Chapter 20 new silk factory

Hu Xueyan was about to answer when he heard someone outside reporting: "The old man is back." "Ruixiang," Mrs. Luosi said while standing up, "bring someone over for dinner." "Is it all right?" Hu Xueyan also stood up and went up to him to ask. "It's settled. Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock to see Hart. After finishing his business, he will go to Lingyin to pay his respects at noon." "What about eating?" Mrs. Snail asked hastily. "It's a matter of discussion." "Yes, yes, discuss it carefully." Hu Xueyan raised his hand, "Let's talk here." Gu Yingchun sat down beside the desk and said, "I not only met Mei Tenggen, but also Heard. He said that this time he came to pay his respects to his birthday, and he still had something to talk to my uncle."

"What's the matter? HSBC's money, the principal and interest payable is still early!" "It's about cocoons." "Well," Hu Xueyan asked, "why doesn't the big boss of Jardine come?" "He's already here, and he's also staying at Mei Tengsar's place." "That said, we came prepared. We have to think of a way to deal with it." "Of course." Gu Yingchun said again, "Uncle, when are you free?" "If you want to talk about emptiness, there is no vacancy any day." Hu Xueyan replied, "He came here all the way from Beijing. Of course, he can do as he pleases. We can only see what he wants."

"Since the little uncle said so, wait for him to come to Lingyin to celebrate his birthday at noon tomorrow, invite him to the house for dinner, and take him to the garden by the way." "I think so too." Hu Xueyan asked, "Will you eat Western food or Chinese food?" "It's still western food." Gu Yingchun said, "I brought six chefs this time, and one of them is the emperor's royal chef. The things they make will not fail." "Come, come!" cried Mrs. Snail, "come and sit down!" "Here we come!" Hu Xueyan came over and said, "Tomorrow at noon, the chief tax officer, Hede, will come to eat western food. The cook should be brought by Yingchun. Where is the table convenient? If you want to prepare something, it is best to explain it as soon as possible."

"how many people?" "There are four hosts and guests." Gu Yingchun replied. "Yingchun," Hu Xueyan asked, "You mean, the big boss of Yihe also invites you?" Upon hearing this tone, Gu Yingchun asked back, "What do you mean by uncle?" "I think 'Yangchun noodles are aggravated, avoid avoiding'!" "I think the preparations should be there." Mrs. Snail interrupted and said, "Maybe Hurd brought him back?" Foreigners do not have the habit of taking unexpected guests with them.Mrs. Snail is not an expert in social etiquette in this area, but it's always good to be more prepared, and maybe think of someone else to invite at the moment, so that you won't be stretched.Therefore, Hu Xueyan nodded and said, "Yes, prepare a few more copies."

After speaking, the general sat down and drank red wine. Gu Yingchun looked at the purple wine poured into the crystal cup and said: "This wine needs to be iced to get its taste." "Then get some ice." It turns out that the Hu family, like Ouchi, has its own ice cellar.Count nine cold days, pour hot water into a special square wooden box, wait until the outside and inside are crystal clear, and freeze solid, and put it in a cellar that has been dug extremely deep and covered with straw.At this time, Hu Xueyan explained that of course the cellar was opened in advance. Gu Yingchun was quite uneasy, but he knew that Hu Xueyan's temper was getting more and more self-willed, dissuasion was useless, so he had to let nature take its course.

Taking advantage of this time, Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun will discuss with Hart the next day, and carefully study all aspects that may be involved.At that time, Mrs. Snail had already returned to the front, waiting for the banquet to see off the guests.In the Mirror Threshold Pavilion, Ruixiang presided over the chiseling of frozen wine and the ordering of delicacies, and she was seen walking around, as graceful as a butterfly, attracting Gu Yingchun's attention from time to time. Seeing it, Hu Xueyan felt more and more that the thought that was in his chest just now should be realized as soon as possible.When he was seated, he took a look at the dishes on the table and asked, "What else?"

"There are also Jinxiu Longevity Noodles and Eight Immortals Shangshou Soup." Ruixiang replied, "What else do you want to eat, Old Master and Master? I'll explain." "Enough, enough." Gu Yingchun said, "It's already too much for two people to eat eight kinds of dishes. No matter how much they eat, they will be too full to eat." "What is Eight Immortals Shangshou Soup?" "It's Bazhen Soup." Rui Xiang smiled, "Today is a good day for the old lady, so I changed the name of it." "Okay, I got it." Hu Xueyan replied, "I want to eat something sweet, you go to the small kitchen to have a look, and bring it back when it's ready."

This is Hu Xueyan deliberately sending Ruixiang away, because it is inconvenient for Ruixiang to know what he wants to say to Gu Yingchun. "The old lady said that everything is going well on this birthday, the only fly in the ointment is that Seventh Sister didn't come." "It's good to have a fly in the ointment." Gu Yingchun replied, "Mr. Zeng Wenzheng's nickname is 'Qiu Que Zhai'. He specially seeks for a fly in the ointment. That's the way to maintain the surplus and protect the prosperity. Since his son became the emperor, Prince Jin has placed I bought an antique, called a 'dream vessel', it couldn't be filled with water, and it would fall over when it was full."

Hu Xueyan didn't understand the deep meaning in his words, so he asked himself: "How is Seventh Sister?" "It's nothing more than being sick and prolonging life. Western medicine says that stroke recovery is more important than taking medicine. The first thing in recovery is to calm down. She just can't calm down. No matter how much I try to persuade her, it's useless." "Why?" Hu Xueyan asked, "Why can't you calm down?" "Uncle, you know her. She is very strong in everything. Since she fell ill, the family is no longer as organized as before. She can't understand it. She wants to direct herself, but she can't speak clearly. It's not as good as a girl and an old lady. What she meant. Do you think that a patient is worried all day long and still gets angry, isn't that bad?" At this point, Gu Yingchun sighed and put down his wine glass.

Hu Xueyan couldn't help apologizing for bringing up unpleasant things, which caused him to lose his drinking, but because of this, he had to talk about it in depth. "anything else?" "Also, she is always worried about me and often says she's sorry because she's sick in bed and can't take care of my daily life. I said, don't think that way, there's nothing I can do. Besides, there are Girl and old lady, I can command by myself. She said, people who have no self-esteem are different after all. She also said: "It's a great misfortune for middle-aged people to lose their wives. If you have a half-dead wife there, you have to worry about me instead. It's double." Great misfortune.' At that time, she was crying, and I was crying too." As he spoke, Gu Yingchun burst into tears again.

"Ying Chun, what you said made me want to cry too. You are truly a so-called husband and wife, and you must be a loving couple in the next life. However, since Seventh Sister is in such a situation, I have changed my mind." "Uncle, what do you think?" "I'm thinking, I want to find someone for you. Of course, you want this person to like you, and Seventh Sister also likes it. I already have someone. Although I'm sure, you will all like it. However, women's things are sometimes very difficult. It's hard to say, especially when you ask for a concubine, you have to be more cautious, so I think that after a while, I will ask Fourth Sister Luo to go to Shanghai and discuss it with Seventh Sister face to face. Looking at it now, I think this matter can be a foregone conclusion .” What he said made Gu Yingchun's heart flustered, he didn't know whether it was joy or fear, so he calmed down and figured out a clue, first of all, who is the person who "already has" in Hu Xueyan's mind? As soon as he asked, Hu Xueyan replied: "Which one is there, of course it is Ruixiang." Gu Yingchun was both surprised and delighted, the shadow of Ruixiang floated in front of his eyes, and Ruixiang's voice sounded in his ears, and infinite reverie suddenly arose. "Ying Chun," Hu Xueyan asked, "What do you think, will Seventh Sister like her?" "I think, it should be." "And you?" Gu Yingchun smiled and didn't answer, he just took the wine bottle from the refrigerator to pour the wine. "I'm right! Both of you and your wife will like this man." "You can't say that." Gu Yingchun carefully searched the words that Qigu's grandmother had said since she got sick, and said sadly, "Uncle, there is something that I have to mention. Ah Qi has never I mentioned that if you want to find someone for me." This made Hu Xueyan stunned, and thought to himself, since Grandma Qigu feels deeply sorry for not being able to take care of her husband's daily life, and at the same time feels that she does not have a capable helper to manage the family for her, then since she has always seen broad and thought deeply Due to his temperament, he will definitely turn to the idea of ​​taking a concubine for Gu Yingchun and also serving as a helper in family management.Having such an idea, but never mentioning it to Gu Yingchun, it's a lot of fun. "Ying Chun," he asked, "Do you have any plans to please yourself?" Gu Yingchun recalled it carefully, and after re-realizing the feelings he once had, he replied very cautiously: "If I say no, I am lying. However, as long as this kind of thought comes together, I will immediately I will throw it away, tell myself, don’t ask for trouble.” "Have you talked about this state of mind with Seventh Sister?" "No." "Never talked about it?" "never." "Have you ever revealed such a tone?" Seeing him "break the casserole and ask the end", Gu Yingchun didn't dare to answer casually, and after thinking about it for a while, he said: "No." "Okay! I understand." Hu Xueyan said, "If you don't ask for a small favor, you are asking for trouble. If you ask for it well, it's another matter. I guess Seventh Sister's concern is not that she doesn't want to find someone for you, it's this person. It's not easy to find. You have to be capable, considerate, willing to listen to her, and good-looking, so even if you have such thoughts in your heart, don't open your mouth until you find someone you like. Seventh sister works It's always been that way. I know it." Gu Yingchun felt that his words were not unreasonable, so he might as well test out his wife's tone.Immediately changed my mind, this matter must not be taken lightly!If the wife doesn't want it at all, won't it hurt her feelings once she says this? "Competent, considerate, obedient, and good-looking, these four conditions, the most important thing is to be obedient. Seventh sister is very sophisticated in people. In the world, there are always obedient, honest, useless, capable and mischievous. She is a patient, lying on the bed, if she is called People go east, but they want to go west, what can I do with her? Then, wouldn't she be mad at her? Seventh Sister is worried, and worried, that's what she is worried about. Ying Chun, are you right!" "Yes." Gu Yingchun couldn't help but admit, "My uncle sees Ah Qi's character very clearly." "Let's gossip, let's talk about Ruixiang. She posted three of the four conditions. She may not be considerate, but that is also a matter of your relationship in the future. If you have a deep relationship, you will naturally be considerate." "Where can we talk about the future?" Gu Yingchun smiled and took a sip of wine and said, "This matter needs to be discussed slowly." "You said you couldn't talk about the future, but I said that the happy event is just around the corner." Hu Xueyan slightly lowered his voice, "Xianhui, of course Ruixiang can't talk about it, but Fourth Sister Luo and I will write a guarantee for you. Listen to Seventh Sister's words. Do you believe it?" How can Gu Yingchun not believe it, and how can he not like it, but he is always worried that if his wife is really jealous, this matter will be self-defeating. Judging by the look of joy and worry on his face, Hu Xueyan could of course guess what was on his mind.But this kind of situation between husband and wife can only be judged by those who share the same bed.So he no longer insisted on persuasion, let it be cold, let Gu Yingchun think about his attitude in the future, and then make sense. So he changed the subject and chatted for a while, Ruixiang personally brought a gold lacquered round cage with thin strips, opened it to see, there was a freshly made jujube paste walnut osmanthus soufflé in the blue and white porcelain plate, it was from Prince Chun's mansion taught by the chef. Then, the small kitchen brought out birthday noodles and "Eight Immortals Shangshou Soup". A large plate of birthday noodles was fried very well. "Eat more!" Ruixiang persuaded, "It's a pity not to eat such good birthday noodles." "That's right." Gu Yingchun replied, "I'll do a little more." So she filled a small bowl for each of them, Gu Yingchun worked hard to add food, and it was considered finished.Hu Xueyan took a sip and said, "There's more than enough to eat!" "It's a pity to spoil it." Rui Xiang shouted out, "Xiaomei, you take this plate of birthday noodles, divide and eat, and reap the blessings of the old lady." Saying that, she personally took out a plate of fried noodles. Hu Xueyan saw it and nodded secretly.After dinner and drinking tea, Mrs. Snail had also left for a while, and came to Jingshen Pavilion to rest. Of course, there were still many chores to be taken care of, and they were all handed over to Ruixiang. "I just discussed a big matter with Ying Chun, and now I want to discuss it with you." What was discussed was the matter of marrying Ruixiang. Before Hu Xueyan could finish speaking, Mrs. Luoshi said: "I have already thought about it. Seventh brother-in-law, as long as Seventh sister has a word, I will do it right away." "It's just this sentence that is difficult." Gu Yingchun replied, "Of course it's not convenient for me to mention it myself, and it's not appropriate for others to mention it." "How did you see that?" "People say that she can't say anything she doesn't want on the surface, but she has a lump in her heart. It's not suitable for her illness." "I don't think Seventh Sister can do it." Hu Xueyan said to Mrs. Luoshi, "I will go to Shanghai next month, so you go with me and talk to Seventh Sister about this in person." "Then, no matter how unwilling she is, she pretends to be very happy." Gu Yingchun shook his head greatly, "No, no! She will never tell the truth." "I have an idea. I want Seventh Sister to speak up." As soon as this remark came out, Gu Yingchun and Hu Xueyan all leaned forward to pay attention, wanting to hear how she can make Grandma Qigu voluntarily take a concubine for her husband. "The solution is very easy." Mrs. Snail said, "I took Ruixiang there. I just said that I was worried about her illness, so I asked Ruixiang to take care of her and help her take care of the house. As long as Ruixiang takes good care of her, everything will be fine. Listen to her. She will naturally think that there is only one way to keep Ruixiang, let her also be named Gu." "This is a great plan!" Hu Xueyan clapped his hands and said, "It must be done like this." Gu Yingchun also felt that this was a very appropriate way, but Mrs. Luoshi gave a warning: "Seventh brother-in-law, but I advise you not to be impatient, you'd better get away from Ruixiang first." "People are refreshed on happy occasions", Gu Yingchun only slept for two hours that night, and when he woke up, the sky was not yet bright, and the chiming clock struck a straight line, which happened to ring at six o'clock.He lived in a guest room in the garden of Hu's family, called Suochun Courtyard, where the flowers and trees were flourishing. He opened the heavy curtain and pushed out the window. It is his "highlight", and he would rather go to inspect it early to see if there is anything wrong and correct it first. So he washed his breakfast, then took his attendant with him, sat in the sedan chair prepared for him by the Hu family, first inspected the six birthday halls in the city, checked them one by one, and then left Qiantang Gate to Lingyin. Pass. The Longevity Hall of Lingyin was originally designated as a place where British people come to pay their respects to their birthdays. It’s just that foreigners can’t figure out the details. Pointing, laughing and laughing, the chaos is very lively. Soon, Hu Xueyan arrived, pulled Gu Yingchun aside and said, "I think the original method of inviting me to eat Western food is not feasible." "how?" "I don't know how the news of Heard's arrival in Hangzhou got out. Uncle Defang sent someone to inform me that he wanted to accompany him. He meant it well. How can I stop him?" Hu Xueyan said again, "This time, invite He De It seems inconvenient for De to go home." Gu Yingchun thought for a while and said: "It doesn't matter, we will have a banquet here at noon, and invite him to the house in the evening." "It has to be like this." As soon as he finished speaking, there was a faint sound of gongs and shouts, and it was expected that Dexin had arrived.Hu Xueyan went out to meet him and took a look, only to know that it was Hurd who had come. It turned out that this person was extremely fascinated by the style of Chinese officialdom, so he borrowed the governor's green wool sedan chair, dressed in "guides", and hugged each other, taking advantage of the opportunity. Had a lot of official addiction. He was naturally wearing a second-grade make-up suit.Behind the big hat with red crown and flower feathers, there is also a big black braid. Hu Xueyan has seen it before, so it is not surprising. Other tourists and idlers, have you ever seen foreigners dressed like this?Immediately they all surrounded them, but fortunately there were many servants in the Hu family, and they pushed and rowed on both sides, leaving a way, accompanied by Hu Xueyan, and drove directly to the Shoutang. So "The Name of the Voiceless Hall" began to play loudly, Hurd flicked his horseshoe sleeves, knelt down on the red felt strip in a dignified manner, stood up after kowtowing, and bowed to Hu Xueyan, who was accompanying the ceremony, Fang began to talk. "Congratulations, congratulations." Heard said with a mouthful of Beijing film, "Where is the old lady, she should pay her birthday greetings in person." Hu Xueyan was a little hesitant. It was really interesting to have such a foreigner wearing a red hat go to see his mother, but once inside, the female relatives had to avoid it, and there would inevitably be behind the screen, whispering and making jokes. It's not good, so I replied: "I don't dare to be it, I will do what I say." Hurd nodded, turned around to see Gu Yingchun and said, "I must have already said what I asked Xue Weng to say yesterday." "Yes." Gu Yingchun replied straight to the point, "What Xue Weng means is that I would like to invite you to his house tonight for a small meal, and we will talk in detail after the meal." "Then don't bother me." Heard said to Hu Xueyan, "Thank you." So let's go aside for tea.While we were talking, Dexin arrived. He intended to marry Nakhed, and he was very perfunctory for a while.At noon, we had a face-to-face banquet together before returning to the city. This day was originally a relatively leisurely day, so foreigners who came to pay homage to birthdays were limited after all.At three o'clock in the afternoon, Gu Yingchun had already entered the city, took a short breath to pick up Heder himself, and invited Mei Teng to accompany him, this was Hu Xueyan's decision. It was not yet dark by then, but the kerosene lamps on the Cuijin Hall were already lit up with a bright white light.Cuijintang is a Western-style building with five bays. There is a large patio in front of the building, a fountain on the east, and a circular fence surrounded by red lacquered fir trees on the west. There are a pair of male and female peacocks inside. , slowly opening the screen, he couldn't help being attracted. "This peacock is wearing a 'three-eyed flower feather'." Hurd pointed to the bird's screen and said with a smile, "Li Zhongtang is not as rich as it." After taking his seat, he began to talk about Li Hongzhang.Hurd brought the latest news that the governor of Zhili was transferred to the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhang Shusheng, and the governor of Huguang was indeed promoted by the governor of Hunan, Tu Zongying. "So, what about Guangdong and Guangxi?" "I don't know yet." Hurd replied, "I heard that Zeng Jiushuai is very interested in seeking this position." "Hunan," Hu Xueyan asked again, "The governor of Hunan doesn't know which one to release?" "I haven't heard of it." At this time, Ruixiang appeared lightly, gave her a blessing when she entered the door, Mr. Yuan greeted her, and then said to Hu Xueyan: "My wife asked me to tell you, the young lady has a fever, and I am afraid she has a fever. I would like to invite Mr. Mei to see her." one look." "Oh," Hu Xueyan said with a frown, "Mr. Mei is here as a guest, so I don't know if you brought the receiver with you?" "Bring it, bring it." Mei Teng even spoke Hangzhou dialect, "The handset is my eating guy, a magic weapon with me, why don't I take it with me." As he spoke, he took out a pair of handsets from his pocket and waved them to Ruixiang Say, "Let's go." "Little Miss" is Mrs. Luoshi's youngest daughter, seven years old this year, Hu Xueyan loves her like a pearl, heard that she is sick, she can't help but look out of her mind, fortunately Gu Yingchun accompanied Hede to chat, and never slowed down the guests. "How is it?" Seeing Mei Tenggen coming back, Hu Xueyan went up to him and asked, "Is it all right?" "It's okay, it's okay." When Mei Teng was prescribing the medicine and telling the housekeeper of the Hu family to go to Guangji Hospital to pick up the medicine, Hurd had already started talking about serious matters with Gu Yingchun, but the conversation was interrupted because of the meeting. Dining is of course according to Western rules.The long mahogany dining table is commonly known as the "big dining table". Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun equinox sit at the two ends of the table. Hu Xueyan is on the right hand of Hurd, and on the left is Mei Tenggeng.The food is of course very particular, but the wine is even more particular. Gu Yingchun wanted to show off to the host, and ordered the waiter to bring the champagne and red wine bottle by bottle, and introduce to the guests which bottle was used by which French king, which one How old is a bottle? Of course, the whiskey that the British love is also a very precious brand in the UK. After eating this meal for an hour, first they chatted casually, and then divided into two pairs. Mei Teng even talked to Hu Xueyan about his hospital, saying that the medical service is getting more and more popular, the hospital wants to expand, but suffers from the lack of bases, Hu Xueyan agreed He thought of a solution for him, and said that the road in front of the door was too narrow and uneven, there were many sedan chairs and horses, there were many vendors, and the traffic was inconvenient, so he complained to Hu Xueyan. Hu Xueyan promised to build the road for him, but Mei Teng even asked He asked Hangzhou Prefecture and Qiantang County for a notice to expel the vendors, but Hu Xueyan politely declined. The other pair was Hurd and Gu Yingchun. They continued the previous topic, but they talked in English. They talked about Chen Qiyuan, a tycoon in the silk industry in Guangdong. This Chen Qiyuan is from Nanhai County, Guangzhou Prefecture. He has been doing business in the Nanyang area. He returned to his hometown at the end of Tongzhi and opened a silk reeling factory. The sign is called Jichanglong. It employs six or seven hundred female workers. , Marketing in Europe and America, very popular. "His silk is good because it is better to use machines than by hand." Hurd said, "It is a trend in the world to replace labor with machines. I have been in China for 20 years, and my feelings for China are the same as those for Britain, or even more. Concern, because China needs help even more, so when I come back, I want to talk to Mr. Hu about the opening of the Jardine Silk Factory, because I really want to make China prosperous and strong." "Yes. We all know your love and love for China. However, Britain emphasizes democracy, and China also emphasizes adapting to people's conditions. Just like the situation of Ji Changlong, we must learn from it." It turned out that Chen Qiyuan switched to using machines two years ago, which caused a great upsurge. Chen Qiyuan had to try to improve it, manufacture a small silk reeling machine, and spread it to the countryside to share the benefits of the machine with others.Hurd was preaching the benefits of machines. Gu Yingchun admitted this, but implicitly pointed out that it would not work to monopolize huge profits if machines were to replace human hands. When it came to Xi San, Mei Teng even left and went ahead, while Hurd stayed behind. When he formally discussed with Hu Xueyan, Hurd's words were different again. "Xue Weng!" He used a Chinese official title, "Can you partner with Jardine?" Hu Xueyan was quite surprised. Jardine Matheson is a British capital, which is equivalent to an official British business. Why did it invite Chinese people to partner?Before the matter was clarified, he didn't want to express his attitude, but just smiled implicitly. "I'm talking about the silk factory run by Jardine Matheson." Hurd continued, "They are willing to sign a contract with you, and you will supply all the silk. In addition to the market price, there will be a commission." Still for the ingredients!It turned out that the Yihe Silk Factory had been established as early as the first year of Guangxu. He thought he was rich and powerful, and sent people to the countryside to buy cocoons. Although the price was not bad, he was also very picky. Every time there is a dispute with the customer, or even a big dispute, several big households from Jiaxing, Zhejiang, and Suzhou, a prosperous place for silk production, meet with Jardine if they have silk but not sell it. They have machines and no raw materials, and they are forced to stop working The machines, due to poor maintenance, damaged ones, rusted ones, had to be shut down. However, in the past two or three years, Japan's machine-made silk reeling industry has greatly developed. Last year, the Jardine Silk Factory reorganized, built a new factory building, bought new Italian-made machines, and prepared to resume operations.In addition, there is a man named Huang Zuoqing from Chengzhou who runs a Gonghe Yongsi factory. The machines he bought from France have also been shipped to France. There is also Fair & Co., Ltd., which also intends to invest in this area.Once these three silk factories start operation, a large amount of raw materials will be needed, and the price of silk will inevitably rise. Hu Xueyan has already spotted it. However, he is on the side of opposing the silk factory, because there is an example of Chen Qiyuan, when the motor of the machine starts, I don't know how many people who raise silkworms and make silk feel terrified.