The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 434 I'll do this job

"Food and lodging are provided, and an extra three catties of flour will be given." A Manichaean turned to his wife and children, who were starving and emaciated, and said, "If I work in this factory, my food and lodging will be provided by the factory, and the extra three catties of flour will be given to you two. You will definitely have enough to eat, and you can even save some flour to exchange for money to buy other things."

Another Manichaean man, who was with his elderly parents, was moved to tears: "If I work here, I can take care of my parents."

A large group of people rushed over without even waiting for Yang Tian's order.

They all asked Tang Tingshu in a flurry, "Boss, what kind of work do we do here?"

"Do you need technical skills? I only have physical strength, not technical skills."

Tang Tingshu shouted, "Quiet down, listen to me! I have two kinds of work here. One is ordinary workers who dig and carry stones, and their wages are the same as I just mentioned. This is the kind of work that only has strength but no skills."

The Manichaeans were overjoyed: "Me! Me! Me! I'll do this job!"

Tang Tingshu continued, "There is another type of skilled worker who knows how to build and fire kilns. Their wages are much higher. In addition to three catties of flour a day, they receive extra wages at the end of each month, ranging from one to three silver dollars depending on their skill level."

The ocean?

Everyone was a little confused when they heard this. What kind of counting method was this?

But then Tang Tingshu reached into his pocket, pulled out a large silver coin, and waved it in mid-air.

Everyone immediately understood; it was just one tael of silver, which was roughly equivalent to 800 to one string of cash.

Holy crap, this wage is outrageously high!

"Boss, choose me! Choose me!"

"Boss! I can handle any job, I'll work really hard."

"Master, please have pity on me! I have an eighty-year-old mother and a child under three years old..."

A large group of Manichaeans suddenly forgot what "equal distribution of wealth" meant. They only thought about getting the job as soon as possible because they all knew that there were tens of thousands of people here, and the employer could not possibly take them all. At most, he could only take a few hundred. Their former comrades who had "equalized wealth" with them had now become competitors, and suddenly all the fellow believers seemed to have become detestable.

Having faced the terrifying refugee crisis at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Tang Tingshu was already used to the anxious look of tens of thousands of people in front of him and was not flustered at all: "Don't fight or scramble. I don't only have this one factory. If this factory can't take in all the people, they can go to my other factories. Everyone who wants to work can be arranged."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Manichaeans suddenly found their fellow believer to be more endearing.

Oh dear, I'm so sorry for thinking you might steal my job!

We are still a close family.

Yang Tian stared in astonishment, watching as his men dwindled by several thousand in an instant, all now chasing after Tang Tingshu, calling him "Master Tang" over and over in an extremely affectionate manner. Yue Wenxuan said, "You must have had a tough journey all the way from Huting Lake."

Yang Tian nodded: "Many brothers starved to death, died of illness, or fell to their deaths while crossing the Dabie Mountains."

Yue Wenxuan: "That's why they're so eager to get a job now; they've been starving all this way."

Yang Tian had no face to blame his subordinates for "running off with Tang Tingshu without even asking him," because he knew very well how much hardship they had endured and how confused they were about the future. Now that they saw a relatively stable opportunity, how could they not seize it?

"Let's go inside the factory and take a look."

Yue Wenxuan led him into the cement factory, where Tang Tingshu was also leading the newly recruited workers.

He was no stranger to this kind of thing; he understood the psychology of these new workers very well. If he picked out a few hundred people now and made them work here, while telling the others that they would be assigned to other factories next time, those who weren't assigned would definitely feel anxious and prone to causing trouble. So he actually took several thousand people with him and strolled around the factory together.

In front of them, in a large pit, nearly a hundred workers were digging limestone.

Tang Tingshu pointed there and smiled, "This is where you'll be working. The main job is to dig out these stones, load them into the carts over there, and then transport them over there... Look... it's in front of that kiln..."

Who doesn't understand this skill as soon as they hear it?

Dozens of people immediately said, "Sir, we can do it right now."

Tang Tingshu: "No rush, no rush. Let's all learn together. We'll arrange the work after we've learned all the steps."

He then led everyone forward to a place where limestone was piled up. Workers were crushing the limestone into fine powder, mixing it with the clay, and stirring it.

This job was so easy to learn that dozens of people immediately jumped out and said, "Master Dong, we can do this job right now."

"I told you not to rush, keep watching..."

Tang Tingshu led several thousand people on a tour of the factory, showing them every step of cement production. Finally, he brought them all to the open space in front of the factory: "Everyone, take a good look around. Come up and register whichever step you want to work in, give your name, and tell me your desired position... I will arrange dozens to a hundred people for each position. If there's not enough space here, I'll take you to other factories... Everyone will get a spot! Oh, and I have something important to tell you. This factory in Yanzihe Town is far from Shouchun, so it's in a remote area. It's not very convenient to work here... If you're not in a rush, it's best to come with me to factories near Lu'an or Shouchun. They're closer to big cities, and life there is more convenient."

His words immediately dispelled everyone's eagerness to grab a spot!
Some more resourceful and ambitious people began to think: if the wages are the same, then of course it's better to be closer to a big city. It's definitely not as convenient in a remote place. In a small town, my daughter might not even be able to buy a red ribbon.

Tang Tingshu quickly subdued them, and soon the sign-up applicants began to diverge. Some who just wanted to settle down as soon as possible stayed in Yanzihe Town, while the more ambitious ones deliberately didn't rush to sign up, but instead planned to follow Tang Tingshu to choose a better factory.

Seeing this scene from afar, Yue Wenxuan couldn't help but give it a thumbs up in his heart. He thought to himself: I was just having a headache. So many workers were vying for a few hundred positions, and it was going to end in a fight. But Tang Tingshu resolved it with just one sentence. He truly deserves to be called an industrialist. He is much more experienced in handling human resources than I am. I can't compare to him at all.

(End of this chapter)