From Chief to Ball

"Let's make do with it. It's mainly for the sake of being different, not for convenience. Brother Zhu Gan, I'm about to go to you and report to our people about my business in the capital."

Hu Lin smiled and waved his hands and said, "There's no rush, I know you have become Mr. Xue Gong, and I'm thinking about celebrating it in a few days. I just happened to tell you what we did in Min City these days."

"Didn't you hear anything important?"

"Hey, what's the big deal? I helped a few women fight divorce lawsuits; I got into a fight with a group of moneylenders and almost killed them; I set up a group with the live laborers on the dock; someone went to the capital area Selling safety lamps, building a good relationship with coal mine workers by the way, and going to a few who have studied medical skills. It’s not a big deal, but the effect is good.”

"This is not very good."

Hu Lin clicked his tongue, and said helplessly: "There are also disadvantages. Didn't our trading company hire a lot of women? As a result, several of them divorced their husbands. If it's just a divorce, it's fine, get together with people in our trading company Yes. In addition, don’t we support the textile workshops to pay wages directly to women? Because of this, there have also been divorces. Especially when the money is in my own hands, I find that I can support myself, and the original husband may be drinking. , Once financially independent, we will argue for a divorce. Our current reputation... is actually not very good, saying that we condone moral corruption. Last time, because of a divorce, we had a dispute with the man and almost fought."

Chen Jian said with a smile: "What is this? We don't want to be those who are ascetics. I suggest that the party should not care about the things in the crotch. Love is what you want. Compared with abstinence, we can compare with those who think abstinence People who can make the society peaceful? Why can’t they be compared to that?”

"Some people quit the party because of this, saying that our ideas are generally good, but many places violate morality. In addition, some people who quit before we went to the capital formed a sacred moral alliance. Those who ask to join must be morally high , prohibiting personal desires, and it is said that they are compiling a manual of moral codes for Chinese people."

Chen Jian burst out laughing, and said, "Okay, let's play separately, isn't it under the banner of our Mo party?"

"No, I'm afraid I'll get it on my body."

"That's good. Hey, let me tell you, Brother Zhu, how is your business going about recruiting craftsmen?"

Before going to the capital, Chen Jian drafted an article on recruiting craftsmen and posted it everywhere.The main purpose is to absorb some technical craftsmen to join, with good remuneration, and announced the acquisition of various patents at high prices, and even interest-free loans to patent applicants, but it needs to be reviewed.

Technical craftsmen are not the same as those small handicraftsmen. In a sense, technical craftsmen sit extremely firmly on the left and in the middle, while small handicraftsmen sit firmly on the right.

The high fees and unreasonable time for patent application made it difficult for many craftsmen to make a fortune. They were the group most eager to break the guild system.

This is not only a matter within the party, but also a private matter of the trading company or Chen Jian, and the two highly overlap.

"This matter still caused a lot of sensation. But whether the technical review is an interest-free loan, or whether those machine inventions are useful... No one can decide. On the public, you are the financial committee member and the technical personnel in charge. In terms of privacy, no one can use your money without you here. Besides, we may not know which ones are useful, which ones are not, and which ones are purely for defrauding money."

"So there are a lot of people?"

"Not a lot. But there is one person I know will be useful."

"how do you know?"

"I've heard about this man."

"How to say?"

Hu Lin picked up a chair, approached Chen Jian and said, "This person is not from our Fujian County, he was originally from the north. Later, he made a handmade machine related to woolen fabrics, and then something happened. Those hired workers in the last process of worsted fabrics , but they are not ordinary people, at least it takes seven or eight years to learn the craft. They also earn a lot on weekdays, and there are guilds to support them, so they live a good life."

"As soon as this man's machine is made, it's in trouble. This machine is definitely not as good as manual work, but if it can't stand up to the machine, the things it makes seem to ruin many people's jobs. Some woolen mill owners use this machine Talking about things, saying that it is necessary to reduce the wages of worsted woolen workers—if you don’t agree, you will use machines to blackmail those woolen workers.”

"As soon as the cashmere workers heard about it, and with the instigation of those who cared, they went to smash the craftsman's house, destroying the machine and even injuring people."

Speaking of this, Hu Lin frowned and said: "This is what you told me in the capital. When the wall fell, you didn't know how to smash the people who dug the wall, but you smashed tools such as shovels and chisels. You are right to say that, but Ah, there's something else you don't understand."

Chen Jianqi said: "What do you not understand?"

"You only think about money and profit. In fact, there are other problems. You have never been a hired worker's apprentice. You don't know. I also asked some people to understand what's going on."

Hearing this, Chen Jian was also very curious, and hurriedly said, "I need to ask for advice."

Hu Lin sucked his teeth and said: "It's like, you worked hard as an apprentice for seven or eight years, and finally learned a craft. After leaving the teacher, you became a cashmere worker. This craft is not only for eating, but also It is identity, reputation, and a lifetime of painstaking efforts, the value of human existence."

"The result? Get a machine, an apprentice who has never worked before, operate according to the rules, and you can get similar effects. Turning craftsmanship into money is the most basic thing."

"But in the traditional value, the guild will tell these apprentices that it is your value and your glory to pay for these crafts, including the seven or eight years of the apprentice's career is for the future. A piece of fine wool is not just wool, It is also the hard work of many hired workers, just like painting and poetry, this is art, not just the labor of eating."

"But what does the machine turn the wool into? It becomes goods. It means nothing but goods. There is no difference between a man who has been an apprentice for seven or eight years and has worked hard, and a new apprentice. Who can accept it?"

"In addition to money and benefits, there is also the value of the craft itself. I have studied for seven or eight years, and I could have gained some respect, but suddenly the salary was reduced, and even this respect was gone. It is the same as those at the bottom. .”

Chen Jian laughed and said, "It's like the art of painting and poetry? The value and honor of tradition and craftsmanship? It sounds so good, but isn't the most fundamental thing still the money bag? The old guilds can get huge profits without innovation. , and will crowd out all newbies who try to break into their industry, so we will make up such a beautiful sentence, so that the money bag will be covered with a layer of sacred light, covering the jingle of the money bag. What we want to do is precisely to put Wipe away this layer of sanctity, and tell everyone plainly, for money, where is the sanctity? Under the sanctity, there is profit."

Hu Lin sighed, and said helplessly: "That's what I said, but traditional morals or values ​​are still very stable. People already believe in the value of life contained in craftsmanship, although money is an important reason as you said, But this kind of brilliance still makes the problem more serious than money. This is the same as the master-student inheritance of the guild. The master of the guild must tell the apprentices respect, etiquette, and sanctify the crafts that make a living. Everyone believes that it is not so easy fixed one."

"Isn't there an apprenticeship law?"

"The law is the law, the cold law. The moral tradition is the moral tradition, warm. You must have both. Only rely on the apprenticeship method, apprentices are willing to be coolies for free for a few years? Don't you need something to fill this coldness?" At least to make everyone more comfortable. I became an apprentice out of etiquette, respect, and filial piety to the master like a father, so all the hard work is taken for granted. Only in this way can the dissatisfaction in the hearts of the apprentices be offset, otherwise only relying on the law What is the use?"

Chen Jian nodded and asked, "Then what happened to this craftsman...?"

"Later? Report to the officials after being smashed. It is said that the magistrate had a good reputation at that time, and his reputation was extremely high. He could be regarded as a good official for the people. It's just that the more he serves the people, the more difficult this kind of thing is. On the one hand, the entire woolen business The pressure of the meeting, and potentially hundreds of job losses. On the other side is one person."

"How to choose, isn't that easy? You can't say that this official is bad. At that point, hundreds of people are living in poverty or even unemployed. On the contrary, this is a good official who considers the majority of people."

"According to the law, he paid for the damage, but his reputation in the city is bad. It is difficult to stay in the city. Every day, people scold him for ruining the jobs of hundreds of people. After the meeting, the proposal is not allowed. He improved his own machine, and just like this wandered to Mincheng. The machine was destroyed and the blueprint was burned. This man is also disheartened and dare not do this kind of thing again."

Speaking of this, Hu Lin thought of something, and said with a smile: "It's like the conflict with the glass guild back then. The infamy is similar to what you have suffered. The problem is that you have money and power. That craftsman doesn't have it. You have so much money and power, who will be a craftsman?"

"Every day, people stop him and scold him, and he is threatened with lead bullets several times. He has harmed the interests of too many people. Dental dealers, middlemen, woolen guilds, woolen masters... all together in the wool producing area, That is the biggest force, who can provoke it?"

"The leader of the guild will not buy the machine, otherwise he will be resented by the people in the guild. They must maintain the old tradition; whoever dares to buy it in the industry will be smashed the next day; You can’t get wool, woolen wool and the like at all; the places where wool is produced are all the bases of some relatives surnamed Ji, intertwined and intertwined with interests, and ordinary people can’t afford to provoke them.”

"The people who funded him at the beginning knew that they couldn't beat the woolen guild, so they didn't dare to set foot in it. Besides, one thing more is worse than one thing less. Officials are also opposed to this kind of change. Massive unemployment will inevitably lead to turmoil, and no one dares to take the responsibility. responsibility."

"One side is the interests of one person, and the other side is the interests of hundreds or even thousands of people. It's hard to say about this kind of thing."

Speaking of this, Chen Jian said with a smile: "Brother Zhu Gan, is there something in your words?"

Hu Lin shook his head and said: "It's not that I have something to say, it's that we all have something to say internally. Most people have different opinions on this matter, and the differences are huge. The experience of this craftsman has caused a large-scale discussion within us. Let's put it this way, Shi Shi Same water and fire."

1 Ten Chapters One Hundred Thousand Whys

"Has the situation reached the point of fire and water? Do you want to do it?"

"That's not yet. The rhetoric was fierce during the discussion at night, but the normal operation of the weekdays has not been affected."

Chen Jian said with a smile: "There is no problem. Our purpose from the beginning was to make the Republic better. With this great recognition, everyone gathered together. Problems will arise immediately, how to become Better? Different people and different industries have different opinions. Over time, they will naturally form their own programs. It is meaningless to talk about getting better. There must be a direction and a rational argument.”

Hu Lin nodded and said: "Everyone also means the same thing, and we encourage you to continue the discussion. I'm just worried that a holy moral alliance has been separated from us, what will be separated in the future?"

Chen Jian spread his hands and said: "That's beyond what we can know. In terms of purpose, we all come to the same goal by different routes, all for a better future. This is a sea, a blue sea, and countless tributaries will converge into the sea."

"But the snow-capped mountains and swamps where the rivers originate are different. People are like water droplets. Even if they flow into the sea, they still have to ask themselves where the source of their thoughts is. Is it a snow-capped mountain? A swamp? A spring? A stone wall? There must always be a source. , a hundred flowers bloom, and all sources contend.”

"Eventually these sources still flow into a big river that runs to the sea."

"If there is only one big river, the water droplets in the sea may think, I am from the snow mountain, and the guy next to me is from the mud."

"If there is a second river, after thinking about this, these water droplets will still think, I come from the big river, and the drop next to it is from the mud swamp and not a snow mountain, but it also comes from the big river, but the drop next to it is from the Min River; Maybe, I will think that I come from the snow mountain, hey, the water droplets of the Min River next to me also come from the snow mountain, so we all come from the snow mountain.”

"One day, where the sea and the sky meet, there may be a boundless fire, so these water droplets may think that I am water first, and then they can think about what water is and return to the essence of water."

"What kind of water you are, depends on the situation at the time, and you will choose to believe in the modification in front of your water drop. Brother Zhu Gan, which of these water drops are you right?"