Moma Liangshan

Chapter 135 Strict Division of Labor and System Reform

Di Qizhong, momentarily confused, said, "Young Master should know that an excellent craftsman must be fully prepared before starting and completely focused afterward!" Wang Hao nodded slightly and said, "Indeed!" Di Qizhong countered, "If a craftsman doesn't even understand every detail of what he's making, how can he be fully prepared?" Wang Hao smiled slightly and said, "Every craftsman is a valuable asset to Jiaozhou, but Jiaozhou's workshops shouldn't only have craftsmen; they should also have a large number of laborers." Di Qizhong seemed to understand but not quite, saying, "With more assistants, the production speed of craftsmen will indeed be much faster!" Wang Hao shook his head and said, "The workshop's regular production will all be done by laborers, and each laborer will only need to produce a specific component. As for the craftsmen..." "You'll be responsible for improving the production process and supervising the entire production process." Di Qizhong frowned, and after a long while said, "Does Young Master intend to produce all the components first, and then have a specialist handle the assembly?" Wang Hao nodded in satisfaction and said, "Exactly!" Di Qizhong pondered for a moment, then said, "Each component, because of its different precision, requires a different production speed. If each person only produces one component, then there will likely be a surplus of simple components and a shortage of sophisticated ones." Wang Hao laughed loudly, looking at everyone and saying, "Qizhong, you're too clever for your own good! A component that can be completed in one hour should be produced by one person, and a component that takes two hours should be produced by two people. Isn't that just right?" Di Qizhong also laughed loudly, repeatedly saying, "Brilliant! Brilliant!"

Qin Guanhai also laughed and said, "Originally, I thought it was a waste of land for you to design such a large venue, but now it seems you had already considered this!" Wang Hao waved his hand and laughed, saying, "I was forced into this situation. As the magistrate of a county, if I cannot bring happiness to the people, I might as well go home and farm!" Chen Song suddenly admired Wang Hao greatly and said, "If all the officials in the court had the same thoughts as you, young master, how could the Song Dynasty not be rich and strong?" Di Chunqiu said without any tact, "I have traveled all over the country and only seen honest officials as rare as phoenix feathers, while corrupt officials are as numerous as carp crossing the river!" Wang Hao knew very well about the corruption of the Northern Song Dynasty's bureaucracy, but this sensitive... Wang Hao was unwilling to discuss the painful topic, as he was also a member of the imperial system. He said, "The looms produced in the workshop will temporarily be sold by the trading company managed by Chen Song." Chen Song understood the implication in Wang Hao's words and asked, "Does the young master hope that the workshop will produce as many looms as possible?" Wang Hao smiled and replied, "Of course, the more the better!" Di Qizhong hesitated slightly and said, "I wonder if the workshop can produce looms for spinning silk and hemp in its spare time?" Wang Hao said, "You are in charge of the workshop, so everything is naturally up to you!" At this moment, Chen Song said, "Our young master trusts his employees, so Brother Qizhong can go ahead and do it!"

For some reason, Wang Hao suddenly recalled the labor movements that erupted in modern capitalist societies and said, "In Jiaozhou, each business is governed by a chairman and four directors elected by the owners who provide the capital, and four labor representatives elected by the laborers. These nine people form the management supervision committee, which serves as the highest authority of the business." Everyone was astonished upon hearing this. After a long while, Chen Song said, "Letting labor representatives enter the highest authority of the business, aren't you afraid they'll take the opportunity to demand exorbitant wages?" Wang Hao retorted, "If the owners allow the laborers to deduct wages, aren't you afraid the laborers will..." "Are you really going to take such a risk?" Chen Song was at a loss for words, but Di Chunqiu seized the opportunity to say, "Behind the vermilion gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie." This is a line from a poem by Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty, but isn't it a true reflection of the entire world? Young Master, by establishing the Management Supervision Committee as the highest authority of the business, you are not trying to divert the power of the owners, but rather to give the numerous laborers an opportunity to negotiate on an equal footing with their owners." Wang Hao greatly admired Di Chunqiu's comprehension and continued, "Whether it's laborers or owners, the criminal law of Jiaozhou will provide clear regulations, and any document or action that violates these regulations will be punished accordingly."

Upon hearing that Wang Hao intended to establish specific criminal laws to regulate the behavior of employers and laborers, Di Chunqiu couldn't help but ask, "Does the young master prefer rule by man or rule by law?" Wang Hao smiled and replied, "People-oriented, acting according to the law!" Di Chunqiu said, "If the laws in Jiaozhou are indeed clear, the implementation of your policies will be much more efficient. However, there is no one specifically responsible for criminal law within the county government, and the young master is very busy with official duties, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to supervise!" Wang Hao nodded and said, "There are many idle officials in Dongjing (Kaifeng). If I were to request the Ministry of Justice to transfer a few 'Law Instructors' to Jiaozhou to take charge, I'm afraid no one would refuse!" Di Chunqiu said, "The young master's magnanimity is admirable!"

After pondering for a long time, Chen Song said, "I'm afraid it's not appropriate for a business with fewer than a hundred employees to set up a nine-person management oversight committee?" Wang Hao instantly realized his mistake and said, "A large and cumbersome administrative structure is indeed not suitable for a business. Given your resources, how should it be arranged?" Chen Song said, "Large-scale businesses with many workers can be managed using a management oversight committee, but small workshops with only a few or a dozen workers are probably not suitable for the same approach." Wang Hao agreed wholeheartedly and said, "In your opinion, at what number of workers should a business employ before a management oversight committee is necessary?" Chen Song had already considered this and said, "One representative should be elected for every hundred workers!"

Di Chunqiu believed that Chen Song's actions were intended to protect the privileges of the wealthy, and said, "If a business recruits 180 laborers, how many labor representatives should be elected?" Before Chen Song could answer, Wang Hao said, "Fifty is the limit. If it's less than fifty, the number of labor representatives will not be increased; if it's more than fifty, one more labor representative will be added." Chen Song immediately said, "Young Master is wise!" Di Chunqiu continued, "How many workshops in the world can recruit more than a hundred laborers? In that case, Young Master's management committee will be rendered useless!" Wang Hao said, "..." "The Management Supervision Committee was established specifically for the unique circumstances of Jiaozhou and is not suitable for implementation in other areas, so your concerns are unnecessary!" Upon hearing Wang Hao's words, Di Chunqiu felt deeply disappointed and said, "Does the young master only care about Laoshan County and never think about governing the country and benefiting the people?" Wang Hao smiled slightly and said, "How can one sweep the world if one cannot even sweep one's own house? The current task should be how to govern Laoshan County, not indulging in unrealistic fantasies!" Wang Hao's words were ambiguous, and Di Chunqiu was not in a position to continue arguing.

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