OBS Chapter 112 Personnel Arrival
Chapter 112 Personnel Arrival
Soon after the notice was posted, a crowd gathered outside the government office.
Seeing this, Xiao Qinian immediately arranged for the yamen runners to maintain order and instructed the county magistrate and others to arrange for the registration and selection of people.
People from the Sixth Division also came to help, especially those from the Workshop, who became the main force.
Xiao Siyue also came to watch.
"I got selected! I got selected!" One person danced with joy. Xiao Siyue looked over and saw that he was a very thin person. It seemed that this person must have some special ability, otherwise, how could someone so thin and small do physical labor?
It took two days of work to register the selected people.
On this day, the people sent by the imperial court arrived, bringing with them a letter from the Minister of Works. After reading it, Xiao Qinian handed it to Xiao Siyue.
After reading it, Xiao Siyue learned that the Ministry of Works was building an alcohol workshop and needed some opinions. Xiao Siyue immediately wrote one and gave it to Xiao Qinian.
Moreover, the 100,000 taels of silver allocated by the Ministry of Revenue were also brought along.
Xiao Siyue was very happy. Now she had money and people, and the workshop could be established.
However, to Xiao Siyue's surprise, the people from the Ministry of Works she had expected not only did not make things easier for her, but instead acted arrogantly, thinking that they were officials from the capital and completely disregarding Xiao Qinian, even trying to make decisions for him every day.
Xiao Siyue was furious; she felt it would be better to get rid of these people altogether.
They would refute any suggestion they made, feeling that a canteen shouldn't be built for the workers because their monthly wages were too high, and that since they already had one, why would they need to hire craftsmen?
They just couldn't do anything right, and they complained that Qianyuan County was too backward, saying they felt wronged coming here.
What's most infuriating is that Xiao Siyue wanted to build the workshop outside the city or in a more remote part of the city, since the forging process would pollute the air and affect the lives of the people.
But these people want to build in the bustling city center, making the shops in front of them clean up. Isn't that a joke?
The shops were operating perfectly well, so they just cleaned them up when asked.
Thinking back to when these people first arrived, Xiao Qinian treated them to a good meal and drinks, but they didn't appreciate it at all.
They thought they were superior and looked down on the people of Qianyuan County.
Finally, having no other option, Xiao Qinian had to report the matter to the capital.
Shen Junru intervened, making everything follow Xiao Qinian's orders, which finally made these people obedient.
Finally, the workshop was built southeast of the government office. It was located near the mountains, in a relatively remote area with few people, which made it quite suitable.
Once the location was determined, construction began immediately.
The workshop was built very quickly, within a month. It was constructed of brick and tile, but Xiao Siyue thought that later, when she had more money, she would change it to cement, which would be more sturdy.
The canteen has been completed, and Xiao Siyue has specially recruited several chefs and waiters.
Having money in hand, Xiao Siyue was very generous and provided a very complete set of amenities.
Although Xiao Siyue had been managing these affairs, she had never exposed herself. Apart from her close family members and maids, no one knew about it and everyone thought it was Xiao Qinian.
The main reason is that Xiao Siyue will use Xiao Qinian's words to express whatever ideas she has, so Xiao Siyue is now considered an advisor.
"Father, the workshop is now complete, and the cement has arrived. We can start construction now." Xiao Siyue and Xiao Qinian were discussing this matter in the study.
"No rush, we need to choose a good day," Xiao Qinian said.
Xiao Siyue understood that the ancients paid great attention to the right time and place.
In fact, not only people in ancient times, but also people in modern times would choose an auspicious day to open a shop or start a factory.
However, this date was not long ago, and it was set for the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.
Yes, today is the third day of the twelfth lunar month, and the end of the year is approaching.
Fortunately, this is in the south, where the weather is relatively warm. If it were in the north, the workshop would not be able to operate at all.
After all, the weather in the north is too cold, and the soil has already frozen.
On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month,
Inside the cement workshop, everyone had arrived, including Xiao Qinian and his group, as well as the workers from the Ministry of Works and all the craftsmen.
There were also people watching the spectacle from outside.
The workshop was very large, covering nearly 50 acres, and all the factory buildings inside were made of blue bricks and tiles, making it look very bright.
Those watching from outside were all astonished; they had never seen a workshop like this before.
Some people even wanted to go inside and take a look, but just in case, Xiao Qinian had already ordered the yamen runners to guard the entrance and stop these onlookers.
However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the people.
A woman outside said, "Did you see that? That's my husband. He's been chosen."
The woman's face was full of pride and honor. Her husband had been selected and could earn two taels of silver a month. They no longer had to worry about not being able to feed their two hungry children.
Some of those who weren't selected looked at the woman with envy, wondering if she would be hiring again in the future.
Inside the workshop
Xiao Qinian stood on the platform, which Xiao Siyue had specially set up for occasional meetings. It was located not far from the entrance.
"Today is the opening day of our cement workshop. I hope everyone will support each other and work hard so that we can build a smooth and flat road for Qianyuan County as soon as possible."
The people standing below were very excited, especially the workers. They had previously thought that they were just there to make money by manufacturing cement, but now they realized that cement was used to build roads, which made them feel a sense of pride and honor.
In the future, walking on a smooth road surface, thinking about how proud I will feel to have participated in it, I can't help but feel proud.
Unlike the excited artisans, the people from the Ministry of Works seemed somewhat dissatisfied, their smiles stiff.
Xiao Siyue understood what was going on when she saw this.
She knew what was going on. They thought that since they had come to such a small place as Qianyuan County, everyone should have gone along with them. But in the end, they had to listen to a mere county magistrate in everything, which made them feel rather embarrassed.
However, Xiao Siyue didn't care about any of that. As long as they didn't cause any trouble and the cement was manufactured smoothly, what did it matter to her how ugly these people looked?
Thinking of this, Xiao Siyue looked away and then looked at Xiao Qinian on the stage.
Xiao Qinian had finished speaking at this point.
The craftsmen also took their places and began their work.
Xiao Siyue followed Xiao Qinian around and found that these people had a very enthusiastic work attitude, which made her very satisfied. Now they were just waiting for the first batch of cement.
Once the first batch of cement is ready, road construction trials can begin. If successful, mass production can then commence.