My father Yongle, building a five-good family

Chapter 86 Wooden Box Cotton Flossing Car
After eating and drinking enough.

Zhu Gaoyu stuffed the last bean sprout in the bowl into his mouth, then he slowly stood up under everyone's gaze.

Although it was just a meal at the moment, perhaps because of the hope, the refugees' thin and yellow faces showed a little more spirit and energy, which was very different from their previous lifeless appearance.

After Zhu Gaoyu coughed, he spoke:
"In Taoli Village, everyone does different work. The more you work, the more money you get. If you work less, you can only get enough to eat and wear."

As he spoke, Zhu Gaoyu suddenly got stuck and couldn't remember what he was going to say.

He thought for a moment, took out a small piece of paper from his sleeve, compared it with the tiny calligraphy on it, glanced at it, and continued:
"In Taoli Village, we implement a work point system. What kind of work men and women do and how much they are paid depends on their own abilities."

"Among them, fluffing cotton is worth 12 work points a day. Plucking wool is worth 10 work points a day. Sewing cloth is worth 8 work points a day."

"And each work point is worth three cents."

Hearing this, the refugees couldn't help but open their eyes wide.

One work point was worth three cents, which meant that even if one earned eight work points a day, that would amount to eight taels of silver in a year.

In the early Ming Dynasty, even in the prosperous areas of Jiangnan, the weather was good all year round, and crops were harvested twice or even three times a year. After deducting the cost of food and drink, the most that could be saved was ten taels of silver.

This is the case even in the Jiangnan area, not to mention Datong where crops only harvest once a year.

In addition, tenants also had to pay land rent, so if they could save two or three taels of silver a year, it was already a very good situation.

But now, just working every day, I can earn 80 to 13 taels a year, plus I have good food and drink every day...

Such a good master would be hard to find even if you search the whole Datong.

Cotton-picking is hard work, so generally speaking, although the work points are high after a day's work, it also consumes a lot of energy.

If you are not an adult man with great strength and confidence to complete full work points, it is better to choose easy work such as plucking or sewing cloth.

As Zhu Gaoyu's new subordinate, Chen Gensheng fully demonstrated the benefits of being well-educated.

Faced with such a large group of refugees, he was still able to divide the work and record in an orderly manner.

Zhu Gaoyu watched from the side while chewing peanuts, and at the end he glanced at the former manager of the village with a bit of disdain.

This group of people are really bad at nothing, and eating is their top priority.

The managers looked at the scene and suddenly felt isolated.

Especially when Zhu Gaoyu looked at them, they dared not speak out.

One of the stewards took advantage of the time when Zhu Gaoyu turned his head away and didn't pay attention to them and secretly complained:
"They really treat it like a child playing house. If they continue playing like this, even if they spend all of Hao Zhuangtou's wealth, it probably won't fill this huge hole."

He thought he spoke in a very low voice, but in fact, Zhu Gaoyu, relying on his small size and sharp eyes and ears, had already heard all his words to his heart.

So he smiled, showing his small white teeth, and said to Xiao Jixiang beside him:

"Xiao Jixiang, is the money we brought this time enough?"

Xiao Jixiang patted his chest and said confidently:
"Your Highness, please rest assured. Even if the money is short of King Yan, it will not be short of you."

After all, the Prince of Yan is working for his own father, and the funding for the mission is limited, so it would be great if he could save a little bit.

In addition to the construction of Datong, not only the city walls needed to be repaired, but many other places also needed to be rectified, and there were many places to spend money.

In comparison, Zhu Gaoyu could really be described as having no shortage of money.

After hearing this answer, Zhu Gaoyu was not as happy as he had imagined, but rather felt a little regretful.

He suddenly turned his head, his eyes wandering vaguely at Zhuangzi's steward, and spoke casually:

"It doesn't matter if there's not enough silver... Aren't there so many managers here? If there's not enough silver someday, just ask them for some. Little Jixiang, don't you think this is what they call taking from the people and giving back to the people?"

Xiao Jixiang suddenly understood and immediately put on an attitude of sincere admiration:

"Your Highness is right. Your Highness's wisdom is incomparable even if I study scriptures day and night. My admiration for Your Highness is like a surging river flowing to the sea..."

Zhu Gaoyu uttered a "hmm" and waved his hand nonchalantly:
"Actually, I'm not that good. It's just that 90% of my talent and 30% of my hard work have made me 12% smarter."

The steward who had spoken just now heard Zhu Gaoyu's bragging, but he had no desire to laugh at him.

His face turned green instead, and a layer of white sweat appeared on his back.

What does it mean?
It’s not enough to raid the house once, you want to raid it a second time?!
Isn’t he afraid of...

When they thought of Zhu Gaoyu's identity, the minds of these managers paused, and they suddenly realized that the King of Dai had suffered repeated losses at the hands of Zhu Gaoyu and had to "cede land and pay compensation" continuously. It seemed that they, the managers, had no way to deal with Zhu Gaoyu.

This kid... is here just to torture people, right?

When the managers thought of this, their eyes went dark and they suddenly had an urge to faint.

……

As a job with the highest full work points, cotton-fluffing naturally means the heaviest workload and the most arduous work.

But when Chen Gensheng brought a group of refugees to the cotton-fluffing site, everyone was stunned.

I saw a group of craftsmen gathered in front of a strange machine, and there were sounds of hammering, talking and discussing. It was a very lively scene.

Looking at the strange machine, Zhu Gaoyu was not surprised at all, but rather excited. "This cotton-fleshing machine has really been made?"

Kuai Fu wiped the sweat off his forehead and was a little uncertain:
"Maybe?"

Kuai Fu even admired himself. He was a house builder, but under the pressure of Zhu Gaoyu, he managed to create a big thing from some abstract words.

I saw a cotton fluffer in front of me. It had three pairs of wooden drums with many saw blades inside. When the foot pedal was stepped on, the inside of the machine would vibrate rapidly, fluffing the cotton.

When it reappeared, the cotton looked no different from the artificially popped cotton.

Zhu Gaoyu looked at this scene with satisfaction and waved his hand. The lackeys behind him gave each of the craftsmen a handful of golden melon seeds.

Everyone present looked at the cotton-fluffing cart with a confused look on their faces.

Zhu Gaoyu just felt that he was really awesome.

Through accurate description, the workers in the early Ming Dynasty were able to make wooden box-type cotton-fluffing carts in advance.

Kuai Fu and other craftsmen wiped the sweat from their foreheads and felt that they were really awesome.

They actually managed to make this thing based on Zhu Gaoyu's simple and seemingly fantastic description.

The refugee also wiped the sweat off his forehead and felt that his luck was really amazing.

Since entering this farm, I have been eating well and sleeping well. Maybe in the future I can even wear a cotton-padded jacket and live a life like a landlord.

Now they also saw such a strange but incredible thing.

As refugees, they were once farmers who worked hard in the fields.

Therefore, they can better understand how this cotton-fluffing machine will bring about great changes to the way cotton is produced.

You have to know that in the past, people could only pick about eight kilograms of cotton lint per day by hand, and they also had to endure high-intensity physical labor.

However, the emergence of cotton carts reduced repetitive and high-intensity labor.

In addition, with the cotton cart, it becomes possible to fluff up all the cotton in a short period of time.

At this moment, some veteran farmers looked at Zhu Gaoyu differently.

The son of King Yan... is so smart that he is almost a demon!

On the other hand, Zhu Gaoyu began to think about other things.

The refugees have been settled, and the cotton-padded clothes are being made step by step. It's time to take out the duck down and give this north wind-swept Datong city a little shock...

Datong City...there are still too many rich people.

For Datong, all Zhu Gaoyu needs is money.

What he hates most is that there are people richer than him!
……

Finished the day's work.

Almost 80% of the refugees in the village have signed long-term contracts.

When it was time for dinner, they felt the newly distributed silver and packed food in their pockets. Almost no one thought of tasting them first. Instead, they trotted all the way to the foot of the city wall and found their families in the dilapidated shanties.

These people came and went in a hurry, and because of the conditions that Zhu Gaoyu mentioned when recruiting workers during the day, many people had been secretly paying attention to them.

Seeing them coming back like this, the clerk under the city wall couldn't help laughing:
"I was wondering how could such good treatment be given to refugees? Look, after one day's work, he quit. What a waste of time."

As he spoke, the clerk kicked the refugee who was chewing steamed bread beside him and said with a smile:
"The treatment provided by His Royal Highness Prince Yan is already good enough. It is your blessing to work for His Royal Highness Prince Yan. People should still be down-to-earth and not always think about things that do not belong to them. Only when you are content can you be happy."

The refugee was chewing on a steamed bun, and his expression did not change at all.

Easier said than done.

If there really is hope, who doesn't want to live a better life?
What's wrong with this?

He lowered his head, but the corner of his eyes couldn't help but drift towards the returning refugees.

Suddenly, the aroma of food wafted into the air.

For a moment, the scene outside the city wall was in an uproar.

The refugees who returned from Zhuangzi started to share excitedly:
"Dad, the treatment in that farm is real! At noon today, we even had pork offal! That sticky starch... it smelled so good!"

"Yes, Dad, you can continue to work under the King of Yan for a few more days. When the farm recruits again, our whole family will go to work there!"

The clerk was confused.

Immediately, he did not bother to question the authenticity of the so-called treatment of Zhuangzi, but instead had a terrible idea.

No!

If you all send away the refugees, who will repair the city walls?

How could the youngest son of the King of Yan be so deceiving to his father?!
First update today

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(End of this chapter)