Daming 1805

Chapter 272 One step closer to modernization

The courtyard in the middle of the castle in Meng County is roughly a rectangle close to a square.

There are five outward protrusions around it. If you look down from the sky, it looks a bit like a cartoon humanoid with extremely short arms and legs.

It was originally a military fortress, with a wall 15 meters high and two and a half meters thick, with cannons mounted on the wall.

The comfort of life in this kind of place is definitely not comparable to that of a specially built holiday estate.

But after decorating well, if there are not too many people living there, it won't be too bad.

Because the place is spacious enough, the total area of ​​the entire castle is nearly 3000 square meters, and the yard is more than [-] square meters.

Zhu Jingyuan didn't say that he was here for summer vacation. Lin Zexu didn't know that Zhu Jingyuan would live here permanently, so he chose this place considering safety.

Zhu Jingyuan stood in the middle of the yard, looking at the surrounding stone buildings, the trees and the pavilions in the yard.

Feeling the surrounding temperature as high as 29 degrees and the sea breeze constantly blowing gently, I am quite satisfied with the environment here.

Zhu Jingyuan said goodbye to his staff and courtiers, and went to rest for a day to get used to the feeling of stepping on land again.

The next morning, Zhu Jingyuan officially accepted Lin Zexu's report.

In the meeting room of the castle, Hao Zhongyi, the director of the third textile workshop, led a group of workers to take out samples of the main products of the Mengxian textile factory and garment factory, and put them on the conference table one by one.

After tidying up here, Lin Zexu went to put it in the meeting room of the castle, and began to introduce and show it to Zhu Jingyuan.

The first is to show the biggest advantage of the cloth - abrasion resistance.

Lin Zexu didn't ask Hao Zhongyi to do the experiment on the spot, but took out the results of the experiment.

"Your Highness, this is a pure cotton cloth. After scraping it repeatedly three hundred times, the warp and weft threads are all broken, and holes are directly broken.

"This piece of rayon woven fabric was also scratched three hundred times repeatedly, and the result was basically no obvious damage.

"The last piece of rayon textile fabric was scratched a thousand times, but the result was that only the weft thread intersecting with the scraping direction was broken, the warp thread remained connected, and the fabric as a whole was still not completely pierced.

"The samples we sent to the capital were displayed at the Dudu Mansion, and the Dudu Mansion arranged for soldiers to conduct on-site experiments.

"After seeing the results of this comparison, the Dudu Mansion decided to purchase on the spot.

"In the future spring, autumn and winter training uniforms, all outer materials will be changed to rayon."

Zhu Jingyuan had expected this, and nodded in satisfaction after hearing it.

Then Lin Zexu asked Hao Zhongyi to bring over a set of clothes, camouflage double-breasted zipper jacket and trousers for training.

Daming originally had double-breasted gowns, and it was a normal result to make such clothes after they had zippers.

The fabric has already been shown. The most important thing on this dress is not the fabric, but the zipper newly invented by Zhu Jingyuan.

The zipper may seem inconspicuous in modern times, but it is definitely one of the most important inventions in human history.

And the earliest zippers were not the most common styles in modern times, but two rows of thick metal hooks.

It took almost 30 years from the invention of the North to the basic maturity and the formation of the modern form.

Zhu Jingyuan's invention is still the same as before, directly based on the experience of later generations, and directly took out all three mature designs.

Lin Zexu took the zipper and pulled it back and forth twice, and he was full of praise for this invention from the bottom of his heart:

"Your Highness's idea is amazing, there are hundreds of small openings, which can be closed or opened in an instant.

"It allows workers and soldiers to dress quickly, and to close packages quickly and tightly.

"As long as mass production technology matures, it will definitely become popular all over the world.

"And the order from the Ming military can directly ripen the related industries."

Zhu Jingyuan pulled the zipper back and forth several times, tugged at the elastic bands of his sleeves and trouser legs, and wanted to sigh loudly:

This new type of training uniform has finally been made, and Daming is one step closer to modernization.

But considering the environment and identity, there is no way to express this kind of emotion, and no one else can understand it.

In the end, Zhu Jingyuan just nodded slightly, and said "yes" sincerely, expressing that he was very satisfied.

Lin Zexu was used to Zhu Jingyuan's reaction.

In Lin Zexu's view, His Royal Highness Prince Dashi has invented too many magical items, so he is already familiar with and used to the novelty of new things.

No matter how important it seems to others, it is just a slight nod to His Royal Highness.

But rewards and rewards are never stingy.

It was the first time Hao Zhongyi saw Zhu Jingyuan, and also the first time he saw a person of this level.

Seeing Zhu Jingyuan's reaction, I couldn't help admiring in my heart:

"As expected of the prince of Ming Dynasty, and as the inventor of these miraculous things, seeing how calm they are..."

Next, Lin Zexu showed Zhu Jingyuan the various packages he had made.

Backpacks in thick rayon fabric, as well as cross-body bags and handbags in the same material.

Lin Zexu said with emotion:
"Compared to the zipper on the clothing, the zipper on the package is more useful, and it is so convenient to open and close to take things out.

"So these rayon zipper packages, together with the equipment for storing bullets, magazines, hanging pistols, and grenades, have also ordered a large number of military governors.

"What the factory has to do now is to expand production, and at the same time provide technical authorization to the royal consortium, and build factories in other places for production.

"With the military's orders plus authorized production costs, our synthetic textile and garment factories will be able to achieve profitability this year.

"The expansion of the synthetic textile industry will definitely increase the consumption of crude oil and increase the growth rate of crude oil sales."

Zhu Jingyuan pursed his lips after hearing this.

This textile factory is going to make money by itself, and it can also push up oil sales...

In short, Dashiguo makes money no matter what it does now.

Zhu Jingyuan put down his clothes helplessly, and picked up a pair of white socks next to him.

Lin Zexu immediately followed up with the introduction and said:
"These socks are [-] percent cotton, half stretch, blended with stretch cotton, and circular knit.

"It can fit the feet perfectly, not easy to slip, not tight, warm and sweat-absorbing without being baggy and bloated.

"There are different thicknesses and densities, suitable for all seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter...

"This is the most popular product produced by our factory, and it can be used in the whole of Daming, almost all groups.

"It just takes time to promote, and it is necessary to continuously expand production to reduce costs.

"The real low-level workers are still unavailable in the short term."

Zhu Jingyuan tugged at the top of the sock. It was semi-stretch yarn, that is, 5.00% spandex and 90.00% cotton.

The warmth retention and sweat absorption ability are the same as pure cotton, but with better elasticity, it is more comfortable to wear.

The nominal "cotton" socks and Lycra pants of later generations are basically at this level.

Pure cotton without stretch silk is actually not comfortable to use:

"Send a batch to the palace, and I will wear this kind of socks in the future. It can be said that I will also wear them in publicity."

Lin Zexu immediately understood that this was using the name of Prince Zhu Jingyuan as an advertisement.

And Zhu Jingyuan is really reusing it, not purely in name, this thing is really a good thing.

So far, the relatively formal mass products of the two factories have been introduced.

Zhu Jingyuan followed Lin Zexu and Hao Zhongyi to the other end of the conference table, where special products were placed.

There is also a basin on the table.

Hao Zhongyi took a piece of cloth, wrapped it in his hand, soaked it in the basin for a while, and then raised his hand again.

Hao Zhongyi didn't dare to speak in front of Zhu Jingyuan, so it was Lin Zexu who introduced:

"Your Highness, this kind of material and design can indeed make the cloth not sticky after being soaked in water, especially suitable for wading.

"It's just that it can only be woven with pure rayon and elastic yarn, and the market is relatively narrow, and the cost is difficult to suppress."

This is actually swimming cloth, which is used for swimming suits.

There is also a swimsuit next to it. Of course, it is not a bikini of later generations, but a sports style with long sleeves and long pants.

Lin Zexu said that the market is narrow, which is indeed the case at present.

This kind of fabric is not sticky to the body, but it is not waterproof.

Those who need to work in water must either wear a pair of shorts to enter the water, or use a rubber waterproof jacket.

Swimsuits can only maintain their image in the water. In Lin Zexu's view, there is basically no market for this extremely special effect.

That is, in some extreme special scenarios, just play in the entertainment pool.

People in this era, of course, can't imagine the grand occasion of playing on the beach in swimsuits, no matter men, women or children.

Zhu Jingyuan didn't say anything, and tried the water-soaking effect of the swimming cloth, and then looked towards the end.

On the last small tray lay a pair of folded white trousers.

Zhu Jingyuan pulled it up and looked at it, feeling that it was a bit strange, the bottom of the trouser leg was connected to the foot.

And the overall look is relatively small, it seems to be children's pants.

Lin Zexu next to him continued to introduce:
"This East-West-style Da Ming Tai-West Clothing Company's shopkeeper Chu Yuqiang asked for it to be made.

"Using [-]% rayon and [-]% elastic yarn, intertwined with each other to make elastic silk thread, weaving an elongated cylinder.

"A section of opening is cut on the inside of one end of the two cylinders, and a piece of bottom crotch cloth is added to the opening on both sides and then sewed together to make this type of trousers.

"The shopkeeper Chu said that this is equivalent to connecting the tight shorts worn by Thai and Western people with long stockings, so he is going to sell them under the name of pantyhose."

Zhu Jingyuan finally understood what it was.

Zhu Jingyuan did not pay special attention to this thing in his previous life, and always equated pantyhose with thin stockings on women's legs.

The thickness of the trousers in front of him was about the same as summer undershirts, and they were completely opaque.

So Zhu Jingyuan didn't immediately understand its identity.

After understanding what was going on, Zhu Jingyuan grabbed and pulled it with both hands, and found that the elasticity was surprisingly good.

Although it doesn't look fat, adults should be able to wear it.

This is a customized product of Dashi Clothing Firm.

This thing solves the pain points of Thai and Western people for hundreds of years.

In the past, in order to join tight shorts and long stockings, the stitching seam had to be left in the middle, and it can be completely disappeared in the future.

If the price of this thing is right, it will definitely sell well in the Taixi market.

Thinking of the situation over there, Zhu Jingyuan subconsciously asked Lin Zexu:

"How much does this thing cost? Has Chu Yuqiang ever said how much he plans to sell this thing for?"

Lin Zexu picked up a small notebook beside him and looked at it:
"The cost... can't be estimated accurately for the time being, because it is difficult to share the costs of early research and development and trial production.

"The pure production cost is estimated to be around one dollar banknote, and it should continue to decrease in the future.

"After discussing with us, shopkeeper Chu felt that ordinary money should be sold for a ten-yuan silver bill.

"The high-end styles sold to those nobles should cost 30 or even [-] yuan a piece."

Zhu Jingyuan calculated in his heart that the price of this pantyhose is also outrageous, and the cost is one hundred yuan.

Under normal circumstances, two yuan silver notes can be sold in the market, which is 200 yuan.

But Chu Yuqiang, the shopkeeper's plan, is to sell the most common ones for one thousand, and the high-end ones for two to three thousand.

However, its current status is not a mass product for later generations, nor is it a cheap product.

Even if it will become a cheap product sooner or later, it must be positioned as a luxury product when it was just born.

If Chu Yuqiang is completely left to operate alone, he will probably maintain the positioning of luxury goods for a long time.

Try to maintain ten times or even higher profit margins...

After thinking about it for a while, Zhu Jingyuan said:
"Let Chu Yuqiang be responsible for the sales of this thing.

"Don't market it through other channels without talking to him or getting my permission.

"In addition, tell Chu Yuqiang that twenty or thirty silver bills are still conservative, and you can try selling one hundred silver bills.

"According to the different proportions of elastic yarn and the different colors of the finished products, they are divided into different grades and sold to different people.

"Besides, it's still the old routine, let Chu Yuqiang send some to Charles in France first, saying it's my gift.

"Let this brother continue to help promote it, he should enjoy it..."

(End of this chapter)