This group of possible allies in the future was invited by Jian Chen, and they were naturally not in a good mood, but they were quite passable in terms of face. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Entering the inner room, the seats are already arranged.

It is not a round table or a separate table for kneeling at a formal banquet, but a long wooden table with seats on either side.

Chen Jian sat on the front of the wooden table, said hello to everyone, greeted each other a few times and walked through the motions, and someone brought tea.

Yesterday I was invited, and I gave these people a night to discuss.

After settling down, someone smiled and asked, "Mr. Chen invited us this time, I don't know what happened?" It's hard to understand even when I think about it. Mr. Chen's business has nothing to do with cotton. ”

Chen Jian could naturally hear the knocking in these words, took a sip of tea from his cup, and said slowly: "My business naturally has nothing to do with cotton. This cotton seems to be light, but it is as heavy as a thousand pounds, which can I carry with this small body? ”

Everyone in the audience breathed a sigh of relief, and said that if you don't want to be involved in the cotton business, then everyone can talk about anything.

But then everyone was puzzled, if Jian Chen didn't want to get cotton, what would he do with these people? If you say that you come to drink tea when you have nothing to do, this tea is not a precious tea, and we are not familiar with each other, so this tea is much less interesting to drink.

Confused, two hired workers walked in from outside carrying a ginning machine, and after Chen Jian demonstrated, all the people present were not settled.

Looking at Chen Jian with cotton wool on his head, and then looking at the lint that was peeled off, no one could sit still.

Mr. Chen...... How much cotton can this machine peel in a day? ”

"Sleepless, fifty or sixty pounds a day."

"How's the quality?"

"Okay. It's not as delicate as hand-peeling, but there's no problem with spinning. ”

Everyone here breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that this time it was to sell machinery, not to get involved in the cotton industry as they thought.

Looking at the new machine, everyone was a little greedy and a little overwhelmed.

The machine is very good and dries quickly, but there were so many ginning workshops in the original, and now all the cotton in Minjun, I am afraid that a workshop equipped with many machines can complete it by itself.

Some people stared at the machine and had a different kind of thought in their hearts. Originally, a workshop employing 300 people now only needs six people and six ginning machines, but there is only so much cotton in Min County, can so many people here share it?

But whether you can get it or not, you know that this machine is so easy to use. How much more money can a workshop that employs 300 people and fire the extra 290 people in a year?

For a while, everyone present had no idea.

These people did discuss for a long time last night, but the question they discussed was how to protect Jian Chen, but they never expected Jian Chen to come up with such a machine that would be beneficial to them.

Everyone wants it, but how to distribute the benefits after asking for it has become a matter that people dare not decide.

Several of the leaders glanced at each other and decided to delay it first and go back to discuss it.

So he frowned and said, "Mr. Chen, this machine is indeed convenient, but it's just ...... It's just that we can't come up with ideas in a hurry. We are also somewhat famous in the county, and now there are thousands of hired men who depend on us for food, and once this machine appears...... These thousands of people have no way to make a living for a while, and we can't explain the troubles. ”

"In addition, there is also a provision in the "Apprenticeship Law" that even if you want to use these machines, I am afraid that you will have to wait until the end of the year when the contract of the apprentice hired worker is completed."

Jian Chen smiled and said, "Of course, everyone here is a well-known figure in the county. But to talk about the "Apprenticeship Law", I'm afraid it's a bit inappropriate, right? As you all know, this Dharma is for you. If it is said that there is a need for just cause, dismissal is not responsible. ”

"What is a valid cause? I have a new machine and I don't need so many people anymore, and that's a good reason. The statute doesn't say that this is not a valid reason, so is it not based on the mouth of a judge? Could it be that those hired people can still think about this? The "Apprenticeship Law" restricts the employee, but not the people here, and I have lived for so long, and I have never heard of the "Apprenticeship Law" ruling the employee to win, and everyone knows it in their hearts. ”

Everyone present smiled knowingly, and did not refute Chen Jian's words, and one of them said: "But the law still has to be tolerant after all, so many hired workers...... If something happens, or if someone has a heart to instigate it, then it is easy for something to happen. ”

Chen Jian also said: "You don't have to worry about this. Now, even if the contract time is not up, you can transfer these hired workers to me, and I will pay for them to do the work, but I am still short of manpower. I will take as much as you have. ”

At this point, everyone here understands that these are just excuses, and no one really cares what happens to those hired people.

Jian Chen looked at everyone and said with a smile: "Everyone, are you worried about how to distribute the ginning in everyone's workshop after this machine appears?" Actually, it's very simple, I have two ways, you might as well listen to it? ”

"Mr. Chen's words are naturally to be heard. Please speak. ”

"One, according to the current number of employees, divide by fifty, and purchase ginning machines. However, in this way, the workshop of hundreds of people may only need one room, which is a bit wasteful. Second, that is, everyone joins shares, and these profits are divided according to the previous distribution method, and only one workshop is enough. The rest of the workshop can be sold or used for other purposes. ”

Looking at everyone, Chen Jian thought that the promotion of ginning machines is not a problem. Ginning workers are considered to be the most bargaining power, and they are too easy to replace and have strong mobility, which means that they can't do something together.

The methods he is talking about now are only good and not bad for anyone present. If it weren't for the fact that he was in urgent need of manpower and not enough capital, he should not have communicated with these people at all and directly monopolized lint, but then it was easy to have an accident, and it was likely that the ginners would be instigated to smash his workshop.

The cost of hiring the ginners is only a part of the expenses of these people, and more importantly, their manipulation of cotton purchases and lint prices is the fundamental reason why these people need to stand together.

What really determines the distribution of profits is to rely on one's own financial resources or power.

"Well, if you have any questions, you won't be able to discuss them here for a while. You might as well go back first, discuss the results, and then give me an answer. I'm just trying to make a little money by selling machines, not wanting to get involved in the cotton spinning industry now, just looking for a way out for those hired workers in advance. ”

Chen Jian didn't have the slightest intention of staying, everyone had already believed Chen Jian's words, and the original anxiety when they came came came to naught, and the atmosphere became warm.

It is a foregone conclusion to use this machine, and all that remains is to discuss the internal distribution of interests, and when he left, he promised Chen Jian that it would not take long to give him an answer.

Soon after, a satisfactory reply reached Jian Chen's ears.

What surprised those cotton spinning industries even more was that Chen Jian did not sit on the ground and raise the price, but sold the ginning machine to them at a very low price that only made a small profit.

By mid-November, most of the ginners in Min County had been taken in by Chen Jian to build the canal. This includes construction workers in Nan'an, who had previously built wooden railroads in the mine.

The first formal canal in Min County was officially excavated, and now there are not many people digging it, but there will be a large number of farmers who choose to work for a short time during the upcoming agricultural slack period.

Some students majoring in explosives at Lanxiang Technical School also rushed to this extremely secret canal that had not caused much turmoil in the name of learning from labor.

Wang Zhe and others had already completed their exploration, and Chen Jian hired the best architect in Mincheng at a high price, who had presided over the construction of the sewage canal and the coastal forts in Minjun.

After the construction master's inspection, and the observation of new technologies such as explosives and cement, he gave a design idea that was extremely unnatural at this time.

The canal was straight and would pass through a valley, so the architect planned to build an elevated aqueduct in the valley with stone, cement and explosives to serve as the channel for that section.

This section of the planned river channel is not too long, the height is not too high, and it saves a lot of time in terms of cost compared to detouring from the side.

However, such a stone viaduct is unique in Min County, and the architect only gave Chen Jian a suggestion, of course, he still expected Chen Jian to agree.

For architects, architecture is a tombstone that they can leave a name for, especially a section of elevated aqueduct that can be called a wonder at this time.

After reading it, Jian Chen discussed with the architect about waterproofing, support and other issues.

The architect said that if it was before, he would be 60% sure at most, and he would not consider the problem of mountains and rocks. But now that there is cement and explosives, there should be ninety percent certainty, and the remaining one percent is uncertain, depending on whether Chen Jian is willing to take risks.

If one is willing to take the risk, the entire canal can be shortened by long distances, and at the same time, the flow of the water itself can slowly bring ships carrying coal and stone ore from upstream to the Min River.

And with Chen Jian's advice on cement, scaffolding, bamboo work platforms, pulley sets, etc., the construction period will not be too long, and it can even be guaranteed to be completed before the canal is fully completed.

Chen Jian pondered for a few days and readily agreed.

The heart said that even if it fails, at most it will cost more money to dig again, but if it succeeds, it will not only be able to become an adult, but also accumulate experience in architecture, no matter how you look at it, it will be earned.

The canal was dug on the third day of December, and every day people joined in, except for the wages of the ginning workers, who were paid daily.

People in the party gave Chen Jian great help, and as the organizer of the entire canal, he practiced his organizational skills by the way.

The ginning workshops in Min County also used Chen Jian's machines, which saved a lot of expenses for hired workers, and the quality did not drop too much.

It seems that everyone really takes what they need and helps each other to win.

In particular, Chen Jian's ginning machine does not have a lion's big mouth, and some people have even calculated that if it is an imitation, the quality will not be good, and the cost of production after imitation alone is not much cheaper than buying.

For a while, people in the cotton spinning industry trusted Jian Chen, if Jian Chen was not busy digging the river, he would have to feast on Jian Chen.

However, in December, the people in the cotton textile industry suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Many people told them that the people from the Charity Trading Society and the Mexican Party went to the countryside and farms with ginners, and they went around demonstrating, and they often mentioned that lint was much more expensive than seed cotton......