Chapter 1120: A Way to Turn Stone into Gold

At the mention of this, Yu Zhiyuan's face again showed a bitter smile. Shaking his head, he said, "Big Brother must believe me — I've known about these filthy, shameless doings for barely ten days. After I got word, I knew I had made mistakes, but I didn't know what mistakes. Only when I sent men to investigate did I learn of all this. Everyone, high and low, has been playing their little tricks, thinking that even if I knew, I would tacitly permit it."

"But if you had known, you certainly would have tacitly permitted it, wouldn't you?" Zhao Jin asked with a smile.

The words were very blunt, and Yu Zhiyuan's expression immediately turned somewhat awkward. Still, he answered at once, "Big Brother is right. Even if I had known, I would have tacitly approved. The Yu family has indeed grown arrogant, thinking that whatever Big Brother wants to do at sea, he cannot do without our Yu family. The Yus have also forgotten that it was the Yu family who first came begging to Big Brother, and forgotten that it is because of Big Brother that the Yu family has been able to thrive as it has today."

Zhao Jin smiled and nodded, his whole face utterly calm and untroubled, yet this expression made Yu Zhiyuan somewhat fearful. He spoke again, "This family shame I truly did not wish for Big Brother to know. My elder brother's wife's side has placed people in the Yu family and wants to meddle in many of the businesses. She is the wife of my eldest brother, and the family estate is half theirs to begin with. Even the people on my side are willing to listen to them — after all, they speak at every turn of considering the Yu family's interests and earning more silver for everyone. They do not know the aspirations of Big Brother's side, nor do they know what enormous profits lie with Big Brother."

"Then what do you intend to do?" Since the other party had laid it bare, Zhao Jin also spoke directly.

Yu Zhiyuan hesitated a moment, then his face took on an expression of firm resolve. With the utmost gravity, he said, "When I return this time, I will divide the family property with my elder brother. From then on, I will devote myself wholly to working for Big Brother's side."

At these words, Wang Zhaojing glanced at Yu Zhiyuan, then looked toward Zhao Jin. Brothers dividing the family property was a very common matter — when the elders passed away, two brothers splitting the estate and each living on his own was nothing improper. But for official households and powerful local clans, dividing the family was no small affair. Splitting the family estate meant strength going from large to small, and their standing in the locality would also decline. For official households, brothers dividing the family would be seen as a sign that the household was not harmonious, that they could not cultivate themselves and regulate their families, and naturally they would be unqualified to serve the state. In a political struggle, a rival would seize on this to make a great issue of it.

For Yu Zhiyuan to dare make such a decision was indeed going all out. Yet it was precisely such a decision that proved his sincerity. But Wang Zhaojing could see that Yu Zhiyuan was somewhat posturing. He was perhaps waiting for Zhao Jin to dissuade him, whereupon he could smoothly profess his loyalty and then withdraw his own proposal.

"Good. In that case, I will await your news." Zhao Jin nodded. He was unwilling to interfere in another family's private affairs, but this maritime fleet — and especially the Yu family, who cooperated so closely with Xuzhou — was critically important to the Zhao Character Camp. It had to be brought under direct control; there could be no twists and turns.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Yu Zhiyuan's face, but it was immediately masked by determination. He nodded and said, "I will see to it as soon as I return."

"The cotton cloth is already ready for shipment. If you can sell it at the original price, then do so. If not, we can still make a profit at twenty percent below market price. Go back and prepare with all haste," Zhao Jin added with this piece of news.

Cotton cloth, like grain, was a bulk commodity traded in large volumes. The unit price of such goods was never very high. For great merchants and tycoons, dealing in such goods was all about moving vast quantities in exchange for vast profits. Twenty percent below market price meant earning an extra twenty percent in profit. A quick calculation of the shipment volume of cotton cloth would show what kind of enormous, rich profit this represented.

A flash of delighted surprise crossed Yu Zhiyuan's face — surprise that nearly turned to wild joy. He was a great merchant of Songjiang and deeply involved in the cotton cloth trade, so he naturally understood exactly what twenty percent below market price meant. He understood at once: he had made his choice, and this was the reward for that choice. Yu Zhiyuan's thoughts raced, and he quickly reached a conclusion — it was very much worth it.

"I will go back and prepare at once. I have already had people examine the cotton cloth our Xuzhou produces. In fineness and density it does not match Songjiang cotton cloth, but the difference is barely a hair — it won't affect sales. Songjiang cotton cloth was already in short supply to begin with; even if we pour our Xuzhou cotton cloth into the market, there still won't be enough to sell!" Yu Zhiyuan spoke with great excitement.

At this moment, Wang Zhaojing lowered his head again. Yu Zhiyuan was rejoicing, but if the Yu family had not harbored all those petty schemes, the low price the Zhao Character Camp was offering this time could have been forty percent below market price or even more. With that improved Xuzhou spinning machine, efficiency had greatly increased, and the cost of the cloth had been driven down accordingly. And from what Wang Zhaojing knew, the machine for removing cotton seeds was about to be put to use as well. By then, the efficiency of spinning and weaving would be even higher, and the costs even lower.

Originally, the Yu family could have shared in all these benefits, yet because of their petty schemes they had gained nothing at all. Every time Wang Zhaojing thought of this, he sneered inwardly. If the Zhao Character Camp had treated the Yu family shabbily or driven them to work for nothing, then these petty schemes might have been somewhat excusable. But the Yu family had clearly grown rich precisely because of the Zhao Character Camp, and yet they tried to be clever on their own — that could only be called pitiful, lamentable, and worthy of a sigh.

Having rushed here through great hardship, Yu Zhiyuan had spoken with Zhao Jin for less than half a shichen, and now he had to race back, traveling day and night. He did not complain of the hardship himself. Yu Zhiyuan knew very well in his heart: whether he could continue to gain anything from the Zhao Character Camp depended on how he acted now.

Liu Yong's trip to Liaodong this time had left many loose ends. After returning to Xuzhou to report and settle the relevant matters, he wanted to head north to Shandong immediately to make follow-up arrangements.

"You need to get used to holding the fort and overseeing the whole, not rushing about on the front lines. If you and Leizi are always charging ahead, how are the company commanders below supposed to do their jobs?" This time, Zhao Jin directly kept the man behind.

Besides getting Liu Yong accustomed to overall command of the Internal Guard, there was also the matter of having Liu Yong take over the organization and manpower of the Incense-Smelling Sect faction that belonged to the Zhao Character Camp.

Somewhat unlike Xu Zhenzhen, Mu Shulan, after giving birth, had not the slightest interest in managing the Incense-Smelling Sect affairs she had previously devoted so much care to. Moreover, she had told Zhao Jin plainly that she would no longer concern herself with them in the future — she wanted to devote herself wholeheartedly to caring for Zhao Qi.

Originally, the various Incense-Smelling Sect forces under the Zhao Character Camp nominally fell under the jurisdiction of the Internal Guard, but in reality they formed a system of their own, all directed, whether closely or distantly, by Mu Shulan. Exceptions were people like Nie Hei, who had been directly captured back in the day.

This self-contained system was extremely inconvenient for the Internal Guard's operations, and what was more, after the complete crushing of Xu Hongru, this self-contained situation had actually grown stronger. The remnants of the former Mu family faction and the remnants of the Shandong Incense-Smelling Sect — those who could surrender — were all thinking of self-preservation and advancement, and they naturally banded together.

Although Zhao Jin detested religious sects intensely, he had to admit that if the Incense-Smelling Sect could be used by the Zhao Character Camp, at this moment it would be a sharp tool for controlling the Shandong region. At the very least, it could quickly calm the people's hearts. As for the long-term pros and cons, that was harder to say.

At present, Mu Shulan's single-minded devotion to raising her son had, in a certain sense, achieved the best result. Now that the various areas were growing ever more stable, the Incense-Smelling Sect's branches were no longer much needed. This was the perfect time to let the Internal Guard take them over completely, then break them up and reorganize them, so as to avoid any further troubles and upheavals.

Apart from taking over the affairs Mu Shulan had managed, Zhao Jin also led Liu Yong to the weaving workshop. Liu Yong had already seen the Xuzhou spinning machine that could spin several spindles at once. Every time he saw it, he found it wondrous beyond words — not because the mechanism itself was so ingenious, but because the improvement was so supremely clever. The same method, nothing difficult to build, yet it produced such an effect. With this kind of spinning machine, Xuzhou cloth and Songjiang cloth differed little in quality, but the cost could be forty to fifty percent lower — which meant you could sell it at half the price of Songjiang cloth and still make a profit. This was truly turning stone into gold.

"Over twenty heads have been chopped between here and Jining. When these weavers and carpenters were executed, their families were condemned to perpetual slavery as well. Only such ruthless measures could stamp out their thoughts of going it alone." Walking out of the heavily guarded spinning workshop, Zhao Jin said to Liu Yong with a smile.

Liu Yong was not surprised. He answered, "This method of turning stone into gold is too easy. They all think of taking it out and striking it rich on their own, but they never imagine that holding a fine thing with no roots and no backing — how could that end well? If they worked here for three years and then went out on their own, they could steadily grow rich. It's laughable that they can't see it through!"

As they spoke, the two arrived at another heavily guarded workshop. Seeing that the level of security here was not one bit less than where the spinning machines were kept, Liu Yong could not help but wonder. He thought to himself, what other important thing has come out now? All he saw were cart after cart of bundled cotton bales being carried in, and cart after cart of cotton being carried out.

Liu Yong watched for a long time but could not figure it out. He simply laughed and said, "Big Brother, our Xuzhou really does seem to advance a thousand li a day. I've only been away a few months, and already there are so many things I can't make sense of."

"It's just that our Xuzhou is a bit more diligent. This Great Ming hasn't changed at all," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Upon entering the workshop, the first thing they saw was a cotton gin placed under the awning. Liu Yong had seen this machine many times — it was the device for removing cotton seeds from cotton. The principle was simple enough: two smooth wooden rollers mounted on a frame, with a crank at one end of the rollers. In use, you turned the crank, fed the cotton between the two closely set rollers, the seeds dropped away, and the cotton came out the other side. This cotton gin even had a story behind it — it was a technique that Huang Daopo had learned in the Li region of Hainan.

"You know how this one is used. Let's go inside and look," Zhao Jin said.

Inside the building, rows of simple machines were neatly arranged. They looked like wooden boxes with open tops. Liu Yong could see the weavers placing cotton in at one end, then continuously gathering up the cotton that emerged from the other end.

Looking closer, he discovered two adjacent rollers inside. One roller was covered all over with sharp spikes — they looked like iron nails or something similar. The other was covered with bristles, apparently made of hog bristle. Laborers were turning cranks on the outside, making the rollers spin. The spike-covered roller caught the cotton, separating it from the seeds, while the bristle-covered roller brushed the caught cotton off the first roller, preventing the wooden box from getting clogged.

Although Liu Yong was seeing it for the first time, after watching for a while he could already conclude that this new-style cotton gin was far better to use than the one placed outside.

Thanks to old friends "A Summer Without Wind," "Mu Ming," "Qi Sanwen," "Yuan Heng Li Zhen," and "Blessing of the Light Angel" for their tips. Thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Thank you all.