Chapter 1171 The world belongs to everyone in the world!
“Marshal, you don’t know that although Lord Su from the Second Manufacturing Bureau gave us a preferential price, seventy looms would cost at least twelve thousand taels. At that time, our Zhang family couldn’t afford that much money even if we sold everything we had…”

"So, with the mediation of County Magistrate Cheng and several officials from the Provincial Government, we finally reached a plan in which Ji County would act as a guarantor and our Zhang family would pay in installments!"

"The plan is for a period of ten years. Every year, our Zhang family will pay the Second Manufacturing Bureau one thousand taels of principal and five hundred taels of interest!"

Listening to Zhang Hui's words, Ye Mingsheng glanced at Cheng Hanfei beside him. Seeing this, Cheng Hanfei quickly said:
"Reporting to the commander, what Mr. Zhang said is true. The bill signed with the Second Manufacturing Bureau is now in the county government office!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded and said:
"In that case, there are still three or four thousand taels of silver left!"

Zhang Hui said helplessly:
“Not only that, Marshal, among my seventy textile machines, one or two break down every month. If I want to repair them, I can only ask the craftsmen from the Second Manufacturing Bureau to come over. These craftsmen from the Second Manufacturing Bureau not only have to be well fed and served, but also charge by the day!
"This number of days is not the repair time they gave us when they came to Ji County. The calculation starts from the day we left Yijing. Any time less than a day will be counted as a full day. Even the time spent on the road is included in this!"

“We wanted to learn textile machine maintenance technology, but the Second Manufacturing Bureau said their technology was confidential. Not only did they not teach us, they also told us that if we repaired it privately, they would not come to repair it for us in the future…”

"When repairing the loom, some parts were broken but could be used again after repair. However, the craftsmen sent by the Second Manufacturing Bureau said that they could not be used and needed to be replaced with new ones, which cost another sum of money!"

"We are a small family and have no other choice. To save money, we can only hire the craftsmen in Ji County. This means we have to pay three hundred taels of silver to the Second Manufacturing Bureau every year!"

Having said this, Cheng Hanfei paused, as if he wanted to say something to Ye Mingsheng, but in the end he swallowed his words back.

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised to hear Cheng Hanfei's complaints. He didn't expect that Su Junjie would resort to such tricks to make money.

But it was no wonder that Su Junjie did this. After all, the Second Manufacturing Bureau had invested a lot of money in developing this hand-cranked textile machine. After finally succeeding in developing it, it was natural that they had to recover the cost.
Moreover, the Second Manufacturing Bureau is now self-sufficient and has to bear some research burdens, so its financial situation is also not good!
Although Zhang Hui didn't say it out loud, Ye Mingsheng probably understood what he wanted to say. It was nothing more than giving a red envelope to someone, which led to some increased hidden costs!
Seeing Ye Mingsheng remained silent, Cheng Hanfei stepped forward and introduced:

“Marshal, in addition to the cost of these machines, because our Ji County government provided a guarantee for Zhangji Company’s purchase of machines from the Second Manufacturing Bureau, the Zhangji Textile Factory has to pay an additional 2,000 taels of silver to the county every year as a guarantee fee…”

Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but feel a little surprised when he heard this. He really didn't know about this situation. At this time, Cheng Hanfei continued:

"As for the annual guarantee fee of 2,000 taels of silver, our Ji County took about 500 taels to repair the canals, dams and roads. As for the rest of the silver, it was paid to the governor as a tax!"

"All the accounts and bills are in the county government office and can be reviewed at any time!"

Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhang Hui who looked a little aggrieved. No wonder this guy said that the big head was not put into his pocket!

The annual after-tax profit of the Zhangji Textile Factory was just over 5,000 taels of silver. Almost 2,000 taels of silver were handed over to the Second Manufacturing Bureau and another 2,000 taels of silver were handed over to the county government. Therefore, the actual profit that Zhang Hui could get was just over 1,000 taels of silver!
But this guy did not lose out. The cost he invested at the beginning was actually the first installment of one thousand taels of silver for buying the machine. He made back the investment in the first year. Now he can earn one thousand taels of silver every year, which is a 100% profit!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything, but randomly selected a few textile workers and prepared to ask these front-line workers what they thought!

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng seemed to be selecting people randomly, Zhang Hui, the owner of the textile factory, became a little anxious. After hesitating for a while, he suggested to Ye Mingsheng:

"Marshal, our factory has several representatives. You can ask them if you have any questions..."

Before Zhang Hui could finish his words, he closed his mouth under Ye Mingsheng's cold gaze.

Looking at the middle-aged woman in front of him who looked a little nervous, Ye Mingsheng asked gently:
"What are the working hours in your factory every day?"

"Your Excellency, we start working from the morning hour of Mao and work until the evening hour of You! We only have time to eat at the afternoon hour of Wei!"

"Is it always this time? Are there any days off every month?"

"No, before we worked until the evening of the dog day, but we are weaving here. If we light too many candles at night, it will easily catch fire. But if we light too few candles, it will be too dark to see clearly and it will be easy to make mistakes. Besides, the price of candles has gone up since then, so now we work until the evening of the dog day!"

"What is a day off, sir? We work month after month."

Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything after hearing this, at least he glanced at Zhang Hui beside him, seeing this, Zhang Hui also looked a little flustered, but at this time Ye Mingsheng didn't pay attention to him, but continued to ask the female worker in front of him:

"How much do you get in a month? Are you satisfied with your current salary?"

"I can now get two and a half coins of silver a month. I am very satisfied with the salary. It is more than what I earned from weaving at home before. The only problem is that I have to work in the factory every day and have no time to take care of my family. As soon as I get home, I have to hurry to sleep and cook, otherwise I will easily be late for work..."

"Isn't your monthly salary three taels of silver?"

"The monthly salary is three taels of silver, but if you are late once, half a tael of silver will be deducted. Although I was not late last month, I made two mistakes while weaving and was still deducted half a tael of silver, so I was left with two and a half taels of silver!"

In addition to this middle-aged female worker, Ye Mingsheng asked several other workers different questions in succession. The answers from these workers also made Ye Mingsheng better understand the Zhangji Textile Factory in front of him.

The reason why Ye Mingsheng was so interested in this Zhangji Textile Factory was largely because according to the information Ye Mingsheng had collected, this Zhangji Textile Factory was very typical and could be regarded as a small microcosm of the current Dazhou textile industry and even the entire industry and commerce!

The conversation just now also made Ye Mingsheng realize an urgent problem. The current development of industry and commerce in Da Zhou is largely based on the knowledge of the grassroots people. It is through this way that some people have completed their original accumulation!

But Ye Mingsheng believes that things should not work like this. Although for some reasons, the world has never been completely equal, the world should belong to everyone in the world and not to a few people. The fruits of development need to be shared rather than monopolized!
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng also made a decision. He would promote legislation and use legal provisions to protect the interests of the majority of people. Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng began to write furiously... After half an incense stick of time, Ye Mingsheng glanced at what he had written, and seeing that there was basically nothing missing, he called Cheng Hanfei and Zhang Hui over again.

"Zhang Hui, this is the charter of your textile factory. You must implement it seriously!"

Zhang Hui was stunned for a moment, but subconsciously took the paper thrown by Ye Mingsheng.

Looking at the regulations that the workers work from 5 am to 9 pm every day, overtime pay is required for overtime work, half an hour lunch break every day and the factory needs to provide free lunch, workers have at least two days of paid leave each month, and overtime pay is required for taking up rest days, Zhang Hui, as the employer, suddenly looked bitter.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but ask:
"what do you want to say?"

"I have nothing to say. I will definitely carry out the Marshal's arrangements to the letter!"

Listening to Zhang Hui's hypocritical words, Ye Mingsheng said in a deep voice:

"Just say what I ask you to say, I will forgive you!"

Hearing the words "I'm sorry, you're not guilty", Zhang Hui's eyes lit up and hesitantly said:
“Marshal, these regulations of yours will increase the cost of our factory and reduce its competitiveness. Once our competitiveness decreases and we can’t receive orders, our textile factory will go bankrupt and these workers will lose their jobs…”

As soon as Zhang Hui finished speaking, Cheng Hanfei couldn't help but get anxious. He had spent a lot of effort to support this Zhangji Textile Factory, and it was also one of his major political achievements in Ji County, so he absolutely did not want the textile factory to close down. However, just as he was about to admonish Ye Mingsheng, he heard Ye Mingsheng's voice.

"Don't worry about this. These regulations are not only applicable to your Zhangji Textile Factory. These regulations will soon apply to the entire Great Zhou. You are all on the same starting line, and your factory's competitiveness will naturally not be lost!"

After hearing this, Zhang Hui had nothing to say and could only look to Cheng Hanfei for help, but unfortunately, Cheng Hanfei didn't know what to say at this time.

"Zhang Hui, if you have nothing to say, then implement these regulations seriously. Remember, these are the laws of the Great Zhou. If you violate them, you will be punished by the Zhou law!"

"Do you understand?"

Although Zhang Hui was very unwilling, facing Ye Mingsheng's warning, the only thing he could do was to choose to accept and obey.

After dealing with these matters, Ye Mingsheng sent the regulations he had just written to the Ministry of Justice in Yijing for further improvement and research. He was serious about this matter. He hoped that the prosperous era he wanted to establish would belong to everyone in the Great Zhou...
After finishing the visit to Zhangji Textile Factory, Ye Mingsheng got on the carriage back to the Hou family residence, but before returning, Ye Mingsheng called Cheng Hanfei to his carriage.

Looking at Cheng Hanfei, who was sitting opposite him and was very nervous and even a little trembling, Ye Mingsheng smiled at him and said:

"Don't be nervous, I know you are a good officer!"

Ye Mingsheng's gentle attitude immediately eased Cheng Hanfei's nervous mood. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng opened his mouth and asked:
"What do you think of my rules?"

As soon as Cheng Hanfei said this, he recalled the contents written in Ye Mingsheng's regulations, and said sincerely to Ye Mingsheng:
"Marshal, your regulation has improved the treatment of these workers. I believe they will be grateful to you! Marshal, you are a blessing to the people and to the Great Zhou! I admire your love for the people!"

Cheng Hanfei's answer did not satisfy Ye Mingsheng, so Ye Mingsheng continued to ask:
"What else? You can speak your mind without any worries..."

Cheng Hanfei was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and after hesitating for a moment, he whispered:

"Marshal, your idea is great, but it will encounter great resistance during the implementation phase!"

Hearing this answer, Ye Mingsheng looked at Cheng Hanfei with some appreciation and asked again:
"What ideas do you have for solving this problem?"

Facing this question, Cheng Hanfei did not give an answer immediately. After thinking for a while with his head down, he looked at Ye Mingsheng and said with some shame:

"Marshal, can you give me some time to think about this question? I don't have any idea at the moment!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

"It's okay. I will pass by Ji County when I return to Yijing after my southern tour. Tell me your thoughts then!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's words and feeling Ye Mingsheng's attitude, Cheng Hanfei seemed to realize something, and immediately felt happy, then nodded heavily to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"Don't worry, Marshal! When you return from your southern tour, I will definitely give you a satisfactory plan!"

"it is good!"

After talking about business, Ye Mingsheng showed some concern for Cheng Hanfei's family life, and then encouraged him to work hard and live up to his ambitions.

After moving Cheng Hanfei to tears, Ye Mingsheng let him go back. When Ye Mingsheng returned to the Hou family mansion, Ye Kui reported to him a very explosive news.

"Sir, Lord He Jingyun sent someone to deliver a letter of apology and three hundred thousand taels of silver..."

(End of this chapter)