Insufficient balance

  Like many of his peers born in the late 1980s, Chen Ke has also participated in numerous entrepreneurial activities. In the face of one failure after another, Chen Ke had to summarize the reasons. One of the important conclusions he drew was that the number of people involved in production within an organization must be as close to 100% as possible. This time's dyeing and printing business is also a new commercial attempt. As an investor and core staff member, Chen Ke not only participates in all the work personally but also observes his current companions.

  Hua Xiongmao, as a Manchu martial arts champion, truly has the quality to match the title of champion. Whether it's dyeing cloth, burning fire, or drying in the sun, as long as Chen Ke personally instructs and leads the team, Hua Xiongmao works hard without complaint. You Yun, as a chemistry major university graduate, fully demonstrates the characteristics of a chemistry major. With active thinking and strong creativity, he strictly follows various "chemical experiment" disciplines. In terms of temperature control, time control, and data recording during cloth dyeing, You Yun's performance is outstanding.

  Originally, Chen Ke positioned this deal as cheap and large-scale. The discolored fabric, cheap foreign dyes, reduced the cost of this batch of fabrics to a level that ordinary dyeing factories could not reach. Chen Ke, Hua Xiongmao, You Yun, and Zhou Yuanyao, these four people all worked without pay, and the labor cost was so low that other dyeing factories did not dare to think about it. Through casual conversations, Chen Ke confirmed that including himself, the educational level of the four workers was high, which was a standard that ordinary Chinese people in 1905 could not reach in their lifetime.

  Maybe we really have the legendary "turtle spirit"? In the past few days, Chen Ke as the project leader, arranged work according to each person's characteristics. The other three colleagues with high status and education did not show any resistance. Everyone was busy removing impurities from the fabric and dyeing it at the same time. You Suan is a girl, she comes in at 8 am every day and leaves at 5 pm. The other three people were assigned shifts, and the workshop operates 24 hours non-stop. In less than three days, they finished dyeing all 40 pieces of fabric.

  After the fabric was dyed, it still needed to be washed. Zhou Yuanxiao's craftsmanship was really good, and the color loss after washing was not severe. Zhou Yuanxiao didn't like to talk, except when necessary, and at other times, he wouldn't say a word unless it was related to work. Chen Ke felt puzzled as to how such a skilled person could end up in this situation.

  On the third day at noon, Chen Ke sent Hua Xiongmao back to his residence and asked Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin to meet. On the fourth day at noon, Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao returned to their residence, where Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin were already waiting inside Xu's house. Hua Xiongmao placed a piece of cloth on the table in front of Xu Xilin, which startled him.

  "This is the fabric you were talking about?" Xu Xilin patted the fabric with his hand, feeling it was okay. He pulled out a few feet of the fabric head and looked at it in the bright area, the dark blue fabric felt smoother than ordinary coarse cloth, but it was much thinner. However, the color was far beyond what ordinary cotton cloth could compare to. The deep blue color was very even, making it quite suitable for summer clothing.

  Qiu Jin, being a woman, had more knowledge about fabrics. After looking at the fabric, she smiled and said, "Bo Huang, Wen Qing's fabric is indeed impressive."

  "Brother Bohong, I mentioned last time that I wanted to ask friends in Shanghai who have business connections to help sell the fabric. This time, I brought this newly dyed piece for you to take a look at the actual product." Chen Ke finally had his own product, and even his tone of voice became clearer.

  "This matter I will naturally help with." Xu Xilin replied. Chen Ke could see that Xu Xilin was not very interested in the fabric business.

  "I've been busy with dyeing cloth lately, how's Brother Bohong doing with his business in Shanghai?"

  "It's hard to put into words." Xú Xīlín said, sighing, his face full of melancholy, far from the spirited looks of Chen Ke and Huà Xióngmào.

  Lunch was eaten in silence, Qiu Jin didn't utter a word, Xue Xilin lowered his head to eat. Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao also didn't dare say much. After starting the dyeing business, Chen Ke simply didn't think about revolution anymore. Revolution isn't for starving to death, a revolutionary who can starve himself to death is absolutely unqualified. After finishing lunch, Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao stood up to bid farewell.

  As soon as Chen Ke went out, he wanted to go to the street with dense cloth shops and have a stroll. The other day when strolling around, Chen Ke specifically went there to find buyers after dyeing the fabric.

  After walking for a while, Hua Xiongmao said: "Wen Qing, I actually have friends in Shanghai who do fabric business. If you don't mind, let's see if he can buy these fabrics."

  Chen Ke looked at Hua Xiong Mao in surprise, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

  Hua Xiongmao smiled confidently, "At that time, you hadn't even dyed the fabric, how could I have said anything about it? And as for how you and my uncle and aunt discussed it, I don't know either. Now that the fabric is dyed, I think you're counting on my uncle to handle this matter, but I'm afraid it's useless. Moreover, Wencui, you never asked me, so how could I have volunteered?"

  "How can he eat so much cloth? I sell at least one or two silver coins for a piece of cloth." Chen Ke said.

  "Why don't we just go see him now?" said Hua Xiong Mao with confidence.

  Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao went to see the friend who was doing textile business together. He was originally from Wenzhou, and his textile business was quite large. After looking at Chen Ke's textiles, they agreed on a purchase price of 1 or 2 yuan per piece, and that person bought all of this batch of textiles. Knowing that Chen Ke would have more goods to sell, the Wenzhou businessman indicated that he would also buy them all. The only requirement proposed by the Wenzhou businessman was to specify 100 pieces of red cloth.

  The cloth in Zhou Yuanxiao's dyeing workshop had been completely cleared out, and on the table were 62 taels of silver. Chen Ke, Hua Xiongmao, You Ou, and Zhou Yuanxiao each occupied one side of the table. Chen Ke always believed that brothers should be clear about accounts. After receiving the first payment, they really needed to have a good talk.

  "Brother Zhou, you've been working hard these past few days. As we previously agreed, I'll have your workshop dye 1,200 bolts of cloth and pay a usage fee of 30 taels to your workshop. I haven't forgotten that, have I?" Chen Ke said with a smile.

  These days have been particularly hard work. Zhou Yuan Xiao was half exhausted and the other half seemed to be indifferent to this matter. He replied listlessly, "That's right."

  You Yu listened to Chen Ke's words and frowned slightly, with a glimmer of light flashing in his phoenix eyes, but he also didn't make a sound.

  "Previously, I didn't know about Brother Zhou's craftsmanship either. Now that I've seen it, I'd like to ask, how much do you plan to charge for each piece of fabric?" Chen Ke continued to ask.

  "Just looking is enough." Zhou Yuanxiao still had a listless expression on his face.

  "This is not right, giving one tael of silver is also giving, giving five taels of silver is also giving, Brother Zhou should have an attitude." Chen Ke's expression turned serious. Next was a large batch of dyed cloth, if he couldn't satisfy Zhou Yuanxiao, and he made some small moves, Chen Ke would not be able to bear that loss.

  Zhou Yuanxiao raised his eyes and looked at Chen Ke, he smiled bitterly, "This brother Chen is worried that I will take advantage of him. When I first returned to Shanghai, I wanted to open a dyeing factory, but in the end, I squandered all my silver, totaling seven or eight thousand taels. Now only this ancestral workshop has not been ruined. I see that both Brother Chen and Brother Hua are from wealthy families, but they don't think it's beneath them to do manual labor. This is what touches me. Moreover, in my time of need, You Ou helped me greatly. Since she introduced you, I will naturally do my best. The amount of money doesn't matter to me. Just don't let You Ou lose out."

  After hearing this, You Yun grabbed Zhou Yuanxiao's wrist and said loudly: "Brother Zhou, I introduced this job to you just to help you regain your confidence. With skills like yours, there will come a day when you can revive your family business. Don't worry about how I make my money, I won't lose out on myself. Brother Zhou, what you're doing isn't right."

  Zhou Yuanxiao shook his head but didn't say anything else.

  Facing this situation, Hua Xiongmao was somewhat moved by the friendship, but Chen Ke showed no signs of being moved. Chen Ke had done so in the past, but the failed outcome had long since cooled his passion. He said seriously: "A clear account with brothers, Miss You, since Brother Zhou has spoken, you should also give Brother Zhou some face. You decide how to do it."

  You Yun listened to Chen Ke's words and looked at Zhou Yuanxiao, who was depressed, before speaking up: "If I were to say it, you'd have to give Brother Zhou six silver coins for each bolt of cloth."

  After listening to You Yun's words, Hua Xiong frowned and Chen Ke shook his head. "This won't do. Let's not mention the six taels of silver for now. Miss You, apart from the money you're giving to Brother Zhou, how much are you planning to take?"

  Chen Ke denied himself, and You Yun said with a puffed face: "I don't want a single cent, okay?"

  "That's absolutely out of the question." Chen Ke immediately shot down You Ou's careless remark.

  "Why?"

  Chen Ke said with a serious expression: "I don't care how Brother Zhou failed in the past, but now we can only do things according to the current situation. We are doing business together, so the accounts must be divided equally. Brother Zhou provided the workshop and led us in dyeing cloth, so he naturally cannot lose out. You, Miss Yu, I, and Brother Hua all work hard together, so we should also get our share of the profits. The calculation is simple: more labor means more gain, no labor means no gain. Moreover, your calculation method itself is incorrect; what we should calculate is the cost of dyeing cloth, not the selling price. Although this sounds unpleasant to hear, if we can't calculate accounts like this, doing business will always result in losses."

  After listening to Chen Ke's words, You Yun was puffed up and didn't make a sound. On the other hand, Zhou Yuanxiao, who had been listless at first, suddenly raised his head after hearing Chen Ke's last sentence, and stared at Chen Ke with sharp eyes. "Then Mr. Chen, take out the constitution of one cent to listen." Zhou Yuanxiao asked.

  "This is the first time we're working together, let's not talk about making a lot of money in the future, we can't even make any now, what future are we talking about? There are just four of us. I'll take out six cents of silver for each bolt of cloth, Zhou will get three and a half cents, Yu Yun and I will each get one cent, and Hua will get five cents." Chen Ke laid out his plan.

  "Oh, you've made a fortune with this big head." You Yun sneered and said.

  "The money for buying fabric and dye is mine. Miss Yu, you are wronging me."

  Yu You looked at Zhou Yuanxiao, Chen Ke also looked at Zhou Yuanxiao, Zhou Yuanxiao thought for a moment and nodded, "I think it's okay. Chen Xian's division method is very reasonable."

  Having settled this matter, Chen Ke further declared that the 62 taels of silver would not be divided for now, but would all be used to buy cloth and dye. Since no one was short of food money, everyone felt that this proposal was acceptable.

  Coming out from Zhou Yuanxiao's place, Hua Xiongmao smiled and said: "I didn't expect that I can now earn 50 cents for a piece of cloth, today's meal money is earned."

  "Does Zheng Lan feel cheated? I was just about to tell you, the five silver coins that can be earned from selling a piece of cloth will be shared with Zheng Lan, one coin for sure."

  "Wen Qing, I didn't mean it that way, I just think why you want to pull them two together."

  "Those two are quite useful, if everyone works together, it's not just about this amount of money."

  To such a definite reply, Hua Xiongmao could only shake his head and remain silent.

  With the money, Chen Ke bought back 100 pieces of cloth. The workshop continued to operate day and night. With the experience from last time, it took only four days to dye these 100 pieces of cloth. Among the 100 pieces of cloth, there were 80 blue cloths and 20 red cloths.

  The cloth was sold, and the money that should have been divided among everyone last time for 40 pieces of cloth was distributed. Chen Ke announced a one-day break, as they had worked hard in recent days and everyone needed rest. You Ou was after all a girl, her physical strength couldn't compare to three men. She suggested hiring two workers.

  Chen Ke firmly opposed this proposal. The reason is simple, if the wages of hired workers are high, everyone will earn less. If the wages are low, workers will not do a good job for you. For the current most labor-intensive links, transportation, drying, Chen Ke's suggestion is very simple, using small mechanical equipment to solve it.

  After hearing this, You Yun sneered at Chen Ke's plan for being more expensive, and Zhou Yuanxiao remained silent. Hua Xiongmao was ignorant of mechanics and wanted to support Chen Ke, but didn't know what to say. Chen Ke immediately announced the meeting adjourned in a tough tone. Everyone was exhausted and didn't want to bother with Chen Ke about this matter. Since no one took it seriously, everyone dispersed like birds and beasts.

  Back at their residence, Chen Ke and Hua Xiong slept like dead dogs for a whole day.

  The next day, Chen Ke brought the carpenter back to Zhou Yuanxiao's workshop. Zhou Yuanxiao and You Yun were already waiting there. Inside Zhou Yuanxiao's courtyard, ten four-square wooden beams had been erected, which Chen Ke had observed for a long time. Chen Ke asked the carpenter to nail several rows of sliders on these relatively smooth wooden beams, and then set up pulleys that could be pulled. After the carpenter left, Chen Ke and everyone else made more than a dozen sets of pulleys. This small mechanical device can easily lift fabric, lift bamboo poles for drying clothes, and also freely move the position of the bamboo poles.

  It must be said that the effect of this set is much lower than the manual operation of fabric drying in the past, and the drying effect is slightly worse. However, the good thing is that the workload has been greatly reduced, and efficiency has increased several times. Most importantly, it only cost two taels of silver. The cost of hiring two workers is much higher than this. After seeing Chen Kezuo's set, Zhou Yuanxiao was very interested, but she didn't say anything in opposition. Hua Xiongmao had been working with Chen Kezuo on the most labor-intensive tasks, and this set helped him the most, so he kept shouting "good".

  Although Zhou Yuanxiao's workshop was not small, this time there were almost 400 pieces of cloth, and the space for drying cloth was still limited. Only 50 pieces of cloth had been dyed, and the entire workshop was filled with hanging cloth.

  "Hey, pull the sail in a bit further!" Yu Yun shouted at Hua Xiongmao.

  "We're almost there, just a little closer and we'll be touching. Didn't Wen Qing say to pay attention to the evaporation speed?" Hua Xiongmao said, looking up with his head tilted back while pulling on the rope.

  "What's evaporating? That's called vaporization!" You Yunlian teased Huaxiong Mao, whose strength had already been exhausted.

  The use of small machinery brought up an unexpected problem for Chen Ke, the arrangement of the craft process. In the past, drying fabrics was mainly done by Zhou Yuanxiao. This time, with a large quantity of fabric and the use of pulleys, labor intensity decreased and efficiency increased. As for how to make better use of space, You Yun showed great interest. Chen Ke was not knowledgeable in this area, and Zhou Yuanxiao didn't have a better method either. So, You Yun and Hua Xiongmao, who had learned a lot of new knowledge through labor, began a new discussion.

  Chen Ke pulled the rope, and a piece of cloth was lifted out of the big vat. This was the last piece of cloth that needed to be dried. Zhou Yuanxiao pulled the horizontal rope, dragging the cloth onto the washing trough. Chen Ke loosened some ropes, and Zhou Yuanxiao untied the knots. What originally required three people's laborious efforts was now done by two people in just a few minutes.

  Enduring the soreness in both arms, Chen Ke made an effort to wash the laundry. It would be great if there was a washing machine; although he knew this idea was silly, Chen Ke couldn't help but hope so.

  Improvements in production processes mean an increase in labor efficiency. The same physical exertion can now complete more work. But this requires a more effective workforce. A few days ago, dyeing 40 pieces of cloth took three days. When the average was around 10-20 pieces per day, Chen Ke felt it was still relatively easy. Later, when it increased to 25 pieces per day, Chen Ke felt he was working at full capacity. Now, producing 50 pieces in 36 hours has left Chen Ke numb.

  Fortunately, it was his own blood that he was drinking. Chen Ke finally understood the term "blood and sweat factory". If he were working in another factory for the benefit of capitalists day and night like this, while also ensuring product quality, Chen Ke estimated that he would have joined the workers' movement by now.

  Zhou Yuanxiao also silently joined in washing clothes, with Chen Ke, his face turned pale and his eyes darkened. With the help of You Huan, a large amount of data was summarized on the optimal force to use for washing clothes. Chen Ke and Zhou Yuanxiao's "professional spirit" played out sufficiently, although they were close to exhaustion, the two still did their best to guarantee work quality. If it were ordinary workers, Chen Ke wouldn't dare believe in the quality of their products.

  As a self-proclaimed materialist communist, Chen Ke had never thought that the practice of capitalists using machines to produce goods, resulting in large-scale unemployment among workers, was problematic. Compared to machines, workers were indeed unreliable. This arduous dyeing work had thoroughly proven this point. Not to mention workers, Chen Ke didn't even dare believe in his own average work quality as an investor. The four people inside the dyeing workshop all possessed high-quality skills and sufficient enthusiasm for their work. With these four people working together, they still couldn't guarantee the outcome, let alone using workers; the efficiency and quality would absolutely not make Chen Ke optimistic.

  One side was lost in thought, Chen Ke's hands and feet were still nimble, the fabric was washed quickly. You Ou and Hua Xiong Mao adjusted to leave space for the last piece of fabric and came over to help. After finally finishing, they hung the fabric up to dry. The four people sat around the table, rubbing their sore necks and arms.

  Everyone was very tired and no one spoke, so they quietly rested. You Yun brought a pillow from home, she had complained about the smell of dyed cloth on the pillow in the past few days, but now she didn't care about this little discomfort, she put the pillow on the table, lay down and fell asleep.

  Chen Ke was also resting on the table, half asleep and half awake. What revolution, what saving the country, had long since flown to who-knows-where. In Chen Ke's mind, there was only one thought left: this batch of cloth needed a day to dry, and including himself, his colleagues would need another day of rest.

  He didn't know whether he had fallen asleep or not, nor did he know how long it had been. Chen Ke heard someone outside the door shouting, "Is anyone inside?" in a local Shanghai accent.

  Inside the courtyard, no one made a sound. The people outside shouted again and started knocking on the door. This kind of disturbance in sleep was the most infuriating. Chen Ke sat up, only to see Hua Xiongmao sleeping dazedly, rubbing his eyes and looking around. Zhou Yuanxiao, who was facing Chen Ke, also sat up, and upon hearing the noise, his face turned gloomy. You Yun, on the other hand, had also heard the noise, but she simply turned her head lightly like a cat, buried her face in the pillow, covered her ears with her arm, and continued sleeping.

  Chen Ke pulled up Hua Xiong Mao, and the three men went to the door together. Chen Ke rubbed his face with his hand, sobering up a bit before opening the big door.

  Outside the door were two men, one tall and one short. The shorter one looked like a local Shanghainese, in his 40s, not very tall, with a lean build. Chen Ke, Hua Xiongmao, and Zhou Yuanxiao's gazes shifted away from the shorter man and then simultaneously moved upwards. The taller man appeared to be under 30 years old, standing on the bluestone steps at the entrance, his head almost touching the doorframe. Apart from his towering height, this man was also exceptionally sturdy, with broad shoulders that nearly blocked the entire gate. Chen Ke looked up at him, secretly estimating that he must be at least 1.95 meters tall and weigh at least 190 kilograms. This man had a round face typical of robust men. On this round face was an enigmatic smile, looking down at everyone from his lofty height, exuding an air of majesty.

  "Who's the boss?" the short one asked.

  When they heard the voice, everyone shifted their gaze back to the dwarf. Chen Ke suddenly had a strange association - if there was a rope tied around this dwarf's neck and the other end of the rope was held in the giant's hand, it would be just like a sturdy bear leading a monkey.

  Chen Ke and Zhou Yuanxiao stepped forward at the same time, "I'm the boss." Chen Ke said first.

  "This boss, I want to talk business with you," said the short one.

  "There's no business to discuss here. Please leave." Chen Ke flatly refused the other party. When dealing with thugs, you can't give them any opportunity. Once you let them in, they'll definitely cause trouble. Thinking of this, Chen Ke took another step forward and blocked the doorway, "Really, there's nothing to talk about."

  The short man saw Chen Ke block the door and suddenly became anxious. He shouted a few sentences in the local dialect, but his speech was too fast and the accent was too heavy, so Chen Ke didn't understand what he was saying at all.

  "I didn't quite catch what you said, hurry back," Chen Ke said.

  "I'm sure you can understand what I'm saying." Gao suddenly said in a Hebei accent.

  Chen Ke was taken aback, he had just been using Mandarin, and it wouldn't be suitable if the tall man couldn't understand Hebei dialect. Chen Ke could only force himself to respond: "What advice do you have for me, brother?"

  "I just want to get rich with you, brother. Seeing how well your dyeing business is doing, in these chaotic times, haven't you thought of finding a few people to help keep watch? What if there's a fire or some troublemakers come? Having someone to help would definitely be better, right?" The tall man spoke without any of the arrogance he had shown earlier, his words were threatening but his demeanor was sincere. Just listening to his tone, it sounded like genuine concern from an old friend.

  This still encounters the collection of protection fees. Chen Ke thought helplessly. The struggle is absolutely not to be retreated, Chen Ke replied: "We can deal with it ourselves, so we won't bother you two."

  Before the two men could speak, Hua Xiongmao suddenly said a few sharp words from behind Chen Ke, and the two men opposite him were stunned. Hua Xiongmao walked up to the two men and exchanged a few sentences with them in slang. The two men nodded to Hua Xiongmao and turned to leave.

  "It's the Heaven and Earth Society," said Hua Xiong Mao.

  "What do they want?" Chen Ke was more concerned about this.

  "Let's have a cup of tea together tomorrow. I think giving them a gift will be enough." Hua Xiongmao's sleepiness disappeared from his face, and he said, "No need to give anything else, just give them this cloth for one piece, and add a few taels of silver to appease them. But as for the dyeing cloth matter, we must hurry up and do it."