He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 154

154. Meeting with Dr. Scipio

Around noon the next day.

Tae-oh, along with Colin Peterson, visited the textile factory where Dr. Scipio Marshall worked.

“Lord Sanderson, that’s the factory.”

“It’s not as small as I thought, is it?”

“Yes, it’s not as big as ours, but it’s still quite large in this area.”

As they entered the factory, dozens of workers were carrying piles of cotton fabric out of the workshop.

According to the history Tae-oh knew, England at this time should have been experiencing a slowdown in exports due to wars with various countries.

However, by ending the American Revolutionary War early, they avoided getting involved in wars with neighboring countries, and as a result, England’s export industries, including the Manchester factory, were booming.

“Ah, there he is!”

Lord Peterson, who had been looking around for Dr. Scipio Marshall, pointed to a corner of the factory.

There, a Black man was talking intently with two white men while looking at documents.

As they got closer, their voices reached Tae-oh’s ears.

But it wasn’t English.

Come to think of it, the white men standing next to him didn’t look like Englishmen either.

Judging from their appearance, clothing, and the sounds they were making, they seemed to be French.

As Lord Peterson had said, who was fluent in various languages, Scipio Marshall was speaking French quite fluently.

Dr. Scipio glanced at Lord Peterson, excused himself to the Frenchmen, and turned around.

“Oh, Lord Peterson? What brings you here?”

“My associate wanted to meet Dr. Marshall.”

“Yes? Your associate?”

Lord Peterson pointed to Tae-oh and said,

“This is Lord Theo Sanderson. Have you heard of him?”

“Of course! I’ve heard the name many times.”

Dr. Scipio bowed politely to Tae-oh.

Tae-oh also bowed his head in response.

Scipio had a handsome face and made a good impression.

In particular, the rough and rebellious look often seen in young Black slaves was hardly noticeable.

Perhaps it was because he had not experienced an abusive slave life in his childhood and had a naturally positive disposition.

“I told Lord Sanderson about you, Doctor, and he said he wanted to meet you and get some advice on economic matters.”

“I don’t know much… Anyway, I have some things to finish talking about with those people, so would you mind waiting in the office? I’ll be there soon.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Tae-oh said as he turned to head to the office.

“You’re right, his French is very fluent.”

“Yes, it’s incomparable to my French. Moreover, those French merchants standing there are known to be very picky. But somehow he won them over, and now they only buy goods from this factory, I heard.

In my opinion, Dr. Marshall deserves all the credit. Anyway, he’s a very talented man.”

From the expressions of the French merchants he had seen earlier, their trust in Dr. Scipio seemed solid.

In this era, when prejudice against Black people was inevitable, it was very unusual for French merchants to show such respect.

‘He has excellent economic knowledge and persuasiveness, and he’s fluent in their native language, so the French merchants have no choice but to trust Dr. Scipio.’

At first, they may have been wary because he was a freed Black slave, but because they were merchants who valued profit and efficiency more than anything, they would eventually prefer someone who brought them great benefits.

Moreover, considering the poor quality of interpretation in the 18th century, the ability to freely communicate and trade directly in their native language without going through someone else would have been a great advantage.

* * *

The office where Scipio stayed was small but neatly organized.

Sitting down, Tae-oh looked around the office and noticed dozens of thick books on a small bookshelf.

Most of them were economics-related books and science books, and the covers were all worn out from being read so many times.

After a while, Scipio came in, and after being introduced by Lord Peterson, he formally greeted Tae-oh.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Marshall.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Sanderson.”

Scipio, who greeted him with a friendly smile, seemed to know a lot about Tae-oh already.

While drinking the ground coffee Tae-oh had brought, Scipio couldn’t help but admire it.

“Wow, this is the famous T&S coffee I’ve only heard about. The French merchants talked about this coffee a lot too.

But now that I’ve tasted it myself, there’s nothing missing in terms of aroma and taste, so it’s no wonder, is it? Haha.”

Scipio savored the taste several times as if he were amazed.

At that moment, Tae-oh noticed the factory safety rules posted on the office wall.

It seemed that Dr. Scipio had made and posted them himself, and they clearly listed various safety rules and compliance matters within the factory.

‘Be careful with your hands and feet when in contact with machinery… Wear earplugs to protect your hearing from machine noise…’

In addition, various measures were included to minimize textile dust, such as ventilation and covering the nose and mouth, along with hand-drawn illustrations.

Since it was something that could only be seen in a modernized factory, Tae-oh stared at it with interest for a while.

Then, Lord Peterson, who was next to him, explained it.

“If you go inside the factory, you’ll see those safety rules posted everywhere. The doctor wrote and drew the pictures himself. He said that every morning before work, they read it out loud and everyone follows along. Isn’t his sincerity amazing?”

Dr. Scipio waved his hand at Peterson’s words.

“No, it’s not amazing. It’s just that many people can’t read, so I added the pictures.”

Tae-oh asked about his intentions.

“Doctor? But why did you bother writing and posting these things? Also, as you said, most of the workers can’t read, so wouldn’t it be enough to tell them verbally before work?”

“Yes, many people say that this is a waste of time and unnecessary effort, but if you raise awareness before working, the number of safety accidents will definitely decrease.

The factory owner here also initially opposed it, saying it was a useless thing to do, but after the number of accidents decreased and production increased, he doesn’t say anything anymore and even encourages it.

And, I think that if you put it up in a conspicuous place like this, even if they can’t read, they can be aware of it even once, which can reduce the risk.”

At this time, when the Industrial Revolution was beginning to ignite, the top priority of British factories was to generate maximum profit.

Tae-oh couldn’t help but be surprised by the explanation that by emphasizing safety, workers could be protected and productivity could be improved, in a social atmosphere where production volume and efficiency were much more important than worker safety.

Dr. Scipio Marshall seemed to be a much more insightful scholar than he had thought.

Curious about his other thoughts, Tae-oh asked questions about the current industrial development of England and its future, and listened to his explanations for a long time.

Tae-oh asked Dr. Scipio again.

“So, Doctor, do you also think that technological innovation is most necessary for the current British industry to develop even further?”

“Well… if you want to see immediate development, technological innovation would be the most necessary. But in order for the entire British industry to develop even further, there is something that must be done before technological innovation.”

“What is it?”

“Education.”

“…….”

“Technology may be innovated by some talented individuals, but in order to maximize it, the education level of the general public who use that technology must rise, which will create the power to drive explosive growth throughout the industry.

In our factory, I’ve also seen that workers who can read and have a brain that has been awakened have fewer safety accidents and definitely better production.”

“But many people argue that if workers are educated, they will try to find their rights too much, which will actually reduce productivity, don’t they?”

“Yes, as those people say, if the level of education rises, there will be more demands and various protests to find rights. But it is an overstatement to see this as leading to a decrease in productivity throughout the industry. Just look at Austria and the rapidly emerging Prussia, which established a comprehensive elementary education system a decade ago…”

His understanding of the industry as a whole, his philosophy on labor-management relations, his accurate analysis of the international situation, and his passion for education… there was nothing to criticize.

He had knowledge and awareness that was hard to believe for someone from the 18th century.

Tae-oh could understand why Lord Peterson had praised him so much.

Tae-oh, who had been thinking about establishing a professional educational institution in London but was worried because there was no one he could trust to take charge, considered Dr. Scipio to be the best person for the job.

‘Hmm… If I build a school, I should consider Dr. Marshall as the top priority for the headmaster.’

If he were to establish an educational institution in the future, Scipio would likely be the number one candidate to be the head of it.

◈ Ten days later. Mid-July 1781, Paul Osborne’s mansion.

Late evening.

Tae-oh was checking one by one the things he had planned before coming to Manchester.

Thanks to Lord Peterson’s good preparation in advance, the speed of work was very fast.

He planned to install James Watt’s latest steam engine in the newly purchased factory and invest large sums of money in the factory with the intention of laying the foundation for economic development for the next 50 years.

‘The demand for coffee drip cloths will explode even more in the future. I should have the newly purchased factory produce the existing cotton fabrics, and turn the existing Factory 2 into a production factory dedicated to coffee drip cloths.’

After finishing all the plans related to the factory, Tae-oh turned his eyes to another notebook spread out on his desk.

The notebook listed predictions about the future history.

Since some point, the history that had begun to change was becoming faster or disappearing compared to the historical knowledge Tae-oh knew.

In addition, new situations that did not exist in history were gradually increasing.

‘Hoo- it’s not easy.’

He liked history, but he did not remember even the detailed events, so he was worried about the changes in the major events that would occur in the future.

In particular, he felt that the history of the world was changing noticeably as King George prematurely approved American independence in 1778.

‘It’s July 1781 now. The French Revolution, which will shake history, is originally in 1789, eight years later. But since France didn’t get involved much in the American Revolutionary War, the emergence of the Great Revolution may also change its timing…’

The French government in the history Tae-oh remembers supported the North American colonies in the American Revolutionary War, even while straining its poor finances, in order to put England in trouble.

The astronomical financial support spent on the war rapidly collapsed the already difficult economic situation within France, and the dissatisfaction of the starving people poured out, which became an important catalyst for the French Revolution.

‘Since they saved the finances they would have spent on the American Revolutionary War, will the French Revolution be delayed? Hmm… Then, what other important things happened in England in the meantime?’

Now history is changing, and it seemed that it would not be easy to prepare for it with his own strength alone.

If the history is not fixed, he needs someone to talk with, predict changes, and make plans together.

‘Dr. Scipio Marshall…’

Dr. Scipio came to his mind again from his complicated thoughts.

Over the past few days, Tae-oh had been collecting information about him and reading his papers and magazine articles, and he had been very impressed.

‘Yes, the establishment of an educational institution is necessary anyway, and before that, I should first operate a think tank research institute by gathering new talents. The doctor is the perfect person for that. First, let’s meet him tomorrow and tell him my thoughts.’

It is a great waste of talent to have a talent like Scipio Marshall as a manager of such a small factory.

Since there are many buildings that have been purchased near the company in Kensington, it is not difficult to open an economic research institute.

‘I should have Dr. Scipio take the position of director of the research institute first. And then gradually establish an educational institution.’

* * *

The next day.

“Yes? He hasn’t been coming for days?”

Tae-oh, who had visited the textile factory where Dr. Scipio Marshall worked, was surprised.

Scipio, who was so diligent that he had never been late, had not been coming to the factory for several days already.

“I’m seeing this for the first time too. It’s the first time Marshall has been absent for so long. I wonder if he’s caught some kind of disease.”

Tae-oh asked with a worried face.

“Didn’t you go to his house from the factory?”

“I was going to go tonight if he didn’t come to work today either.”

“Could I have Marshall’s home address? I’ll go see him.”

Perhaps because he had become familiar with him last time, the manager readily gave him Scipio’s home address.