Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The next day, Fang Zheng Yi had no desire to go to the Honglu Temple for duty.

Anyway, the purpose of the matter had already been achieved. The Northern Rong no longer had any thoughts of a marriage alliance, and they had also witnessed the "luxury goods" of Taoyuan.

In Fang Zheng Yi's view, everything else was none of his business.

The most important thing at the moment was large-scale projects such as the textile factory and the football field.

There was nothing to say about the football field.

The textile factory was important; whether or not he could get close to the princess depended on it!

Moreover, as the weather was about to turn to winter, various clothing items in the capital were not cheap.

The extremely high efficiency of Taoyuan County's textile machines was enough to crush the small handicraft workshops on the market.

At that time, clothing prices would also fall in response, and many people should take advantage of the drop in clothing prices to buy themselves a new set of clothes.

Among ordinary families, there were not a few who did not change into a new set of clothes for several years or even more than a decade.

If clothes and pants were damaged, they were only patched up, layer upon layer. As long as they could be worn, that was good enough. Everyone was like this, and no one would laugh.

As the weather turned cold and the land did not need to be cultivated, it stood to reason that there should be a lot of manpower freed up.

However, contrary to intuition, not only did the manpower not increase, but it would decrease rapidly.

Because of the severe cold, most people would hide at home, with their families warming each other to get through the days.

Going out to work in the winter, not to mention whether they could earn money, would instead consume energy and waste food.

The common people were obviously shrewd, and they calculated their accounts more clearly than anyone else.

In short, in winter, part of the folk economy almost came to a standstill.

Even more terrifying was that people would freeze to death, and this happened every year.

This was never a good thing for managers.

The folk economy of Banshan Ward had always been doing well. For things like street stalls and pushcart snacks, Fang Zheng Yi directly waived taxes with a wave of his hand.

Even so, the small vendors only had meager assets. Compared to ordinary farmers, they could only be considered to barely have the concept of "private property."

They could not withstand any risks, and they were far from being wealthy!

Fang Zheng Yi dragged Li Yuan Zhao to the textile factory construction site, where work was in full swing.

Roughly speaking, it had already been half completed, and the progress of the project was still very rapid.

After Fang Zheng Yi took Li Yuan Zhao for a stroll, he summoned the person in charge.

The person in charge was naturally from Taoyuan County, named He Zhong.

In addition to being responsible for construction site matters, he was also responsible for subsequent production.

When he arrived in front of Fang Zheng Yi, he first greeted him, and then stood aside to answer questions.

Li Yuan Zhao asked curiously: "Lao Fang, why didn't I see you so concerned about the textile factory when we were in Jianjiang, that you even came here in person?"

Fang Zheng Yi smiled.

What else could it be for, but for your sister's happiness!

"Jianjiang's scale is too large, and I can't take care of it all. Besides, those are all the industries of merchants themselves, and we shouldn't interfere too much."

"Now that it's almost winter, we need to build the textile factory to provide clothing for the people."

"How can the people suffer from the cold in winter?"

"There are clothing stores everywhere on the street. When has there ever been a shortage of clothes to sell?" Li Yuan Zhao asked doubtfully.

"Lao He, explain it to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Lao He walked up to Li Yuan Zhao and respectfully said: "Your Royal Highness, our textile factory is very different from other places."

"The factory uses the latest textile machines from Taoyuan County, which are extremely efficient!"

"In addition to weaving cloth quickly, we also use the assembly line method of work invented by Master."

"Assembly line? What do you mean?" Li Yuan Zhao asked.

Fang Zheng Yi quickly interjected: "Your Highness, remember to tell the historians that I invented the assembly line!"

He couldn't let go of this patent grab! Otherwise, he would have lived in vain!

Li Yuan Zhao rolled his eyes. He didn't know why Lao Fang was so interested in the historians, and then looked at Lao He.

Lao He smiled and said: "This assembly line means that each person only does one process, clarifying the division of labor. The parts that can be replaced by tools reduce manpower, and the repetitive work is divided into different parts, reducing wasted time."

"Originally, our weaving machines were already extremely efficient, and with the addition of assembly line work, production is even faster. This way, the production time is short, the manpower used is small, and the things produced are naturally cheap. Maybe what I said is not very accurate, but Your Highness will understand when you see it."

"Moreover, the things we will produce in the future are not only good, but also very different from the popular clothes and pants on the market now!"

"How are they different?"

Lao He explained: "We sew three layers of linen into one layer, which is more durable and warmer. Although the cost and price are a bit higher, it's worth it!"

"Yes, that makes sense! Very good!"

Fang Zheng Yi sighed.

This kind of clothing was what the people of Taoyuan County wore in the beginning.

Although life in Taoyuan County is good now, the early days were really difficult.

Some people starved to death, and some people froze to death.

In order to reduce freezing and starvation, the county called on women to manually sew clothes.

Three layers of linen were sewn into one layer and distributed to the people for free, which allowed the people of Taoyuan to endure two cold winters.

Cotton was naturally unaffordable.

Growing cotton consumed too much land fertility, and no one in Da Jing was willing to grow it, so cotton prices remained high.

Cotton clothes were naturally out of reach for ordinary people.

However, when the sweet potato yield increases, there should be more people willing to grow cotton.

At least, he could persuade the imperial court to grow cotton.

Fang Zheng Yi glanced at Li Yuan Zhao, who was still observing the construction site with great interest.

He suddenly said: "Your Highness, don't look at the fact that this is still a construction site, but it is related to the well-being of the people of the capital."

"Although three-layered winter clothes are good, I think they are a bit expensive, and the people may still not be able to afford them."

"Therefore, I would like to ask Your Highness to talk to famous wealthy merchants about cooperation, print their business on the clothes, and use the advertising fees to subsidize the textile factory and reduce the selling price of winter clothes."

Li Yuan Zhao was stunned when he heard this: "Wouldn't it be better to arrange for the people below to do this kind of trivial matter? Besides, can't we sell at cost price?"

Fang Zheng Yi said with a serious expression: "Of course not! If we sell at cost price, how can we let our peers live? We have to give them a chance to breathe!"

"Also, this matter must be done by Your Highness in person. The textile factory is full of women, which already has a bad reputation. If Your Highness goes to discuss it in person, the public's discussion will be suppressed a lot."

Li Yuan Zhao looked at Fang Zheng Yi with a smile that was not a smile: "Hehe, don't you just want to use this prince as a shield? Everyone will scold me then. Just say it straight, I'm not afraid of being scolded! Then will I be the director of the textile factory in the future?"

Fang Zheng Yi gave a thumbs up and gestured hard: "Your Highness is a true hero! But the director is Fifth Princess."

"Why! She hasn't done anything!" Li Yuan Zhao immediately jumped up.

"Because she is a woman. It's really scandalous for Your Highness to be in charge of a group of women! What will others say about you then?"

"The people will say that the Crown Prince is indulgent and promiscuous, and that he is defiling the people. How will those female factory workers treat themselves! Do they still want their innocence!"

"If Your Highness is only going to attract advertising and investment, it's different. Even if the people will discuss it for a while, when they wear winter clothes that are cheap and warm, no one will say bad things about Your Highness."

"Even the courtiers will encourage Your Highness. This is all for the people! I am also considering the reputation of Your Highness!"

Fang Zheng Yi looked at Li Yuan Zhao with a smile.

Hurry up and get busy! Don't delay my date with the princess!

Li Yuan Zhao suddenly realized: "Not bad! You're right, but it's too cheap for Miao Han to be the director without doing anything! We should charge her some money!"

What a beast! You're even thinking about your sister's money.

Fang Zheng Yi took a deep breath: "That's not right! The princess naturally has things she needs to do. We won't let her be idle. I'll arrange it!"

Li Yuan Zhao immediately looked at Fang Zheng Yi suspiciously: "Why do I feel like you're planning something?"

Fang Zheng Yi looked righteous and awe-inspiring: "No! The princess and I are innocent. Don't talk nonsense! Let's go, let's go, let's go home. I'm tired after walking for so long!"

"Tsk, I'm hungry. Let's go to Lao Liu's Restaurant. It was good last time."

"Eat what! Doesn't that cost money? There's a dinner in the palace tomorrow night. Your Highness, please bear with it!"

"The things in the palace are hard to eat!"

"Nonsense, nothing that's free is hard to eat!"

.......