Chapter 19

The Manchester correspondent station of the *Polaris* newspaper was originally located inside a textile factory owned by a company called "Omen-Engels Textile Company."

This textile factory was of considerable scale, occupying half a street. The combined size of several smaller factories nearby was no match for it. Even the sign at the factory's main gate was much larger than those of other factories! However, what caught Zhu Jishi's attention the most was the name of the factory.

"Omen is probably Mr. Peter Omen's surname. The Omen Hospital where you are now working is sponsored by him. He is one of the largest textile factory owners in Britain, and this factory should also be part of Mr. Omen's business."

When getting off the carriage, Zhu Jishi inquired about the "Omen-Engels Textile Company," but Mrs. Duran only knew about Mr. Omen and had no knowledge of Engels, who Zhu Jishi was very interested in!

Although Zhu Jishi knew little about 19th-century European history, he was aware of Friedrich Engels. As a former Young Pioneer and Youth League member, how could he not know who Engels was? In his school days in China, Engels' portrait was posted in the classroom, right next to the great leader Chairman M's portrait! What a remarkable person! Moreover, Zhu Jishi knew that the Engels family owned a textile factory. Could this "Omen-Engels Textile Company" have shares in their family business?

"Romain! How did you come to Manchester?"

Just as Zhu Jishi was pondering whether to befriend Engels and perhaps ask him to introduce him to Marx, and then take some group photos as a keepsake for his descendants, a voice with an Irish accent came over. Zhu Jishi looked over and saw Will Heming, the one who had used a musket to shoot a hole in Robert Churchill's belly.

After a long time, Will Heming had changed quite a bit. His face showed more signs of wear and tear, and he was no longer the spirited young officer they had first met.

"Will, are you doing well?" Mrs. Duran and Will Heming exchanged a kiss—a common European greeting. Close friends often greeted each other this way. In Germany, 170 years later, Zhu Jishi had kissed many European female classmates who were close to him... and of course, male classmates too!

"Doing okay, being a journalist isn't bad. At least there's no risk of getting shot. This is... ah, you're the Tartar doctor!"

Will Heming extended his strong hands and said with a smile, "Great to see you here. To be honest, I owe you a lot for saving Robert's life last time. Otherwise, I'd still be in jail!"

Zhu Jishi, however, looked distressed. Will Heming didn't seem particularly tall or robust, but his grip was surprisingly strong, making Zhu Jishi gasp. "Mr. Heming, I came to Manchester to ask for your help... by the way, my name is Jason Zhu, call me Jason."

"Help?" Will Heming laughed heartily, released Zhu Jishi's hand, and gestured for him to follow. "Let's go to my office and talk about it. By the way, Jason, are you the 'Jack the Ripper' from Omen Hospital?"

Jack the Ripper!? Hearing this nickname, Zhu Jishi could only smile bitterly. He wondered who came up with this name. However, he did perform a few abdominal surgeries, though he didn't kill anyone immediately, the pain was unbearable—morphine injections weren't available yet, and while ether and chloroform had been invented, ether was flammable, and chloroform could form toxic phosgene when exposed to light. Zhu Jishi didn't dare use these dangerous substances in the dirty, chaotic, and poorly equipped Omen Hospital. So, the few cesarean sections he performed in the obstetrics department involved tying the opium-soaked pregnant women to the operating table and gagging them before making the incisions. The scene was not very elegant, which is why he was called "Jack the Ripper."

...

As Zhu Jishi and Will Heming chatted, they walked into the factory, observing it carefully. The factory was as dirty and noisy as the ones Zhu Jishi had seen in London. The machines were driven by steam engines, so the factory had several large chimneys that continuously emitted coal smoke, blackening everything.

It was shift change time, and the passages to the workshops were crowded with gaunt, ragged British workers. Many of them had children with them... Zhu Jishi knew these children were child laborers! Every factory was filled with child laborers, and most working-class parents hoped to bring their 11 or 12-year-old children to the factory so they could earn 1 to 2 pennies a day.

Workers worked 12 hours a day, and the concept of an 8-hour workday was unheard of. Typically, workers were divided into two shifts to maintain the factory's 24/7 operation. Paid leave and Sunday rest were non-existent—though Zhu Jishi himself had paid leave and one day off per week because he was a doctor, and doctors and teachers had benefits similar to civil servants, who enjoyed much better treatment than workers at the time!

Not only were their salaries much higher than those of ordinary workers, but their jobs were also less demanding. After a certain number of years of service, they could retire with a generous pension. It's worth noting that ordinary workers in the 1840s had no pension! Therefore, becoming a civil servant, doctor, or teacher was the dream of almost all European working-class youth in the mid-19th century.

However, Zhu Jishi knew this dream was hard to achieve because there was no compulsory education in Europe at the time, and children of ordinary workers had few opportunities to attend school. Girls, in particular, rarely went to school; wealthy girls received home tutoring, while poor girls became child laborers early on!

Thus, education, especially good education, was a privilege of the bourgeoisie and the nobility. However, their career paths differed. Young nobles typically entered politics or the military, and most high-ranking officials and military officers were of noble birth. Without a noble background, it was difficult to rise to prominence. Therefore, young people from bourgeois families, if they didn't inherit the family business, often became doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants, engineers, and other respectable professions.

To be honest, the Britain of this era was somewhat similar to the rising empire in Zhu Jishi's memory, but there were also differences. The mass movement led by the Chartists was something that would never happen in the empire, as the laboring masses were well aware that universal suffrage would not change anything and would only disrupt society—indeed, the Chartist movement almost led to a revolution to overthrow the Hanoverian dynasty in 1848 and 1849!

However, the British workers at the time seemed not to understand this. Zhu Jishi was also unaware of the 1848 European revolution and the significant increase in the income and social security of Western European workers in the 20 years between the 1848 revolution and the Second Industrial Revolution. Of course, this had nothing to do with suffrage, as only France achieved male suffrage after the 1848 revolution...

On the way to the *Polaris* newspaper's correspondent station, Zhu Jishi asked about the "yellow revolution" in Manchester over the past two days. Once they arrived at the *Polaris* office, Will Heming, while personally brewing coffee for Zhu Jishi and Mrs. Duran, introduced the Chartist movement.

"…This movement was initially launched by six members of the London Working Men's Association and six members of the House of Commons. In May 1838, they proposed a *People's Charter* at mass meetings across the country and submitted it to Parliament for deliberation. The *People's Charter* included six demands:

1. All men over 21 years old, who are healthy and have not been convicted of a felony, have the right to vote.

2. Secret ballots to ensure that voters can fully exercise their voting rights.

3. No property qualifications or other restrictions for Members of Parliament, allowing all constituencies to elect their preferred candidates, regardless of wealth.

4. MPs should receive salaries to enable honest merchants, workers, and others to serve as representatives for the benefit of the country.

5. Electoral districts should be evenly distributed based on the number of voters, dividing the country into 300 constituencies, each electing one Member of Parliament.

6. Parliament should be re-elected annually to prevent bribery, intimidation, and other violations by MPs.

On February 4, 1839, the first national Chartist convention was held in London, and a petition to Parliament was passed. By May, over 1.25 million people had signed the petition. However, the British Parliament rejected the *People's Charter*. The struggle did not subside, and in July 1840, the National Charter Association was established. In February of this year, the Chartists submitted a new petition to Parliament, with over 3 million signatures. In addition to demanding universal suffrage, they also called for the repeal of the *New Poor Law*, the limitation of working hours, and the separation of church and state. However, the petition was again rejected by Parliament, and in September, the government used the military to suppress Chartist demonstrations across the country."