The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 295 Public sentiment
As the morning light began to rise, the sound of a bell tower could be heard faintly from a distance, as if waking up the entire city.

The sky was slightly hazy, and the hazy morning mist enveloped the ancient buildings and streets. The lights of the bustling night market gradually went out, leaving behind a mess of stalls and garbage, looming in the dim morning light, wandering on the cement road like ghosts.

On the streets, scavengers are doing the final cleaning work. The garbage and dirt on the ground have disappeared, making the whole city look brand new again.

Occasionally, a horse-drawn carriage would pass by on the empty road, and the sound of wheels rubbing against the stone slabs would break the silence of the early morning.

The door of the shop slowly opened, and the shopkeeper and his employees began to get busy, setting out fresh breakfast and fruits to welcome the arrival of a new day.

In the central square of the city, the water drops of the fountain sparkled in the morning light, as if countless small diamonds were dancing in the sun. The birds flying in the square jumped and began to look for food before people arrived, flapping their wings and making a light rustling sound.

On the other side of the city, the factory chimneys were still spewing hot air, and the steam stretched out in the air like white dragons cruising in the sky.

The night shift workers are still busy at work; the rising steam and the sound of machines interweave to form the city's unique morning song.

On the streets, vendors began to call out their wares, their voices echoing in the morning air, attracting early risers.

Those who go to the morning market push carts loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables and shuttle through the narrow alleys.

As the sky gradually brightens, the hustle and bustle of the city gradually increases, people begin to move, and a day's life slowly begins in Daxing City.

"Wow..."

"Oh, you better watch out! This basin of water almost splashed on me!"

"Hey, don't you look at the road when you walk? ... Could it be that I'm going out to get some water to wash my face, and I have to shout loudly, 'Old and young men, I'm going out to get some water'? What if I shout so loudly that I scare those people who are doing things on the bed? What should I do?"

"Get lost!... You just heard someone's words and you know that someone is doing something in bed so early in the morning?"

"Why would you listen to this? In this shabby place where we live, any movement can be heard clearly from a long distance away!"

"..."

While carefully avoiding the splashed dirty water in the streets, Lu Yuanxiang munched on the steamed bun in his hand without delaying his pace.

The shantytown where he rented was quite far from the leather factory where he worked. If he walked quickly, it would take more than half an hour to get there.

If you are late, not only will you be blamed by your colleagues on the shift, but if you are caught by your employer or the factory manager, your wages may be deducted.

This black-hearted boss never thought of giving him a pay raise if he worked a few more hours every day. He was ruthless in deducting his wages if he was late or made a mistake.

Although residents were prohibited from dumping urine and feces at will throughout the streets and alleys, and had to go to public toilets to dispose of their waste every night, there were always people who lacked social morality and, in order to save a few steps, secretly poured urine from chamber pots into the exposed opening of the roadside sewer pipe when no one was paying attention.

This made the streets filled with a strong smell of urine, which made people feel nauseous.

"Damn it, I've saved up some money and I'm going to move out of here." Lu Yuanxiang swallowed the last bite of steamed bun and said secretly in his heart.

When we arrived at the entrance of the alley, dozens of breakfast stalls had been set up and the stall owners were shouting their wares one after another.

Those who sell morning snacks, such as fried white sausage, lamb and goose, cakes, porridge, blood soup, lamb blood, rice noodle soup, as well as sesame cakes, steamed cakes, glutinous rice cakes, ice cream and other snacks, rush to the morning market and stay until before lunch.

There are also some stalls with a pot of steaming fried dough sticks, soy milk, and golden baked sesame cakes, giving off an enticing aroma.

People who are too lazy to get up early to cook choose their favorite breakfast and eat while walking. Some even hold a bowl of soy milk, pick up fried dough sticks with chopsticks and suck them into their mouths.

Next to the stall, a few teenagers in coarse shirts were carrying a bowl of tofu pudding, walking carefully, afraid of spilling any. Next to them, a group of people were surrounding a vegetable vendor, picking out fresh vegetables.

The breakfast stalls on the streets are not only places to meet people's breakfast needs, but also more like a small social venue where you can hear stories from all directions and all kinds of fresh gossip.

"Oh, the Shun Kingdom is fighting with the Brunei Sultanate again! They seem to be quite fierce, killing and capturing more than 600 natives, and also capturing two generals who led the troops, and pushing the front line more than 20 kilometers into Brunei. Tsk tsk..., the Shun Kingdom has been beating Brunei hard for many years, and it never stops!"

"What's new about this? The two countries have been fighting for more than three or five years. Since the founding of the country, they have been fighting with the natives. Now they have such a large territory, isn't it all seized from the natives? If you ask me, it would be a new thing if Shunguo and the Sultanate of Brunei get along well! ... Is there any new news in the newspaper?"

"Oh, let me see. Oh, Japan is in trouble!... It is said that the climate in Japan has been abnormal since last winter and has continued to this day. Now, in the summer - hey, it is winter here - uh, because of the cold summer and pests, there have been serious harvest failures in the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions in western Japan, especially along the Seto Inland Sea. Now it is the plum rain season again. Um, agricultural experts say that the temperature is too low in the summer, and pests such as locusts and green leafhoppers will multiply in large numbers, causing serious crop pests. Therefore, not only will Japan's summer grain harvest be generally poor, but even in the autumn, it is estimated that there will be no harvest. At present, the whole of Japan has begun to suffer from famine, tens of thousands of people have starved to death, and millions of people are in a state of serious food shortage. Alas, it is pitiful..."

"Japan is in trouble, why should we worry about it? ... Hey, what other big news is there?"

"Well, there's this thing about the Caribbean..."

“Where is the Caribbean?”

"The Caribbean?... How would I know? I've never been to school. If I hadn't taken calligraphy classes for a few days, I wouldn't even be able to recognize the words on the newspaper!"

"Zhang Tou, in this street, besides those kids who go to school, you are the only one who can be considered as an educated person!"

"How can I be considered a scholar? ... I am here to serve the folks in the streets and alleys. I am grateful that the government has valued me and let me, a rough man, be the head of the village. Otherwise, I would not have the opportunity to attend that useless calligraphy class and learn some words."

"Zhangtou is a man who can read the latest news in the newspaper to us every day. He is much better than the scholars in Daqin. Tell me, if it were in Daqin, those arrogant scholars would never care about us hardworking workers. Not to mention reading the newspaper to us, even sitting together to eat breakfast is impossible! Besides, I think that 80% of the scholars in Daqin don't know where the Caribbean Sea is. ... Hehe, in terms of knowledge, he might not be as good as Zhangtou!"

“Haha…, old bastard, your flattery is really comforting!” The sturdy man called “Zhangtou” laughed, “But, to be honest, I have really broadened my horizons since I came to Qi State. Now that I can recognize a few words, I can also be like the scholars in Daqin, who can know everything about the world while sitting at home!” “Haha…”

"Hey, Zhang Tou, what happened in the Caribbean Sea?"

"Oh, damn, I forgot what I was going to say because of this interruption. ...Yes, the Spanish are negotiating with our Qi country and want to sell the eastern half of the territory on an island called Saint Domingo (Hispaniola) in the Caribbean Sea to our Qi country."

"They want to sell a broken island to our Qi State? Why don't they sell the whole island?"

"Haha... you just don't understand. Currently, the island is occupied by the Spanish and the French in half, the Spanish in the west and the French in the east. Spain may feel that it cannot defeat the French, so it wants to sell the western half of its territory to our Qi State. The cabinet and the military are arguing fiercely about this, one does not want it, and the other wants to take it down, and there is no conclusion yet..."

Lawrence Lu really couldn’t help but take out his money and bought two hot buns from the stall. He took a bite and they were tender, juicy, and fragrant, which immediately extinguished his slightly regretful thoughts about spending money.

Never mind. At worst I can just save some money in other places where I spend money, and the money will come out.

He did not delay any longer to listen to the gossip at the breakfast stalls, but quickened his pace towards the factory.

The "Shuntaixing" leather factory is located in an industrial cluster park in the northwest of Chen'an District, Daxing. There are more than 100 factories of various sizes here, including hardware, cotton spinning, ceramics, machinery, leather, furniture and many other industries, employing more than 32,000 workers.

At this time, it is working time. Workers from all blocks in the city are like a trickle, constantly gathering here, and then entering one manufacturing factory after another to start a day of heavy and boring work.

After entering the "Shuntaixing" leather factory, Lu Yuanxiang subconsciously looked to both sides. The boss and several managers had not appeared yet, which meant that it was not yet time to go to work. He could still take a breath and adjust his work state.

"Old Wu, what's wrong with you? You stayed up too late with your wife last night and are still yawning!" Lu Yuanxiang couldn't help but joked when he saw his co-worker Wu Quanzhong looking listless.

"I'm exhausted from working in the factory every day. How can I have the energy to do that?" Wu Quanzhong said, and yawned loudly, even tears came out, showing that he was very tired. "Last night, I accompanied my wife and children to assemble matchboxes! ... Hey, it was late, and I couldn't fall asleep for a while. I was so busy that I didn't take a nap until dawn."

“Assembling matchboxes?” Lawrence Lu was stunned when he heard this, “You… found a job to earn extra money?”

"Yes, that's right." Wu Quanzhong said nonchalantly, "Our neighbor works at a match factory. Through his introduction, we can get materials for matchboxes from the factory and do the work at home. When the time comes, we'll hand them in to the factory and get paid according to the quantity. Last night was the first time we did it, and the whole family got involved. We couldn't stop for a while, so we finished it a little late."

“Old Wu, is this… profitable?” Lawrence Lu asked carefully.

"Why not make money? Thirty matchboxes are a penny, three hundred are a dime, and if you can make three thousand in one night, that's a dollar."

“Can we make 3,000 in one night?” Lawrence Lu couldn’t help but be excited when he heard this.

My goodness, if you can make one dollar a night, then you can make thirty dollars a month, and three hundred dollars a year!

"Do you think you are the Thousand-armed Avalokitesvara? You made 3,000 in one night! All of us, young and old, went out to make more than 250 matchboxes in one night."

"Oh...more than two hundred and fifty, how much does that cost?"

"It's more than seven cents, less than eight cents."

"Seven cents a night, that would be a few dollars a month, right?"

"Well, I can earn an extra two or three dollars a month."

“Old Wu…” Lawrence Lu warmly put his arm around Wu Quanzhong’s shoulders, “Can you introduce this job to me? You say, if I can make a few cents in my free time at night, it can at least add some income to the family, right?”

"You really want to do it?"

“I really want to do it.”

"If you really want to do it, I'll go ask for you tonight." Wu Quanzhong yawned again, "But let me tell you in advance that when you assemble the matchbox, the smell is quite strong and a bit choking."

“What’s the big smell?” Lawrence Lu was delighted to see that the other party was willing to help. “As long as I can make money, even if I put a pot of shit in the house, I will hold my nose and bear it!”

More than a decade ago, after matches were invented, they quickly replaced flint, the daily fire starter for making fire and cooking, and became widely popular.

Dipping the sticks in a compound of white or yellow phosphorus made it easier for consumers to light lanterns, stoves, and anything else they wanted to light. And factories concentrated all the workers in one place, reducing overhead costs and creating a more efficient mass production system that quickly drove the price of matches to rock bottom.

In order to increase profits, many match factories pay lower wages to workers who work long hours.

Because, with the gradual growth of Qi's population and the surging urbanization process, there was not a severe shortage of labor at that time, so factories could take advantage of this and pay as little wages as possible.

Since it is light work, most match workers are women, who work from 7am to 7pm every day and earn much less than male workers.

In order to increase production, some match factories would outsource the assembly of a large number of matchboxes to housewives.

But it is worth noting that phosphorus residues still exist in the materials they bring home. After long-term and large-scale inhalation, they will dissolve in saliva, directly corrode teeth, stimulate periosteum, and finally cause jaw lesions, causing protrusion and deformation of the mandible, which is a typical "phosphorus jaw" disease.

If a matchmaker suffers from missing teeth or other related diseases, it will not be fatal, but she will eventually die of malnutrition and slow starvation due to her inability to consume solid food.

But who would care about this issue at this time?

(End of this chapter)