Chapter 10 Investment Companies

  Now everyone's attention is on the factory, Nuan Chuan said a few words of scene, bursts of firecrackers sounded, Limin Textile Factory officially unveiled and established, announcing the establishment of Sichuan's first large-scale textile factory. Qiao Yu waved his hand, and the workers of the textile factory lined up in two rows from both sides, proudly and formally entering the factory.

  Among these workers, fifty were clever apprentices selected from the shops of Qiao and Bai families, and the rest were young people recruited from those weaving households. They were all dressed in deep blue work uniforms, with red faces and full of energy, marching into the production workshop in neat steps as previously arranged.

  Behind the team, there were more than a hundred female workers. At that time, China's social atmosphere was still relatively conservative, and it was difficult for women to come out and work. These girls were all weaving household daughters, no matter how delicate their hands were, they couldn't compare with cold machines, making a living increasingly difficult.

  Since Qiao Yu last guaranteed those weavers and introduced them to the treatment, for the first half year, each person would get three or four taels of silver per month. After becoming skilled, they could increase to five taels. If they became a master craftsman, they would get at least ten taels per month.

  This is not a small sum, to know that a landlord can earn one or two silver coins per year on an acre of land is already good, and the money earned by a female worker in a year is already comparable to that of a small landlord. How can it not move people's hearts? Therefore, a group of brave girls actively entered the textile factory to work.

  Today, all the female workers wore light blue floral work uniforms and entered the factory together to work. Looking at these slightly shy female workers, it was still quite shocking for the people on site. Women who never left their homes or stepped out of their doors have also become workers. It seems that the world has really changed.

  Qiao Yu looked at the crowd with a thoughtful expression, still feeling relatively satisfied. The psychology of the people was changing bit by bit like this. All the workers had arrived at their posts. Qiao Yu and Bai Kuan invited Niu Chuan Shan and many other merchants to go see how the machines wove fabric together. These people also wanted to take a look at how the machines worked. Everyone knew that foreigners relied on these machines to dominate the world, so they were naturally curious and wanted to take a look. Some more cunning merchants wanted to learn something from this and, if possible, set up their own factories.

  As soon as everyone entered the workshop, Zhao Baoxuan had been waiting in the workshop. As soon as Qiao Yu led people in, he hastily ordered to start work. The machine roared and the spindle flew around. Before long, snow-white cloth flowed out from the machine.

  "This cloth came out like flowing water?"

  Many merchants were stunned, and even the dignified Governor Niu Chuan-shan was amazed. Qiao Yu casually took the fabric he had just woven in his hand, smooth and dense, sturdy and durable, seemingly no worse than foreign cloth. The other merchants also looked again and again, praising it endlessly.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, the environment in this carriage is not good, I have arranged for a theatrical troupe, everyone please go outside!"

  Many merchants reluctantly left the workshop, they were very aware that what was woven on the loom was not fabric, but silver. Who would have a grudge against silver? Their hearts were also stirred up, and they wanted to take another look, but it wasn't good to go against Qiao Yu's generous intentions, so they had to leave the workshop and go watch the play together.

  The button was passed on to the public, and it was busy with official duties, so he bid farewell and left. The afternoon was lively again, and all the guests had left, but Qiao Yu and Bai Kuan had left behind a dozen or so of the most powerful businessmen. These people gathered at Bai Kuan's home, including Wang Dongcheng, the owner of Sihai Qianzhuang, Zhang Fuxiang, the owner of Tiantai Piaohao, Wang Gui, the owner of Tiangong Shoushilou, Xue Shan, the owner of Ruixiang Chouzhenzhuang, Yang Xuecheng, the owner of Hengchang Dapu, and Xu Hua, Zhang Jin, etc. They were all big businessmen with a net worth of over 100,000 taels, or even millions of taels. They had already expressed their willingness to invest in industry, and they basically represented more than 30% of Chongqing's wealth. If Qiao Yu could win them over, he would have the confidence to do anything.

  "I believe you have all seen the production situation of the textile mill. What I want to say is that this is only the first phase of the project. Very soon, the second batch of 600 machines will arrive, and the production capacity of the textile mill will be increased by more than four or five times. Conservatively estimated, in a year's time, it will be possible to produce over 50 million meters."

  Moreover, the work efficiency of Limin Textile Factory far exceeds those in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and may even be higher. I'm not saying this to show off, but to share this profit with everyone!

  Qiao Yu's words shocked everyone present, as they had thought he was going to discuss the sale of cloth or borrow some silver. Everyone knew that the textile mill was a gold-laying hen, but it belonged to the Qiao and Bai families. However, as soon as Qiao Yu spoke, he stunned the crowd, and Wang Gui from the Jewelry Building was the first to react.

  With a somewhat playful smile, he said: "Mr. Qiao, don't tease us, okay? Your factory is making money, and we're all envious, but we're all businessmen too. Are you going to give us silver as well? This isn't entertainment!"

  "Boss Wang, you're absolutely right. I've already discussed it with my uncle and he's willing to give up 15% of the shares, while I'll give up 30%. In total, we'll be selling 45% of the shares to everyone. Also, as you all have seen the benefits of the machine, my next plan is to set up more factories, which everyone can participate in. We can make money together. Honestly, after being abroad for many years, I feel that our industry is really backward, but the wealth it generates is astonishing. Investing in industry will bring huge benefits to both the country and ourselves. However, we're starting late and have a weak foundation, plus the government is incompetent. Therefore, we can only unite together, make money together, and share the risks. We need to compete with foreigners and take the profits into our own hands. What do you all think?"

  These businessmen had long shown interest in industry, but were hesitant due to concerns about risk. After hearing Qiao Yu's words, they all fell into deep thought. They knew that those foreign merchants made a lot of money, but they themselves didn't have the courage. Qiao Yu's proposal was quickly accepted by everyone. It was simply a matter of buying shares in the textile factory and binding themselves together with Qiao Yu. Then, they would jointly invest in other factories. With more people, there is more power; united, they could minimize risk. With Qiao Yu's guidance, building a factory would likely be much easier, giving them the confidence to compete.

  Wang Dongcheng of the Four Seas Money House pondered for a moment, "Mr. Qiao has great ambitions, I, old Wang, am willing to buy stocks in the textile mill and also willing to cooperate with Mr. Qiao to run the factory!" As soon as Wang Dongcheng made this statement, other businessmen also spoke out in support, all of them willing to put up money.

  Soon, 45% of the stock was divided up, with Wang Dongcheng getting 10%, becoming the third largest shareholder, and Wang Gui also getting 8%, becoming the fourth largest shareholder. Qiao Yu's hands were filled with an additional 700,000 taels of silver.

  In fact, according to the scale and profitability of Lixin Textile Factory, these shares are not worth a million taels, but Qiao Yu intentionally gave in to the merchants, so he didn't raise the price excessively.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I am currently preparing to set up a garment factory, a printing and dyeing factory, both of which are attached to the textile factory. Then, I will establish a building materials factory to produce cement, bricks and tiles. Everyone's daily necessities are inseparable from these products. As long as we can do it well, the profit will be absolutely substantial. If anyone is interested, you can join in completely. If you have any projects that you want to invest in, you can also take the initiative to propose them. Those who hold a large share can also participate, and I will definitely go all out to help!"

  As soon as everyone heard Qiao Yu's conditions, they began to discuss them enthusiastically. Their passion for starting a factory grew stronger and stronger. Suddenly, Wang Gui interrupted from the side: "Mr. Qiao, it's a great kindness that you can think of us, but one person's energy is limited. If we all rush to start several factories at once, which one will you help first and which one later? What if several families want to start the same kind of factory, how will you handle it?"

  Wang Gui's few words hit the nail on the head, how can we ensure that Qiao Yu is treated equally? Moreover, if Qiao Yu has a small share, can he work with all his heart and soul? Investing in a factory is not a small amount of money, so it's hard not to be cautious.

  "Mr. Wang's words are well-asked, I have an idea, which is for everyone to jointly invest in setting up a company, with this company being responsible for unified investment, and everyone sharing dividends according to their shares. The established factory will be operated by qualified personnel appointed by us, the board of directors!"

  Everyone nodded in thought! This idea is not bad, forming a joint company to avoid everyone's conflicts and contradictions, and being able to reasonably build factories. Moreover, the most important thing is that everyone asked Qiao Yu for help, which is a human relationship. Now that the company has been established, this is his own duty, and there is no need to worry about Qiao Yu not doing his best, because this is his own business.

  Qiao Yu actually wanted to establish an investment company that would gather capital from Chongqing, first investing in light industry and then moving into heavy industry and military industry, ultimately establishing its own industrial system. However, unlike later investment companies, the main direction of operation was not financial products such as stocks and futures, but rather direct investment in real industries, which was also determined by Sichuan's underdeveloped financial situation.

  Moreover, Qiao Yu's goal is not simply to make money, he wants to use capital as a bond to tie the big businessmen of Sichuan to his chariot and ultimately form a powerful industrial capital force to help him control Sichuan. From today's situation, Qiao Yu has already succeeded in half.

  "Mr. Qiao, how does your company operate specifically? How much capital is needed?" Wang Dongcheng asked.

  "Boss Wang's investment is naturally the more the better, but we still need to investigate the market situation and formulate specific rules. Let's meet again in half a month. My point is that the initial public offering should not be too large in scope, mainly just the people present here. If there are too many people involved, our factory can't get started quickly!"

  These businessmen nodded one after another and went back to think about the proposal. In fact, Qiao Yu had an ulterior motive for making this proposal. The Lixin Textile Factory had just started operations and although it had sparked their interest, they still lacked the real money to move them. Therefore, Qiao Yu wanted to wait until the textile factory's first batch of goods was sold before formally establishing the investment company.

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