Shen Qing found a large and inexpensive factory in the suburbs. Most importantly, the factory also had a small courtyard, which could be used as a school.
She was very satisfied, and then picked another time to take Mr. Han to the site for a walk.
Mr. Han has been teaching her for two months. He is kind and good to the children. What pleases Shen Qing the most is that his ideas are very progressive. Under his guidance, the children will surely succeed.
Therefore, Shen Qing respected Mr. Han very much and entrusted him with all the affairs of the school.
Mr. Han walked around the courtyard and said it was no problem, so Shen Qing immediately decided to rent it.
She quickly signed a lease agreement with the landlord and prepaid the first quarter's rent. At the same time, she was also working on two major things: moving the factory and going to Shanghai to meet Cheng Zhiwen to discuss importing new machinery.
Thinking of Cheng Zhiwen, Shen Qing's heart suddenly clenched.
In the past, Cheng Zhiwen did not have a wife, so she and he could get along naturally, and there was no problem with her even kissing him.
Now that Cheng Zhiwen has a partner, she needs to be more restrained in her interactions with him.
Shen Qing suddenly felt uneasy about going to Shanghai, unlike her usual relaxed trips there.
Fortunately, we don't have to go right now. We have to wait for the Guangzhou customer to deliver 50% of the payment and finalize the factory expansion before we can go to Shanghai to buy new machines.
Some time ago, a merchant sent a telegram to the shopkeeper, saying that he had borrowed silver from the bank and would personally deliver it to Jiangzhou in a few days, and also sign the contract along the way.
The thought of expanding the factory and making the business bigger brought Shen Qing some comfort. The sense of loss she felt because Cheng Zhiwen got married was finally somewhat compensated for.
"Young Madam! Something terrible has happened!" The shopkeeper came running upstairs, panting. His voice preceded his arrival.
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze, stood up, and went out to greet them: "What happened?"
“Guangzhou…Guangzhou merchants…” The shopkeeper clutched his heart with one hand and leaned against the wall with the other, still catching his breath.
Shen Qing quickly invited the man inside and poured him a cup of tea.
She sat down and calmly asked, "Don't rush, what happened to the merchants from Guangzhou? Tell me slowly."
After finishing his cup of tea, the shopkeeper finally caught his breath and said with a drooping brow, "The merchants from Guangzhou have sent another telegram saying they don't want the goods anymore!"
After saying that, he shakily took out a yellowed piece of paper from his sleeve pocket.
Shen Qing opened it and saw that it was indeed a telegram, the contents of which were just as the shopkeeper had said—the customer in Guangzhou said he didn't want the goods anymore, and the 50% prepayment would not be delivered.
Shen Qing's vision went black for a moment. He pressed his hand to his forehead, calmed himself down, and asked, "Did they say why they didn't want the goods?"
The shopkeeper glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Some people outside say that our rayon is made from soybeans, and that it will rot and go bad once it's washed with water because soybeans have a sour smell after they're milled."
Shen Qing was taken aback: "Who said that? Who outside said that?"
The shopkeeper shook his head: "I don't know, it's just that this rumor suddenly appeared."
Shen Qing was so angry that he couldn't sit still. He stood up and paced back and forth in the accounting room.
These rumors are mostly spread by competitors, but the question is—how would competitors know that the raw material for rayon is soybeans?
She had clearly warned the workers repeatedly not to disclose the process of extracting raw materials, firstly to prevent others from imitating and creating competition, and secondly to prevent such rumors from arising.
Shen Qing walked out of the accounting office and stood on the covered bridge, looking down at the female workers who were working.
They were all simple and obedient older women who had changed their families' lives because of this job. She believed they would not spread the things she had explicitly forbidden and would not stand by and watch the factory suffer.
Once the factory closes down, they will never be able to find such work in the area again.
No one would be so foolish as to destroy their own livelihood.
Cheng Zhiwen was also among the first to know that the raw material for rayon was extracted from soybeans.
Shen Qing was absolutely certain that Cheng Zhiwen would never betray her.
Who exactly is it...?
"Young Madam, what should we do now?" the shopkeeper asked with a worried look. "The orders from Guangzhou are gone, then..."
Shen Qing came to her senses.
"We still need to try to secure the orders from Guangzhou. I've already rented a new factory and decided to import new machinery from Shanghai. We can't let the orders just disappear!"
She decided to put the matter of catching the mole aside for now and focus on securing the orders first.
"So the current rumor about rayon is that it will rot and smell bad when it gets wet, right?"
The shopkeeper nodded: "Exactly."
"Here's what you're doing: put two large water vats in front of both shops, and soak the rayon and the foreign cloth in them separately. Let anyone who wants to see if the rayon will rot or smell bad when it gets wet! But the vat where the foreign cloth and rayon are soaked together must be sealed! I'll open it myself!"
The shopkeeper asked curiously, "Why do we need to soak the foreign cloth in water?"
Shen Qing didn't say much, but said seriously, "Just do as I say!"
The shopkeeper accepted the order and hurried back to the shop to make the arrangements.
Shen Qing walked to the covered bridge and looked down, his gaze sweeping over each of the female workers.
If it wasn't Cheng Zhiwen, could it be one of these people...?
Because of this sudden rumor, Shen Qing was unable to obtain funds from Guangzhou merchants, and the factory expansion project was forced to be postponed indefinitely.
However, the presence of two large water vats at the shop entrance attracted the curiosity of the locals, who would come to check whether the rayon soaked in water had rotted or not.
Upon inspection, it was discovered that the rayon did not rot and wilt when it came into contact with water as rumored. On the contrary, after being taken out of the water, the material dried quickly with just a slight breeze.
In the sunlight, the artificial silk is brightly colored and translucent, fluttering lightly in the wind.
Both men and women find the way this fabric flows is incredibly elegant.
Despite the ongoing rumors, a small number of people have already succumbed to the allure of the cheapness, attractiveness, lightness, and quick-drying properties of rayon and have entered stores to inquire about restocking.
Upon seeing this, Shen Qing immediately changed his mind and temporarily withheld all the second batch of goods that were originally intended to be delivered to the store in the warehouse; on the other hand, he asked the factory to work overtime to produce more goods.
It's time for a wave of scarcity marketing.
In these situations, the longer the hunger lasts, the more frantic the stocking becomes when goods are finally put on the shelves.
A month passed in this way. Shen Qing personally sent a telegram to the merchants in Guangzhou, saying that the second batch of rayon had been shipped, all with new patterns, which were even more beautiful than the last batch. Some customers had already placed orders in advance. Although he no longer wanted the goods, he still wanted to send him some of the new patterns to take back to Guangzhou.
But the condition is that he must come in person on the day specified by Shen Qing.
When she sent the telegram, she wasn't really sure what to expect. After all, sending materials that were considered shoddy and worthless by the merchants would not only lack appeal but also seem like sophistry.
But this is the only option she has right now, so she has no choice but to take a gamble!
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