Chapter 525: Sell Me Your Workshop
Here is Chapter 520 of "The Great Ming in the Box": Qiu Qianfan simply stopped caring about his own job. After all, his role was to... Donât miss it!
Qiu Qianfan simply stopped caring about his own job. After all, his role was to manage the well-being of Puzhou, and the God of Wealth represented that well-being, so staying close to the God of Wealth was equivalent to performing his official duties.Qiu Qianfan walked alongside Gao Yiye and, as they moved, he smiled and introduced: âMadam Li, see that textile workshop over there? Itâs the most outstanding one in our Puzhou, with over fifty spinning machines inside, not inferior to those workshops in Jiangnan. However, ahem⌠in the past two years, there was no cotton available to work, so it was temporarily abandoned. But the spinning machines remain there. Next year, once cotton is available, the workshop owner just needs to clean the spinning machines, and operations can resume.â
Gao Yiye nodded with a smile and followed Qiu Qianfan into the textile workshop to look around.
The workshop owner stood to the side with a forced smile. Not having worked for years, he was actually on the verge of bankruptcy, living a frugal life, and he appeared to have aged ten years. Yet, facing the Honored Governor and the noble ladyâwho though unknown in origin clearly looked to be from a wealthy familyâhe dared not show any negligence and struggled to put on a smile.
Just as he was smiling enthusiastically, he heard Gao Yiye say: âThese spinning machines are extremely outdated. Their technology lags by a generation; the efficiency is poor.â
The workshop ownerâs smile froze: ââŚâ
Gao Yiye turned to the workshop owner and said: âHow many more workshops like this exist? How many spinning machines are there across the entire city?â
The workshop owner replied: âAt this scale like mine, only my family has it. Others all own fewer spinning machines than I do. Combined, all workshops in the city have about six to seven hundred spinning machines.â
Gao Yiye asked again: âWith sixty to seven hundred spinning machines, could they manage during a bountiful cotton harvest year?â
Embarrassed, the workshop owner said: âIn a bountiful year, it might be slightly overwhelming to handle. But if itâs just an ordinary harvest year, sixty to seven hundred should be sufficient.â
Gao Yiye smiled: âMister, considering your textile workshop isnât doing well, why donât you just sell it to us? Though itâs rained in Puzhou now, itâs still autumn. The new cotton canât be sown until next March or April, then harvested only after half a yearâmeaning your workshop will lie idle for another year.â
This reasoning made sense. Plus, with the Honored Governor present as a witness, he had no fear of fraud. The workshop owner showed little hesitation and nodded immediately: âGood!â They quickly drafted an agreement, handed over silver, and in a blink, the textile workshop changed hands, with the new owner becoming Qiu Ju.
Qiu Qianfan watched and thought to himself: That Madam Li has such a grand presence! She purchased such a large textile factory but didnât put her own name on the contractâinstead, she wrote her maid Qiu Juâs name. This revealed that the Li Familyâs holdings were so vast, this mere textile workshop wasnât worthy of her name; having a maid manage it sufficed.
The workshop owner took the silver and left.
Gao Yiye then turned to Qiu Ju with a chuckle: âNow youâre established here. Iâll miss you greatly in the future since you wonât be by my side.â
Qiu Ju looked a bit somber: âIâll miss you too, Madam. At least Dong Xue is still accompanying you.â
Gao Yiye smiled: âYou have a textile workshop nowâwhat do you plan to do?â
Qiu Ju grinned: âFirst, Iâll calculate the output efficiency of these outdated spinning machines, then compare it with our advanced ones to determine how many new-style spinning machines weâll need to handle the doubled cotton yield here next year. Then, before next year arrives, Iâll hire artisan masters to place custom orders for enough new spinning machines.â
Inside, Qiu Qianfan felt puzzled: Huh? Why calculate based on the cotton yield doubling? Where do they get that confidence about Puzhouâs cotton output doubling next year? He thought: I really should speak up and advise these two young girls against blind investment to prevent wasting money.
He was just about to speak when he heard Dong Xue laugh: âThird Sister, where will you order the new spinning machines from? If you get them made in Shaanxi, youâll have to ship them here by boatâso troublesome.â
Qiu Ju said: âThatâs simple enough? Iâll return and bring several skilled artisan masters over to set up a large craftsmanâs workshop right here in Puzhou City. The masters can train some apprentices, and weâll build the new spinning machines locally.â
On hearing this, Qiu Qianfanâs heart skipped a beat inside: Theyâre even planning a supporting craftsman workshop? Should I still try to persuade them?
While he hesitated, Qiu Ju added: âWeâll need at least one liang to two hundred craftsmen, since weâll have much more to make later.â
Dong Xue chimed in: âYes, offer higher wages to encourage quick work. By the way, wonât we need plenty of Porters? And woodcutters? Making textiles isnât just woodâit involves iron components too, so weâll need to hire some blacksmiths for the small parts.â
After hearing this, Qiu Qianfan remained silent. How many related industries might this textile workshop kick off? Anything beneficial for the local populaceâhe, as the local governor, couldnât sabotage it. Very well, girls, invest with full force. Whether you waste money or not, he could no longer concern himself; looking after the local citizens had to come first.
Just as he concluded these thoughts, a yamen runner suddenly raced in from outside and bellowed: âHonored Governor, disaster has struck! At Jiguang Mountain in Shuiyukou, the mine entrance collapsed, and reports say over fifty miners didnât escape in time.â
Qiu Qianfan was alarmed: âGoodness! I need to mobilize some porters immediately to dig them out.â
Jiguang Mountain in Shuiyukou was Puzhouâs most vital source of iron ore, with abundant shallow deposits near the surface. True, âshallowâ for the earth wasnât shallow for humans. Operated by the government for centuries, the mine had been dug deep underground long ago. Such a collapse meant severe consequencesâeven modern miners would barely survive; ancient ones had zero hope. Though he spoke of digging them out, deep down Qiu Qianfan already thought of the miners as dead.
Hearing this, Gao Yiye involuntarily frowned. At that moment, she heard a tiny voice from her left collarbone, where the Deity was embroidered: âLetâs go rescue them.â She looked down at the Deityâs image on her clothes, nodded, then lifted her head to address Qiu Qianfan: âHonored Governor, where exactly is Jiguang Mountain in Shuiyukou? Iâd like to visit and see if I can contribute my efforts to save a few miners.â
Qiu Qianfan shook his head: âSince the mine collapsed, the areaâs perilous, Madam Li. Youâd better not venture into that danger.â
Gao Yiye gestured towards the hundred bodyguards behind her: âI have ample manpower here who might prove helpful.â