The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Previously, Wang Wenlong thought it would be difficult to ask people to tinker with new textile machines, but with the help of Fuzhou's outstanding mechanical craftsmen, the problem was solved instantly.

After Wang Wenlong asked, he learned that at this time, although Fuzhou's silk weaving industry had not yet reached the level of factory weaving as in Suzhou, it had also begun preliminary industrialization. Not only did housewives do weaving, there were also a large number of male machinists.

Compared with the spinning machines, cotton gins, flying shuttles and other early inventions of the Industrial Revolution, Fujian's advanced looms at this time were much more complicated.

As early as the Hongzhi period, Fuzhou machinist Lin Hong built an "modified machine" that could weave very complex patterns, and it was already widely popular at this time.

The "modified machine" is more than six meters tall when assembled and takes up an entire building. Two groups of people operate it at the same time. The weaving thread alone has four layers and tens of thousands of small parts. People who don't know how to do it can watch it for several hours. I can't figure out how this machine works.

Wang Wenlong's invention was far from that complicated. The fabrics weaved did not need complicated patterns and colors, but only needed to be able to produce cheap cloth faster, which was naturally simple.

At the same time, spinning wheels with more than five spinning wheels were quickly manufactured, and more advanced cotton gins that could be equipped with shuttles and spring plates were also quickly realized.

The machines were moved into the factory, and soon a textile factory with thirty looms began to take shape. Even recruiting workers was not difficult. Skilled female weavers could be recruited by just looking for them, while ordinary workers could go directly to the nursing home. Look inside.

The Wanli period was the period when the Ming Dynasty saw the most construction of almshouses. The imperial court would regularly review the almshouses and regard them as an achievement in the resume of officials. According to the requirements, adults in the almshouse must be given three buckets of rice and thirty kilograms of firewood every month, as well as thirty feet of winter and summer cloth each year.

Of course, the actual situation is far from that good. Many "chaste women" and runaway women who were beaten by their husbands and dared not go home in the Fuzhou Nursing Home were forced to work all day long. Even so, they could only get enough food and clothing to barely get enough food and clothing. Everyone was in a state of malnutrition. It was difficult to walk even a few steps. They were dizzy because their eyesight was not good. When they were doing embroidery, all they could prick with their hands were bloody holes.

As long as Wang Wenlong's factory can guarantee their reputation, many of these women are willing to work in the factory.

"It's so irritating. You are a businessman, but you are more stubborn than those old Taoists!"

You Sicun and Wang Wenlong walked out of the house, turned the corner and couldn't help but curse.

He sought out his family connections and wanted to contact maritime merchants in Fuzhou to buy the silk produced by the Women's Textile Factory. As a result, those merchants began to hesitate when they heard about the composition of the textile factory. No one dared to test the water, and they were just perfunctory to save the face of You Sicun and Wang Wenlong. , within a few days, not a single item was ordered.

Wang Wenlong said with a smile: "There is no need to be so angry in Jingzhai. These businessmen are afraid that if this matter doesn't work out, they will be criticized. There are so many silk fabrics on the market in Fuzhou, and our goods are just cheaper. Of course they don't want to see someone succeed." Would be willing to sell.”

"Then what should we do? Where can we sell the goods after they are produced?" You Sicun was quite worried.

Wang Wenlong said with a smile: "You have forgotten that I am also the editor-in-chief of the "Xunbao". We can use newspapers to promote it. Anyway, the first batch of trial production goods will not be too much. It is not too difficult to pile them in the warehouse first. When we wait, Once you become famous, you will gradually gain sales.”

You Sicun thought for a while and asked, "Brother Jianyang, what can you do? Do you want me to contact local celebrities and write some flattering articles?"

Wang Wenlong shook his head quickly: "Don't do this."

You Sicun found local celebrities to praise the products of the Women's Textile Factory, but he could only find some scornful husbands and poets. These people were originally the flashy children of Lianhuajian Wine Shop. The fabrics woven by a group of women were praised by these people for writing poems. Praising it will drag the reputation of the women's textile factory in the direction of lust. You Sicun was very worried. Although his family was rich, spending more than two thousand taels in one go was still a big investment for him, a son with little property. If he failed in this business, he would not be able to return home in the future. Looking up, he finally realized the difficulty of doing business.

Wang Wenlong was confident, and the two of them were walking through the streets on a sliding pole. They saw a group of monks holding babies and preaching on the side of the road.

The child was wearing a rag and crying loudly, attracting many onlookers.

At that time, the old monk said to the onlookers: "This is a baby girl who has abandoned her road. It is a great sin for parents to kill their children. It is said in the scriptures."

Wang Wenlong and You Sicun couldn't help but stop and look at the scene on the street.

As he spoke, several of his disciples picked up the puppets, and with a flick of their fingers, the puppets in their hands vividly acted out a Buddhist story of cause and effect. The story tells that in a family, parents doted on their daughters, and then the mother became pregnant again but failed. A big snake was born, and the big snake bit his parents to death. It was those dead daughters who came back to take revenge.

At this time, Buddhist preaching relied on telling such stories of cause and effect, and the speech methods were very diverse. In the temple, the monks would point to the murals in the temple and preach the Dharma. As for the walking monks, they relied on their own abilities, and some relied on speaking Pingshu is demonstrated with shadow puppets, puppet show, and puppet show.

After a few people performed this scene, hundreds of spectators had gathered at the street corner. The old monk announced to the crowd: "Recently, the Su family of the Wu family was lonely, but they had a Buddhist heart. They saw a baby girl being buried on the roadside. He abandoned her and adopted her alive, but his son actually passed the Jinshi examination, and now he has been admitted to the Imperial Academy, and his family has turned around - this shows that there is a great virtue in adopting a daughter."

He bowed and begged everyone: "It's not normal for us walking monks to bring a baby girl. If you have the energy to spare, please take this baby girl back and adopt her. She will definitely be blessed in the future."

Although Fujian was hit by the disaster this year, Fuzhou is a wealthy place after all. The parents of the baby girl left her on the streets of Fuzhou, probably because they wanted their daughter to have a way to survive. At this time, many of the onlookers seemed to have some money left at home. When some mothers-in-law and grandmothers heard about the retribution and saw that the baby girl was really pretty, they came forward to inquire. Some servants from wealthy families heard about this and asked out of curiosity, and then went back to tell their masters.

After a while, a small sedan arrived. The curtain of the sedan was opened, and sitting in it was a woman wearing an Anren uniform. She was probably an official in her family.

She looked at the baby girl and said to the group: "This little girl is very suitable for me. I am lucky enough to adopt her as my daughter. My family is also a Buddhist monk. After hearing about this, I have prepared a pure room for vegetarians." , I also invited several masters to stay at my house and explain the adoption in detail."

The onlookers commented one after another. It was obvious that this woman was of great status.

"This is Grandma Zhang from Guanyin Lane."

"Grandma Zhang is really kind."

Wang Wenlong finally felt relieved after seeing this scene. The grandmother in this family obviously believed in Buddhism and was devout, and she would probably be able to support the baby girl. He nodded and said, "It shows that there are still people in Fuzhou City who are concerned about the issue of drowning girls."

You Sicun was also happy and said: "It seems that our textile factory still has a way out."

(End of this chapter)