The Great Ming Demon Pill: Your Majesty, please address me as the Crown Prince!

half a month later.

In the southwest corner of Beijing, along a tributary of the Qinhuai River, there is a cluster of workshops, among which the largest is a weaving workshop called "Shengchanghao".

The workshops were set up near the water, which facilitated washing, dyeing, and finishing, and made transportation convenient. It has been a gathering place for weavers since the Hongwu period.

That afternoon, an ordinary carriage, escorted by several plainclothes guards, slowly came to a stop in the open space in front of the "Shengchang" ship.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Zhu Di, dressed in the ordinary attire of a wealthy man, was the first to step out. He curiously surveyed the bustling scene around him.

The laborers carrying cloth, the carts delivering goods, the hum of looms and the voices of people coming from the workshop.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Zhanjun also jumped off the car nimbly, dressed in simple robes.

"Grandpa, this is it." Zhu Zhanjun lowered his voice and pointed to the "Shengchang" sign. "Kuai Xiang and the others have started weaving here with their improved new looms."

Zhu Di was amazed.

"Zhanjun, in less than a month, you've built such a large textile factory here."

Zhu Zhanjun shook his head and said.

"Grandpa, money can make the devil turn the millstone."

"A mere textile factory? Isn't that a piece of cake?"

Zhu Di stroked his beard and said with a smile.

"You're incredibly rich, kid."

Zhu Zhanjun looked wary.

"Grandpa, don't be jealous."

"This is all the money I saved up to get married."

Zhu Di: "..."

The corners of his mouth twitched.

He said irritably.

"Does your royal grandfather look like the kind of person who would swindle money from children?"

Zhu Zhanjun nodded.

"picture."

[Ding! You have obtained a silver treasure chest!]

Zhu Di: "..."

He was immediately heartbroken and said.

"Zhanjun, when did you become so tainted by the smell of money?"

"Give me back my innocent grandson!"

Zhu Zhanjun said solemnly.

"The Zhu Zhanjun of the past can never be brought back."

"Standing before you now is General Manager Zhu of AAA Building Materials."

"Having been given a second chance at life, I will take back everything that belongs to me."

"I am slow to warm up to people, independent, and enjoy yoga, travel, and light meals."

"Five attempts at the postgraduate entrance exam, now preparing for the civil service exam."

"I have more than a dozen younger brothers."

"By the way, I don't eat cilantro."

Zhu Di: "..."

I couldn't understand it, but my head felt a little hot.

He coughed lightly.

"Zhanjun, according to you, once this new type of textile machine is developed, it will change the textile industry of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Zhanjun looked certain.

"It can improve efficiency by at least several dozen times."

Zhu Di's eyes lit up, but then he became somewhat suspicious.

"Really?"

"If that's the case, wouldn't you be monopolizing the textile industry of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Zhanjun gave a soft snort.

"It's as easy as pie!"

"Grandpa, you'll see once you come with me."

Immediately, he led Zhu Di into the "Shengchang" workshop.

Upon entering, one sees a chest-high wooden partition wall dividing the workshop into front and back sections. Several small windows are opened in the wall, only large enough to pass yarn spindles and cloth. Shadows are visible, but the details inside are not clear.

Several middle-aged female managers stood guard at the entrance of the partition wall. When they saw Zhu Zhanjun arrive, they hurriedly bowed and greeted him.

"Grandpa, this is the spinning area, where female workers are employed. This partition was set up to avoid suspicion and to ensure a quiet environment for work," Zhu Zhanjun explained, then nodded to a steward.

The steward understood, pushed open a narrow door in the partition wall, and stepped aside to let the two inside.

The view inside the door suddenly opened up.

Inside the large open room, dozens of textile machines, unlike anything seen before, were neatly arranged.

Each machine is about the height of a person, with an ingenious structure and a gleaming wooden frame. The most eye-catching feature is the multiple spindles installed side by side on its side, which are not the single spindle of a traditional spinning wheel, but a total of sixteen!

Dozens of female workers each operated a machine with skillful technique.

With one hand they cranked the flywheel to drive it, and with the other hand they pulled the yarn. The sixteen spindles spun rapidly at the same time, quickly pulling and twisting the cotton into a uniform yarn. The sound was continuous and buzzing, like the flapping of a swarm of bees.

Zhu Di stared intently and saw the yarn flowing from the spindle like a spring, falling into the yarn basket below at such a rapid pace that he could not keep up with it.

A female worker calmly worked on the task, and in just a short while, a basket of cotton beside her was noticeably reduced, while a considerable roll of yarn had accumulated.

He roughly estimated that the spinning time of this one machine was probably equivalent to that of a dozen people working at the same time on an old-fashioned spinning wheel!

"This...this is the new machine you spoke of that can increase efficiency dozens of times?" Although Zhu Di was somewhat prepared, he was still stunned and speechless. "One person can oversee sixteen spindles at the same time, and yet manage it so methodically, with such even yarn!"

"Indeed, Your Majesty." Zhu Zhanjun walked to a machine and gently stroked the smooth wooden frame. "The key to this machine lies in the linkage design of the flywheel, crank, and carriage traction, which transforms the reciprocating motion of manpower into continuous rotational traction, saving effort and ensuring stability."

"I had Kuai Xiang lead a team to repeatedly debug it, and now it is running stably."

Just then, Kuai Xiang came running from the other end of the workshop, sweat beading on his forehead but his face full of excitement: "Student Kuai Xiang greets Your Majesty! Your Highness!"

Zhu Di glanced at him and said indifferently.

"You're Kuai Xiang?"

"Your father, Kuai Fu, is quite skilled; like father, like son."

Kuai Xiang was so excited that he couldn't speak.

After a long while, he finally spoke excitedly.

"Your Majesty is too kind; it is all thanks to Prince Jiyang."

"I'm just following the map."

Zhu Zhanjun said with a smile.

"How are these machines working?"

Kuai Xiang's eyes lit up, and he quickly said.

"This new machine has been in trial production for several days, and the results are excellent!"

"Based on the records of the past few days, the daily yarn output of one new machine is equivalent to that of more than thirty old-fashioned spinning wheels!"

"Moreover, only one skilled worker is needed, saving a great deal of manpower."

Zhu Di took a deep breath.

It was even more exaggerated than he had estimated, a difference of thirty times in efficiency.

It's like night and day.

His gaze was intense.

"If this machine were to be promoted to weavers in Jiangnan, and even throughout the country, to what extent would the production of cloth in our Great Ming Dynasty increase?"

The benefits of this opportunity are no less than that of a strong army of 100,000, enriching the country and its people; it is truly a blessing for the nation!

"However..." He hesitated again, "Once this machine is introduced, many textile workers will probably lose their jobs as a result."

Zhu Zhanjun said solemnly.

"Grandpa, loss and gain are two sides of the same coin."

"While many people will lose their jobs as a result, the industry is poised for expansion, bringing even greater opportunities to many more!"

You have to give up something to gain something!

Zhu Di stroked his beard and nodded.

"Zhan Jun is right, you have to give up something to gain something!"

"How did you even come to these conclusions, kid?"

Zhu Zhanjun had a serious expression on his face.

"Grandpa, I figured it out while I was taking a dump."

"Think about it."

"If defecating is a form of loss, then why don't you feel pain?"

Zhu Di: "???"

he mused.

"So...why?"

Zhu Zhanjun chuckled.

"Why don't you try eating it?"

"Gaining something can also be painful."

"Try pooping halfway and see what happens?"

"Actually, trying to keep someone is also a kind of pain."

"How about trying some laxatives?"

"The most painful loss is the one that cannot be controlled."

"Constipation is the way poop stays in."

"Having diarrhea is a matter of poop's freedom."

"Grandpa Emperor, good and evil share the same origin, and cause and effect are one!"

"That's how giving and receiving work."

[Ding! You have obtained a golden treasure chest!]

Kuai Xiang was dumbfounded.

Zhu Di was barely able to keep a straight face.

He coughed lightly.

"Zhan Jun is absolutely right."

Zhu Zhanjun said with a smile.

"Grandpa Emperor... you don't need to worry too much about the impact these machines will have on the textile industry."

"Actually, it's a good thing that this machine has brought about tremendous changes."

"At least it's progress."

"Even if my grandfather was the emperor, he couldn't possibly control everything."

"The rest can be left to the industry itself."

Just like the last wipe of your butt doesn't mean you've cleaned it completely.

"It's just that the color is light enough for you to accept."

"Life is like that too, just get by."

"The more you dig, the more shit you'll get."

"Life is like wiping your butt; it's not about wiping it clean, but about letting go of the past."

"So just do your best, and leave the rest to the underwear, whatever."

[Ding! You have obtained a golden treasure chest!]

Zhu Di: "..."

Holy crap, a historian!

The words may be rough, but the principle is sound; you're being far too rough.