Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Wusong District.

This is a district within the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area, which integrates land on the west bank of the Wusong River, based on the Wusong River.

According to the emperor's plan, the entire Suzhou-Songjiang New Area was planned as an industrial park.

The textile industrial park is located in Wusong District.

The workshop that Gu Yanwu collaborated with the Suzhou textile industry on was built here. It started operation at the end of last year.

At this time, he was discussing with Zhang Yixian the expansion of the weaving workshop:
"The logistics department has placed an order, requiring us to manufacture not only summer clothes, but also autumn and winter clothes."

"This is a big order; it will keep us busy for at least a few months."

"If it can't be completed before September, there's a possibility of breach of contract."

"Mr. Gu plans to increase his investment by five thousand taels. What is your opinion, sir?"

Zhang Yixian said with a smile:

"Commander Gu, you're newly married, how come you're already so busy?"

“Five thousand taels is no small sum. If the Suzhou Textile Bureau also increases its capital, then the total assets of your Gu family’s workshop will exceed ten thousand taels. The number of employees will also likely exceed one thousand, making it a large enterprise.”

"Could Lieutenant Gu be unaware of the imperial court's policies towards large enterprises?"

"Are you sure you want to give 10% of the shares to employees for stock ownership?"

Gu Yanwu said with a smile:

"The Emperor set this policy to encourage business owners to share profits with their employees and cultivate more people with stable assets."

"As a scholar who aspires to a utopian society, how could I, Gu, oppose this policy?"

"To be honest, Mr. Gu also planned to have the New Area State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission contribute land as shares, also taking a 10% stake."

"In this way, the public share of Gu's Workshop will reach 20%, which will not hinder it from becoming a larger enterprise in the future."

Zhang Yixian smiled and shook his head, pointing at Gu Yanwu:

"Even if you don't allow the new district to invest, it won't be a problem for it to become a larger enterprise."

"The inner court also belonged to the imperial court, and the Suzhou Textile Bureau was an enterprise of the inner court."

"As long as you allocate 10% of your shares to employees for stock ownership, even if you become a giant company in the future, our family can still make things convenient."

Gu Yanwu laughed heartily:
"Does this mean Lord Zhang has agreed?"

"Then we must expand production as soon as possible and not miss this opportunity."

“My mother is urging me to get started, and she and my wife are both busy with this matter.”

"Don't laugh at me, father-in-law, but the five thousand taels of silver I took out this time also include my wife's dowry."

Zhang Yixian laughed heartily as well, and said to him with envy:
"Commander Gu has truly married a good wife."

"If you go out and make meritorious contributions in the future, you won't have to worry about family matters."

This struck a nerve with Gu Yanwu, who sighed with some regret:
"I, Gu, also long to go out and make meritorious contributions, but unfortunately, I have no opportunity!"

"It's just that the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area has just been established, and the Emperor has ordered me to stay here."

Such personal instructions from the emperor are something ordinary officials cannot obtain.

But for Gu Yanwu, he would rather not have received it.

That way, he might still be transferred north to join Sun Yingyuan and others.

Now, he can only watch his comrades go to the front lines while he sits and sighs in the rear.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yixian's envy was practically overflowing.

He was indeed a high-ranking eunuch in the inner court, but he still rarely received personal instructions from the emperor.

Unlike Gu Yanwu, who was constantly under the emperor's attention.

Even on his wedding day, the emperor issued a special decree to congratulate him. Now, all he can do is assist Liu Lishun and Gu Yanwu in the conversion of the workshops in the new district. He hopes to be noticed by the emperor and have his abilities recognized.

With the concerted efforts of all parties in the new district, the production of materials in the Suzhou-Songjiang New District has increased significantly.

The garment manufacturing industry, in particular, which was promoted by the emperor, developed most rapidly.

Gu Yanwu's weaving workshop transformed from spinning and weaving to clothing production.

The demand for military uniforms at the front lines is virtually endless:

"One hundred thousand pairs, and they're socks again."

"How come these socks are worn out so quickly?"

Are the people on the front lines eating their socks?

The military representative stationed at the workshop said:
"Lieutenant Gu, you wouldn't know that socks have many uses on the front lines."

"It can be used not only to wear, but also to store things."

"The sandstorms are severe in Liaodong, so the soldiers attached this to their muskets to protect them from the sand, and it worked much better."

"I estimate that 100,000 pairs will not be enough; more orders will come in."

"Commander Gu had better make some preparations and find a way to continue expanding production."

One hundred thousand pairs of socks may sound like a lot, but for the more than 60,000 soldiers on the front lines, that's less than two pairs per person.

This batch is mainly intended for soldiers stationed along the banks of the Liao River, and they will be given priority in being supplied with this batch.

Soldiers in wartime experience clothing wear and tear very quickly. Moreover, socks tend to get smelly, and many soldiers, too lazy to wash them, often simply throw them away.

With their allowances for fur coats and other supplies in hand, these people didn't care about buying socks at all. They even made a proposal to purchase more socks through the soldiers' committee and the assembly.

The logistics department could not ignore such a request, especially since there was an emperor who encouraged people to wear socks instead of foot binding.

Therefore, the request to purchase socks was approved, and Gu Yanwu received the first batch, with more orders to follow.

This pleased Gu Yanwu, but it also gave him a headache. His weaving workshop had only recently expanded and he simply didn't have the capacity to continue expanding.

After he returned home and mentioned the matter, his newlywed wife, Wang, said:
"These socks don't seem difficult to make. Why not just send them out to the farm women to make?"

“Our family owns several hundred acres of land, and we have many tenant farmers. We can share these tasks with them.”

Gu Yanwu was delighted upon hearing this and grasped Wang's hand, saying:
"Your wife is truly a wise and capable helper; she has solved a major problem."

“I’ll talk to Grandpa right away and have him call all the tenants over.”

Through his grandfather Gu Shaofei, Gu Yanwu gathered the tenant farmers and brought along skilled craftsmen from the weaving workshop to teach them sock-making techniques. He also encouraged tenants with spare time to come and collect needles, thread, and cloth to make socks.

The Gu family had a fairly good reputation, especially after Gu Yanwu gained the emperor's favor and took the lead in implementing rent and land restrictions. Although these tenant farmers had never made socks before, they were all willing to trust Gu Yanwu.

Earning money by piecework, they quickly produced 100,000 pairs of socks. Some even enlisted relatives to come and work at their homes.

After seeing the profits from making socks, some members of the Gu clan complained to Gu Shaofei that Gu Yanwu would rather benefit the tenants than use his own family members.

Gu Yanwu was both amused and exasperated, and could only share some with them when the next batch of orders arrived.

These individuals registered as sole proprietorships or small businesses, unifying raw material procurement and sales channels around the Gu family's weaving workshop. Even the brand and prices were standardized, with no unauthorized price reductions permitted.

This kind of industry alliance, which would become very popular in the Jiangnan region in the future, has begun to emerge. More and more people in Jiangnan are being drawn into these organizations.

Even Zhu Youjian exclaimed in surprise upon seeing it:

Monopolies emerged as soon as capitalism began to sprout.

Northern enterprises were mainly controlled or partially owned by the imperial court, and trusts and conglomerates were prevalent.

Southern enterprises were mainly clan-based and guild-based, and cartels and syndicates were prevalent.

All four forms of monopolistic organization began to emerge in the Ming Dynasty. (End of Chapter)