"Everyone knows that rum is made from sugar cane waste."
"The sugarcane waste itself is not very valuable, and the rum brewed from the sugarcane waste is even cheaper."
"Although rum has not yet been sold in large quantities to the outside world, as a producer, I estimate that the selling price of this rum is only one-third of that of ordinary liquor at most."
"The combined cost of these two items is at most eight hundred copper coins, which is less than one tael of silver. I think even the box containing the items is more expensive than these two items."
What Hu Changan said is not false.
You know, Hu Changan personally asked the most famous painter in Yingtian City to design this packaging!
This design fee is probably much more expensive than new soap and rum!
After hearing this, Xue Xiang curiously played with the gift box in his hand.
Since what Hu Changan said was true, he was relieved.
Although the laws are strict now, there is no need to make excuses for trivial things that don't cost more than a tael of silver.
The more he looked at it, the more Xue Xiang liked this gift box.
You know, this is high-end soap and rum!
Ordinary soap already feels good.
Add milk and petals, tsk tsk tsk.
His wife and daughter will definitely like this thing very much!
Besides, Xue Xiang has long wanted to take a sip of this rum!
When Hu Changan offered rum a few months ago, Xue Xiang was extremely greedy.
He himself is also a good drinker. Even His Majesty praised the wine, how delicious it must be!
Thinking of this, Xue Xiang accepted the gift box unceremoniously: "Shilang Hu, I will happily accept this gift box today! Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness."
Looking at Xue Xiang's satisfied smile, Hu Changan was in a good mood.
Got the boss on the first day, excellent!
Arriving at the Ministry of Industry, Hu Changan picked up many gift boxes from the carriage that had been parked there and distributed them to his colleagues.
Colleagues were initially reluctant to accept it, but when they heard that the gift box cost no more than one tael of silver, they all happily accepted it.
A joyous atmosphere suddenly filled the whole working department.
Although this gift is not expensive, it is more novel than it is!
After everyone had put away their joy, Xue Xiang took Hu Changan to visit the research institute under the Ministry of Industry.
The Ministry of Industry is not only in charge of engineering construction nationwide, but also part-time in engineering research and development.
All advanced technologies can be found in the Ministry of Industry.
When Hu Changan came to the Ministry of Industry, Xue Xiang naturally wanted to take Hu Changan to see the technology here.
Depending on Hu Changan's intelligence, he might have some ideas for improvement!
Although the Ministry of Industry is ranked at the bottom of the six ministries, it is still considered one of the six ministries, so it is naturally quite impressive.
Various houses are lined up in rows, and even the craftsmen's work sheds are spacious and bright.
Although it is not as good as the workshop built by Hu Changan, the facilities of the Ministry of Industry are still very advanced in the Ming Dynasty.
At the first stop, Xue Xiang took Hu Changan to the ironmaking workshop.
This is the core of the Ministry of Industry.
All weapons for the guards and troops in Yingtian City are produced here.
Beside the stove, which was emitting high heat, several tall craftsmen were working feverishly on the iron.
Seeing the arrival of Xue Xiang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, several people nodded quickly, but the work in their hands did not stop.
After all, forging iron requires that the iron be heated to a high temperature before it can be shaped. Once it stops, a good knife will be lost.
When Xue Xiang and Hu Changan saw this, they understood very well and just waved their hands casually, indicating to the craftsmen to continue.
Of course, it was impossible for no one to greet them in such a huge iron-making area.
After a while, a smiling steward came up to him: "Xue Shangshu, why did you suddenly come to our iron smelting area to inspect? This is..."
"My name is Hu Changan, and I am the newly appointed minister of the Ministry of Industry." Hu Changan quickly introduced himself.
Seeing this, the manager quickly introduced himself: "Oh, it turns out to be the newly appointed Minister Hu. Congratulations. I am Manager Jiang who is specifically responsible for managing the Iron and Steel District. Please take good care of me from now on."
"Absolutely." Looking at Manager Jiang's enthusiastic eyes, Hu Changan responded politely, and the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.
Seeing that the introductions were almost complete, Hu Changan curiously asked Manager Jiang: "I wonder how many things can be produced here in a month?"
After hearing this, Manager Jiang respectfully replied: "Back to Mr. Hu, we mainly produce knives here. We can produce about sixty knives a month to supply the guards and troops of various families in Beijing."
What?
Only produce sixty knives a month?
Hu Changan couldn't help but frown.
This efficiency is a bit too low!
The huge iron smelting area of the Ministry of Industry only produces two knives a day, which is a waste of taxpayers' money.
Even if the production level was low in ancient times, it wasn't that low, right?
Hu Changan looked at the stoves on both sides, puzzled: "Manager Jiang, how come such a big place only produces two knives a day?"
"Aren't there five stoves here? Why is there only one stove turned on now?"
Before Manager Jiang had time to answer, Xue Xiang, the Minister of Industry, solved Hu Changan's doubts: "Shilang Hu, you don't know something. We can't dispatch the workers here!"
What?
Is there such a thing as the Ministry of Works dispatching unmovable workers?
Looking at Hu Changan's confused eyes, Xue Xiang replied with a wry smile: "These workers are all skilled craftsmen gathered from all over the world."
"When the Ministry of Industry was first established, they were all very hard-working and competing for work, but after a while, they began to become lazy."
"Although this supervisory system targets us officials, it does not control them, workers!"
"And since our imperial court has recruited them, their household registrations will be in our Ministry of Works. From then on, they will be members of our Ministry of Works for generations to come."
"Just think about it, Mr. Hu. You can't control them, and you can't dismiss them. These craftsmen are more senior than seniors. It's simply impossible for them to work."
"If they weren't worried about outside influence, these craftsmen would probably not make two knives a day!"
What Xue Xiang said was heartbreaking.
Xue Xiang has been dissatisfied with this matter for a long time.
However, as a small minister of the Ministry of Industry, he was unable to change the system established by Zhu Yuanzhang.
So, everyone can only waste it like this.
After hearing this, Hu Changan understood in his heart.
Good guy, isn’t this a common problem among Chinese companies?
You can't beat or scold your employees, they can only ask for work.
Now that Hu Changan has become the Minister of Industry, these trends have come to an end!