The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 598 Moore: Capitalists are not necessary!

Kaiping Mining Bureau, No. 3 Mining Town, August 25, the seventh year of Tianli.

Just after the gong sounds of the Yin hour had finished twice, a four-wheeled carriage with a sign reading "Gan Wangfu" rolled over the hard road paved with coal slag and drove into a small town where miners lived.

Bai Siwen lifted a corner of the car curtain and his eyes popped out, because what he saw was not a shabby shack, but a row of neat red brick buildings - two-story tube buildings lined up one after another along the gentle slope, like soldiers standing in a row, and there were lights flickering behind most of the window papers.

Is this really where the miners live? Bai Siwen thought to himself, "Could it be that the coachman was blind and ran into the Taiping Army camp?"

"This looks like it's better than Manchester."

Friedrich, holding up his round glasses, also felt something was wrong. He had seen the shacks where miners lived in Birmingham, and the sewage-filled slums of Paris, but he had never seen an industrial town where workers' housing and drainage ditches were built as neatly as in a Prussian military camp - open channels made of bluestone stretched along the streets, diverting domestic sewage and wastewater pumped from mines away from residential areas.

When the carriage stopped at the intersection with a wooden sign that read "Wujin City", the sizzling sound of fried dough sticks mixed with the aroma of soy milk hit us in the face.

The men in blue cloth shorts squatted on benches holding large bowls. Some of them had four or five fist-sized vegetable and meat buns piled in front of them, while others ordered a bowl of steaming meat noodles - the meat was big and the noodles were abundant, and it was obvious that it was something for people who did physical work.

Are these really miners who only make 4 silver dollars a month?
Four silver dollars are less than 4 pound, less than one-third of the salary of a British miner.
"Lord Bai and the two foreign gentlemen, try this!" Mr. Tang Si came out from some porridge stall and ran to Moore, Friedrich and Bai Siwen.

It turned out that this guy also lived in this town. He wore an oil-stained twisted apron over his blue satin gown. In his left hand he held a bamboo basket filled with golden fried dough sticks, and in his right hand he pulled an Englishman in linen work clothes. "This is Mr. Smith, a technician hired by the Mining Bureau - a genuine London engineer!" Mr. Tang pointed at Moore, Friedrich, and Bai Siwen and introduced them.

When this "Engineer Smith" heard that Moore and Friedrich were the masters who came to China with Lord Bonham to investigate, he immediately showed a respectful expression and took off his hat to salute. He pointed to the teahouse with a Welsh accent and said, "If you haven't had breakfast yet, please let me treat you. The breakfast here is delicious. We guarantee that no restaurant in the UK can compare to it!"

The second floor of Guangfu Tea House.

The waiter was holding a large tray, and at one time he brought out five trays of shrimp dumplings and three baskets of steamed buns. All of them were freshly baked, steaming hot, and looked sweet. Half of the basket of fried dough sticks that Mr. Tang brought in had been "eaten" - Moore and Friedrich were still eating a large fried dough stick each.

This is really good, much better than British breakfast!

Smith used a bamboo chopstick to poke the crystal shrimp dumpling skin, and the pink shrimp mixed with bamboo shoots rolled into the vinegar dish: "I worked in the mines of South Wales for fifteen years, and I have never seen miners eat fresh shrimp for breakfast - the mess in Kaiping transports seafood from the fishing port at the mouth of the Luan River every day, and the workers' monthly food allowance is one and a half silver dollars, which is equivalent to five shillings!"

Friedrich's pen quickly converted on the account book: "Only five shillings? According to London prices, these breakfasts are worth at least three shillings."

Moore picked up a hot siomai and took a bite: "It's not too little. Three shillings won't buy you something that delicious."

"Eighty cents for the price!" The waiter interrupted him by calling out the price.

Mr. Tang waved his hand and said in Cantonese: "Put it on my account."

Friedrich said: "This table is worth less than a shilling in pounds."

Moore Gray Blue was surprised and said, "I feel like a rich man even though I have less than a shilling!"

He suddenly thought of something and turned his head to look out the window at the market. The market was quite lively. Farmers and small vendors from nearby villages were selling all kinds of vegetables, chickens, ducks, fish and meat. Women in the town were carrying baskets and exchanging copper coins for baskets full of fresh food. There were also some children with schoolbags on their backs eating fried dough sticks, flatbreads and buns while hurrying along the way - as if they were rushing to a primary school in the distance.

"I heard that the miners in Kaiping Mine work sixteen hours a day?" Friedrich asked suddenly.

"Yes," Engineer Smith laughed, "At first, we only had one meal every twelve hours, but then the workers refused and insisted on extending the working hours!" "What? Extending the working hours?" Moore couldn't believe his ears, "Why?"

Smith made a gesture of counting money: "It's making money! The working hours are extended, but the minimum quota remains the same. The extra coal dug can be calculated by weight and you can have an extra dinner after the extended working hours. The food in the mine is good and it doesn't cost money, so why not?"

Fourth Master Tang hurriedly added, "The mine provides two meals and free housing, free medical treatment at the miners' hospital, and books for children to go to school. If there is a work-related injury and death, the mine will not only pay a hundred dollars, but also arrange an unhurried job for the widow, and the child can go directly to the miners' technical school after graduating from elementary school."

The more Moore listened, the more he felt something was wrong: "How can there be free hospitals and elementary schools? Can capitalists still make money like this?"

"Capitalists?" Smith shook his head. "The Kaiping Mining Bureau is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's holy treasury. There are no capitalists involved. Besides, the cost of building housing for the miners, running a primary school, and opening a hospital is not much."

Without capitalists, isn't this
Moore's eyes lit up!

Miners' Primary School.

When the bell for class rang, Moore was standing outside the cast iron fence. The teacher in a cotton robe was tapping the blackboard with a pointer, and dozens of neatly dressed children were reciting in unison: "Man, hand, foot, knife, ruler"

"When these children grow up, they will be the best skilled workers." Engineer Smith, who brought Moore and others to visit, suddenly lowered his voice, "Although their industrialization has just started, their layout is quite long-term. Not only have they opened a primary school where the children of miners can go to school for free, they are also preparing for more advanced technical schools and advanced vocational colleges. In ten years, the miners they have trained themselves will be able to replace my job!"

Friedrich wrote in his notebook: "The Chinese have obviously learned the Prussian national education system. Compared with British education, Chinese and Prussian education can train more high-quality workers and engineers. But Prussia's population is less than 20 million, while China's population is as high as 500 million!"

Tube Building No. 18.

Mr. Tang Si pushed open the iron door of Room 203, a dormitory for single miners. Four wooden beds were neatly arranged, with each bed labeled with a name. The bed near the window had a sign that read "Wang Tiedan".

"This guy was the miner who mined the most coal last month." Mr. Tang pointed at the overalls hanging at the head of the bed, with a bronze medal pinned on the waistband. "He earned ten silver dollars last month, and this month he asked for leave to go home and get married. He said he would bring ten more strong men from the same village to work in the mine!"

"That's right, four silver dollars a month, forty-eight a year." Bai Siwen knocked on the iron bed with his folding fan. "Farming in the countryside, you can't earn a few silver dollars a year! If it were me, I would have to work in the mine!"

Friedrich pondered and said, "It seems that we have underestimated China's advantages before! Four hundred million hardworking people have greatly reduced the cost of living for workers. British miners who earn three pounds a month still live in poverty, while Chinese miners who only earn one pound can live a pretty good life. In other words, the cost of Chinese workers themselves is at most only one-third of that of British workers. If this advantage is fully demonstrated, China's industry will surely take off!"

"And the silver standard!" Moore said, "Now I understand why they insist on the silver standard. The long-term depreciation of silver will give China a long-term advantage in industrial costs. They have abundant labor and resources, and most of the raw materials should be self-produced. In the future, the machines will also be self-produced, so their cost advantage will become greater and greater! But this is not their biggest advantage!"

Smith looked back at Moore: "What is their biggest advantage?"

Moore thought for a moment and said, "Their greatest advantage may lie in the management and organizational methods of the Kaiping Mining Bureau."

Smith was stunned: "What are the advantages of Kaiping's management and organization?"

Moore smiled and said, "There are no capitalists in the Kaiping Mining Bureau! Mr. Smith, don't you think that the management of this Kaiping Mining Bureau is no worse than any British coal mine? It seems that capitalists are not necessary!"

When Moore and his party left the dormitory where the miners lived and returned to the main street of the town, they suddenly heard the sound of a gong. They turned their heads and saw a group of cavalrymen escorting several carriages slowly approaching, with the leading knight holding the banners of "Wei, the Northern King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" and "Zhili Governor Zuo".

It turned out that "Wei Judas" and Zuo Zongtang were here!
(End of this chapter)