Most people subconsciously believe that factories should be built in the suburbs, sparsely populated, cheap land, and without too much environmental pressure.

Once...... Not in the early days.

Not in this era.

It was still around the morning when Zhu Yuan came to a papermaking workshop under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty.

The location is not outside Jinling City, but in the west of the city, downstream of the Qinhuai tributary that runs through the city.

Before entering the door, only smelling the surrounding smell, Zhu Yuan could immediately understand why most of the nobles and merchants in Jinling City were concentrated in the east of the city.

Because it is relatively upstream, the environment is better and the water quality is better.

Choosing a livable environment is also a human instinct.

Recently, it is necessary to reorganize the paper business and build Daming Paper Group.

Shan Anren, who will be the secretary of the secretary, also accompanied Zhu Yuan over, and there was also Gu Zhongren, who had already greeted Lao Zhu.

A small sedan chair under heavy escort stopped in front of the workshop, Zhu Yuan walked out of the sedan chair, and immediately a middle-aged man wearing a green nine-grade official robe trotted down the steps in front of the door, almost flattering in the street and said: "Xiaguan Weizan has seen Lord Pingzhang, may your lord be blessed with longevity and health." ”

Zhu Yuan glanced at the cleanly dressed and wealthy general, and then glanced at the few craftsmen who were also neatly dressed who knelt down behind him, his expression remained unchanged, but he said, "Get up." ”

Shan Anren, who will be the secretary of the secretary, also got off the sedan chair in the back, Wei Zan got up, and saluted Zhu Yuan again, before walking to Shan Anren and meeting again.

After some tossing, everyone finally entered the door.

Although the smell was not good, the interior of the workshop was obviously cleaned carefully, and Zhu Yuan looked around after entering the door.

In addition to a few houses, there is also a circle of straw sheds around it, under which bundles of bark, straw, hemp and other things are neatly stacked.

Zhu Yuan motioned for everyone to continue, and walked in without hurrying, came to a straw shed with a pile of materials, and asked, "What kind of material is this?" ”

Wei Zan leaned closer, leaned short and replied with a smile: "My lord, this is the bark of the tree, this tree, also known as the tree, is similar to the bayberry, and the people call it a fake bayberry tree." ”

Wei Zan said, seeing that Zhu Yuan stepped forward again and wanted to take out some, he hurriedly grabbed a few and sent them: "My lord, be careful to cut your hands." ”

This flattering appearance, not to mention Shan Anren and his party around him, even many craftsmen around him were a little blind, and quietly showed a look of disdain.

Zhu Yuan took a two-foot-long and half-inch-wide tree bark from Wei Zan's hand and looked at it slightly, folded it in half, and said: "I read the book that the bark should pick the tender bark of spring, it is winter, this bark has not dried yet, it should have been picked recently, can it be used?" ”

"My lord, you can use miles," Wei Zan said, "The tender bark in spring is good, but papermaking does not stop all year round, so I have to retreat." In addition, there are also regional divisions, we are Jiangnan, and the bark is soft in winter. ”

Zhu Yuan nodded slightly, put down the bark in his hand, and said, "Let's go to the back workshop to have a look." ”

Wei Zan had never heard the term 'workshop', but he immediately understood, raised his arm and guided: "My lord, this ......"

Zhu Yuan followed and turned to a courtyard gate, and asked casually as he walked: "Why is it the bark of the tree, and what other materials can be used to make paper in addition to the bark?" ”

When Wei Zan heard this question, his small eyes flashed, his body bowed lower, and he followed Zhu Yuan's side in small steps, and said: "My lord, choose the bark of this tree to make paper, the emphasis is on the easiest materials, and the tree grows in the north and south of the world, whether it is by the waterside of the road, or in the mountains and hills, the cuttings are alive, and the growth is also fast." If you talk about other materials, there are more, wheat straw, white linen, green hemp, and bamboo rattan materials, so total, the best of which is leather, in addition to the tree, there are mulberry trees, green sandalwood, three trees and so on. My lord, if you let the lower officials say, this material is still secondary, and the process is the most important. If the craftsmanship is exquisite, the straw can also be used to make fine paper. ”

Zhu Yuan smiled and asked, "So, the question is, why don't you use straw to make the best paper?" ”

Wei Zan was stunned for a moment, and then he smiled again and said, "My lord, straw...... After all, it is not good material, if it is based on the pursuit of superiority, it is not impossible, but it is too cumbersome and costly, and it is not worth it. ”

Zhu Yuan nodded again and said: "Teach you one, and use another way to explain it, which is called 'input is not proportional to production'." ”

Wei Zan walked smoothly and arched his hand: "My lord is exquisite." ”

It's good not to be incisive.

Otherwise, I'm going to give you these two words in reverse.

Speaking of which, he came to the back of the workshop, where different courtyards were doing papermaking processes such as crushing, boiling, soaking, and rinsing.

Zhu Yuan asked while looking at it, and probably knew that there were more than 270 craftsmen in this workshop, which belonged to the largest one under the jurisdiction of the General Division, mainly supplying daily office paper for the imperial court.

Among them, there is also a recently set up production line, which was formed by the craftsmen that Zhu Yuan brought back from Mingzhou, specializing in the production of red and blue document cardboards.

Different from ordinary paper, the biggest difference in making colored cardboard is papermaking.

Zhu Yuan looked all the way, and soon arrived at the papermaking workshop of the colored document cardboard, and recognized several of the craftsmen's faces at a glance.

When he first ordered this matter, Zhu Yuan talked to these people several times.

Then I looked at the blue pulp pool here, the pulp in the pool was obviously much denser than that of other papermaking workshops, and the bamboo curtains used by the craftsmen were also smaller.

Specific papermaking is also repeated many times compared to ordinary paper.

Finally, the copied cardboard is not stacked like ordinary paper, but is placed on a separate plate, first squeezed and then fed into the baking room.

After patiently watching for a while, Zhu Yuan finally pointed out and shouted to someone.

This is a short man with a fat build, named Jian Wu, from a government-run workshop in Mingzhou, who was later brought to Jinling by Zhu Yuan and some other craftsmen.

When Jian Wu, who was smiling with a smile on his face, kowtowed, Zhu Yuan asked him to get up and asked, "Are you used to it here in Jinling?" ”

Jian Wu's two hands dyed in blue rubbed the clothes that were inevitably stained with a large area of blue, and nodded with a smile: "Habit, adult, the little one didn't think about it, and I can see you again." ”

As soon as he was speaking, Wei Zan had already flattered him again and moved a chair over.

Zhu Yuan sat down and continued to ask, "You are here, what is your monthly salary?" ”

"Six buckets of rice a month," Jian Wu smiled more: "The little one can't finish eating, and I still want to wait for two years, save some, bring the mother-in-law doll, and live the life of this Jingshi person." ”

Six buckets of rice, which is converted into about 90 catties.

An average of three pounds a day.

In Zhu Yuan's concept, this is so little that he is mad, and the capitalists shed tears in ecstasy.

However, in this era, even an adult strong man is not able to eat three catties of grain casually a day, and it is usually grain mixed with all kinds of dregs and wild vegetables.

Therefore, for the artisan household, this is actually a ration for the family.

In this era, it is not as simple as a family of three, but it is more common for four or five people, and if there are parents to raise, it will be more.

According to the calculation of a family of five, 90 catties of grain is equivalent to more than half a catty per person per day.

However, this kind of treatment, in Jian Wu's opinion, is very energetic, and he still wants to be able to bring his wife and children.

The first thing Zhu Yuan saw from this was that there was no deduction in this workshop.

After all, it is conceivable that the official ration of six buckets in January, but, in many cases, what can reach the hands of craftsmen is not necessarily six buckets.

Just like the grain tax ratio set by the imperial court is 30 taxes and 1, if it can actually be implemented to 30 taxes and 1, it is not impossible for the Ming Dynasty to say 276 years and inherit 2760 years.

However, there is always a big gap between the ideal and the reality.

Inside the workshop.

Zhu Yuan continued to talk to Jian Wu, and sent the other party back to work, while his impression of a flattering Jiupin petty official beside him changed a little.

There may also be cases where craftsmen are taught to say something deliberately, but Jian Wu can blurt out that he wants to bring his wife and children, which is unlikely to be fake.

】

So, waiting for Jian Wu to leave, Zhu Yuan looked at Wei Zan again, didn't say anything, just continued to ask: "How many papermaking workshops are there under the jurisdiction of Jiang Zuosi in Jinling?" ”

Wei Zan bowed down a little more: "My lord, there are three places in total, all in the west of this city. This place is for the imperial court paper, and the other is on the street, smaller, for the royal family. The last one is near the stone gate on the north side, and the scale is similar to that of the second, with about 200 craftsmen, mainly making bamboo paper. ”

"What about the yield?"

Wei Zan thought about it and said: "Not to mention the royal place, the other two workshops can make 100 knives of large paper every day, 60 here, 40 over there, let's say that last year, a total of 35,396 knives of paper were made throughout the year, that is, more than 350 thousand sheets." ”

More than 3.5 million pieces of paper per year, which sounds a lot at first glance, Zhu Yuan asked: "Is it enough?" ”

Wei Zan shook his head: "It's not enough, as far as the lower officials know, last year alone, the household department purchased more than 17,000 extra knives of paper from the private sector. This year...... It is said that in this imperial examination, the required paper was not available in two places, and an additional 2,000 knives were purchased at one time. Oh, there are also adults who operate the "Daming Monthly", and the lower officials are also ashamed, we can't supply this paper. ”

It's not that the supply can't be supplied, it's that Zhu Yuan can't look down on it.

The paper supplied to the imperial court here is not too bad, but it is far from the best.

Zhu Yuan listened to Wei Zan fluently report all kinds of data, and before thinking about it again, he finally said approvingly: "You are not bad, Zhengjiu is low." ”

Wei Zan couldn't hide his joy: "My lord praises falsely, and the lower official ...... It's all within the division...... ...... within the division"

"Your Majesty has agreed to set up Daming Paper Group, but the matter still has to be done step by step, first build a Jinling Paper Company, you will be the manager, Zhengbapin, and ......" Zhu Yuan said, pointing at Gu Zhongren: "...... This is Lao Gu, heh, to be honest, if you dislike me today, this manager is his, now, you are still in the job, Lao Gu is your deputy, from Bapin. ”

Wei Zan did not show any slackness, and hurriedly saluted Gu Zhongren again.

Gu Zhongren also returned the salute seriously, somewhat disappointed in his heart, but he didn't show it.

After the two of them spoke, Zhu Yuan, who leaned on the chair and endured without cocking his legs, continued: "Don't think this official is small, just say that by my side, in the past year, there have been from the eighth product to the third product, and there are also from the eighth product to the fifth product, so the next thing depends on your ability, the specifications of Daming Paper Group are basically determined to be the third product, however, for the time being, it is just an empty shell, no chief officer, if the two of you can go up step by step, a president, a vice president, that is a positive three products, one from the third product." ”

Wei Zan and Gu Zhongren reassured again and again.

Zhu Yuan also glanced at Gu Zhongren with a smile: "Old Gu, you don't necessarily just start from the third grade, there will be a lot of corresponding positions in the future, just like another Daming Ceramics Group, the plan is also the same three-grade specifications, and now it is just an empty shelf." Anyway, if you do a good job in the future, it is not impossible for you to transfer to manage other groups. ”

Gu Zhongren agreed again.

In his heart, he couldn't help but think that Zhu Yuan also asked him to recommend other good businessmen, which ...... Isn't it just looking for an opponent for yourself?

Well.

Think about it and stop quickly.

If you don't recommend it, it's not like you can't find someone else to recommend it, and when the time comes, you'll be even more of your opponent.

Zhu Yuan ignored the change in Gu Zhongren's expression, looked at the craftsmen who were making paper, and continued: "The position is arranged, next, two things." The first one, relocation, the workshop in the city, must be moved outside the city, the specific location, you two to choose, my suggestion, it is best to collect raw materials nearby, for example, close to the foot of the mountain, so that the whole mountain can be made into a raw material base. Second, set a production target, last year it was 35,000 dollars, this year will not be too bad, then, next year, I hope you will increase the output by 10 times, to 350,000 dollars. ”

After speaking, he looked at the two of them again, and seeing that they were all embarrassed, Zhu Yuan asked with a smile: "What's the problem, say it on the spot?" ”

Wei praised and said, "My lord, this ...... 10 times higher, or 5,000 craftsmen, how to get it? ”

Zhu Yuan said: "Most of the papermaking craftsmen who have moved in one after another will be given to you, if it is not enough, you will recruit from the people, or train them specially." Papermaking is not pottery, I just saw it, most of it is manual work, and most people can get started quickly. In addition, you don't need to worry about money and food, the court will try its best to meet it. ”

Wei Zan nodded, paused, and couldn't help but say again: "My lord, if you make a lot of paper...... But, can you run out? ”

Zhu Yuan gestured to Gu Zhongren on the other side: "That's why I asked him to be your deputy, if you can't use it up, then sell it." Whether it is a 'company' or a 'group', it is actually a business platform for doing business. However, in a short period of time, even if the yield is increased tenfold, you don't need to worry about running out, there are many places that need it. This one...... Without much explanation, you two just have to do what you are told. ”

Wei Zan is also a scholar, and when he heard Zhu Yuan say this, four words immediately came to mind: compete with the people for profit.

This is not only to be impeached by the officials, but I am afraid that the people will also point fingers at him.

But......

Well.

Anyway, even if the sky falls in the future, there will be someone around you...... The official is big, and he just does things by himself.

Thinking about the Daming Paper Group that is three products, Wei Zan is a little warm. If it weren't for the sake of a future, who would want to be so groveling and flattering in front of Shangguan?