Chapter 511 Yongji Bullet Factory
Zhao Sheng made a trip back to Gao Family Village, and when he returned by boat, he brought a considerable number of people with him.
Among them, surprisingly, was Xu Dafu, the head of the Gao Family Village Ordnance Bureau.
It turned out that when he heard about the plan to build a "front-line bullet factory" at the Yongji Ancient Ferry Dock, specifically to resupply the militia's expeditionary forces in Shanxi, Xu Dafu was startled. "A bullet factory? That means a lot of gunpowder will be moved around. How dangerous! No, we can't just send an apprentice to handle this; it'll explode! I must personally oversee this."
Under his management for many years, the Gao Family Village Ordnance Bureau was now meticulously organized, with safety protocols being particularly outstanding. Even in his absence, his apprentices could manage the gunpowder perfectly according to regulations.
Yet, he remained uneasy. He gave repeated, lengthy instructions before he dared to leave, bringing a group of technical experts with him to Yongji alongside Zhao Sheng.
Constructing the factory building itself wasn't difficult. The Yongji Ancient Ferry Dock, after extensive development, had already begun erecting cement structures. The Blue Hats who arrived earlier had already trained a large contingent of Yellow Hat apprentices skilled in working with cement.
With a command from Zhao Sheng, building another large cement factory posed no challenge.
The real difficulty lay in finding "workers."
Xu Dafu explained, "Workers permitted to handle gunpowder must have undergone a long period of observation, possessing impeccable character. And it would be best if they were women. Women are meticulous and can endure long hours of repetitive, tedious indoor work without growing restless, unlike men who are often filled with wild ambitions and constantly want to venture out and conquer the world. Are there such people here at Yongji Ancient Ferry Dock?"
The Yongji Ancient Ferry Dock had been developing for over a year now. Xing Honglang had arrived by boat at Yongji Ancient Ferry Dock in the third year of Chongzhen, precisely when the Shaanxi rebels were making their major push into Shanxi. At that time, more than a thousand common people had already gathered at the dock to work.
As time passed, the area absorbed more villagers from several surrounding counties, and even many residents from Puzhou City came to work at the Ancient Ferry Dock.
The civilian residential area now housed two to three thousand people.
Among these two or three thousand, the men typically worked for Gao Family Village, while the women were responsible for cooking and building fires on the construction sites. One of these women even made fried dough twists that Lao Nanfeng absolutely loved to eat...
The wages for cooking and chores were extremely low, often nonexistent, only providing them with meals. Yet, the women had no complaints, diligently performing these poorly compensated tasks. After all, they had lived this way for thousands of years.
Zhao Sheng proposed, "We can recruit the first group of women who came to the dock to cook for us into the bullet factory. They have been diligently cooking for the past year and have proven their reliability. They can enter the bullet factory, and we can recruit new women from the outer counties to take over the cooking."
Xu Dafu nodded. "That settles it then."
And so, the recruitment assembly for female workers officially began.
At the crossroads in the center of the Ancient Ferry Dock's residential area, a notice was posted, stating: "Recruiting Workers, Men and Women Accepted. Engaging in Highly Confidential Work. Wages and Treatment Equivalent to Other Skilled Workers..."
Zhao Sheng even assigned a literate subordinate to stand by the notice and read it aloud for the women who couldn't read.
As soon as this news spread, the dock quickly became a lively scene.
Upon seeing the notice, the men fell into contemplation: "It says men and women are accepted? Does that mean women can do this work too? Are they serious? Why should women do the same work as us men? And it seems the pay is the same."
From the illustrated storybook, *Gao Piao*, they knew that Gao Family Village already employed women in many industries, but they hadn't expected the Yongji Ancient Ferry Dock to reach that point as well.
Meanwhile, the women of Yongji Ancient Ferry Dock were overjoyed by the notice.
"Wow, sisters, look! This job is for both men and women, and the income is the same as for skilled workers! Our cooking jobs used to pay so little. If we can do this, our income will be just like the men's!"
Immediately, applicants surged forward. The dock's total population was just over two thousand, yet more than eight hundred people came to sign up, roughly half men and half women.
Upon reaching the registration area, they saw Xu Dafu, with a stern expression, seated on the "Recruitment Assembly" platform. Holding a tin megaphone, he addressed the crowd in a serious tone: "Listen carefully, all who have come to apply for the new work. I must make the unpleasant facts clear from the start. This new job requires you to spend your entire day out of the sunlight, confined to a dry, small room, repeatedly performing tedious, repetitive, and monotonous tasks..."
As he spoke, some of the men began to lose enthusiasm. Such long hours indoors were hardly appealing to them.
A true man's ambition lies in the four directions; how could he be trapped in a dark room?
However, the women listened without reaction. For women of that era, staying indoors was practically a blessing! "Of course, I can endure that," they thought.
Xu Dafu continued, "This work also demands meticulousness and nimble fingers for very delicate tasks."
He held up a Paper Cartridge, showing it to the people below. "See? It's just this tiny. You have to wrap three different things inside, which is even harder than wrapping *zongzi*, from morning till night..."
At these words, another group of men retreated.
The women remained completely unfazed. "Is that all? This is much simpler than sewing clothes or embroidering, surely."
Xu Dafu added a final point: "This work also requires strict secrecy. Work procedures, content, and production methods must not be disclosed. Gossip is strictly forbidden."
Upon hearing this, the men's spirits lifted, while the women gasped in dismay: "No gossip? How can we live like that?"
Xu Dafu clarified, "You are only forbidden from gossiping about work content. You can still gossip about whether your coworker had a son or a daughter, or how a coworker talked in her sleep about loving Zheng Daniu from the next village, or a coworker secretly meeting Old Zhang from the village over. None of that is under secrecy, so you can gossip to your heart's content."
Zheng Daniu, who had come to watch the spectacle, was caught in the crossfire even while lying down. "What?! I protest! Why use my name as an example?"
Zao Ying, accompanying Zheng Daniu, also protested, "I protest too! Why make Daniu sound like he's so popular with women? He's not like that at all!"
Xu Dafu rolled his eyes at Zheng Daniu and Zao Ying, directly ignoring them.
By this time, the women applying were beaming. "That's perfectly fine! We're signing up! Signing up!"
Large groups of women eagerly registered. Before long, four hundred female workers and two hundred male workers had been recruited.
The Yongji Bullet Factory was now ready to commence operations.
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