In August, the cotton fields of Qiongzhou officially entered the flowering period. After more than a year of long-term preparation, the initial results have now been seen, and the members who participated in it are all very happy.

The harvest is about to begin, but with the inventory in the warehouse, the first workshop south of Fucheng and on the bank of the Limu River has already started.

Silk weaving is divided into multiple steps from the beginning of mulberry planting and silkworm raising to the final textile printing and dyeing, and the same is true for cotton weaving. After the cotton is harvested, it is not necessary to reel the silk to return the cocoon to the silk thread like silk, but it also requires the steps of ginning and stretching the cotton, and the initial processing is completed before it can enter the spinning and weaving process as in the manufacture of other silk fabrics.

The first workshop in the workshop is responsible for cotton ginning, the so-called cotton ginning is to separate the cotton silk and cotton seeds, according to historical records, the earliest cotton ginning is actually not a ginning at all, but by manual removal of cotton seeds. Later, with the advent of the pressure roller, the speed of cotton ginning has been effectively improved, and there is a saying about rushing cotton in ancient Chinese ginning.

In the workshop here, it is no longer an ordinary pressure roller, a worker steps on the pedal, with that one volt, with the conduction of parts, two rolling shafts of different diameters and speeds rotate in opposite directions, and at the same time act on the cotton fed into it, only to see that the cotton seed and cotton fiber are easily separated.

With this kind of agitator, each unit can ginn ten catties of cotton per day, and produce three to four catties of net cotton, which is very objective. In this factory, workers are using each agitator, and they are processing the last batch of cotton stock. Every half day, an overseer records the output of each mixer, while the workers send the rolled cotton fibres to the next plant.

This is the end of the first step of the process, and the second step is to stretch the cotton. This process, Chen Kai once heard people mention this process when he understood the current cotton production process, and vaguely recalled some old things, remembering that when he was a child, he had seen a special cotton in the open space to renovate the cotton sleeve. Every few years, if you feel that the quilt is not enough, you have to send it to a place that specializes in playing cotton for renovation, and every time you get it back, the cotton cover looks fluffy and clean, and it is more comfortable to cover.

In the workshop, the production method of this process is roughly the same as Chen Kai's memory, which uses a special slingshot to strike the rope string with a cone, and the vibration of the rope string loosens the tangled cotton fibers, and at the same time shakes some dirt on it.

The buzzing sound was incessant in the workshop, and on closer inspection, the workers were no longer using the bamboo rope bow more than four feet long that Huang Daopo had improved, but a wooden bow with "wood as the bow and wax silk as the string". This wooden bow has a wide back and an extended body, and when the bowstring oscillates, the space to contact the cotton is more than the previous one, which further improves the effectiveness of the cotton.

This type of wooden bow was not only used in China during the Ming Dynasty, but also spread to Japan in the 16th century. According to the Japanese habit of adding Tang characters to affairs from China, this wooden bow is called Tang bow in Japan.

The first two processes are actually still manpower, but with the improvement of machinery and tools, the efficiency of cotton ginning and cotton elasticization in the Ming Dynasty has been greatly improved compared with the era of Huang Daopo, who has always been praised by these members. After these two processes, the cotton picked from the cotton field became fluffy and clean, and in the next workshop, under the operation of the thirty-two spindles driven by two leather ropes, which had been widely used in Shunde, the cotton fibers were quickly extracted from the ball, just like silk.

Such a water-to-large spinning wheel, as long as the raw materials are sufficient, can spin up to 100 catties of cotton yarn every day. This figure, like the silk weaving workshop in Shunde, has achieved leapfrog growth compared with human spinning. The members of Qiongzhou Mansion have long thought clearly, which is why they have invested such huge manpower, material and financial resources in cotton production, because they have taken a fancy to the production efficiency of hydraulic machinery.

Chen Kai relied on the manufacturing bureau to quickly produce weapons, thus providing a great weapon guarantee for the army to sweep through Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Up to now, the manufacturing bureau in Chaozhou, the manufacturing branch in Foshan, and the Fuzhou Ordnance Bureau, which is under construction and some factories have been put into use, these places have become the location of hydraulic machinery. The same idea has also been applied in the silk weaving workshop in Shunde and the cotton cloth workshop in Qiongzhou, and it is still being further expanded, so that the productivity and production efficiency have been greatly improved!

Cotton yarn, in fact, is already a commodity. Yarn spindles are an important commodity for China's exports, and they are not inferior to cotton cloth that has completed the process of weaving, printing and dyeing, because it has greater scalability.

As for the cotton yarn that has already been produced, the members voted from Guangzhou and finally decided to sell the stock that is expected to be used for weaving cotton cloth before the start of the new cotton harvest, so as to recoup part of the money invested in the purchase of land and the preparation of the workshop. On the buyer's side, they have reached an agreement with the Guangdong Trading Company's branch in Qiongzhou, which will make a parity acquisition on behalf of the Zheng Group. Although this is far less profitable than selling directly to Nanyang and other regions, it is better to return the funds quickly and invest the returned funds into the next stage of production as soon as possible.

"At this stage, our cotton cloth production in Qiongzhou cannot be carried out like the silk weaving production in Shunde, it is still in the stage of accumulation, and the profits will be much thinner. In this regard, we have all been mentally prepared before we make the decision, and the old man hopes that the gentlemen will not have the intention of retreating because of the temporary disadvantage. ”

Mr. Bai, the major shareholder of the cotton workshop, told the other members in the conference hall outside, and everyone expressed their absolute agreement with this. This is not only because the Shunde silk weaving workshop has achieved initial success and entered the formal sake, but also in the process of acquiring land and cotton, they are also acting in groups, crushing other competitors with huge funds and organizations, and the strength contained in this Guangdong business alliance makes them more willing to unite under this banner and fight against risks together.

Now, the new cotton is being picked, and the workshop is doing its best to digest the last stock. While the spindles were sold in large quantities, the weaving of cotton cloth did not stagnate, and was carried out in an orderly manner.

Just like silk weaving, the weaving of cotton cloth is not simply criss-crossed. Weaving processes such as "wrong yarn", "color matching", "heald thread", and "wadding" make ordinary cotton cloth able to present a variety of beautiful patterns. Taking Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which are the most developed cotton weaving industry today, as an example, the standard cloth of Sanlintang, the Longdun cloth of the western suburbs of Songjiang, the Ding Niangzi cloth of Yicheng, and the medicine spot cloth of Qinglong are all very well-known. In addition, there are more farthest and smoothest three shuttle cloth, which adopts the technique of weaving Qiuluo, every three shuttles step on the soft heald once, so that the light yarn is twisted, forming a small hole in the road, especially suitable for the manufacture of intimate clothing, it is said that even the underwear and underwear of the Ming Dynasty emperor are cut from cotton cloth woven by this technique.

Just like the successful model in Shunde, they also employ a large number of people, and now the cotton cloth woven from the cotton stock purchased last year has gradually begun to take shape, at least the signs of success have begun to appear.

"Today's meeting, in addition to the new cotton harvest, is more important than the hand of the old man of the army. Mr. Chen has already made a post, asking us, as well as some gentry and local well-known figures in Qiongzhou Mansion, to hold a meeting in Guangzhou, saying that it is to discuss the rejuvenation plan......"

The post has been received by everyone here, but the only strange thing is that this invitation letter in the name of Chen Kai himself did not go through the channel of the government, and was not issued to them through the yamen of the Qiongzhou prefect, but through the Guangdong Trading Company. If it were only for them merchants, then it would be reasonable, but now it also involves the gentry and powerful people at the grass-roots level, which seems a little strange.

"I heard that the country surnamed Ye has set up a six-official system."

"It's true, and I've heard that these six officials are actually the six departments, and the country surname wants to empty the imperial court......"

The whisper in the audience, a voice said so, and the person who answered it was immediately startled, and immediately stopped his next words: "Don't dare to talk nonsense, this is going to lose your head." ”

"Of course I do." The person who was interrupted was very displeased, and then continued to speak: "I think it must be Governor Zhang who said this, the surname of the country is favored by the first emperor, and the surname given is also to ask the surname of the country to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty." Over the years, the national surname can not be called a title to the outside world, but he has never used the national surname, how can he easily betray the court. ”

After chattering to finish, the man then lowered his voice and continued to speak to the others: "I see, this matter has nothing to do with the government, it is the boss's own idea, and he wants to get local support. We are all eating with the boss, so we should go and cheer for the boss at this time. ”

And gave a notice to the government, which made everyone present more or less a little worried, worried about the relationship between Chen Kai and Zheng Chenggong, and more closely, whether the Marquis Lin of Qiongzhou, Guo Shuai and the new Fuzun would have any discord with Chen Kai, which would affect the fate of them and their families.

However, they are all members of the Guangdong Business Alliance, and they are already Chen Kai's people who have been labeled. Not to mention, they now have a sign of success in the cotton industry in Qiongzhou with the organization and funds of the Guangdong Business Alliance, and naturally they can't let go easily.

The resolution was quickly passed unanimously, and all the staff went to Guangzhou to help Chen Kai, and the business of the Qiongzhou government, especially the cotton cloth industry, which was in the most critical period of development, were handed over to the sons and nephews of their cronies and the shopkeeper, so that they could continue to maintain the current situation - the purchase of cotton to buy cotton, the purchase of land to buy land, the manufacturing machinery of the manufacturing machinery, and the hired labor of the hired labor. All in all, what to do, don't let their short absence affect business!

The members of the Guangdong Business Alliance, some of the gentry, and local powerful people, the former all went out, and the latter only hesitated for a moment before setting off one after another, even if they could not go in person, they also sent relevant representatives to rush to the capital of Qiongzhou at the scheduled time, and took the sea ship of the Guangdong Trading Company to Guangzhou.

Compared with Qiongzhou Mansion, Guangzhou can be described as a building near the water. The members here, as well as the gentry and local dignitaries, all expressed that they would not dare to be left behind when they went to Guangzhou to participate in the grand event. Especially the relevant characters in Guangzhou Fucheng, they are the most active, which is also because of the trust in Chen Kai, because of the life-and-death struggle back then.

The gentry were still actively preparing, but the members were still busy running around for business. It has been nearly half a year since Shunde's decision, and in the past six months, they have acquired a large area of mulberry fields and land in Xinhui County according to the results of the vote, and started the construction of the workshop.

In Xinhui County, due to the eight-year war in Yongli, the huge loss of population is unimaginable, and the people in the city are still shocking to avoid being reduced to fish and meat. In the past year or so, the recovery of the population has been very slow, and they have opened up the links of the government with the help of the relationship of the Guangdong business alliance, and the acquisition is very strong, and the government is also happy to do so, and hopes that they can drive the recovery of the entire local economy with the silk weaving industry as in Shunde.

According to the voting options at the time, Xinhui was one of them, due to the low price of land, and the two counties of Panyu and Nanhai in Guangzhou were the hometowns of many of their members.

The profit-seeking nature of businessmen is inevitable, but Chinese businessmen always have a sense of nostalgia, so they finally decided to lease the mulberry fields in these two counties in batches, all of which are long-term lease contracts, giving the villagers a stable income at the same time, they can also harvest raw materials and harvest popularity and goodwill in their hometown.

With the experience of the initial results of Shunde, the affairs of Xinhui, Panyu and Nanhai are progressing relatively smoothly. In order to take care of the invitees from other prefectures and counties, Chen Kai set the meeting date for mid-November, so that even the invitees from the farthest Qiongzhou and Chaozhou prefectures would have more time.

Chaozhou Mansion, which was the earliest place for the Zheng Group to recover, Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai spent a lot of energy here to have a long-term stability here.

Jieyang County, west of Fucheng, was once the fourth uncle of Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai's father-in-law, where the garrison of Taishan Zheng Hongkui was located, and now it has already become a hinterland.

On the north side of the county seat's east gate straight street, there is a Taishidi, the main building is located in the lotus core, sits in the north and faces south, the overall is "a hundred birds towards the phoenix", the wall base is all pad stone strips, the wall is made of gray bricks, the whole building is supported by wooden pillars on the roof, the main building is a hard hilltop, the mixed beam frame structure of the bucket and the beam, the wood carving on the beam frame, the red brick laid on the hall floor is elegant and simple.

On the left and right stone pillars in the back hall of Taishidi, the couplet of "respecting and knowing the line is wise and vast, and the righteous way repairs why need victory and urgency" is the handwriting of Guo Zhiqi, who is the official court, the military department, the scholar of Wuyingdian University, and the military affairs of Liangguang and Guangzhou. And this is exactly where Guo Zhiqi's former residence is.

Not far from Taishidi, it is a building called Jinma Yutang, which enshrines the gods of the ancestors of the Guo family in the back hall, and the place of the clan meeting in front of it. This time, Chen Kai's invitation was also sent to the Guo family, and a group of clansmen attended the meeting here, and it was decided that two shrewd and capable clansmen would attend the meeting instead of the patriarch.

Leaving the Golden Horse Yutang, the two walked side by side, although they are not compatriots of the same milk, but they are also very close. All you need here is a look, and you don't need to say anything to understand the other party's mind.

"The second brother is the greatest hope of our Guo family, Chen Kai has always been not on good terms with the second brother, this time, he must not be allowed to do anything that endangers the second brother and our Guo family."

"That's natural, this time, whatever he says, let's follow the opposite, we must cooperate with the second brother and fight Chen Kai's arrogance!"