Xilin Hutong, a dilapidated alley, has a dilapidated courtyard. There are only three thatched houses, and the east and west wing rooms are temporary sheds made of boards. To the south is a fence woven with wood and rattan.
Widow Hao's man has been dead for five years. She is now thirty years old, and has two daughters, one fifteen and one thirteen years old. She also has a blind mother-in-law.
The widow of the family is unemployed, and there is no man to stand up for the family. It’s as hard as it gets.
Fortunately, this family is very hard-working, and all four of their women can spin. Even the blind old lady can sit on the kang and spin with the help of others.
Although life is hard, they work late every day. The hard-earned money they earn is still enough to feed the family. In the past two years, the price of cotton yarn has increased by 20% due to the large purchase of cotton yarn by woolen mills. Their life is good.
Got up.
In addition to food and daily expenses, they can also save some money. Because of their hard work, they have saved five taels of silver in the past two years. This is the dowry that Widow Hao saved for her two daughters.
If the family hadn't been too poor, both daughters would have actually reached the age of marriage. The eldest daughter was in the prime of life, and the younger daughter could stay for another two years at most. After she turned sixteen, she would be considered an old girl.
Today, Widow Hao went to the countryside to buy cotton. She got up early and went to Fangshan County. In the afternoon, when she returned to Xilin Alley with a cart of cotton she bought, she met Sister-in-law Zheng in the front yard.
"The Hao family has a great event. Come with me quickly. If it's too late, you won't be able to catch up." When the Zheng family's sister-in-law saw her, she quickly pulled her and said.
Widow Hao was a little confused. Sister-in-law Zheng was also a widow.
If a family like them can encounter any good things there, it's a good thing if no one bullies them.
"Sister-in-law, please allow me to unload the cotton truck first and pay you a small amount." Widow Hao said quickly.
"Hey, you've missed this thing by wasting your time. Let your daughter unload the car. You pay quickly and then come with me." Sister-in-law Zheng said anxiously.
"What on earth is going on?" Widow Hao said inexplicably.
"Haven't you always regretted not being able to work as a worker in Cheng Woolen Mill? Now there is a better opportunity. The woolen mill established an equipment leasing company and gave us a loan to buy their equipment. We will repay the principal and interest in equal installments over three years.
The price of the equipment is twenty taels of silver. This equipment can carry eight spindles per person and do the work of eight people. The equipment rental company will buy all the yarn we spin and is willing to sign a contract with us."
Widow Hao's mouth opened in surprise.
How is it possible for one person to do the work of eight people?
"Sister-in-law Zheng, you see, she can really do the work of eight people by herself." Widow Hao knew that this sister-in-law Zheng was straightforward and straightforward, but she was definitely not someone who spoke freely.
"Sister, of course I have seen it before I came back to convince my mother-in-law to get the money. That machine can indeed turn the hand wheel hard by one person to drive eight spindles to spin yarn."
"Sister-in-law Zheng, is the interest on the loan high? It's not like usury money. We can't pay it back if we take it." Widow Hao asked uneasily. There is no good thing like pie falling from the sky in this world.
If so, it's most likely a scam.
"Sister, that woolen mill is owned by the Queen, and this equipment leasing company is owned by the woolen mill. How can it be a loan shark? It is said that you complete the work tasks every month, pay monthly, and repay the equipment every month.
If you supply one machine and one person, you can work four hours a day, and you can still have one tael of silver left. If you stay up late and work, you can earn more. This equipment is not expensive, only two taels of silver a piece. How much can it be used for?
Ten years." Widow Zheng said.
Widow Hao was immediately moved.
With her and her eldest daughter's skills, using this kind of spinning wheel wouldn't be a big problem. If they were afraid of loan shark traps, they would buy one at their own expense and try it out. If they could really make one or two silver dollars a month with one machine, it would be so worth it.
She can buy a second piece of equipment at her own expense. Let her eldest daughter join in and use this kind of spinning machine to produce. In this way, she can have an income of two taels of silver a month. The younger daughter will continue to work with her.
Mother-in-law spins yarn on an old-fashioned spinning machine.
As long as the machine's effect was so good, she didn't have to take out a loan, so she wouldn't be afraid of falling into the loan shark trap. She secretly thought that the business opened by the Queen would never deceive people, and the royal family couldn't afford to lose this person.
So, Widow Hao and Widow Zheng hurried to a shop on Dongsi Street, where many people had come. There were men, women, old people, and teenage girls. They all came to consult Jenny.
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Every other hour, a girl comes to the gate and starts to demonstrate how to use the Jenny machine. The live spinning performance has other people watching it very fascinated. It is the most shocking.
When Widow Hao saw that one person could do the work of eight spinners, she was very alarmed.
This is the first time she discovered that being good at using tools is the secret to making a fortune.
With such good equipment, what are you waiting for? Widow Hao directly grabbed Sister Zheng and went to the counter to sign the contract.
She made up her mind to spend all her wealth and spent four taels of silver to buy two Jenny machines. She left one tael of silver as working capital. Since she did not have to repay the loan, she worked eight hours a day every month and could earn one tael of silver.
.Two units are two taels of silver.
They are all very hard-working, they can even work eighteen hours a day and night, spinning threads non-stop.
They can earn five taels of silver a month, which is sixty taels of silver a year.
Widow Hao did some mental calculations and found out that hiring a spinning girl cost only three cents a month. She could make enough money to expand her production, and there was plenty of labor. She developed step by step and built her own workshop. This was also her lifelong dream.
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The shopkeeper of the equipment rental company just asked about her situation. She had a receipt for selling cotton yarn to a wool spinning mill, which was very easy to check. Her spinning level, salary, and product quality were all questioned in detail. Finally, the shopkeeper
Send a man to go to her house with her to check if there is a suitable factory.
In the end, Widow Hao bought two Jenny machines. Widow Zheng also bought one Jenny machine in full.
Widow Hao's actions made Widow Zheng determined. She planned to use this efficient spinning machine to improve her own life through her own efforts so that her children could have enough to eat.
Both of them are relatively conservative and do not dare to take out loans. They both pay in full.
The equipment rental company is also responsible for delivering the equipment to your home and installing it. In the remaining days, if there is really a quality problem, the user can apply for free maintenance within three years.
"Mom, what is this?" her eldest daughter asked in surprise.
"This is a spinning wheel. One person can shake the wheel and drive all eight wheels to spin together. The efficiency is increased twelve times.