Chapter 334: Robbery
Li Linyue said coldly: "I understand, you can go down."
After the guards left, Liu You hesitated for a moment and asked softly, "Should we turn around and bet on Changshan County?"
Li Linyue finally closed the imperial newspaper in front of her, and stared at her attendant with her lacquer-like eyes.
Liu You couldn't help but lower his head, not daring to look directly at the princess's beautiful face.
"Are you ready for the Yuntai event?"
Liu You became excited.
"Of course, Your Highness. The Senate has approved the date, and it will be on the day of the Empire's victory. Since this is your first Yuntai Grand Gathering as an adult, the Imperial Alliance Savings Association has approved a budget of 3 billion. This is the largest budget ever for a Yuntai Grand Gathering. You are truly the First Princess. No princess in the Empire, from ancient times to the present, can compare to you."
Li Linyue's expression did not change when she heard Liu You's praise.
"I remember that guy from Changshan County has the Yuntai token, right?"
Liu You's face fell in an instant.
"Yes, I was blind to give him one too. That ungrateful bastard is such a jerk. He betrayed the princess' kindness."
Li Linyue said calmly, "Give him the designated candidate for the Yuntai Festival."
Liu You's expression froze, his eyes widened so wide that his eyeballs seemed about to pop out of their sockets.
"Your Highness, Princess, why is this happening? You're only twenty-two years old. This is your first time holding a grand Yuntai gathering. Why are you choosing a husband...a man? Given your status and the power of His Majesty, you should have expressed your intention to choose a husband at least until your third Yuntai gathering..."
"No, no, it's even more than that. The current emperor is a man of great talent and vision, wise and brave, with a talent that can control everything. He turned the tide in adversity and used the opportunity of war to regain control of the court. The elders, dignitaries, and high-ranking officials in the court all bow down to him. Given time, it's not impossible for him to restore the ancient system of the great emperor."
"By then, let alone three times on the Cloud Platform, even thirty times on the Cloud Platform will still be a resounding success. You can choose any man in the empire you want, as many as you want..."
But the princess only said one sentence to silence him.
"That's what my father meant."
——
The production process of artillery shells is very simple. The scrap steel is melted and poured into a mold. After solidification, it is heated again. The shape of the shell is then drilled and pressed out with a mold. After detailed processing, it can be inspected and shipped out.
In the entire process, only the detail processing requires some skills.
The other steps are so simple that you can learn them with just a few glances.
The step of detailed processing is nothing more than pressing the button of the machine tool while pressing the stopwatch.
As soon as Lin Wen entered the factory, he was hit by the heat.
Inside the vast factory, countless workers toiled on the production line, pushing levers to pour molten steel into molds and using meter-long tongs to pick up the glowing steel blocks and place them under the molding presses.
Pull down the joystick, the molding machine presses the steel block into a spring shape, then takes it out and puts it on the machine tool, engraves threads on it, and the whole process is basically completed.
After the projectile has cooled down and been inspected, it can be shipped out of the factory for assembly.
The workers worked intensely and in an orderly manner, and the scene was bustling with activity. Even though there were more than a dozen blowers on the roof of the factory building, they could not dispel the tense atmosphere in the factory.
A factory building is 300 meters wide and 700 meters long and can accommodate 15,000 workers.
There are a total of fifty such factory buildings in the entire factory area.
Outside the factory, there are more than 500,000 people responsible for the logistics and transportation of the entire factory, and a manual production line consisting of millions of people is responsible for the assembly of artillery shells.
Just hearing this number, you can tell how complicated and terrifying the organizational work is.
As far as Lin Wen could see, it was not uncommon for factories with one or two thousand workers to go bankrupt due to poor management, but it was unheard of for millions of workers to be organized into large-scale production.
Suddenly, Lin Wen sensed an opportunity and thought to himself, "This is an unprecedented opportunity. If I don't take advantage of it and make a fortune, I'd be unworthy of my powerful position as county governor."
He immediately asked, "Shaohu, what is the daily budget for the entire factory, excluding production?"
Yang Shaohu's expression became serious.
"Chief Lin, the daily budget is two million, including maintenance, labor insurance, necessary safety measures, and welfare benefits."
Lin Wen asked, "How much is the benefit?"
Yang Shaohu replied, "The budget per person is 30 cents. It's mainly because it's too hot in the factory, so we provide soda. There are sometimes mosquito bites in the mountains, so we provide mosquito repellent. Since there are not enough transport vehicles, many vehicles are transported by manpower, so we also provide some subsidies for this."
Lin Wen sneered, "Shaohu, I find that some of the bad karma seems to be caused by you."
Yang Shaohu: “?”
"Such a low subsidy, are you kidding me? They work so hard for me, not only do they get no salary, but they don't even get any benefits. It's worse than a sweatshop. Even Kang Fu would admit defeat. Huang Shiren would even praise him, saying, 'Master Lin, I'm here to learn from you.'"
Yang Shaohu's face flushed red. Although he didn't quite understand what Lin Wen said, his intention to mock them for exploiting people was obvious.
This is actually the truth. When accepting refugees, due to various reasons, the condition for accepting refugees became "working for Changshan County for free for three months."
Originally, this was just the work of refugee autonomy.
After all, with so many refugees, it is impossible for Changshan County to do all the work.
Changshan County is only responsible for providing a standard meal cost of 12 yuan per day and a standard supply of 8 yuan, such as clothes, daily necessities, etc.
Most other matters are completed under the management of the Refugee Management Committee.
But after a period of settling down, the affairs of the refugee camp decreased sharply and there was no longer a need for so many people.
Therefore, when Lin Wen took on the mission from the empire, their first thought was to use these people to work.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with this, and the refugees have no objections. In their view, Changshan County is just fulfilling its agreement.
These days, it is extremely rare to find a government that can faithfully honor its agreements and promises.
Although the living environment provided by Changshan County is crowded, it is not bad at all. If you can adapt to collective life, you will feel warm and safe.
The food was not sumptuous, but it was definitely not shabby either. It was even better than what some people usually ate. Moreover, it was never skimped on, and it was not as crude as pig food.
Each living area chooses its own chef, and the chef himself eats what the chef prepares, and he eats the last portion after everyone else has finished eating.
This method effectively ensures the quality of cooking and saves a lot of administrative resources.
This quality management approach has always been what the Refugee Management Committee pursues.
The supplies distributed by Changshan County were extremely punctual, with extra clothes for winter and extra quilts for cold weather, without any delay. They were more attentive than my mother.
No one has any objection to working for such a boss.
Except Lin Wen.
"Shaohu, this kind of mentality of yours is not acceptable. Don't treat exploitation as normal, and don't give alms with a condescending attitude. This is what the workers deserve. You should think of yourself as one of them, not a slave owner who forces them to work."
Yang Shaohu's thoughts were a little confused: "But we have already made great efforts, I..."
Lin Wen said, "That means they haven't tried hard enough. You have to put yourself in their shoes. If they weren't desperate, would they accept this treatment?"
Yang Shaohu said blankly: "I don't know..."
Lin Wen grabbed a passing worker and asked, "Are you satisfied with your current treatment?"
"satisfy!"
"Do you feel happy?"
"happiness!"
Lin Wen turned around and said, "Look, they're all very dissatisfied and unhappy. If you keep going like this, you'll be the one hanging by a thread sooner or later."
Yang Shaohu typed a question mark in confusion: "?"
"So, we have to increase our welfare. Look how hot it is in this factory. How can one bottle of water a day be enough? I'm almost dying after working 12 hours here. At least one bottle in the morning and one in the afternoon."
"Look at them facing the molten steel. In such a high-temperature environment, protective measures are essential."
"Also, they had people pulling such heavy loads, their shoulders were bleeding. They should at least have a shoulder guard."
After saying a lot, Lin Wen finally concluded:
"So, everyone's daily benefits should be increased to ten yuan, and a monthly subsidy of one hundred yuan should be given as compensation for their hard work. And since the work is so tiring, this month's work is equivalent to three months of unpaid labor. Starting next month, they should receive a salary."
Yang Shaohu suddenly woke up from his confusion.
"Head of County Lin!"
He yelled, "The Finance Department is out of money! The new factory has millions of workers. Your monthly expenses will increase by at least another two billion!"
Lin Wen smiled and said, "Don't worry, Shizhou will give it to you."
"We don't have enough food!"
"Don't worry, Shizhou will give it to you."
Yang Shaohu was incredulous: "What if Shizhou doesn't give it to me?"
"Rob."
(End of this chapter)
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