CHAPTER 168

After returning, Xia Zuoyi no longer had the intention to pay attention to the thoughts of the Pope, Orville and Archibald. He became busy.

Because spring plowing is about to begin.

The goal this time is to increase the output of three new crops: potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn on the original basis.

Moreover, the three crops, including tomatoes, peppers, and cotton, were promoted at the same time.

During this period, Xia Zuoyi also wanted to mass-produce machines such as cotton gins, spinning wheels, looms, etc.

This is a way of replacing manual labor with machines.

Not to mention the spinning wheel and cotton gin, just look at the loom. Xia Zuoyi ordered Renault to improve it on the original basis and added many auxiliary tools to facilitate weaving.

For example, spinning pendants, changing hand work to pedals, spindles...

The newly built looms were used to process cotton, silk, hemp and other raw materials into cloth, and the spinning speed was greatly improved.

The loom was used in conjunction with the spinning wheel, eliminating most of the manual labor.

Although he had returned from the Saint Airo Empire, Xia Zuoyi was always paying attention to the recent situation in the empire.

——There is no trace of Samielle Phoebe and she has still not been found. The wedding has been postponed indefinitely.

Throughout the extremely cold winter, the number of deaths in the Saint Airo Empire rose sharply due to the cold invasion, especially in heavy snow weather.

Now, the number of these dead people has been counted.

Even for the Saint Airo Empire, this is a prohibitive number.

Not to mention, the number of people who died due to unrest in various places has not been added.

Xia Zuoyi tapped on the letter paper for the report and thought - the cold wave was moving south, and the Little Ice Age has arrived. The shortest Little Ice Age lasts about thirty years, and the longest can reach more than seventy years.

This year was just the beginning.

The Little Ice Age not only caused the occurrence of extreme weather, such as the coldest and hottest winters and summers, but also caused a significant reduction in food production.

It will also lead to problems such as sharp population decline and social unrest.

It can be said that if various measures and actions are not taken in time to deal with difficult times in the coming years, the problems caused by the Little Ice Age will be difficult to solve and survive safely...

They need to prepare now for the future.

…………

The winter had just ended, and before Xia Zuoyi left for the Saint Airo Empire, he ordered Renault to lead the engineers and ordinary craftsmen from the Craftsman Guild to establish a factory for the production of machinery and equipment in Wissas and Fort Cormoy.

- Parts for machines such as cotton gins and spinning wheels are manufactured in batches and then assembled.

After all, the machine he ordered Renault to develop for cotton only had one trial version.

Each trial machine that was first produced was left in the castle for use, and perhaps it would be passed down in the future and become the first precious antique that appeared on the Western Continent.

Just like the Sinan and seismographs that appeared in ancient China.

Now, these things belong to Xia Zuoyi.

Factories for mass-manufacturing machine production are easy to build, and they are located on the west and east sides of the city in Wissas and Fort Comoy respectively.

The manpower recruited includes many workers from other places.

Xia Zuoyi requested that the factory build employee dormitories. After paying a certain fee, food and accommodation would be included. Compared with renting a house outside, the price was already very cheap.

More importantly, the food in the factory was also very good.

On this day, Xia Zuoyi brought Udit, Rennault and others to the factory in Wissas to check the manufacturing progress.

There was no advance notice at all, so everyone panicked for a moment after they entered the factory.

"Lord." The factory steward hurried over and saluted.

The other workers also stood up from the workbench with expressions of confusion or excitement, waiting aside and looking at the lord.

Xia Zuoyi nodded and said to the steward: "You let them continue working normally, don't pay attention to me, I am just taking a look."

The environment in the factory was good, at least there was no obvious mess.

When the manager heard this, he immediately turned around and shouted to the workers who were looking over: "Everyone work hard! Stop looking around and go back to your place..."

All the workers returned to their original positions without hesitation.

The noise of producing machine parts suddenly started again.

The machine parts here are still in the manual manufacturing stage. A small amount of raw iron materials are cast, and the rest are made of wood... A streamlined production line, and finally classified and assembled.

This method can greatly improve efficiency.

But although cotton gins, spinning wheels, looms, etc. can be made quickly, how to use the machine is also a problem.

Especially the working principle of the loom, if there is no professional to teach and learn, it is difficult to understand it on your own... After all, the principle of using the loom is not as simple as the cotton gin and the spinning wheel which you could understand at a glance.

This means that when one thing is produced, one, two, and many related things will also be improved or manufactured…

After a certain number of looms were manufactured, a learning class would be held.

Xia Zuoyi slowly walked around the factory with his hands behind his back, thinking about what to do next.

Weaving is something that can be done collectively or individually.

This matter is usually done by women. Whether it is the fineness of weaving or the pattern, women are more attentive and skilled.

What's more, under the influence of successive disasters, many families are unable to make ends meet and have difficulty making ends meet.

In the past, it was easier for men to find profitable jobs than for women. Women had less strength and could not do heavy labor.

As for other relatively easy workmanship, if you have to choose between men and women, most of them will choose men.

In this era, women are more or less discriminated against.

After all, not to mention women who were civilians or slaves, even the daughters of some nobles were given away as gifts in fair or unfair transactions.

But once spinning wheels and looms appear on the market in large quantities, the situation in which men account for more than 90% of the labor will be broken.

Women can also have a stable income to sustain themselves.

In this way, production generates money and can also change the family's difficult life.

It can be seen that productivity promotes economic development.

Being smaller can change the living situation, and further, it can maintain and promote the financial situation in the Desinian territory during the Little Ice Age.

For the lowest standard, Xia Zuoyi did not want turmoil in the territory.

Economy, medicine, food, culture, etc. - Xia Zuoy didn't think he had successfully developed the Desinian territory.

At least in this era, due to many restrictions, it can only develop slowly at this stage, and every field is in the initial stage of exploration.

Xia Zuoyi was lost in thought and didn't pay much attention to the fact that wherever he went, the people working around him couldn't help but become nervous.

Until a worker hurriedly took out the finished parts and accidentally dropped the parts on the ground.

The parts rolled around to Xia Zuoyi's feet, and happened to be stepped on by him.

Xia Zuoyi came back to his senses, bent down to pick up the parts and blew the dust on them, and then returned them to the worker who stood up in a panic.

“How many parts like this can be produced in a day?”

"Back to the lord, I can produce about dozens of them a day by myself. I haven't counted them in detail..." The worker didn't expect that Xia Zuoyi would suddenly ask a question, so he stumbled and answered.

He has dark skin, an honest face, and an even thinner figure. At first glance, he looks like someone living in poverty.

In fact, this is indeed the case.

Because the Thorn Chamber of Commerce posted recruitment information in various places, he came from a nearby city and wanted to work in the factory of Fort Comoy, but the people working in Fort Comoy were already full.

With no other choice, he came to Wissas with hope. Fortunately, the factory in Wissass still needed manpower.

People in the Desinia territory know that as long as it is a shop or workshop opened by the lord, the general treatment will not be bad, and the most important thing is that there will be gifts at every festival.

The employees who work there will be rewarded as long as they do well.

At the end of the year, an annual meeting will be held to give monetary or item rewards to the selected best employees.

Such a system had been implemented since the early years.

But unfortunately, and because of the good treatment, it is very difficult to enter the shops or workshops opened by the lord, especially the most profitable Thorns Chamber of Commerce.

He also made up his mind to come here from the city where he lived. He left his wife, son and daughter, and didn't know when he would be able to go back...

But making money is the most peaceful thing, otherwise how would you support your family?

Xia Zuoyi nodded and smiled: "Then do you know what these machines are used for?"

The workers shook their heads with confusion on their faces. Even the managers in the factory were actually confused.

So does the rest of the population.

Xia Zuoyi said: "This batch of machines will be of great use and is related to your lives. I know that many of you are from other cities and have left your hometown to make money."

"I can promise you that after the first batch of machines are produced, you can write to ask your wives to come to Wissas or Fort Comoy. The factory will prepare dormitories, and your wives will also be arranged to work.”

Learning about spinning wheels and looms begins inside the factory.

As soon as Xia Zuoyi finished speaking, people in the factory started discussing in disbelief or excitement.

"Lord, Lord, is this true?" someone asked with a trembling tone.

Xia Zuoyi gave a definite answer, it was true.

The workers instantly became excited and thanked the lord one after another, praising the lord for his kindness...

After that, Xia Zuoyi visited the canteen and dormitory where they ate, and made sure that no one was enriching their own pockets and depriving workers of their meals before returning to Pal Mountain.

On the second day, Xia Zuoyi went to the alchemy tower in Wissas.

Adai Ben used to be his alchemy assistant. Later, Xia Zuoyi felt that his time for alchemy was getting less and less, so he asked Adai for his opinion and let him enter the alchemy tower.

Now, Adai has become a full-fledged alchemist.

Currently, he is working with Chebman on a very important experiment.

The author has something to say: 

Xia Xia: If I can’t afford to offend him, why can’t I afford to hide away?

Pope: But there is no need to hide from me, Pitiful.jpg.

Grand Duke: It doesn’t matter, you are busy, I will take care of the fluffs for you.

Archie: Haha.