national surname chiming

Chapter 83 I only gave me two years, and I gave you a new Suzhou

"The young master is back! The young master is back!"

When the fleet approached the Liujiagang Wharf in Taicang, the pedals had not yet been stabilized. Shen Shuren was recognized by a group of dock workers just by showing his face on the deck, and then aroused bursts of noise.

The crowd rushed over and bowed and saluted, which seemed unsafe.

Shen Fu had no choice but to let the servants line up in two rows to maintain order, and squeeze out the idlers before serving the young master to go ashore.

The bayonet and long-handled battle ax that were just forged ten days ago are naturally brand new without any trace of rust. They look really bright in the sun and can reflect cold light.

This scene made Shen Shuren a little dazed, thinking that he was like a villain.

"When I read history books when I was young, it was said that Louis XVIII acted against the law and returned to Paris for restoration with the protection of the bayonet of the Anti-French Alliance. I guess this is the pomp. If you take the emperor back to Paris, you don't need a bayonet."

He couldn't help thinking to himself, he also wanted Shen Fu to relax and be more close to the people, but in the end he couldn't beat the cowardice in his heart and acquiesced to all of this.

I have offended a lot of people recently, and security is still very important.For a cautious person like him, it seems that he will never be able to become Napoleon in his lifetime.

More importantly, he went home for the New Year this time, but he brought Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan with him, so how could he let his woman be seen by other people.

At this moment, the two girls are wearing veiled hats, that is, hats that are similar to bamboo hats and covered with a veil to cover their faces.

Seeing so many people booing, the two girls became more and more frightened, so they could only cuddle up to Shen Shuren.Shen Shuren could only hug them in his cloak like a bird, and hurried to get on the car.

Under the looming hood, the faces of the two girls could not be seen clearly by outsiders, but just that certain faint peerless appearance and slim and alluring figure were enough to make others dare not look up.

"The woman next to the young master is really like a fairy."

"I heard that the number one Kunqu performer in Kunshan can only work as a maid beside the young master. And Miss Dong's Embroidery Workshop, who made the shuttle loom, is just a maid."

Some well-informed gentry in the crowd couldn't help but lower their voices to discuss in order to show that they knew the inside story of the market.Ordinary dock workers naturally dare not say a word.

"I haven't been back for a year, yet there is such a big commotion." After getting into the car, Shen Shu breathed a sigh of relief, and asked the two girls on the left and right to take off their veils and wrap them in their arms to keep warm.

Dong Xiaowan said in a soft voice: "Master, I underestimate myself. We follow you, and it feels like a dream, let alone these people from the countryside. You have been away for a whole year, and when you come back, you have been promoted to three ranks in a row. In Taicang Such a small place should not be used as a talking point by the common people for several years."

Chen Yuanyuan on the other side was a little curious and worried:
"However, when we left last time, there were not so many laborers on the wharf. I feel that Liujiagang has become more prosperous than in previous years by at least a few percent when we came back this time. Is there more refugees from the north? It seems that The month is indeed getting worse."

Shen Shuren couldn't answer this question, but it didn't matter.

He didn't even need to move, and continued to sit with his left and right hugs, and directly raised his voice a bit: "Shen Fu, let me ask you, why are there so many people in Liujiagang."

Shen Fu, who was waiting on horseback outside the curtain of the car, immediately replied: "Young master, you forgot that when you and the master were in the capital, you played the matter of changing the water transport to the sea. Zhu Dadian said that millions of water people depend on food and clothing, and do not resettle them. Good Cao people can't change the sea, and the master also promised in front of the emperor.

A total of 40 million Cao people will be resettled in five years, and this year it will be divided into 2 to [-].In Jinmen in the north and Liujiagang in the south, the dock workers alone have expanded by as many as [-] people.

There are still some who have not been resettled, and they all gather here at Liujiagang first. Those who should be pulled to dig mulberry fish ponds, and those who should be trained as seagoing sailors or Latin team members will also be able to Arrange slowly.These people all moved here after the autumn harvest. Now our family manages the livelihood of tens of thousands of people, and the tenants and fish pond diggers that can be filled are all filled. "

Shen Shuren rubbed his temples before he remembered.After taking office in Huangzhou for more than half a year, I almost forgot the pit I buried when I was a Beijing official.

The resettlement of Cao people was an important achievement of his father. The reason why Chongzhen only promoted his father to the Department of Transportation of the Ministry of Households was to see how well he did in the trial of resettlement of Cao people this year. Only with good results can he continue to be promoted. .

Father Shen Tingyang also knew all this, so he worked very hard, even if he temporarily recruited too many people and suffered a small loss in temporary turnover, he endured it.

Thinking of this, Shen Shuren immediately asked: "Father should have arrived before me, right? I remember that he mentioned in his family letter that he would go back during the Chinese New Year, and organize next year's grain shipments. He would be released for several months a year, but he felt comfortable. "

Shen Fu obviously remembered the master's family's schedule, and said confidently: "Isn't that right, the master should have gone south a few days after he sent the family letter, and he should arrive two or three days earlier than us."

Most of the doctors in the household department are stationed in Beijing all the year round, but it is normal for those who are in charge of water transport to catch up with the reform pilot year and travel frequently.Shen Tingyang is lucky, his hometown is in the southern shipping port, so every time he travels on business, he returns home.

Hearing that his father would arrive first, Shen Shuren didn't dare to neglect, he immediately ordered the horses and chariots to speed up, and also pushed Chen Yuanyuan and Dong Xiaowan away.In order not to get out of the car after a while, you will still be red-faced, red-faced, disheveled, and lose your family style.

What's more, Dong Xiaowan has actually gotten fit recently, and has been pregnant for more than a month.Since the end of October, Shen Shuren has been doting on Chen Yuanyuan alone, so that Dong Xiaowan can conceive.

When I come back this time, I will also leave Dong Xiaowan in my hometown in Suzhou, and take good care of her next year. After giving birth, I will consider whether to take her to the post.

The carriage galloped along the Liuhe River. It was more than ten miles from the wharf to the Shen family's mansion. There were fewer and fewer pedestrians along the way. Shen Shuren was not afraid of being peeped at the female relatives, so he opened the curtain of the carriage to enjoy some scenery.

I haven’t been back for a year, and Taicang County has also changed a lot. The mulberry gardens along the way are still densely populated during the winter slack season, and some strong men insist on digging mulberry fish ponds there.

The naked eye can see that the popularity rate of mulberry fishponds is already very high. The fields that used to only grow mulberry and silkworms can now generally produce at least a hundred catties of fish per mu per year to feed more people.Fertilizing the fields with fish dung can also slightly increase the yield of mulberry leaves by [-] to [-] percent.

In addition to the mulberry garden, there were originally row upon row of weaving workshops by the river, but a year later, the number of weaving workshops seems to have decreased, and some dilapidated and old factories have also been demolished, replaced by fewer, But on a larger scale.

Many laborers are still rushing to earn wages in the winter, which is estimated to be able to subsidize their families for a good year.With a casual glance, Shen Shuren can see from the scale of the buildings that these workshops are at least thousands of looms in size, and there are very few small weaving workshops with hundreds of looms.

He asked worriedly: "Shen Fu, could it be that a lot of small local weaving workshops have closed down this year? The flying shuttle loom invented by Xiaowan has been popular for more than a year. Those who can't afford a new loom Is it possible that the small workshop can’t survive? Has the price of local silk and cotton dropped?”

Shen Fu didn't know about this issue either, he had long since neglected accounts, and at most he was only concerned about the master's family affairs.After being asked, he immediately went to the car in front and called his second brother Shen Shou, and asked Shen Shou, who was in charge of the accountant, to answer.

Shen Shou immediately came to the young master's car, sat on the shaft outside and replied: "Master, the price of cotton cloth has indeed dropped a bit this year. The price of narrow cloth has dropped by more than one cent a piece of silver, the key is the extra price of wide cloth. The premium is less.

Originally, the three-suo cloth was three feet wide, and the narrow cloth was one foot and eight inches wide, but the three-suo cloth was able to sell for double the price of the narrow cloth, earning an area of ​​six inches for nothing.Today, the same area of ​​Sanshuo cloth can no longer be sold at a higher price.The five or six-foot-wide scrimmage cloth can barely pay a premium for the same area.

Many small weaving workshops specializing in three-shuttle cloth were the hardest hit.But they can’t even talk about going bankrupt. Suzhou people don’t admit defeat so easily in business. They don’t have enough money to buy new machines, so a few small workshops join forces to form a large workshop. "

When Shen Shuren heard this, he couldn't help laughing: Isn't it because the technological progress led by him led to the upgrading of industrial equipment, and the small enterprises couldn't afford the cost of upgrading, so they had to form a "cartel"?
In the process of upgrading capital attention to the monopoly of industrial capital, trusts appeared in the United States, and cartels appeared in Germany. Now this wave in the late Ming Dynasty should be regarded as a cartel.

Daming's capital attention buds, which have sprouted for so long, have been unable to grow for a long time, so it must be officially ignited in his own hands.

"That's good, as long as you don't go bankrupt and stabilize the situation, otherwise there will only be a few wealthy companies with tens of thousands of looms or even more, and the small workshops will be over. This Suzhou must be in chaos. We will continue to engage in Lijin, maybe we will There will always be people in the old nest who will jump out and object. Give them a bite to eat, and unite to resist risks, so that I can manage them."

Although the Shen family also has a large workshop, they still assume the role of a buyer and reseller. Of course, Shen Shuren does not want the capital concentration in the production link to be too high.It would be best if small businesses can unite to weather the storm.

As the convoy got closer to Shen's house, the streetscapes on both sides of the road became more and more prosperous.Finally, when passing by Shen's own weaving workshop, Shen Shu noticed that there were at least tens of thousands of looms in his home.

Over the past year or so of technology iterations, those adopting new technologies relying on revolving profits to grow bigger and put into reproduction, the power is really beyond the reach of ordinary people.What's more, the Shen family is still working with the Songjiang Xu family to collect "patent fees" in a disguised form, relying on power to control the place.

When the carriage finally stopped at the entrance of Shen's house, Shen Shuren actually saw that his father had to come out to pick him up, so he hurried forward to salute, as for the female relatives, he had to be supported by other maids.

"Father, I didn't suffer from anyone in the capital, right? It was the child who provoked Zuo Liangyu, so I should have let you know in advance."

Shen Tingyang didn't care at all, his face was full of joy, and he was so proud of his son's arrogance: "What's the matter, there is no danger, when you come back this time, how long can you live?"

Shen Shuren: "At most, it will be the Lantern Festival, and then I have to go to Nanjing to deal with Zuo Liangyu and Hou Xun's party. For a while, let's discuss how to make His Majesty make up his mind next year to give Lijin the determination to reform the law." gone."

It took several minutes for the father and son to walk from the first entrance to the fifth and sixth entrances. If there was not something to talk about, such a big house would like to sit on a sliding pole in its garden.

While chatting, Shen Shuren couldn't help asking about his family's fleet and business, which he hadn't had time to care about for a year.

Shen Tingyang is also very proud, saying that the Shen family's sea-going fleet has almost doubled from one hundred fifty to sixty in just one year!At least a few 10 taels of silver was spent to build a ship, and it will increase by that much every year in the future.

As for the source of shipbuilding money, about one-third is the income from helping the imperial court to carry water transport, and other turnover money, and two-thirds is from the expansion of the family's textile industry, the profit from selling machines, and the additional income from the textile industry's sea trade. profit.

I had agreed with Chongzhen to "complete the transformation of water transportation into the sea within five years", which means that the Shen family will add at least 150 large ships every year during the five years, and the total number will increase to [-] within five years.

You must know that the Zheng family in Fujian only has one or two thousand self-operated sea ships.

At the beginning of Shen Shuren's journey, the Shen family's property was only equivalent to one-twentieth of the Zheng family's property. After traveling for a year and a half, it has already exceeded one-tenth of the Zheng family's property, and it has more than doubled.

In the next three to four years, according to this expansion plan, it will grow to one-fifth or one-third of the Zheng family's... At that time, the Shen family will also become the first-class force in the country, which is the reason why Shen Shuren will fight for hegemony in the future. financial base.

Having earned so much money, Shen Shuren is also very happy to pay a little more tax to the court, just to ensure that his business is all legal.

(End of this chapter)