Chapter 82 The red-top businessman! (Please subscribe)
It is drizzling in Yingtianfu in April.
Xia Zhibai’s ‘enterprise’ has not yet officially started construction.
The deeds for the coal mines and salt mines allocated by the imperial court were sent a few days ago.
Xia Zhibai had almost no hesitation and went to the location of these two coal mines and salt mines without stopping, with only Hei Wa and a few people following him.
He wanted to find out clearly about the conditions of these two mines.
The news is mixed.
The good thing is that Zhu Yuanzhang was not too cold-blooded in the end, and the coal mines and salt mines allocated to him were not considered brand new.
There are traces of use on it. It was a mine that was secretly mined in the past. After being discovered by the court, these people were killed by the entire clan, and these mines were sealed.
Having been used by others does not count as starting from scratch.
It just took a lot of time to clean up.
The distance between the salt mine and Yingtian Mansion is not too far, less than ten miles.
The bad news is that the two mines are too far apart.
Twenty miles.
It wouldn’t be a big deal in later generations, but in this era of people carrying horse packs, it seems too far. To transport coal from another mine to the salt mine, the transportation cost and manpower will be extremely high. High expenses.
This does not include subsequent promotion to Yingtianfu.
There is also a lot of freight on the road.
Xia Zhibai needs to solve a series of problems.
During these five or six days, Xia Zhibai almost stayed in this abandoned mine with dry food.
He took Hei Wa and others to clean up the entire mine. He also briefly repaired the broken walls that had been pushed down and burned outside, and barely built a shelter from the wind and rain.
After tidying up hastily, Xia Zhibai returned to Yingtian Mansion.
The engineers from the Ministry of Industry are coming.
He also wanted to discuss the pumping steam engine with the engineers from the Ministry of Works.
In less than a week, Xia Zhibai lost a lot of weight.
Sitting on the bullock cart returning to the city, Xia Zhibai closed his eyes to rest and began to think carefully in his mind.
He was pressed for time.
In terms of time arrangement, what he wants to do is to put the salt wells and coal mines into operation in the first month. Even if it is just a straw platform with only a general framework, it must be up and running first.
If there are conditions, we must do it. If there are no conditions, we must create conditions.
It is necessary to make salt.
In the second month, I began to refine some equipment and living environment, gradually improve efficiency, and try to sell salt.
In the third month, it began to be promoted in eight counties throughout Yingtianfu.
Everything is on track.
In response to Tianfu this time, his purpose was very clear.
Formally build the corporate factory, let the machines run no matter how efficient they are, recruit some qualified refugees, and let them start moving.
Xia Zhibai kept making choices in his mind.
Concentrate on doing the right thing.
A small courtyard in the west city of Yingtianfu.
An old man over sixty years old, his body is a bit stooped, but his eyes are very energetic.
He was sitting on a stone bench, holding a blueprint in his hand, and beside him was a 'hateful-looking' iron lump.
He is Zhou Ning.
A seventh-grade junior official in the Ministry of Industry's Department.
However, Zhou Ning has never really regarded himself as an official. He still understands his situation very well. He is a "remnant of the previous dynasty" in the court. He originally inherited his father's business and worked in the Ministry of Industry of the Yuan Dynasty. He was a minor official, but after the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Yuan Dynasty, he changed his clothes and became a worker of the Ming Dynasty.
For a person of his background, if nothing unexpected happens, he will basically be an official until death.
Who would have thought that when the palace city and the imperial city were being built in the past ten years or so, many officials from the Ministry of Works were corrupt. Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he directly implicated thousands of people in the Ministry of Works. He was ill at the time and it happened to be After escaping a disaster, but because the Ministry of Industry was in trouble and no one was available, he was promoted to a seventh-grade official.
From a petty official to an official in one leap.
Crossed the gap between officials and officials.
But in Yingtian Mansion, where a brick could hit a group of officials and meritorious disciples, he, a seventh-grade official, had no effect at all.
The status is still very low.
More than ten years have passed, and he is still at the seventh level.
Never moved away.
The reason for coming here this time was ordered by the Ministry of Industry.
Of course, the most important thing is that other people don’t want to come. Even if that person is the top pick, many people look disgusted when they hear that he wants to go into business.
In the end, the Ministry of Industry had no choice but to force the arrangement on him, and he couldn't refuse it.
He is actually quite interested in this steam engine.
This is also the main reason why there is no refusal.
"Governor Zhou, do we really want to stay here in the future?" After a while of silence, an engineer behind Zhou Ning finally asked curiously: "I heard that the number one scholar does not want to serve in the court. He even wanted to turn down his official position in the Hanlin Academy and focus on business. "
"Are we going to follow a businessman from now on?"
The engineer had dissatisfaction and disgust on his face. .
What can I say? He is also an engineer working in the Ministry of Industry, and he can be considered a respectable person.
He doesn’t want to work for a businessman.
Zhou Ning turned around and looked at the people standing behind him. Naturally, he could see the dissatisfaction and complaints on their faces.
Although they were not taken seriously by the Ministry of Industry in the past and were basically not reused, they were working for the Ministry of Industry after all, and they had more or less self-respect and pride.
Now that I was ‘relegated’ to a businessman, I couldn’t accept it for a while.
The gap is too big.
Zhou Ning said: "This is an order from the imperial court."
"But Governor, you can obviously recommend it. How many people in the Ministry of Works can match your qualifications in the Ministry of Works?" The man continued to complain: "If you don't want to, do they really dare to force you to do it? Now, Governor, you are like this With a nod, we were assigned as well. "Zhou Ning was very good-tempered and explained unhurriedly: "This is only temporary."
"We will serve the imperial court. , how can we push back and forth?”
“Besides, Li Sheng, your father has an old relationship with me. You should actually understand our current situation.”
“Your father and I have been in front of each other before. If you serve in the imperial court, you can be favored by the imperial court and continue to serve the imperial court, which is a great favor. ”
"The craftsmen, no more than others, need to do it themselves."
"But over the years, how many projects have we actually been responsible for? Basically, other officials from the Ministry of Industry have picked out the rest, and there are more. It's not thankless, it's just a waste of time and energy."
"But this one is different."
"Although I have never seen this famous champion. ”
“But from the sketches he produced and some ideas provided by the Ministry of Industry, we can actually see that this is a very thoughtful and enterprising person, and he intends to build I have a hunch that the steam engine will be amazing, but now it’s just a difficult start.”
"But given time, we may soar into the sky and become a blockbuster."
"We will also benefit from it."
Li Sheng curled his lips, still impatient, and whispered in a low voice : "Then he is still a businessman. No matter how successful a businessman is, he is still not in the mainstream. If we return to the Ministry of Industry in the future, we will be laughed at by others."
Zhou Ning frowned.
Just when Zhou Ning wanted to speak, a voice sounded outside the house.
"It is true that businessmen are not in the mainstream at present, and they are indeed inferior to others, but as a businessman, I am different from other businessmen. I can be regarded as a 'red-top businessman'."
"Although I am still a businessman in essence, I am still a businessman. Even with an 'official' on his back."
Xia Zhibai strode into the yard.
"Xia Jinshi." Zhou Ning stood up and saluted Xia Zhibai.
Xia Zhibai returned the favor.
Li Sheng lowered his face and turned red.
It’s really embarrassing to be caught red-handed by the right person for saying bad things.
Zhou Ning opened his mouth, wanting to defend Li Sheng a few words, and said: "Xia Jinshi, Li Sheng did not deliberately arrange it. Today, there are many people who treat merchants with contempt. He was temporarily affected. In addition, his craftsmanship is actually He was quite masterful and had not been taken seriously for a long time. Then he got excited and asked Xia Jinshi for forgiveness. "
Xia Zhibai laughed and waved his hand: "It's okay.
“I don’t care about that.”
"The smell of copper on a merchant's body will naturally lead to dissatisfaction."
"I actually don't have much fondness for merchants, but it is undeniable that merchants provide great convenience to the circulation of goods in the world. "
"Sometimes we need to face the existence of businessmen."
"Being too subjective and ignoring other key factors will often blind one's vision."
"Na Xia Jinshi, Since you don't have much affection for businessmen, why do you insist on doing business?" Li Sheng also became bold and asked curiously.
Others also looked at Xia Zhibai curiously.
Xia Zhibai was very honest and told the truth directly: "Because of money."
"The world is very snobbish."
"Without money, in today's world, A lot of things can't be done."
"I need money."
"You need a lot of money."
"Just like you, you may be very skilled and have a pioneering vision, and you want to do something big, but the money allocated to you by the court every year is only a few dollars. Two, dozens of taels, with this little money, no matter how talented and capable you are, how much can you do?”
“Me too”
“In my heart. There are a lot of things I want to do.”
“But it’s impossible to do it just relying on the government’s funding, so I have to find a way on my own.”
"Here."
"I will try my best to meet all your needs."
"At the same time, I have equally high demands on you. The more contributions you make, The more you gain, the more generous the rewards will be.”
“In other respects, I won’t impose too many restrictions on you.”
“This is my opinion, Xia Zhibai. The promise you made.”
"If you are dissatisfied or want to complain, you can say it."
"I, Xia Zhibai, can answer your questions one by one."
Zhou Ning and others looked at each other.
They did not expect that Xia Zhibai would say these words, and they were a little stunned for a moment.
A little bit.
Li Sheng blushed slightly and asked timidly: "Xia Jinshi, according to what you said, I can do what I want to do with you? As long as I complete what you asked me to do? And you will be responsible for all the expenses." ?”
Xia Zhibai shook his head: “I will not provide additional expenses, but if you do your job well, there will be other rewards. The better you do, the more rewards you will get.”
“In short.”
“The more you work, the more you get, and the less you work, the less you get.”
“As long as you make enough contributions, there will be no shortage of various rewards. .”
"I, Xia Zhibai, will not be stingy in this regard, nor will I be stingy in the slightest."
"Of course, the premise is that you must meet my requirements."
Li Sheng's face changed. It changed again and again, and finally the eyes became firm.
He still couldn't resist the temptation. As a young man in his early twenties, he certainly had a lot of ambitions in his heart. However, he was always left out and ignored in the Ministry of Industry and never got the chance to show off his talents. , now that Xia Zhibai is willing to give this opportunity, how can he not try it?
The top pick should not be able to deceive others.
Li Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll do it with you."
Xia Zhibai showed a smile.
He turned his head and looked at Zhou Ning and others.
He needs to develop a good team of 'engineers'.
(End of this chapter)