Liang Yunying laments that her children are too smart. She wonders what those mothers think of those whose children cannot graduate at the age of twenty and are directly eliminated.

Anyway, Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Jianyan, father and son, had nothing to say. They both knew that Liang Yunying was really reluctant to let their child leave, so they could only comfort and comfort them.

Liang Yunying was sad for a while, and then she reluctantly accepted the fact that her son would leave soon. She slowly recovered her mental state, but she still talked about her child from time to time.

After dinner, Zhu Jingyuan handed his mother over to his father and slipped back to his room.

Sitting down in his study room and looking at the two personal maids who followed him, Zhu Jingyuan suddenly thought of his previous arrangement:

"Did you ask what I asked you to ask yesterday? I asked a few other servants what they thought?"

Qiuyue looked at Chunxiang subconsciously. Chunxiang's expression was a little complicated, and she reported cautiously with some uncertainty:

"Let me tell you, Your Highness, Qiuyue and I have asked a total of thirty-six servants, and most of them don't believe in wages of fifteen yuan, and they are not small craftsmen.

"At the same time, most of the servants told us that even if someone offered such a high reward, they would not go there. It would definitely be a life-threatening job, and it would cost you your life.

"There are only three servants who are willing to give it a try, but they say that they are all slaves and cannot go out to work and get paid."

Zhu Jingyuan asked with some uncertainty:

"That is to say, even if you are given a salary of fifteen yuan, only one-tenth of the ordinary slaves are willing to work as workers?"

Chunxiang nodded, and then added:

"Yes, Your Highness, but it's not that they don't care about the reward, they are mainly worried that the work is too hard or dangerous, so they don't dare to accept it.

"And the three slaves who are willing to give it a try are all Kunlun slaves from Nanyang. They do the most tiring hard work..."

Zhu Jingyuan suddenly became even more helpless:

"Well, as expected, only those who are about to be unable to survive will be willing to go out to work as workers.

"The key is...these slaves who are the most miserable may not become free men in a short time...

"Those who have the opportunity to become free men are not willing to become workers at all."

Hearing Zhu Jingyuan's emotion, Qiuyue couldn't help but ask:

"Your Highness, um... when will the contract between us be changed?"

Zhu Jingyuan thought about the old emperor's attitude and realized that there was no compromise on this matter. He said a little melancholy:

"For you, it will take at least one or two years, normally three to five years, and at most seven or eight years, you will eventually have to change.

"But for the Nanyang Kunlun slaves, it may take twenty or thirty years, or they may never have a chance in this life..."

The two maids had complicated emotions and didn't know what to say.

If possible, they hope that the status quo will remain unchanged forever. If they have a choice, they hope to choose the longest period.

The slaves of the Ming Dynasty were not slaves in the traditional so-called "slavery society", nor were they slaves before the abolition of slavery in modern America.

Slaves after the Song Dynasty were paid monthly, and their masters would also give rewards. Their actual income exceeded that of many workers. In other words, they had some property rights.

At the same time, if the master beats the slave to death for no reason, he will be punished legally, but it is difficult to deal with it in practice. In other words, they have some personal rights in name.

In fact, all sales contracts are not dead. In theory, slaves can save their own money and redeem themselves.

Relatively speaking, when Americans kill their own slaves, they only destroy their own property, and no one will care.

The slaves of the Ming Dynasty were actually a low-level citizen, a level below the right of residence.

They have incomplete personal rights and property rights, and they also maintain an incomplete personal dependence relationship with their masters.

The specific rights they can get depend on the identity and preferences of the owner.

Zhu Jingyuan's two maids may actually enjoy higher treatment in society than the so-called young ladies of the ordinary elite.

The actual monthly income is 3 yuan in silver notes. Taking into account irregular rewards, the actual income is even higher.

The key is that food, clothing, and accommodation are all expenses of the palace, and medical treatment is also directly provided by the palace, so you don’t have to spend any money on basic living needs.

Coupled with Zhu Jingyuan's care, their actual living standards are higher than many middle-income families.

After all, the price they paid for it was thousands of dollars in banknotes. If you include the hidden expenses of the prince's education and training, the actual cost was several thousand dollars.

Calculated based on purchasing power, this cost is equivalent to that of a high-end car in later generations. Death from illness is definitely a "loss of important fixed assets."

Their actual daily work is just Zhu Jingyuan's life maid.

The Nanyang Kunlun slaves Chunxiang talked about were the lowest-level slaves in the local area who did not need to be castrated.

The purchase price is basically around three hundred silver coins. As for training, it is better to say that it is domesticated. It only needs to be able to do hard work.

But if both of them are liberated simultaneously, the Nanyang Kunlun slaves should be able to continue to live as bottom workers.

The same cannot be said for Chunxiang and these two girls. Their living standards will definitely not be maintained, and it is unpredictable what industry they fall into.

Zhu Jingyuan considered these things in his mind, shook his head slightly melancholy and said:

"You two, if you want to help me in the company from now on, you have to continue studying. At least you can keep accounts, otherwise you will have no future.

"I'm going to give you a salary of twenty-five yuan in silver notes. That's the level of a junior craftsman. You can't get it elsewhere.

"Wait a minute - why don't you two just go to craftsman school, learn accounting and housekeeping, and become my official secretary in the future.

"Anyway, I'm not at home during the day. How do I put it in capitalist terms? Your workload is not saturated at all."

The two girls were stunned. They didn't understand how their Highness's thoughts came to this place:

"Your Highness...what did you say?"

"You want us to go to school?"

Zhu Jingyuan quickly made up his mind. The two girls were the ones who were truly trustworthy, reliable, and easy to use.

They no longer have family members. The palace is their home, and they are their master and family.

You can spend a little money to train them into modern private secretaries and assistants, who are more reliable than those recruited from outside. You can continue to hire them after you really liberate the slaves.

They are just eighteen years old and can still learn something. The key is that they already know some words and are not completely illiterate. They can also learn to be craftsmen faster:

"Yes! I will tell my mother tomorrow morning to arrange for you two to go to crafts school during the day."

Under the stunned and confused gazes of the two maids, Zhu Jingyuan seemed to have solved some major problem, and his heart was obviously much more relaxed:

"Okay, that's it for today. You go and get ready. I'll take a shower later..."

The two maids immediately gave up questioning and arguing and went to prepare bath water for Zhu Jingyuan.

Nowadays, there are boilers and tap water in the palace. To prepare bath water, you just need to pour water and adjust the water temperature. It is much simpler than before to boil water, fetch water, and mix water.

With the advancement of industrialization, the number of slaves actually needed by noble families also decreased.

High-level servants are basically transformed into daily life assistants, middle-level servants are transforming into skilled domestic workers such as gardeners and chefs, and low-level servants are transforming into coolies.

A few minutes later, Chunxiang came out of the bathroom and told Zhu Jingyuan that the bath water was ready.

He took Zhu Jingyuan into the bathroom, and together with Qiuyue, he undressed and undressed him, helped him lie down in the bathtub, and carefully helped him scrub his body.

After taking a bath, dry his body, put on his pajamas, and send him back to the bedroom to rest.

For the maids of male masters, especially the personal maids of unmarried young masters, non-coquettishness and stability are very important indicators.

They must be able to calmly change the young master's clothes as usual and avoid irritating the young master when they are not supposed to move.

Of course Chunxiang and Qiuyue did a good job, otherwise they would have been kicked out by Mrs. Liang long ago.

Aristocratic parents in the classical era did not allow their sons to use maids to meet their physiological needs, but they were worried that their bodies would be drained when they were young.

As a rule established after the Renwu Dynasty, princes and grandsons like Zhu Jingyuan could not become virgins until they were at least sixteen years old.
Chapter completed!