Chapter 2408: Partner

"This is my nephew, Chen Lin," Chen Xuan said, bending at the waist as he introduced him to the Australian woman.

"Ah, I've heard of him. He was originally the young owner here," the woman said casually. Chen Xuan's cheek twitched.

Chen Lin quickly interjected: "I couldn't be called the young owner. This weaving workshop is the clan's public property. My father was the one in charge—I merely assisted him."

"Your place has strange customs—everything is 'the clan's this' and 'the clan's that.'" The woman smiled. "Sit, sit. You're all bending and hunching like braised prawns." With that, she took a seat before the blackboard.

The uncle and nephew followed suit. The woman said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Yao'er, and this is my student, Shen Su."

Chen Lin started to rise again, but Li Yao'er waved him down with a smile. "You're a perfectly fine young man—why learn all these formalities?" Her gaze circled him several times. "How old are you?"

"This humble one is nominally twenty-two years old."

"Quite young!" Li Yao'er said. "Your Second Uncle says you're very familiar with this trade. How many years have you worked in it?"

"I'm ashamed to say—I failed at my studies and began helping my father in the weaving workshop at thirteen."

"What's there to be ashamed of? Those Confucian classics you read are useless nonsense." Li Yao'er let the crude word slip out without hesitation. "Practical workshop experience is far more substantial."

Though Chen Lin wasn't exactly a scholar, hearing this woman directly dismiss the sages' books as "nonsense" to his face still made him uncomfortable.

She changed the subject. "Shen Su and I have been entrusted by the 'Heaven and Earth Society' under the Senate to conduct silk industry improvement work here. Since you're an expert, I believe our future cooperation will be quite pleasant."

"Yes, I'll follow your lead."

"Why so formal?" Li Yao'er studied the young man before her. He was obviously different from his uncle—unremarkable in appearance but possessing a certain vitality. His speech was constrained, but intelligence showed in his features. Compared to "Second Uncle," who reeked of merchant cunning and always spoke in half-truths, this young man was far more agreeable.

Li Yao'er had actually been in Guangdong for over half a year. For the past several years, she had traveled between Lingao and Hangzhou promoting her silkworm improvement program with remarkable results. Breeding stations had been established at Phoenix Villa in Hangzhou and in Lingao, specializing in cultivating silkworm eggs. Because the raw silk produced from the Hangzhou station's silkworm eggs was excellent, the program had gained credibility among local silkworm farmers and was gradually spreading. According to the Agricultural Committee's promotion plan, the Lingao silkworm farm would serve as a research base for breeding, while the Hangzhou farm would carry out commercialized large-scale breeding, gradually replacing local strains throughout the Hang-Jia-Hu Plain.

However, Hangzhou wasn't a Green Zone. Zhao Yingong, however influential in Hangzhou, was merely a member of the gentry. There were many inconveniences and constraints.

Once the Mainland Campaign began, the Agricultural Committee turned its attention to Guangdong.

Before the 19th century, however, most exported raw silk and silk fabrics had been produced in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Taking Guangzhou's silk exports as an example, the largest volume was "Nanjing Silk"—from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region. Next came Sichuan satins, transported along the Yangtze to the two Hu provinces, then via the Xiang and Gan Rivers to Guangzhou. Some distinctive satins from Shandong and Henan in the north were also transported for sale.

This meant the Senate's export sources were entirely controlled by the Great Ming court. After taking Guangdong, the risks of this "transit" trade increased substantially. Whether the Hangzhou Station could continue handling raw silk procurement and transshipment was questionable. If the Ming court severed trade channels and silk fabric sources were cut off or significantly reduced, exports would inevitably suffer—damaging the Senate's business reputation. This was the outcome the Senate least wanted to see.

Expanding sericulture and silk weaving in Guangdong became an urgent priority.

Guangdong's subtropical climate offered far superior conditions in water, heat, and light compared to Jiangnan. Even in modern times, the Jiangnan region raised only spring and autumn silkworms, while the Pearl River Delta could raise five seasons. Basic conditions for sericulture and silk reeling were excellent. In the original timeline, starting from the Kangxi era, Guangdong silk production increased continuously under the stimulus of foreign trade. By the late Qing Dynasty, raw silk exported from Guangzhou was produced entirely within the Pearl River Delta region, and the satin weaving industry had achieved considerable scale.

However, intelligence gathered by Guo Yi's Guangzhou Station over the years showed that while this timeline's Pearl River Delta did produce silk and weave satin, both scale and quality made it only a minor player in the overall export market. Promoting new-style silk industry here held great potential.

As soon as the Pearl River Delta was pacified, under the Heaven and Earth Society's arrangement, Li Yao'er brought her personally trained disciple Shen Su and several graduates of the Fangcaodi Sericulture Vocational Class to Guangzhou.

During her year-plus in Hangzhou, Li Yao'er had successively taken in over a dozen girls as students to learn sericulture. Based on this cohort, a Sericulture Training Institute was established at Phoenix Villa. After her departure from Hangzhou, this institute was managed by Furong on her behalf. She had brought the two Wang Siniang daughters to Lingao and enrolled them in the Fangcaodi Sericulture Vocational Class.

The sisters Shen Hang and Shen Su had made rapid progress. Additionally, Li Yao'er took them along on every business trip. Though young, the sisters had become key technical personnel for the Agricultural Committee's sericulture program.

Not long after arriving in Guangzhou, however, they encountered the plague and were trapped for several months, unable to proceed. Only after the plague subsided could sericulture promotion begin.

Li Yao'er's promotion plan was modeled on Fei Dasheng's approach of establishing a demonstration center in Kaixiangong Village, Wujiang: find an area with an existing sericulture foundation, establish a model silkworm farm and reeling workshop, and gradually promote new silkworm strains and technologies to improve raw silk quality. This approach required fewer resources and was relatively safe.

Where to find the Senate's "Kaixiangong"? After extensive discussions with Senators and naturalized citizens familiar with local conditions, Li Yao'er finally selected Nansha Village in Xiangshan County.

Traditional Guangdong sericulture was concentrated mostly in Shunde, Dongguan, and Xiangshan. After screening, Li Yao'er chose Xiangshan County.

Xiangshan County had only silted up into land during the Ming Dynasty, so development remained relatively limited—it was classified as a "Lower County." Population density and land prices were correspondingly low, leaving substantial room for development. It wasn't far from Guangzhou and had Pearl River waterway connections for convenient transport. As a key governance area under Guangzhou Special Municipality, safety was reasonably assured.

Additionally, the fact that the owner of a fairly large-scale silk workshop in Xiangshan's Nansha Village had a "positive attitude" toward the Senate was another factor in her final selection.

Li Yao'er brought her promotion team and a National Army guard squad assigned by Bei Wei for protection to Nansha Village. When discussing "cooperation" with Chen Xuan, she received an immediate positive response. After inspecting Fenshenghe Weaving Workshop and finding the basic conditions satisfactory with many sericulture households nearby, she decided on the spot to establish the promotion center here.

With the location determined, Li Yao'er wrote back to Guangzhou and immediately began organizing operations in Nansha—rebuilding factory buildings, ordering equipment, bustling with purpose.

Before long, however, she discovered this "activist" was truly unreliable.

It wasn't that Chen Xuan harbored "conspiracies" or "loyalties to the Great Ming"—but extended contact revealed he knew virtually nothing about sericulture or the silk industry.

Li Yao'er's reason for seeking a local partner was to understand traditional local sericulture practices and make targeted improvements. As it happened, Chen Xuan couldn't answer nine questions out of ten, and his forced explanations on details were obviously fabricated. After some time, Li Yao'er's subordinates grew familiar with the weavers and villagers and learned that Chen Xuan was a "local ruffian" type who had seized this silk workshop by exploiting the chaos.

Learning the truth, Li Yao'er was deeply disappointed. But with matters already underway, she couldn't change course. She had to hold her nose and continue cooperating. Though Chen Xuan was useless professionally, he was quite capable at "getting things done"—whatever tasks were assigned, he accomplished.

She had somewhat dreaded a village with strong clan power like Nansha, but Chen Xuan surprisingly "handled it." Whether clan or village, no one dared disobey him. This made her work proceed very smoothly, and he had become one of the indispensable "talents."

Seeing the Australian woman's satisfied expression, Chen Xuan knew his introduction had been correct. Yet he felt conflicted: to curry favor with the Australians, he had to let his nephew shine; but if the nephew gained Australian trust, the silk workshop would slip from his grasp. If Chen Lin harbored grudges and whispered in the Chief's ear...

While secretly worrying, he noticed Li Yao'er's gaze drifting uncertainly toward him, though she said nothing. He quickly stood to take his leave.

Watching Chen Xuan depart, Li Yao'er turned to Chen Lin. "From now on, we're partners. We Australians believe in being straightforward. If you have doubts or questions, say them to my face."

"Yes..."

Li Yao'er cut him off. "I know—your father was Fenshenghe's true owner. As for your Second Uncle, I understand the situation."

Chen Lin stood quickly, alarmed. "I wouldn't dare—"

"Wouldn't dare what?" Li Yao'er was unconcerned. "However, your Second Uncle does serve as a capable grassroots cadre for us. As for you uncle and nephew—you must broaden your vision and enlarge your perspective. Don't fixate on this small silk factory and refuse to let go. Under Senate rule, opportunities to build a fortune abound."

Chen Lin couldn't help recalling what his cousin-uncle had told him—the Australians really did intend to develop workshops on a large scale! This Australian woman before him had actually traveled to such a remote hinterland to establish one!

If he could learn some Australian factory management skills here—or better yet, win this Australian woman's favor and support—establishing a cotton spinning factory in Nansha later would flow as naturally as water finding its channel.

The thought brightened his previously dejected mood considerably. He said immediately: "Since the Chief thinks highly of this humble one, I'll devote myself to the work with all my heart and strength!"

(End of Chapter)