Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 034: Primitive Capital Accumulation (IX)
"Hahahaha, I have been waiting for you masters for a long time. Come on, come on, masters, please don't be polite. Please take a seat. Please take a seat."
Soon after finding a supporter for the future production of his manor, Zhu Changluo asked the officials of the Ministry of Works to find twenty craftsmen for Zhu Youdong and they all gathered at Honghe Manor. Zhu Youdong also asked someone to call Xu Guangqi, and the group hurried back to the manor.
There was no way. He was not even five years old yet, and although he had shown great talent, he was still too old to move out of Zhu Changluo's Ciqing Palace. Ciqing Palace, as the Eastern Palace, was located in the Forbidden City. Although the Ming Dynasty's Da Nei had fewer rules than the Qing Dynasty's, it was the imperial palace after all. It was impossible for him to meet these craftsmen who were considered "lowly" by the social elite at that time in Ciqing Palace.
Oh, this is really inconvenient.
"Masters, please wait for a moment. Zhongxian, follow me."
"What do you want to tell me, young master?"
"My business has grown so big that it's too inconvenient for me to live in Ciqing Palace. You can think of some good places outside the palace or inside the imperial city. I want to move out."
"Well, I am the grandson of the emperor, so I should be able to live in my own palace. But what about my age?"
"It doesn't matter. After going through so much, who would dare to treat me as an ordinary child? Besides, isn't my sister in Ciqing Palace enjoying the company of my father? It is said that Aunt Wang (Concubine Wang) has been pregnant for more than two months. This year, she should be able to give me a younger brother (Zhu Youxiao). Therefore, even if I move out, Ciqing Palace will not be deserted."
"Yes, I understand. When things are done here, I will go back to the capital with you, and then go to the palace to handle this matter for you."
"Well, my Cao Daban hasn't come back yet. All the burdens are on you. You have worked really hard."
"Thank you for your understanding, Master. However, I won't talk about my early years. Even when I entered the palace, I was just a floor cleaner. It was Master who lifted me up. If it weren't for you, I might have worked in the Palace until I became unable to move and was kicked out... For you, it's nothing for me to suffer a little."
"Well, you are now in charge of hundreds of eunuchs. You will be promoted to Dianbo next year, and the next step is Jiancheng and Shaojian. You are not far from being a eunuch. Therefore, you need a few helpers. I have given you permission. You can make a list yourself. If there are less than three eunuchs, I will ask Wang An for them. In addition, if you don't return to your hometown when you are rich and powerful, it is like walking at night in brocade clothes. You are so busy, I will not let you go back to your hometown. But you can ask Wang Chengen to write a letter for you to go home, and if there are any decent nephews at home, you can also ask them to help. Let me make it clear first, I don't want your nephews to serve in the palace, they can also help me with things outside."
"Yes!" Wei Zhongxian, who had always been servile and soft-spoken in front of Zhu Youdong, responded loudly at this time: "I thank you for your consideration and trust. Please rest assured that the people I have found will be loyal to me. If anyone dares to be unfaithful to me, I will kill him with my own hands!"
"Well..." Old Wei will know a lot of Zhu Youdong's secrets now and in the future, but this guy is definitely not a good person. Therefore, frequent beatings are necessary, and appropriate favors are also necessary.
After once again winning over Wei Zhongxian, the two men entered the house again.
"Eh? Why are you masters still standing? Oh, don't kneel, I don't like this. Come on, sit down, sit down! I don't have so many rules here. You see, I'm not even five years old yet, and I'm actually not much different from your kids, so don't be nervous."
After all, he was a weak prince, so Zhu Changluo asked the officials of the Ministry of Works to assign 20 craftsmen to come over, and the officials of the Ministry of Works did so. But, to be honest, these were not the best in their respective industries.
However, after a preliminary understanding, Zhu Youdong was also amazed at the hands-on ability of the craftsmen of this era.
For example, these blacksmiths can complete the entire process from refining pure iron from rough iron ore to making various utensils. Several gunpowder makers can also purify sulfur and saltpeter, produce charcoal, and mold gunpowder of various proportions. As for the carpenters, their ability to process wood can only make time travelers like Zhu Youdong astonished.
This is the characteristic of this era before assembly line production: although the craftsmen are inefficient, they are versatile.
"Masters, have you all gone to see the rooms I prepared for you? Are you satisfied?"
After the twenty craftsmen looked at each other, a gray-haired man spoke up, "Your Highness, that's great. Who are we? How can we live in a large courtyard with two entrances? This is something that people would never dare to think about in their lifetime. Well, my family didn't sleep well last night. Because the bed was too soft, the quilt was too warm, and the whole house was too clean."
"Yes, Your Highness, I am just terrified."
"I just feel like I'm dreaming, and I haven't woken up yet."
"Hahaha, don't panic, this is not a dream. Masters and your families can rest assured and stay here. I'm going to make it clear to you here, as long as you can do what I tell you to do, the house is yours, and I won't reduce my monthly allowance. Well, five taels a month as a minimum, and there's extra money for those who do well! In addition, if you have children at home, as long as you still live in the manor, I'll hire a teacher to teach them!"
"Ah?! Your Highness is so kind and generous that we, the humble commoners, would never be able to repay you even a fraction even if we were to die. We, the humble commoners, have nothing to offer you except some tricks. There is nothing more to say. As long as Your Highness asks us to do something, we will do it for you even if it costs our lives."
"Well, I will tell you in detail what you need to do later. But I also want to make it clear that once you enter my manor, you must abide by my rules. If you break the rules, I will have no choice but to send you away and go back to where you came from!"
After finally leaving the hell of earning a meager salary, doing heavy work, and enduring a bad working environment and being looked down upon and oppressed by officials at all levels, I came to the heaven where His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was so kind and the living environment was so perfect, and more importantly, the children at home could go to school. Who would be willing to leave? So they swore and pledged their loyalty again.
"Masters, everyone can speak, but I want to see the actions and results. This Eunuch Wei is the manager of Honghe Manor. He will be responsible for providing you with raw materials and funds. He will also be responsible for distributing your monthly salaries. He will tell you about the rules of the manor later, so you must listen carefully. You and your family members must abide by them."
"Yes, we have met Eunuch Wei. We hope you can teach us more in the future."
"Masters, you are too polite. His Highness has already told us repeatedly that all of you are talented and should be treated well. We are not here to manage you, but to, uh, serve you. When you are completing the tasks assigned by His Highness, if there is anything missing, you can tell us and we will do our best to fulfill it for you."
"Okay, that's enough of the small talk. Come, masters, let me tell you in detail what exactly you need to do in the near future."
