he found that groups of workers had already arrived at the door.
At this time, the workshop door opened, and he and his co-workers entered the first sweatshop with assembly lines in the Song Dynasty, becoming the earliest industrial workers.
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