Dong Fangli is a river worker at Nantong Prefecture Wharf who makes a living by working as a coolie on the canal boats. The river workers here in Nantong are basically laborers who carry goods and boat operators, unlike Huaibei where there are a large number of trackers. Here
The ship can be powered by water and wind, and does not need trackers. Dong Fangli works as a laborer, not a skilled boatman. He usually has a job to eat and stops his hands and mouth.
When he first entered the industry, water transportation still existed, and the labor workers at that time could live a comfortable life. Later, water transportation stopped, and the north and the south were divided. The life of the labor workers became difficult. Many workers relied on the canal at the Nantongzhou Wharf to work.
Some people are alive, some are running away, some are fleeing. But Dong Fangli is one of the ones who stays here and holds on.
For a period of time, things improved, and some water transportation was resumed here in Nanzhi, transporting military supplies to the front lines in Xuzhou. However, the good times did not last long, and this business was quickly taken away by water transportation companies from other places. Nantong Prefecture
The water transport here could not find any profitable work. It was not until later, after Songjiang was regained in the north, that their lives revived. They still did water transport, but they only transported silk, cotton, tea and grain from Nanjing or Suzhou to Songjiang Prefecture.
.The Nanjing court relied on being a second-rate dealer to maintain its basic expenses, so the convenience of water transportation must be used.
After the imperial court regained control of Nanjing, the government's water transportation was interrupted, but the private freight was not interrupted, and the livelihood of people running water ships improved. However, it was a hardship for the laborers on the shore, because the ships coming from Nanjing were directly
When we go to Songjiang, we basically don’t go around Nantong. Unlike the Nanjing period, due to the differences between the two imperial courts, the ship had to stop at Nantong Pier and be smuggled into Songjiang by officials and civilians, so the laborers could get a bowl of rice.
A few days ago, the situation was better and I could get some work, but during this period, because it was the Dan season, the work on the dock was even scarcer. Dong Fangli is an older laborer, so it is more difficult to grab work. Over
Years later, he had been without any work for several days, and the whole family was starving with him.
Dragging his hungry body, he came to the dock again, wondering if he could get lucky today.
As soon as I arrived at the pier, I saw a group of people in official uniforms beating gongs, as if they wanted to say something.
But Dong Fangli had neither the mood nor the energy to deal with it. It was said that good times would come after the restoration of the imperial court, but Dong Fangli did not feel it at all. In the past few days, the magistrates brought people to the dock, but nothing was necessarily solved. If the imperial court
If we really want to solve the problem, wouldn't it be enough to resume water transportation? It is obvious that in the eyes of the imperial court, the laborers who rely on water transportation for a living are not taken seriously at all, regardless of everyone's life and death.
Recruiting? Vaguely, Dong Fangli seemed to hear such a word. He quickly struggled to get up and squeezed towards the crowd.
After squeezing into the crowd, Dong Fangli got an idea. The government convened some ship owners to form a guild called the Passenger Transport Company. Now they want to recruit a group of assistants to work on the dock! Unlike in the past, this time they are recruiting long-term workers.
A monthly salary of more than 1,200 yuan is given.
A thousand and two hundred cents a month, which means 40 cents a day for co-authoring. Forty cents a day is not a large group of laborers at the dock. Under normal circumstances, if there is work, everyone can earn more than 100 cents.
.So after hearing about the treatment, many people turned around and left. Working for a month and earning ten days' wages is not as good as doing temporary work. Why do people work as laborers on the dock? Isn't it just to earn the same day's wages?
Money?
Dong Fangli didn't leave, not because he thought the salary was good, but because he really couldn't find a job recently.
The passenger transport company has just been established, and there are not many franchised ships. Now it is managed and operated by officials from the Nantong Prefecture Household Affairs Bureau. They want to start the terminal operation first, but the recruitment of workers does not go smoothly on the first day.
We hired forty or fifty laborers who all looked old. There was no other way, it was better than nothing!
"Today, I will introduce you to the official office of the shipping company and then issue you a work license. From tomorrow on, the company will organize business training for you. When you are recruited into the company, your main job will be to serve passenger ships at the dock.
There are ticket sales, ticket inspection, passenger guidance, boat guidance, boat parking, passenger station maintenance, etc. Ticket sales need to be done by people who are literate and can do accounting. I will train everyone to do other things. From tomorrow, everyone will be paid. Every day
There are two meals a day, breakfast and lunch. Everyone has to go back and take care of dinner. There are four days off every month. The basic treatment is this. Let’s go to the company first.” The recruiter introduced the basic situation to the rest of the people.
After that, we led everyone to the temporary office of the passenger transport company not far from the pier to identify the door.
Dong Fangli was hungry, so he followed everyone to the passenger transport company's office and received a work badge and a red cloth armband. After finishing these things, he had no energy to walk home and could only sit under the tree in the courtyard and think.
Try to regain your strength before going home.
"This worker, why don't you go home? You will officially go to work tomorrow." An official in the passenger transport company's office (In order to get the passenger transport company started as soon as possible, Zhou Changning transferred more than 30 college students from the Yamen Gate to support the construction of the passenger transport company.
(Concentrate your efforts to get this job done first)) While working in the courtyard, I met Dong Fangli and asked about the situation.
"I'll leave after I calm down a bit. Forgive me, sir, but I'm really hungry and have no energy. I'll leave when I feel energetic."
"You haven't eaten! Don't leave yet. Come with me to the cafeteria to see what's available. I'll give you some extra food first so you don't go home hungry."
"How can this be possible? Can I eat the government's food?"
"You won't be able to open your mouth! Originally, the company only provided you with two meals, so today I'm going to give you a mouth to eat." The official couldn't help but lead Dong Fangli to the canteen, found a rice bowl and found some leftover rice from the cook.
The leftovers were served to Dong Fangli.
Dong Fang, who was so hungry, couldn't bear to accept the offer and wolfed down the leftovers. After eating and gaining strength, he gratefully bid farewell to the officials and went home.
When we got home, my wife came around and asked, "Dad, did you find a job today?"
"Found it!"
"Where's the money?" Dong Fangli's wife stretched out her hand.
"Where did the money come from? This time I found a job as a long-term laborer for the government, and I received a monthly salary." Dong Fangli was helpless at his wife's actions. He found a job, but he didn't receive any salary.
"How much monthly salary can I get from working as a long-term laborer in the government? What should our family do during this period?" After hearing her husband's answer, Ms. Dong Liu was filled with questions.
"There are only 1,200 yuan in January, which is just enough for the mouth of the lake. As for this period of time, I will take care of two meals a day and will not eat at home. You and the baby will make do with fish and rice for a while first, and then wait.
It'll be fine if the expenses are covered. It's not easy to find work on the dock now, and I'm older, so it's even harder to find work. After all, I'm working for the government office, and there is a long stream, so that you and the children will not have to follow me to eat.
The last meal has not been the next one.”
Dong Fangli reluctantly expressed his thoughts and plans. The so-called eating fish rice means fish meat. Nantong City is close to the river, so fishing is convenient. Many people who have no food and clothing find ways to put food in the river or on the pond.
Set up a fishing net or fish basket to catch some fish to satisfy your hunger.
"Okay! Tomorrow I will take Yi'er and the others to put out fish baskets and dig wild vegetables. Let's take care of the immediate problems first. I hope that the monthly money the government will give you will be settled as soon as possible." Mrs. Dong Liu could only accept it.
In reality, she has lived on fish and wild vegetables for a long time. Fortunately, she still has some hope this time.
Early the next morning, Dong Fangli rushed to work at the passenger transport company just to have an early breakfast.
After working for three consecutive days, Ms. Dong Liu saw her husband coming back from get off work carrying a bag of rice.
"Dad, where did you get the money today? How did you buy rice?" While taking the rice bag and pouring rice into the empty rice vat at home, Dong Liu asked curiously why her husband had money to buy rice.
"The rice is not bought, but the rice distributed by the company. It is worth five days' wages. Working for the government is safe after all. Today, the officials said that in view of our family's difficulties, anyone who can work for three days can go to the accounting office to get an advance of five days.
I would take a bag of rice home with a day’s salary to alleviate the difficulty of having to cook without rice.”
"Really! No wonder people say that the imperial court is doing well now. Fortunately, you have gone to work in the government office. With this bag of rice, our family can sustain your official expenses."
"What's another good thing! The official who saw me hungry one day came to talk to me today about something. He asked me if I have a wife at home. If I have a wife, I can consider working as a cook in the company's kitchen. I quickly agreed to him.
You will go to work with me at the company tomorrow."
"I go to work with you? Can't you give me some salary as well?"
"Of course we will. One or two silver dollars a month, and two meals. You get up early tomorrow and make some lunch for Yi'er, and we will go to the company to work. This time our family is alive, and both of us can be there
Working as a breadwinner in the company, Yi'er is the only breadwinner in the family, and having more than 20 taels of silver dollars coming in every month, how can I still live a miserable life? It's definitely better than finding a temporary job on the dock."
"Of course you have to be strong! When you were working, you had to eat one meal and not another. How can you compare it with the work you are doing now? You have chosen a good job this time. When we get to the company, we have to work hard for others."
After working at the passenger transport company for five or six days, Dong Fangli officially took up his post. His job was relatively simple, which was to check tickets at the pier. All passengers with tickets would be stamped and left with a bottom coupon before they could board.
Ship. The ticket is color-coded and does not need to be literate to verify. Dong Fangli is a smart person and was chosen to do this job. The job of verifying tickets cannot be easier. For Dong Fangli, who has done hard work
It's just like not working.
The passenger transport company in the initial stage is not large in scale now, with only more than 50 watercrafts, and there are not too many routes temporarily opened. In addition to a few routes from Zhoucheng to Linjiang County, they go to Songjiang Prefecture, and
Suzhou City, and the route to Nanjing City. At the beginning, the passengers were mainly civil servants. Others were not quite accustomed to this new shipping method and were slowly adapting to it.