The Australians suddenly have to wade through troubled waters in this industry, and it is impossible to do so without a powerful killer move. Just like when Australians came to Guangzhou to sell paper, they destroyed the local paper products in one year. Regardless of quality or price, no product on the market can compete with similar products from Australian paper.
I wonder what’s so unique about this Australian cloth?
"That nephew has made a fool of himself. Let's talk about this cloth first. This cloth is similar to Songjiang fine cloth, but it is not as refined as the fine Songjiang cloth. It looks a bit loose and not thick enough. This cloth is a bit strange. It feels like cotton on the surface and is curved. It feels not as soft as cotton, and looks stiff and linen-like. I guess it's cotton mixed with something. This is ordinary linen, worse than medium linen. There are a lot of hairs here, and the weaving skills seem to be average. It’s almost the same as farm cloth, but slightly different from the weaving workshops on the market.” Chen Lin evaluated the cloth samples one by one.
Wu Yijun touched the beard on his chin and said with approval: "My nephew is indeed from a textile family. I can't see any of these connections." Chen Lin is a relative of his mother's family and is also a well-known silk shop in the local area. . He pointed to the yarn on the side and said, "Look at these yarns."
Chen Lin picked up the yarn, put it in his hands and twisted it, then tried to separate the fibers one by one, pulled them a few more times, and said: "This yarn is delicate and tough, it is of the highest quality, and ordinary spinners cannot do it." It would take ten years of skilled hands to spin yarn of such quality."
At this time, many textile workshops integrated spinning and weaving, and the cotton yarn trade was relatively small, so Chen Lin could only take a rough look.
Wu Yijun nodded, expressed satisfaction, and said, "Is my nephew interested in making this thing?"
This time, Chen Lin was confused and asked, "Is there a skilled craftsman to hire?"
Hearing this, Wu Yijun smiled and said: "Haha, no, no, this is what the machine did." Then he explained what he meant, that is, he wanted him to go back and reopen the textile workshop and then transform it. Spun into cotton. The Kun people also have better machines that can weave better yarns. If Chen Lin is willing, he can pay to become a shareholder and ask the Kun people to introduce equipment and technology. Chen Lin's village is at the junction of Nanhai County and Sihui. The Beijiang River flows through the area. Not only is it rich in water resources, but it can reach Guangzhou directly down the river. Water transportation is convenient.
"...Looking at what the Australians mean, they want to develop cotton spinning in Guangdong - yes, just going to Nanyang will require a lot of clothes, sails and bedding. This is really a great opportunity to make money!"
Chen Lin was not as excited as his cousin. His family has been making silk for generations and has never been involved in cotton spinning. As the old saying goes, rows are separated by mountains. Sericulture and cotton planting are two completely different industries. Different merchants deal with different thresholds. The craftsmen can't just turn it around.
If you can't do it, you can't deliver the goods, so what's the use of a big business?
My cousin's idea is somewhat whimsical. But Chen Lin couldn't say that, so he said:
"This matter is of great importance. My nephew has to go back to his relatives at home to discuss it before making a decision."
"In this case, you go back to your hometown first and take care of the housework. I read in the newspaper that the four villages have been peaceful, and the rebels and bandits in northern Guangdong have retreated, so there should be no serious security problems. After you go back, put your family business in order. Come to Guangzhou in a few days. The government has discussed with me that after the chaos, there will be more places to spend money. I have asked the accountant to prepare a hundred silver dollars for you to take home and use."
"How does this make..." Although Chen Lin was moved, he also understood that the money for no reason was not so easy to get. Besides, Wu Yijun was just his cousin. It was already a great kindness to take him in, but now he suddenly gave him another hundred yuan. He had to weigh it carefully after taking it. So I repeatedly declined, saying "it's too much."
"My dear nephew, you don't have to shirk it. My cousin didn't give me this money for nothing. You need to spend some money to reorganize your family business - even if your cousin borrows it from you. If you are willing to partner with your cousin in the future, this money will be considered as your own. If you don’t want to give your cousin’s share capital, you can return it to your cousin when you have more money.”
Speaking of this, Chen Lin couldn't refuse. But I still insisted on writing an IOU to my cousin.
Wu Yijun saw the hesitation in his nephew's heart. This nephew had read some books by sages and was somewhat "dull". No matter what, although the Founder gentleman is sometimes pedantic in business, he can be trusted.
The next day, Chen Lin boarded the ship at Lijia Pier under his arrangement. The boat is a small boat of the Dan family that is hired by the Wu family all year round. The boatman has also been to the Chen family, so there is no need for special instructions. He only needs to say: "Go to the Nansha Village of the Chen family." The boatman will know.
On the way, it was just as my cousin said: the four villages were peaceful. Villages along the way have set up baojia, built watchtowers and checkpoints in accordance with the requirements of the Australians. Every village and village has been patrolling and sentrying day and night, and they are more cautious than before. Think about it, the government did all this with great fanfare to "prepare Kun", but now this "Kun" has been taken over and used by itself in a grand manner.
There was no talking all the way, but we returned to Nansha Village in just three days. There are countless place names called Nansha in the Pearl River Delta region. Nansha Village, where Chen Lin's family lives, is located on a piece of sand deposited by the river.
In the early Ming Dynasty, the ancestors of the Chen family migrated here from Shaoguan and settled on this wasteland that was still a river beach. They worked hard for more than 200 years to accumulate wealth, and expanded their power through the imperial examinations of their children, gradually becoming Nansha. The most common surname in the village.
He set foot on the land he had not seen for a long time, looking at the village houses and fields in the distance, he couldn't help but feel heavy. It has been more than a year since I fled in a hurry, and I don’t know how my tribe and fellow villagers are doing now. All I know is that the village and family property were severely damaged.
He only received the letter from home recently, and the letter was written by an old man in his clan. He escaped when Nansha Village was looted by rebels, and finally found an opportunity to send him a message.
From the letter, he officially learned of his father's death. On the night of his escape, he saw with his own eyes that his father was hit by an arrow and fell from the bridge into the river. He had no hope at first. However, when he knew that his father was really dead, Chen Lin is still devastated - he lost his mother when he was a child, and it was his father who single-handedly raised his brothers and sisters.
The Chen family has a great business, and there are thirteen clan gatekeepers in this village alone. With so many branches of the family, naturally there are also rich and poor. Fortunately, the clan property has accumulated over many years and has accumulated to a considerable amount. Even the poorest families can get a stable income and avoid cold and hunger.
Chen Lin's branch does not own many fields and fish ponds. However, because there were many sericulture farmers in the surrounding area, his grandfather started setting up a silk shop in the village to purchase silkworm cocoons and raw silk from villagers for weaving silk. The products are quite famous and have been sold to Guangzhou.
His family's workshop has begun to take shape. It has a cooking room, a silk reeling room, a silk weaving room, a calendering room, and it can also dye itself. These workshops are shared by his father's cousins and nephews, and his father is in charge of coordinating all the work. work in between.
Rebellion swept through the village. The rebels looted all the stocks and destroyed a lot of raw silk stocks. Even the houses were set on fire while they were running away. Fortunately, the villagers worked hard to put out the fire and were able to save most of the houses and equipment. But after my father died, the craftsmen died or dispersed, and the silk workshop could not continue to operate.
The letter also urged him to come back as soon as possible to "reorganize the family business" and said that the people in the clan were now in a disordered mood.
I wonder what kind of mess is waiting for him to clean up! Thinking of this, Chen Lin felt a little frustrated.
"Uncle Jiu, we're here!" It was Chen Qing who returned to the village with him. Although he is only two or three years younger than him, he is Chen Lin's nephew in terms of seniority. The branches are different, and Chen Qing's family is very poor, so he followed his second uncle when he was more than ten years old. They say they are uncles and nephews, but they are actually masters and servants.
The village was much better than he imagined. Although many houses have not yet been rebuilt and are in ruins everywhere, there are already many temporary small houses. It seems that many people have returned, and there are also people working in the fields outside the village.
After walking a short distance, I heard a woman's voice: "Brother A Lin! Ah Qing! You are back!"
This familiar voice didn't need to be looked at to tell that it was Chen Yue, the daughter of Uncle Chen Lin's second uncle.
As for this second uncle, to be honest, Chen Lin despises him very much. Because this man was always engaged in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling. If he hadn't been a descendant of the Nansha Chen family and the clan had tried to vindicate him, he would have been beaten to death several times. The second aunt had been married to him for more than ten years, but she couldn't stand his absurdity, so she moved out her natal brother to arrest the second uncle, and forced him to write a divorce letter, and they divorced. The patriarch and elders of the Chen family just pretended to be deaf and dumb and were unwilling to fight for their second uncle.
Although she is a messy person, she gave birth to a daughter who is smart, beautiful and intelligent. The elders of the clan were afraid that this rotten father would do something degrading to the family tradition, such as pawning his daughter to a creditor or selling it off, so he adopted her to Chen Lin's father. From a patriarchal perspective, Chen Yue was now his biological son. Girl.
The girl Chen Lin worried about the most was this girl. He was afraid that this girl would be hurt during the war - the elders who wrote to him only vaguely said that there were girls in every family who were humiliated, some committed suicide, and some disappeared without a trace. At this moment, seeing Chen Yue's lively and bright expression, she should be safe and sound. I couldn't help but feel more settled.
After all, this is his only relative.
Chen Yue told him that his home had been destroyed by rebels. It was not that it was burned by fire, but that the rebels heard that this house was the home of the owner of the silk shop, and concluded that there must be treasures buried in the house. After taking away the silk, they even tore down the walls, dug around, and even uncovered the roof tiles. , causing the Chen family's mansion to be devastated.
"...I escaped by hiding in Sister Hua's house. Now I live with her, doing some handicrafts together in exchange for rice, living half hungry and half full..."
Guihua's wife, surnamed Zheng, was the wife of a machinist in the Chen family's silk shop. After the machinist's death, she also did odd jobs in the silk shop to make ends meet. He is fairly decent and reliable. This reassured Chen Lin.
(End of chapter)
