1928: The rise of giant merchants

Sunday night.

After going to the Commercial Arrangement Committee and talking with Yu Qiaqing yesterday, Ye Luo asked Shi Jianqiao to come forward and make an appointment with the most suitable candidate for Ye's Textile boss in his mind - Mu Ouchu, the former "cotton yarn king" in Shanghai.

Mu Ouchu, who once started his business in cotton yarn spinning and won the title of "King of Cotton Yarn" due to the suppression of other textile factories by the Rong family, the Sassoon Company and the Sheng family, is now very unhappy.

Although he had just received an invitation from the Jinling National Government this year to serve as the standing representative of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, it was only a nominal position. What Kong Xiangxi valued was his prestige and reputation in the southern textile industry. In order to prevent Mu Ouchu from running away , Kong Xiangxi also appointed him as the preparatory director of the Central Laboratory, which was also a sinecure.

In the original history, after the January 28th Incident, Mu Ouchu, who was frustrated, set up a local maintenance committee with Shi Liangcai, Huang Yanpei and others in Shanghai to donate money to support the 19th Route Army in resisting Japan.

After the August 13 Anti-Japanese War began, he served as the director of the supply group of the Shanghai Beach Relief Committee, and has been cooperating with people from all walks of life to resist Japan and save the country.

He is a country-saving industrial businessman like Xiang Songmao, the current boss of Ye's Medicine, and has outstanding abilities in the textile industry, so he was selected by Ye Luo to help him get out of the quagmire.

Hearing that the famous Second Young Master was coming to visit to discuss cooperation, Mu Ou was overjoyed. After waiting eagerly for a day, he finally met Ye Luo himself on Sunday night.

"Second Young Master, the house is humble and simple. Don't blame me." The once majestic Miansha King can now only live in a dilapidated foreign-style building in the concession. A family of more than ten people depends on his salary as an errand in the Jinling National Government. It was almost impossible to make ends meet.

Mu Ouchu's company was expropriated by the Jinling National Government last year and has not been returned to it until now. When he went to see it again, it had become a branch of Rong's family. Who could he talk to about this pain?

Not to mention several other branches. Due to the invasion of foreign companies and foreign companies, the textile industry was in retreat. Coupled with the various economic invasions and interferences of the Kuomintang Central Bank, these branches gradually turned from prosperity to decline. In the end, Mu Ouchu had to It was resold to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Jinling National Government at a low price, and within a few days, it was divided among them by the Sheng family.

This is the situation of most businessmen in the Republic of China. No matter whether you are famous or not, whether you have money or not, as long as you have no backing, you are like a fattened chicken, unable to escape the fate of being stabbed in the head.

"Boss Mu, you are too polite. You don't have to be like this." Seeing that he bought the best tea for herself, Ye Luo waved her hands quickly.

This kind of top-notch tea, which costs tens of yuan per pound, is just mediocre in Ye Luo's eyes, and he usually doesn't bother to drink it, but to Mu Ouchu, it is like a treasure. When the economy is tight, he will only entertain the most precious guests. out.

He has such heart and sincerity that makes Ye Luo look up to him even more.

"I came here this time hoping to invite you, Boss Mu, to serve as the general manager of my newly established Ye's Textile Company." Ye Luo got straight to the point.

"The second young master is preparing to enter the textile industry?" Mu Ouchu asked happily.

He initially thought that the cooperation mentioned by Ye Luo meant that he would invest and work in Ye's company. Now he heard that Ye Luo wanted to set up his own textile company and asked him to serve as the general manager. He immediately understood that Ye Luo had great plans for the textile industry.

The textile industry in Shanghai was smoky and shrouded by several mountains. Mu Ouchu had long given up on this industry. At this moment, he thought, if anyone can really come out to rectify the industry and remove obstacles, it must be Ye Luo!

"I have this plan." Ye Luo smiled and nodded, "But I want to open a textile company that is different from the past."

"It's different from before? What does the second young master mean by this?" Mu Ouchu asked curiously.

Ye Luo answered with a smile: "Boss Mu also ran a factory before. Do you still remember the rules, regulations and operating procedures of a textile factory?"

"Of course." When asked about his old profession, Mu Ouchu changed his timid attitude and immediately became talkative. "For thousands of years, how have people from different origins and backgrounds become qualified textile workers in a short period of time?" The main problem facing textile factories has always been for workers to adapt to normal production as quickly as possible. When I studied abroad, overseas businessmen and scholars agreed that in modern society, only through imposed timetables, hierarchical surveillance, standardized sanctions, and Only through inspection procedures and other disciplinary methods can we make the masses submit to power and achieve the results we want.”

“As far as I know, textile factories in Qingdao have established clear time systems, set up specialized managers to supervise workers’ production work and daily life, arranged special training personnel to teach workers professional skills, and used rewards and punishments to improve the production of textile workers. , discipline in all aspects of life to meet the production needs of the factory, and this method was extremely effective, and it was soon followed in the south. We have been using a similar model, but there is an additional layer of constraints on top of it. "

Talking about these, Mu Ouchu talked endlessly, but his expression was not so excited, but a little more sad.

"Boss Mu is talking about the labor contract system," Ye Luo said.

He had already investigated what Mu Ouchu said and knew it clearly. The reason why he said it through his mouth now was just to see what Mu Ouchu thought of this model.

"That's right." A trace of surprise flashed in Mu Ouchu's eyes, obviously not expecting Ye Luozhen to work hard, "The labor contract used by our southern textile factory has a mature template. Before officially entering the factory, the factory representative will meet with the workers I and the guarantor sign and seal the contract together. Generally, the factory and the workers will sign a five-year contract at a time to prevent the loss of skilled workers. The contract also emphasizes that workers must obey factory orders and abide by factory rules. If they violate the rules, they will be punished. Punishment is carried out through salary cuts, wage confiscation, etc. The most important point is that we have only three employment systems: contract system, contract system and training system.”

"What does Boss Mu think of this employment system?" Ye Luo raised his eyebrows.

Mu Ouchu said calmly: "It goes against human nature and loses morality. Personally, I am very opposed to this kind of labor system, because its essence is to exploit and oppress workers to the extreme without giving them any way to survive, which is detrimental to the long-term development of the industry. A dose of poison. Of course, it is a good thing for the boss to gain a lot of profits in a short period of time.”

He couldn't go against his conscience and say that this employment system was good, but considering Ye Luo's status, he had to add the last sentence to make Ye Luo feel more comfortable.

After all, people have to bow their heads when they are under the eaves.

Why was Mu Ouchu squeezed out by Shanghai's textile industry? It is because he strongly opposes this kind of employment system and advocates putting people first and treating workers well. This is tantamount to being opposed to all capitalists. Can he not be punished?

"I also feel that this employment system is extremely inappropriate, so I came to Boss Mu this time, hoping to create a new employment system that will protect workers while increasing the company's interests."

Ye Luo smiled, Mu Ouchu's reaction was very much what he wanted.

It can be said that he successfully passed this simple assessment.

In Ye Luo's view, capitalists must pursue profit, which is an unchangeable reality.

Even if he is, he will definitely take profit as his first goal, and will harm his own interests to benefit the workers. He asks himself that he is not that kind of great sage.

But at least you can't "want the horse to run but don't give it grass", and do stupid things like killing the donkey or taking extreme advantage.

Short-sighted behavior can be seen everywhere in later generations. For example, a certain Penguin company made a lot of money no matter which industry it went to, but after destroying the original ecology of the industry, it left without hesitation, leaving only a piece of chicken feathers and a mess that could never rise again. .

Ye Luo would not do this immoral act of killing the goose that lays the goose to only strengthen himself, but blocking the path of countless other colleagues. Especially at this stage of the Republic of China, he would not allow others to do this. (End of chapter)