My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Chapter 209 Workshop Year-End Dividend

Chapter 209 Workshop Year-End Dividend

In winter, Si Muyan's down jackets were ready, and workers in the workshop and shop each received two down jackets as work uniforms. If other villagers in Songji Village wanted them, they could come to the Song family to buy them, but other villages were unable to supply them.

Because there is only so much down that can be collected, and the process is not easy, and there is no fixed assembly line, it is troublesome to do. The price given to the villagers of Songji Village is very low. If it really enters the market, the price will definitely not be so low.

It just so happens that this winter is cold, and even in the Lingnan area, there has been a lot of snow.

Si Xingzhi stood under the porch with his hands behind his back, looking at the heavy snow. He gathered his clothes and said, "It's so cold here. It must be unbearable in the north. I wonder how the people in the north can keep warm."

The cold weather could kill people. Ordinary people's only way to keep warm was to chop more firewood and make charcoal, go out less during the winter, and stuff their clothes with more cloth or reeds. As for the rich and powerful wearing fur and stuffing them with silk, that was something ordinary people wouldn't even dare to think about.

Compared to fur, silk and other materials, down is definitely easier to obtain and should be much cheaper.

Not only Si Xingzhi thought so, but some smart people in the village also had ideas and came to find Si Muyan.

"Miss, down jackets are so good, why not open a down jacket workshop?"

Songji Village now has two workshops. The more workshops there are, the more workers they need and the more money they can earn. They have work for themselves and also want to see if their families and relatives can also get work. A prosperous life is the dream of every household. Several notorious lazy men, seeing other families enjoying a good life and having married women, are eager to try their luck, eager to let the Si family know that they have changed and are willing to work.

"Yes, when we go out wearing down jackets, many people ask about us. If we open a workshop, there will definitely be a lot of people buying them."

Si Muyan shook her head: "It's hard to price down jackets. Rich people don't need them, but ordinary people can't afford them. They're not suitable."

"Why? We are the hottest place in the Great Zhou. Even in winter it's not too cold. But I heard from people from other places that it snows every year and freezes people to death in other places. If we don't buy it, people from other places will definitely buy it."

"That's right. Down jackets don't spoil like food, so it's okay if they take a while to ship out."

Si Muyan explained, "When I sold you the down jackets, I told you not to tell anyone the price because down jackets are so expensive. I've collected so much duck down, but I can only make a few dozen of them. Besides, Lingnan isn't cold in winter, so the down jackets I made are thin. A jacket this thin wouldn't be enough to keep you warm in a cold place."

"This……"

Everyone looked at each other, not quite understanding what this meant.

Si Muyan continued, "For example, in Kyoto, if an ordinary person in Kyoto wanted a down jacket strong enough to keep out the cold, they would need five of the down jackets we wear now to make one. The fabric and the filling process would cost more than five times what we have now. If we follow the current process, not counting the labor and only the material cost per piece, it would cost more than two taels of silver."

When they heard the two taels of silver, everyone gasped.

"So expensive? Then..."

Si Muyan didn't wait for them to ask, and continued, "What I'm saying is, given that we currently have sufficient materials in our village, if we really want to mass-produce, where will the duck down and special fabric come from? What's the price of purchasing them from outside? Or raising them on a large scale will only increase the cost. And I'm a businessman, not a philanthropist, and I can't afford to sell my down jackets at the most basic cost price."

"Besides, other places need down jackets more than Lingnan. What about the transportation cost? We can't do it ourselves. The best way is to find cooperative merchants in other cities and supply them with down jackets. By then, the price will definitely increase. How can the people still afford it?"

Everyone fell silent. If you calculated it this way, down jackets were more expensive than fur. At least when hunters hunted down fur of decent quality, ordinary people could still buy it at a bargain.

However, everyone is somewhat unwilling to accept that such a good thing cannot be promoted and implemented.

Si Muyan said, "Being self-sufficient is great, so don't overthink it. If possible next year, it would be best if our food shop and duck goods shop could expand."

After everyone left, the younger sister asked, "Big sister, are you really going to expand the food store and the duck goods store next year?"

Si Muyan said, "I have some ideas. I'll talk to Zhu Laoer and He Song about it when the year-end dividends are distributed."

Every household was delighted with the year-end dividends, and many people from workshops and shops gathered at the Songji Village Daochang. Besides Songji Village, there were also workers from other villages who came to work. When they heard that they would be sharing the profits, they were very happy.

The people who received dividends were all those who had invested in the workshop when it was first built. However, Si Muyan said that he was happy to have made money this year, and the workers in the workshop and shop would also receive year-end bonuses.

The people from Songji Village were fine, but the workers from other villages were extremely excited.

"I thought only the villagers of Songji Village received year-end bonuses, but I didn't expect we get them too."

"I heard that the eldest lady announced that all workers in the Si family can get paid, and the amount will be divided according to the division of labor and working hours."

"This is money I earn outside of work, so any amount of it makes me happy!"

The first thing to be distributed is the year-end bonus, which every worker receives. My second sister and younger brother keep accounts, Aunt Zhu and Aunt Zhu divide the money, and my younger sister manages the money and accounts. The division of labor is clear.

The fewest workers, who had only worked for four months, received five hundred coins, while the most even received five taels of silver, which made everyone smile from ear to ear. Although it was the coldest time of the year, everyone's faces were filled with happiness and they didn't feel the cold at all.

After the distribution, no one left, and they all looked eagerly at the dividends from the workshop.

This time, the second sister was in charge of the accounts, while the youngest sister personally distributed the dividends. Led by Song Lizheng and Zhu Laoer, their two families had invested the most initially, and their quarterly dividends were usually generous. They had not expected to receive any dividends this time, but they had not expected the Si family to be so generous from the beginning.

"Uncle Village Head, thirty taels."

The village head rubbed her ears subconsciously and asked the people around her: "How much? How much did Tong girl say?"

"Thirty taels!"

The village headwoman jumped up in shock: "Oh my god, I only took so little silver in the beginning, and before that I only got a few taels of silver. How come I can get so much now?"

Someone started to make a fuss: "You think it's too much? If so, give us some!"

The village head glared at her and said, "Who complains about having too much money? Oh my, so much money! Oh my, I can't believe it! When will we have so much money?"

Although most people are envious, they are just envious. At most, they regret that they hesitated and did not invest in the company. If they had known earlier, they would have invested even if they had to borrow money.

But some people were jealous. Aunt Zhu, who was hiding behind a tree and listening to the noise, had red eyes and was almost furious.