Chapter 21

On the outskirts of Ganzhou County.

The weather is very good today, and the sunshine feels warm on my body. We cleared the wasteland a few days ago and have started building a workshop. Some of the workers were carrying wood in pairs, while others were drying earthen bricks, working hard.

Lin Shuge watched the carpenter draw a straight line with an ink fountain. The worker next to him immediately handed him a saw, and in a few strokes he sawed out the suitable beams and columns.

The steward who came over hurriedly said, "Sir, why didn't you say hello when you came here? I hope you will forgive me for my poor hospitality."

He glared at the waiter beside him again, "Why don't you bring a chair over for the county magistrate?"

"It's okay, I just came to check the progress, you don't have to care about it." Lin Shuge stopped him.

"My lord, these workers are very hardworking. None of them are lazy or slacking. They are always thinking about our kindness and say they want to work hard to repay our master." The steward said happily.

"It is because you are kind-hearted and treat them well that you are rewarded with this."

"Yes, I have worked for others before, and I have never seen such good food. If you ask about the progress, I estimate that this place will be completed in a while. If they continue to be so diligent, they can also do the papermaking work here."

"Well, you go and do your thing, I'll go over and take a look." Lin Shuge said.

"Yes, sir, tell me if you have anything else." The steward said with a smile.

"good."

The sun was moving slowly across the sky, approaching overhead. Wang Zhuzi wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued to saw wood with Da Li.

Suddenly I felt a shadow above my head. I looked up and saw a very young man with red lips, white teeth, delicate eyebrows and eyes, dressed in green. He looked like the little god in the portraits I saw when I was a child.

He stared at the little fairy in a daze, and his hands stopped moving.

Until the little fairy spoke, "Where are you from? Are you used to working here?"

Then he reacted and saw that the man was not dressed like an ordinary person, so he should be the young master of the master's family.

"My family lives in Tongzeli. Are you the young master of the master's family?"

Lin Shuge smiled but said nothing.

Seeing his friendly face, Wang Zhuzi said while working: "Of course I am used to it. Here, I get 10 cents a day's wages, and I get a meal. I was so surprised when I saw meat soup noodles on the first day. These days, it's either rice, corn or steamed buns. Almost every meal has meat. It's better than what I eat during the Chinese New Year."

Big Li next to him took up the conversation, "That's right. With the money we earn these days, we can buy a few more pounds of meat to have a good New Year. My Yuanbao is clamoring for candy. The little brat wants candy after only earning a few days' money." There was a smile and doting on his face.

"I just don't know if the master will need people after I finish the work here?" Wang Zhuzi said worriedly. If we work longer before next year's spring plowing, we will have more money on hand.

"Don't worry, there will be survivors." Lin Shuge comforted.

"Are you telling the truth?" Wang Zhuzi asked in surprise.

Just as Lin Shuge was about to speak, he heard someone say, "Sir, why are you here? I am late, and your subordinates neglected you?"

The man had a round face and fair skin, and looked wealthy. It was Qian Wancai. Just now the steward came to report that County Magistrate Lin had arrived, and he was so frightened that he hurried here.

Lin Shuge laughed, "I'll just turn around for a while, why are you making such a fuss?"

"Let's go and take a look at the workshop." I originally wanted to ask the workers something, but looking at the situation, I guess I can't ask them anymore.

Lin Shuge said goodbye to Wang Zhuzi and Da Li, and asked Qian Wancai to lead the way to the papermaking workshop.

It turned out that there was already a group of people making paper, using skilled craftsmen, but due to lack of space, they had reclaimed wasteland on the outskirts of the city.

Seeing Qian Wancai being so respectful to the young man, Wang Zhuzi stammered, "Brother Li, did I say anything wrong just now?" Judging from the host's attitude towards the man just now, he couldn't be a big shot.

"Stupid, didn't you hear the master calling you sir?" Big Li scolded, "But we didn't say anything."

The manager who had been silent all this time snorted coldly: "That's the county magistrate, stop talking and work hard."

Looking at Wang Zhuzi and Da Li with dull eyes, the manager strolled away leisurely.

Oh my God, I have met the real Buddha. He is the county magistrate, how can he be so young?

Wang Zhuzi and Da Li looked at each other and kept their thoughts to themselves.

Lin Shuge followed Qian Wancai to the papermaking workshop. This time he learned his lesson and did not let Qian Wancai follow him.

After entering, I saw a group of people washing pulp, which is a step in papermaking. The cut raw materials need to be washed to remove impurity fibers.

The water in winter was icy cold, and the women's hands were red from the cold, but they still scrubbed the pulp very skillfully.

Lin Shuge looked at it for a long time. It would be great if there were rubber gloves, but natural rubber is mostly produced in Southeast Asia, and it is not known whether there are any in this time and space. It is quite difficult to deal with.

The woman washing clothes did notice him. After all, only a blind man could not see such a handsome young man. If it were spring, the young woman would have thrown the flower handkerchief in her hand over to him long ago.

Several women, who thought they had seen a lot of things, took the initiative to talk to him, "Young man, are you looking for someone?" Judging from the young man's temperament and clothes, he would not be here to work, right?

"Ladies, I'm here to see your steward. I heard that your master has already made a batch of paper. I'm here to do business with them."

After saying this, Lin Shuge found himself funny. It turned out that when one goes out, one gives oneself an identity.

"The manager didn't come today because he had something to do, so you made a wasted trip." A woman said enthusiastically.

"Oh, I see. It's my fault for not finding out the manager's schedule. Looks like we can't do business today." Lin Shuge said regretfully.

He looked innocent, and with that tone, the ladies could not bear it. "Why not tell us? We'll tell the steward when he comes back."

"Thank you very much, ladies." Lin Shuge smiled at them, like a newly blooming spring bud, making the ladies blush.

Lin Shuge pretended that he was from another place and heard that Ganzhou had produced new paper, so he planned to buy a batch and sell it in his hometown. After a few conversations, we found that we were getting along quite well.

The women also talked about their worries. "I heard that we can come here to work thanks to the county magistrate. It was he who asked the master to hire us. Otherwise, how could we earn so much money?"

"In the paper mill, I can earn 20 yuan a day. Although it's cold, we are all washing clothes for our families in the winter. We are also cold. It's better to go out and earn money."

Several women complained.

"That's right. Besides, we can earn money now, so we can stand tall in my husband's family."

"Let's figure it out. There are many women in our village who are more skillful than me, but because they have elderly parents and young children to take care of, they simply can't spare the time to work.

The women talked at once, telling about the difficulties of being a woman.

Lin Shuge listened and thought to himself, what kind of work is suitable for women to do at home?

A woman said: "My neighbor Li is very skillful. She is the best at sewing. No one in the village dares to say she is second. She can weave faster than others and earn more money. But she has to endure the anger of her mother-in-law who thinks she can't have children."

When the women heard this, they all sighed.

Weaving?

Lin Shuge secretly clenched his fists. This is the northwest, what is the most? Of course it was sheep. He ate more sheep than pork during his time traveling.

Where there are sheep, there is cashmere. In later generations, Lanzhou was rich in cashmere and was famous throughout the country. It was called Lanrong. The soft and delicate cashmere could be made into cashmere brown, or twisted into yarn to be woven into various clothes. In Lin Shuge's era, who had not worn a sweater and scarf knitted by their mother? Although the turtleneck sweater knitted by his mother was very prickly around the neck, it was indeed warm. Gloves can also be knitted, and although they are not as warm as rubber gloves, they can also keep you warm.

When he was a child, he saw his mother working in a carpet factory. Yes, poor quality felt can be made into carpets, and better quality felt can be made into fleece clothes.

It's really dark under the lamp.

Lin Shuge was lost in thought and didn't notice that several women had turned the topic to him. One of them boldly asked, "Is the young master married?"

Lin Shuge was confused as to why the topic suddenly came to this.

In modern times, he has been single since birth until he is about to graduate from his master's program. He can only say nonsense: "I am not married yet, but my family has arranged a fiancée for me a long time ago. She is very beautiful, but she likes to stick to me and is particularly jealous."

A woman smiled and said, "That's because she likes you, otherwise she wouldn't bother to care about you. You are so lucky, young man."

Lin Shuge's mouth twitched. It seems that he should tell less nonsense.

"Ladies, I have a business deal. Are you interested?"

"What business?"

"Ladies, you are very good at work. You can definitely do the business I'm talking about, but you must teach other women in the neighborhood."

The women looked at each other, but neither asked why.

Lin Shuge taught them the method, then stood up and walked over to tell Qian Wancai, who had been peeking around, to bring some silk thread and a thick needle.

Qian Wancai was very confused after hearing this and asked his subordinates to get it.

After receiving it, Lin Shuge demonstrated the weaving method to the woman, "I will notify you to come and get the wool yarn in a few days, and I will pay you by the piece after you finish weaving."

The clever women learned needlework immediately, which was really great because they didn’t have to travel far to work and could do it while sitting at home and chatting.

A woman understood what Lin Shuge meant and asked excitedly, "Do you want those women who can't go out to work to earn money at home?"

"Yes." Lin Shuge did not hide it.

"I'm Li, thank you very much, sir." As soon as she saw the master Qian Wancai had been looking at her secretly and didn't dare to come over, she knew that this young man was not the foreign businessman he said. Considering his age and temperament, he was most likely the legendary County Magistrate Lin.

Li Wan looked at him steadily, "I wonder what else we can do for you, sir?"

"Try to spread the news as much as possible. The more people who know, the better." Lin Shuge saw that she had guessed his identity, but wisely did not say it.

"Okay, I understand."

"I am sorry to bother you all today. I will take my leave now."

The other women were frightened by his and Li Wan's actions and did not dare to speak for a moment. After Lin Shuge turned around and left, they asked Li Wan, "Wan Niang, you just called him Sir? He is...?"

Li Wan watched Lin Shuge walk out of the courtyard gate. Qian Wancai, who was waiting outside, immediately followed him, but was too respectful to dare walk in front of him.

"Mr. County Magistrate, he is County Magistrate Lin."

The woman exclaimed in surprise, it turned out to be County Magistrate Lin. Oh, we talked with County Magistrate Lin for a long time today. We were all excited and nervous. We even had the nerve to act as matchmakers for him, after all, he was such a handsome young man.

Lin Shuge didn't know what the ladies were thinking. He just wanted to find Zhou Du. The Zhou family seemed to be in the silk business, so they must be very interested in this.