Shen Qing decided to return to the Gao family.
Right now, only the Gao family can make it convenient for her to continue making rayon.
Although Cheng Zhiwen secretly protected her, she had no reason to rely on him. In other words, rather than relying on someone, it was better to become strong on her own.
The rayon business that brought her wealth was her source of confidence and support; although the Gao family had fallen from grace, they were still legitimate, which brought her reputation and support.
However, she would not easily return to the Gao family just because Gao Liushi asked her; she needed to see Gao Liushi's sincerity.
Gao Liushi cared most about her reputation her whole life and never stooped to borrowing money from relatives. Only if Gao Liushi was willing to give up what she cared about most for her would she return to the Gao family.
She asked Gao Liu to find a way to raise 50,000 taels of silver for her business.
Madam Gao readily agreed, and within two days, she retrieved the silver notes she had returned when she left the Gao family.
Shen Qing went to the inn to say goodbye to Cheng Zhiwen.
Cheng Zhiwen was puzzled by her decision to return to the Gao family: "The Gao family wasn't truly good to you, so why do you want to go back?"
Shen Qing smiled indifferently: "It's a relationship of mutual exploitation. I don't care whether they are sincere to me or not."
Cheng Zhiwen invited again, "If you want to do business, you can come to Shanghai with me."
Shen Qing lowered her eyes and shook her head: "Even if I go to Shanghai, I will still have to face the same problems."
It's easy to imagine the troubles a young, single woman like her would encounter in that open and bustling metropolis.
So she preferred to stay in Jiangzhou, a small place, quietly make a fortune, and live a peaceful life.
Perhaps seeing her resolute attitude, Cheng Zhiwen did not try to persuade her further.
He invited her to Shanghai three times, but she refused each time, so he knew that she wanted to stay.
He respected her decision, but he didn't forget to plan for her future.
"I will soon be leaving Jiangzhou for Shanghai. I will leave Lao Xu in Jiangzhou. Whenever you need to travel, you can ask Lao Xu to take you there. As for Brother Zhenheng, I have also spoken to him and asked him to take good care of you in Jiangzhou. If you need anything, you can go directly to the prefect's office to find him."
After saying that, he reached into his suit jacket pocket, took out a stack of banknotes, and stuffed them into Shen Qing's hand.
The man's hands were dry and warm. Touching Shen Qing's hands, the warmth seeped through his skin, into his blood, and warmed his heart.
Shen Qing looked down at the thick stack of silver notes.
"There are 100,000 taels here, enough for you to do rayon business. If you need any raw materials in the future, just send me a telegram and I will help you import them and transport them to Jiangzhou."
Shen Qing was a little touched, but still stuffed the silver notes back into his hand: "I have enough money, I don't need these."
She took a step back, looking at him with clear eyes: "What you want to know, I will definitely tell you when the day rayon is on the market."
Cheng Zhiwen looked at her, a glimmer of light in her eyes: "At that time, I will definitely return to Jiangzhou to support you."
...
Shen Qing sent Chunju to buy several maids and servants to return to the Gao family. After renovating the Gao family and getting their lives back on track, he continued to go to the silk weaving workshop to extract chemical reagents.
Although all the reagents extracted last time were burned in the explosion, fortunately the raw materials and tools brought by Cheng Zhiwen were not damaged. In addition, Shen Qing had memorized the extraction method and quickly extracted all the reagents.
Thanks to her tireless efforts, the first piece of rayon was finally made.
She held up the freshly dried, beige fabric, her emotions a complex mix.
She almost died because of this piece of fabric.
Chunju stroked the soft, silk-like fabric and exclaimed excitedly, "Young Madam, it's truly amazing! You can make silk without using a single piece of raw silk!"
Shen Qing smiled and corrected, "This isn't silk, it's rayon."
"But it looks exactly like silk!"
Shen Qing looked at the light and soft fabric covering his hands with satisfaction and smiled, "It's about time to buy machines and hire workers."
She made several more sheets of rayon and took them to Suzhou for dyeing.
On the way there, she was worried that the fabric wouldn't be colored, but the process and the result went very smoothly.
Rayon absorbs dyes better than natural silk and does not fade even after repeated washing.
Shen Qing took the samples to Shanghai with satisfaction to discuss the import of looms with Cheng Zhiwen.
It's the same hotel and the same room as last time.
Cheng Zhiwen was also shocked when she saw the fabric, which was indistinguishable from real silk.
He truly hadn't expected that such a low cost could produce a material indistinguishable from real silk.
He looked at Shen Qing with a complicated expression, unable to articulate his feelings, as if there were other emotions besides shock.
Shen Qing didn't notice the change in his mood and asked happily, "It's going better than I expected. I plan to buy ten looms first. Each loom can weave ten bolts a day, so that's three thousand bolts a month."
He snapped out of his reverie and nodded: "Okay, I'll definitely help you choose the best loom."
Shen Qing clasped his hands together and said to him, "Thank you for your strong support, Boss Cheng."
He withdrew his hand and asked seriously, "How much money would ten looms cost? I need to check if my budget is enough. If not, I'll buy fewer."
Cheng Zhiwen paused for a moment before saying, "No more than thirty thousand taels."
Shen Qing patted his chest: "That's enough, that's enough."
Cheng Zhiwen's gaze followed her hand to her chest.
Suddenly feeling hot all over, he swallowed hard and asked awkwardly, "Is the old ailment alright?"
Shen Qing smiled: "It's all healed, except for a crescent-shaped scar."
Cheng Zhiwen hummed in agreement and said no more.
Shen Qing stood up and said goodbye to him: "I'm going back to Jiangzhou first thing tomorrow morning. Will the loom be transported to Jiangzhou for me then?"
"Yes, you can rest assured."
Shen Qing was satisfied and turned to leave.
Suddenly he stopped and stood behind the door.
This place... is the place where Cheng Zhiwen threatened to arrest her and report her to the authorities, and where she forcibly kissed him...
After that, he followed her to Jiangzhou, monitored her, unintentionally became involved in the extraction of rayon, and even saved her in the explosion, took care of her when she was injured, and saw her body.
He stopped mentioning reporting to the authorities and the original owner of the body, and treated her better and better.
Thinking of all this, Shen Qing's face immediately burned, and she hurriedly left the room.
She returned to her room, her heart still pounding.
Looking back on the past few days, from disliking each other to working together seamlessly with Cheng Zhiwen, she felt like she was dreaming.
Not long ago, they were at each other's throats.
She resented him for breaking off the engagement and betraying the original body; he regarded her as the bad person who hid the original body, and his eyes were filled with scrutiny and indifference when he looked at her.
But now, he not only helps and protects her on many occasions, but also treats her with great tenderness.
Shen Qing didn't understand why things had turned out this way, but she felt at peace.
The next day, she returned to Jiangzhou early in the morning and organized the maids and servants of the Gao family to go to the silk weaving workshop to clean and tidy it up.
We need to make room for ten looms.
During this month-long period, in addition to continuing to extract chemical reagents, she also had to recruit workers.
Ten looms require ten workers to operate, and several more workers are needed to perform tasks such as soybean fiber extraction, washing, desulfurization, and drying.
Shen Qing plans to recruit ten workers to perform the initial extraction of raw materials.
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