People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 750: Foreign merchants fight for cloth
At noon, the aroma of food wafted from the workshop canteen.

The female workers sat in groups of three or four at the long table, and today's meal was particularly sumptuous.

The braised pork was shiny and oily, the vegetables were juicy green, and each person also had a bowl of mutton soup.

Aunt Liu picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, squinting her eyes in satisfaction. "I used to think that women should eat leftovers, but now I think it's really stupid."

"My mother was still complaining yesterday, saying that I had changed." Chun Xing sipped her soup. "She said that I can walk with my back straight now, and I can speak with more confidence now."

Xiao Tao came over with the bowl and sat down. "My father wrote to me, saying that the family built a new house, and all the money I sent back was used." She paused, "The letter said that everyone in the village praised him for being lucky to have such a promising daughter."

The female workers smiled at each other, their eyes full of pride.

Before work started in the afternoon, a long line formed in front of the workshop entrance.

They were all women who came to register, there were young girls and white-haired old women. Xiao Tao stood at the door and registered the names one by one.

"Those who can read stand on the left, those who can weave stand on the right, and those who know nothing stand in the middle."

There was a little girl in patched clothes in the team. She asked timidly, "Sister Manager, I can't read or weave, but I'm a quick learner. Can you take me in?"

Xiao Tao smiled and touched her head. "Of course. There is a literacy class in the workshop. You can come and learn after work in the evening."

The little girl's eyes suddenly lit up. "Really? I can read, too?"

"Of course." Xiao Tao's voice was firm, "We women should not only be able to make money, but also be able to read and understand reason."

When the registration was halfway through, a familiar figure appeared at the end of the line. It was Li Xiucai's wife, Wang, holding her two children.

"Madam Wang?" Xiao Tao went up to him in surprise, "What are you doing..."

Wang lowered her head, her voice as thin as a mosquito: "I... I also want to find a job." She suddenly raised her head with determination in her eyes, "I'm tired of asking for money every day."

Xiaotao held her hand and said, "Welcome to the workshop."

In the evening, Zhu Youwei saw an unexpected visitor in the backyard of the workshop. Zheng Shangshu was leaning on a cane, followed by two young women.

"My Lady, I am here with a thick face." Minister Zheng coughed, "These are my two granddaughters, and I would like to ask the workshop to take them in."

Zhu Youwei raised her eyebrows. "Hasn't Lord Zheng always been against women working?"

The old minister blushed, "This..." He lowered his voice, "To be honest, I have seen the account books of the Women's Workshop. The profit is more than ten times my salary." He pointed at the two granddaughters, "They have studied for so many years, they can't live worse than the women weaving, right?"

Zhu Youwei almost laughed out loud. She said seriously, "The workshop really needs people who can read and do accounting. We would be more than happy if the two ladies are willing to come."

As the night deepened, the lights in the workshop were still bright. New female workers were learning to use the looms, and the sound of reading could be heard from the literacy class.

Zhu Youwei stood in the yard, listening to these voices, feeling very relieved. She knew that from now on, no one in Hangzhou would say that women should not show their faces in public. Because everyone saw how dignified these women who earned money with their own hands lived.

The sound of the night watchman's clappers came from afar, interweaving with the rhythm of the loom, as if telling the changes that were taking place in this era.

The next morning, a long line formed in front of the workshop again. This time, there were not only women, but also many men. They looked eagerly at the yard, holding various tools in their hands.

"Manager, I'm good at carpentry. Does the workshop need male workers?" "I can do accounting. Can I be the accountant?" "I'm strong. Moving goods and carrying bags is no problem!"

Xiao Tao stood at the door, looking at these men who once looked down on women working, but now were eager to get a job in the workshop. She felt mixed emotions.

"The workshop is currently only hiring female workers." She said in a gentle but firm voice, "But if there are girls in your family who are willing to come, we welcome them at any time."

A man in the crowd suddenly squatted on the ground and started crying. "My wife works in a workshop and earns two taels of silver more than me every month. Now she thinks I am useless and wants to divorce me..."

Xiao Tao sighed, "Brother, instead of crying here, you should think about how to improve your abilities. It's not a bad thing for a woman to make money. If a couple works hard together, won't life be better?"

The man raised his head and nodded, not quite understanding.

As the sun rises higher, the sounds of looms in the workshop become more frequent.

Zhu Youwei stood in front of the window, looking at this thriving scene, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

She knew that starting from Hangzhou, there would be more and more such workshops.

The dignity earned by a woman with her own hands will blow through every corner of the Ming Dynasty like a spring breeze.

The morning mist at Ningbo Maritime Customs had not yet dissipated, and a merchant ship flying a red, white and blue flag had already docked. A foreign merchant with a red beard stood on the deck, asking the clerk on the shore in stiff official language: "I heard that Hangzhou Prefecture has opened a new women's workshop. Is it true?"

The clerk was yawning when he heard this. This was the third foreign merchant who called to get the news this morning.

"Go west along the canal, and the horses will arrive in half a day." The clerk took the pepper bag stuffed by the foreign merchant and said in a low voice, "I heard that the cloth of the workshop is finer than that of Songjiang Prefecture, but the production is small, and the local masters in Hangzhou haven't grabbed the goods yet."

The red-bearded foreign merchant's eyes lit up, and he turned around and shouted a few words in foreign language. Seven or eight sailors immediately jumped out of the ship, carrying boxes and running towards the dock.

Just after noon, a group of people dressed in strange clothes came to the door of Hangzhou Jinguo Workshop. The leader, a foreign merchant with a red beard, held a gilded box, and his followers behind him carried three camphorwood boxes covered with iron sheets.

"I want to order 5,000 pieces of cloth!" The foreign merchant spoke with a strange accent. When he opened the box, all the female workers in the yard gasped - inside was a thick stack of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes neatly stacked, all in denominations of one yuan in blue banknotes.

The brush in Xiaotao's hand fell on the list with a clatter. She recognized that this was the new pure-color banknotes printed by the Ministry of Revenue last year, each of which could be exchanged for one stone of rice.

Zhu Youwei came out of the loom room, swinging the silver scissors at her waist. "My dear merchant, our workshop has just opened, and we can only produce 2,000 pieces per month at most."

"That's fine!" The foreign merchant was so anxious that he rubbed his hands. "Pay the deposit first, and delivery is fine within half a year. This is the sample deposit, plus 30% of the Beijing price!" He waved his hand, and his followers banged open the wooden boxes. Two boxes were filled with South Asian pepper, and the other was actually filled with shiny glassware.

The workshop walls were gradually crowded with people who came to watch the excitement. Zhao Dongjia, the owner of the silk shop, stood on tiptoe to look around, and suddenly slapped himself: "I was really blinded by greed! I should have been the first to place an order yesterday!"

The guy following behind him whispered, "Boss, didn't you say we should wait and see..."

"What the hell!" Zhao Dongjia kicked his clerk, "Don't you see that the foreigners are fighting over it? Go to the accounting office and get the money!"

The commotion alarmed half of Hangzhou. When the prefectural officials came to maintain order, a long line had already formed at the entrance of the workshop. There were merchants holding money boxes, officials holding banknotes, and even a few scholars in Confucian robes hiding behind the crowd and looking around.

After the red-bearded foreign merchant signed the contract, he suddenly approached Zhu Youwei mysteriously and said, "Your Highness, I heard that the crown prince of your country has granted priority to the women's workshop in the canal transportation of goods?" Zhu Youwei raised an eyebrow. This matter was only decided yesterday, and the foreigners were so well-informed.

Seeing her expression, the foreign merchant stroked his beard proudly and said, "We have spies in Quanzhou. If the princess is willing to give me 500 pieces of 'mathematical cloth', the price will be doubled!" He lowered his voice and said, "I heard that this kind of cloth is woven with Western mathematical formulas, and Portuguese scholars are willing to exchange it for an equal weight of pepper."

Suddenly, there was a sound of a loom getting stuck. Chun Xing knelt down in panic: "I didn't mean it..."

Zhu Youwei helped her up and turned to the foreign merchant and said, "'Mathematical cloth' is a tribute and is not for sale. However..." She pointed to the half piece of cloth that Chun Xing had just woven, "This dark-patterned brocade can be negotiated."

The foreign merchant rushed to the loom and took out a crystal lens to examine it carefully. Suddenly he cried out strangely and took out a pearl as big as a longan from his arms: "I'll buy this one! Deposit!"

The crowd of onlookers went wild. The pearl shone pink in the sun. Although it couldn't be used as money, it could be exchanged for at least a hundred strings of banknotes at a jewelry store.

The clerk of Xu's cloth shop was squeezed in the crowd, his face pale. He sneaked back to the shop, but saw the shopkeeper Xu slumped in the armchair, with the price list of the women's workshop spread out in front of him.

"Boss, the foreigners offered three times the price..."

"Shut up!" Shopkeeper Xu smashed the teacup on the ground, "Go to the warehouse! Take out all the Su silk that's been stored in the bottom of the box and sell it at a low price, and exchange it all for banknotes!"

As dusk fell, the cash boxes in the workshop's accounting office had been piled up to the beams. Xiao Tao rubbed her sore wrists and suddenly noticed a dark shadow swaying outside the window.

"Who?"

Wang stood timidly in the moonlight, holding a food box. "You've been working hard, manager. I made some lily soup..."

Xiao Tao then remembered that this former scholar was now a cook in the workshop. She took the food box and found that there were still bruises on Wang's wrist.

"Li Xiucai still beats you?"

Wang shook her head, her eyes brightening unexpectedly, "He doesn't dare anymore. Yesterday I said I wanted to move to the workshop with my children, and he knelt down and begged me not to leave." She suddenly lowered her voice, "Steward, I can read, can I go and learn accounting at night?"

Zhu Youwei's voice came from behind: "Of course. The workshop is about to start an arithmetic class, you should be the first to sign up."

The lights in the workshop were still on after the midnight gong sounded. The new female workers were learning to weave dark patterns, and Zhu Youwei personally corrected their techniques.

Chun Xing suddenly pointed out the window and said, "Princess, look!"

A string of lanterns floated on the canal. It turned out to be more than ten cargo ships connected end to end. The flags on the bows fluttered in the night breeze, and they were the names of silk and satin shops in various prefectures.

Xiao Tao chuckled: "People who were watching during the day are now here to grab the goods overnight."

Zhu Youwei stroked the silver scissors and suddenly thought of the female worker who jumped into the river three days ago. How great it would be if she could see what happened tonight.

At dawn, the workshop door was slammed loudly. Magistrate Zhao stood at the bottom of the steps with dark circles under his eyes, and the yamen runners behind him carried a red lacquer plaque.

"The Crown Prince has issued a handwritten decree that the products of the Women's Workshop will be exempted from market taxes for three years in accordance with the Imperial Merchants' regulations!"

The female workers rushed out cheering, but they saw the prefect suddenly turn around and shout to the cargo ships anchored on the canal: "Line up! Line up! Anyone who disturbs the workshop will not be given any goods!"

A red-bearded foreign merchant appeared out of nowhere, holding up the deed and shouting, "I have priority!"

Prefect Zhao kicked him away and said, "Foreign merchants, please stand back! Hangzhou locals come first!"

Zhu Youwei felt her chest burning as she watched this farce. She knew that from tonight on, no one would dare to say that women should not show their faces in public.

Because the treasure notes can speak.

……

The news of the Hangzhou Women's Workshop spread to the capital within half a month. That morning, the postmaster of Huitongguan opened the gate and was shocked by the scene before him. A dozen foreign merchants were crowded under the steps, each holding a document with a red seal in their hands and speaking in various languages.

"Sir, exchange the customs documents!" A red-bearded foreign merchant spoke in stiff official language and slammed a stack of banknotes on the table. "Go to Hangzhou Prefecture, the sooner the better!"

The postmaster twirled his beard and slowly unfolded the document, and suddenly his eyes widened. This was the seventh application to go to Hangzhou this morning. He looked up at the group of foreign merchants and found that their boots were still stained with morning dew, which showed that they had trotted all the way here.

"Why are you all so anxious?"

"Cloth! Cloth from the women's workshop!" The foreign merchants shouted in unison. One Portuguese even took out a roll of sample cloth in a hurry. "Look at the warp and weft density, the dark pattern craftsmanship, it can be exchanged for an equal weight of silver in Naples!"

As he was talking, a Persian businessman wearing a round hat suddenly rushed out of the inn across the street. He tied his belt while running, and the waiter behind him held up the account book and shouted: "Sir! You haven't paid the room you booked for half a month yet!"

"No need! I'll give you the deposit!" The Persian merchant jumped onto the carriage without looking back and yelled at the driver, "Go to Hangzhou! Hurry!" The wheels of the carriage rolled over the bluestone slabs, startling a flock of sparrows.

This commotion attracted the attention of the people in the morning market. Old man Wang, who was selling pancakes, grinned with his missing teeth and laughed: "These foreign merchants are really interesting. They heard that Hangzhou produced good cloth and they even missed their sleep."

"You don't know." The clerk from the silk shop next door came over, "Their country is in short supply of this kind of fine fabric. I heard that the 'Mathematical Fabric' from the Women's Workshop can be exchanged for three times the weight of spices in Europe!"

In the Tongwenguan of the Ministry of Rites, the person in charge frowned as he looked at the pile of customs clearance applications on his desk. He picked up the top one and found that the ink was not yet dry.

"It's strange. In the past, these foreign merchants would stay in the capital for more than a month. Why are they all running to Hangzhou all of a sudden?" He turned to ask the clerk, "What big thing happened in Hangzhou?"

The clerk lowered his voice and said, "I heard that a women's workshop has opened in Hangzhou. The cloth they weave is even finer than that of Songjiang Prefecture. All these foreign merchants are rushing to grab the goods."

As he was talking, a sweaty Arab businessman rushed in from outside. He took ten banknotes without saying a word and said, "Sir, please do me a favor and do it quickly!"

The manager was frightened by the scene and quickly ordered the clerk to take the seal. Little did he know that at this moment, a long queue had formed in front of the Hangzhou Women's Workshop.

On the canal, seven or eight cargo ships flying flags of various countries were chasing each other. A Venetian merchant stood on the bow, holding a telescope and looking west. Behind him were wooden boxes filled with pepper and glassware, shining in the sun.

"Hurry up!" the merchant urged the boatman in Italian, "I heard that the English ship has arrived at Qiantang River!"

The local Hangzhou boatman rowing the boat at the stern couldn't help but mutter: "Are these foreign merchants crazy? They are willing to sacrifice their lives for a few pieces of cloth?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a Portuguese merchant ship passing by, and the sailors on the deck were busy lowering the sails to slow down.

……

(End of this chapter)