"As long as the system is established, in theory any equipment can be used," Wang Luobin said.
"It's so ideal," Wen Desi said. "First let's talk about what kind of enterprises we need now, and then we'll see what the machinery factory can support."
"Light industry has not developed much now, but I believe that light industry will be the bulk of foreign trade in the future, and it is also necessary to improve the living conditions of ourselves and our subjects." said Mo Xiao'an, the new minister of the Ministry of Light Industry.
Mo Xiao'an's appointment as the Minister of Light Industry is quite unexpected. This person has been an unknown member of the basic labor force since D-Day. Because of his good physical strength and long-term experience in military fever, he has always been the backbone of the militiamen across time. For him,
After the announcement of his appointment, people generally speculated that his title of bachelor's degree in administration and master's degree in law confused the executive committee.
In any case, like a large number of cadres who were promoted after organizational restructuring, he was very active in his new position. In preparation for this meeting, a huge five-year plan for light industry was proposed.
The first is the sewing needle. Of course, this product was also available in ancient times. The advantage of the time traveler is that it can use machines for batch manufacturing, and the advantages in raw materials and processing precision are unmatched by craftsmen in this time and space. Although the unit price of sewing needles is extremely small
, but the cost is small but the profit is huge, and it is widely used and shipped in large quantities. It is dumped in large quantities to the mainland, Japan, North Korea and Southeast Asia. After the scale effect is formed, the profit is also very considerable. In a certain period of time, it can be sold back to Europe.
“Is it difficult to make sewing needles?”
"Haha, sewing needles are simple enough to be made by hand," Wang Luobin said, "but I know that all companies use automatic machine tools to make them."
Modern sewing needles are made from wire rods from steel rolling mills. They are first drawn to the required diameter, then blanked according to the length of the two needles, and then sharpened at both ends. The next nose-making process will
One strip is punched into two needles. The steel wire is straightened and punched - the nose of the needle is punched into a round cake shape with a diameter of about 4mm, and then the needle nose is punched out, and then the characters and wire grooves are punched.
- Blanking to remove excess parts - Sharpening (several times) - Deburring - Polishing - Polishing, and finally polishing, packaging and shipping.
"That's right, it's an automatic machine tool production line with electromechanical control. This equipment also has a patent."
"Can it be copied? I think there should be design drawings. The patent law has no control here."
Zhan Wuya shook his head: "It's definitely not possible to completely imitate automatic machine tools, but it is possible to manufacture special equipment."
"It's okay, it's just that the production efficiency is lower. No matter how low it is, it may not be lower than the craftsmen who hammer and grind it by hand."
"Then there is the textile industry. Is it not difficult to imitate textile machinery such as the Jenny machine of the 19th century? Purchase local raw cotton for processing and produce high-quality cotton yarn. In addition to producing ordinary cotton cloth, we still look at the design, color and texture.
Is there any breakthrough, so we have to establish cloth-making and dyeing factories-"
"Excuse me," Wen Desi interrupted, "I have a different opinion. According to my opinion, the textile industry should not become too large."
"Cloth is a basic livelihood commodity." Someone immediately raised an objection, "Exports are also very popular."
"Listen to me."
Wen Desi first drew their attention to the fact that since they landed, at least in Lingao County, no large-scale cotton planting has been found. Most of the local cotton cloth is collected from woody wild cotton plants that have been growing for many years.
Processed from flowers, although the quality is pretty good, this method of supplying raw materials can only adapt to the small manual production methods of each household.
Hainan Island itself is not suitable for large-scale planting of cotton. It is the birthplace of China's cotton textile industry. However, for a long time, the cotton textile industry has basically been a small-scale sideline industry for the Li people, and no large-scale cotton textile industry has been formed.
In the Ming Dynasty, the production technology of Songjiang cloth was first introduced from Hainan Island, but the cotton textile industry formed an industry in Songjiang - "clothing and quilt world". Hainan's Qiongbu has long been just a "local product".
Once the travelers established a large-scale textile industry, in order to ensure the supply of raw materials, the travelers had to plant cotton in a place that was not suitable for large-scale cotton planting.
"And the competition faced by cotton textile itself is also very fierce." Wen Desi added.
As far as the Ming Dynasty itself is concerned, Songjiang cloth is a giant. How powerful the penetration of Songjiang cloth is. We can see it from the gifts we received locally more than once: almost all high-grade cloths are produced in Songjiang.
Looking at the whole of East and Southeast Asia, there is a strong competitor of Indian cotton cloth trafficked by the East India Company. Indian cotton cloth is not only of good quality, but also has its own unique dyeing and printing technology. It is very popular all over the world at that time. It is the East Indian cotton cloth.
One of the company's main trading products.
Finally, there are all kinds of real estate cotton cloth, which is coarse cloth handmade by farmers. This kind of thing has always been the strongest bulwark against foreign goods. Even cheap and high-quality Indian cotton cloth has never opened up the market in China, starting from the 17th century.
, all kinds of textiles sold by the East India Company to China have never been sold, and some goods even need to be sold on credit for two or three years before they are sold out.
"If we build a huge cotton textile industry, who will we sell the cloth to?" Wen Desi asked forcefully.
"Local people will also have great demand in the future -"
Xiao Zishan said: "We are at a very late stage. Expanding domestic demand is not something that can be done in a day or two. At present, we can only pay attention to two points in light industrial production: self-use and export."
"That's right, so the scale of our cotton textile industry can only be limited to meeting self-use."
"Supply soldiers, troops, laborers... these people?"
"It's better to outsource the processing!" Wang Luobin said, "We sell some new handmade cotton spinning machinery on credit to textile farmers to help them improve product quality and increase variety, and then purchase homespun cloth from them for use."
"This way, the circulation coupons can also be used!" Yan Ming, who has just been promoted to the president of "Delong Grain Bank", is in favor. This person is in favor of everything that expands the scope of use of circulation coupons.
"You can also import Indian cotton cloth and Songjiang cotton cloth. This can achieve a balanced trade balance. Otherwise, what is the use of exporting goods if they are replaced by gold and silver?"
"Agree!"
Li Haiping objected: "This won't work, it won't work." He reminded everyone: "The navy's canvas has not been solved. Can your industrial department solve the marine prime mover within one year? If it can solve this, it doesn't matter, otherwise President Wen will build it.
What do those Western-style sailing ships use as sails?”
"Can be imported."
"Canvas is a strategic material. The Ming Dynasty did not produce this stuff. What if we go to war with the Europeans and they impose a canvas embargo?" Li Haiping continued.
Wen Desi nodded: "That's right, I neglected it. It seems that the textile factory still needs it."
Indeed, canvas has many uses. It is not just as simple as being used as a sail. Its texture is strong, wear-resistant, dense and thick, and it also has certain waterproof properties. The ancient Romans used it in large quantities to make marching tents. The first
Modern parachutes are also made of canvas. Due to the strong and wear-resistant properties of canvas, it is also widely used to make labor protection clothing, replace leather to make military equipment, and comfortable and durable canvas shoes...
Mo Xiaoan organized his thoughts: "This is how it works: Spinning is done on a package basis, and the machines are given to processors on credit, and we recycle the cotton yarn. We then set up a small specialty textile factory to manufacture canvas, towels and knitted goods." The latter two.
It is an urgently needed thing for people across time. Towels are also very useful in improving the sanitary conditions of people who belong to the time traveling group.
"We also need a printing and dyeing factory." Wang Luobin added.
"Haha, we need more than just printing and dyeing factories." Wen Desi said, "In fact, it is best for us to control the processing of raw cotton ourselves, not for monopoly. If the people are required to process raw cotton by themselves, it is difficult to guarantee the quality of the cotton yarn produced. It is necessary to set up a carding and dyeing factory.
The cotton factory cleans and grades the raw cotton and then outsources it to processors."
"The machines used to weave towels and knitted goods are very simple. I have helped people do them." Zhan Wuya said, "But I don't understand the carding machine. I don't understand what kind of machine is used to weave canvas."
"The carding machine is easy and the structure is very simple. I will draw it later." Wang Luobin is confident. "Theoretically, canvas making should be the same as other cotton fabrics, except that the warp and weft yarns are made of multiple strands."
"Recruit some craftsmen from Europe. In addition to canvas craftsmen, we also need professional workers who can sew canvas. These are not found in China," Wen Desi said.
“I just don’t know if the local raw cotton production is enough.”
"It should be enough for small-scale use. If it doesn't work, you can import cotton yarn from Songjiang." Wen Desi said, "Or let the British provide it."
The technology of the printing and dyeing industry is relatively simple and does not require too complicated machinery and equipment. The time traveler does not intend to use cotton as a commodity, and does not need to invest too much in this aspect.
With the cotton textile industry, the establishment of a unified quilt factory has also been put on the agenda.
The main purpose of the quilt factory is for personal use. Local people will not buy ready-made clothes, shoes and hats unless the price is cheap or they cannot make silk and satin clothes themselves. This reality is that there is only one tailor in the county.
illustrates this point.
There is currently a garment factory in Bairen Commune. It was formed by Wu De recruiting women from the commune. Several women who can use sewing machines serve as technical guides and can manufacture cloth shoes, straw sandals, uniforms, hats, work clothes, underwear, etc.
Quilts and cotton socks, but on a small scale. In addition, there is a leatherworker who specializes in manufacturing various leather equipment for the army.
In Mo Xiao'an's plan, the scale of the quilt factory will be expanded. In the future, with the continuous expansion of the army and labor force, as well as the influx of a large number of immigrants from other places, the clothing of these people will have to be updated. The demand for clothing from the Cross-Travel Group will be