Chapter 10: Help Me Swindle Him!

  (Third update is done, climax will rise tomorrow, please give some recommended collections as encouragement for my hard work! Hehe, thank you!)

  "Frederick Winslow Taylor!"

  Muttering this name, he stood up and walked to the window, looking at the courtyard full of snow.

  Taylor!

  Taylor!

  In college, almost any book that mentioned economics and management would mention this person, but the evaluation of this person was a contradictory synthesis.

  Called a beast by workers, at odds with unions, forced to testify before Congress, and constantly criticized by modern management scholars, yet in one red nation, he was extremely revered as a mentor and scientific management was promoted nationwide.

  Perhaps at this moment, in this era, no one understands Taylor yet, but he himself knows clearly that his scientific management is essentially 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 utilized human resources, which is exactly what I need. If I were to return home to start a business and hire Taylor...

  What is he thinking?

  Mu Xiangyu looked at Li Zichen, unable to help but think that an hour ago, he was preparing to visit Tyler together with her, but suddenly changed his mind and instead invited her to his home, after which he fell silent.

  "We must get him to China!"

  Thinking so in her heart, but thinking of Li Zichen still frowning.

  He invented the modern factory management system, but was subjected to injustice due to scientific management and was accused by workers and the press as "the culprit who squeezed out the last drop of blood". For this reason, he left Bethlehem Steel Corporation in 1901 and no longer came into contact with any industrial company.

  He was an "idealist", and after leaving Bethlehem, he only engaged in unpaid management consulting, writing and lecturing work. With a "neutral" stance, he promoted scientific management throughout the United States, but still received cold treatment and accusations.

  For nearly ten years, I have not accepted any job offers. To invite someone like him to China might still be no easy task...

  "Idealist..."

  As these words emerged, Li Zichen chuckled to himself. Dealing with idealists was really simple; all he had to do was... hmm, give him an ideal!

  But who should give him an ideal?

  As soon as he turned his head, Li Zichen saw Mu Xiangyue sitting on the sofa. Looking at this middle-aged man who came to study in the United States when he was nearly 40 and pawned his wife's dowry to pay for tuition, he seemed to have some resemblance to Tyler.

  Perhaps, thinking of this, he turned around and walked back to the sofa, sat down again, and a smile immediately squeezed out on Li Zichen's face.

  "Lotus elder brother!"

  Pick up the teacup, take a light sip of tea, and make a inviting gesture.

  "What do you think of America after coming here?"

  "What's your impression?" Mu Xiangyu asked softly after a moment of silence, staring at Li Zichen in surprise.

  "The advanced technology, developed industry and strong nation of America is equivalent to the combined strength of all European countries!"

  "I have a dream!"

  Li Zichen looked at Mu Xiangyue in front of him, who seemed to be sighing endlessly, and uttered a sentence.

  "When I first arrived in Pittsburgh, when I saw those tall chimneys, one after another steel mills spewing flames, hundreds of millions of tons of steel flowing continuously to various factories to make machines, and the machines turned into factories, in my heart, there was a dream!"

  When Li Zichen was speaking, Mu Xiangyu gazed at this young man,

  "I hope that one day, on Chinese soil, a Chinese Pittsburgh or Bethlehem will rise!"

  He was completely absorbed in Li Zichen's words, nodding his head in deep agreement. He had also had the same dream, no matter how elusive it seemed.

  "But China..."

  Before Mu Xiangyu could refute, Li Zichen directly interrupted him.

  "I know that this dream of mine is full of fantasy, the old and backward China, without its own iron and steel industry, without its own iron and steel experts, mechanical experts, can be said to be... a poor and blank slate!"

  Poor and pale!

  Is there a word that can better summarize China's current situation? China has Asia's first steel mill, but the Han Yang Steel Mill is unable to produce qualified steel and can only serve as a supplier of pig iron and iron ore for Japanese steel mills.

  "But who can deny that it is precisely being poor and white that makes one most suited to creating miracles?"

  His body slightly leaned forward, Li Zichen gazed at Mu Xiangyue with a measuring gaze.

  As she listened to Li Zichen describing his dreams, Mu Xiangyu felt a little stifled. He picked up the teacup and took big gulps of tea, which was scalding hot, but after swallowing, it left a refreshing feeling in her stomach.

  Mu Xiangyue's performance made Li Zichen laugh softly, looking at his thirsty appearance, he knew that his previous words had already moved his heart. For the Chinese people of this era, every Chinese person has a common dream, the dream of prosperity and strength, and now he is about to use dreams to move him first, and then let him...

  "Brother Yu Chu, think about it, now that the Chinese Republic has just been established, it will inevitably encourage industry development in the future. The country may support industrial development from a political, legal and economic perspective. There's no other way, the country is so weak, if we don't strive to catch up, we'll only become the prey of other countries. So, I plan to return home soon to start my own business. Opportunity knocks but once, time waits for no man. In a few years, with government support, many industrial factories will be established, and competition will become even more intense. That's when opportunities like this will arise! One poor and two whites, one poor and two whites are just right for us to start our own business!"

  After finishing speaking in one breath, Li Zichen let out a sigh of relief and looked at Mu Xiangyue, who was staring blankly, before continuing to speak to him.

  "Lotus brothers, the reason why I said this is that I came to find you to ask for your help. One is to let you help me persuade someone!"

  Persuade someone?

  Mu Xiangyue remained silent for a moment before looking up at Li Zichen and asking tentatively.

  "Taylor?"

  "Exactly!"

  Nodding, Li Zichen leaned back on the sofa.

  "Building a factory, machines can be purchased, workers can be hired, and technical personnel can also be hired. However, what about modern management? How many factories in China have introduced modern management systems and mechanisms? A factory can be set up in one or two years, but after setting up so many factories from the Westernization Movement to now, what is the final result? What state are those factories in? Therefore, if we want to build a factory, we need to introduce a modern management system!"

  Staring at Li Zichen, Mu Xiangyue felt that she suddenly had a sense of familiarity with this young man who was more than ten years younger than herself. Wasn't this exactly what she had been thinking about? From developing industries to strengthen the country and enrich the people, to introducing modern management systems.

  Mu Xiangyue's heart was still surging with excitement at having met a kindred spirit, and she glanced at Li Zichen before asking tentatively.

  "Zhiyuan, you're thinking of hiring Tyler to go to China?"

  "That's right!"

  "However, Mr. Taylor, this matter seems not to be easy, you should know that it has been ten years since he accepted the employment of an industrial company, and he also refused to work for those industrial companies. In these ten years, in order to promote scientific management, he traveled extensively throughout Europe and America, giving lectures everywhere, and basically living in hotels. To hire him, I'm afraid..."

  Hearing this, Li Zichen burst out laughing and said with extreme confidence.

  "So I need your help!"

  Looking at the extremely confident Li Zichen, Mu Xiangyue smiled helplessly. He couldn't refuse his eloquent words, and he had indeed convinced himself. However, in his heart, there was still a lingering question.

  "Zhiyuan, I'll help you persuade Tyler. You should know that if it's a small factory, it might be difficult to invite him, and there might be trouble later! What industry are you planning to engage in at that time?"

  "Steel!"

  Li Zichen gave an answer that left Mu Xiangyu in astonishment.

  Steel is the mother of heavy industry, but China happens to have insufficient steel. Without steel, machines cannot be produced, but this is not the most important thing. In fact, when persuading Taylor just now, I was thinking about what kind of enterprise to invest in. It was precisely the understanding of the steel industry that made me decide to invest in the steel industry.

  After the outbreak of World War I, steel prices skyrocketed like a runaway wild horse. During World War I, mining and smelting iron and steel were undoubtedly lucrative industries. However, when people realized that opening mines and smelting iron could bring huge profits, China was one step behind. The Hanyang Iron Factory was unable to expand production due to equipment limitations, and new iron factories' equipment was banned from being transported back home until the end of the war.

  And after the war, the world's steel industry, which was stimulated by World War I, fell into a cold winter due to overproduction. Even Hanyang, which had profited from the war, eventually shut down its furnaces and stopped production. One by one, the planned steel mills fell silent, becoming overgrown with weeds.

  But now it's different, now is February 1912, if you seize the opportunity, there are two and a half years to build a large steel plant, seize this rare development period of World War I, without considering the dumping pressure of foreign companies, and can get more than ten times the profit.

  Thinking of these things, Li Zichen even thanked the CCTV's Exploration Program. It was an episode that made him realize all this. If he seized the opportunity, a mere steel mill might become his greatest contribution to the country. What could be more helpful in war than sufficient steel?

  Huh?

  Mu Xiangyu's mouth was agape, her eyes wide with astonishment.

  "Zhiyuan, do you know how much money is needed to set up an iron and steel plant?"

  "Money is no object, just help me persuade Tyler, and when the time comes,"

  Hehe, Li Zichen said with a mysterious tone to Mu Xiangyue.

  "When the time comes, when you see a report in the newspaper, that's when we set out. How about it, Brother Mu? Are you willing to go with me and start all this?"

  "I'll do my best!"

  When Mu Xiangyu spat out this sentence, he only felt that his whole body was soft and sour, and he suddenly felt very tired. Looking at Li Zichen who was still excited, he wanted to ask how he had so much energy. But there, Li Zichen was happy in his heart because he could swindle another person again, no, it should be said that he was excited about swindling someone away.

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