Chapter 158
"I really was right about you, Madam Chen. I came here today to discuss a business deal with Ganzhou. Due to the shortage of cotton supply, I have only allowed cotton seeds from Qingquan County in the past two years. Merchants in Ganzhou County want to import some cotton cloth from us. I wonder if Madam Chen is willing to do so?"
Cotton is cheaper than silk and satin, but its quality and comfort are better than coarse linen. Ordinary people cannot afford expensive fabrics, so cotton is economical and affordable.
Chen Jin knew the benefits of this place after a brief thought. Not to mention that Lin Shuge himself was transferred from Ganzhou County, he was familiar with all the merchants in Ganzhou, and the merchants who negotiated with him must be trustworthy. Besides, her textile workshop is getting bigger and bigger, and it produces more and more fabrics. This year, she has seen several workshops built, all of which produce cotton cloth and cotton clothes. Isn't it a good thing to have another way to sell goods?
Moreover, the cashmere produced in Ganzhou can be sold to the Western Regions, Weijun and Yandu. If this line is established, wouldn’t the cotton cloth produced in my small workshop also be able to be sold to these places?
"Yes, yes, of course I am willing. It is such a good thing that you think of me. I... really don't know how to repay your kindness."
As a woman, she ran a textile workshop and recruited women to work in a high-profile manner. She knew how many people envied her. If it weren't for Lord Lin helping her solve some problems behind the scenes, she wouldn't have been able to be so successful. Today, Lord Lin has given her such a good thing again, how could she not be excited and grateful?
"I chose you because I saw that Madam Chen is a good manager, has good intentions, and is highly praised by everyone. You have earned this with your own abilities."
Chen Jin listened to his words and looked at him silently. Lin Shuge's affirmation made her feel sad. Her eyes suddenly turned red and she immediately turned her back and wiped her tears with a handkerchief.
For the sake of this textile workshop, she worked tirelessly every day, learning whatever was needed and struggling to get to where she is today. Even her brother from her natal family, who had supported her in getting a divorce, became interested when he saw how successful she was now. She knew it all. If I hadn't established a female household early on, I wouldn't know in whose name this family business would be held.
Lin Shuge said, "Since Madam Chen has agreed, I will inform Ganzhou and ask them to come over and discuss it with you in person." He stood up and said goodbye.
"Thank you, sir... I'll see you off." Chen Jin followed.
Outside the house, Chu Xu saw that the two had finished their conversation, and stepped forward and said, "Sir, Sir Wei is here."
Is Zhongxuan here? Lin Shuge was delighted, "Where is he?"
"Of course it's here. My brother asked me to wait for him." Xie Chen's voice came.
Xie Chen walked over and asked, "Brother, have you finished your discussion?"
Lin Shuge nodded, and Chen Jin said, "Meet Sir Wei."
Xie Chen said "hmm" in response, and Lin Shuge said to Chen Jin, "Madam Chen, there is no need to see me off. I will take my leave now."
Chen Jin watched the men ride away on horseback until a woman's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Boss Chen, was that Lord Wei just now?" Yun Qiang also looked at the figure that was getting farther and farther away in the distance.
Chen Jin turned around and looked at the young ladies helplessly, "Madam Yun, you are really..."
"Let's not talk about that. Was it Lord Wei who just came? This is the first time I've seen him. It's true that hearing about him is worse than meeting him in person."
"It's Lord Wei. I've seen him and Lord Lin from afar on the street before. They were the most eye-catching people in the crowd."
"But I feel like the only time Lord Wei is not cold is when he's around Lord Lin."
"That's right, he's been here for an incense stick of time, but he didn't act like he did when he saw Lord Lin just now, as if he had met... his beloved."
"That's no nonsense, but how did you see that?"
"I was late. I bumped into him just as I was entering the door."
Seeing that they were getting more and more outrageous, Chen Jin stopped them and said, "Ladies, if you have finished trying on clothes, please go inside and rest. Lord Lin and Lord Wei have something to visit today. I was not thoughtful enough. But ladies, you must be careful with your words and actions in the future. Some of the things I said in front of you must not be passed to the ears of the two masters."
Chen Jin's words were a bit serious, scaring everyone's faces. She sighed and comforted them, "It's my fault today. To express my apology, the clothes that you ladies tried on today will be sent to your homes. Ah Li, send the ladies back."
After everyone left, Chen Jin rubbed his brows tiredly, "Ali, hire some workers to renovate the garden and separate it from the west. I'll go and apologize to Lord Lin when I'm free."
"Don't worry too much, ma'am. This is not a big deal. I heard that Master Lin was once blocked by a group of young ladies on the street and had flowers thrown at him. It was just a coincidence today."
"It's important to be polite, but is there really such a thing?" Chen Jin asked with some curiosity.
"Yes, there was a lady who threw a gold hairpin at us, and it almost hurt Lord Lin. Lord Lin smiled and returned the hairpin to the lady without saying anything." Ali told Chen Jin what she heard today.
Chen Jin finally laughed out loud. Well, Lord Lin was probably used to it.
When Lin Shuge arrived at the military camp, he heard shouting and laughter inside. It turned out that the soldiers were competing. When they saw Lin Shuge and others coming in, they all stopped and looked over here.
"You guys continue to compete." Xie Chen said loudly.
"Lord Wei, what are they competing for?" Chu Xu suddenly asked, becoming interested.
"This side is for boxing and kicking, that side is for endurance, and that side is for horseback archery." Xie Chen pointed at them one by one and said, "Does Zuowei Chu want to have a competition?"
Chu Xu looked at Lin Shuge, and Lin Shuge smiled and said, "Go ahead. It's a good opportunity for me to see the results of your training during this period of time."
"Yes, sir." Chu Xu said loudly.
Old Zhang had heard the noise here a long time ago. When he heard Lin Shuge and Xie Chen speak, he immediately stepped forward, put his arm around Chu Xu's shoulders and said, "I've heard that Chu Zuowei is quite skilled. Let's have a competition today."
The soldiers in the barracks also took away the runners brought by Lin Shuge. A group of people went over noisily. Xie Chen said, "Let's go, brother. Let's eat first. After we finish eating, we'll go and see."
"Zhongxuan, you've seen both sides' training, who do you think will win?"
Xie Chen shook his head. "The soldiers in the military camp are trained in endurance, weight bearing, and fighting. They don't have the obstacle training that my brother has. I guess they each have their own merits."
"You always try to make me happy." Lin Shuge said with a smile. The county runners lacked actual combat experience with real swords and guns, so they might not lose in terms of boxing skills. However, the soldiers in the barracks had actually been to the battlefield, so their practical combat experience was definitely not as good as those soldiers who had been to the battlefield.
"No, I didn't. Did you encounter anything new when you went out today, brother?" Xie Chen lifted the curtain and asked softly. His expression was not deliberate, as if he was asking what to eat today.
"Does digging potatoes for half a day count?" Lin Shuge looked at him calmly.
There were only the two of them in the room. Xie Chen hugged him in despair. "Brother, you know what I'm talking about. But why didn't you ask me to come over when you wanted to dig potatoes? I promise to dig them quickly and well."
Lin Shuge smiled helplessly and said, "I was discussing something with Madam Chen and I just ran into a few ladies. How did you know?" He raised his hand and pinched his face. "I just picked up a few potatoes for the people. But I dare not trouble Lord Wei, who is so busy with affairs of state, to dig potatoes."
"I heard it while I was waiting for you," Xie Chen straightened his body to let him move, and after Lin Shuge released his hand, he leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth, "In the past six months, the Duwei Mansion and the Xiongnu have been fighting back and forth, and I can only focus on training soldiers. Who knows, I may have to move here too."
"What?" Lin Shuge let go of him. "Did you get the news?"
Xie Chen shook his head and said, "No, it's just speculation. The army has been unlucky since its launch and has not achieved any results so far. If it continues like this, I don't know how much money and food will be spent. There will definitely be another quarrel in Yandu, unless we send several armies to attack like in the previous dynasty, and have spies lead the way. Unfortunately..."
"What a pity?" Lin Shuge felt a little hot in his embrace, so he pushed him away and sat down.
Xie Chen also followed and sat next to him. "It's a pity that the last few battles were all caused by the Xiongnu invading Yan territory. After robbing, they fled into the vast grasslands and we couldn't catch up with them. It would have been better if we took the initiative to attack last year and captured a lot of prisoners, so that we could get the internal information of the Xiongnu."
"Zhongxuan, do you mean that Commander Zhao might send you to be the commander of one of the armies?"
"It's possible, but I guess it's not Captain Zhao," Xie Chen's expression was a little dull, "I got the news that Yandu has long been dissatisfied with the Captain's Mansion spending so much money and resources, and an official recommended me to Emperor Yongyuan." Xie Chen said slowly.
At the beginning of this year, the new emperor changed the reign title to Yongyuan and announced it to the world, thus becoming Emperor Yongyuan.
After all, Xie Chen had the merit of subduing the Qiang people, but he was too young and had no one in the court. Some faction must have taken the opportunity to win him over. Maybe since Xie Chen was able to destroy the Western Qiang, he didn't have to fight the Xiongnu. By then, having an extra general would have been a help.
"Is it Emperor Yongyuan's men?" Lin Shuge guessed.
Xie Chen nodded, "Don't worry, brother. Isn't this what we expected?"
"Sir, the food is here." A voice came from outside the door.
"Let's eat first." Xie Chen took the lunch box from the soldier. The cheers from outside came in. Lin Shuge could also hear Lao Zhang's cheering, mixed with Chu Xu's voice.
"I'm not worried. You have a strong army under your command. There's no military merit to be gained by staying here. Those soldiers also want to meet the Huns, right?" Lin Shuge said, taking the chopsticks from him.
Xie Chen smiled, with a hint of wickedness in his eyes, "What about me? Am I strong?"
Lin Shuge pretended not to understand: "You're just being jealous all day long, what are you trying to be strong for?"
"Then brother will touch it with his own hands tonight..." Xie Chen suggested sincerely, but before he could finish his words, a chopstick of tender green sunflower was stuffed into his mouth.
"Eat your meal well, otherwise people might hear you saying such things." Lin Shuge lowered his head to eat, but his ears turned red.
Xie Chen happily ate the food that Lin Shuge fed him, "Brother, try this sunflower dish too."
Sunflower is fresh and tender, and tastes good even without being fried. It is also cold-resistant and drought-resistant, and can be eaten in every season. It was a vegetable commonly eaten by the ancients.
"Zhongxuan, did you notice anything while you were waiting for me today?"
"I noticed that the group of women all said that my brother is good-looking and talented, and has a bright future and is a perfect match."
Lin Shuge laughed and scolded him, "I'm talking about Madam Chen's business. She has already started private customization, from spinning and weaving to making ready-made clothes. Now she's also doing high-end services. She can make money from ordinary people and rich ladies. She really shouldn't be underestimated."
Xie Chen listened to him saying words he had never heard of before, "Brother is very optimistic about her."
"It's not easy to be a woman in this world. It's rare that she has the fortitude to divorce her husband's family and be able to support herself and start her own business. The most valuable thing is that she has experienced hardships and can still help other women with sympathy. It's really admirable." Lin Shuge said in a deep tone and sighed softly.
"I know, so my brother helped secretly, fearing that someone with ulterior motives might do something bad."
"Didn't you help too? The cotton-padded clothes business in the army, the soldiers who went over to inspect, Zhongxuan, Zhongxuan, you are the one who is hard on the outside but soft on the inside."
"I didn't, I was just helping my brother."
Lin Shuge listened to his stubbornness and said, "Whatever you say is fine. Let's finish eating and go watch the competition. We don't know who will win."
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