The Port of Luzon is still bustling, and it is more lively than ever.

The marina has been expanded, the original Manila Bay has been renamed Luzon Bay, and the harbor is filled with sailboats coming in and out. The original Spanish royal city is now the headquarters of the Seventh Fleet, as well as military warehouses and garrison camps.

On the shore of the port, many additional batteries were also built.

The streets of the outer city have also been paved with stone slabs, and the shops on both sides have been replanned and renovated, and many new shops have been added.

A large number of immigrants came to Luzon, where they divided the fields and cultivated the fields, and the establishment of plantations also led to a great increase in the demand for goods. Not only did they need slaves in large quantities, but they also needed all the goods. The manufacturing and processing capacity of Luzon itself is limited, and the current plan of the imperial court for Luzon is to make it a supply center for agricultural products and a transit point for trade.

For the processing and manufacturing of goods, the imperial court actually has many restrictions, which is also to better control these overseas territories. The Central Plains region of the imperial court will be the core area, and the processing and manufacturing industry will be prioritized in this region, while overseas and non-customs areas are mainly to develop a single industry after all, such as minerals, livestock, agriculture, etc.

This strategy is actually the same as the Guanzhong standard system in the Han Dynasty, strengthening the core and strengthening the weak branches. On the other hand, it is also considering that the processing and manufacturing industry requires more manpower, a large number of technical personnel, and so on. It is more convenient to place these industries in the Central Plains.

In addition to the fact that grain does not need to be transported from the Central Plains, other things, from cattle and horses, farm tools, to shoes, clothing, cloth, and even iron nails, sewing needles, wooden bowls, salt, tea, tobacco and alcohol, are all transported from the Central Plains.

Merchant houses and shops sell a wide variety of goods. Although the general price of commodities is more expensive than that of the Central Plains, they are abundant and not scarce.

Tang Yuanwai opened a grocery store, from pots and pans to iron nails and needles, to cloth, salt tea, and even ham and sausages, there is almost nothing that they don't sell. The store is not small, with the front store and the back yard.

Tang Yuanwai dragged a group of landlords and farmers into the store, and a few men employed in the store were greeting customers, and business was very prosperous, and there were many people who came to shop.

Miss Tang even helped behind the counter, she was wearing a blue dress, sitting there with two hands pulling the abacus, she was able to calculate two accounts at the same time, the abacus beads crackled, and from time to time she reported the amount of accounts to the guys outside, fast and accurate.

Zhao Jizu was shocked all of a sudden.

Tang Yuanwai looked at Zhao Jizu's reaction, was happy in his heart, and said to him with a smile, "This is a little girl, a woman from a small family, there is no rule for coming out to show her face, but let the virtuous nephew see the joke." ”

"It turned out to be the sister of the world, but it was amazing. Nowadays, the Han Dynasty also advocates women's work, don't you see that there are so many workshops full of female weavers, and there are even female generals and female marquises, Mrs. Qin and General Mei, but they are all heroes among women, and women are not allowed to shave their eyebrows. Zhao Jizu said busily.

Seeing him say this, Tang Yuanwai became more and more happy, and he was still a little worried that Zhao Jizu didn't like women to show up, but now it seems that he doesn't mind, this is a good start.

When Tang Sanniang was in her hometown in the past, she only helped her father settle accounts at home, but when she got here, everyone didn't pay so much attention to these, and the business in the store was too busy, so she simply went to the counter to help settle the accounts.

After settling another account, when I looked up, I found my father coming in with a group of people. So, she immediately smiled and called Daddy affectionately.

She likes this kind of life very much in her heart, originally at home she already wanted to marry a wife and teach her husband and children, but who knows that fate is impermanent, the wedding dress has been ready, but her fiancé died in battle. Others said that she was hard-hearted and restrained, and she felt wronged in her heart, and she was locked in the house all day for a long time and did not come out.

When she got here, there were no more gossips, everything here was so lively, and her heart came to life.

She likes to settle accounts and deal with numbers.

My father said that when she found a good family for her, when she got married in the future, this shop would be her dowry.

"Sanniang, come and see someone, these are our neighbors near Tangjiatun, this handsome young man, it is Brother Zhao from Shandong, the Shandong man has a straightforward temperament, just opposite our house, across a small river, the neighbor, call brother."

Tang Sanniang glanced at Zhao Jizu and found that this person was tall and strong, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but he was very energetic, but his eyes were staring at her a little directly. She couldn't help but blush, and lowered her head and called Fifth Brother Zhao.

"Hey." Zhao Jizu hurriedly responded.

"Let's go, sit in the backyard house." Tang Yuanwai beckoned everyone to go to the backyard, and said to his daughter, "Tell your mother, let the kitchen prepare a table of good dishes, and then make a pot of good wine." ”

Tang Sanniang nodded and turned around, and Zhao Jizu's eyes followed the figure until she disappeared.

Everyone sat under the backyard porch and chatted, Zhao Jizu responded to a word or two from time to time, but he kept thinking about the girl just now. I don't know if I got married, and I didn't have anyone?

It's just that until a table of wine came up, I didn't see Tang Sanniang again.

After a long rest, everyone rested for a while, and then went to the prefect's yamen together. When they got there, an official told everyone to register in front of the yamen first, then get a number plate, and then go to the big theater for a meeting.

After registering according to what the official said, they received the number plate again, transferred to the theater, and went in after passing the inspection, Zhao Jizu and the others found that many people came.

"It's only our Luzon County who came to the meeting today, and the other counties haven't come yet, otherwise, no matter how big this big theater is, it is estimated that it will not be able to sit down." Tang Yuanwai is well-informed and already knows a lot of new information.

There were many people attending the meeting, but the meeting was very orderly, and there were officials from the yamen and the police to maintain order.

There was also a special letter to everyone who attended.

It was also the synopsis of the meeting that was written on the official document, about the prohibition of slavery.

"Employers of plantations, workshops, shops, merchant ships and other industries in Luzon are allowed to hire migrant workers, with a guaranteed monthly salary of two yuan, and a minimum living allowance of at least one yuan per month."

Seeing these contents, Zhao Jizu was a little stunned. The sixty Kunlun slaves that I bought for 6,000 yuan, do you still have to pay their salaries? A minimum of two yuan per month, and one living allowance in a month?

What's going on?

"Don't panic."

Tang Yuanwai next to him was not in a hurry, he had already read this official document carefully.

"The minimum monthly salary is two yuan, but it is not expensive, now the minimum monthly salary in the Central Plains is four yuan, and he only works eight hours a day, and the excess must be calculated as overtime pay, and he will get at least five silver dollars a month. Let's guarantee two dollars a month, well, it's much cheaper. ”

"However, I bought it for a hundred dollars a person, and I paid another three dollars a month, this"

Tang Yuanwai shook the official document in his hand, "Don't panic, look carefully, this is not what you think." Let me tell you this, according to what is said in this official document, the government will not take the sixty people you bought, and it will still be yours. It's just that in the future, you will be regarded as your hired laborer, not a slave, and you can't beat and abuse at will. They have a minimum salary of two yuan a month, but the 100 yuan he bought can be regarded as an advance salary, and this 100 yuan is equivalent to 50 months of salary in advance. ”

"In addition, you will have to pay at least one of their living expenses every month in the future. In this way, when they have worked for you for 50 months, they have paid off the prepaid labor, but they owe you another 50 yuan for living expenses. Therefore, they have to pay off the fifty yuan of living expenses for another twenty-five months, and after these twenty-five months, he has to pay another twenty-five yuan of living expenses, and he has to work for another twelve and a half months."

Tang Yuanwai was very shrewd to calculate this account for Zhao Jizu.

"In short, if a Kunlun slave you bought for a hundred yuan, if calculated according to the minimum monthly salary of two yuan and the minimum monthly living expenses of one yuan in advance, if they want to work until they pay off the labor expenses and advance living expenses, then they have to work for a hundred months. That's more than eight years. ”

"What about eight years?"

Tang Yuanwai smiled, "You spent 100 yuan on buying people first, and then you have to pay them another 100 yuan for living expenses in the past eight years, which is equivalent to you using 200 yuan to hire a Kunlun slave for eight years." Until these Kunlun slaves have worked for a hundred months and deducted all the labor agency fees and advance living expenses, the imperial court stipulates that they cannot leave. And when they have worked for 100 months, they will be freelancers, and they will have the freedom to choose whether to continue to work as a hired labor for you or to work as a hired labor for someone else. Or, you can give him a little more pay and let him continue to work. ”

"Anyway, it seems to me that two hundred silver dollars can hire a young man to work for more than eight years, which is very cost-effective. According to the above, as long as the foreign employees have been registered with the government, they are not allowed to run away until they have earned enough to repay the labor agency fees and living expenses in advance, and once they do, they will be hunted down by the government. This is another piece of good news for us. ”

Tang Yuanwai and Zhao Jizu looked at things from different angles, Zhao Jizu just felt that the Kunlun slave he bought still had to pay wages and living expenses, which was quite unworthy. Originally, he could have been a slave for life, and the male slave was married to the female slave, and the little slave born to him was also his domestic slave, but now it can only be used for eight years, and another hundred silver dollars must be added.

Two hundred yuan for eight years, if it is a normal employee, of course, it is very cost-effective, but if it is to buy a slave, it is very uneconomical.

Tang Yuanwai smiled, "Nephew, you have to know how to be content." Our ancestors' golden mean is very good, and you are also a reader who has gone through the scene, so you should know what the golden mean is, right? ”

Zhao Jizu nodded, "Mean, don't go to extremes." ”

"That's right, that's what it means. Slave storage is naturally very cost-effective for us merchant landlords, but it may not be for the imperial court. A slave is a private person, but a hired worker is a person of the court and a person of the state. Just as the imperial court will not allow slaves to be in the kingdom, so private individuals will no longer be allowed to own slaves. Now like this, I think it's good. With the public support of the imperial court, although the name has been changed, the essence has not changed. In the future, we don't have to worry about not being able to hire people, and it's only two yuan a month, which is quite cost-effective. ”

was enlightened by Tang Yuanwai, and Zhao Jizu also felt that this matter seemed to be okay.

His family's sixty Kunlun slaves can be saved, and his family's 1,000 acres of land can be cultivated. Even with the blatant permission of the imperial court, maybe those labor agencies will be able to get more migrant workers in the future, and maybe the labor agency fees will be cheaper at that time.

The cost of labor has increased, but he can hire more hired workers, and in the future, he will have enough people to cultivate the 1,000 acres of land, and even hire people to build his own sugar refinery, and maybe raise more cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens and ducks.

"Uncle Tang still thinks about it." After Zhao Jizu figured out this, he was not annoyed, anyway, it was useless to be annoyed. Just as the imperial court wants to limit the field and replace the field, whether they want it or not, the imperial court will implement it.

However, this time the matter is the same as the imperial court has always acted, and there is always a lot of leeway. It seems that you have indeed increased some costs and some losses, but in the long run, you can still benefit a lot.

As long as there is enough labor, then this thousand acres of land can be used and managed hard, and the future will definitely get better and better.

"Actually, even if those Kunlun slaves of yours have been working for a hundred months, do you think they are really free? They have no land and no land, and they can only get a long-term residence permit issued by the government after working for 100 months, and they are not registered in the household registration of the Han Dynasty, so they are not eligible to divide the land and grant land, so they can do nothing but continue to work on the plantation? It is impossible for them to save a piece of living expenses per month, even if we cover their food and accommodation, but they usually always use money, and they can't save anything for a dollar a month. After working for a hundred months, these people will have no other choice but to continue to work for us, at most they will give them a salary increase, but if it rises, it will always be cheaper than the salary of hired workers in the Central Plains, right? Even if it is according to the salary standard of the Central Plains at that time, we will not lose money. ”

Tang Yuanwai is a self-made man who has worked hard to build the big business today, and he clearly understands that sometimes giving people some hope is more effective than the kind of slave practice of being chained. This is like doing business and opening a shop, if you give the shopkeeper and some big craftsmen some dry shares, they will definitely be more diligent than just taking a fixed salary.

Instead of being a slave who can only work in chains all his life, never have enough food and clothing, no freedom and dignity, and no hope for the future, he will be able to get a free body after eight or nine years of work, and he can still be fed, clothed and warm, and get some living expenses, and he can have at least freedom and dignity, I believe they will definitely prefer to live a second life.

Slaves, who were enslaved and supervised by whips and chains, did not necessarily allow them to work seriously. But in a different way, it can make those people work hard and behave willingly.

The Tang members thought in their hearts, the person who came up with this method was really insightful and very good.

If he was a Kunlun slave, he would definitely be willing to live a second life of hope. But he also knows very well that in fact, this kind of hope is like a carrot hanging in front of the donkey's mouth, it looks good, but it may never be able to eat it, but this carrot can really make the donkey work hard to turn around and grind. (To be continued.) )