One of the consequences of the highly developed cotton textile industry in Songjiang Prefecture is that the industry has become seriously involved.
Anyway, there are cotton cloths everywhere in Songjiang Prefecture, why should I only buy yours?
You can definitely buy it from someone else.
Whose quality is good and whose cotton is cheap will naturally have a greater market.
Under such circumstances, the cotton spinning industry in Songjiang Prefecture could not stop at all and had to think about progress all the time.
Therefore, the moment they saw silk stockings, Pan Xiaona, Qu Ye and others realized that a new and competitive product had emerged.
Although Zuo Mengeng never let go, they persevered.
The next day, Pan Yunlong, the head of the Pan family, and Qu Yin, Qu Ye's father, came to the house by chance, just for stockings.
"You two are rare guests. You don't come to the Three Treasures Palace for anything."
They have been old friends for many years, and Xu Ji always teases them when they meet.
As a son-in-law, Pan Yunlong had nothing to hide.
"Isn't this a good thing that Zhong Heng did? My in-laws didn't tell me. Our Pan family has done this business. If you want money, give money, and if you want land, give land."
"Hey Pan Jizhong, do you plan to eat alone?"
Qu Yin was unhappy and quickly intervened.
"Our Xu and Qu families have been in contact for decades. For such a grand event, the Xu family cannot leave the Qu family behind."
Xu Ji looked at the two of them and found them quite strange.
In the past, these two people were very arrogant, and each of their businesses had secrets, and they actually made a lot of wealth.
Compared with them, the Xu family can only be regarded as a junior fabric supplier, and it doesn't take much to look at their faces.
Unexpectedly, one day, they would actually come to our door asking for help.
All of this was brought about by Zuo Mengeng.
"Boy, these stockings are made by Zhongheng. You have to ask him what the regulations are."
Only then did Pan Yunlong and Qu Yin react, and surrounded Zuo Mengeng regardless of their elder status. The same thing comes to mind over and over again, this business must involve both of them.
As everyone knows, it is too late for Zuo Mengeng to be happy about the two people's enthusiasm.
After returning yesterday, Zuo Mengeng expected this to happen, so he thought hard all night and planned a big pit to bring in the Pan family and the Qu family.
"Two uncles, no one can do this silk stocking method with the current skills of Songjiang Prefecture."
When he said this, Pan Yunlong and Qu Yin were both unconvinced.
"My dear nephew, don't underestimate the skills of the craftsmen of my Songjiang Prefecture. When it comes to the art of cotton spinning, in the whole world, it is none other than my Songjiang Prefecture."
Qu Yin didn't speak, but kept nodding. It was obvious that he had the same attitude as Pan Yunlong on this point.
Zuo Mengeng said patiently: "Uncle misunderstood. The Songjiang Prefecture craftsmen can't make these stockings. It's not a problem of craftsmanship, but a problem of craftsmanship."
In this era, the division of technology is not so detailed.
Pan Yunlong and Qu Yin couldn't figure out the difference between craftsmanship and craftsmanship for a while, so they had to wait for his explanation.
"This kind of stockings is made by using a special crochet hook to pull the silk thread. This kind of crochet hook requires special means to cast. At present, except for my nephew's Linqing, it cannot be made anywhere else."
Stockings are thin and thin, so the threads must be extremely thin.
Although it is not as good as nylon in later generations, it is still far thinner than the thinnest silk threads today.
There are two issues involved here.
One is how to divide the velvet thread into thinner and more numerous pieces, and the other is how to weave with this thread that is thinner than a human hair.
Although the most powerful craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty could divide many silk threads into one hundred equal parts, there was absolutely no way to thin velvet.
It's not a problem of craftsmanship, but that the human eye can't keep up with the discernment.
Zuozhuang used a microscope to solve this problem.
Under the microscope, the velvet threads were magnified several times and the overall structure became clear, making it easier to refine.
In this way, an ordinary velvet thread can be subdivided into thirty-five finer threads.
Craftsmen say that it can actually be more detailed. However, the current tools cannot be made smaller, which limits further improvement of the process.
Likewise, because the threads are too thin, weaving becomes a big problem.
Ordinary needles cannot be used, they are too thick.
Still using microscopes, Zuozhuang's craftsmen created extremely fine crochet needles with a hole diameter of 20 microns, and the needle tip even reached an astonishing three microns.
Only in this way can the weaving needs of stockings be met.
Such a process is currently only possible in Linqing.
Even if you give a microscope to the best craftsmen in Songjiang Prefecture, they will not be able to make crochet hooks that meet the requirements.
Because the material used in crochet hooks is alloy steel.
Yes, Linqing has already begun testing alloy materials.
Because the crochet hook is too small, it will easily break if the material is not hard enough.
As soon as Zuo Mengeng drew the crochet pattern on the paper, Xu Ji, Pan Yunlong, and Qu Yin smiled helplessly.
They knew that Zuo Mengeng was right, Songjiang Prefecture could not produce such a craft.
But when I think about such a good product as silk stockings, it is really a pity that Songjiang Prefecture cannot produce it and miss a great opportunity to make money.
This is what Zuo Mengeng wants. Only in this way can he have room to intervene.
"In the past few days, my nephew has seen the power of cotton spinning in Songjiang Prefecture, and he knows that if he wants to achieve scale, he can only set up business here. If the two uncles don't give up, how about we run it as a joint venture?"
Pan Yunlong was shocked.
"My nephew is willing to provide such skills?"
He was truly stunned.
In this world, if anyone has any unique skills, it is too late to hide them.
It is the ancestral motto of many families to pass things down from son to daughter, from daughter-in-law to son-in-law.
Everyone knows how much wealth the manufacturing process of silk stockings can bring. To put it bluntly, it is not a problem to create a wealthy family because of this.
How could they know what Zuo Mengeng valued.
"Since we are jointly operating, these skills belong to all of us. If my nephew doesn't use it, and he has no business ability, wouldn't it be shelved and wasted in vain?"
Even so, Pan Yunlong couldn't help but marvel.
"This is the only person I have ever seen in this world who is as broad-minded as a wise nephew."
Qu Yin was afraid of long nights and many dreams, and just wanted to finalize the matter quickly.
"What are the regulations for the partnership my nephew mentioned?"
His eagerness actually helped Zuo Mengeng.
"What my nephew means is that we, who have the money, strength, and land, can jointly build a weaving factory in Songjiang Prefecture. The income from the future will be distributed among each family according to their equity."
Xu Ji thought for a moment and said: "The velvet used in these stockings is not produced in Songjiang Prefecture. If there is no source of goods, I'm afraid things will be in disharmony."
There was only one origin of velvet in the Ming Dynasty, and that was Zhangzhou, Fujian. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that it was introduced to Jiangning Weaving House.
But his worries were not a problem at all with Zuo Mengeng.
"What my father-in-law doesn't know is that Huang Youxuan is from Zhangzhou and is now the prefect of Dongchang. He and my son-in-law share the same goals. My son-in-law has already made an agreement with Zhangzhou about silk, and the annual velvet fair is open to supply us and others."
Seeing that Zuo Mengeng had even solved the problem of raw materials, they no longer had any worries.
"That's good. Count me as the Pan family."
Qu Yin is also nimble.
"The matter of craftsmen and weavers will be left to my Qu family."
As the largest cloth merchant in Loutang Town, the Qu family has more than 100 weavers.
But this amount is really not enough for Zuo Mengeng.
"The factory my nephew wants to build will have a thousand weavers. I also ask my father-in-law and two uncles to recruit talents to join in the great work."
Xu Ji and others were all surprised when they heard that there were actually thousands of weavers in that weaving factory.
There are weaving workshops in Songjiang Prefecture, but the largest ones only have one or two hundred weavers.
To put it bluntly, it is still a primitive handicraft workshop.
But what Zuo Menggen wants to build is a large industrial factory. What he wants is to rely on higher production efficiency, lower production costs, and greater output to crush the handicraft industry of this era.
Stockings are just the beginning.
Once the factory has established a firm foothold, he will definitely enter the traditional cotton spinning industry.
By that time, powerful industrial machines will surely bid farewell to the traditional and primitive handmade textile industry.
Zuo Menggeng’s dream is to let the world feel the power of China’s industrial dumping four hundred years in advance.
But the most important thing right now is to let traditional old people like Xu Ji, Pan Yunlong, and Qu Yin understand what a factory is.
He did not explain himself, but winked at Xu Erjue.
As an on-the-spot witness to the production of Fuyao Group, vegetable companies, agricultural reclamation groups and military factories, I believe Xu Erjue will become a qualified communicator.
