Chapter 9: The Guild's Banquet

  Although it was in the midst of a severe winter, snowflakes were floating in the sky, but at this time, the entire Chinatown was completely enveloped in a thick Spring Festival atmosphere. From time to time, firecrackers sounded, new year's couplets, greetings from each other, and more often, Chinese-style lanterns appeared on Chinatown streets. At this time, the whole Chinatown was filled with the joy of the 15th day of the first lunar month.

  But on the streets, it's even more crowded, although today, March 3rd, is an ordinary day for Americans, but this day is also China's Lantern Festival, and many Americans have come here to experience the atmosphere of "Lantern Festival" and taste the exotic flavor.

  In the first floor hall of Chinatown's Chinese Association, it was only afternoon, but people without family accompaniment in Chinatown had already arrived early, exchanging pleasantries and formalities. To some extent, this place is their home, perhaps only here can they get a rare relaxation and comfort throughout the year.

  The liquor from my hometown is like a stimulant, although people's senses have not been stimulated to the ends of their nerves. However, after drinking some wine, people's words become more bold and daring, and their behavior becomes more frivolous. People speaking Cantonese and Fujian dialects are shouting loudly at the dinner table, accompanied by their mutual toasting actions. As they drink cup after cup, they even start flirting with the dozen or so prostitutes specially invited by the association. This is a rare day of relaxation for them in a year. After tomorrow, they will once again be immersed in their hard lives.

  "Ah!"

  Taking a swig of strong liquor, Li Zichen gazed around at his fellow villagers chatting in their local dialect and let out a helpless sigh.

  Waiting, waiting is always tormenting, especially when there is no news at all. After returning to New York from Pittsburgh, I was originally full of confidence and thought that Morgan would come to find me in three days at most, but I didn't expect to wait for thirteen days.

  For thirteen whole days, neither Morgan nor U.S. Steel sent anyone to negotiate with him, as if they were really scared off by the high price he had quoted.

  He let out a sigh, downed another shot of liquor, forced a smile, and looked at his fellow countrymen around him, listening to the dialect he didn't understand at all, feeling even more suffocated in his heart.

  This Ah Si's "Jie Hui" in the Chinese community is far from what he imagined, and even sitting here makes him feel like an outsider. Almost every table is arranged according to people's accents, and these overseas Chinese come from various places in Guangdong and Fujian provinces. People from the same province don't understand each other, people from the same prefecture don't understand each other, and neighbors don't ask for names. Even their conversations rely heavily on interpreters. When the master of the New York Hung Men Society spoke earlier, he spoke in English instead of Chinese. The Mandarin Ah Si speaks is "alien language" to them, while their dialects are not "alien languages" to him.

  Li Zichen, who had originally thought he could find a sense of belonging here, listened to the people around him speaking in dialects that he couldn't understand at all, and helplessly smiled wryly.

  "Wishing everyone a prosperous New Year and great luck!"

  He stood up, picked up a bowl of wine, and toasted the people sitting around the table. After apologizing, Li Zichen left the table and walked towards the backyard of the Chinese Association Building. At least, putting aside those Cantonese and Fujian dialects, looking at these people and this Chinese-style building could make him feel a sense of belonging.

  The commotion of the people behind him in the grand hall occasionally disturbed Li Zichen's mood, although here, at the Chinese Association Hall, he was also subject to a certain degree of exclusion because he was a northerner and spoke Mandarin, just like this grand hall where the Cantonese sat on the left and the Fujianese on the right, and except for occasional toasts, they didn't even interact with each other.

  "Ah..."

  A similar sigh echoed not far away, and upon looking again, a middle-aged man in a suit stood in the corridor opposite, his expression seemingly also tinged with some distress. Feeling someone was watching him, Mu Yu Chu raised his head to follow the line of sight and saw a young man not far away, giving a polite smile.

  "What's going on? The banquet hasn't even dispersed yet..."

  Mu Yucho took the initiative to walk over and greet him. As soon as he opened his mouth, a Jiangsu dialect poured into Li Zichen's ears, instantly adding a hint of closeness.

  "Where's your brother?"

  Li Zichen said, the two of them smiled simultaneously. To Chinatown, they were like "foreigners", although both are Chinese, but because of language and province, they were not very welcome here.

  "Mu Xiangyue, courtesy name Ou Chu! From Shanghai!"

  After Mu Xiangyu made a fist and bowed to introduce herself, Li Zichen hurriedly imitated her and returned the courtesy.

  "Li Zichen, styled..."

  Li Zi hesitated for a moment before uttering two words.

  "Reach for the distance!"

  Zhiyuan is his online name. At this time, Li Zichen suddenly mentioned a word and couldn't think of any good words for a while, so he had to use his own online name to fill in.

  After a brief introduction, perhaps because both of them had been ostracized to some extent, they sat down in the pavilion at the back of the mansion and started talking as if they were old friends.

  "...not afraid of being laughed at by Zhiyuan, two years ago, Xiang Yue was able to study in the US only because his wife pawned her dowry jewelry!"

  At the age of 36, Mu Xiangyue mentioned these without any concealment. Two years ago, when he made the decision, he was already 34 years old and had been married for 9 years. His wife pawned her jewelry and borrowed 1,000 yuan to support his self-funded studies in the United States.

  "Oh!"

  Looking at Mu Xiangyue in front of him, Li Zichen couldn't help but take a few more glances at her. At her age, it was rare to study abroad, and according to many books, most people who studied abroad during the late Qing dynasty went to Japan, with some exceptions being older individuals seeking fame and fortune. Those who chose to study in the United States on their own expense were...

  In the following conversation, Li Zichen only knew that Mu Xiangyu's family had been in the cotton business for generations. By his father's generation, they opened a cotton store, which was once famous far and wide, but by the time he was a young man, the family business had declined. At 13 years old, he entered an apprenticeship at a cotton store, where he stayed for 11 years, gaining a deep understanding of the problems in China's cotton industry. After the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, he decided to start by "studying Western methods" and strive for self-improvement.

  Two years ago, he also went to the United States at his own expense with the aim of "industrial salvation". He entered the University of Illinois, where he was awarded a government scholarship, but life was hard and he often lived on plain bread and water.

  "Oh? I don't know why Brother Mu has come from Illinois to New York again!"

  Looking at Mu Xiangyue, Li Zichen's puzzled minister said, Illinois is located in the central United States, and it's not a holiday now.

  "Although Xiang Yue's major is agricultural science, she has a strong interest in business management. A few days ago, I saw in the newspaper that Mr. Taylor had just finished his congressional hearing and was currently in New York, so I came to visit him."

  "Taylor?"

  "Frederick Winslow Taylor!"

  Frederick Winslow Taylor! Upon hearing this name, Li Zichen couldn't help but pause for a moment. This name was not unfamiliar to him; he had read books on economic management in college, and this person was someone who had to be mentioned in modern economic management.

  A man posthumously referred to as the "Father of Scientific Management"; a man who influenced the development of the assembly line production method; a man highly esteemed by the great socialist mentors; a man who influenced the process of human industrialization.

  A man forced to drop out of school due to poor eyesight; a man called a beast by workers for his ruthlessness; a man who was at odds with the union and was forced to testify before Congress; a man constantly criticized by modern management scholars.

  This man was Frederick Winslow Taylor, the most important and also the most controversial figure in the development history of management thought.

  "Are you referring to Frederick Winslow Taylor in New York?"

  Li Zichen's voice was filled with a hint of joy, and just as he had the idea to return home and start a factory, Frederick Winslow Taylor appeared at his doorstep. What a coincidence!

  "That's right!"

  Mu Xiangyue nodded, but Li Zichen's surprise was beyond his expectation.

  "Last year, Mr. Taylor conducted scientific management experiments at the Watertown Arsenal in Massachusetts and the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois under the support of Secretary of War Crozier. Merrick, who implemented scientific management at the Watertown Arsenal, fired union members who refused to cooperate, leading to a strike. The House of Representatives formed a special committee to investigate. From last October until a few days ago, the U.S. Congress held hearings on the Taylor system and other shop management systems, with Taylor testifying. Although Congress acknowledged that Taylor was not responsible for the strike, ... he resigned a week after the hearing ended and came to New York."

  "So you came to New York for..."

  "I would like to ask Mr. Taylor for advice on some management issues, Zhiyuan. China's backwardness is not only in industry, but also far behind other countries in the world in terms of factory management. I think that in order to run a modern factory, we must introduce modern management, and Mr. Taylor's scientific management is undoubtedly the most advanced factory management system at present!"

  When mentioning scientific management, Mu Xiangyu became somewhat excited. Since reading "The Principles of Scientific Management" for the first time last year, he had been planning to visit Taylor in order to ask him some questions about scientific management, especially its application in textile factory management.

  "More than a decade ago, when Mr. Taylor was employed by the Bethlehem Steel Company, he performed his famous 'pig iron experiment' and 'shoveling experiment', all of which proved this point: even in the arsenal workshops in America, scientific management experiments were very successful, that's why I... skipped class to visit Mr. Taylor!"

  "Lotus initial brother, where does Tyler live?"

  Li Zichen asked urgently, what Taylor did was much clearer to himself than Mu Xiangyu. His scientific management can be said to be a multiplier of production efficiency. Perhaps, as others have criticized, Taylor's scientific management "increased wages by 61% while increasing workload by 362%", but on the other hand, it scientifically and reasonably used human resources, which is exactly what he needed, if only he could...

  "Zhiyuan, are you also interested in scientific management?"

  Li Zichen, who had already stood up, turned his head and looked at Mu Xiangyue.

  "I'm more interested in this guy! Come on, let's go visit Mr. Taylor together! My car..."

  Just as he was about to leave, Li Zichen stopped in his tracks and fell into deep thought.

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