Chapter 2550: The Cloth Shop Boss

Li Shan scratched his head, mulling over the Guangzhou market report that Chen Xiaobing and the others had brought. "Seems like both assessments are correct?"

Zou Biao spread his hands. "Exactly. These two statements appear contradictory, but they're both accurate. Social development has dynamic spatial and temporal imbalances—Britain experiences this, and China even more so. Two seemingly contradictory processes can exist simultaneously within the same country, sometimes even within the same county."

"I didn't expect someone who's clearly a Science student to have such an interest in social sciences."

"I'm an Engineering student," Zou Biao said solemnly. "And what we're discussing now is essentially economic history. Without a certain level of mathematical ability, you can't truly comprehend it."

"So the long-duration historical approach is still valid? If history continues developing along these patterns, won't historical phenomena simply repeat themselves?"

"Historical materials can be true or false, but there's no such thing as history being 'valid' or 'invalid,'" Zou Biao explained. "History itself is a summary and refinement based on past information. The source materials themselves vary in authenticity and completeness. To truly understand any situation, you still need field investigation."

"We take one trip around International Market, and it almost feels like you're preparing to write a thesis." Li Shan laughed.

"International's opening went smoothly, but I'm worried the market itself is far from calm." Zou Biao's expression grew concerned. "Without personally observing the market, I'm afraid serious problems might develop."

Naturally, they already knew about the Paper Cotton situation. Whether Police or Political Security, an important responsibility was collecting social sentiment and public opinion. Reports about Paper Cotton flooding the market and rampant speculation had landed on their desks over a month ago.

But Paper Cotton speculation was fundamentally a financial problem. Although Li Shan and Zou Biao recognized the danger it posed, the specific response depended on decisions from Finance and the Financial Department. As leaders of production departments, they had no authority over market operations.

"I also think this Paper Cotton business is outrageous. The speculative element is far too pronounced." Zou Biao frowned deeply. "What did the Wang couple have to say?"

"They don't handle this. Theoretically speaking, the matter is 'Touching neither 1 nor 8' right now—completely unrelated to anyone's jurisdiction. After all, we don't have a futures market. The Bank also claims it's not their concern since the people speculating in Paper Cotton haven't taken out any bank loans. Mayor Liu held a work meeting and assigned this to Chu He and Ren Youzi. Theoretically, aren't they the heads of the Guangzhou Stock Exchange?"

"What use are those two bare commanders?" Despite Chu He and Ren Youzi holding titles of Securities Regulatory Commission Secretary and Stock Exchange Chairman respectively, they could command only their own personal secretaries. They had set up a joint office in the Great World building.

Because securities trading volume was so small and efficiency mattered, the Senate adhered to its principle of not supporting idle personnel. The Stock Exchange and Securities Regulatory Commission only conducted business on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, both men held separate part-time positions.

"Isn't this just professional alignment?"

"I have a feeling this arrangement will cause trouble sooner or later." Zou Biao sighed repeatedly.

They took a small skiff directly from the Great World Wharf to International Market Wharf. Their landing attracted little attention. Although the opening ceremony had been held just yesterday, the market was already quite lively. Naturalized Citizens came and went in great numbers, and everyone had grown accustomed to seeing people in Australian-style clothing—they no longer drew curious stares.

To stimulate market development, the Hainan Demonstration Factory had begun releasing inventory cotton yarn and cloth in batches starting a week ago. The Nansha Cotton Textile Factory, which they had prioritized supporting, had also started supplying cotton cloth to the market. Now was the time to observe consumer response.

Among International Market's four professional zones—A, B, C, and D—Zone D was mainly occupied by Senate enterprises, while the shop rental rate in the first three zones remained below fifty percent. Yet even at half capacity, the transaction volume generated was already considerable by contemporary standards. Merchants could readily appreciate the benefits of this specialized market model.

They first visited the Market Management Company to get a general sense of current operations. The situation matched their expectations: transaction volume wasn't large yet, but showed a gradual upward trend. However, flowers, yarn, and cloth accounted for only a small portion of total volume—less than twenty percent. Silk products still dominated the market.

The reason was self-evident: raw silk and silk textiles had bulk buyers among foreign merchants. With Guangzhou's opening as a port and various restrictions on foreign merchants gradually lifted, their purchasing had shifted from a "Monsoon System" to a "Year-long System." Many merchants now stayed in Guangzhou permanently, no longer concentrating their acquisitions in particular months.

For cotton products, export quantities of locally produced cotton cloth remained minimal. On the contrary, due to brisk sales of low-to-medium grade cotton cloth in the domestic market, large quantities of Songjiang cotton cloth had been arriving recently. Rising cotton cloth demand and climbing prices, combined with continuously increasing cotton yarn demand from small-scale weavers and household producers, had stabilized and improved yarn shipments from the Lingao Demonstration Factory and Nansha Factory. Even "Improved Yarn" produced on Type 07 manual machines had risen with the tide, and prices continued climbing steadily.

From a market perspective, aside from skyrocketing cotton prices and the increasingly frenzied "Paper Cotton" speculation, overall conditions seemed favorable. Machine-made yarn had earned widespread recognition and had displaced Earth Yarn from a significant portion of its market.

Emerging from the Market Management Company, they strolled through the market, chatting with shop owners and clerks in the retail sections, roughly verifying the data they'd obtained.

All told, as long as Paper Cotton speculation could be curbed in time and the financial risk dissolved, the potential for crisis in the cotton textile market remained within preventable and controllable bounds.

After completing their circuit, both men felt reasonably satisfied. Finally, Zou Biao suggested they visit Zone A.

Zone A handled small-scale commerce. Despite its bustling crowds, it accounted for less than five percent of the entire market's transaction quota. But such small businesses touched the lives of countless families.

"To truly see how much influence our actions have on society, observing the common people's conditions directly is the most realistic approach."

Zone A, besides its established storefronts, also permitted stall-setting on undeveloped open ground. The merchants here, whether buying or selling, operated on the smallest possible scale. Their goods were meager: one or two bolts of cloth or silk, a few skeins of cotton or silk yarn, a picul of raw cotton or dried cocoons. Though the business was modest, it represented the sideline income of countless farming households around Guangzhou. The women of many families exchanged these goods for small earnings to supplement household expenses.

They soon noticed seven or eight people gathered before a small storefront, apparently engaged in some kind of discussion. By the look of it, a shop proprietor was purchasing cloth from retail households.

At Li Shan's signal, the group drifted over casually to observe the scene inside.

Sure enough, this was a small "Cloth Shop." Li Shan knew the term "Shop," or Zhuang, carried a specific meaning in contemporary commerce. In the handicraft sector, it typically referred to "Putting-out Merchants"—those who distributed raw materials and purchased finished products. Some didn't supply materials at all, simply acquiring products directly from scattered households. Most did both.

Merchants who established Shops all maintained their own wholesale channels. After collecting goods, they would transport them elsewhere for bulk sales.

The Cloth Shop's proprietor was a thin, tall man. While directing two shop assistants to move cloth and receive visitors, he simultaneously bargained with retail households coming to sell, picking at quality, measuring lengths, and finally weighing on his scale. He also found time to reprimand or remind his assistants. The man could truly be called "ears listening in eight directions, eyes viewing six roads."

With nearly every roll of cloth that unfolded in his hands, he began shaking his head. Although Li Shan and Zou Biao couldn't fully understand his Cantonese, they grasped the general meaning: endless fault-finding. Though the retail sellers argued with him each time, they invariably lost the battle, allowing him to deduct anywhere from a few fen to a full jiao.

"His style reminds me of a Wuxia character..." Zou Biao murmured.

"Who?"

"Head Shaking Lion."

Both men laughed. The sound caught the proprietor's attention. He raised his eyes and spotted several people in "Cadre Suits" watching. His mind worked quickly; he immediately smiled and called out, "Comrades, how about stepping into my humble shop to have a look?"

Li Shan had intended to learn about the merchants' circumstances anyway, so he nodded. "That would be fine, though you still seem busy with your trade..."

"No hindrance at all." The proprietor laughed. "It's a skill I've practiced since youth—using one heart for two purposes. Talking business never delays doing business!"

He turned to his assistant. "Ah Qian, invite the Comrades inside to sit. Brew some good tea!"

Li and Zou entered the shop. The space was quite small—apart from the counter, everything was inventory. But behind the counter stood a tea table and several Australian Rattan Chairs. The complete set of "Kung Fu Tea" equipment on the table gave Li Shan a familiar feeling. He hadn't expected that habits some Senators had brought from the old timeline would spread so quickly.

The proprietor left his assistant in charge temporarily and came over personally to brew tea for the two visitors. "The two gentlemen must be high-ranking Australian cadres..."

Li Shan couldn't help laughing. "How can you tell?"

"I can see it from your bearing. Your attitude and manner—I recognize it at a glance! Though you're missing that certain something compared to the Senator Chiefs, you still have seven or eight parts of the resemblance."

Hearing this, Li Shan wasn't sure whether to take it as praise or deprecation, and could only respond with an awkward chuckle. Zou Biao found the proprietor quite entertaining and said, "Your eye is sharp! We're from the Great Song Weaving Bureau, here specifically to check on Australian Cotton Yarn sales."

"So Australian Yarn is spun at your establishment!" The manager exclaimed with exaggerated surprise. "My respects! May I ask the Comrades' honored surnames?"

There was no need for concealment; the two gave their surnames. The manager said, "My humble surname is Li, given name Qiwei. I run a small Cloth Shop in Nanhai County. This is a branch location."

Both visitors nearly sprayed out their tea. Li Shan suppressed his laughter with effort and managed, "So... So it is Manager Li."

"You're too kind, too kind." Manager Li was visibly excited and was about to attend to them personally when the customers waiting outside grew impatient, clamoring to sell their cloth.

(End of Chapter)