Ch 93: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

In the main hall of Jiang Ji’s home, Lu Shun was keeping Meng Dahai company in conversation.

Jiang Ji strode in and saw a middle-aged man who looked around thirty-seven or thirty-eight. Beside him was a woman of about thirty, and a boy of around thirteen or fourteen.

“You must be Mister Meng?” Jiang Ji cupped his hands. “I am Jiang Ji.”

Meng Dahai had heard of Duke Chang’s great name. He quickly rose with his wife and son to bow, but Jiang Ji caught his arm and stopped him.

Lu Huaizhou had already told him Meng Dahai’s background in the letter.

Meng Dahai had once been the manager of one of the cotton textile workshops owned by a famous textile merchant family in the capital. Since childhood, he had learned textile skills from his father, and was himself a highly skilled master craftsman. More than half of the best-selling fabric patterns in that workshop had been designed by him.

In his early twenties, he had begun managing a small workshop. By now, he could manage a large workshop of three or four hundred people, with more than ten years of experience behind him.

However, at the beginning of last year, his former employer had sent his second son into the textile workshop to gain experience.

That second young master was eager to show off in front of his father. He was impatient for results and knew only a little about textiles, yet forcefully interfered with the workshop’s operations. He misjudged the market, created new patterned fabrics that simply would not sell, and caused large amounts of stock to pile up unsold. In the end, they had to be sold off cheaply, leaving the first quarter’s revenue dismal.

Meng Dahai had warned him several times that the new pattern likely would not work, but the second young master insisted on having his way. Read the full chapter on HololoNovels .com. When problems arose, he pushed the blame onto Meng Dahai.

Meng Dahai reported it to the employer. The employer scolded the second young master, but afterward, that second young master used his position to retaliate against Meng Dahai.

In the second quarter, not only did the second young master fail to reflect on his mistakes, he grew even worse. Whenever problems arose, he pushed Meng Dahai forward to take the blame.

Meng Dahai was a registered commoner and a free man. After enduring it for a year, he finally could not bear it anymore. He resigned from the position, then worked for more than half a year in a small workshop before being recruited by Uncle Zhong.

“Mister Meng, Madam, no need for such courtesy,” Jiang Ji said with a smile. “Please, sit.”

Meng Dahai still bowed. “This commoner Meng Dahai greets Your Grace with his wife and son.”

“No need to be polite.” Jiang Ji sat down and said, “The Regent has already told me. To be honest, I was the one who asked him for help. From now on, I’ll still need Mister Meng’s assistance.”

Seeing that Duke Chang was so courteous and seemed rather easygoing, Meng Dahai’s nervousness eased by half.

He cupped his hands and said, “Your Grace is too kind. I do not deserve to be called Mister by Your Grace.”

“Mister Meng is too modest.” Seeing the exhaustion on all three of their faces, Jiang Ji said, “You’ve only just arrived. Please wait a moment. I’ll immediately have someone clear out the west wing. Your family can stay there.”

Jiang Ji immediately instructed Lu Shun, “Tell the kitchen to prepare a welcoming dinner for Mister Meng’s family tonight. Also, have Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei’s things moved into the room the Regent used before, including their beds. The bed in the Regent’s room has never been slept in, so move it to Mister Meng’s room. As for the bed in young Brother Meng’s room, come with me to the storehouse later and move a new one over.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” Lu Shun accepted the order and went to arrange their lodging.

Hearing this, Meng Dahai was somewhat surprised. “This… Your Grace, we can just stay in the servants’ rooms.”

“Mister Meng, don’t stand on ceremony with me. It will be more convenient for your family to stay in the west wing,” Jiang Ji said with a smile. “Besides, we’ll only be living here for another half year, and there are quite a lot of people in our household now. The servants’ rooms are already full.”

“But making the two young masters share a room…”

“They were already sharing a room. Don’t worry, Mister. I spoke to them about it before.”

Meng Dahai had not expected to receive such treatment. He rose and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Your Grace.”

“No need to thank me,” Jiang Ji said with a smile. “There is also a small study in the west wing. You may use it as well. Oh, right, if young Brother Meng needs to attend school, there is a schoolhouse just in front of our village. It’s very close. He can go there. If he wants to study in town, that is fine too.”

At the mention of his son, Meng Dahai quickly said, “Your Grace, I have an unreasonable request.”

“Please speak.”

Mister Meng glanced at his son and said, “My son is named Meng Ping. After the New Year, he will be fourteen. He has already studied at school for seven years and recognizes most characters, but he has no interest in the imperial examinations. He is only interested in textiles. I also wish to pass down my family’s skills to him, and I have already taught him for a year. Just now, I heard from the steward that the workshop requires workers to be at least sixteen and does not take apprentices. So I would like to ask Your Grace’s permission to let him learn by my side. He does not need wages. I only ask that he be allowed to follow me.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ji glanced at Meng Ping and nodded. “That’s fine.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” Meng Dahai bowed deeply. Beside him, Madam Meng and Meng Ping also bowed in gratitude.

After a while, Lu Shun brought people over and moved Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei’s belongings to an empty room in the east wing. The items in the study were moved over as well.

Jiang Ji went to the system store and exchanged for a new bed, then had Lu Shun and the others move it to the west wing for Meng Ping.

Meng Dahai’s family of three followed Lu Shun to the west wing. When Meng Dahai saw the furniture inside, the wooden bed, wardrobe, dressing table, chairs, and the rest, all made of fine huanghuali wood, his eyes widened at once.

“Steward, this… this furniture is too good. An ordinary wooden bed would be enough for us.”

Lu Shun smiled and said, “This furniture already belongs to this room. Just use it. It’s fine. There aren’t any other wooden beds in the residence anyway.”

Meng Dahai was very uneasy. “But this furniture is far too valuable.”

“It’s alright. Use it,” Lu Shun said. “You can settle in first and rest for a while. When dinner is ready, I’ll come call you.”

“Yes. Thank you, Steward.”

After Lu Shun left, Meng Dahai and his wife looked at each other.

Madam Meng looked at the dressing table and asked, “Are we really going to use such expensive furniture? What if we damage it…”

Meng Dahai glanced toward the east wing opposite and saw Jiang Ji and Lu Shun enter. He nodded. “Use it. His Grace doesn’t look like someone who would make things difficult for others.”

Madam Meng nodded, then went to check their son’s room. Seeing that his bed was an ordinary wooden one, she breathed a sigh of relief.

That evening, Jiang Ji’s family set up several tables to welcome Meng Dahai’s family.

Meng Dahai watched as Jiang Ji laughed and chatted with the servants, even drinking several cups of wine. It seemed there truly were not so many strict rules here, so he relaxed a little too.

Especially because the food in the Duke’s household was truly delicious.

Seeing his wife and son eat with such satisfaction, Meng Dahai felt that coming here might not be bad after all.

…

The next day, when it was time to work, Jiang Ji took Meng Dahai to see the textile workshop.

Meng Dahai saw that the factory layout was reasonable, the environment clean, and the workers all wore masks. Many precautions, operating requirements, and workflows were posted on the walls. Everything was extremely standardized, even better than what most experts in the trade would do.

Upon learning that all of this had been required by Jiang Ji, he knew the Duke understood textiles. He was someone who truly knew the trade.

Especially when Meng Dahai saw the cotton gin and the spinning machine, the excitement in his heart was beyond words.

“This, this… so what the Regent said was true!” Meng Dahai said excitedly, his eyes fixed on the spinning machine as he carefully studied its structure.

Hearing this, Jiang Ji asked, “The Regent told you about this machine?”

“Yes. The Regent said you had new machines here that worked faster, produced finer yarn, and wove softer cloth. That made me very eager to come,” Meng Dahai said.

Jiang Ji understood. So Lu Huaizhou had not only used high wages to attract him, but also new machines and new techniques.

That made sense. Meng Dahai was originally from the capital. To make someone leave his home and travel so far, there had to be a strong draw.

Meng Dahai was also someone who pursued the cutting edge of his craft. Read the full chapter on HololoNovels .com. His own skills were solid, and once he heard that there were new machines capable of producing better cloth, he was moved.

“I see,” Jiang Ji said with a smile. “Then I really must thank the Regent.”

Looking at the fine yarn being spun, Meng Dahai sighed with feeling. “Not only is it fast, the yarn is fine, and its toughness is enough as well.”

The loom over there was also a new model. It was easier to operate and produced more delicate fabric.

In Meng Dahai’s heart, his respect for the Duke was no longer merely because of his status. It had become sincere admiration from the bottom of his heart.

He rose and bowed to Jiang Ji. “Your Grace, today has truly opened my eyes.”

After touring the factory, Jiang Ji asked seriously, “Then, shall we go sign the contract?”

Meng Dahai nodded and gestured. “Your Grace, please.”

The two went to the office and signed an employment contract. The monthly pay was three taels higher than what Meng Dahai had received at the wealthy household before.

Lu Huaizhou’s side had already thoroughly investigated Meng Dahai’s background. There was no issue with his character, so Jiang Ji felt very reassured and signed a long-term contract with him.

After the contract was signed, Meng Dahai put it away and immediately began work.

Jiang Ji brought over the fabric samples he had prepared and discussed them with Meng Dahai. Some were solid-colored, while others had patterns.

“Mister Meng, I’m planning to produce cloth in these styles. You understand the market better, so please take a look.”

The workers were still getting familiar with the machines. What Jiang Ji and the others needed most right now was to finalize the styles of fabric they would produce next.

Meng Dahai flipped through the samples. The fabric was soft and extremely comfortable. It was the finest cotton cloth he had ever seen in his life. With this level of quality, there was no need to worry about sales.

There were more than twenty styles here. Half were solid colors, and half had patterns. The solid-colored cloth came in beautiful shades, some elegant and understated, others richer and more vivid. The patterned ones were also novel.

He asked in surprise, “Boss, did you design these styles yourself?”

“Yes. But I don’t know whether they fit current trends. I showed them to a few aunties and young girls in the village, and they said they liked these.”

Jiang Ji pointed to a few of them, then pointed to three other styles. “The men preferred these, but those are all just village preferences. As for city people, especially in larger towns, I’m not too familiar with their tastes. I observed a little while I was in the capital recently, and it seems people there might prefer these styles.”

Meng Dahai nodded happily. “Boss, you’re right. People in the capital do indeed prefer these. Are you planning to send the goods directly to the capital?”

Jiang Ji said, “Our factory is still too small right now, and production isn’t high yet. Also, the cotton we bought this time was relatively expensive. I want to first cover the surrounding counties, prefecture city, and provincial capital, then slowly expand outward. Nearby markets are easier for us to understand, easier to manage, and shipping costs are lower.”

“If sales are good, we can use the ten mu of land next door to expand the factory. Later, once cotton prices slowly come down over the next year or two, that can offset transportation costs. Then we can expand production and make cloth in the styles favored by the capital and other cities. That’s my plan. What do you think?”

Jiang Ji had originally planned to reserve the land next door for building residences, but plans could not keep up with changes. Back then, he had never expected that his family would one day move to the capital. Now there was no need to build houses here, so the land could be used to expand the factory.

Seeing that he was neither impatient nor reckless, and that he had not declared that they would immediately enter major markets like the capital, but instead wanted to proceed steadily, Meng Dahai felt much more reassured.

At the very least, his boss had a plan and was reliable.

“I think the same as you, Boss,” Meng Dahai said. “But we still need to visit the county seat, the prefecture city, and the provincial capital to see local clothing preferences and how the cloth shops are selling.”

“Exactly. We need to do proper market research,” Jiang Ji said happily. “For now, we can produce solid-colored cotton first, and we can take time to go look around.”

“Good.”

So, with Lu Shun temporarily watching the factory, Jiang Ji took Meng Dahai and Meng Ping out the next day to conduct market research. Lu Jiu followed with several guards.

They visited the county seat, the prefecture city, and the provincial capital one after another. By the time they returned from their circuit, more than half a month had passed.

During this period, another major event occurred. Teams organized by the prefectural and county offices of other southern regions began arriving in Yunzhou one after another to buy seeds. Following the designated purchasing counties assigned by the imperial court, they began buying rice seed, sweet potato, corn, and potato seed stock.

All transactions were held at the county offices. Farmers only needed to bring over their own seeds. Prices were standardized, sold according to the prices Jiang Ji had originally set.

Jiang Ji and the others saw these seed markets in several counties. Each scene was bustling with activity.

The farmers were busy selling seeds for several days. Sweet potatoes and potatoes especially had high yields and took up a lot of space, so they had to be transported over multiple trips.

But none of that hardship mattered. Looking at the silver in their hands, the farmers’ faces bloomed with smiles.

Just from rice seed alone, if a farming family had three mu of paddy fields, each mu could produce around five hundred jin per season after drying. If they planted one mu in the first season and three mu in the second season, then sold rice seed at forty wen per jin, keeping only a little for themselves as seed and selling the rest, they could earn more than seventy taels of silver.

Even farmers who had only planted one later season made several dozen taels. Add in sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, and for some, cottonseed money too, and it became an enormous sum.

They had never earned this much money in their entire lives, much less in just a few days. It was an amount they had never dared imagine.

Every farmer wore a smile.

“Good thing our county is right next to Changping County. Otherwise, this kind of good thing would never have reached us.”

“Exactly. Those counties near Changping that planted the new rice seed in the first season and also planted sweet potatoes and corn really made a fortune.”

“True, but there’s no point envying them.”

“If only we could earn this much every year.”

“You’re dreaming. Once everyone plants them next year, who are you going to sell rice seed to?”

“Hahaha, I’m just saying. Being able to earn this much this year is already an unexpected blessing!”

“But the rice from the new seed tastes good. Next year, won’t grain sell for a bit more? The north still doesn’t have it yet.”

“That’s true. Next year, we must keep farming properly. We also need to buy sweet potatoes and corn and plant them too!”

“Yes, yes! Plant them all, and cotton too!”

“We were able to earn this much silver. We really have to thank Duke Chang properly!”

“That’s right. If not for Duke Chang, we’d still be going hungry this winter.”

“Exactly. The money I earned this year is almost enough to build a new house.”

Jiang Ji deliberately went to the transaction site to take a look. Seeing the farmers so happy, he could not help smiling as well.

Just as he was about to leave, he happened to run into Lord Chen leading people down to inspect the seed trade.

When Lord Chen saw Jiang Ji, he was greatly shocked and hurried over, bowing deeply. “Greetings, Duke Chang.”

“No need for such courtesy, Lord Chen.” Jiang Ji looked at him and smiled. “Long time no see. Are you here to inspect?”

“Yes. Lord Fan and Prefect Xu went to Changping and said they were making a special visit to you.” Lord Chen asked curiously, “Your Grace, why are you in this county?”

“Oh, we had some business here. I happened to see everyone selling seeds, so I came to take a look.” Jiang Ji scratched his head. “Then haven’t I missed Lord Fan and Prefect Xu? I won’t be back for several more days.”

When Jiang Ji had returned from the capital last time, he had made a special stop at the prefecture city to visit Prefect Xu and congratulate him on his promotion.

“There’s no helping that. Your affairs are more important.”

As the two spoke, the county magistrate saw Lord Chen and hurried over. He did not know Jiang Ji, so Lord Chen introduced him.

Learning that this was Duke Chang, the county magistrate and the people beside him immediately bowed.

“Greetings, Duke Chang.”

Their voices were a little loud, drawing the attention of the surrounding farmers.

“What? Duke Chang?”

“Duke Chang is here?”

“Which one is Duke Chang?”

“Why did Duke Chang come to our county? Which one is he?”

The farmers all crowded over at once. Jiang Ji was dressed very plainly, so they did not recognize him right away. Lord Chen simply introduced him to everyone.

“This is Duke Chang, the Duke Chang who brought everyone the new rice seed.”

The farmers immediately looked toward Jiang Ji, then one after another knelt to pay their respects.

“Greetings, Duke Chang!”

Jiang Ji looked helplessly at Lord Chen.

“…”

Lord Chen only smiled at him.

“…” Jiang Ji hurriedly said, “Everyone, please get up. No need for such ceremony.”

The crowd rose one after another, slightly restrained and nervous, but full of gratitude.

“Thank you, Your Grace!”

“Your Grace, thank you. Our family won’t have to go hungry this winter!”

“Thank you, Your Grace. I’ve never earned this much silver in my whole life!”

“We can have a good New Year now. Thank you, Your Grace!”

Everyone thanked him sincerely, their faces full of gratitude.

“No need to thank me. Everyone should have a good New Year.” Jiang Ji smiled and cupped his hands. “I’ll wish everyone a happy New Year in advance!”

“May Your Grace enjoy fortune, longevity, and good health!”

Some man shouted it first, and then all the farmers began shouting in unison.

“May Your Grace enjoy fortune, longevity, and good health!”

“Thank you, everyone. I still have business, so I’ll head back first. See you all again!” Jiang Ji quickly led his people away.

Lord Chen watched Jiang Ji run so quickly, as if afraid of being surrounded, and almost wanted to laugh.

Beside him, the county magistrate sighed. “I never expected His Grace to be so approachable.”

Lord Chen smiled. “Mm. Duke Chang may be the least arrogant noble in all of Da Sheng.”

Jiang Ji led Meng Dahai and the others to another street before finally stopping.

Thinking of the farmers’ gratitude and their words just now, Meng Dahai could not help admiring Jiang Ji even more.

After Jiang Ji and the others had toured several cities and returned, Governor Fan and Prefect Xu had already gone to inspect other counties because they did not know when Jiang Ji would return.

After discussing things with Meng Dahai, Jiang Ji first settled on six patterns to test the market. The rest would mainly be solid colors, since solid-colored fabric had the greatest demand.

Once the fabric styles were finalized, Jiang Ji and Meng Dahai went to the county seat to inspect the shop. Jiang Ji had bought the shop long ago. It was on East Street and had already been renovated.

Meng Dahai was quite satisfied after looking it over, then offered a few small suggestions. Jiang Ji had people adjust everything according to his advice.

By then, it was already the twelfth lunar month. Every household had begun preparing for the New Year, and this was also around the time people started buying cloth to make new clothes. Jiang Ji decided it was time to start selling cloth.

After more than a month of production, the textile factory had produced over three hundred bolts of cloth, mostly solid colors. There were only a little over twenty patterned bolts.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Jiang’s Cloth Shop opened for business.

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