People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 742 The workshop is hiring again! We are planning to extend the promotion to all day long!

There were hurried footsteps outside the palace. Liu Yan, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, hurried in with the account book in his hand, beads of sweat on his forehead: "Your Highness, the half-month accounts of the Tax Inspection Department are out."

Zhu Biao took the account book and paused on the figures with wet ink. Liu Yan's voice trembled: "The commercial tax was reduced by 20%, but the silver collected was one and a half times more than last month. The customs duties collected by Longjiang Wharf in the past half month alone are equal to the amount collected in the whole month last year."

Chen Han came over to take a look. The dense numbers on the account book were neatly arranged. The last line of cinnabar annotations was particularly eye-catching... The volume of Baochao transactions increased by 60%.

"The foreign merchants are very smart." Chen Han pointed at one of the items. "The Javanese envoy settled the bill with treasure notes, and used the tax money saved to buy 300 rolls of 'Quanqing cloth'. I heard that their king saw the samples and sent a ship overnight to place an additional order."

Zhu Biao closed the account book and suddenly chuckled: "Zheng Qingzhuo submitted a memorial the day before yesterday, saying that tax cuts are like cutting flesh to heal a wound."

Before he finished speaking, there was a noise outside the palace. A clerk from the Tongzheng Department came running in breathlessly: "Your Highness, Lord Zheng wants to see you!"

Zheng Qingzhuo, with gray hair and beard, walked in with the hem of his official robe lifted up, holding a roll of indigo cloth in his hand. The old scholar's face flushed, and he even forgot to salute: "Your Highness! My granddaughter insisted that the dark pattern on this cloth contains a mathematical formula, but I have been looking at it for a long time..."

Chen Han took the cloth and held it up to the light. He saw the pattern of "three times seven equals twenty-one" woven between the warp and weft. Zhu Biao couldn't help laughing: "Zheng Qing, this is the new 'Mathematics Cloth' produced by the Women's Workshop, specially designed for children to learn numbers."

Zheng Qingzhuo's beard trembled, and he suddenly took out a wrinkled booklet from his sleeve: "Then the symbols on the "New Notes on the Nine Chapters" are also..."

"She's just learning numbers." Chen Han pointed to the "7" mark on the cover. "Your granddaughter has been learning in the workshop for three months. Now she can calculate accounts faster than the old clerk in the Ministry of Revenue."

The old scholar stumbled back two steps, his official hat tilted. Suddenly, the sound of an abacus was heard outside the hall. The granddaughter of the Zheng family, wearing the uniform blue cloth shirt of the workshop, was checking accounts with several female workers in the corridor. The little girl's fingertips flew, the beads clattered, and she checked a pile of documents in the blink of an eye.

Liu Yan was stunned: "This, this is more skillful than the clerk in my government office..."

"Report!" The military official rushed into the hall, "Express delivery from Yunnan, 800 miles away!"

Zhu Biao unfolded the military report, and his frown gradually relaxed. Mu Ying wrote in the memorial that after receiving the first batch of "Quanqing cloth", the Burmese chieftain took the initiative to open three passes. The cloth transported by the caravan was sold out in a blink of an eye, and the jade and ivory brought back in exchange were being escorted back to Beijing by the personal soldiers of Prince Mu's palace.

"Good job, Mu Ying!" Zhu Biao laughed and clapped his hands on the table, "He is using the cloth from the Women's Workshop as weapons."

Chen Han leaned over to take a look. There was a list attached to the end of the military newspaper. It contained the transaction details in both Chinese and Burmese, and at the bottom was a striking "π" symbol... This was an anti-counterfeiting mark designed by the Institute of Physics.

Zheng Qingzhuo suddenly grabbed Chen Han's sleeve and said, "Duke, is the workshop still hiring? I have a niece..."

In the afternoon, when the sun was blazing brightly, Zhu Biao changed into casual clothes and rode with Chen Han to the Jingnu Workshop. Along the way, the market was bustling, with peddlers carrying loads and vendors hawking their wares, all with bulging pockets of banknotes on their waists.

"The price of rice dropped by 10% the day before yesterday." Chen Han pointed at the long line in front of the grain store. "There was too much Champa rice brought in by foreign merchants, so the grain store had to lower the price."

Turning the corner, the sound of looms in the women's workshop was deafening. Zhu Youwei rolled up her sleeves and counted the cloth in the yard, the wooden hairpin in her hair was stained with cotton wool. Seeing them coming, she wiped her sweat and said, "Dad, you're here just in time. The fourth batch of cloth that Yunnan wants will be loaded today."

Dozens of camphorwood boxes were piled up in the corner of the yard, with the word "Mu" stamped on the lids. Chen Han opened a box, and the indigo cloth shone with a strange luster in the sun. He pulled out a piece and held it up to the light, and found that the dark pattern was woven with fine Burmese characters.

"This is……"

"This is a new anti-counterfeiting technique developed by the Institute of Physics." Zhu Youwei took out a pair of silver scissors and cut off a corner of the cloth. "The Burmese are superstitious and say these talismans can ward off evil spirits. General Mu wrote to say that the chieftains offer the cloth in the temple and it is worth more than gold."

Zhu Biao touched the cloth and it felt cool. This material was thicker than the first generation of "Quanqing cloth", and there was a metallic luster like silk thread between the warp and weft.

"The seawater of the South China Sea won't rot us, and the mules of the caravan won't break us." Zhu Youwei raised her chin proudly. "The physics department uses sulfur-fumed silk thread as the warp, which is very wear-resistant."

Suddenly, a quarrel was heard in the backyard. A fat merchant in silk was pulling at Madam Liu's sleeve: "Add another 500 pieces! I'll double the price!"

"Manager Xu, you said last month that our cloth was cheap and low-quality." Madam Liu sneered, "Now you are scrambling to buy it?"

Fatty Xu was so anxious that he was sweating all over his forehead: "I was blind! The foreign merchants asked everyone they met at the dock for 'Quanqing cloth'. The Su silk in my shop is unsalable..."

Zhu Youwei raised her silver scissors, and the cold light of the blade scared Fatty Xu so much that he let go. "Let's get in line." She pointed at the long queue outside the courtyard, "The Shaanxi business community has been waiting for three days."

Chen Han suddenly discovered that there were a few foreign merchants in the team. The Malacca envoy, holding a pearl box, bowed to him and said, "My Lord! I want to order some 'Mathematics Cloth' because the king of our country wants to open a new school..."

As the sun was setting, Zhu Biao stood on the attic of the workshop and looked out into the distance. Smoke rose from the city of Jinling, and merchant ships were crisscrossing the Qinhuai River. Further away, at Longjiang Wharf, more than a dozen Nanyang merchant ships were unloading their cargoes, and the porters carrying the bags shouted as they piled up boxes of pepper into small hills.

"Now they are rushing to bring goods here just to exchange for more banknotes." Chen Han pointed at the account book in the dock tax collector's hand, "I heard that the Siamese envoys have learned new numbers and are now checking accounts faster than our tax officials."

Zhu Youwei went upstairs holding the newly issued account book, her fingertips stained with ink: "Dad, this is the order summary for this morning."

Zhu Biao opened the account book and saw the latest page with the words "Us-Zang caravan orders 8,000 horses" and a crooked yak pattern next to it. He suddenly remembered that three years ago, when he and Chen Han pushed forward the Baochao in Fengtian Hall against all odds, the civil and military officials looked at him like a madman.

"Chen Han," he said softly, "When you said you wanted to 'let the water flow and raise fish', I was a little nervous."

The evening breeze blew through the account book, and the pages rustled. On the blank space of the latest page, the female workers in the workshop drew a gesang flower with cinnabar, and wrote "thank you" in Tibetan neatly next to it.

Amid the sound of evening drums, the three of them stood side by side and looked at the lights of the thousands of houses in Jinling City. The looms in the women's workshop were still roaring, interweaving with the night watchman's bangzi and the horns at the dock, as if playing the most vivid movement of this prosperous era.

……

Chapter 330 Red Envelope from the Women's Workshop
The news of the recruitment of workers in the Women's Workshop spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys of Jinling City. In teahouses and taverns, people were talking about this matter.

"Have you heard? Princess Jiangdu sent out another 500 job openings this morning!" Old man Wang, who was selling pancakes, slapped his thigh, his beard twitching. "My daughter got the sign and came back, saying the wages are 30% higher than those at the Weaving Bureau!"

Shopkeeper Zhao of the silk shop was counting on his abacus, and he snorted, "What kind of good cloth can a woman weave? She must be relying on her status as a princess to force the sale." As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion suddenly came from the corner of the street. A dozen female workers wearing blue headscarves came with Zhu Youwei, each holding a piece of cloth that shone with green light. Xiao Tao, who was at the front, held up the account book and shouted crisply, "Yunnan Mu Palace has ordered an additional 20,000 pieces, and the deposit has been paid!"

The beads on Shopkeeper Zhao's abacus fell to the ground with a clatter. He recognized the seal of Prince Mu's Palace on the account book, and it couldn't be fake.

A long queue had already formed in front of the workshop. The newly recruited female workers received wooden signs one by one and lined up to learn how to use the new looms. Zhu Youwei stood on the steps, holding a red lacquered wooden box in her hands. The sunlight shone into the wooden box, making the cinnabar seal on the banknotes particularly bright.

"We exceeded our order targets last month, so each person will get an extra half month's salary!" She grabbed a stack of banknotes and stuffed them into the hands of the female workers one by one.

The crowd was in an uproar. A thin girl was shaking as she held the banknotes, tears streaming down her face: "This, this is enough to buy three doses of medicine for my mother..."

Old Liu, who was selling fish nearby, was so shocked that he poked the person next to him and said, "My goodness, how much does this cost?"

"At least twenty strings of cash." The cloth shop assistant swallowed his saliva, "My boss didn't make that much last year."

Suddenly, a fat man in a silk shirt squeezed out of the crowd. He was the owner of Xuji Cloth Shop. He approached Zhu Youwei with a smile and said, "Princess, we have been working together for many years. Can you give me some of this batch of 'Quanqing Cloth'?"

Zhu Youwei twirled the silver scissors on her fingertips. "Didn't Manager Xu say last month that our cloth was too rough even for wiping the table?"

Fatty Xu's forehead was sweating, and he bent his waist even lower: "That's because I didn't recognize the real talent! The merchants from Southeast Asia are vying for your cloth, and you can sell it for five taels of silver per piece!"

The people watching the excitement were shocked. Five taels of silver was enough for an ordinary family to live on for half a year, but the cloth produced by this workshop was even more expensive than Su silk.

At this moment, a roar suddenly came from the workshop. The new loom began to operate, and 64 shuttles flew at the same time, weaving half a foot of cloth in the blink of an eye. The crowd of onlookers opened their mouths wide, and an old weaver fell to his knees and said, "The ancestor has appeared!"

Shopkeeper Zhao squeezed out of the crowd with a sullen face. As soon as he turned around, he was stopped by a foreign merchant: "Sir, do you know where I can buy 'Quanqing cloth'? I'll pay double the price!"

The news reached the Five Military Commandery, where several generals were competing in archery. Upon hearing about the red envelopes given out by the workshop, Lan Yu's deputy general sneered, "Women should stay at home to take care of their husbands and children. How can they show their faces in public?"

Lan Yu said nothing, and shot an arrow through the bull's eye a hundred steps away. He put away his bow and suddenly asked, "How much cloth did the navy purchase for the workshop?"

The guard quickly handed over the account book: "Last month, we ordered 3,000 pieces of cloth for military uniforms. They are three times more durable than ordinary cotton cloth."

The training ground suddenly became quiet. The generals looked at each other and remembered that during the last drill, the navy soldiers wearing "double blue cloth" uniforms soaked in the sea water for three days, but the clothes did not fade.

At dusk, Zhu Youwei was counting the accounts in the backyard of the workshop. Xiao Tao ran in excitedly: "Princess, more than 30 people have signed up, all of them are daughters-in-law of the Zhihu family in the south of the city!"

Just as she was about to speak, the doorman came to announce that Minister Zheng wanted to see her. Zheng Qingzhuo came in with a cane, followed by a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old.

"This old minister is so shameless that he wants to ask for a job for his granddaughter." The old minister coughed, "This girl is good at math and can write and calculate."

Zhu Youwei looked at the girl. Although the girl lowered her head, her fingers were quietly gesturing on the corner of her clothes, as if she was calculating something. She suddenly took out a list and handed it to her: "Can you calculate this?"

The girl took the order, rolled her eyes, and blurted out, "The order from Yunnan should be worth 24,000 taels, 30% of the deposit has been paid, and there is still a shortfall of 16,800 taels."

As the night deepened, the lights in the workshop became brighter. The newly recruited female workers gathered around the looms to learn, exclaiming from time to time. Zhu Youwei stood in the yard, looking at the starry sky, the silver scissors flashing coldly in the moonlight.

Xiao Tao came over holding the account book: "Princess, we received seven more orders today, for a total of 50,000 horses."

Zhu Youwei nodded. She recalled the voices that said she was "making trouble" when she opened the workshop last year. Now this "making trouble" workshop supports thousands of families.

When Zhu Youwei returned home, Chen Han was checking the accounts of the women's workshop. She wiped the sweat off her face, walked quietly behind him, and suddenly lay on his shoulder.

"Hey, why are you planning to take over our workshop now?" She tilted her head to look at the account book, "What do you want to do?"

Chen Han didn't even raise his head, his fingers clacking on the abacus. "After a few months of experimentation, I found that your women's workshop is feasible. I plan to suggest to His Royal Highness that this model be promoted to Jiangnan."

Zhu Youwei's eyes lit up, and she immediately walked around to sit opposite him. "Really? That's great!" She reached out to flip through the account book, "You don't know, there are so many people signing up now that they are pushing their way through the door, our workshop is almost full."

Chen Han held her hand. "Don't worry, listen to me first. Promotion is not a simple copy, there must be new rules."

The sound of the night watchman's clapper came from outside the window, and the candlelight flickered gently. Zhu Youwei withdrew her hand, held her chin and waited for him to continue.

"First, each workshop must be equipped with two managers who graduated from the School of Physics to teach how to operate the new looms." Chen Han dipped his finger in ink and wrote the first item on the paper. "Second, all female workers must pass the basic math test."

Zhu Youwei frowned. "Is it too difficult? We didn't have so many requirements when we recruited employees."

"It's valuable because it's difficult." Chen Han paused. "Think about it, why are the merchants in Southeast Asia scrambling to get 'Quanqing cloth'? It's because our cloth is woven neatly and the size is accurate. If you don't have a mathematical foundation, how can you guarantee the quality?"

She nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly remembered something. "How is the salary calculated? Life in Jiangnan is more expensive than in Nanjing."

Chen Han smiled. "Payment is based on piecework, the more work, the more money. There are rewards for weaving well, and the top three in the monthly evaluation will receive an extra half a string of money."

"That's a good idea!" Zhu Youwei clapped her hands. "Xiao Tao wove thirty rolls of top-quality cloth last month, five rolls more than the old weaver. If we follow the old rules, her wages will be less than those lazy ones."

The night wind blew the window paper, and the candlelight flickered. Chen Han got up to add lamp oil, and when he came back, there was a map in his hand...

(End of this chapter)