Chapter 9

Faced with Ye Yu's confusion, Su Quanzhong revealed a bitter smile: "Nephew, you don't know, in three days it will be Magistrate Lu's birthday. These days, there are many guests, most of whom are buying new clothes to attend Magistrate Lu's birthday celebration..."

After Su Quanzhong's explanation, Ye Yu finally understood the reason. The mention of Magistrate Lu Kun's birthday reminded him of Lu Zheng. Back then, Lu Zheng had mentioned Magistrate Lu Kun's upcoming birthday as a reason for the damage to the jade kylin.

Whenever the topic of birthday celebrations came up, Su Quanzhong was full of complaints, even whispering resentfully, "Cough, this isn't a birthday celebration, it's clearly a money-grab! It's just a pretense to make it seem legitimate..."

After listening to Su Quanzhong's account, Ye Yu learned about many things in Qingliu County he didn't know. The current magistrate, Lu Kun, had been in office for two years and was fifty years old, reaching the age of knowing one's destiny.

In these two years, including this year, it was the second time he was celebrating his birthday. Last year, he sent out invitations widely in Qingliu County under the pretext of his zodiac year. As the saying goes, a county official may be small, but he can crush people. Therefore, once the invitations were sent out, all the gentry and merchants in Qingliu County came to congratulate him.

This year, Lu Kun had just reached the age of knowing his destiny, and he had been preparing for the birthday banquet since the New Year. This was a great hardship for the merchants and gentry in Qingliu County. Each birthday celebration was undoubtedly a major financial drain. Even though they knew it was a bottomless pit, they couldn't afford to skip it, otherwise, they would face difficulties in Qingliu County.

"Uncle Su, I've heard that the county captain is a just official. Why doesn't Magistrate Liu stop this? Even if he can't intervene in the magistrate's money-grabbing, he should report it to the prefecture or the imperial court..." After listening to Su Quanzhong's account, this doubt had been lingering in Ye Yu's mind, so he had to ask.

Su Quanzhong waved his hand, looking very helpless: "Magistrate Liu is indeed as you say, fair and incorruptible, but it's said that the magistrate has a deep background. How difficult would it be to shake him? Besides, officials protecting each other is an ancient principle. Who can really manage who?"

Su Quanzhong's account was not very clear, but Ye Yu understood. After all, he wasn't part of the government, and the bureaucratic connections were beyond Su Quanzhong's knowledge. However, based on this, Ye Yu could infer some things.

The magistrate and the county captain were at odds but had been able to coexist for years, indicating that Lu Kun had a complex background, and County Captain Liu Yuanshan was no ordinary person. At the very least, both had connections in the prefecture.

If one were to delve deeper, it would involve the political factions in the imperial court. According to Ye Yu's knowledge, the current court was divided into pro-war and pro-peace factions. The two minor officials in Qingliu County might be connected to these factions. Of course, this was just Ye Yu's wild speculation, and even he found his thoughts somewhat absurd.

Although Ye Yu was indignant about Lu Kun's blatant money-grabbing, the saying goes, 'If it doesn't concern you, stay out of it.' He was just a young man with no status, no identity, and no property. Even if Lu Kun wanted to grab money, it wouldn't be his turn, so why should he trouble himself? Besides, even if it were his turn in the future, a merchant, no matter how wealthy, could only be like a lamb to the slaughter by the government.

After that, the two talked about the supply and demand of fabrics. After some investigation, Ye Yu learned that all the fabrics used in Qingliu County's clothing shops came from the Pan family's fabric store. The Pan family was the wealthiest in Qingliu County, and their fabric business alone had three dyeing workshops. This was why the Pan family's fabric store could supply the entire county.

"Uncle Su, since we have a clothing shop, why don't we open a dyeing workshop? This way, we can be self-sufficient in fabric supply and also supply other shops. The clothing shop and the dyeing workshop can form a supply-demand relationship, saving a considerable amount of expenses..." Ye Yu saw great potential in this.

Su Quanzhong sipped his tea and said indifferently, "How could I not know the profit in this? Even Li Tong and others know the benefits of opening a dyeing workshop!"

"Then why..."

"Nephew, you know one thing but not the other. Opening a dyeing workshop doesn't require much capital, but the main issue is the lack of experienced dyeing workers. A year ago, I bought a piece of land outside the city and opened a small dyeing workshop..."

At this point, Su Quanzhong sighed sadly, "Unfortunately, it closed after just three months. The fabric colors were uneven and dull, and more importantly, the colors would fade when the clothes were washed! After a few washes, they became real 'flowered cloth'!"

Ye Yu hadn't expected this experience. It seemed that the Pan family's fabric business had a monopoly in Qingliu County. From the fabrics he had seen recently, even if Su Quanzhong's dyeing workshop could produce non-fading fabrics, they would still be hard to match the quality of the Pan family's fabrics. Even Ye Yu, who was familiar with fabrics from his past life, had to admit the superior quality of the Pan family's fabrics. This showed that all the skilled dyers in the region were already working for the Pan family's dyeing workshops.

Ye Yu was silent for a long time before finally speaking, "Uncle Su, I have a request, I wonder if you can agree?"

"Nephew, don't be so formal. If I can do it, just ask!" Su Quanzhong had a very good impression of Ye Yu and held him in high regard.

"Since Uncle Su's dyeing workshop has been idle for a long time, I would like to take it over. I wonder if Uncle Su will agree?"

Su Quanzhong was taken aback and then asked skeptically, "You want to reopen the dyeing workshop?"

"Exactly, but I only have a rough idea, which is not yet complete... If Uncle Su agrees, I am short of money, but I am willing to sign a contract! When I make a profit, I will repay you double!"

Ye Yu was completely honest, revealing his thoughts. After all, this was more like an empty promise than a business deal. His unrealistic request could easily be refused by Su Quanzhong. The only thing he could do was to be honest.

Su Quanzhong fell silent, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Ye Yu. Ye Yu, without any pretense, met Su Quanzhong's gaze calmly. After a moment, Su Quanzhong nodded solemnly, "Alright, I will help you! But..."

"But what?" Su Quanzhong's change in tone made Ye Yu's heart tighten.

Su Quanzhong laughed heartily and said cheerfully, "But, let's skip the contract. Since you want to open a dyeing workshop, I will give it to you!"

"This..." Ye Yu hadn't expected such an outcome, which was completely out of his expectation.

"Nephew, don't worry. This dyeing workshop is like a chicken rib to me. If I give it to you, perhaps it will come to life..."

At this moment, Ye Yu felt a sense of gratitude. Although he knew that merchants don't do anything without profit, Su Quanzhong's generosity was truly unexpected.

"Since that's the case, I thank Uncle Su! If the dyeing workshop succeeds as you say, I will not forget your kindness today!" Ye Yu, moved, made a promise.

Su Quanzhong acted swiftly. The next afternoon, he led Ye Yu to the abandoned dyeing workshop. Ye Yu carefully examined the entire environment and found that the land Su Quanzhong had bought was excellent. It was by the city and the water, facing the main road, with a prime location. As long as they could produce high-quality fabrics, a steady stream of wealth would be no problem.

The dyeing workshop's warehouse was stocked with a large amount of dye and raw fabric, and all the necessary items for dyeing were available. Ye Yu had been worried that even with the dyeing workshop, he wouldn't have the capital to run it. But now, it seemed that the only thing lacking was the dyeing workers.

Ye Yu wasn't in a hurry to recruit and select dyeing workers. He needed to study the reasons for Su Quanzhong's failure. Moreover, with his current financial situation, he didn't have enough money to start the dyeing workshop.

As night fell, signaling the end of the day and the beginning of the next, Ye Yu sat at his desk, sketching lines and frameworks, sometimes writing swiftly, sometimes pausing. It wasn't until late at night that he slowly raised his head, stretching his sore arms and neck.

Pushing his wheelchair to the window, he gazed at the bright moon in the night sky and smiled contentedly. For several days, he had been busy in the shop during the day and studying books about dyeing at night, hoping to find a solution and to recall his knowledge of modern dyeing techniques.

As the saying goes, 'Heaven rewards those who work hard.' After several days of thinking and planning, he finally found a solution. However, he knew he couldn't rush into it. He needed to conduct repeated experiments to confirm the feasibility of the dyeing process. For him, the dyeing workshop was just one part of the plan.

With his legs disabled, he was destined to never take the imperial exams, let alone enter the bureaucracy. Although the court claimed to recruit talented people without restrictions, had there ever been a disabled person in the imperial court in thousands of years? Therefore, he was very clear about his future path. Ye Yu often thought that perhaps he was destined to work with fabrics. If so, why not create a magnificent tapestry on this fabric?

The next morning, as Ye Yu was getting dressed and preparing to go to the 'Xiu Yi Yang Shen' clothing shop with Qiulan, a series of urgent knocks came at the door. When Qiulan opened the gate, a man in a green robe and a small hat, dressed as a servant, barged in. Ye Yu recognized him; it was Lu San, the book boy who had accompanied Lu Zheng.

"What is it?" Ye Yu's voice was cold and calm. He had always despised servants who acted arrogantly, so he had no good feelings toward Lu San.

Lu San held his head high, looking haughty, and handed a red invitation to Ye Yu with one hand, saying with a sinister smile, "This afternoon is my master's birthday. I hope Mr. Ye will come to celebrate!" After saying this, he ignored Ye Yu, turned around, and swaggered away.

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