After visiting the front shop, Zhao Hao went to the huge dyeing workshop in the back.

The most eye-catching thing in the dyeing workshop is of course the hundreds of wooden racks more than two meters high. The racks are hung with colorful cloths, like long flags fluttering in the breeze.

Zhao Hao often appears in this scene in movies and TV series, usually either murder or rape, anyway, it is not suitable for children.

Ruan Fan told Zhao Hao that this big rack is called a cloth drying rack, which is used to dry printed and dyed cloth.

Zhao Hao put away his romantic thoughts and walked around the drying rack full of stories. He saw hundreds of large vats neatly placed on the open space. A wooden board was placed on each vat.

Without Ruan Fan's introduction, Zhao Hao knew that this was a dye vat, because he saw workers taking cloth out of the vat and placing it on a board to drain the water.

There is a row of smooth wooden stakes buried behind the vat. The workers put the cloth after draining the water on the stakes. They also insert a short wooden stick into the vat to squeeze out the water. The water on the ground is colorful and eye-catching.

Zhao Hao thought to himself, it’s a good thing there is no Ministry of Environmental Protection, otherwise you would be fined to the point of being unable to take care of yourself.

Only then did he realize that the yard was higher in the middle and lower on both sides, so that no matter the water dripping from the cloth drying rack or the water draining from the dye vats, it would flow into the culverts on both sides of the workshop, so that the entire yard would not be muddy all day long.

After passing this open-air area, we entered the large shed where fire was burning.

Under the shed, there were dozens of stoves with hot water boiling in large pots on them.

The stove shed is also divided into two areas on the left and right.

The pot on the left is boiling water. The shirtless worker carefully puts rolls of white Songjiang cloth into the pot, then stirs it gently with a wooden stick. The pot looks like a huge white peony blooming.

Ruan Fan told Zhao Hao that the cloth must be boiled in clean water before dyeing to remove the starch in the cloth, making it soft and easy to dye, and not fade for a long time. The boiled white cloth must be sent to drain and dry before it can be used again.

Zhao Hao looked at the stove on the right and saw a dyeing master in a long robe and apron, holding a basin and pouring the prepared paint into the pot.

He had seen the big dyeing workshop and knew that the dyeing master could eat white flour steamed buns because he knew the formula of pigments. There were thousands of people in the workshop, and all the steps were known to others. Only the color matching was done by the master behind closed doors.

In order to keep the secret, they would ask their apprentices to put many useless ingredients in the house so that you cannot guess which ingredients he used and how much of each ingredient he used.

After the dye is prepared, some people put the white cloth directly into the pot to boil it, which is called boiling dyeing. But most people wait for the dye liquid to cool down before adding it to the dye vat for immersion dyeing.

After the dyed cloth is dried, it needs to be rinsed two or three times to remove the loose color. In this step, the water used is all done by women.

This was not surprising to Zhao Hao, because since ancient times, the proportion of women working outside the home in the Jiangnan region has been the highest in the country.

After rinsing, there is one final step: rolling the cloth.

This link largely determines the appearance of the dyed cloth. Good rolling can make the originally rough surface of handmade cotton cloth smooth and bright in color, greatly improving the quality.

Wuhu's dyeing industry is the best in the country, and it is inseparable from the local Jingshan Mountain, where the stones produced are cold and smooth, and are the best grinding stone materials. The Wuhu Dyeing Guild even bought two mountains and did not allow outsiders to mine them, which shows the importance of grinding stone raw materials.

After visiting all the processes, it was almost noon.

In fact, Zhao Hao was a complete layman and could not figure out anything. He could only infer that the Ruan family had a good production management system based on the layout of the workshop, the orderly stacking of materials, and the busy but orderly operation of the workers.

As for how to dye cloth, I just watched it for fun. I just knew that there are many tricks involved and each step requires the supervision of experienced craftsmen.

Lunch was eaten at Ruan Bi's house.

After a short rest after dinner, Zhao Hao came out of the guest room to talk to Ruan Bi.

Ruan Bi had already prepared tea and snacks in the small building overlooking the lake, waiting for Master Zhao to arrive.

When Zhao Hao saw that he had sent even Ruan Fan away, he knew that the Duke had something private to say.

"Young master, have a good rest." Ruan Bi smiled and made him some Huangshan Maofeng tea produced in Huizhou.

"How can we not have a good rest in such a beautiful garden?" Zhao Hao laughed.

"You are too kind, sir. I have just cleaned up this place casually. At best, it is comfortable to live in." Ruan Bi said meaningfully: "The fallen leaves will always return to their roots. We Hui merchants have been wandering outside for a lifetime, and we still have to go home when we get old."

"The eldest master is far from retiring. He still has to continue to lead his colleagues in Wuhu." Zhao Hao took a sip of Maofeng tea and found it mellow and sweet, with an orchid-like fragrance and a long-lasting flavor. He couldn't help but feel excited.

"You are joking, young master. Your grandfather has retired for two years. I am the same age as him, so how can I not consider retiring?" Ruan Bi sighed and said, "It's just that I am not as blessed as your grandfather, who had good children and grandchildren and can live a carefree life in the woods without any worries."

Zhao Hao thought to himself, my grandfather has a lot of things to worry about. He stands guard at home every day and is so tired that he has become thin.

However, Ruan Bi had a purpose in saying this, so Zhao Hao did not interrupt him. He just followed his lead and said, "Brother Ruan is smart and capable, and he has studied with the eldest master for so many years. He will definitely be able to help Yongxing."

"No." Ruan Bi waved his hand and sighed, "Although this child is not my own, I have watched him grow up and taught him for more than ten years. I know his abilities best."

"It's no problem for Xiaoer to run Yongxing, and he can even reluctantly lead the Dyeing Guild." Ruan Bi said, looking at Zhao Hao dimly and said, "I also thought he could take over. But now, Wuhu's dyeing industry is facing a catastrophe, and I dare not let go."

"What I see is a thriving scene, how could there be a catastrophic disaster?" Zhao Hao asked.

"Hahaha, young master, don't play dumb." Ruan Bi pointed at Zhao Hao and said with a smile: "The one who can end the pulp and dyeing industry in Wuhu is you, young master."

"I" Zhao Hao pointed at himself, looking confused. Heaven and earth are my conscience, this young master is so kind, how could he be misunderstood like this.

"Haha, I heard that Jiangnan Group has established a textile corporation," Ruan Bi asked with a smile.

"That's right." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "It has a silk company and a cotton spinning company."

"What I want to talk about is that cotton spinning company." Ruan Bi said calmly: "I heard that the general manager is Chairman Weng's son Weng Fan"

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded, thinking that he was quite well-informed.

"How could you not know what Weng Fan is doing in Songjiang?" Ruan Bi asked again.

"All subsidiaries of the group are independently managed and responsible for their own profits and losses." Zhao Hao smiled bitterly and said, "There is no need for him to report everything to the board of directors."

Secretary Ma knew that this was the young master's forgetful line, so he quickly leaned over to his ear and whispered a few words to remind him.

P.S. There is one more update, but it is not finished yet, so I have to wait. It will be the same if I read it tomorrow morning. In addition, my father-in-law has his birthday tomorrow, so I have to take a day off.