Within a few minutes of walking in, the two of them were already sweating profusely. Wu Zhixiang took out a handkerchief and wiped away the sweat. Then Zhao Yingong led him into the silk reeling workshop. In the silk reeling workshop, the pedal machine was whirring, and the pots were spinning.
The cocoons inside were floating and sinking. The workshop was filled with steam, and the water vapor was even heavier. There was wetness everywhere on the walls and on the floor. The stench of the scalded silkworm chrysalis and the smell of alum in the pots were mixed with water vapor, soot and
The smell of human sweat makes your chest feel tight when you enter, making you unable to breathe.
Although there were many workers coming and going in the workshop, they turned a blind eye to the arrival of the two masters and were minding their own business. Only one foreman came up to greet him. Zhao Yingong waved his hand and the other man went back and went about his own business.
Already.
The entire workshop is like a beehive, and the buzzing sound of reeling fills the humid and sultry air. Hundreds of female workers are busy at their respective reeling stations, stepping on the reel while constantly putting their fingers into the 50-degree heat.
They pulled the thread out of the water and got on the car. Although the environment in the workshop was harsh, they were all concentrating on it without even blinking. Their fingers seemed to be flying, and the car above them was spinning so fast that it was dizzying.
In order to facilitate the operation, all the female workers in the workshop have short hair. They also have towels wrapped around their foreheads to absorb sweat, so as not to frequently wipe it with a towel. The clothes on their bodies are dripping wet, and there is accumulation under everyone's feet.
There was a small puddle, I don't know if it was the sweat on my body or the hot water splashed from the basin.
Wu Zhixiang had never had such an experience. Even though he was young and strong, he still felt chest tightness and breathlessness. He saw hundreds of female workers with the same short hair and wearing the same clothes working at the same pace. The speed was so fast that he couldn't even see clearly.
, feel shocked.
How could this be a human being? It was just like an Australian machine! Wu Zhixiang thought to himself, I really don’t know how the Australians did it? But he was also very excited. Although he couldn’t quite understand it, he knew the efficiency in it.
It is completely clear how the silk reeling of each household can be done so fast! No wonder every time the Australians make something, the price will drop to the point where others can't sell it even if they pay even more!
Although his chest was tight and he felt like vomiting, he was very excited mentally. When he looked up, he saw that there was a walking horse building surrounding the wall of the factory. However, this walking horse building was not open and had a grid wall made of bamboo. There seemed to be a figure inside.
It's shaking.
"What's this?"
"This is a building patrol. It is specially used for patrols to walk back and forth to supervise the work of female workers."
Zhao Yingong explained that there are production regulations for the products reeled in this silk reeling factory. Each silk can only be combined with three or four cocoons, so workers reeling is slower than manual silk reeling. Manual silk reeling can produce one pound of silk per day, and here only
Sixty-seven taels. The wages here are based on the piece-rate system. Female workers usually try to lift more weight to get more wages. They often secretly build cocoons beyond the limit, that is, more than four or five cocoons per cocoon, which not only wastes raw materials, but also affects the quality of the silk.
This Zouma Tower was set up to supervise female workers. The inspectors patrolled up and down the Zouma Tower, peeking through the grid to see the female workers' operations - because of the grid wall, the female workers could not see that anyone was supervising. If the inspection found that work station
There is a case of excessive cocooning. Just put the number on the paper card and throw it to the foreman's office. The foreman's office will immediately press the number and take the reeling button for inspection. If it meets the standard, it will not be pursued and will be returned to the female worker to continue the work.
.However, if the weight is more than 1/3 of the standard, it means that the silk body has been stretched for a long time, causing the silk body to be rough, and you will be punished according to the regulations.
If female workers are lazy, chatting or otherwise violate the rules, they will be punished once they are recorded during inspection.
"That's it!" Wu Zhixiang nodded, "It turns out that Brother Zhao's factory is governed by military law!"
"The military law is serious. But if you open a factory, you can't produce safely otherwise." Zhao Yingong also felt that he couldn't stand it anymore, but he didn't want to lose face in front of Wu Zhixiang, so he made a nonchalant expression.
Zhao Yingong led him out of a corner of the workshop, and there was another room outside. There were large windows on the wall, which provided ventilation from the north to the south. It was tall and bright, and it was very exciting to walk out of the hot and humid workshop.
light.
There are many long stools made of wooden strips in the room, and there are long tables along the wall, filled with teacups made of bamboo tubes. Each teacup has a name and mark written on it - almost none of the female workers are literate.
People can only use this pattern marking method. There are several large celadon jars on the table, covered with white cold cloth. There are also many towels hanging on the walls, marked like tea cups.
There were more than twenty female workers in the room taking a rest. They were all panting and slumped on the bench, wiping the sweat that could not be wiped away with towels. They looked exhausted.
Several young girls in green clothes were running around, collecting and delivering towels, cleaning and drying, boiling water, delivering tea... everyone was very busy.
Seeing Zhao Yingong come in, the running girls stopped one by one and stepped aside timidly. However, the female workers were not so nervous and just stood up quickly.
"It's okay, you guys sit down and have a rest." Zhao Yingong said with a smile, but Wu Zhixiang felt a chill.
"Master is here, how can we sit down..." said a female worker who looked like a foreman.
"Just sit down when I tell you. I won't have the energy to work for a while." Zhao Yingong's words were gentle but his attitude was very firm. The foreman had no choice but to complain and asked the female workers to sit down again, but this time they were not as relaxed as before, and they seemed
Very reserved.
Zhao Yingong ignored them and sat down on a bench, saying, "Sit, sit."
Wu Zhixiang was such an exquisite and clear person, but she already felt that the atmosphere was not right. Besides, it was a bit inappropriate to sit with a group of female workers in this irregular place. But since it was the owner who invited her, she couldn't disobey, so she had to sit down.
Seeing him sitting down, several girls came over to serve him immediately. An older girl asked, "Master, do you want some tea?"
Zhao Yingong said: "We have been walking for a long time under the bright sun. The female workers have drunk some Qinghao tea. Pour a cup for Mr. Wu as well."
Two cups of Artemisia annua tea were brought over - these large porcelain jars were filled with various drinks to quench summer heat and quench thirst, specially prepared for the female workers in the silk reeling workshop. There were Artemisia annua tea, salt, sugar and lemon.
Salted soda water made from acid - of course there is no carbon dioxide in it.
A young girl who was busy outside the house came in quietly now. Seeing Zhao Yingong's indifferent expression, she actually ignored her, so she had to come over and kneel down and said: "Master..."
Zhao Yingong drank several sips of tea, took a breath, and finally said: "I asked you to lead people to study, and you really worked hard!"
"Reply to the master!" The person kneeling on the ground was Xihua. Because she came from a scholar's family and was literate, she was trained as a normal student. She studied with Zhao Yingong in the private school in the villa and was also responsible for teaching literacy.
.
Xihua trembled, and said with a forced smile: "The master has asked these children to be handed over to the slave, and the slave will naturally do his best to repay the favor.
Zhao Yingong sneered and said: "Trying your best to serve so much that you don't even listen to what I say?" After saying that, he picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The people in the room were so frightened that they didn't dare to speak out.
"I don't dare." Xihua bowed his head and said, "The master sent the female musicians to serve. It turned out to be their fault. It's just that these girls have been learning to tune strings with silk and bamboo. There are too many books missing. I'm afraid it will delay them...
"
"It's really ridiculous to delay them. I asked you to teach them how to read and write, not to ask them to take the imperial examination!" Zhao Yingong sneered, "You, this female gentleman, are becoming more and more prestigious-"
"My slaves don't dare!" Xihua couldn't hold on any longer and touched his head to the ground, trembling. "My slaves don't dare to be disrespectful. I just think that the master wants them to study hard and they will be of great use in the future.
of……"
Zhao Yingong smiled and said: "Okay, even if you did something wrong out of good intentions, I won't hold you accountable for your mistakes today. It's just that you said you wanted to give them lectures and make up classes, so why did you bring them here again?"
"Replying to the master," Xihua said, "After the lecture in the afternoon, I brought them here to help." After saying that, she kowtowed again, "I don't dare to lie to you."
"You do have a kind heart!" Zhao Yingong sneered and put down the teacup. He was about to stand up and leave. Xihua, who had been kneeling on the ground, suddenly said:
"Master, I have no intention of looking down upon you, and I don't dare to make any arbitrary decisions. It's just that the sisters, aunts and sisters here have to work for six hours every day. The weather is hot now, and everyone is exhausted every time they take a break. One day takes
Several people passed out and passed out. I just thought that I could do something for them to calm down a little bit..."
Zhao Yingong's face was already filled with anger: "In that case, I am torturing them by allowing them to work in Cihui Hall!"
"I don't dare!" Xihua's body trembled, but he continued, "I know that I can't do anything. I just ask the master to reduce the working time here by an hour or two. Everyone really can't bear it. If this continues
I'm afraid that something will happen to me. When I enter the workshop, I won't be able to stay there for a moment..."
Wu Zhixiang and the female workers around him were all stunned and turned pale. They all knew that Xihua's words were true. The factory was indeed not a place for people, not to mention that they had to work there for six hours with only one meal in between.
and several breaks.
Zhao Yingong turned pale with anger and sneered: "Listen, it's all my fault."
"Don't dare. You deserve to die!" Xihua's face turned red and his whole body was trembling. "You deserve to die. But I'm telling the truth!"
Zhao Yingong was so angry that his hands were shaking, and he said to Wu Zhixiang: "Listen, what are the rules? Come here! Drag him out and beat him to death!"