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Chapter 537 Factory and Folk Customs

Songjiang Prefecture is roughly bounded by Songjiang and Huangpu Rivers, and belongs to Suzhou Prefecture to the north. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Jiangnan region has gradually become a prosperous place, with Su, Song, Hang, Jia, and Hu being the most prosperous.

By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, Songjiang Prefecture could pay 470 shi in summer and autumn grain taxes every year, and had 2 million acres of paddy fields. The average yield per mu could reach shi, which was considered a high-yield area even in the land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River.

In addition to rice, Songjiang Prefecture is also rich in cotton, with a total planting area of ​​almost 70 acres. This scale is rare in areas with water networks in the south of the Yangtze River, mainly due to the relatively special geographical environment, where rivers and dry land coexist.

The rice yield is high, the people can have enough to eat, and with cotton as raw material, the handicraft industry naturally flourishes. The textile industry develops very well in Songjiang Prefecture. Compared with the silk in Suzhou and Hangzhou, the main product is cotton cloth.

In addition, there are four or five salt fields and many fishing villages along the coast of Songjiang Prefecture. Generally speaking, the living standard is high in Daming. Although it cannot be said that every family has a surplus of food, they can still survive without being hungry or freezing.

Any place with a relatively good economic situation has always been rich in landowners and gentry, and Songjiang Mansion is no exception. The local large households are basically based on agriculture and handicrafts. What they fear most is one word, change. They have no motivation or need to change the status quo.

But changes still came. In the fifth year of Jingyang, the imperial court established Songjiang Shipyard on the south bank of the Huangpu River at the junction of Songjiang Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture. Although it was located in Shanghai County, it was under the full jurisdiction of the Navy Governor, from the government office to the county government. No one has the right to ask.

Speaking of which, this shipyard only occupies wasteland along the river, and there are no villages or towns nearby. The manpower used comes from other places, and it is blocked by high walls and deep trenches, so it can live in peace with the locals without infringing on the river.

But the local gentry and landlords didn't think so. They always felt that the big water trucks turning around all day ruined the feng shui. They went to the county and government offices with their delegations to complain, asking the government to order a ban on local people having contact with the shipyard. They planned to Let the officials and the people take a two-pronged approach to completely isolate this group of outsiders. It would be best to drive them away.

But after trying it a few times, everyone suddenly discovered that this shipyard was a bit like a stone in a cesspool, smelly and hard! Methods that are very effective for ordinary people are almost useless when applied to them.

First of all, there was nothing official could do. When Songjiang Futai met Yuan Keli, they had to bow their heads and obey orders. No matter how serious their prejudices were, they could only go to the imperial court for impeachment, and they could not say a word in person.

Secondly, the efforts of the private sector are in vain. The shipyard has been closely guarded by the armed navy since its establishment. There are sentries one mile away to check, and anyone without a shipyard badge is not allowed to approach. There are even hundreds of Jinyiwei stationed in the shipyard, which ordinary people can't afford to offend.

However, some people did not believe in evil and organized more than a hundred servants and villagers to try to stop them in the name of destroying Feng Shui and occupying ancestral graves. As a result, navy soldiers in black clothes shot more than 20 people with firecrackers on the spot. The ones who got off immediately ran away in all directions.

Before these people could go to the government to cry and complain to their parents, the fierce-looking Jin Yiwei came to the door first. All participants were arrested and sent to the county jail for interrogation one by one. Unless someone in the court interceded with the emperor, they would all be treated like a mob.

However, the death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be forgiven. From now on, these landowners will be responsible for providing the vegetables and meat for the shipyard. It is not up to them whether they grow it themselves or buy it from other villages. They will send it regularly according to the quantity. How much will it cost? How much money will be given, one settlement at a time. Since that time, no one has dared to build a shipyard, but they will never go forward. Even if the shipyard posted notices in the county to recruit people, there were only a few applicants.

But as the saying goes, people die for money and birds die for food. As long as there are enough benefits, people will have the courage to face death. As the shipyard expands day by day, more and more people work in the factory.

With so many people gathering together, in addition to the necessary food and accommodation, there must be some additional needs, such as a drink, buying some delicious food to satisfy the craving, listening to a play, etc. These needs cannot be provided by canteens and schools in the factory area.

However, the shipyard is guarded by royal guards and navy soldiers. Not only are outsiders not allowed to enter at will, but insiders are also not allowed to go out at will. How to resolve the contradiction between the workers' growing normal needs and the rules?

If not to say that Yuan Keli was the emperor's first favorite, he really didn't rely on words, but his actual ability to do things. In his eyes, these little things don't need to be addressed directly to Tianting. They can be solved easily with three words: living area.

Yuan Keli personally came forward to find the county magistrate of Shanghai County. He first explained the reasons and the stakes involved, and then used the name of the emperor's loyal army to put pressure. Then he received strong support from the local government.

Of course, it is a normal business transaction for the shipyard to provide work and materials to build two two-masted clippers for the county magistrate's brother-in-law. It's not like they don't give money, thirty taels of silver a boat. The price is a bit low, but the shipyard happens to have a batch of scraps. It would be a waste to throw them away. Thirty taels is enough for wages. It's such a coincidence.

With the tacit approval of the county magistrate, a large piece of wasteland next to the shipyard became a legitimate living area. The workers in the shipyard are really capable. In less than two months, the gravel road leading to the county seat was completed, and in another month, huge sheds were erected.

There is no machinery or slipway in the shed, but rows of wooden cases. Vendors who want to sell goods here only need to pay a small monthly sanitation fee to get a bed-sized case to display goods for shipyard workers to choose and buy.

At the beginning, there were only three or five food vendors who came to test the water with the idea of ​​​​having something to buy, but the business turned out to be quite good. Although the factory provides three meals a day, the variety is limited and the workers, who earn a good monthly income, go to the living area for a change every now and then.

As the word spread, more and more vendors came to test the waters, and the types of goods sold gradually became more abundant. Then someone saw a bigger business opportunity and was no longer satisfied with setting up a stall in a shack for sales. After consulting the manager of the shipyard, he immediately started construction and built a formal restaurant next to the shack, called Guanhai Building. .

There are tea and wine on the two floors, and there are private rooms and elegant rooms. A well-known master chef is specially invited from Suzhou to cook. A master craftsman with abundant money. Business is booming, and if you want to have a meal in the private room, you have to make a reservation the day before.

(End of this chapter)