“What method? Tell us and let us hear it!”
Tang Dongdong turned to look at Guan Xiaorou.
When one cares too much, one becomes flustered. The textile factory was Tang Dongdong’s lifeblood. Hearing that Cai Liuyang wanted to seal the factories had left her mind in utter chaos, and she could not think of any countermeasures at all.
It would not hurt to listen to Guan Xiaorou’s idea.
Although Guan Xiaorou had never studied and had not seen much of the world, she was far from stupid.
When Xie Xiguang had caused trouble earlier, it was Guan Xiaorou who had come up with the way to break the deadlock.
However, she was too self-conscious. When Jin Feng and Tang Xiaobei were in the village, she would almost never voice her opinions. All she ever thought about was how to make Jin Feng happy.
Now, she only spoke up because she saw that Tang Dongdong truly had no solution.
Even so, she still spoke somewhat hesitantly. “I do not know if this method will work…”
“It does not matter. If it does not work, we can think of something else,” Tang Dongdong quickly encouraged her. “Just tell us and let us hear it.”
“Did not the emperor say that one cannot employ workers? Then if we simply do not employ workers, would that not solve it?” Guan Xiaorou said.
Tang Dongdong and Xiao Yu both showed looks of disappointment when they heard this.
They had thought Guan Xiaorou might come up with some brilliant plan.
“Xiaorou, if we do not employ workers, who will spin the thread, who will make the soap, who will forge the iron?”
Tang Dongdong sighed. “Would that not still mean closing the factories?”
“No, that is not what I mean.”
Guan Xiaorou said, “Apart from the construction sites for building houses, our textile factory, soap factory, salt factory, and even the iron smelting factory are mostly staffed by women. More than ninety percent of them are unmarried girls. If we have them sign a marriage contract with the master, then they would become the master’s concubines instead of workers!”
Ahem!
Tang Dongdong was so shocked by Guan Xiaorou’s words that she started coughing violently.
Xiao Yu’s eyes also widened in surprise.
Neither of them had truly expected Guan Xiaorou to come up with such an idea.
“Xiaorou, I know you have always wanted to find concubines for Brother Feng, but this is a bit too much, is it not?”
Tang Dongdong said with a wry smile. “Do you know how many unmarried girls there are across all the factories combined? Are you really planning to have them all marry Brother Feng?”
“Is that not possible?” Guan Xiaorou tilted her head and asked. “I remember hearing people say before that, starting from the Supreme Emperor, one can take as many concubines as one wishes.”
“But doing it this way is just… far too outrageous, is it not?”
Tang Dongdong said with ač¦ē¬. “If we add up all the girls in our factories, there are definitely more than ten thousand of them. Suddenly taking more than ten thousand concubines… this…”
Tang Dongdong did not even know what to say anymore.
Guan Xiaorou’s idea was simply too bizarre.
She had read history books, and throughout all of history, this was the first time she had ever heard of someone planning to take so many concubines at once.
If they really did this, Jin Feng would definitely go down in the history books.
“But apart from this, Dongdong, do you have any other solution?” Guan Xiaorou asked in return.
“I…” Tang Dongdong was momentarily at a loss for words.
Xiao Yu, who was standing to the side, also began to look thoughtful.
Seeing that both of them had fallen silent, Xiao Yu finally spoke slowly. “Sister Dongdong, I actually think what Sister-in-law said is not a bad idea.”
Tang Dongdong’s expression gradually turned serious when she heard this.
Earlier she had thought Guan Xiaorou’s idea was too absurd and ridiculous, and she had instinctively wanted to oppose it.
But after being questioned back by Guan Xiaorou, and now with Xiao Yu saying the same thing, Tang Dongdong began to seriously consider it.
When she calmed down and thought it over carefully, although Guan Xiaorou’s method sounded utterly ridiculous, it actually seemed feasible.
Most importantly, it was the only method the three of them could think of at the moment.
Ever since the war with the northern barbarians began, the population of Great Kang had declined sharply.
Moreover, those who died in battle were all men.
Great Kang was still in an agricultural era, and men were the main labour force for farming.
When men were killed on the battlefield, their military pay also disappeared.
Relying only on women to farm, they could barely support themselves, let alone pay taxes.
The economy had begun to regress as well.
To restore the population, solve the problem of surplus women, and recover tax revenue, the emperor no longer restricted the number of concubines ordinary people could take, nor the number of household slaves they could keep.
As long as you could support them and pay the taxes, you could take as many concubines and keep as many household slaves as you wished.
Moreover, the emperor had incorporated this rule into the official statutes.
Although the words of previous emperors could be used as legal precedents, when they conflicted with formal statutes, the formal statutes took precedence.
Unfortunately, in the feudal era, the status of merchants was far too low. Even though Xiao Yu had asked the legal department to search through all available records before coming here, they could not find anything to refute that emperor’s statement about employing workers.
Tang Dongdong frowned and pondered for a long while before asking, “Xiaorou, the female workers can become concubines for Brother Feng, but what about the male workers?”
Apart from the textile factory, soap factory, and salt factory, which employed large numbers of women under West River Bay, there were also the kiln factory and construction sites that required large numbers of male workers.
These male workers were also within the scope of Cai Liuyang’s crackdown.
“For the male workers, have them sign indenture contracts with the master and become household slaves,” Guan Xiaorou replied.
“Right, we can also have them sell themselves into servitude,” Tang Dongdong nodded. “Then let the female workers become household slaves as well. Suddenly taking more than ten thousand concubines is just… far too shocking!”
“Dongdong, you know Brother Feng’s character. He hates keeping household slaves. If we do this, when he returns, he will definitely go and free them from servitude. At that point, Cai Liuyang could still use the matter to threaten Brother Feng.”
Guan Xiaorou said, “But if they become concubines, once the marriage contract is signed, dissolving it requires the consent of both parties, and the procedures are very troublesome. Brother Feng might just accept it in the end.”
“But once they become concubines, it will be difficult for these girls to marry anyone else in the future,” Tang Dongdong said with a frown.
“Selling themselves into servitude as maids would make it just as impossible for them to marry,” Guan Xiaorou replied. “In that case, it would be better to at least give them a proper status.”
Maids and servants were considered lowly, treated almost like livestock under the law.
The status of household slaves in Great Kang was extremely low, comparable to that of animals, and they were also the playthings of their male masters.
As long as a maid was not too ugly, she was almost always the exclusive property of her master.
Moreover, they had no proper status at all.
Great Kang now had no shortage of women. Even unmarried maidens struggled to find husbands, let alone those who had once sold themselves into servitude.
Therefore, in terms of future marriage prospects, becoming a concubine and becoming a slave were essentially no different.
“But suddenly taking more than ten thousand concubines is still too shocking. Brother Feng could pick one a day for the rest of his life and still not finish.”
Tang Dongdong said, “Besides, Brother Feng dislikes taking slaves and also does not like taking concubines. If you do this, he will definitely be angry when he returns.”
“Sister-in-law, Sister Dongdong, Cai Liuyang’s people are already on the way. You need to make a decision quickly whether this will work or not,” Xiao Yu reminded them softly when she saw the two arguing without conclusion.
“How about this, Dongdong? Let us stop arguing. We will go to the factories and explain the situation to the female workers, then let them choose for themselves.”
Guan Xiaorou said, “Those who are willing to become concubines for the master can sign the marriage contract.
Those who are willing to become slaves can sign the servitude contract.
Those who want neither can receive their wages and leave. What do you think?”
“I think this is feasible!” Xiao Yu immediately agreed.
Then both of them turned to look at Tang Dongdong, waiting for her answer.
