HCB Chapter 111 Recruiting
Chapter 111 Recruiting
Xiao Qinian and Xiao Siyue in Qianyuan County never expected that their sealed memorial would cause such a big incident.
At this moment, Xiao Qinian was still anxiously waiting for a reply from the capital.
Meanwhile, Xiao Siyue was researching how to design a cement workshop and the various equipment to be used.
The main component of cement is limestone, which is still being mined, but it is not used in large quantities; there is still quite a lot of it.
Clay and iron ore are also needed.
Clay is fine, but iron ore is more troublesome, mainly because it is difficult to mine, relies entirely on manpower, and the mining speed is relatively slow.
Another point is that iron ore is mostly used for weapon manufacturing after mining.
However, these are not things that Xiao Siyue needs to worry about. If the imperial court agrees to build the workshop, then the materials will be sent here on their own.
As for forging, that's not a problem either. Since iron can be smelted now, calcining limestone is also not a problem.
A few days later, Xiao Qinian and his group received a letter from Shen Junru.
After learning that the imperial court had agreed to build workshops in Qianyuan County, Xiao Qinian's anxious mood gradually calmed down.
All that remained was excitement and the drive to get things done.
Xiao Siyue was also very happy. As long as the imperial court was unified, the plan would be half successful.
Xiao Siyue was delighted to learn that ten people from the Ministry of Works would be coming to Qianyuan County to help with the construction. She had been worried about not having enough people, and now they were here.
Moreover, the Ministry of Works personnel are quite familiar with the construction of workshops and have a certain foundation, so the subsequent construction should not waste too much time.
"Father, although the Ministry of Works has ten staff members, it's still not enough. Why don't you post a notice and recruit some more people in this field?" Xiao Siyue knew that there were often hidden talents among the people, and there were quite a few, so they should not be wasted.
“Yue’er is right, that’s definitely how it should be.” Xiao Qinian agreed with Xiao Siyue’s idea. He came from a farming family and grew up at the bottom of society. He had also met many people who were talented but unappreciated in various aspects.
"Dad, we need to hire some more workers, preferably the strong and healthy ones." Since there are no machines, ore crushing relies entirely on manpower. They need to find more people, otherwise they probably won't be able to produce much cement in a month.
"Alright, I'll think about how to write it."
“Father, these workers need to be paid higher wages, since it’s all physical labor,” she said. Making cement is very strenuous, and she didn’t want to exploit the people.
"How much do you think Yue'er should pay?" Xiao Qinian knew that Yue'er was kind-hearted, and that the wages she had paid to the shop's employees were much higher than those of ordinary people.
Xiao Siyue thought for a moment and said, "Don't rush this. Let me write a detailed procedure first."
Xiao Siyue plans to write a detailed work system and a system for distributing wages.
“Alright, then I’ll go discuss the proclamation with the county magistrate and the others.” Xiao Qinian had complete faith in his daughter.
“Okay, then I’ll go back too, Father.” Xiao Siyue said, and left the study with Xiao Qinian.
One person went to the government office, and the other went to the backyard.
After Xiao Siyue returned, she thought about it carefully and wrote a set of rules and regulations for the workshop.
Xiao Siyue decided that the workshop would implement a two-shift work system, with each shift lasting six hours, or three hours.
The first shift is from 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
The first class of the Xu Chu period (from 1 PM to 7 PM) is not yet over.
This arrangement was made primarily because it was inconvenient at night, when only candles and kerosene lamps could be used, which were not very bright and could easily cause accidents.
Another issue is her slow efficiency, so she can only schedule her time more tightly.
Xiao Siyue also wants to build a canteen so that she can provide two meals a day, one before and one after work.
As for wages, Xiao Siyue planned to give ordinary workers 2 taels of silver per month, and special personnel would receive additional subsidies.
This price is actually very high. She remembers that when her uncle was the manager in Xiaojia Village, he only earned 2 taels of silver a month.
However, this job is indeed quite hard, so it would be better to pay more.
After Xiao Siyue finished writing, she gave it to Xiao Qinian. After reading it, Xiao Qinian praised Xiao Siyue highly.
It is said that Xiao Siyue is thoughtful and her system has clear rewards and punishments.
They immediately adopted Xiao Siyue's system.
Xiao Qinian has already sent out the notice, but no one has come to the yamen to report it yet.
At this time, the streets of Qianyuan County were already crowded with people in front of the notice.
Everyone started discussing it.
"Our Qianyuan County is actually going to build workshops and now they're even recruiting people. Is this for real?" one person asked in disbelief.
After all, in their minds, all workshops were established by the imperial court, and they had never seen them before.
Even those I've seen are mostly small workshops, such as dyeing workshops and weaving workshops, which are basically established by merchants.
“Of course it’s real. The county officials posted it themselves, and it even has their seal on it. How could it be fake?” another person replied.
He thought to himself, "The notice said they're looking for people who know blacksmithing or something similar. I know those too. I used to be an apprentice at a blacksmith shop, but the shop went out of business, and I had to go back home to farm. I wonder if I could go to the workshop."
After thinking for a while, he decided to give it a try, just in case. His family has elderly parents and young children to support, and the little land they cultivate is simply not enough to make a living.
They chattered amongst themselves in front of the notice.
If you have this skill, you should definitely try it. If you don't, you'll regret it and regret not learning it.
However, that's overthinking it. Nowadays, you need to find a master to learn anything, and many people simply don't know the ropes.
What they didn't notice was that one of the people seemed out of place, staring at the notice thoughtfully, lost in thought.
While they were discussing, the yamen runners posted another notice.
After seeing it clearly, everyone was shocked again, even more so than before.
"The government is recruiting some craftsmen, and the monthly salary is actually two taels of silver!" someone exclaimed excitedly.
“Yes, and we only need to work three hours the next day,” another person excitedly chimed in.
"Not only that, you see, they'll also provide two meals a day." The man was overjoyed. If he went, he could not only earn two taels of silver a day, but also save some food for his family.
"No, I have to go!" A thin man exclaimed excitedly, eager to rush to the yamen (government office) to inquire.
"Hmph, what are you thinking? Didn't you see the notice says you need someone strong and healthy? You?" The man looked at the other person with disdain.
"I...what's wrong with me? I'm very strong." The man's tone was somewhat uncertain. He was like this because his family was poor and he was always hungry. However, he was also very hardworking and had great strength. He just didn't know if he would be selected, since he didn't look like a strong person at all.
"Hmph," the man glanced sarcastically at the thin man, his eyes full of disbelief.