Chapter 158: New Life (First Update)

Chen Xin was writing furiously on the deck of the Fujian junk, occasionally casting an envious glance at Liu Minyou next to him. Liu Minyou was discussing the plan for the Weihai clothing store with Zhang Erhui and Li Ranzhu; after his explanation, Li Ranzhu would write up the detailed plan. This was thanks to the regular meeting system and quarterly planning Liu Minyou had established at the clothing store, which Li Ranzhu had always followed there. On the other side, Zhou Laifu and Lao Cai were drafting plans for the Linqing and Yangzhou southern goods stores, Zhang Erhui was writing the workshop plan, and Chen Xin suddenly realized he had no such management assistant by his side. Liu Pojun and Zhu Guobin could do some of it, but he had carelessly left them in Tianjin. Dong Yu was on another ship writing the barracks plan, forcing Chen Xin to do it himself.

"Brother Liu, I need to discuss something with you."

"No, we're all too busy. There's still the comprehensive store plan for the fortified village to write right after this. Handle it yourself."

Chen Xin set down his brush in frustration, turned to look at Hai Gouzi beside him grinning foolishly, and cursed, "I told you to learn to write and you wouldn't. You're no help at all."

Hai Gouzi rubbed his ear and moved aside, took out some shredded tobacco and smoked with the dumb monk. These two personal guards were both simpleton soldiers — apart from fighting and killing, they understood nothing else.

Li Ranzhu watched Hai Gouzi's antics and pursed her lips in a smile. This Hai Gouzi was an old neighbor; she had known him long ago, when he was still just a child. Now he was already a grown man.

Li Ranzhu was less familiar with Chen Xin, and given his great reputation now, she felt somewhat intimidated. But after spending these days together on the ship, she found he put on no airs at all, and was even very kind to the common soldiers, only stricter with the officers.

Because rumors traveled fast, the sailors on board all knew about her and Liu Minyou. Liu Minyou managed civil affairs and finances and held considerable authority within the Wendeng Camp system. Although the sailors gossiped behind their backs, to their faces they all deliberately curried favor, respectfully addressing Li Ranzhu as Lady Teacher, and even vacated a room for her alone on the second deck. Here, Li Ranzhu felt a respect she had never known before, and a sense of safety. Though she was seasick the first two days, she had adapted after that. In her good spirits, she glowed with radiance and looked even more beautiful.

Liu Minyou said to her, "In the military farm fortified villages going forward, we'll handle all commerce ourselves. Each fortified village is planned for five Company Commander. For the clothing store, it's best not to just make clothes; we should switch to a garment workshop. Once finished, the goods go directly to the comprehensive store."

Li Ranzhu nodded while secretly glancing at Liu Minyou's profile. That earnest expression struck her as very charming. Liu Minyou paid no attention at all. "You also need to plan the garment workshop. The general model is our original clothing store, but the work process must be divided more finely, done in sequence. After the paper patterns come out, distribute them to each process step for separate cutting. The later sewing must also be divided by process step — those who sew cuffs only sew cuffs, those who sew pockets only sew pockets. Finish one size, then move to the next size. Pack into boxes by garment size. All boxes must be identical, with serial numbers written on top..."

Chen Xin called out from the side, "She already understands all that. Why explain in such detail?"

Liu Minyou ignored him completely and continued, "The styles can't follow what we did in Tianjin. These people are all common folk. The fabric must be durable, the styles simple and suited for labor. Cuffs can't be wide sleeves, and the hem shouldn't be too long. Besides clothes, we also need to make hats and socks. Every week — no, every month — tally the sales. For styles that don't sell well, reduce production later. Think more about the details, estimate the budget and space requirements well, and discuss often with Zhou Laifu. This must start immediately as soon as we reach Weihai."

Chen Xin shook his head as he listened, picked up his brush, and continued writing his own plan for the composition of the armed forces...

Five days later, Liu Minyou had already finished all the plan documents. Chen Xin had just completed the farmer-soldier plan and was only halfway through the weapons development and production plan when he heard Wang Zugui shout from the crow's nest, "My lord, we are about to reach Mazi Harbor!"

Without looking up, Chen Xin responded, "Noted."

The sailors on deck all cheered loudly. Liu Minyou hurried to the bow, watching Mazi Harbor's bay slowly appear, his heart stirred with emotion. He had already developed deep feelings for this place. Having been away for nearly four months, he had been thinking about matters here constantly.

Li Ranzhu leaned against the starboard side, curiously observing this place where she would soon live. A flock of seabirds flew over the sea ahead. Inside and outside Mazi Harbor's bay, scattered sails dotted the water. Some fishermen were fishing, and as the Fujian junk sailed past, they all waved toward the large ship. Li Ranzhu half-raised her hand, then stole a glance at the people around her — they were all waving — and mimicked them.

As the Fujian junk drew closer to the dock, orderly rows of barracks and houses began to appear. Loud shouts came from the shore, and crowds of common folk surged from the workshops into the dock area. Chen Xin stood at the bow and cupped his hands toward the crowd. A wave of cheers rose from the shore. The glorious battle record of the Wendeng Camp had long since spread throughout Weihai. After Liu Minyou received news of the great victory at Gu'an, he had the teachers heavily publicize it in the literacy classes, and once the students spread it further, everyone held this army of their own sons in deep admiration. Chen Xin's prestige rose to even greater heights.

After the Fujian junk was moored, Chen Xin led the way down the gangplank. The crowd parted automatically to make a path, applauding warmly at the same time. This custom had also spread from the Wendeng Camp and the school, quickly becoming popular among the fort residents as their way of welcoming people.

Liu Minyou carried Li Ranzhu's luggage in one hand and held her hand with the other, helping her down the gangplank. When the fort residents saw this Mr. Liu, another wave of cheers erupted, and greetings rang out continuously. Liu Minyou released Li Ranzhu's hand and cupped his hands to both sides in acknowledgment. Along the way, he pointed out the surrounding buildings, telling Li Ranzhu which were workshops and which was the school.

People who heard the news came from all directions, and every street and alley was packed full. The crowd moved along with the two of them. Neither gave any kind of acceptance speech; they simply smiled and returned the greetings. Chen Xin went straight home. Zhao Xiang, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, met him and accompanied him back, weeping the whole way.

Liu Minyou first called over Xu Yuanhua, who had arrived, and had him arrange food and lodging for Zhou Laifu, Lao Cai, and the others. Only then did he head toward his own home. His residence was next to Chen Xin's courtyard, a two-section compound. Usually, two elderly military household members he had hired looked after it. Seeing Liu Minyou return, they hurriedly opened the main gate. After thanking everyone at the door, Liu Minyou brought Li Ranzhu and the dumb monk into the courtyard.

Li Ranzhu stepped through the gate. This was to be her home from now on. She surveyed this cozy nest with the anticipation of someone unveiling a prize. The front section was much like an ordinary household — side rooms to the left and right, plus a separate kitchen. The decor was very plain. This area was generally where maids and servants lived; two rooms were still empty. She couldn't wait to reach the rear section. Pushing open the door, her eyes lit up. The courtyard in the rear section was very spacious, with a small garden in the center planted with various small trees, flowers, and plants. On the open ground around the garden stood a horizontal bar and some dumbbells.

The rear section was where the master rested and spent his leisure time. Under the eaves of the house, several chairs were arranged. Since her family's property had been confiscated, Li Ranzhu had once been sold to a gentry household. The courtyard there was beautiful, but it felt gloomy and oppressive to her. Here, though simple, felt incredibly warm and cozy to her.

Li Ranzhu looked through the rooms one by one. The side rooms were mostly empty. In the study, the bookshelf held only a sparse dozen or so books, and all were agricultural manuals or works like the Shenqi Pu. The desk, however, was piled high with old documents. Reaching the door of the main room, Li Ranzhu stopped and asked, a bit embarrassed, "Liu... Mr. Liu, which room shall I stay in?"

Liu Minyou pointed to the front section and said, "The maid stays in the outer section."

Li Ranzhu pursed her lips. Only then did Liu Minyou smile and say, "Stay in whichever room you like. Choose one yourself."

Li Ranzhu took her own small bundle of luggage and happily entered a larger east side room. After a brief rest, she went to the kitchen and began cooking. The two old military household members didn't understand her style of cooking, so they just helped by fetching water and tending the fire.

Liu Minyou stood at the kitchen doorway, watching this woman's busy silhouette, and suddenly felt that he had a home.

Li Ranzhu's cooking was naturally far better than those military households'. Liu Minyou ate a sumptuous lunch. Although there were many dishes, the dumb monk swept them all clean.

After the meal, Li Ranzhu followed Liu Minyou out. The dumb monk wanted to follow again. Liu Minyou hinted twice for him not to, but the simple monk didn't understand at all. Liu Minyou couldn't be bothered to say more, so the two of them, with one enormous tail, set out to tour the fortified village.

They first went to the workshops. Liu Minyou went inside to see Tang Zuoxiang and the others, and introduced Li Ranzhu to them, simply saying she would manage internal commerce in the future. Tang Zuoxiang, Wang Huzi, and the others were very surprised that a woman would be a manager, but seeing how the two of them looked, they more or less guessed what was going on. Liu Minyou knew what they were thinking, but his plan for internal commerce had women as the main sales staff, so having a woman in charge wouldn't cause management problems. He explained briefly to the two of them and had Li Ranzhu observe the assembly-line production of armor.

Then the two of them went to the residential area to the south. As they passed the Wendeng Camp's Weihai garrison, the shouts from drills inside the walls were thunderous. Li Ranzhu had never seen military drills before and was very curious. She asked Liu Minyou, "Brother Liu, can we look inside?"

Liu Minyou shook his head. "This is the army inside. No one is allowed in without a waist token. Even if I want to enter, I must be escorted and registered."

Li Ranzhu gave an "oh." Liu Minyou smiled and said, "They come out for morning runs. If you want to watch, you can go see then. They are the guarantors of life here, all good men."

Li Ranzhu agreed. The two of them then went together to the residential area. The shacks there had all been renovated, forming a new residential district. Liu Minyou had separated the old and new areas, each using its own public facilities. It was no longer the filthy, chaotic mess of the previous year. Some veteran soldiers injured in bandit suppression had retired and hadn't yet been assigned work. Chen Xin established a patrol team that used batons and fines, which was far more effective than Liu Minyou's original warning signs. Now, no one in the fortified village dared dump waste or relieve themselves anywhere, and people knew to queue when waiting.

Every fort household they met along the way warmly called out "Mr. Liu." Li Ranzhu looked curiously at the straight, level streets. Both sides were lined entirely with brick and tile houses. Though all were very small, they were far better than thatched huts at keeping warm and blocking wind and rain. People on the road walked faster than those in Tianjin. When they reached a perimeter wall, the bright sound of children reading aloud and laughing came from inside.

Li Ranzhu's eyes lit up. She looked at Liu Minyou, who smiled and said, "We can enter here. I'll just let the gatekeeper know."

Li Ranzhu eagerly reached the gate. The military household member guarding it saw it was Liu Minyou, registered himself, and let the two of them in. Inside was a large playground where some children were playing games or kicking a ball, watched over only by a few women of the older-sister type, with no particular instruction being given.

Inside the classrooms were all boys around ten years old. A few teachers from the accelerated class were teaching literacy lessons.

Liu Minyou explained, "Normally, children have classes here. During holidays, the workshop workers attend classes."

Seeing Li Ranzhu staring blankly at the playground, Liu Minyou asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Li Ranzhu blushed. After a long moment, she finally said, "I want to have a child too."

(First update.)

(First update.)