Daming 1805

Chapter 607 Efficiency and work and life
At the royal family banquet at the end of the 20th year of the Grand Duke's reign, Judy Lan, along with a group of brothers, brought a group of nephews to pay homage to his father and grandfather.

After the ceremony, Emperor Zhu Jingyuan asked the others to take their seats, leaving his six sons alone who would go out for training next year, and gave a few other instructions.

After Zhu Jingyuan finished speaking, Judy Lan boldly replied:
"Father, I would like to ask you something."

The other brothers were obviously taken aback, and immediately complained in their hearts that this little brother was troublesome.

In this situation, it would be most worry-free to let dad finish his lecture quickly, let everyone go to eat separately, and then go back to their respective homes.

Zhu Jingyuan was immediately curious and asked Judy Lan to speak.

Judy Lan said a little tangledly:
"Father, my son feels that the business model of a large number of dispersed private businessmen setting up various firms and factories to produce and sell various goods separately is relatively inefficient. I don't know if this is right..."

Zhu Jingyuan asked unexpectedly:

"How did you come up with such an idea?"

Judy Lan answered truthfully:

"My son often goes to the market to buy things these days, trying to compare shopping options to decide what to buy.

“Civilians and merchants should use the same method when purchasing things.

“This process is obviously unnecessary, the price we get may not be the lowest, and it also consumes a lot of time.

“Any form of business negotiation is about how to distribute benefits.

“The ubiquitous variety of negotiations wastes a lot of actual production time and slows down the production efficiency of the entire world.

“The only effect of this is to allow private entrepreneurs to make more money than ordinary workers.

“The four major official factories do not operate in all industries, and they do not involve the cheapest range. It seems that space is deliberately left for them.

“If all products are jointly operated by the four major official factories, all prices will be unified.

"Then when people buy something, they don't need to worry about the price. They can just choose the thing, pay and take it away."

Zhu Jingyuan was silent for half a second after hearing this:
"Now that you have thought about unified management, do you have any further ideas? For example, how about canceling the sale directly?

“Everyone works in the four major official factories, and at the same time, no one receives any wages or salary.

“Everything they need for life is supplied by the four major official factories of the imperial court according to their needs.

"Do you think this is the most efficient form of social operation?"

After hearing this, Judy Lan had a sudden feeling, as if she could react like this:

"This... this seems to be better than simply running it through government operations and then selling it through the market. In theory, it should be the most efficient..."

Zhu Jingyuan laughed directly after hearing this:
"You also said that it is the most efficient in theory.

“The actual social production efficiency is directly affected by the labor efficiency of production personnel.

“If everyone just needs to work, they will have complete living security and no need to worry about all life needs.

“So, will everyone be more productive than they are now?”

Judy was stunned for half a second and then added:

“Then through reference items such as contribution size and working years, people with more contributions will have priority in getting supplies and get higher supplies.

"This encourages workers to work harder."

Zhu Jingyuan continued:

"Then to evaluate the level of this kind of contribution, is there a measurement method? How about using something called money?
"As for the ranking method of supply priority, how about directly using the form of official position grade and title grade?"

Judy Lan was confused again:
"So... isn't this a return to the previous form?

“Only the imperial court and the four major official factories will be retained, and all the people will be included in the system.

"Avoid the time of wrangling negotiations between private manufacturers."

Zhu Jingyuan smiled and said:
"Then you can continue to think in reverse from this angle?
“How can we continue to improve people’s work efficiency on this basis?

“How to make people take the initiative to work harder.

“How to engage those who like speculation, competition, aggression, and exploration.

"Contribute all your energy and abilities..."

Zhudi Lan frowned and lowered his head to consider for a while, then tentatively said with some uncertainty:
“Give them…the possibility of higher…even unlimited profits?
"In other words, if they are allowed to run their own business, how much money they can earn in name is all based on their own abilities?

"But...the arguing process between them is indeed a waste of time...

"When their capital is accumulated and they no longer participate in actual operations, it becomes even more meaningless..."

Zhu Jingyuan exhaled softly:
“For a factory worker and a court official, we cannot let him work around the clock.

“We even have to deliberately arrange more vacations to make them feel that this kind of life is comfortable and enjoyable.

“However, for the owners of a small and medium-sized commercial firm, most of them are the shopkeepers themselves, and they usually devote themselves wholeheartedly to business operations.

“If it’s really profitable, they can work more than ten hours a day, all year round, and stay awake for several days.

“The excitement of controlling their own little world and the attraction of unknown profits that are so huge that they are hard to measure can keep them working efficiently.

“Indeed, after they develop to a certain extent, they may break away from direct operating positions and hire dedicated shopkeepers.

“Especially after the industry has been passed down to the second generation, when many heirs are incompetent, hiring professional shopkeepers will become the norm.

“At this point, the owner’s family is no longer a laborer, but has become a pure rentier.

“The shopkeepers and workers they hired worked for their families or the court.

“The only difference is that the maximum profit was enjoyed by their family.

“So the four major government factories are huge and weigh on all private manufacturers.

“It gives them no chance to grow to the level of the four major official factories.

“So your grandpa presided over gift estate tax reform.

“We have adopted a system that supports dismemberment and inheritance, and continue to dismember private manufacturers that tend to grow.

"Everything that exists in this world now has the logic and principle of its existence...

“Any large-scale change will not only affect the interests of a large group of people, but also lead to changes in the economic structure of the world.

“So before in-depth reforms, we must make comprehensive predictions.

“The process of reform is the process of forming a new social framework to replace the original framework.

“Rather than just deleting something on an old framework if it seems inappropriate, without considering the meaning and purpose of its existence.”

Judy Lan was a little confused when she heard this, but she seemed to have thought of something:
"Just like before the industrial age, the imperial court hoped that all people in the world would be yeoman farmers?"

Zhu Jingyuan said:

"Yes and no, before the Renwu Dynasty, those ancestors really hoped that things would remain unchanged forever.

“After the Renwu Dynasty, what we are pursuing is dynamic balance, pursuing controllable changes while allowing the entire world to develop upward.

"Continuously accumulate the quantity of quantitative change to build the quality leading to qualitative change."

Judy Lan asked subconsciously:
"Then Father, what is the quantity we have accumulated now, and what is the quality we have built?"

Zhu Jingyuan did not answer this time:
"It's up to you to think about it yourself. What I pursue may not be what you want to pursue."

Having said this, Zhu Jingyuan looked at his other sons:

“The process of political training is also a process that allows you to find the way to govern that you want to pursue.

“One generation has to do the things of one generation.

“What I do is not necessarily what your generation is expected to do.

“But it can be the foundation of your generation.

"So, what I am doing now is also the first level of important assessment for you."

The other princes did not dare to say anything, and they all listened to the teachings honestly.

Judy Lan also followed suit and saluted again:
"Kid, remember."

After Judy Lan finished talking to her father, the royal family banquet finally began.

The next morning, the 21st year of the Grand Duke began.This year's New Year's Day falls on the second day of the lunar calendar, and Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the next month.

Therefore, work will start on the eleventh day of the first lunar month in the 21st year of the Grand Duke's reign, and the seven-day holiday for the Lantern Festival will not be available until one month later.

Zhudi Lan and the other five brothers in training set off before the tenth day of the first lunar month.

Zhu Jingyuan talked about the Nantong Automobile Factory in general. This place is not actually next to Nantong Fucheng, but in Chongming Prefecture inside the Yangtze River Estuary.

Chongming is a key development area in Nantong, with a very developed population and industry. It has been transformed from a county to a state.

Zhudi Lan, with his secretary and four bodyguards, first went to Chongming Prefecture Office to report and register on the tenth day of the first lunar month, and then went to the automobile factory to take up his post the next day.

In order to understand Dad's goal, Judy Lan started running around after reporting.

When Zhu Jingyuan went to Xintianfu for training, he cooperated with Zhu Zhongliang to build a new industrial system in Xintianfu.

Of course, Xintianfu has also built an automobile industry, which is also under the unified management of Xintianfu Huangzhuang.

Later, with the great development of industry, it was mainly Zhu Jingyuan who deliberately guided the four major industrial groups to compete with each other.

Therefore, the factories of the Huangzhuang system are no longer limited to Xintianfu.

A number of factories of different sizes have been built in China and other large areas.

The Royal Family Consortium and the Ming Dynasty Consortium have invested in and built factories all over the world from the beginning.

Nantong Auto City is the largest automobile industry base in the world, with four major industrial groups having factories here.

Zhu Zhulan went directly to Guanchang's factory for investigation.

Chat with the workers, craftsmen and management of the official factory to understand the factory's management system and their living conditions.

Zhudi Lan soon realized that the factories of the four major official factories were no longer just factories, but actually grassroots management organizations.

Moreover, the depth and breadth of management confused Judy Lan.

Official factories would build houses together. In the early days, they seemed to be dormitories, but they soon became independent apartments.

Later it became a regular building, and now it has become an independent courtyard.

The official factory has large employee residential areas in the suburbs.

Employees can apply for rent as soon as they join the company. The monthly rent for an entire yard is only five silver coins, which can accommodate a large family.

The key is that after working in the factory for ten years, you no longer have to pay rent.

After working for 20 years, the property rights of the yard will be transferred directly to the individual.

In other words, once you enter the official factory, you don't have to think about preparing your own house.

The residential area is concentrated, so there is a unified shuttle bus.

There are also schools run by factories in residential areas, and primary and secondary schools are located within the factory boundaries.

Within one or several prefectures, there will also be universities run by factories, or universities that cooperate with factories.

Students who are able to enter college will receive additional subsidies to attend these schools.

Even if you can't get a university scholarship, the subsidies provided by the factory can reduce the tuition fee to less than fifty silver coins.

As for ordinary production line workers in the factory, their wages were [-] to [-] silver notes during the probation period, and directly increased to [-] silver notes after becoming regular workers.

In other words, one month's wages can pay for a child's tuition for the entire year.

The salary of fifty silver notes received by novice workers is not low. The key is that they do not have particularly large hard expenses.

The most I can do is buy a car.

It takes half a year's wages to buy an ordinary one, and a year's wages to save for a better one.

At the same time, there are also "shared bicycles", "shared electric vehicles", "shared cars" and "shared trucks" in factories and residential areas.

When needed, you can borrow it directly with your work card.

There are also hospitals in factories and residential areas, and medical expenses are very low.

There are also various entertainment facilities in factories and residential areas, including computer rooms and cinemas.

The factory also has a logistics department, which is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the factory and employee housing. It also introduces potential partners to employees and connects them with their children.

The factory has its own wedding team, its own catering team, and its own supply chain of daily necessities.

A large number of basic living expenses can be covered by the services provided by the factory.

It doesn’t cost the workers absolutely nothing, but it can be provided based on the factory’s existing facilities and services.

Will it be supplied through circulation channels within the consortium, or will it be centralized procurement and supply?

Unnecessary repeated low-price purchases are reduced, unnecessary private transactions are reduced, and the workers' final cost of living is reduced.

According to Judy Lan's understanding, a worker who pays half of his wages can cover the food and clothing expenses of his family.

The older generation of workers still want to save the other half of their wages, but many of the younger generation of workers just want to eat, drink and have fun.

The key is that the basic supplies for ordinary people's lives, the most common social life and entertainment activities, can be provided in factories and residential areas.

Most of the essential things in ordinary people's lives are taken care of by the group.

Ordinary workers no longer need to worry about how to deal with it.

Judy Lan was a little confused about this state.

So with these confusions in mind, I visited private automobile factories and private auto parts factories.

Then Judy Lan experienced another completely different lifestyle.

Most of the owners of private factories are simply giving out money, and they have nothing to do with workers' matters that have nothing to do with their work.

Workers have to take their own house tickets and buy a house in the place they want to go, or buy land to build their own house.

Workers have to find schools for their children and pay all tuition fees themselves.

Workers must prepare their own vehicles for commuting to and from get off work.

After Zhudi Lan asked several owners, he learned that there were private owners who tried to imitate official factories and provide workers with various life-level services.

But they soon discovered that due to the huge difference in size, the cost of providing related services was extremely high.

There are many workers in official factories, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.

Officials can invest their own money to build manors, open catering companies, wedding companies, and build schools and hospitals themselves.

It's actually very cheap after the cost is diluted.

Private manufacturers only have one location and one factory. To provide related services, they have to deal with related industries and purchase their services.

The total cost of use is much higher than the investment of the official factory.

Coupled with the instability of workers in private factories, many people want to gain experience and change jobs to go to official factories.

It is also difficult to provide workers with transferable housing.

In the end, private manufacturers all defaulted to a business strategy of only paying wages and not caring about anything else.

On the contrary, this allows them to reduce operating costs.

In some private factories, if the products they operate are competitive, the wages of bottom-level workers may be higher than those in official factories.

But even so, most workers in private factories still want to change jobs.

Zhudi Lan asked many workers and some grassroots managers of private manufacturers.

Many workers may not be able to explain clearly, but managers are usually eloquent.

Judy Lan understood their mentality by communicating with them.

"Private factories are work, official factories are life."

The only purpose of working in a private factory is to make money and then build your own home. You and your descendants have to rely on yourself for everything.

As for the official factory, the official factory itself is a home. As long as you enter the official factory and stabilize, you don't need to worry about your own life or even the future generations.

But what do the owners of private manufacturers think?

(End of this chapter)