Chapter 277: Clash Of Eras
The shipyard operates on three shifts, so artisans always have time off. Every time the bell rings, artisans wearing various work caps enter from the entrance area, while in the exit area, the same group heads home.
Xuan Chong, who had worked the same five hours, also rubbed his temples. He walked to the rest area in the factory, using his torque to isolate the surrounding sound waves, watching the factory personnel come and go on this quiet eight-story platform.
Having been in this time-space for four or five years, Xuan Chong was still very unfamiliar with the society here.
There is no “grand chorus program” in the factory, no “values integration team-building”; but the artisans still excellently complete everything they are responsible for at their workstations. They tense up forging large heavy equipment during work, so what are they like outside of work?
The ruler extends, and Xuan Chong follows the extension of the ruler to overlook everything about the artisans.
The night market at the factory gate is extremely lively, with bright lights shining in the street food stalls.
All seats in these street food stalls are already full, so many artisans line up with lunch boxes to buy food. They pack pig trotters from hot soup, or chicken legs and other meat, then carry the lunch boxes and pedal their bicycles back to the residential area.
Following the flood of bicycles, Xuan Chong saw the residential area, where young children were playing games, but the lookout child spotted the off-duty rush from a high place, shouted once, and suddenly everyone scattered home.
Below the residential building, next to the public tap water pool, women who had finished washing vegetables also carried their baskets home.
After their own men returned, they helped their Han husbands take off their clothes, then took over the lunch boxes with meat, opened them for a look, and showed smiles.
As an observer, Xuan Chong: “This smile is just—uh, just like in the previous life, those ads where young girls receive roses, noblewomen receive diamond rings, noblewomen get into luxury cars. Heh heh.”
Xuan Chong’s “heh heh” tone seemed to question the affection of this poor couple, but his expression was gentle.
Artisans are very tired in the factory, but at least after returning home, it’s like a ship returning to port, no need to handle sails anymore, just swaying freely.
The childhood from the children’s perspective is the warm childhood built by the father chewing peanuts and the mother tirelessly assigning family bowls and chopsticks seats.
Warmth also gets broken sometimes; too many red circles on the test paper from school will trigger the child’s crying; the old lady next door will prick up her ears to gauge the degree of the “club falling on flesh.”
A very “original” family.
After tallying the entire workshop area, Xuan Chong confirmed that here, families prosper and all is well. “Tired Han men,” “virtuous wives,” three or four children around their knees. This seemingly very ordinary happiness is contrasted by other misfortunes in the world.
A few streets away is Widow Street, doing the hardest jobs like street sweeping and garbage delivery; and a few kilometers away in the same district’s “public orphanage,” those orphans are also treated like “grass,” strictly scolded by the matrons.
Xuan Chong: “There’s nothing in this world that can be changed.” He took one last look at the thousands of families full of fireworks.
Xuan Chong: “Cannot destroy the peaceful and happy lives to create the pigment for painting the new era scroll.”
Xuan Chong took one last look at a certain family, the couple both under 30, after coaxing the child to sleep and turning off the lights, began rocking the bed. This day ended perfectly for this family.
Xuan Chong: “Perfect is good.”
…The Han family has its own Imperial Way…
After visiting the factory, Xuan Chong gradually understood the reasons for those “inefficient parts” (welfare system) in the production regulations. These inefficient parts involve “proper order” and “ethics and morality.”
Now there is no eight-hour workday, no equal pay for equal work between men and women, no overtime pay.
That is, a young male entering the factory will face the most primitive version of exploitation.
From the governor’s perspective, implementing things like the eight-hour workday, equal pay for equal work, triple pay for overtime is not because of their “goodness,” but to increase stability, ultimately agreeing to so many “inefficient” welfare measures.
And Xian Han has another set of logic to deliver welfare, to alleviate contradictions between merchants and workers.
Under the Xian Han edict system, when handling relations between big merchants and artisans, rules are formulated according to the proper order of “lord-minister” and “father-son.” The lord is benevolent and the minister loyal, the father kind and the son filial. Barbarians introduce Confucianism and Legalism to demand one-sided “minister loyalty” and “son filiality.”
That is, in Xuan Chong’s previous life, requiring workers to love the factory like home; but due to the absence of the previous life system, there were only workers loving the factory like home, no constraints on the bosses.
Thus, Xuan Chong discovered something very interesting: Xian Han’s laws do not protect the working hours of small workers, but bosses ultimately choose to give sufficient welfare to old employees who have worked five or ten years!
Why don’t bosses become extreme capitalists and squeeze to the end? Because if the lord-minister status is not fixed, the law will not protect the bosses’ secret formulas either. Even spreading rumors that the boss’s goods are adulterated won’t be punished as slander.
Of course, it’s not okay for subordinates to slander arbitrarily. In Xian Han, there is a lowly people identity called “ruffian.” Once designated as a “ruffian,” their social credibility is very low. Ordinary families won’t have anyone becoming ruffians. For some unsolved local security cases that pile up, they will directly convict based on suspicion from the local populace.
In other words, in the previous life, if a programmer deletes the database and runs away, and the boss hasn’t fulfilled the lord benevolence and father kindness obligations, it won’t be pursued.
For example, if a programmer after five years of employment has no chance to start a family; or for child birth, family funerals, if the employer shows no gesture, the lord-minister status is not fixed. Deleting the database and running away, even taking trade secrets to another company, is unpunished, belonging to free mobility.
Xuan Chong: Xian Han’s labor and employment do not follow the Western “contract relations.”
Western “contract relations” seem equal, but in reality, the powerful in society control the interpretation rights, making contract relations evolve very complex; to the point of hiding clauses that are very unfavorable to laborers. Hence, the West has the term “devil contracts.”
The contract initiator will bury a large number of immoral traps, ultimately harming massive “individuals.”
However, lord-minister relations are different. If hidden clauses cause massive “ministers” to leave, everyone won’t study the clauses; but based on the established reality, judge that the factory owner’s lord way definitely has problems.
Just like Yuan Shao, he treats every advisor who comes to him with full manners; and all who leave him seem to owe him a debt. If analyzed clause by clause according to previous life laws, he is undoubtedly a law-abiding good boss, and the employees are wrong.
But according to Xian Han’s pure continental legal system. Yuan Shao is stern in appearance but cowardly at heart, good at planning but indecisive, does big things but cherishes his life, sees small gains and forgets loyalty.
…Invisible civilization iron curtain…
In the previous life, Eastern enterprises expanding into the European and American markets encountered many barriers due to not understanding the laws. Of course, they ultimately rooted firmly in the European and American markets by hiring professional lawyers and legal advisors.
But in this time-space, foreign merchants have no way to gain a foothold in Xian Han at all!
First, the “official rank” item alone has blocked the industrial transfer of heavy industries from many countries. And following the example upwards and downwards, in the lower nine streams, various medicinal materials, tea recipes, and chef skills, barbarians can’t transfer them either.
In the previous life, things like compass, gunpowder, and papermaking were too simple. Bought by Arab merchants at high prices and spread to the West. And during wartime chaos, core Han artisans lived precariously and would leak technology. For example, tea planting and making processes were too basic, so stolen by the British.
But some things, not to mention Europe and America, even Japan, this close affiliate civilization, can’t steal certain cultures completely, like lacquerware such complex craft, only learned half, constantly building on half craft with artisan spirit.
And in Xian Han here, Xuan Chong sensed thick malice towards barbarians from the entire top-to-bottom edict system!
Xian Han folk preserve a large number of craftsmanship technologies at the extreme of ingenuity, able to outclass Western luxury goods from Xuan Chong’s original time-space by streets.
To some extent, when Eastern gentlemen confidently say “Our Chinese craftsmanship is exquisite, what can match the Western barbarians”—this statement is not arrogant.
The lord-minister way ensures that the artisan system can stably pass down and develop across generations.
As for barbarians wanting to learn? Sorry, passed down from ancestors, taking apprentices requires benevolence, you barbarians don’t qualify.
And for the current Xian Han core civilization circle, Xuan Chong is also one of the barbarians.
Dongtu is a bumpkin on every level! But it doesn’t hinder Xuan Chong’s admiration for Sinicization, and speaking of jade tablet clan records, his admiration for Sinicization is perfectly justified.
…All professions are lowly, only studying is noble…
After returning to his rest room, Xuan Chong opened Rational Principles again, considering it beneficial to read.
At this point, Xuan Chong now knows how to “make cheat sheets.” That is, for all major questions involving modern industry and commerce governance, follow the basic principles of “lord-minister-advisor-attendant” in the relevant industries.
If the exam question sets a super large project, like changing rice to mulberry, pfft pfft, it’s the Imperial Court’s current “Three Provinces Water Transport Integration” project.
When answering, Xuan Chong not only needs to consider the “lord-minister-advisor-attendant” between the Imperial Court and localities; but also the internal “lord-minister-advisor-attendant” principles in localities involving legitimate professions like “cement,” “iron factory,” “carriage line.”
For Xuan Chong, memorizing all these hundreds of industries proficiently is definitely impossible in his short time.
Xuan Chong now plans to hire people to investigate the status of each industry, then summarize himself, making a full 200,000-word cheat sheet! Then quietly enter it into the future artificial intelligence electronic device provided by Lin Group. And his ruler has super long-range observation ability, just place the device outside the exam hall. This way, for major questions, he can avoid 90% of errors.
As for whether he’ll get caught cheating! Torque can crush evidence anytime, and~
Xuan Chong: I’m Lin Group personnel, whoever undermines me, I’ll remember them forever.
…Six days later, sports student side…
Crystal Palace submarine is returning to the base on Ryukyu Island coastline. This base is set in a coastal cliff area, with an arched cave dug inside the cliff, the submarine entering and exiting through this arched cave.
Inside the mountain base, the submarine is steadily docked in the pool, forty workers wearing near-future level maintenance mechanical suits are conducting external inspection on this massive hull.
As for how to repair such advanced equipment?
As a token from Imperial Ancestral Temple is delivered to Xu Xi’s hand; Xu Xi activates his Dragon Power, a supernatural power that can add attribute points to data for about three hundred people, absorbed by Imperial Ancestral Temple. Then Imperial Ancestral Temple feedbacks a fist-sized “droplet” according to Xu Xi’s needs.
The “droplet” reflects the Crystal Palace deep-sea submarine, as Xu Xi drips this droplet onto the submarine, a time-space ripple spreads at three meters per second, soon covering the entire Crystal Palace submarine.
This single “droplet” condenses the entire state of the Crystal Palace deep-sea submarine when it just left the factory.
And Xu Xi dispatches those forty workers whose main task is to copy all data and logs from inside the ship.
Because once the “droplet” is dripped in, everything inside will restore to factory settings.
This thing is super technology from the fantasy time-space, ten thousand years in the future, for repairing space warships.
Now it’s the mixed superpower system of Tiger Division’s Heavenly Rank ability users and Qilin Lord’s.
After returning from playing in the sea, Xu Xi took a relaxing bone-loosening bath, then opened the communication system to ask Qin Tianyi if there’s any fun lately.
Hearing the latest news, Xu Xi was surprised: “What? He really went to take the Imperial Examination?”
Qin Tianyi: “Yes, really spent over a year sitting quietly studying. According to mock exam, he can pass as a Scholar.”
Xu Xi was stunned for several seconds, then sighed: Amazing, amazing, even exam-oriented education he can handle. Not unworthy of someone from before the 22nd century.
Narrator: 24th century doesn’t do exam-oriented education because many youths are born and raised in deep-sea bases! In that environment, achievements are secondary, mental health is primary.
You know, in a closed environment, it’s already oppressive, and then locking teenagers at their most energetic age in a classroom for studying, that’s asking for trouble.
So Xu Xi’s generation wasn’t exam-oriented, but team competition-style learning in groups of twenty-five.
As for solitary rote memorization. It’s already considered “torture”-style learning in Xu Xi’s era.
But people at that time had to admit, when juvenile individuals lack that ascetic exam-oriented education, it led to the 24th century’s technology advancement speed being obviously much slower compared to a few centuries earlier.
So by the end of the 25th century, River civilization and Mediterranean civilization mutually signed the “Final Nuclear Treaty,” ensuring surface safety.
The two major civilizations reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of 22nd century and 24th century education, then restored exam-oriented education.
Of course, River civilization doesn’t use the term “exam-oriented education,” because all youths participating in this exam education are called “Youth Pioneer Team.”
Utilizing growth and development on Earth’s surface to age ten, then strong physiological and psychological stability to endure exam-oriented education.
However, the dropout rate for this 25th century exam participants is 30%.
Forcibly locking these dropout youth students? Useless. These youths will self-harm, scream, fake mental illness, bully and abuse each other in interactions.
In other words, in the 25th century, many doubt how the education model from centuries ago, which violates “human youth nature,” was universally pushed out.
By 25th century standards, before the 22nd century it was universal elite-ization, but with such huge drawbacks that civilization couldn’t bear it, ultimately forcibly stopped, and stopped for two centuries.
Even centuries later, River civilization’s descendants with more advanced training systems often reminisce about the era’s “universal elite-style education” for desperately catching up technologically.
Because that era birthed what later generations consider the peak “pure carbon-based human engineer team”!
They rose strongly in the mid-Renaissance Dynasty after the millennium, proving that in an era without AI core-assisted communication and chip memory, a civilization group under technological blockade by first-mover forces, what extent it can achieve in catching up and surpassing in technology system!
Nietzsche’s Superman theory’s conceived “superman” hypothesis was almost all tested limit by limit by “Renaissance Dynasty” generation after generation, first human bodies rivaling gods, then human wills questioning heaven and measuring the way. Finally continuing the legendary revival of civilization across generations.
…After the mad dash…
Xu Xi thought and suggested: Have you figured out his “extracurricular interest”?
Xu Xi’s extracurricular activity is “sports field,” this sports field covers coaches from multiple planes, these coaches are characters he brought from other planes.
And these “coaches” can turn into “old grandpas,” directly appearing on a person he selects in the plane, then the old grandpa takes that person into the sports field for training.
But deploying “coaches” consumes academic credits, now Xu Xi’s credits are only enough for two old grandpas, to be used on key people.
Because old grandpas not only teach individuals how to maximize attribute points combat power, but also guide strategic choices. Xu Xi’s current “sports field” slots are used on an uprising leader in some Southeast Asia place. As for the other slot, he’s saving it, not using for now.
And Qin Tianyi’s “extracurricular interest” is musical score, “musical score” is played for a team, each member of this team may have various character flaws normally, but once “musical score” plays, they collectively prioritize the same values.
Qin Tianyi now has only one “play slot,” Xu Xi asked her to play for Xuan Chong’s team. But Qin Tianyi clearly can’t bear to.
As for Xuan Chong’s extracurricular interest?
Qin Tianyi shook her head indicating unclear, Xu Xi: “You, what exactly have you probed?”
Xu Xi knows that Xie Ming’s “extracurricular interest” is a 21st-century mobile phone. It has a series of functional APPs, this thing is extremely powerful. By the way, Wei School gives stronger “extracurricular interest” boosts to earlier-born sources.
