Lu Yuan came to the carpenter Zeng Dongsheng, and when he saw that he was shaving, he walked over and asked, "You are Carpenter Zeng, I am Lu Yuan from Xinhu Fang, Zhanan Street, I have a job for you to do, how much do you charge?" ”

"A large piece of silver is a penny, and a small piece can be used for a meal."

Zeng Dongsheng replied.

"What if you provide the wood?"

Lu Yuan asked.

"Ten taels of ebony, five taels of red pine, three taels of fir wood, and one tael of cypress."

Zeng Dongsheng still replied without raising his head.

Lu Yuan had to take out the drawings and hand them to Zeng Dongsheng: "The object I want to make is not big, just like a shuttle, but a roller must be planed out in the middle, and there must be inlays at both ends that can install this iron ring, what kind of wood can be used to make it, and how much silver money is needed?" ”

Zeng Dongsheng took a closer look: "If it's an ordinary shuttle, then the ordinary wood is fine, and you can give it away for free, but this roller is difficult to plan, but it can also be made, but it is so small, you can look at it yourself, or take care of a meal." ”

Lu Yuan was a little speechless, he didn't expect Zeng Dongsheng to do business so casually.

"How many do you estimate you can make in a day?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Forty or fifty", Zeng Dongsheng replied.

"Then I'll give you a penny, how about it?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Okay, don't worry, I'll do it for you!"

Zeng Dongsheng estimated in his heart that if it was really a penny, he could earn almost one or two silver a month, and he became active all of a sudden, and hurriedly took the drawings from Lu Yuan's hand, ready to try to do it.

Lu Yuan left Zeng Dongsheng with a deposit of fifty wen and left here.

Three days later.

Blacksmith Yang Weishi sent the first batch of springs, a total of sixty, to the Lu family.

The carpenter Zeng Dongsheng also sent the first batch of roller shuttles, a total of 154, to the Lu family.

Lu Yuan received the goods, and as soon as he entered the house, he saw Uncle Fei talking to his mother.

"Madam, I mean it's better to sell the weaving mill, and get some money to pay off part of the debt, it's better than losing money all the time, these weavers should also be dismissed, and the Lu family can't support them, unless they don't want moon silver like me."

Uncle Fei is saying.

And Lu Kangshi also said: "In this case, then please contact if there is anyone who wants to buy the weaving mill, and by the way, inform those weavers, let them find a new owner as soon as possible, but unfortunately, these are the old weavers of the Lu family, who have been with the Lu family for so many years, but now they have to be scattered." ”

Lu Kangshi sighed after speaking.

Lu Yuan was about to speak at this time when he heard a cry outside.

"Madam, don't sell the weaving mill, our whole family lives on this income from the weaving mill!"

"Madam, show mercy and let the weaving mill continue to open, and it will be regarded as a good accumulation, and we can just take care of a full meal without wages."

……

Lu Yuan hurriedly came to the gate, and saw that a large group of people had already knelt outside the gate of the Lu family.

Many of these people were Liao people who fled to Guannai because of the massacre of Jiannu, and there were also poor people from other places, basically because they couldn't survive in their hometowns, they came to work in a prosperous commercial town like Linqingzhou.

And because of the current internal and external troubles of the Ming Dynasty, wars were waged everywhere, and the number of displaced people increased sharply.

Even if Linqing City is commercially developed, it cannot meet the needs of all displaced people to find employment, even the work of pulling fiber by the canal will be robbed, not to mention the work of weavers.

As long as the Lu family closes the weaving mills, it will mean that these weavers will lose their jobs and find it difficult to find a job again, and will have to become beggars or homeless people again.

Therefore, these weavers were extremely reluctant to close or sell the Lu family's weaving mill to his family, and when they heard that Uncle Fei intended to let the owner sell the weaving mill, they all knelt down to dissuade him.

Uncle Fei was a little annoyed, walked out directly, and kicked a middle-aged woman led by him into the sky: "Yin's, you big mouth, I accidentally gave you a blow in the morning, and you brought someone to make trouble in the afternoon, what, are you trying to force Mrs. to death, now the owner himself owes a hundred taels of silver, where is there any silver to feed you!" If you don't hurry up and find another owner, what are you doing here! Are you trying to force me to let the owner report to the official! ”

Yin sighed, then got up, knelt down to Lu Yuan and Uncle Fei and said: "We also know that the owner is difficult, but if the weaving mill is sold, we will not be able to live, the other owners are full of people, if the weaving workshop is gone, we can only be beggars and robbers, begging the owner to give us a way to live!" ”

"How can the owner give you a way to live, and who will give the owner a way to live......"

Uncle Fei was yelling, Lu Yuan pulled Uncle Fei aside and said, "Since everyone can't accept the weaving mill being sold, then we won't sell the weaving mill, but within three months, we will no longer be able to pay you wages, and you can only have a meal, I wonder if you may accept it?" ”

Uncle Fei looked at Lu Yuan: "Brother! ”

Lu Yuan waved his hand, glanced at Uncle Fei, and didn't let Uncle Fei speak.

Uncle Fei was a little stunned, it was the first time he saw Lu Yuan glaring at him like this, with a look of inmissibility, and he couldn't help but shut up for a while.

At this time.

Yin's and the other weavers all kowtowed to Lu Yuan.

"Young Master, you are really a living Bodhisattva!"

"Young master, you will live a hundred years!"

"If we want, we can eat enough!"

Seeing this, Lu Yuan nodded: "Since this is the case, let's overcome the difficulties together, and everyone go back." ”

The weavers all left.

"Lu Yuan, if this weaving mill is not sold, we will not be able to open it, even if these weavers only care about their full meal, we can't feed them, you now directly promised the weaver not to sell the weaving mill, but how good, let alone feed these weavers, what should you do if you marry Tang Ying's dowry, it's rare that the Tang family didn't dislike us and fall, now that Tang Ying has passed the age of Xuan, we can't drag it out and not marry others."

Lu Kangshi said anxiously, it was obvious that she also agreed with Uncle Fei's proposal to sell the weaving workshop.

"Yes, brother, although this weaving workshop is the master's effort, but at the moment we are mud bodhisattvas crossing the river and it is difficult to protect ourselves, so we have to sell it, but now you directly promise them not to sell, this is not to force yourself into a desperate situation, do you want to sell your old house?"

Uncle Fei also said sadly.

"Mother, Uncle Fei, don't worry, I have a way to bring the weaving workshop back to life."

Lu Yuan said and said to Uncle Fei again: "By the way, Uncle Fei, now the weaving workshop doesn't need so many weavers anyway because of its poor revenue, you find ten honest weavers, and I just let them do other things." ”

Uncle Fei still wants to persuade again.

But Lu Yuan said with a hint of unspeakable tone: "Uncle Fei, go quickly, it is very important to find these ten people, you have to personally check it, and you must ensure absolute loyalty to our Lu family." ”