Daming: I help my wife be the empress

Huai'an Mansion, near Yancheng.

Huainan Salt Factory.

"Bai Lao Liu, a mid-level salt worker, earns a monthly salary of two or three dollars, three silver dollars in real money, and fifteen silver dollars in cash."

In a large courtyard of the salt factory, hundreds of salt workers lined up to receive their salaries, and the two teams lined up all the way to the outside of the courtyard.

The person in charge of paying wages is the governor of the financial office of the salt factory, a young official in his 20s.

This person's name is Hu Wokun, from Guizhou, and this year he will take the second-class Jinshi examination.After he became a Jinshi, he now studied at Nanjing Institute of Political Affairs for three months, graduated with high grades, and was then appointed as a junior official of the Huainan Salt Factory.

In the past three months, Huainan Salt Factory has carried out many reforms. He has performed well and was favored by Lin Jiading, the general affairs officer of the General Administration of Salt Affairs.

At this time, there were account books, pens, inks, papers and inkstones on the table in front of him, and his expression was peaceful, so that the salt workers could not feel the coercion of the officials.

"If you can write, sign your name here, if you can't write, just press your fingerprint."

The slightly gray-haired Bai Lao Liu is actually only in his thirties and a bachelor.Hearing this, he couldn't help saying embarrassedly: "We are a low-level stove household, how can we know how to read? We can just press our fingerprints."

As he said that, Bai Laoliu carefully counted the large Zhaowu Tongbao coins in his hand, and used his left hand twice to confirm that the fifteen coins were correct, and he couldn't help grinning.

But seeing the silver dollar in his hand, he couldn't help frowning slightly.

Seeing that Hu Wokun was quite friendly, he said boldly, "Master Governor, can this silver dollar be exchanged for silver?"

Hu Wokun frowned slightly when he heard this, but still said: "You are salt workers, not officials, and the imperial court has no regulations requiring you to be given silver dollars as salaries.

But I only have silver dollars here. If you want silver, you have to wait for other people to finish their wages. I can get your share when I am free. "

Bai Lao Liu hesitated.

The salt workers in the back waited impatiently, and said, "Bai Lao Liu, do you want to get it or not? If you don't get it, let's go aside, there are so many people waiting behind."

Another human said: "That's right, won't this delay everyone's rest time?"

"Why can't I ask for silver dollars? If you don't like leaving the salt factory, you can go outside and exchange them for silver at the Superintendent's Money Office."

Hearing this, Bai Laoliu finally gritted his teeth and pressed his finger print on the salary account book.

When Hu Wokun saw that his finger prints were all on the form, he couldn't help frowning slightly and said: "The salt factory will hold literacy classes at night. Since you can't read, go to the night shift to study."

Bai Laoliu didn't understand at all, but he still nodded and said, "Got it."

Looking at the back of Bai Lao Liu leaving, Hu Wokun shook his head, not optimistic about Bai Lao Liu's ability to read and write.

As far as he knew, although Bai Laoliu was rated as an intermediate salt worker because of his proficiency in some salt-making techniques, he received one tael more silver than the average junior salt worker.

But he has been in the Huainan Salt Field for nearly 20 years, and he knows nothing except salt making, and I am also a little confused.

However, according to Mr. Lin, letting salt workers learn to read and write is a necessary step to further improve the production efficiency of salt factories.Because only when the salt workers are literate can their learning ability be enhanced.

But Bai Laoliu left the salt factory and walked for nearly an hour before entering Yancheng. …

After inquiring, he quickly found the Yamen of Yancheng Governor's Office.

It seems that it is a new yamen that has not been listed for a long time, which makes him hesitate.

'Don't let us go in. The official not only refused to convert it into silver, but also confiscated our silver dollars, right? '

Just as he was thinking this way, he saw an old man in ordinary clothes coming out of it, putting the money bag in his pocket, with a happy face.

Bai Laoliu just stared dumbfounded, but he was not really stupid. He immediately stopped the old man and asked, "Brother, can this supervising money office really exchange silver dollars into silver?"

"It can't be more true." The old man smiled and patted his chest, "We just went to exchange it, and we didn't miss a cent."

After hearing this, Bai Laoliu finally stopped hesitating and walked into the money supervisor's office.

The layout inside is somewhat similar to that of a pawn shop. The officials responsible for exchanging money are all in the back room, and communicate with people outside through the windows.

Seeing Bai Laoliu coming, one of the officials pointed to the red paper posted on the outside wall and said, "Do you want to exchange money? It's free for less than 100 taels, and a certain handling fee will be charged for more than 100 taels. You can see for yourself how much you charge."

Bai Laoliu was illiterate, so naturally he couldn't recognize what was written on the red paper, but after hearing this, he couldn't help asking: "Didn't it mean free exchange?"

"Under a hundred taels, it's free."

Bai Laoliu was stunned for a moment, and then he thought that he only had three silver dollars, and it was only three taels of silver, and it was free.

Immediately took it out and piled it up.

Just seeing that the official gave a pile of broken silver that was not of good quality, and then looking at the silver dollars that were about to be taken away by the official, Bai Laoliu suddenly regretted it.

'Since the Superintendent of Money really guarantees silver dollars against silver, why am I rushing to exchange them?Aren't silver dollars easier to get and spend? '

Thinking of this, he immediately shouted: "Master, forgive me, we don't want to change it, this silver dollar is very good to use."

"Are you going to pay or not?" The official asked impatiently, "Are you entertaining us?"

"Don't dare," Bai Laoliu apologized with a nod and bow, "We really don't pay back."

After finishing speaking, he took back the silver dollars and left the Supervising Money Office.

Afterwards, he just bought some rice noodles in Yancheng to take home, and kept most of his salary, and planned to save enough taels to marry a wife.

In the past, he wanted to save ten taels of silver, but he didn't even think about it at that time.

But now he has become an intermediate salt worker, earning a salary of more than three taels of silver a month, and can save up to ten taels in half a year at most.

'Our old white is finally going to marry a daughter-in-law. '

'Now the work in this salt factory is really good, we have to work hard and not lose it. '

'The reason why the salt factory has become so good is because the emperor gave an order.For such a good son of heaven, Bodhisattva must bless her with a long life. '

Thinking about his thoughts and humming a happy little song, Bai Laoliu returned to the dormitory of the salt workers in the salt factory, ready to cook.

Today's salt workers in the salt factory not only have a much easier job than in the past, they don't need to be soaked in brine to get sick all over their bodies, and their salary has also been improved a lot.

High salary is one thing, and the salt worker's dormitory is another.It should be noted that in the past, many of their kitchen households lived in random huts in the reeds.Now it is living in a brick house that can only be lived in by a landlord, it is like a dream.

···
Not far from the salt worker's dormitory, there is another government office different from the salt factory, the Huai Salt Wholesale Company.

At this time, the workers of the salt industry company are sending the bags of salt sent from the salt factory to different warehouses - some are specially used for coarse salt, and some are specially used for refined salt.

In the office hall of the Salt Industry Company, Lin Jiading, general secretary of the Salt Administration, Liu Zhongzao, promoted by the Huaiyan Wholesale Company, and Sun Zhiwei, director of the salt factory, are looking at the generations of salt through the gate, smiling happily.

"The salt production of Huainan Salt Factory has increased again this month, has it exceeded ten times the production before the restructuring?" Lin Jiading asked with a smile.

Sun Zhiwei cupped his hands and replied: "Reporting to the general affairs, to be precise, the monthly output is thirteen times the original!"

"Okay, with so much salt, we can lower the price of salt, and the people of Ming Dynasty won't be able to afford salt."

Liu Zhongzao on the side said: "Last time, the Wang family in Huizhou has relented and agreed to be the distributor of our Huaiyan Wholesale Company.

This month, Cheng, Fang, and Wu are all ready to give in.In this way, we can use the sales channels of these salt merchants to allow more people to eat low-priced and high-quality Huai salt as soon as possible. "

Speaking of this, Liu Zhongzao was in high spirits, as if he could already see Huaiyan entering thousands of households and solving the difficulties of the common people in using salt.

Lin Jiading asked, "Are there any salt merchants who cooperate with the company who violate the law and harm the people?"