Chapter 319 Education Briefing Session
Although merchants used to sell porcelain, they mostly did it for resale, and the profits were not the same as their own production. The only famous kiln in South China that is close to the trading port is the Dehua kiln in Fujian. The cost of transporting porcelain to South China is quite high, such as the Liling kiln in Hunan, the Jingdezhen kiln in Jiangxi, the Cizhou kiln in Hebei, and the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang. . Now that the Haihan people want to build a porcelain production center near the export port, the knowledgeable businessmen will naturally not let go of such a good opportunity to make money.
For projects like the ceramics industry, which are guaranteed to make a profit without losing any money, the commercial department is willing to put them in Qiong Lianfa to share them with shareholders, mainly because of the resources in the hands of shareholders. If the Time Travel Group wants to be a one-man show, then this project can naturally be launched, but the speed will be slower. After bringing in these shareholders, in order to obtain more benefits faster, they will definitely find ways to recruit the necessary technical talents for this project in the mainland, and those foreign businessmen who have conducted porcelain transactions with them in the past will probably also do so in the future. The trading location will be moved from the mainland to Victory Port.
Of course, if this kind of new store opening business wants to compete with the famous kiln works on the mainland that have been passed down for hundreds of years, it cannot be done by poaching some craftsmen from other companies. The business philosophy of "Qiong Lianfa" will also adhere to the time-travel concept. The group's consistent style is to use industrialized production methods to reduce production costs and form basic competitiveness. It may not be able to compete with the craftsmanship of famous old kilns in terms of high-end products, but in the production of mid- to low-end daily-use porcelain, Chuanchuan Group can fully utilize its technical and management advantages to achieve cost control and gain through production capacity. Competitive advantage.
Using production capacity to reduce costs and competing for the market based on cost can almost be said to be Chuan Chuan Group's special skill in organizing production. In this era, it is difficult to find an opponent that can match it. Even agricultural production has completely broken away from the small-scale peasant economic system of the same era, and has been replaced by a collective farm-style operation with unified arrangements for planting plans.
Whether it is industry or agriculture, this operating model is very novel for shareholders. Some of them may have thought about running their own businesses in a similar way, but both production levels and management methods have limited the possibility of turning these ideas into reality. In this era, only the Cross Travel Group has enough experience and technology to realize these large and complex plans.
Since the listing ceremony in the morning was delayed for some time, it was already lunch time after the ceramic industry's fundraising process was completed. The arrangements in the afternoon are equally tight. Shareholders have to attend product promotion meetings that they are interested in, as well as education briefings that everyone is very concerned about. As for the remaining project briefings, everyone is not in a hurry. After all, the money invested in these projects will take about half a year at the earliest to see any hope of return. Moreover, according to the explanatory information, the funds required for subsequent projects are also increasing. It will take some time for everyone to digest the explanatory information and make careful decisions.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Ning Qi walked into the venue of the education briefing with his briefcase under his arm. He was surprised to find that there were many more people here to join in the fun than he had expected. Due to the shortage of space for too many meetings, the education department could only temporarily requisition an empty warehouse in the port business district. Beforehand, they just posted the name of the meeting in black and white letters on the door, and simply arranged tables and chairs.
According to Ning Qi's estimation, it would be good if more than ten or twenty people could attend this briefing. After all, the time would conflict with other promotions. But what I saw in front of me was that the five rows of benches were fully occupied, and there were more than a dozen audience members who came late and did not occupy seats, waiting behind them. Ning Qi quickly told the naturalized citizen working here to go to the canteen and get some more chairs and stools.
Ning Qi looked around the venue and saw that almost all the shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa" were present, and felt a little sigh in his heart. As a somewhat proud scholar, he originally did not agree with the Executive Committee's use of various industrial technologies as a sweetener to attract these foreign merchants to send their children to Victory Port to study. After all, this method seemed too philistine. Some. But he also understood that the executive committee was forced to make such a decision by the situation. It must recruit a group of influential people's interest spokespersons in the mainland in the shortest possible time, and make this interest relationship as stable as possible. , in order to prepare for the future mainland strategy.
But after seeing the scene in front of him, Ning Qi had to admit that the effect of the Executive Committee's move was indeed quite good. If it were not for the propaganda aimed at the desires of these businessmen, it would have been foreseeable that the hall would be deserted at today's briefing session. ——After all, what everyone wants is to send their children to take the imperial examination. There is no benefit and no one is willing to send their children all the way to this place to learn some strange skills.
"Thank you all for coming here today to listen to our briefing. First of all, let me make a statement. Our Haihan education system does not teach traditional content such as the Four Books and Five Classics. So if you have plans to let your children take the imperial examination, you might as well Find another way out so as not to delay the child's future." Ning Qi sat down and explained the direction of education.
Ning Qi took a look and found that no one in the audience seemed to be planning to leave just now. It seemed that they were all mentally prepared before coming. Ning Qi coughed dryly and continued: "So, everyone here, did you receive the promotional materials we distributed when you entered the venue? If there are still others who haven't received them, please let me know."
The so-called promotional materials are actually similar to project instructions. They mainly briefly explain the content and direction of Haihan Educational Institution’s external enrollment plan.
In response to the situation where foreign non-naturalized people want to take the initiative to enroll, the education department has formulated a special plan to divide the enrolled students into two categories. One type is students who are willing to stay in the jurisdiction of the group or work in the group's units after graduation. The other type is those students who come to Shengli Port specifically to learn skills and will return to Daming or other places for employment after graduation. To put it simply, they are basically the directional students and the through-training students of this era.
If they are willing to sign a contract, students who work in relevant units for five years according to the allocation of the Cross-Training Group after graduation will be able to have all tuition and miscellaneous fees waived, and will have priority in extending future employment contracts. These students can choose their own majors, but their future employment destinations will be determined by the Cross-Training Group.
The Weifang student model, which is more popular among wealthy businessmen, is to return home and start your own business after studying, which requires a one-time payment of a not-so-low tuition fee. If you drop out of school midway, the excess tuition will not be refunded. And there are a few majors that will not be open to Weibo students, such as the arms manufacturing major that both "Fu Ruifeng" and Fujian Xu Xinsu Group are extremely interested in.
The entire academic system is divided into three years for primary school, middle school and university. During the admission process, students will undergo cultural tests to arrange entry into the corresponding academic period. Only after completing their studies in primary and secondary schools can students enter the university to formally study professional courses. Reducing the primary and secondary school curriculum to six years is also a last resort. Whether it is internal or external, it is impossible for the Cross-Travel Group to apply the education system of later generations and spend more than ten years to slowly cultivate talents. Because there are not so many teachers available now, various units facing a rapidly expanding recruitment gap do not have enough patience to wait for such a long time.
In fact, most of the students currently entering Shengli Port Primary School will be directly assigned to work units for employment after completing three years of primary school and completing literacy and basic computing skills. Only a small number of students who are smarter and have outstanding qualities will be employed. Have the opportunity to enter a higher-level middle school. As for "university", as of now, it is still an institution on paper, because there are not yet a large number of students who need higher education.
Wealthy businessmen want to send their children to Victory Port to learn Haihan's secret skills. If they learn from scratch, they will need to study and live here for at least nine years. If nine years can't wash the minds of these students into bringing their own food, then Ning Qi can probably resign and retire as soon as possible. Maybe by the time they graduate, they will have become the Haihan sect with firm ideas. Returning to the Ming Dynasty will be able to better promote the Haihan culture and values to the outside world - if the Ming Dynasty regime still exists at that time.
Although this study period is very long, it is still much shorter than the more than ten years originally claimed by Tao Donglai. Moreover, wealthy businessmen who have become accustomed to the imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty do not think there is anything wrong with this time span. After all, in the Ming Dynasty, relying on the imperial examination to gain fame cannot be completed in a short time. It takes several years from being a boy in elementary school to becoming a scholar. Those who can become a scholar in their teens are all talented people. The difficulty gradually increases as you move up the ladder. Many scholars can only carry the title of scholar all their lives. There are very few people who can take the exam like Li Nai, the third young master of "Fu Ruifeng". Only 3,000 people are admitted once a year, a ratio similar to that of Tsinghua University and Peking University in later generations. As for the higher-level Jinshi, the admission rate is only one-tenth that of Juren, so it is not just a matter of personal knowledge. People with self-awareness will generally stop wasting time taking exams if they get Juren. To become a scholar, if there is no other way out, you will have to rely on the government and receive subsistence allowances for the rest of your life. For children from rich families to get the title of scholar, it actually just sounds nice and has no practical effect. Many wealthy people simply buy the title of scholar with money. For businessmen who are more practical, instead of trying their best to test their character and wait for candidates to join the civil service system to fill vacancies, it is better to send them to Shengli Port to learn some practical skills from the Haihan people. This can actually earn them gold and silver. What a good thing!
The explanatory material lists multiple majors according to two different enrollment forms: orientation and commissioned training, and attaches a simple explanation. The wealthy businessmen obviously had many more questions than what was stated in the admissions brochure, so after Ning Qi simply repeated the admissions brochure, the wealthy businessmen immediately began to ask various questions.
"Mr. Ning, if the juniors you send here are already familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, can they skip primary school and middle school and directly enter this university?"
"Mr. Ning, the orientation students don't charge a penny, but the training students have to pay the first six years of tuition at once. Isn't it too unfair?"
"Mr. Ning, if this trainee wants to change to a directed student midway, will the tuition be refunded?"
"Mr. Ning, what if the child is stupid and can't finish this course? Do I need to pay additional tuition for a few more years?"
Faced with this chaotic situation, Ning Qi felt as if he had been transported back to the 21st century in a trance. When he went to various places to promote school enrollment policies every summer, wasn't this the situation he faced among the excited parents?
Of course, the essence of the matter is still different. The eager parents before time travel were basically planning for the future of their children, but now these guys just use their children as long-term investment tools. They are so impatient because they just want to figure out what to do to ensure that they can reap the maximum benefits in the future.
After thinking about this, Ning Qi couldn't help but feel a little more disgusted with these fat-minded guys in front of him. He clenched his fists and knocked on the table and said: "Quiet, quiet! Please quiet down, everyone, don't ask questions together, so I can't help you." I can’t hear you clearly! If you want to ask a question, please sit down and raise your hand. I will answer them one by one. Each person can only ask one question at a time. ”
After Ning Qi's outburst, the order of the venue was indeed improved a lot. Even if some people disagree in their hearts, they can only tolerate it for the time being when they think that their children will study under Mr. Ning in the future.
The question-answering session was far more troublesome than the project briefing in the morning, because Haihan’s education system did not have any ready-made results for these businessmen to visit, and they wanted to deepen their understanding of Haihan education simply by relying on words. Understanding and building confidence is not an easy task. Even though Ning Qi had always been known for his sharp talk, he was so noisy by these people that he almost called the police to maintain order at the venue.
In the end, Tao Donglai, who had completed another promotion meeting, arrived in time and helped Ning Qi hold up the place. And with Tao Donglai's endorsement, the businessmen's doubts seemed to have been reduced a bit. After the education briefing ended that afternoon, more than 20 businessmen had registered and were preparing to select school-age children to study in Victory Port.
Some relatively weak businesses have mostly chosen orientation students in a more practical way. After all, the high tuition fees starting from 100 taels per year are a bit scary. Moreover, if you can complete primary and secondary school courses and enter university to study professional courses, the tuition fees will be even higher. A step. In addition to the students' living expenses after living locally for several years, this is not a small amount. Besides, it's not a bad thing to be a directional student. After graduation, you will work in a Haihan designated unit for five years. Isn't this just an internship apprenticeship? Not everyone in all walks of life does this, but the rules of the Haihan people sound more special.
Most of the relatively strong merchants have registered applications for admission to several majors, which means that they will have to send a corresponding number of students. Dong Yanyun, the representative of the Xu Xinsu Group, reserved the room without any ceremony - the majors announced by Ning Qi, whether it was orientation or commissioned training, had a quota of two people in advance for each major. It seemed that they planned to We are going to form a team of international students to come here. Dong Yanyun hurriedly signed the letter of intent and left, because he had another very important promotion meeting to attend.
Compared with the education briefing here, the situation at the other promotion meeting was much quieter, with less than ten participants in total. This venue is not in the port business district or Fort Victory, but on the east bank of the Tiandu River estuary.
In the first product promotion meeting after the establishment of "Haihan Military Industry", only three representatives were invited to participate - Xu Xinsu Group in Fujian, "Fu Ruifeng" in Guangzhou, and the North Vietnamese official inspection team. So far, only these three parties can directly purchase various light and heavy weapons produced by the Cross-Travel Group.
For "Furuifeng", the good days of reselling weapons to Fujian in the past few months are gone forever. Due to the strict export control of weapons by Chuanchuan Group, "Furuifeng" will not be able to do so for the time being. There are other sales targets, so their current desire to buy is not very strong. They basically acted as spectators at this meeting.
The other two buyers are both in a state of war and have a huge demand for arms. It can be said that they can buy as much as the Time Travel Group produces. After watching the previous amphibious military exercises, the two buyers were even more determined to equip Haihan weapons in large quantities - after all, the battlefields they are now on will have amphibious landings or counter-landing battles, and Haihan The Han people's combat method of making full use of thermal weapons undoubtedly gave them an excellent reference. If they can reach the equipment strength of the Haihan Militia, then it should be only a matter of time before they defeat their opponents.
Although the military industry department is already developing weapons with higher technical content, there are not many new products launched at this promotion conference yet. The Crossing Group is currently expanding its own military, and most of the flintlocks produced have been digested by themselves. For a period of time, the matchlock gun will still be the main item of export weapons. As for the artillery, I am afraid that the buyers who came excitedly will be disappointed - because the port defenses and the navy still have a large demand for artillery equipment, all the production capacity of the artillery workshop is now used to make coastal defense guns and naval guns. As for the export model of the Army gun, production will not begin until at least May. The only products that buyers can use this time are replaceable parts and ammunition that match previously exported weapons.
(End of chapter)