Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"Using religious donations to make up for social security deficits?"

Looking at the plan submitted by the cabinet, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't realize that there was already a deficit before the social security policy was even implemented.

Although he has no fondness for religion, social security needs institutional improvements to function properly.

He said to Han Kuang:

“Social security has not yet been implemented, so we need to carefully calculate how much deficit there is.”

"We'll start by finding places to pilot it, such as Zhuolu District and Suzhou-Songjiang New Area."

"Scholars and workers in both places can be included in the protection program. We will see how much it will cost and how to balance income and expenditure."

Two locations, one in the south and one in the north, will be selected as pilot areas for social security policies.

In the past, Han Kuang would have been more than happy to have the emperor take the initiative to narrow down the scope and reduce trouble.

But now, facing a triennial reshuffle, he was eager to win over the scholars. He suggested to the emperor:

"When the news spread that the court was going to support scholars, the scholars were overjoyed and looked forward to its implementation."

"If it is only piloted in two places, it will not show the court's sincerity and may discourage the soldiers."

"Could we first implement the policy of supporting retired officials and provide them with pensions?"

Zhu Youjian frowned and said:
"These people didn't pay social security before, so where did the government get the money to support them?"

"Does the Ministry of Revenue have this expense item? Have you raised the money?"

Han Kuang pointed to the plan he had handed to the emperor and said:
"Use the donations collected from various religious sects to first include officials and clergy in the protection program."

"This way, when the imperial court distributes pensions in the future, it will know how much money should be distributed."

Zhu Youjian now understood why they were in such a hurry to make up for the deficit: they wanted to distribute the money to retired officials and establish it as a precedent.

He couldn't very well object to something that concerned the interests of all officials, so after considering it, he replied:

"You just have to figure it out!"

"However, a portion of the donations from each temple should be reserved for them."

"We can't let them lose their enthusiasm without the funds to sustain them."

Han Kuang thought about it and realized that it made sense. Moreover, he thought of the tax-sharing system that the court was implementing, which would allow local governments to retain a portion of their revenue.

He plans to follow this policy and determine the retention ratio of donations in various regions, with the remainder being mandated to be donated to the social security fund.

After perfecting the plan, Qian Qianyi, based on the imperial court's approval, issued a document in the name of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to various religious sects, requesting donations.

Those religions were naturally unwilling to share their donations with the imperial court, but social security was a matter of interest to all officials and scholars.

Aside from a few believers, no one supported them. Even some of the older monks in the temples were very supportive of this cause.

They knew all too well what would become of those worthless monks who were expelled from the temple.

Being forced to undergo a process of physical transformation to attract followers is something that some eminent monks fear.

Most of the leaders of the Buddhist Association are elderly monks who are very concerned about what will happen after they get old. They support donating a portion of their funds to include clergy in the group of supporters.

With the support of these people, Qian Qianyi quickly found evidence of corruption in some temples and expelled some opposing monks to preach overseas.

Buddhism quickly yielded, not to mention the City God and Taoism. The Court of Imperial Sacrifices raised tens of thousands of taels of silver from the capital and placed them in the newly established social security fund, first to pay retirement pensions to retired officials in the capital.

After receiving the money and even being arranged to receive medical treatment at the hospital, Han Kuang, who was in charge of the matter, received a lot of praise.

Qian Qianyi's handling of this matter was also considered by some to be a testament to his competence.

However, there were many voices calling for him, who was then the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to become the Minister of Rites during the reshuffle.

Some even believed that he was qualified to serve as a Grand Secretary.

Qian Qianyi was very pleased with himself and promoted the measure to local areas, hoping to complete it before August and gain more support.

Han Kuang then dispatched capable officials to urge Zhuolu District and Suzhou-Songjiang New Area to implement the pilot program.
-
Wusong District is a district within the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area, and it was one of the earliest developed areas.

The textile industrial park and newspaper industrial park of the new district are located here.

The roads and houses here are also the most well-developed, and it already looks like a city.

After Luo Liu finished his quarantine and entered the new district, he was temporarily placed here.

Looking at the wide streets of the new district that stretched all the way to the river, Luo Liu asked curiously:

"Brother Liu, what's going on with this new district?"

"Why are they only building roads and not city walls?"

This was something he found very strange; he was puzzled that apart from Shanghai County, there were no city walls in the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area.

Liu Xinguang laughed heartily:
"The entire new district is planned according to urban planning standards, so of course there are no city walls."

“Look, the reason why Shanghai is not developing well is because of the city walls and the fact that there are private farmlands everywhere, making it very difficult to acquire land.”

"The land in the new district is all government land, and there are no city walls to restrict it. The government can plan it however it wants, so people who want to set up factories are scrambling to come here."

He introduced Luo Liu to the surrounding factories and explained the benefits they offered.

Upon hearing that a regular textile worker earned seven cents a month, many people couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:

"Seven cents, that was the price of rice at the grain store just now, right?"

"A monthly salary of seven cents means you can earn a bushel of grain?"

"Wouldn't that be twelve bushels a year?"

This income far exceeded everyone's expectations. If they were careful with their food, they could support a family of three.

Liu Xinguang said with a smile:

"Of course, one stone a month is already considered low in industry; even lower are service industries such as sweeping and serving."

“If you are blacksmiths or carpenters urgently needed in the new district, you can earn at least one yuan a month.”

"If you can become a level 2 worker, you can get an extra 50 cents. Even if some industries offer discounts, you'll still get at least 20 cents more."

As the policies for the new district were being explained, Luo Liu and the others felt it was unreal and suspected they were being deceived.

Liu Xinguang didn't say much, but found a few workers on the road and let them ask for themselves.

After asking around, these people finally realized that they could make a living in the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area by relying on their skills.

If there are no skills, women can become textile workers and men can become manual laborers; both can find work.

In the current Suzhou-Songjiang New Area, all industries are recruiting workers, which is why Liu Lishun is actively absorbing displaced people.

After understanding the policies of the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area, these people from Macheng expressed mixed feelings of worry and joy:
"With wages offered at such a high level, will the actual amount paid be received?"

"Don't let us not get our money when it's time to pay out."

In response, Liu Xinguang patted his chest and assured him:
"Don't worry, our Employers Association is here to protect this."

"Any company that defaults on wages will be blacklisted. No worker can work for them, otherwise they will be considered a traitor and kicked out of the workers' association."

"The companies in the new district that owe wages have been forced out of this area by the workers' association. Only a few family businesses remain in Shanghai."

When the names of these companies were revealed, Liu Xinguang said that these family businesses were exploiting their clan members in the name of the clan, and warned them never to go there.

It's best to stay in Wusong District and Baoshan District, where the labor associations are stronger and offer more protection.

Seeing this, Liu Xinguang did not insist, and took them to the workers' association for assessment.

This is something all immigrants have to go through: incorporating them into the workers' association.
-
As one of the founders of the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area, the workers' association's hall is in a very good location, right next to the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area government office.

When Liu Xinguang passed by the auditorium, which was still under construction in the new district, he noticed a large crowd gathered next to the already completed government affairs hall.

He curiously approached and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Why are there so many people?"

As one of the executive directors of the workers' association, Liu Xinguang is quite well-known in the new district and is recognized by many workers.

Upon hearing his question, one of the workers shouted:

"Engineer Liu, you need to pay attention to this matter; it concerns all the workers."

"The imperial court is going to implement social security, and it will be piloted in the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area."

She excitedly told him about it, overjoyed that she would soon be included in social security.

Liu Xinguang was completely baffled by the matter and couldn't understand it at all.

It wasn't until someone mentioned that the imperial court wanted to support scholars and include workers in that program that he seemed to suddenly realize something and said:
"So that's how it is, the imperial court is going to take us in!"

"You won't have to worry about losing your job in the future."

One of the people who had read the document smiled and said:
"Engineers and senior craftsmen are not a concern; ordinary workers will be supported for a maximum of two years."

"If you can't find work for two years, you'll be sent overseas."

The text explains the imperial court's unemployment insurance policy, which stipulates that unemployment benefits can be received for a maximum of two years.

The imperial court wouldn't support ordinary workers indefinitely.

Although Liu Xinguang was still somewhat confused, he smiled and said:
"rest assured!"

“Our workers’ association has purchased a large plot of land in New Jiangnan. If anyone becomes unemployed and has no work in the future, the association will definitely provide assistance.”

“We’re all hired workers, we certainly won’t leave you with nowhere to go.”

He assured them that they didn't need to worry.

Afterwards, he led Luo Liu and the others to the Laborers' Association in a hurry, wanting to find out exactly what had happened.

Luo Liu and others were also very curious about this, so they followed him to the Employers Association to learn more about the policy.

However, the imperial court's policy of piloting social security in the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area has already reached this place.

Liu Lishun made a decisive move and implemented it in the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area.

He wanted to implement this system when the new district was newly established and had fewer burdens.

Any defects can be corrected in time to avoid problems during large-scale promotion.

Upon hearing that engineers had been included in the scholar-official class and senior craftsmen had been included in the prospective scholar-official class, Liu Xinguang exclaimed with delight:

"We've become scholars now! That's wonderful!"

"His Majesty truly values ​​us workers!"

Like other members of the laborers' association, they rejoiced at becoming scholars.

As directors of the laborers' association, they also received preferential treatment; even if they were not senior craftsmen, they were included among the prospective scholars and scholars.

Moreover, the Laborers' Association donated a large territory with the harvested grain, and the Emperor granted special permission to treat the executive director as a knight.

Now, with a large number of scholars and prospective scholars supporting them, they have become more assertive.
-
Luo Liu asked curiously from the side:

What is an engineer?

"How did you become a scholar?"

Liu Xinguang explained to him:

"An engineer is someone who can lead an engineering project and has mastered at least one complete technology."

“For example, the headquarters of our workers’ association was built by an engineer. Without him, the building would not have been able to be built.”

Hearing this, Luo Liu understood, and he said excitedly:
"I've built houses in Macheng, does that qualify me to become an engineer?"

Liu Xinguang explained to him:

"Just being able to build houses doesn't make you an engineer; you also need to be familiar with construction standards."

"Your design drawings and construction drawings must be approved and comply with the new district's planning."

These requirements left Luo Liu somewhat confused.

He's building a house in the countryside, why would he have so many requirements?
But these are the requirements for the new district. Liu Xinguang pointed to the cement tunnel beneath his feet:
Do you know how to use cement? Do you know how much steel reinforcement to add to cement?

"The houses in the new district can't be built arbitrarily; those that don't meet the standards won't be approved."

“No construction can be done without approval, and we, the members of the workers’ association, will not participate in illegal construction.”

He was given a detailed explanation of the new district's plan, which was formulated by the imperial court and implemented by the craftsmen of the Xiangshan School in Suzhou.

Today, most of the construction engineers in the new district come from their ranks.

Luo Liu was completely bewildered by the sheer number of requirements. He had only ever heard of cement; how could he possibly know how to build with it?
Now he began to understand that his skills in building mud houses in the countryside were not enough to qualify him as an engineer in the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area.

However, as a director of the workers' association, Liu Xinguang naturally wouldn't just undermine workers' morale. He addressed Luo Liudao:
“Since you’ve built houses in Macheng, it means you know this business.”

"If you learn to read and draw, you can apply for assistant engineer positions, and even become a full engineer in the future."

Luo Liu's face darkened, and he said irritably:

Do I look like a literate person to you?

"If you could read, why would you come all the way here?"

Liu Xinguang apologized with a smile, and then said:

"It doesn't matter if you can't read, you can still be certified as a construction worker."

"Brother, how are your skills? If you're good at building houses, you can be promoted to senior craftsman."

"Senior craftsmen are also candidates for scholars. After working in state-owned enterprises for more than ten years, they can become scholars."

Before Luo Liu could answer, someone next to him said:
"Uncle Luo is very skilled; he can even build a brick kiln."

"If it weren't for us, he wouldn't have been forced to come out."

He told Liu Xinguang and others about Luo Liu's craftsmanship, who was a well-known craftsman in the area.

Liu Xinguang's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Luo Liu's hand, saying:
"The Brotherhood is building a brick kiln; these are the skilled craftsmen the new district desperately needs."

"As long as one is built, I will help you be recognized as a senior craftsman."

"If you can build ten of these and use them for ten years without any problems, I'll help you get certified as an engineer and arrange for someone to train you."

He promised Luo Liu that he would help him be recognized as a senior craftsman and engineer.

For the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area, which is currently undergoing large-scale construction, there are too few people who know how to build brick kilns, and they urgently hope that there will be more brick and tile factories in the new area.

In particular, Liu Xinguang heard that a steel industrial park was to be built in Baoshan, and the new district was recruiting craftsmen who knew how to build blast furnaces.

In his view, kilns and iron furnaces were almost the same. If Luo Liu had the ability to build an iron furnace, Liu Xinguang could even guarantee that he could help him get promoted to engineer and arrange a literate, drafting assistant for him.

This was a special policy for veteran craftsmen, allowing them to work with assistants to jointly select engineers.

The Xiangshan group had many skilled craftsmen who were illiterate, and they used this method to become engineers.

Liu Xinguang, who had handled this matter, was very familiar with it.

He hoped that Luo Liu could be promoted to senior craftsman or even engineer, just like those other people.

In that way he recruited a prospective servant for the workers' association.

Even if this person goes to the engineers' association, it will still be considered his achievement. (End of Chapter)