Chapter 428 The Second Manufacturing Bureau!

Just as the Fengwu Army was dividing into two groups and marching towards the palace in full swing, Ye Mingsheng, the governor of Liaoyang, brought his men to the Dongning Chengnan Second Manufacturing Bureau factory in the south of the city for inspection.

Because time was precious, Ye Mingsheng ordered that all welcoming ceremonies be kept simple. He was led directly to the front-line production workshop by Su Junjie, director of the Manufacturing Bureau.

Sun Junjie picked up a glass from the workshop and presented it to Ye Mingsheng and his party who came to inspect.

"Sir, this is the glass made by our Second Manufacturing Bureau according to your recipe. It is as beautiful and crystal clear as jade!"

Taking the cup from Sun Junjie's hand, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly. Although the glass refined by Sun Junjie was not transparent enough, and the inside of the glass was gray as if covered with a layer of fog, but with the current technical conditions, being able to refine something like this was already pretty good...
"What is the manufacturing cost?" Ye Mingsheng put down the glass and asked Su Junjie:

Sun Junjie introduced:
"Sir, the manufacturing cost of this glass is currently about one penny of silver each!"

Hearing the price of "one penny of silver", Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but frown. One tael of silver is equal to sixteen pennies. According to the current market price in Liaoyang, one tael of silver can buy about three hundred kilograms of rice. This means that the cost of the glass in front of him is roughly equivalent to twenty kilograms of rice!

Others don’t know what this glass is made of, but he knows very well that the main raw material of this glass is sand. How could the cost be so expensive?
Could it be that Sun Junjie had pocketed some of this?
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng glanced at Su Junjie. In order to fundamentally improve the atmosphere of corruption in official circles, Ye Mingsheng has always insisted on the policy of high salaries to maintain integrity. Basically, the official income of Liaoyang officials is at least twice as much as before, and there are also a series of related welfare benefits.

In contrast, Ye Mingsheng strictly cracked down on some bribes such as ice and carbon bribes in the past, which formed a high-pressure situation of anti-corruption and promoting integrity in Liaoyang, making Liaoyang officials dare not and cannot be corrupt···············

Although Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything, Sun Junjie was also a smart man. Feeling the deep meaning in Ye Mingsheng's eyes, he felt nervous and hurriedly explained with fear and trepidation:

"Sir, the main raw material of this glass is sand, and the material cost is not high. However, according to your instructions, we will give preferential treatment to the skilled workers and increase their salary and treatment."

"Moreover, this glass technology is new technology. Not many craftsmen in the manufacturing bureau have mastered it. Scarcity makes things valuable, and so do people. Therefore, every craftsman who can make glass is considered a skilled person here, and their monthly salary is more than five taels of silver. Therefore, the labor cost is so high, which has led to the high cost of glass now."

Ye Mingsheng finally understood after hearing this. As a visitor from later generations, he knew very well that science and technology were the primary productive forces. However, due to historical reasons, the main idea in this world was that everything was inferior except for reading, and science and technology were regarded as strange and tricky skills, which they despised...

It is naturally impossible to change this social atmosphere that has existed for thousands of years in a short period of time with Ye Mingsheng's current status and power. What he can do is to give high salaries and preferential treatment to the technical personnel under his jurisdiction, improve their social status, thereby stimulating their enthusiasm for innovative scientific research, and try to guide the progress and development of the entire society step by step.

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng's expression had eased a lot, Su Junjie also breathed a sigh of relief and continued:

"Sir, although the cost of this glass product is not cheap, it is actually nothing compared to its selling price. A few days ago, I showed the cups, water bottles and other glassware we made to the shopkeepers of several other shops, including Jin Fusheng. They were all willing to buy them at the price of one or two taels per piece, and they were buying them in large quantities, and they would take as many as they could!"

"Besides, this is only one tael per piece in our Liaoyang area. If you take the items to wealthy places like Jiangnan, Huainan, and Luoan, the price can even reach two or three taels per piece!"

"Also, our craftsmen are researching colored glassware such as blue glass and green glass. The research is currently progressing smoothly. If the research is successful, it will not be difficult for a piece of colored glassware to be priced at more than ten taels of silver!"

“The main reason why our glass products are expensive right now is that this is new technology and most of the craftsmen are not familiar with it. After a while, not too long, maybe just a few months, when the new technology becomes popular and production is scaled up, the price of glassware will drop significantly. By that time, the cost of a dozen glassware might only be one penny…”

Although glass products are a very profitable business in this era, Ye Mingsheng was still a little surprised by the high profits of sixteen times, thirty-two times, or even forty-eight times the cost and sales. After a pause, Ye Mingsheng asked:
"What is your manufacturing bureau's current production capacity for this glassware?"

"Your Excellency, if we currently have 800 workers in the Second Manufacturing Bureau and we devote all of them to the production of glassware, we can produce at least 1,000 per month. Once the technology becomes popular and the workers become proficient in the operation, our monthly production capacity can at least triple to 5 times!"

"Of course, according to your instructions, our manufacturing bureau also has silver dollars, kerosene and other projects that are progressing steadily, so the number of workers who can be invested in the glassware project is about 150, so the monthly production capacity is about 300!" Su Junjie said confidently:
Ye Mingsheng silently calculated in his heart when he heard this. Although he now produces 300 glasswares every month and each one is sold for one tael of silver, 300 pieces means 300 taels of silver. This amount of silver is not a small amount for an ordinary landlord family, but for the operation of his Fengwu Army regime, it is still a small amount.

However, as an emerging industry of this era, the glass industry is now unique to Scorpion Baba. The development prospects and profit margins are very good. It won’t be long before we can make a fortune and help improve Liaoyang’s financial situation...

Realizing this, Ye Mingsheng gave Su Junjie an appreciative look and continued to ask:
"How is your Second Manufacturing Bureau doing with the silver dollar and kerosene projects?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Su Junjie immediately said:

"Sir, please come with me!"

Following Su Junjie into the large factory of the Second Manufacturing Bureau, after many twists and turns, Ye Mingsheng and others were brought by Su Junjie to the silver dollar production workshop in the factory.

From the production workshop, Su Junjie picked up a few newly minted silver coins, handed them to Ye Mingsheng respectfully with both hands and said:

"Sir, this is the silver coin we minted according to your instructions. One silver coin weighs seven cents and two cents, nine out of which are silver, and the remaining ten percent is white copper and other metals!"

Ye Mingsheng took the silver dollar from Sun Junjie and looked it up and down. He saw that the white color of the silver dollar was very dazzling, and the words "Fengwu" on it were very clear. Then he held the silver dollar horizontally, blew on it, put it to his ear, and listened to the crisp and pleasant sound. Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction.

Because in the past few decades, the Great Zhou Dynasty had a huge trade surplus through the foreign trade of silk, tea, and ceramics. A large amount of silver flowed into the Great Zhou Dynasty from overseas. With so much silver flowing into the Great Zhou market, the main currency of the Great Zhou Dynasty gradually changed from copper plates to silver. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, silver was generally refined into ingots and silver ingots, which were very heavy and difficult to carry. In addition, the silver content of silver and silver ingots in various places was not uniform, which made trade very complicated. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng planned to replace the traditional silver ingots with silver dollars that were better in color and easier to carry, so as to gain huge wealth...
"What are the reactions of the major silver merchants?" Ye Mingsheng asked:

Sun Junjie replied with a smile:
"All the major merchants are very fond of our silver dollars. They have expressed their willingness to exchange one tael of silver for two of our silver dollars. By throwing in the fire consumption in the exchange of every tael of silver, they can earn at least three taels of silver!"

"At present, our manufacturing bureau has deployed 200 workers, who are working overtime to produce silver dollars. The monthly output should be around 50,000. We will recruit more workers and strive to expand production to produce more silver dollars!"

"Not bad!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng clapped his hands in praise, and then asked with some anticipation:

"How's the progress on the kerosene project?"

"Your Excellency, we have found an oil field in Posuo Prefecture a month ago. We are now refining and fractionating the kerosene according to the method you gave us. There are some technical difficulties that need to be overcome, but overall the progress is very smooth. In the next one or two months, we should have good news!" Su Junjie replied after considering his words:
Although Ye Mingsheng was a little disappointed with Su Junjie's answer, he could understand it to some extent. After all, relatively speaking, oil refining has the highest technical threshold among the three projects.

Although he gave them a method based on his memory, this method was only a rough guide. As for the specifics, the craftsmen in the manufacturing bureau needed to do their own research and experiments to accumulate data and make technological breakthroughs...

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng began to exhort:

"Expand the glass production capacity as soon as possible, but don't expand too much at once, otherwise it will easily cause the glassware to depreciate. As for silver dollars, expand the production as soon as possible, but you must also pay attention to the ratio of silver to copper, and don't use it as a substitute."

"Sun Junjie, please keep a close eye on this kerosene project. This kerosene project is of great significance to our Fengwu Army. If it succeeds, the financial situation of our Fengwu Army will undergo earth-shaking changes!"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, Su Junjie, who had listened carefully, immediately expressed his opinion:

"I will follow the instructions of the commander-in-chief and will definitely act according to his instructions!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded when he heard this, then asked with a smile:

"Su Junjie, you have done a good job in the Second Manufacturing Bureau. I have promoted you. Tell me, have you encountered any difficulties in your work that you need me to solve?"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng said this, Su Junjie was immediately tempted, but he hesitated to speak...
Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng waved his hand, comforted him and said:
"Speak freely, don't be afraid, just speak boldly!"

With Ye Mingsheng's instructions, Su Junjie spoke:
"Thanks to you, sir, our Second Manufacturing Bureau has no shortage of materials, and all government departments are also trying their best to cooperate with us. We currently want to expand production capacity, but the biggest problem is still the lack of people. Each of our current masters on the production line has several apprentices, but it is still not enough, and the gap in numbers is huge!"

Hearing Su Junjie's reaction, Ye Mingsheng said with some surprise:
"Doesn't your General Manufacturing Bureau accept hundreds of craftsmen from all over the country every month? Why are you still so short of manpower?"

Sun Junjie smiled bitterly and said helplessly:
"Sir, it's true that we've recruited hundreds of craftsmen, but most of them have been assigned to Bureau One. Our Manufacturing Bureau Two has received more than fifty people this month, and that's the result of my report to the leaders of the General Administration. Last month we only received thirty-one people..."

Hearing what Sun Junjie said, Ye Mingsheng immediately understood what was going on. Under his instructions, the Fengzhou Craftsmen Camp had originally become the Liaoyang Manufacturing Bureau. The Manufacturing Bureau had two branches under it. One branch was mainly responsible for the production and research of military equipment and firearms. The director was Zhang Dehui and the technical director was Huang Hao.

The second branch is led by Sun Junjie and his team, who are mainly responsible for the civilian sector. Their mission is to make money for Liaoyang and improve people's livelihood. During this period, the Fengwu Army has been preparing to enter the pass to attack Youyan, and they encountered the emergency of sending troops to the palace capital. Therefore, the work pressure of the first branch is very high, and most of the craftsmen have been taken away.

There are only so many new craftsmen accepted every month. The first branch gets more, so Sun Junjie's second branch naturally gets less. Fewer people leads to limited expansion of production capacity, which indirectly affects Sun Junjie's political achievements.

Although he knew the ins and outs of the matter, Ye Mingsheng still felt a little tricky about this issue. After all, although there were more people in the First Branch, they were all doing it for work, which was understandable. He couldn't criticize them for this...

Sun Junjie's work is also urgent and cannot be delayed. It's really a dilemma as both sides of the hand are made of flesh and blood!

However, since he had already promised to help Sun Junjie solve the problem, he naturally could not break his promise. Ye Mingsheng nodded to Sun Junjie and agreed:

"I understand your problem. I will ask the people below to assign more manpower to you as appropriate!"

As soon as these words came out, Sun Junjie smiled and assured with his chest:
"Sir, with enough manpower, the production capacity of our Second Branch can at least double!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and nodded when he heard this. Although he agreed to Sun Junjie's request, it did not mean that he would give Sun Junjie a share of the share of the first branch. If saving money was not an option, then he could only increase revenue. If that did not work, then this matter would have to be handed over to Huo San.

(End of this chapter)