The second master, Han Zhongwen, was quite suspicious and fearful, not knowing whether it was a blessing or a curse.
The official lady smiled and said: "Master Han, please don't be afraid. Yesterday, Eunuch Liu saw velvet embroidery on the cleansing handkerchief in the post house. When he asked, he found out that it was purchased from Han Mansion. Magistrate Zhuang specially reported to Eunuch , there was a self-combing girl from Fujian in the Han Dynasty. She brought the skills of Zhang velvet and mixed it with our Songjiang cotton. Well, after mixing it up like this, a good handkerchief came out. My father-in-law asked, how did it happen? , Magistrate Zhuang said, then we have to ask Miss Zheng to talk about it. Master, you see, Mr. Futai is determined to give Han a good chance to show his face. "
When Han Zhongwen heard this, his hanging heart immediately fell back into his stomach, and he hurriedly asked the housekeeper Lao Peng to seal a coin of silver for the official.
After the official left, Han Zhongwen urged Lao Peng to go to the Han family's weaving workshop to clean and prepare, and explained various rules to the weavers. At the same time, he asked Han Ximeng and Zheng Haizhu to select a dozen masterpieces of female red and bring them to the weaving workshop.
Zheng Haizhu certainly understood why Mr. Han was so nervous and excited.
Suzhou Weaving Supervisor Eunuch was a senior internal official responsible for managing tens of thousands of looms in Jiangnan.
Not only Suzhou Prefecture, but also Yangzhou, Runzhou (now Zhenjiang), Songjiang, Jiaxing, and any state capital with a developed textile industry, the admiral and eunuch could use the name of the emperor to allocate weaving shares and designate weaving workshops as royal suppliers to satisfy the palace. Clothes, bedding and court ceremonial clothes.
At the same time, the additional woven products could be sold to foreign merchants, in exchange for a large amount of silver, which would enter the emperor's inner treasury for the emperor's expenses.
More importantly, because the admiral eunuchs could travel around the south of the Yangtze River, they often acted as the emperor's eyes and ears just like the tax supervisors, secretly monitoring the performance of officials in various places, inspecting local finance and taxation, and even the ideological trends of literati.
Therefore, the actual status of Eunuch Liu is no less than that of a third-rank official in the outer dynasty.
…
At noon, the Han family's weaving workshop was well taken care of. A variety of exquisite snacks and seasonal fruits were sold on the red sandalwood Eight Immortals table carried by a horse-drawn carriage from the mansion. Mountain spring water was placed on the furnace beside it, ready to serve Eunuch Liu who was visiting. Cook tea.
As soon as the hour passed, Lao Peng trotted in the door: "Come on, come on, Eunuch Liu is here, he will be there in a hundred steps."
Han Zhongwen was stunned: "Huh? Why didn't you hear anything?"
Lao Peng said: "Yes, I thought that a big sedan was supposed to arrive, but it turned out that there was only an inconspicuous blue cloth sedan, and there was no government official accompanying it. If it hadn't been for the people accompanying the sedan, Two of them were wearing business clothes, and I didn’t even think of asking them.”
Then he glanced at Zheng Haizhu and added: "Sir, what's even more surprising is that the young master of the Sichuan Army, General Ma, is also here, greeting me kindly."
Ma Xianglin?
Han Zhongwen and Zheng Haizhu were even more surprised.
But Han Zhongwen had no time to say anything more. He hurriedly greeted the weavers to file out and knelt down at the door of the weaving workshop.
Although he is not an official, his understanding of the rules of the officialdom has kept pace with the times.
In the past, military generals knelt down to civil servants, but now all the people knelt down to eunuchs. As for myself, a businessman who abandoned literature and was able to gain the title of Juren, he should act according to the circumstances and kneel when he should. Don't pretend to be a proud and proud master of Juren.
Behind him, Zheng Haizhu knelt among the weavers, looking at a dozen feet wearing official boots from far to near. However, the top of the pair of boots was not a brocade robe.
…
Eunuch Liu Shimin is in his thirties, wearing a dark blue Yexie cotton jacket, a mesh cap, and a white rectangular face with a calm expression.
Before the man came near, he raised his right hand to stop Han Zhongwen: "Our family has always been taught by the Holy Father and respects scholars the most. Han Gong is a famous official in the Song Dynasty, and he is a high-ranking official. It is too late for our family to admire him. How can we accept this rashly?" present."
After saying that, he raised his voice towards the black head behind Han Zhongwen, and said in a friendly and friendly tone: "Everyone, please hurry up! It can be seen that your master is very strict. I give you an order, don't you dare move. Stop kneeling and go back to the front of the loom. We'll come and see your unique skills later."
Han Zhongwen winked at Lao Peng, and Lao Peng shouted with a smile on his face: "My father-in-law feels sorry for you, why don't you get up and thank me!"
The weavers slowly got up, and the leading middle-aged male workers, who were more experienced, bowed to Liu Shimin and bowed repeatedly. Like obedient sheep, everyone retreated to the machine room deep in the yard.
Liu Shimin walked up to Zheng Haizhu, with the corners of his mouth curved and a smile clearly flowing from the end of his eyes, but the gaze he shot towards him was as sharp as a torch.
"Are you Miss Zheng? Come on, what do you think of our Songjiang cotton robe? General Xiaoma persuaded me to buy it, haha." Liu Shimin pointed to Ma Xianglin beside him in a gentle voice.
Ma Xianglin was also smiling, but his eyes were completely different from Liu Shimin's.
His joy was appropriately blended into his calm demeanor. In the eyes of everyone around him, this was a kind and gentle treatment like that of a noble person and a virtuous corporal.
Only Zheng Haizhu, who had fought side by side with him on that night of suppressing bandits, could capture the warmth of reunion in Ma Xianglin's eyes.
After several months of separation, it seemed like we were only apart for a few days, and there was no awkwardness in seeing each other again.
What surprised Zheng Haizhu even more was that the rhombus reed cloth Ma Xianglin was wearing was exactly what she had given to the Sichuan Army brothers as regular uniforms on behalf of the Han government.
Ma Xianglin read the understanding in the woman's eyes, but he was not so narrow-minded as to enjoy such a moment.
He remembered that this loyal servant of the Han family had tried his best to stop his business.
He had to help her.
Ma Xianglin then put on a lively chatter and said cheerfully: "It is better to have fun alone than with others. Songjiang's cotton reached such a high level in our Ming Dynasty, just like firearms that shined in our Ming army. So this time I was in Runzhou for military training. I heard that Eunuch Liu was coming to Songjiang, so I turned over and visited my old place again. I told Eunuch Liu about the wonders of Songjiang cotton. The good things in Jiangnan are not only brocade ramie, and Songjiang’s cotton is not just the only good thing. Can I make diapers for the princes and princesses? Unexpectedly, when I met Eunuch Liu today, he suddenly mentioned that the face towels in the guest house were provided by the Han family weaving workshop, so I told Magistrate Zhuang that if I don’t bother him, I will give them to Eunuch Liu in the future. Just be a guide.”
Liu Shimin took the conversation and waved his hand: "No, at this time of year, the local government is extremely busy. Let Lao Zhuang keep an eye on the business he is doing. The most important thing is to be able to deliver errands to the Ministry of Revenue. There is Xianglin. We feel more relaxed when we are with you."
"Ah, my humble skills can win the favor of my father-in-law and the general. The whole government is frightened and frightened." After Han Zhongwen gave a basket of warm and flattering words, he called Zheng Haizhu and said, "Azhu, you are the first weaver in our family this year. Sir, please lead my father-in-law in quickly and let him give me some advice."
Han Zhongwen is such an old man, Ma Xianglin and Eunuch Liu seem to have a good personal relationship, and his maid and Ma Xianglin are definitely not related to each other. In this case, his half-old man, the head of the family, must be generous and understanding, and push Zheng Haizhu to the front to socialize.
