Smuggling Daming

Zhou Zhong, who was far away in Shuangyu Port, naturally didn't know that his name had not only spread to the capital, but also to the ears of Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jin and others. What's worse, Liu Jin even missed him He even sent Jin Yiwei to get a book comparable to Journey to the West from him.

Zhou Zhong has no intention of writing a book now. After he persuaded Wang Lun, he immediately returned to Shuangyu Port. He had already discussed with He Xian and others about becoming a shareholder of the chamber of commerce. It was sent to the Chamber of Commerce, and the ships and boatmen needed by the Chamber of Commerce were already in preparation, and Zhou Zhong was needed to go there to preside over the overall situation.

On a small plain to the south of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce in Beigang District of Shuangyu Port, Zhou Zhong, Sanniang, Uncle Tuo, and Sun Tong walked together and were inspecting the building conditions on this plain.I saw that on this small plain, a simple village was under intense construction, using all the wood and stones from the island. The houses built in this way were very strong and would not be blown by the storms in summer and autumn. fall.

"Boss, after this village is built, the boatmen of our chamber of commerce can move their families in. There are more than 500 boatmen in the first batch. In addition to the 200 newly recruited family members of the boatmen, there are more than [-] My family is an old boatman from the former Chamber of Commerce, and they are willing to move their family members to the island, so that the whole family can live together!" San Niang introduced to Zhou Zhong and the others as they walked.

Zhou Zhong nodded after hearing this, looked at the busy construction site, and found that many houses in the entire village had already laid their foundations and were under intensive construction.It is estimated that he can officially move in next month at the latest, which makes him very satisfied with Sanniang's ability to handle affairs.

Zhou Zhong came up with the idea of ​​building a family area for the employees of the chamber of commerce. This is mainly because after he took over the chamber of commerce, he discovered that the members of the chamber of commerce are mainly composed of two parts. They are the boatmen of the smuggling fleet, of which the boatmen account for the majority.Of course, there are some relatively high-level management personnel in the Chamber of Commerce, such as accountants, stewards, etc., but these senior personnel are very few.Compared with hundreds of boatmen, it is almost negligible.

However, Zhou Zhong discovered that whether it is the management personnel of the port or the boatmen in the fleet, they work in the chamber of commerce all year round, and usually live on the island. As a result, many of them moved their families to the island. live.However, this is all the spontaneous behavior of the members of the chamber of commerce, without any organization. Although the people in the chamber of commerce have a good income, it is still difficult to build a yard on the island. Therefore, there is no plan for the place where these people live. Huddled together in a mess.The houses are also built in a mess, and there is no guarantee of safety.It can be summed up in three words: dirty, chaotic, and poor.

Seeing this situation, Zhou Zhong came up with the idea of ​​building a concentrated living area inside the chamber of commerce. This would not only improve the accommodation conditions in the chamber of commerce, bring convenience to the personnel of the chamber of commerce, but also attract other chamber of commerce personnel to move their families to Live on the island, thereby increasing the cohesion of the chamber of commerce.

After Zhou Zhong expressed his idea, he immediately received strong support from Sun Tong and Uncle Tuo.Sanniang was a little worried about spending money, after all, the financial situation of the chamber of commerce was not very good.Although they received 8 taels of stock from He Xian and the others, most of the money was used to buy boats and recruit boatmen, and there was not much money for them to squander.

However, Sanniang's worries are obviously unnecessary, because Zhou Zhong has thought about it a long time ago. The Liuheng Island where Beigang is located is mostly woods and stones. It can be said that the construction materials do not cost much at all. As for the manpower, it is even simpler. , the chamber of commerce originally had 300 people, plus more than 300 newly recruited people, it will be enough to allocate one or two hundred people to work every day. They are building houses for themselves, and they will definitely be very willing. At that time, the chamber of commerce only needs to provide food and beverages. And some simple materials will do, and it won't cost a few dollars at all.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhou Zhong announced the idea of ​​building a residential area in the chamber of commerce, most people immediately supported him, especially those bottom-level boatmen. They spend most of the time at sea every year. There have also been incidents of robbery and murder, which made many people still worry about the safety of their families when they went to sea. If they live together now, apart from anything else, their safety must be guaranteed.

Seeing that the people in the Chamber of Commerce are so supportive, and it doesn't cost much money, Sanniang naturally no longer stops, and also takes the initiative to undertake the coordination work of the residential area. The reason why the construction of this residential area is progressing so fast , a considerable part of the credit should go to San Niang.

Although Zhou Zhong proposed the idea of ​​a concentrated residential area, he has been extremely busy during this time, so this is the first time he has come here for inspection. I saw him strolling into the residential area under construction. The entire residential area is completely a In the form of a village, there are tall walls built on the outside, and there are usually guards on duty in front of the gate. Except for people in the chamber of commerce, outsiders are not allowed to enter. After all, there are mixed people in Beigang District, so necessary security measures must be taken.

Entering the interior of the village, you will find that there are small independent courtyards inside, but there are no courtyard walls now, and only lime frames are used to distinguish them.The construction style of each small courtyard house is almost exactly the same. They are all made of thick logs and stones. They look very rough, but they are strong enough.

The whole village was divided into three streets. Zhou Zhong and the others walked along the middle street. When the members of the chamber of commerce who were working on both sides saw them, they stopped their work and waved to Zhou Zhong. The cries are endless.Now Zhou Zhong has been fully recognized by the entire chamber of commerce, especially after the construction of this residential area began, which made many members of the chamber of commerce feel grateful and greatly increased Zhou Zhong's reputation within the chamber of commerce.

For these people who greeted him, Zhou Zhong also nodded and smiled. He even stopped to chat with a few familiar people, asking about the quality of the house construction and other issues, and telling some leaders of later generations The enthusiasm for inspection has been fully learned.

After staying in this built residential area for nearly an hour, Zhou Zhong left with Sanniang and the others. Today he mainly inspected the chamber of commerce. He had already gone to the port. Now after seeing the residential area, he should go to the chamber of commerce. Check out the shipyard inside.

The shipyard of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce was built on the west side of the Beigang District, adjacent to the port managed by Uncle Tuo. Originally, the shipyard was not large in scale, and there were only 60 or [-] craftsmen at most, mainly responsible for repairing some damaged ships of the Chamber of Commerce. , and will also help the Chamber of Commerce build some small boats.However, after Zhou Zhong took over the chamber of commerce, Sanniang had been asked to expand the shipyard, and now a group of shipbuilders from Nanjing and other places had been recruited, bringing the number of craftsmen in the entire shipyard to nearly [-].

When Zhou Zhong was led by San Nianghe to the shipyard, a skinny old man with gray beard and hair immediately came up to meet him, bowed down and saluted Zhou Zhong and the others: "Guan Hong pays homage to the president!"

"Uncle Guan, you don't need to be polite. How is the shipyard doing now?" Zhou Zhong saw the skinny old man, and immediately smiled and helped him up.

Although Sanniang was in charge of the shipyard in the past, she didn't know how to build a ship. The person who actually managed the shipyard was the old man in front of him, Guan Hong. Guan Hong was originally from Nanjing, and his family's shipbuilding skills have been handed down for three generations. It is said that his ancestors also participated in the construction of Zheng He's treasure ships. Guan Hong's shipbuilding skills are also very exquisite, and he can build large ships over ten feet high. Unfortunately, the Chamber of Commerce did not pay much attention to shipbuilding in the past. The craft of shipbuilding has never been used.

"President, don't worry. Now the newly recruited craftsmen have officially started building the ship, and the new dock is also under construction. Everything is on track. By mid-February at the latest, our first big ship will be ready to launch!" Guan Hong was also very excited when he stood up. He was also very grateful to Zhou Zhong. After all, it was Zhou Zhong's support that made his ancestral skills come into play. I want to help the Chamber of Commerce build the best big ship.

"Okay, Uncle Guan, show us the shipyard!" Zhou Zhong was very happy to hear that a large ship built by himself would be launched in February. You can build it yourself, which will not only save money, but also avoid getting stuck.

After hearing this, Uncle Guan also agreed, and led Zhou Zhong and the others into the shipyard. As a result, Zhou Zhong soon discovered that the entire shipyard had expanded much more than before. The only dock in the shipyard had been drained of water. The zhang-long boat is supported in mid-air by a frame, and it is under intense construction, and the hull has almost been built. It seems that Uncle Guan is not bragging when he said that he can launch in February.

In addition, there are three larger docks under construction adjacent to this dock. When these docks are completed, the shipyard will be able to build larger merchant ships.However, these workers who built the shipyard were coolies recruited temporarily from the dock. After all, the current shipyard just needs to dig a big hole, and there is not much technical content. It is enough to have a craftsman nearby to direct.

After following Guan Hong around the shipyard for a few laps, Zhou Zhong found that there was no major problem with the operation of the entire shipyard, and the timber from Hu Lei was also delivered in a timely manner. The speed of shipbuilding will definitely be faster. At that time, several large ships will be built together, and several large ships can be built in a few months. At that time, the Chamber of Commerce will no longer have to worry about the lack of ships.

In a few months, Zhou Zhong made some minor reforms in all aspects of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, making the structure of the Chamber of Commerce more compact and the personnel more united. Moreover, the ships ordered years ago have also been built and opened to the Chamber of Commerce. , The newly recruited boatmen also began to practice on these new ships. It can be said that the entire chamber of commerce has been prepared, and the time for Zhou to flex his muscles has finally arrived. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)