He imitated the master's style and just hummed softly, picked up the tureen and flicked the tea leaves, looking at his nephew who was standing there at a loss and a little scared with some satisfaction.
After a long time, he coughed: "Hey, sit down."
"Yes Yes."
"It's not that I, as an uncle, am bragging. This time the Chen family in Nansha was able to stay safe because of my negotiation with the Australians to protect the safety of both sides!" He didn't feel too proud when he said this, "Don't forget to say, Without me, how could the Australians come to this Nansha village to run a sericulture pilot project? Can Australians specially send troops to patrol? Can Australians specially train local braves in our village? "
Chen Lin didn't know what to say, so he could only echo "yes" several times.
"My dear nephew, I think when you came back this time, you heard that it was me who took over the weaving workshop, and you felt somewhat resentful..."
Chen Lin quickly stood up and said: "Don't dare, don't dare, this weaving workshop was originally the property of Shang Sanfang - in a big way, it is also the clan's property. Since my father is gone, it is only natural for my second uncle to take over. My nephew How can I dare to be resentful? Besides, the current situation is so chaotic that my young nephew can’t handle it! Even my second uncle asked my nephew to take over, but my nephew doesn’t have the ability."
Chen Xuan looked up and down with some surprise, and said leisurely: "My dear nephew, your trip to Guangzhou was not in vain - you have made a lot of progress!"
Chen Lin's face turned red, and he almost crawled into the cracks of the ground in embarrassment. But he couldn't allow him to think too much at this moment, and said immediately: "In the past, it was my nephew who was young and ignorant. Second uncle, you sir, don't blame me."
"You and I are biological uncles and nephews. We have broken bones and connected tendons, and I am the elder. How can I blame you." Chen Xuazhi said proudly, "What are your plans for returning home this time?"
Chen Lin now dares to say anything like "rebuilding the family business" or "opening a cotton spinning mill", so he can only cover it up: "Now my nephew has lost his father. Although Guangzhou is good, it is not his hometown after all. My nephew is When I came back this time, I wanted to take shelter in the ancestral hall and have a place to stay."
"That's a good point." Chen Xuan nodded, "Now after the catastrophe, everything is waiting to be done. It's the right time to employ people. You are familiar with the weaving workshop and have spent many days in Guangzhou - I must have seen him. Many Australians have passed by..."
"I have never seen the real Australian elders, but I have seen some of their naturalized citizens."
"It's good if you've seen him before." Chen Xuandao said, "It's a suitable job now."
Only then did Chen Lin know that his family's weaving workshop was indeed attracted by the Australians. The Australians have now specially sent some people to join forces with the Chen Family Weaving Factory to engage in "rural sericulture improvement."
"...You have stayed in Guangzhou and dealt with Australians. I leave it to you to handle the Australians."
Chen Lin was shocked. To be honest, he didn't expect that his second uncle would "reuse" him. He subconsciously speculated: "Isn't this inappropriate?"
"Is there anything inappropriate?" Chen Xuan said, putting on an "adult-like" face, "We are uncles and nephews, and I don't have a son. When the family becomes one, it won't be all the juniors like you! You help me knit the knitting If the workshop is well done, your benefits will be indispensable in the future!"
"Yes, yes, thank you uncle for your cultivation!" Chen Lin stood up with "tears of gratitude" on his face, and immediately stood up and bowed to the end.
Chen Xuan was not being hypocritical. He was considered the steward of the weaving mill when he took care of his brother. However, he was indulged in enjoying himself and did not pay attention to the affairs of the weaving mill. He spent three days fishing and two days drying nets. Regarding sericulture and weaving, I can only be regarded as slightly better than an outsider. In empty conversations, I seem to know a lot, but when I really get into actual operations, my true colors are immediately revealed.
Ever since he started "cooperating" with the Australians, Chen Xuan gradually felt powerless. Moreover, as he cooperated more and more with the Australians, he found that their "plans were too big" and it was difficult for him to adapt with his own abilities.
Although most of the craftsmen in the original weaving workshop came back to resume work, after he and his third brother had a falling out, the third brother went to Sanliang and took away several of the stewards and important craftsmen below. Although it is barely open now, the efficiency of the weaving mill is far less than before. It has been almost half a year since the Australians jointly established the silk factory with him, and production has not yet been on track. Australians are dissatisfied.
There are quite a few people under him who flatter him, but none of them are familiar with the weaving workshop. Now that Chen Lin has come back, he has no choice but to borrow from him.
Chen Lin still couldn't figure out the second uncle's trump card at the moment, but since the second uncle was now willing to use himself, he might as well follow the trend first and take a look at the situation in the weaving workshop - and also get to know the details of the Australians who came to cooperate.
Chen Xuan then asked where Chen Lin would stay. Chen Lin originally wanted to stay in the ancestral hall, but it seemed that his second uncle regarded this place as his hometown, so it was not suitable for him to be here.
"Now that my nephew's house has been completely destroyed and he has no suitable place to go, he plans to stay at Brother Ji's house."
Brother Ji Wu is Chen Qing's father. He is from the lower fifth branch. His family is very poor, but he is an honest man.
"Aji's family - his family is too poor. Although there are a few vacant rooms, I'm afraid you won't be able to eat or sleep well there... Anyway, I'll ask someone to send him some money and rice later."
Chen Lin came out of the ancestral hall, feeling anxious. Thinking about the next step. To be honest, he couldn't quite figure out his second uncle's true intention: he could tell from his conversation that he was testing himself everywhere and was very wary, but asking him to work for the weaving workshop didn't seem like a lie. What kind of medicine is being sold in this gourd, Uncle Er?
He followed Chen Qing back home and told Brother Ji and his wife that they would stay here longer, and gave him a few taels of silver for expenses. Brother Ji Wu naturally agreed. After a while, Chen Xuan also sent a clan member to bring two stones of white rice and a few slings of money, saying it was for Chen Lin's accommodation expenses. He also asked him to go to the weaving mill tomorrow to meet the Australians. Ji Wu Ge and his wife got money and rice and their son came back safely. They were very happy. They killed chickens and drank wine that night and cooked a good meal to entertain the uncle and nephew. Chen Lin asked his sister Chen Yue to move here as well. There is a care for each other.
Early the next morning, he came to the weaving mill.
This weaving workshop is located by the river at the east end of Nansha Village. It was Chen Lin's grandfather who first opened a silk shop, named Fengshenghe, which specialized in purchasing raw silk from silkworm farmers in Sixiang and selling it to merchants. Because the business has always been good, various branches of the clan have also invested a lot of money in it. Coupled with the poor management of his grandfather's hard work, Fengshenghe gradually became famous. In my father's generation, raw silk began to be packaged for weaving by machine operators in the village and nearby. Then he purchased a loom from Guangzhou and started to set up his own workshop for weaving.
This weaving workshop was renovated and expanded by my father ten years ago. The scale is more than double that of my grandfather's. Chen Lin was standing in front of the gate now, feeling sad and happy at the same time.
What's sad is that my father's life's hard work fell into the hands of outsiders! Fortunately, the weaving workshop survived the war. Although there are traces of fire on the walls, it is generally well preserved. Two long signs with white wood and ink characters were hung on the side of the gate - this was not unfamiliar to Chen Xuan, who had traveled to Guangzhou: this is how Australians do it.
On the left is the "Fengshenghe" Silk Weaving Factory, and on the right is the "Nansha Sericulture Improvement Institute".
I finally kept the font size, Chen Lin thought to himself.
But upon closer inspection, there have been many changes to the courtyard. First of all, the steps to the door have turned into a slope, and the stone threshold of the door has also disappeared. There are two more Xiangyong standing guard in front of the gate.
In the past, water bandits were rampant in the area. The raw silk, satin and money piled up in the workshop made it a coveted target for bandits. Therefore, the courtyard wall built at the beginning was extremely high and thick. Nowadays, at the corners of the courtyard walls, turrets are built with bamboo and wood, with clappers and lanterns hung on them, and villagers standing sentry on them. Although the door is open, two layers of barbaric horses can be seen inside.
With such tight security, Australians are obviously very interested in this weaving workshop. He thought, no wonder his second uncle asked him to come to the workshop to help. He obviously couldn't handle it with his little ability.
There seemed to be a red brick chimney standing in the backyard, emitting black smoke. He had also seen this red brick chimney in Guangzhou. Know that this is the chimney used by the "boiler", and the boiler is specially used to heat hot water. As for hot water, it is indeed needed for reeling, and there is no need to get a special boiler to burn it, right?
Entering the front yard, the changes are even greater. Not only have a lot of things been added to the yard, but the layout has also changed. New houses and sheds were built, taking up more than half of the originally spacious courtyard. Objects were piled everywhere.
What are the Australians doing? To make a neat compound so cramped? Chen Lin wondered secretly.
Without waiting for him to take a closer look, Chen Xuan led him into the reverse room on the north side of the first entrance courtyard, which was originally the accounting room of the weaving mill. Chen Xuan's father also mostly worked here and received customers. Now, different wooden signs are hung in front of the doors of each room here, and all the original windows have been replaced with glass windows.
This is really particular. Chen Lin muttered secretly. The second uncle took him to one of the rooms, and saw that there were several large Eight Immortals tables put together into a long table, with some messy stools on both sides. There is a black wooden board standing against the wall, with white dust remaining on it.
What's the point? Chen Lin has seen a lot of "Australian scenery", but this is the first time he has seen such a display.
Chen Xuan asked him to wait here for a while. After a while, he heard footsteps approaching outside, and there seemed to be a lot of people coming. Chen Lin hurriedly straightened his clothes, bowed slightly and waited.
But they saw a group of people coming in from outside, and the leader was a woman. Chen Lin was startled.
I saw a woman in her thirties, slender and frail, wearing a blue cloth dress and combed hair. At first glance, she looks just like a local woman. However, when he looked at it again, his expression and eyes were completely different. Chen Lin had seen many "true Kuns" from a distance in Guangzhou, and he could tell at a glance that this was a "true Australian"!
Looking behind her, there was another girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old. The look and demeanor are quite similar to hers. Chen Lin was very curious: He never expected that two Australian women would come to such a small Nansha village like his own!
(End of chapter)
