Two days later, Lu Xianzhi sent the news, saying that he had agreed with the Weaving Bureau, and initially felt that this method was feasible. However, before it can be implemented, it is necessary to conduct a thorough investigation of the weaving skills of these women to determine that they are worthy of being recruited by the government as weavers.

In this way, the woman selected by Xu Shuhua also came in handy. So early that morning, Xu Shuhua took them to the outside of the largest weaving and dyeing workshop in the city, ready to be assessed and screened by the officials of the Weaving Bureau.

Because this was only a preliminary survey of the weaving level, and there were not many people needed, only ten women in total participated, all between the ages of 20 and 35, which is the most suitable age for learning and working.

These women entered the city for the first time since they had traveled south, and they were stunned by the bustling streets along the way, their eyes full of confusion, and their whole body was cramped and restrained, and they seemed out of place here.

Gu Yunji was surprised to find that Wu Niangzi was also among them. She was dressed in a linen cloth that had been washed to white, and followed behind everyone with a cower, and when she saw Lu Xianzhi and these officials of Hangzhou Mansion, she became more and more sincerely afraid, buried her head low, and did not dare to look at them.

Hangzhou Weaving Tao Jian glanced at these thin women, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his eyes showed a little disgust, but he didn't say anything, and after a few words of greeting Gu Yunji and others, he took them into the workshop.

As soon as you enter the workshop, the squeaks of countless looms rush into everyone's ears, and the noisy and busy atmosphere suddenly comes to your face.

In front of the neatly arranged looms, sat a number of capable women, who stared intently at the looms in front of them, their movements neat and skillful, unaffected by the noisy environment, between the warp and weft, inch by inch of soft and smooth silk gradually weaved.

There is a lot of space here, not to mention three or four hundred looms, looking at it from afar, you can see the shuttles flying and the busy figures of the weavers, the scene is grand and spectacular.

Tao Jian led everyone to walk inside, and introduced: "This is the largest government-run weaving and dyeing factory in Hangzhou, which belongs to the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau, with more than 500 looms and more than 1,800 weaving and dyeing workers. ”

Gu Yunji was secretly speechless when he heard it, Jiangnan is really rich, not to mention anything else, just the silk weaving industry, I don't know how much revenue can be created every year. With such a lucrative profit, it is no wonder that the imperial court's maritime ban policy has been relaxed several times, and the maritime trade has not been completely blocked.

When he walked to a corner where there were more than a dozen idle looms, Tao Jian stopped and looked back at the ten women who followed behind everyone: "Although there is a shortage of weavers in Hangzhou, we don't want everyone. Only when you have reached the basic weaving standards and passed our assessment can you successfully enter the workshop to work. ”

As he spoke, he beckoned to a few weavers, and continued: "They are all good at silk weaving, and since you have never touched silk before, they will teach you the skills and essentials, and you should learn from them." ”

Tao Jian has been in an official position for many years, and he has a majestic temperament when he speaks and acts, and he looks a little overlooked. At this moment, his tone was half admonishing and half warning, Gu Yunji and the others listened to it well, but it shocked a few women who had never seen much of the world into a weak heart, and they were even more cowardly and cowering at this time.

Tao Jian said: "As far as plain silk is concerned, ordinary workers can weave seven feet in an hour, and skilled workers can weave one zhang. The requirements given to you by this official are lowered, it is now the fourth quarter of the hour, and if you can reach the speed of one hour and five feet before the first hour of the afternoon, you will be considered qualified. ”

This is not a high demand, after all, it is morning, and the women still have half a day to study and practice. But they had never touched silk weaving, and they fled from their homeland for months, and their weaving skills were somewhat rusty.

Now they are in such a strange environment, surrounded by Tao Jian and other officials staring at them like surveillance, the women's spirits are highly nervous, their brains are completely unable to turn, even if the weaver explains in detail, they are still clumsy, and they can't get the essentials for a long time.

Seeing their hurried appearance, Tao Jian felt a surge of impatience in his heart, and unabashedly "tsk", and complained to Lu Xianzhi: "This is the weaver you found for me?" Look, the shuttle doesn't know how to take it, just like that, can you weave silk? ”

Lu Xianzhi's face was also a little ugly, and when he heard this, he barely pulled out a smile from the corner of his mouth, and said, "I haven't touched it, it's normal, take a look." ”

Xu Shuhua took all this into her eyes, she took a few steps forward quietly, walked naturally in front of the women, leaned over and comforted softly: "It's okay, don't worry, let's take our time." You see, this shuttle can't be put like this, but it has to be ...... like this."

With Xu Shuhua's verbal encouragement and personal guidance, the women gradually relaxed, began to understand the skills with their hearts, and slowly touched a little way.

Gu Yunji didn't want them to be influenced by his own group, so he proposed to Lu Xianzhi and the others: "Ladies and gentlemen, it's still early for the time to be around, why don't we do something else first, and wait until the time is right, and then come to the acceptance results?" ”

Everyone felt that this was reasonable, so they did not linger any longer, and left one after another.

Xu Shuhua was worried that the women would not be comfortable after he left, so he decided to stay here, Gu Yunji was a little uneasy, looked at her and asked worriedly, "Is it okay for you to be alone?" Do you need me to accompany you? ”

Xu Shuhua couldn't cry or laugh: "I'm such an adult, what's not to do?" This is a government-run factory, not a wilderness, most of the workers are women, there will be no problem, doesn't Gu Gongzi treat me as a three-year-old child? ”

"By the way, aren't you going to inspect the suburban construction site with Su Qi and them today? Go ahead, don't keep people waiting. The corners of Xu Shuhua's mouth hooked a shallow arc, and his eyebrows and eyes were filled with a gentle smile, "Don't worry, it's safe for me to stay here, and when you come back in the evening, you will definitely see a satisfactory result." ”

Gu Yunji knew that Xu Shuhua had his own ideas, so he didn't say anything more, and after a few words, he turned around and left.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's dusk. At the right moment, everyone gathered in the weaving and dyeing workshop to prepare for the acceptance of the learning results of the women who had come down this day.

In the hour that had just passed, five of the ten women had woven five feet of silk, three had woven six feet, one had woven seven feet, and one had woven nearly eight feet.

The conclusion is obvious - all qualified.

(End of chapter)