living in 16th century england

Chapter 75 The Bottom Line of Squeeze

Anna was stunned for a while, then suddenly said, "Thank you, Matthew."

Matthew filled the tobacco slowly and methodically: "You are my sister.... As I said, you will have a generous dowry."

Anna smiled and said, "You still remember what you said more than a year ago."

Matthew held a long smoke pot with a calm expression.

"No, it will be earlier."

As Anna left, some of the servants and domestic servants at the manor stood up and took off their hats to her.The patrolling soldiers even took the initiative to salute and get out of the way.

Back in the house, Matthew felt more and more that this place was not suitable for permanent living.The place is small and there are too many people coming and going.

The mansion built for Anna has not yet been completed, but the construction team is not efficient, and the sewers have not been completed.Two others went to Greenwich and one to the Isles of Scilly.His sea view room is naturally nowhere in sight.

Before finishing the pot of cigarettes, I heard the voice of my father Andrew.

Looking from the window, I could only see the young old man holding on to the tree stump and slowly sitting down.

He hammered his legs, still muttering: "Damn..."

Matthew looked at it for a while, and suddenly asked, "Has anyone seen a four-wheeled carriage?"

One of the servants was fairly well-informed: "Master Baron, are you talking about Hussche?"

Matthew: "No, no, it's not that one, it's the one specially used to carry passengers, and it's very comfortable."

Aiden stretched out his head and took a look: "I've never heard of it... But even if it's a Huss car, there's no way to go this way."

Matthew: "...That's right, we have to build the road first."

The external transportation of Hawkins Manor is basically by ship, which saves trouble in large quantities.There are dirt roads between the estates for carriages, but the overland road along the Tamar River to Plymouth is only suitable for riding horses.

It's not that the road is not wide enough, but that there are some ditches. It's like a wheelchair meets steps.Of course, it is not impossible to go around from the direction of the monastery.

Matthew: "Remember, when they finish the sewer, they will also repair this road."

Aiden hesitated for a moment: "Matthew... I heard that many people in the construction team asked to be sailors."

Matthew: "..."

This kind of thing is normal, and Matthew immediately thought of a solution.

"Select, if you want to be a sailor, you have to pass the selection."

That's how the longbowmen were chosen.

"For example...don't ask anyone over 25 years old, don't want to swim, don't want to be thin, don't know how to use a sword...don't want to read, don't want to be married..."

Aiden was stunned: "You still have to read? Some captains can't read..."

Matthew coughed: "That's... a problem left over from the special period. The captain needs to keep a logbook, so what if he can't write? Can't everyone hire a clerk like Lawrence? In the future, those with experience will be given priority, and those who can read will be given priority ...and not just sailors, no matter what the job, the illiterate will always be at the bottom.”

Aiden: "... Matthew, not many people in Plymouth can read."

Matthew thought, none of my business.The purpose of setting the threshold is to let them work with peace of mind.If you want to transfer jobs and make a fortune, you should first learn to read and write.I am not a nanny.

The school that is being established always needs students, so it is not too much to charge tuition fees, right?
A domestic servant couldn't help but said: "Master Baron, I heard that many of the people who were sent to the pier to carry the big bags were thorns who refused to obey discipline. Now they are all making a fortune. Isn't it unfair to those who keep their own lives? ?”

Matthew: "It's fair, because they don't need to take any risks to live comfortably. So far, we have lost a dozen sailors... The construction team? Only two fractured."

"And I think their efficiency is declining. Every day they grind foreign workers and wait for their meals. The sewers are still not finished."

The servant thought about it, but didn't insist anymore.

People always tell you that people are hardworking, but it is not.If there is a choice, they will just be lazy.Using various means to force people to work diligently is the original purpose of many systems.

In any case, labor can make human progress.

The rulers will use various methods to make the laborers work more.If you can't earn more money by working more, and you can earn the same amount even if you are lazy, then it is inevitable to do foreign work.

The capitalist system is very capable of driving people to work hard.The cowhide doesn't need a whip, they will whip themselves with a whip.

~Why do I have no money to marry a wife?Isn't it hard enough?

In the Tudor dynasty, as long as the owner farmers with a suitable area of ​​land worked hard, it was not a problem to eat enough.There are also enough conditions to become soldiers and longbowmen with their own weapons.

But where did the weapons and armor come from?Clearly, owning farmers alone is not enough.

A way of working like a construction team simply cannot last.If it weren't for the lucrative trading profits and quick business without capital, Matthew would be doomed to be emptied of his family property by the idiots.

Because no matter how well they do, and no matter how much they do, they will get the same rewards—food and housing included, one penny a day.

Is the salary low?

Take the cooper as an example, the annual income is about 1200 pence.He should also need to solve the problem of eating by himself.

A stonemason usually earns no less than 2000 pence a year. This is not just about rounding stone bullets and knocking a millstone.Some can also sculpt, the lifelike ones earn more money.

It is normal for a skilled armor craftsman to earn 4000 pence a year.But this is a high-tech talent, at the same level as a blacksmith.

There are also other low-level occupations.For example, ordinary servants earn 240 pence a year.Ordinary maids pay twice as little, 120p.Apprentice carpenter, around 450p.

Talking about income but not food prices are all hooligans~ Generally speaking, 100 kilograms of wheat cost 60-70 pence.Of course, the poor can't afford wheat, usually "horse fodder".

The construction team is not all 1 penny a day.There are those who specialize in making thatched roofs, which is a technical job.Roughly 5p a day.But this is an outsider, not a homeless person.

Basically, the construction level of the homeless people is currently at the level of "the walls are basically not crooked".

The woolen factory is actually the same, with food and lodging included for a penny a day.Although skilled weavers will be able to achieve 4 pence a day in the future, that is after the price rise.And they are not skilled at all now.

Therefore, even if the thornheads are difficult to control and like to fight, but they can carry big bags neatly, and they dare to follow and kill people after boarding the boat.In Matthew's opinion, this is so useful.

As long as you can cut people and know how to cut people, you are the most useful person in this era.

However, honest people are at least more reliable.As long as they learn more, Matthew is still willing to give them a chance.

The servant suggested: "That's true... Lord Baron, maybe they have too many people. There are a lot of projects to be built now... You can divide the construction team into two, with more than 50 people in one. Then limit the time and limit Workload. If it is completed on time, the salary can be doubled. If it is overdue, there will be nothing else except food. As long as it is well controlled, the total cost will not increase."

Matthew blinked, reducing staff and increasing efficiency?

This is actually letting one person do the work of two people, and double the salary at the same time.Very effective for procrastinating workforces.

But in practice, 1.5 times is not bad.As for where the 0.5 went, God knows.

But this kid's thinking is too simple, if you don't have a penny after the work is done, you will be a ghost if you don't make trouble.

Matthew turned his mind: "You came up with this method?"

The servant was silent for a while: "...No, this is the suggestion of the construction team foreman."

Matthew immediately praised and encouraged: "That's right, it can be divided into two branches, which can just build the road. Would you like to be in charge temporarily? Until the road is completed."

It's just leveling, filling pits, cutting down some trees, and ensuring that the carriages can be used. It's not a big project.Half a month?
The servant was overjoyed and felt that his status was gradually rising.

Matthew was thinking, what if this kid is corrupt?Do you want to get a departmental supervision?
No, this is another long-term expense.

It's just a small project, let Anna and the others settle the score, as long as the cost is reasonable.

This is Matthew's helplessness. He actually doesn't trust anyone and is suspicious by nature.

The more complicated and complex a system is, the more things it has done.If everyone is a moral gentleman, what system is needed?
In a sense, management is to treat everyone as a thief.

If people were credible, there wouldn't be so many checks and balances and complex systems.The reason why there are so many rules in the accounting industry is entirely the result of corruption by successive accountants.

Therefore, in this era of lack of system, the emergence of tyrants is inevitable.They tend to draw their knives and chop up those who they think are harmful.

It is very in line with the characteristics of the times.

If the person in charge of a certain job can save some expenses or finish it ahead of schedule.Capitalists usually think of this as talent.As for the work, no one cares.

But Matthew is not only a businessman and capitalist, he is also a lord.He also cares more about the life and death of his subjects, and wants a good reputation.

As long as you start to squeeze, there must be no bottom line.Setting the bottom line is his natural job.

Of course, it was also because he was not short of money.

So he said: "In the future, the working hours are not allowed to exceed 10 hours a day. And there are three meals."

(End of this chapter)