Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1007 The Search for Cotton ([-])

On December 1653, 11, light rain.

In the compound of Luocha Textile Factory on the wide "Textile Road" No. 1, many transport workers are loading bundles of fabrics on the carriages.They are all workers under the jurisdiction of the Wharf and Port Authority, and they are responsible for the transportation of raw materials and finished products of many factories in the nearby blocks. An important part of the emerging industrial area.

The wharf of Luocha Port has been expanded several times. Currently, there are many deep-water berths, which can accommodate more than 50 large ships at the same time. The annual cargo throughput reaches 6 tons. It is almost the most important port in the Eastern Republic of China.Moreover, this port is connected to the Luomei Line known as the "Golden Railway". This double-track railway operated by the Central Railway Company has an annual income of more than 6.9 yuan, and it connects the three counties of the most prosperous eastern coastal area of ​​​​the East Coast Republic to [-] yuan. More than a thousand people.

After the Northwest Railway was finally completed a while ago, its current railway construction army has begun to move to Luocha County and Qingdao County, intending to build a railway between the two places to connect them—as for going north from Meiluo Township to enter Yazi The railway in the Lake area is not feasible for the time being. Because of the dense water network, numerous hills, forests and complex terrain in the hilly area west of Gein Lake, the cost of construction is extremely high, and the State Railway Administration cannot afford it, so it can only be temporarily shelved. .

By the way, let's talk about Port Rocha again.In addition to the railway, this port city also has high-grade sandy roads and cinder roads (some sections are even expensive asphalt roads) leading to various townships and villages. The transportation is very convenient. After all, the common people have some money now. The various types of horse-drawn carriages produced by the Nanfang Vehicle Factory in Meilin County are so popular that they have almost become the standard equipment for self-employed people who run private transportation.In addition, Luoqia County has the advantage of being close to the capital. At present, wired telegrams have been communicated with Dongfang County and Meilin County, and the communication efficiency has also been greatly enhanced.

It can be said that there is no reason why Luoqia County has risen with light industry in recent years, because her location advantage and transportation and communication conditions are quite good, and it has been completely integrated into the capital economic circle headed by Dongfang County. But it is an economic circle with a population of 5000 and a fairly good spending power.

"Last month, another batch of textile workers moved from Ping'an County. This is the third batch." In the Luocha Township Government Office, a young secretary was reporting the progress of the work to the county magistrate Han Gang.The textile workers in Ping'an County he just mentioned are referring to the famous first gold-holding machine on the east coast: Ping'an Weaving Factory.In fact, the factory has been planning to relocate for a long time, because they are located in the northernmost Ping'an County. The factory was originally located there for safety reasons, but now that time has passed, it seems that there is no need to locate the factory in such a remote place. place, as this would take up capacity for no reason.Therefore, in line with this idea, after the General Administration of Textile Industry reported to the Government Council for approval, the factory officially started the relocation within the past year.

Of course, the relocation cannot be completed in one day, it is a gradual and slow process, and it is expected to be completed within this year, which will take more than ten months in total.And the destination of their relocation is naturally Luocha Port, which is the only bulk cargo trading center in the country on the east coast and the largest import port for cotton. At the same time, there is a cotton ginning factory in the port area to process seed cotton. It is the upstream enterprise of Pingan Weaving Factory.

In the downstream, there are also enterprises that have gradually developed in recent years, such as knitting lace and printing and dyeing. At the same time, in the past year, the area has also attracted some small workshop enterprises invested by private individuals. Some production lines are deliberately staggered (mainly producing woven socks, scarves, towels, etc.) to avoid fierce competition.And after these small workshops came over, the "Textile Road" of Luocha Town really lived up to its name. Now there are more than a dozen large and small enterprises located on this road, covering the upstream and downstream, capable of producing white cotton cloth and printed cloth. , dyed cloth, denim, spun silk, silk, woolen and other basic fabrics. At the same time, these fabrics can also be used to process small pieces such as socks, scarves, towels, capes, burqas, etc., as large as quilts, All kinds of textiles such as curtains and shrouds, and most of them have been produced by machines, and the per capita efficiency far exceeds that of Europe.

After the relocation of the Ping An Weaving Factory to Luocha Port, it will also be renamed the State-owned No. 1654 Weaving Factory. The machines used will also be new and improved machines, and the efficiency will be improved to a certain extent compared with the past. Of course, the more important thing is the machine The reliability has also been greatly improved.At the end of this month, the last group of workers and their families will move over. After getting familiar with the machines, the factory will be able to produce at full capacity starting in January next year (1), and continue to secure its position as the number one trust enterprise in the domestic cotton spinning industry on the east coast. .

As for Dayuhe Machine Weaving Factory, another domestic textile company in the East Bank (Dong’an Company holds 65% of the shares, and the General Administration of Textile Industry holds 35% of the shares), because the factory’s production scale is not large, and it mainly produces woolen fabrics and blended fabrics. , does not plan to relocate for the time being, and still stays in the capital area to organize production.

"After the relocation of the Ping'an Weaving Factory, there are a lot of equipment left over. Well, they are all old equipment that is not very good, and the service life of many parts is approaching. Because the technology is the first generation, it is not advanced, and even some machines It’s still made of wood, which is very backward.” The secretary continued to report in a low voice, “Director Tao of the General Administration of Textile Industry meant to destroy it on the spot. What value. But the Government Council is still hesitating, because it is said that some people want to find a way to sell this batch of obsolete old equipment to the South Railway or the Heishui area in the Far East to support local development. But it has also been met with opposition from many people. Oppose, because they don't want to see the colonial industry develop and grow. Of course, they think that the Southern Railway can barely receive this batch of equipment, because the Southern Railway's affiliated area will also be the official territory of our country sooner or later, and the machines here cannot be regarded as outflows, but the Heishui area is estimated to be mostly It's out of play..."

"Overseas colonies are still a fart industry." Han Gang put down the quill in his hand and said disdainfully: "However, the South Railway Subsidiary is a freak between the colony and the official land. There was a lot of opposition. Moreover, the conditions for the development of animal husbandry in South Patagonia are top-notch, so the local sheep wool, vicuna wool, and alpaca wool resources must be extremely rich. This is the basis for the development of the woolen industry. Although the equipment eliminated by the Ping’an Factory is cotton textile equipment, Nantie can be processed and transformed. If it doesn’t work, you can also order some equipment. In this way, it will not be a problem to develop the woolen industry. Dayuhe Machine Textile Factory is bound to have a strong competitor."

"By the way, let me see if there is any data on import and export of cotton this month." Han Gang suddenly realized that he hadn't seen the data on cotton this month, so he said immediately.Don't forget that he is also the director of the Luocha Bulk Trade Center, and cotton is obviously an extremely important import in this trade center.

The data report was quickly sent to Han Gang. He looked at it carefully, then sighed deeply, and said: "In the past, almost every month there were ships going south along the Brazilian ocean current and crosswind. These ships It is fully loaded with cotton produced in Brazilian plantations and docked at the port of Rocha for unloading. At its peak, it once accounted for half of China's total cotton imports. Although its proportion has declined in recent years, the proportion has only dropped to one-third Left and right are still an extremely important source of cotton in China. But if you look at this data, what is the difference from last month and last month? Only five ships came in three months, and all of them were old cotton. .Damn it, the Brazilians are playing tricks. On the surface, the trade has been reopened, but why are there so few people who come to sell cotton? Could it be all sold to the British and French, it is really disgusting!"

The secretary couldn't answer this question either. Although the cotton acreage in China has not shrunk in recent years, as demand continues to rise, its self-sufficiency rate has dropped from one-third to 20%, which is ridiculous.Fortunately, the plantations in the Mianhe River Basin in the west of Xinhua Island produced batches of cotton one after another, and then they were quickly exported to the mainland, which more or less made up for part of the gap. Although the cotton gap is not small, it is not too big to be scary—from a certain point of view, the relative shortage of cotton has actually stimulated the domestic textile sector on the east coast to continuously research new technologies, trying to reduce losses in the production process and improve production efficiency. Cotton utilization, and has achieved certain results.

"It seems that the Brazilians still have a deep hatred for our country in their hearts. It can be seen from the matter of cotton. Hehe, they will be rectified sooner or later." Han Gang picked up the teacup and took a sip of the fragrant Xuedou song Then he said: "If the Brazilians don't come, don't come. We can now import from New China, Haiti, Florida, and Peru. Plus some of our own production (the quality is not very good), we can also import Barely supporting it, it’s just that the supply system is relatively fragile.”

"It seems that we still have to insist on importing through multiple channels. You can't put all your eggs in one basket, and you must expand the source of cotton imports. After counting and counting, it is really only those places in southern North America. The potential of Florida in a short period of time has already It has been squeezed out by us, so what about its adjacent areas? It is also a traditional cotton planting area, so we should be able to buy some contingencies, so our risk will be much smaller." Han Gang finally said leisurely.

(End of this chapter)