Chapter 630: Shanghai is Shanghai, Pudong is Pudong

Power is always only responsible to the source of power. As for the Songjiang Governor Shen Shen Shixing and Shanghai Magistrate Yao Xu Guangqi, their source of power was never the local gentry or powerful clans, but the imperial court. Therefore, when Shen Shen Shixing and Yao Xu Guangqi, these "men of the heavens," did things, they only took responsibility for the imperial court's decrees.

During the Yongle reign, the system of touring the world with the Minister of Rites, Hu Ying, as the head began to be established. Of course, there were always people saying that Hu Ying was looking everywhere for the Jianwen Emperor, Zhu Zhu Yunwen. As a loser who couldn't even defeat Zhu Di while on the throne, why would Zhu Di care about him?

During the Yongle era, 26 people, including Minister Wang Jian Yi, were "Governors of the World." Their purpose was only one: to patrol the world and pacify the military and civilians.

During the Hongxi era, the governorship was primarily task-oriented, such as patrolling salt, patrolling rivers, patrolling passes, etc. They were dismissed upon completion of the task and were temporary dispatches, not permanent positions.

By the third year of Emperor Jingtai, the regulations for the governorship were finally fully established. Since then, the Governor, as a patrolling official of the rank of Vice Minister or Vice Censor-in-Chief patrolling the world, became an extremely important tool for the imperial court and local areas to play games on the political stage of the Great Ming.

Shen Shen Shixing hanging Yuan Shen on the long poles to parade him through the streets was, on one hand, to complete the imperial court's decree and explore the possibility of a collective ownership economy. On the other hand, it was a warning—a warning to the powerful clans in Songjiang Prefecture, the Southern Metropolitan area, and Jiangnan that this was the result of not paying attention to labor-capital contradictions. When craftsmen make trouble over wages, the imperial court's stance is very clear: stability comes first.

The process of parading through the streets was entirely the responsibility of Chen Tiande. Chen Tiande took a few Southern Yamen runners and hung Yuan Shen, parading him through Shanghai three times before he felt satisfied enough to let him down. Shen Shen Shixing and Yao Xu Guangqi followed the whole way, talking as they walked.

"It's decided, we'll continue parading him tomorrow!" Chen Tiande said quite excitedly. This Chen Tiande, who had lost his worldly desires, originally had only one ambition in life: to exterminate the Japanese pirates. Now he had one more: hanging these powerful clans who bullied the good and parading them through the streets.

"If you want to parade him, then parade him. Before the imperial court takes the prisoner away, you can still parade him for five or six more days." Shen Shen Shixing agreed with Chen Tiande's idea after a little deliberation. The effect of parading through the streets was quite good, because Shen Shen Shixing saw the reaction of the common people with his own eyes. There were no eggs or vegetable leaves thrown; most of the common people just spat fiercely and cursed a few times.

In Shen Shen Shixing's eyes, this represented a decrease in the accumulated grievances in the hearts of the common people. This was a good thing.

"Got it!" Chen Tiande took a group of Southern Yamen runners and found a lot of old wood from the Shanghai County Southern Yamen's warehouse, preparing to make a cart for parading through the streets to facilitate the upcoming activities. This cart was made extremely sturdy—who knew if it would be needed again in the future?

"The Emperor once defined the standard for a commodity economy, which is the establishment of large-scale free employment relations. Now it seems the Emperor's standard is extremely reasonable. Songjiang Prefecture is just one step away." Shen Shen Shixing arrived at the West Flower Hall. Outside the West Flower Hall was a back garden of less than two mu. In Shanghai County, where every inch of land was worth an inch of gold, this two-mu back garden was already extremely luxurious.

"Initially, the Emperor clearly proposed that within twenty years after opening the seas, Songjiang Prefecture should transform from a closed small-peasant economy and small-workshop economy into a commodity economy. Now it seems that the goal the Emperor set back then was too conservative. After the notarization of employment contracts and the determination of a collective ownership economy, Songjiang Prefecture will complete this goal five or six years ahead of schedule." Yao Xu Guangqi said with a self-deprecating smile after finishing.

He knew this standard very well. When the Emperor proposed the commodity economy, he gave very clear standards.

At that time, he was still in the capital competing with Wang Qian. He scoffed at all of the Emperor's propositions—the Theory of Contradictions, the Theory of Public and Private, the Production Illustrations, the Class Theory, the Commodity Economy, etc. At that time, Yao Xu Guangqi was still the famous "Young Master Yao" of the capital, surrounded by a group of fox friends and dog companions, known as the "Xicheng Youths."

Now, Yao Xu Guangqi only felt that he had been somewhat naive back then. Of course, if he could do it all over again, he was afraid he would still make the same choice.

Large-scale, free, employment relations—these are the three conditions. First, it must be scaled up; the production relations of tenant farmers and landlords with strong personal attachment must be dissolved. Only when over eighty percent of the relations are relatively equal employment relations can it be considered large-scale. Freedom means not only that the powerful can freely employ producers, but also that producers can choose the powerful; producers are free people.

Employment relations are a relatively equal production relation.

Relatively equal, not completely equal, because employers possess stronger power. Therefore, in order to maintain balance, the imperial court must act as a backer for the impoverished laborers and provide support. But this is still not equal, yet compared to before, it is progress.

"The Emperor is a bit conservative." Shen Shen Shixing revealed a smile. He still remembered that in the first month of the first year of Emperor Wanli, after the assassination attempt on the Emperor, the Emperor had bumped his head and had a lump on it. At that time, the Emperor was truly walking on thin ice. It was also from then on that the Great Ming Emperor finally realized clearly: no one's promise to you counts; only the things you can decide for yourself count.

For so many years, the Emperor has truly been very hard-working.

"Is the Emperor truly as... frugal as the rumors say?" Yao Xu Guangqi had only seen the Emperor once, and he was very curious about this matter. In Shanghai, he had seen endless luxury, but the Emperor, as the supreme being of the human world, maintained the noble virtue of frugality, which was truly mind-boggling.

Shen Shen Shixing frowned and said, "This is not a rumor. Even Grand Censor Hai advised the Emperor to be slightly more extravagant. The Emperor's... frugality is something even Grand Censor Hai cannot bear to look at. After all, it concerns the dignity of the Celestial Empire."

"This spring, the Directorate of Imperial Apparel requested permission to weave more imperial robes. The Emperor refused, saying that the Master once said: 'If there is a system for taking and moderation in using, then there will be abundance.' He said he could still use the imperial robes woven when he was eighteen, and they were not to be woven."

"The Senior Grand Secretary, the Junior Grand Secretary, and Grand Censor Hai jointly submitted a memorial saying that the imperial robes woven when he was eighteen were already too small."

The Great Ming Emperor did not wear purple but wore blue, because blue dye was cheap. In the end, even Empress Dowager Li asked the Cabinet why they were so harsh on the Emperor, causing Zhang Zhang Juzheng to submit a memorial of apology. But this matter ultimately ended because the Emperor insisted on wearing blue.

The reason for re-weaving was because the Emperor had grown stronger, and his height had increased by a few inches, requiring another one to be woven.

"This is an imperial robe, after all." Yao Xu Guangqi said blankly. This was the ceremonial dress for the Emperor to meet foreign ministers, envoys from vassal states, and for grand ceremonies. Even this had to be frugal—something Yao Xu Guangqi had never imagined.

Shen Shen Shixing frowned and asked, "I recently heard a matter, saying that some people in Shanghai County are complaining that Shanghai is becoming more and more like the interior. All the clerks in the government offices are 'country bumpkins.' No matter what they are doing or buying, they have to speak the official language."

Yao Xu Guangqi said with an extremely embarrassed face, "It is indeed true. I, Yao Xu Guangqi, am that 'country bumpkin.' They are cursing me, and they are also cursing the clerks, Southern Yamen runners, and the refugees flowing into Shanghai in the county Southern Yamen."

Even Yao Xu Guangqi had been cursed by these locals as a "country bumpkin," "reed stick," and "pig." Yao Xu Guangqi had heard it with his own ears. It was a local clerk, chatting with another local clerk, mocking the scar on Yao Xu Guangqi's face.

Yao Xu Guangqi didn't make things too difficult for the two clerks; he just had them leave the county hall.

Yao Xu Guangqi curled his lips and said, "The Emperor is wise and his thoughts are far-reaching. Seeing that the Japanese pirate trouble was gradually stopping, and that maritime trade was profitable enough to supplement national expenses, he established the Songjiang Maritime Trade Office to oversee maritime trade matters. He gradually abolished the maritime ban policy, used the 'Military Pay Office' to manage military pay, and changed the 'tally' to 'ship permits.' Since then, trade has flourished. Songjiang Prefecture relies on the Great River and connects to nine provinces. For a time, merchants from all over the world gathered, and sails covered the sky and blocked the sun. After several years, silver flowed in, and there was endless prosperity."

"People at the time were proud of the prosperity as if it were normal, but they didn't think about the source of the clear spring."

As "Young Master Yao," if he weren't wearing this official uniform, he would have had to have a good talk with this group of locals. But precisely because of this official uniform, he, Yao Xu Guangqi, couldn't do anything. He had to pay attention to the influence. If he made a mistake here, Wang Wang Chonggu would be implicated.

"In this case, from now on, when Songjiang Prefecture hires clerks and Southern Yamen runners, they are absolutely not allowed to be hired locally." After learning about this situation, Shen Shen Shixing clearly stated this unwritten rule, which was now becoming a written one.

This was not because the locals were impolite, but out of consideration for the game between the imperial court and the local area.

If locals had money and power, and then mastered power through controlling clerks, then Songjiang Prefecture would not be the Songjiang Prefecture of the Great Ming, but the Songjiang Prefecture of the powerful clans.

"It should be so." Yao Xu Guangqi agreed with this local decree. To ensure the centripetal force of Songjiang Prefecture, not only did the imperial court need to work hard, but the local area also needed to work together.

"The imperial court has approved the construction of the high-speed road in the four counties of Xu Huating, Qingpu, Shanghai, and Pudong." Shen Shen Shixing told Yao Xu Guangqi a piece of good news.

The completion of a high-speed road would have a precious promotional effect on the economy of Songjiang Prefecture.

Admittedly, Songjiang Prefecture had many waterways, but not all goods needed to be transported by water. Governors from all over the Great Ming were submitting memorials to the imperial court requesting permission to build high-speed roads. After all, with the great construction, everyone could get rich together. But it had never been approved, and Songjiang Prefecture was the first place to receive approval.

This was also the first high-speed road hosted and built by a local Southern Yamen.

"Building a high-speed road is beneficial to the country and the people, but this matter is difficult to handle." Yao Xu Guangqi frowned and said, "The imperial court can build high-speed roads because the imperial court has 100,000 elite troops in the capital."

"Songjiang Prefecture has 100,000 naval troops!" Shen Shen Shixing stood up and said, "If it's difficult, we won't do it? No matter how difficult it is, we must handle it. No matter what, we must build it."

Shen Shen Shixing naturally understood the difficulty of building a high-speed road, but he still wanted to do it. He had to have a result he could show when entering the Cabinet, to prevent being accused of advancement through nepotism.

"The first difficulty is persuading the Qingpu County Magistrate, Xu Xu Bingzheng, from the Zhe Party. He is a man of the Minister of Works, Wang Daokun." Although Yao Xu Guangqi didn't mention himself, Shen Shen Shixing also had to persuade him, Yao Xu Guangqi, who was a man of the Jin Party.

The high-speed road was the territory of the Jin Party and the Zhe Party. Wang Wang Chonggu was the General Manager of the Government Workshops, and Wang Daokun led the Ministry of Works, responsible for the construction of the high-speed road. The benefits in this area had long been divided up completely. The power of the Zhang Dang was mainly concentrated in officialdom and administration. Without a doubt, this construction of the high-speed road in Songjiang Prefecture was the Zhang Dang reaching out to the high-speed road and the government workshop group construction.

As the Jin Party and the Zhe Party, if they didn't get enough benefits, they were afraid they wouldn't let it go easily. From the imperial court to the public opinion among the people, they would all teach Shen Shen Shixing a lesson.

Even if Shen Shen Shixing was a "man of the heavens," appointed by the Emperor, and sent to Songjiang Prefecture to be gilded, he would still face heavy resistance.

One must know that whenever there is great construction, it is a feast of spoils. Even if there is no embezzlement, the sub-contracted work orders would be enough to make people eat until they hiccup.

"If they don't agree, I'll go find the Master." Shen Shen Shixing said quite frankly.

After arriving in Songjiang Prefecture, this was the first time Shen Shen Shixing brought up Zhang Zhang Juzheng. One must learn to borrow strength and momentum. If you can't handle it yourself, or if you have to concede too many benefits, you have to rely on your teacher.

Yao Xu Guangqi held his forehead, then spread his hands and said, "Aren't you just being unreasonable? If you bring out the Master, everyone can only pinch their noses and accept it."

If they don't accept it, what can they do? Ask Wang Wang Chonggu if he's willing to go against Zhang Zhang Juzheng. Wang Wang Chonggu would rather run away than face Zhang Zhang Juzheng. Being unable to fight is the status quo; it's not that Wang Wang Chonggu hasn't struggled.

"So don't open your mouth like a lion." Shen Shen Shixing said with a smile, "If you open your mouth like a lion, then we really have to ask the Old Ancestor of the Xishan to come forward."

The "Old Ancestor of the Xishan" was a nickname the Emperor gave to Zhang Zhang Juzheng. Although it had never been called publicly, "Journey to the West" was very popular in the Great Ming. When the Emperor was still a young man and couldn't solve a problem, he would run to the Xishan to ask Zhang Zhang Juzheng to come forward, which was widely joked about among the people as "hurry up and invite the Old Ancestor of the Xishan."

"The Shanghai County and Pudong County sections should both be built by the Shanghai County Southern Yamen." Yao Xu Guangqi put forward his own conditions. The Shanghai section and the Pudong section should belong to the Shanghai County Southern Yamen, belonging to the Jin Party.

Shen Shen Shixing's mouth twitched, and he said sternly, "It's already noon, Magistrate Yao. Are you having a daydream? At most, give the government workshops needed for building the high-speed road to Shanghai County. You're reaching too far! Pudong County isn't under your jurisdiction!"

Pudong is east of the Huangpu River, so it's called Pudong. Pudong County was a new county reported to the imperial court by Songjiang Prefecture. Currently, it had only been reported to the imperial court to be established and hadn't been officially licensed yet. The county Southern Yamen hadn't even been built, so it was managed by the Shanghai County Southern Yamen. But, management is just management.

Yao Xu Guangqi reached out his hand, and Shen Shen Shixing absolutely couldn't accept it.

Shanghai is Shanghai, Pudong is Pudong.

"At the very least, the Shanghai section must be built by the Shanghai County Southern Yamen, or there's no point in talking. Go find the Master. If you can't win the argument and have to find your teacher, others will laugh at you, Shen Shen Shixing, for being a baby who hasn't been weaned." Yao Xu Guangqi's face changed several times. He calculated with his fingers in his sleeves for a long time, and finally gave up his demand for the Pudong section. But the Shanghai section absolutely could not be yielded.

The Shanghai Magistrate, Yan Yan Shixuan, ran to Hangzhou to be a Prefect; he didn't want to play games with the "men of the heavens" in this territory of Songjiang Prefecture anymore.

Facing Shen Shen Shixing, Yan Yan Shixuan was terrified. Every day, he was lectured like a grandson by Shen Shen Shixing's private secretary, Dong Wei. Whether the Hailong Gang was Shen Shen Shixing's lackey—Yan Yan Shixuan didn't even dare to ask such a question.

But Yao Xu Guangqi, also a "man of the heavens," dared to scold Shen Shen Shixing to his face for being a "baby who hasn't been weaned."

You, Shen Shen Shixing, are just a disciple of Zhang Zhang Juzheng. He, Yao Xu Guangqi, is the son-in-law of the old Wang family, and the son-in-law that the old Wang family rushed to accept. In terms of closeness, Yao Xu Guangqi is part of the old Wang family's party!

"So what if I'm a baby who hasn't been weaned!" Shen Shen Shixing flicked his sleeves and nodded, saying, "Fine, then the Shanghai section belongs to you. But for the Shanghai section, half of the construction costs must be paid by the Shanghai County Southern Yamen. The Shanghai section totals eighty li, at 7,500 silver per li, totaling 600,000 to 750,000 silver. The Shanghai County Southern Yamen must come up with 350,000 silver."

"350,000 silver? Governor Shen, why don't you just slice me up and sell me by the catty to see if I can sell for that much silver? Governor Shen truly has a big mouth. With one opening, you want 350,000 silver! 350,000 silver is more than half of the late Emperor's mausoleum!" Yao Xu Guangqi stood up abruptly and said, "No, absolutely not."

"How much can the Shanghai County Southern Yamen come up with? If you refuse to pay, then the Shanghai section will belong to Songjiang Prefecture." Shen Shen Shixing said calmly, "If you don't even have the silver, what high-speed road are you building? Golden bridges and silver roads—are these things for poor ghosts to touch?"

Yao Xu Guangqi scolded Shen Shen Shixing for being a baby who hadn't been weaned, and Shen Shen Shixing scolded Yao Xu Guangqi for being a poor ghost. In terms of mutual harm, they appeared extremely childish.

This was the significance of a closed-door talk. They argued until the sky turned upside down inside, reached a consensus, and when they walked out the door, everyone was still a gentle and elegant Confucian scholar.

"At most 250,000 silver, not a cent more!" Yao Xu Guangqi calculated for a while and gave a quote.

"Fine." Shen Shen Shixing didn't hesitate and nodded immediately.

"Hmm?"

The veins on Yao Xu Guangqi's forehead jumped. He knew he had quoted too low. This old fox! Shen Shen Shixing probably hadn't even thought about squeezing out any silver before he came.

250,000 silver—half of the late Emperor's imperial mausoleum. Shanghai County didn't have a Maritime Trade Office, but it had a Customs House, so it could be considered a wealthy place. But this 250,000 silver was also part of their savings.

Shen Shen Shixing said quite calmly, "Then we come to the second difficulty: land acquisition."

"This is indeed difficult to handle." Yao Xu Guangqi frowned and said in a low voice, "Why don't we just not enter the city? Look, the high-speed road in the capital doesn't enter the city."

The high-speed road in the capital didn't enter the city because entering the city was too expensive. The East and West Cities and the Outer City of the Northern Metropolitan area were all occupied by the old masters of the Yan flag who followed the Emperor Chengzu Wen Emperor in the Jingnan campaign. How could these old masters agree to give up their ancestral land? If the Emperor forced demolition, the military nobility would probably feel a sense of shared grief. The imperial court's method was not to enter the city.

"We still have to enter the city." Shen Shen Shixing shook his head and said, "The high-speed road in the capital is also going to enter the city."

Initially, trying to save effort had already been proven to be an unfeasible way of being lazy. The terrible traffic situation in the capital made the Shun Tian Prefectural Assistant, Wang Wang Xiyuan, very troubled. He was already studying whether to build a high-speed road in the city to prevent traffic congestion.

"We still have to demolish." Yao Xu Guangqi recognized this very much, and after closing his eyes for a long time, he said, "But it's very difficult to demolish. This isn't a problem of silver."

"Why don't we hang this Yuan Shen for a few more days and parade him through Qingpu and Xu Huating as well?"

Yao Xu Guangqi thought of a good method. Following Yin Yin Zhengmao tearing down gates, Ling Ling Yunyi killing people, Wang Wang Jiaping being confused, and Wang Wang Yie erecting monuments, Songjiang Prefecture also had its own unique way of making things difficult for powerful clans: parading through the streets.

You always have to have a way to deal with these powerful clans to push the government decrees forward.

Demolishing houses is always a very difficult thing. This requires the official class to be able to stand back-to-back. If the officials themselves are infighting, then nothing will be accomplished.

Therefore, Shen Shen Shixing had to persuade Yao Xu Guangqi and also persuade the Qingpu Magistrate, Xu Xu Bingzheng.

Hanging people on long poles to parade them through the streets is certainly wrong. Killing people without cutting off their heads is not enough. To kill people and also parade them through the streets to humiliate them is actually doing a bit too much.

But Shen Shen Shixing didn't care about these things. As for the bad influence caused, Shen Shen Shixing didn't care at all. In fact, Confucius explained the basic principles of political activity very clearly: "Don't talk about things that are already done, don't remonstrate about things that are already completed, don't blame things that are already past."

The meaning of this is that if a fact is already established, don't talk about it anymore; if a matter is already past, don't remonstrate about it; if a mistake is already past, don't pursue it anymore. The present and the immediate are the most important. This is also the reason why those in power are generally vulgar.

Shen Shen Shixing's top priority was to thoroughly execute the imperial court's decrees. Being able to execute the imperial court's decrees was already a very, very difficult thing. Shen Shen Shixing, as the Songjiang Governor, bore tremendous pressure, and the burden on his shoulders was extremely heavy.

The most important thing for the imperial court to build a high-speed road is to solve the source of funds. With silver, the imperial court can use administrative power to push it down. But Songjiang Prefecture is a local Southern Yamen. If a local Southern Yamen builds a high-speed road, the problems to consider will be much more complex.

Shen Shen Shixing specially invited a Five Classics Doctor who was good at surveying from the Capital Academy of Sciences, and specially equipped a surveying team of fifty people to survey the route, determine the route, determine the number of bridges to be built, and determine the stations and customs along the way. The progress was very fast.

The action was extremely rapid. On the seventh day after the imperial decree arrived in Songjiang Prefecture, the Five Classics Doctor arrived. After resting for a day, the surveying began.

The news that a high-speed road was to be built soon spread throughout Songjiang Prefecture, and then Shen Shen Shixing was scolded again and again.

This time, almost all the miscellaneous newspapers in Songjiang Prefecture were criticizing Shen Shen Shixing one after another. There were two contents of the criticism.

One was naturally the parading of Yuan Shen. You, Shen Shen Shixing, will always have to step down. Today Yuan Shen is paraded through the streets; tomorrow it will be your son or grandson suffering this crime. "He who starts it, will he have no descendants?"

The second was the questioning of the construction of the high-speed road. This questioning mainly came from three aspects: all the materials and construction for the high-speed road were hosted by the Songjiang Prefectural Southern Yamen. The Songjiang Prefectural Southern Yamen was eating meat, and not even a drop of soup was flowing out. They were eating alone!

Is there really a need for a construction cost as high as 2.4 million silver? Songjiang Prefecture has abundant waterways, which is enough.

In addition to the expensive construction costs, the biggest questioning was corruption. Who knows how much silver went into Governor Shen's own pocket!

"No, the other questionings are fine, they can be considered to have some basis. But what does 'destroying the earth's dragon veins' mean?" Shen Shen Shixing looked at a miscellaneous newspaper in his hand and said in disbelief. Shen Shen Shixing really didn't understand this. According to the statement in this miscellaneous newspaper, mountains are the momentum of the dragon, and water is the blood of the dragon. Mountains and water are the dragon. Opening mountains, building bridges, and paving roads is destroying the earth's energy.

Shen Shen Shixing is a traitor! He wants to destroy the Great Ming's mountains and rivers and subvert the imperial court! Building a high-speed road is rebellion.

If building a high-speed road is rebellion, then after the Emperor built the Five Dragon Post Road, and then built the Suiyuan, Jingkai, and Jingmi high-speed roads, how many times has the Emperor rebelled? Is the Emperor rebelling against himself?

"When the imperial court builds high-speed roads, everyone holds their breath and dares not speak, because they know that nonsense will lead to the Emperor's thunderous rage! When it's our Songjiang Prefecture's turn, it's destroying the earth's energy?! Bullying the soft and fearing the hard!" Shen Shen Shixing said angrily.

The private secretary, Huang Huang Zhenlin, took the miscellaneous newspaper and looked at it for a long time, flipped through the memorandum, and said in a low voice, "Governor, if you use their feng shui masters, they will shut up. This miscellaneous newspaper was run by several feng shui masters. On weekdays, they write articles about feng shui and houses. It's not easy to have a great construction, so they came to join in the fun."

"Coming for money?" Shen Shen Shixing took the private secretary's memorandum and looked at it for a long time before realizing that it was indeed the case.

The four people behind this miscellaneous newspaper were all feng shui masters. Whoever broke ground had to invite these four people to take a look. As long as they took a look, everything was fine. If they weren't invited, they would be sarcastic and talk nonsense about blood disasters. In order to get a good omen, some families let them take a look, while others really believed in this.

Over time, these four feng shui masters had a large group of followers who believed they were effective.

"Daring to blackmail me?" Shen Shen Shixing was furious. Everyone felt that he, the "Master of Balancing Water," was easy to bully. Even the swindlers who were cheating people were bullying him.

"Governor, calm down, don't be impatient. The Governor rarely deals with people from all walks of life. Just ignore them. These people are specifically doing this. If the Governor pays attention to them, they will stick to the Governor like dog-skin plaster and won't let go until they die." Private secretary Huang Huang Zhenlin hurriedly persuaded Shen Shen Shixing not to be the same as these people. This was their way of survival.

Huang Huang Zhenlin thought about it and said in a low voice, "It's just like before, when people deliberately got beaten with the imperial staff in order to gain fame."

This example was very intuitive, and Shen Shen Shixing understood the purpose of these people immediately. It was just to make the imperial court pay attention to them. As long as they paid attention to them, their name would be made. For feng shui masters, reputation was silver.

Shen Shen Shixing chose to... endure, too lazy to pay attention to these wandering sorcerers.

"How is the matter at the Tang Hongyuan Great Dyehouse being handled?" Shen Shen Shixing asked about the progress of the collective ownership exploration at the Tang Hongyuan Great Dyehouse.

"Very badly. There's no work." Huang Huang Zhenlin said helplessly, "After Yuan Shen was paraded through the streets, the Tang Hongyuan Great Dyehouse has no work at all. This workshop is actually not afraid of losing money; it's afraid of having no work to do."

The business of a workshop has peak seasons and off-seasons. Especially during the off-season, the main thing is to support people. During the peak season, they work overtime. But they cannot be idle. As long as the workshop is idle, it's not far from closing down, because most craftsmen will have problems with their livelihood if they don't have work for a few days.

"Didn't Yuan Shen receive a large order? Because he was rushing the work and didn't want to pay wages, he clashed with the craftsmen. What about this large order?" Shen Shen Shixing frowned, and after asking, he already knew the answer.

This path of exploration was full of thorns.

They had just set off and encountered a huge problem.

There is a universal tacit understanding among those in power. It's not that there's no need to dye cloth at the Great Dyehouse, but Yuan Shen was captured, the Yuan family collapsed, and the Great Dyehouse had no work. This is the resistance of those in power. They don't even need anyone to coordinate; the resistance to the emergence of the collective ownership model is the tacit understanding shared by all those in power.

The government workshop can certainly distribute a batch of cotton cloth to let the Great Dyehouse work first, but they can help for a while, not for a lifetime. ===== CHAPTER 631 =====