Chapter 23: Unprecedented in History

  The weather was somewhat gloomy, and on the dock, Deng Zixuan and Charlie, the manager of the Yihe Yanghang Company, stood side by side. At this time, the vast majority of people on the dock were foreigners with blue eyes and high noses, including women. Accompanied by a whistle, a cargo ship of over 1,000 tons docked, and two other cargo ships slowly approached the dock to drop anchor. "Mr. Deng! The machine you've been expecting has finally arrived in Shanghai after crossing the ocean from distant England. It takes nearly two months for the fleet to travel such a long distance. Only the Western world can achieve this. I wonder what Mr. Deng thinks?" Charlie seemed to have some disdain in his tone.

  Although Deng Zixuan was very depressed in his heart, he had to say: "The industrial civilization of the West has shocked the world and is our model for learning. If the Qing Dynasty continues to be muddle-headed, one day the country will be destroyed. Mr. Charlie, the court currently encourages trade and encourages entrepreneurship, I believe that the British Empire will bring us advanced industrial civilization, so I choose to cooperate with Mr. Charlie, which is completely out of respect from my heart, and also heralds unlimited business opportunities!"

  "Mr. Deng, you are so young and yet have such insight, your future is boundless. At present, there are few businessmen in the Qing dynasty who have your vision and courage, I believe that your foresight will bring great success to our cooperation. Mr. Deng, after the match factory is built, would it be possible for Jardine Matheson to monopolize the sales of matches in Japan, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia? You wouldn't disagree with that, would you?"

  Charlie demanded the right to sell overseas, apparently he had done market research in Southeast Asia, Philippines and Japan during this period. The survey results must have been unlimited business opportunities. Charlie is a shrewd banker who will not let go of such business opportunities.

  Deng Zixuan cursed in his heart, now he actually wants the external sales rights. It's clear that Charlie also understands the huge profits of matches: "Mr. Charlie, the suggestion for external sales is not excessive. The domestic market is enough to make me anxious, where is the energy for foreign sales? From now on, the foreign sales of matches will be handed over to Yee On Company, can we all make money?" Charlie was overjoyed and said: "Mr. Deng's candor is admirable, from now on Yee On Company will fully support you!" This is a trick that Deng Zixuan must play, giving first and taking later.

  The cargo ship docked, and the massive iron anchor splashed into the water, drawing everyone's attention. At this moment, a ladder was lowered, and the passengers who had come with the ship began to disembark. A group of foreigners of different ages and expressions walked up to Charlie, doffing their hats in greeting. Deng Zixuan observed that these foreigners were undoubtedly the various talents Charlie had invited from Britain, and he felt secretly delighted. What was most important? Talent was most important, always and everywhere. At present, the industrial foundation of the Qing Empire must be built with the help of foreigners.

  Many foreigners looked at Deng Zixuan with disdain, but Deng Zixuan didn't mind. It was common for foreigners to look down on the Qing people, and it couldn't be helped. "Mr. Charlie, all the machinery you need has arrived, here is the list of goods, please check!" A foreigner in his 30s handed over the list to Charlie. Seeing that Charlie had finished checking the list, he continued: "Mr. Charlie, this is Mr. James, who has 10 years of factory management experience. This is Engineer Mittelrand..."

  Charlie's deputy introduced them one by one, a manager, two engineers and four technicians. During the introduction, several foreigners frequently took off their hats to show respect. Charlie handed the list to Deng Zixuan: "This is the list of all machines, can you confirm it again?" "Mr. Charlie, are you doubting me too? This is the minimum trust for our cooperation." Deng Zixuan was confident because he knew that involving Charlie's interests, he would never cheat on machine equipment.

  "Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Mr. Deng, my respected partner. From tomorrow on, the management of the factory will be in charge of Mr. Deng. He is a powerful and wise businessman, I don't want any unpleasant things to happen." Charlie spoke aptly, he was also worried that these foreigners looked down on others with disdain. The crowd of foreigners just nodded without taking off their hats. Deng Zixuan didn't mind, smiling: "Is it not delightful to have friends come from afar? I welcome you all who have traveled thousands of miles to get here! Charlie and I are old friends, please follow me into the city, let's entertain our distant guests!"

  Deng Zixuan's fluent English shocked the foreigners, and his pure British upper-class accent made them look at him with new eyes. His words made the foreigners' arrogant expressions somewhat restrained. Entering the public concession, in a famous restaurant, everyone entered the elegant room and sat down. Soon, the restaurant brought out its best dishes, and the foreigners who had never been to China before were amazed, their eyes shining brightly, almost drooling.

  The factory director and two engineers, who were probably of higher status, ate with some refinement. The four technicians, on the other hand, were clearly lower-class individuals, and their rough eating manners made Charlie wrinkle his brow. Deng Zixuan seemed oblivious to this and continued to be overly polite. After dinner, Charlie wanted to go to the dock to inspect the goods, and this guy was even more conscientious than Deng Zixuan. Before leaving, Charlie repeatedly reminded them to follow Deng Zixuan's arrangements.

  "Gentlemen, I'm sure you're all aware of your positions and duties, so I won't elaborate. Let's discuss your annual salaries." The foreigners only then realized that the real boss was Deng Zixuan, and everyone instinctively became more polite. After negotiations between both parties, James' annual salary was 5,000 taels of silver, which was over ten times his annual salary in Britain, naturally making everyone very happy. Mittelrand and another engineer's annual salaries were 3,500 taels of silver each. The four foreign technicians' annual salaries were 1,000 taels of silver each.

  "Gentlemen! To make you feel at home, I have prepared a foreign-style house. Mr. James and the engineer will live upstairs, while the four technicians will live downstairs. The cook and maid servants have been arranged for you. For one year, I will bear the labor costs; after that, you will be responsible for them. Upon hearing that there would be maids serving them, these guys' eyes lit up again, thinking of Fifi. Soon, Deng Zixuan led the 7 foreigners to a two-story foreign-style house."

  Only two cooks stood in front of the foreign house, and seven maids were lined up in a row. They all smiled and welcomed with their eyes, which seemed to be flirtatious. The foreigners who saw this scene were overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly. Unbeknownst to them, these maids were jì girls redeemed by Deng Zixuan from the jì institute, and they were naturally flawless in serving men. As the saying goes: "If you don't want to lose your children, you can't keep the wolf at bay." Deng Zixuan not only wanted to keep people, but also wanted them to work hard without reservation. Moreover, for long-term consideration, he would find more foreigners to serve him through them, which was his ultimate goal.

  The next day, considering the foreigners' travel fatigue, let them rest for a day. Currently, all efforts are being put into installing equipment, so Deng Zixuan has to take charge personally. Therefore, he decided that during this period, he would give lessons to the children at night and let them study on their own during the day. On the third day, Deng Zixuan led 7 foreigners to the dock factory. The factory is about three hundred meters away from the dock, after half a year of construction, the workshop has been built. The most important equipment, the steam engine, was placed in a small courtyard, and various machines have been transported into the factory from the dock and piled up on the empty ground.

  As they entered the factory area, two middle-aged men were carrying abacuses on their backs, with ledgers in front and calculators behind. These were the two accountants hired by Deng Zixuan, who were temporarily managing the newly recruited workers. The young and strong men had recruited over 100 people, who would be responsible for operating steam engines and various machinery after training. Deng Zixuan planned to recruit female workers for the assembly workshop after training. Deng Zixuan introduced the two accountants to the foreigners and then gave them further instructions.

  In the factory area, Deng Zixuan said: "Mr. James, from tomorrow on, this factory will be managed by you!" "Mr. Deng, I will do my best!" At this time, James had fully adapted to Deng Zixuan's command. "Mr. James, I don't interfere with the strict management of the factory, but you can't arbitrarily punish or humiliate workers. If such a thing happens, I will ask Mr. Charlie to send you back home." Deng Zixuan was straightforward. "Mr. Deng! I will strictly restrain them, please rest assured." James knew that if the master in front of him was not satisfied, Charlie would not plead for mercy. Now James understood why the manager of EWO could cooperate with this young Qing businessman, it seemed that Mr. Deng was a wealthy man with millions of dollars.

  However, what surprised James was yet to come. James quickly discovered the problem: "Mr. Deng, the production workshop should be concentrated together, so that each process can effectively play its maximum efficiency. But your factory building is a long strip, and the distance is too far." Deng Zixuan smiled: "Mr. James, please follow me!" Walking into an office, Deng Zixuan took out a blueprint from the cabinet and unfolded it for James to see. James looked at it thoughtfully, but still couldn't figure out the reason.

  "Mr. James, what if we were to fix the workers in one operation, repeating the same work every day?" asked Deng Zixuan with a sly tone. "Hmm! The workers' proficiency would be extremely high!" "What if all the fixed operations were linked together?" Deng Zixuan continued to inspire. After all, James was a manager and quickly grasped the idea: "Good heavens! A production line process, with skilled workers, this way not only can we reduce personnel by half, but efficiency will also be greatly improved, Mr. Deng you are truly remarkable." James was shocked. "Exactly, it's called the assembly line method!" Deng Zixuan smiled.

  "Mr. Deng, may I study this workflow chart?" James looked at Deng Zixuan with admiration. "This chart is for you, you are a professional, and if there's anything lacking, you can supplement it!" As soon as James heard this, he buried his head in the drawing. Deng Zixuan saw James' silly appearance and couldn't help but let out another loud laugh. But James was unmoved, completely absorbed in the chart.

  A few days later, the machine was installed and running smoothly. Deng Zixuan selected 10 young workers from among the recruits who were clever and had good brains. He wanted to teach them the formula for match medicine by hand. To prevent the formula from being leaked out, Deng Zixuan obtained their consent and signed a 10-year contract with them, while also doubling their wages. Before long, the old calendar year arrived, and the factory's sign was hung up, with the five golden characters "Yihe Match Factory" shining brightly, followed by English letters.

  On the day of the opening ceremony, Deng Zixuan did not attend. Most of those who came to congratulate were foreigners, because outsiders all thought it was a foreign-owned factory. Deng Zixuan flapped his butterfly wings and began to take effect, and the first modern factory in Qing Dynasty was born.

  Before the match factory opened, Deng Zixuan set up a canteen inside the venue and provided a free lunch at noon. Don't underestimate this meal, it has an extraordinary effect on the cohesion of workers. After the factory went into production, it held a sales meeting in the public concession and Shanghai city, and also gave away some matches for free. The safety match was a huge success and quickly became popular in Shanghai.