Linxia

Chapter 206, Beginning

The first good weaving workshop.

The second part of "Journey to the West" was released, and the workers in the factory were all paying attention to it. They went to the cafeteria to eat at noon that day, and they were more active than usual, and they also talked about this matter.

"I heard that the second part of Mr. Fang's Journey to the West is out today..."

"I hope it will sell well. Only when Lord Fang is well, we can have a better life."

"Yes, we eat Master Fang's food, live in Master Fang's house, and our children go to Master Fang's school. To be honest, my family supports Master Fang!"

……

Yes, Fang Lin now enjoys a very high reputation among the workers in his own factory, and many families employ him as a home servant.

This form of "worshiping at home" is only superficial. On a deeper level, it is a fanatical personality cult, which has gradually become: everything done by Lord Fang must be right; everything related to Lord Fang must be good; anyone who goes against Lord Fang must be a bad thing.

If you want to know the reason for all this, it is naturally what Fang Lin has done in the past two years, which has deeply influenced these people both materially and spiritually.

——Materially, they provided jobs, dormitories, and training for the next generation. Compared with other factories, they really felt superior, and they could stand up straighter outside. Spiritually, Fang Lin played the good guy. Every time he appeared, he would announce good things. The party leaders also continuously promoted Fang Lin’s goodness. Every day during meals, they would tell stories about Fang Lin, which influenced them spiritually...

With all these things in mind, it is no wonder that Fang Lin has achieved a "deified" status.

Tian Wu listened and nodded, and decided to go home and offer it to Fang Lin himself.

This is truly sincere.

In the past, I worked hard every day in the village, was exhausted, didn’t have enough to eat, didn’t have warm clothes, and my home was dead silent. After coming to the capital, I felt like I was alive again. I was no longer hungry and could save some money. Now my children have entered skill training classes and they won’t have to dig in the fields for food anymore... Life is getting more and more hopeful!
——People are greedy. After seeing the light, how can they endure the darkness? In the future, if someone wants to defeat Fang Lin and take away everything from them, you can imagine what these people will do.

Tian Wu went to Sun Hongye's window to get a meal, but instead of paying, he gave her a ticket - this was a new benefit added this year. As an outstanding worker, he now had a meal subsidy ticket worth one penny of silver every month.

——For the other party, the number of excellent workers is limited. Adding this item will not cost much, but it can motivate the workers better and it is beneficial without spending any money.

"The welfare is getting better and better." Tian Wu sighed, got his meal, and found a place to sit down. Unlike in the past when he would bury his head in eating, today he looked up at the storytelling position with a hint of anticipation on his face.

The storyteller from the factory came over quickly: "Today, we are going to tell you about the second part of Journey to the West, which was just published by our Master Fang..."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of applause.

"I knew it, it's the second part!"

"The first part is good too, I've listened to it several times, I want to listen to the second part even more!"

"Let's get started!"

……

Tian Wu had the same idea. He listened to the first part several times and told it to his children when he got home. The children at home were all asking what happened after Monkey King pushed down the ginseng fruit tree. He also wanted to know. He had been thinking about the sequel, and now it has finally come.

"Now that you have heard it, write it down and go home tonight to tell my wife and children about it!" He thought of his family members staring at him in admiration and delight, and he felt even more excited.

The storyteller didn't keep the audience in suspense for too long, mainly because the party leader was also staring at him impatiently. He coughed twice and said, "Speaking of the 26th chapter, Sun Wukong went to three islands to seek a cure, and Guanyin's sweet spring and living tree..."

For a moment, the entire cafeteria was silent except for the sound of storytelling and the sound of people eating. Everyone listened intently, as if they were walking into that exquisite and strange world.

……

Gu family.

"Yu'er!" Gu Tongren came in.

"Dad!" Gu Shiyu pushed something forward like a guilty thief, but because he moved in a hurry, he failed to hide it well, revealing the words "Journey to the West".

——It turned out to be a newly published second volume of “Journey to the West”!

"Yu'er, why are you reading this book too?"

"Dad, you said...also?" Gu Shiyu grasped the key point.

Father and son looked at each other.

"Cough cough!"

In the end, it was Gu Tongren, the father, who was thicker-skinned. He coughed twice to break the silence: "Although our family doesn't get along well with that Fang Chenshi, it's not shameful to read his books. Just like I have always looked down on those peasants, but I haven't said I won't eat the food and vegetables they grow."

"That's the truth."

Gu Shiyu nodded, tacitly passed on the matter, and changed the subject: "Speaking of that Lord Fang, Dad, I thought that with the change of the new prefect, his influence would be greatly reduced. I didn't expect that Lord Fang could actually invite Prefect Yan to host the 'First Jianghuai Cup Popular Fiction Competition'. Judging from the way they look today, the two of them are fighting fiercely!"

This put the Gu family, who were planning to regain some ground after Prefect Pu left, in a difficult situation.

"Yes, that Fang Chenshi is a big shot. On our side, just as Prefect Yan gave in, the other party saw what Prefect Yan needed and offered a political achievement. We donated money and effort to the 'First Jianghuai Cup Popular Fiction Competition', but Fang Chenshi got the biggest benefit. It was a good move."

Gu Tongren sighed, "A little money is fine, but the most important thing is that after this sweet treat, if Prefect Yan wants to climb the ladder and achieve more political achievements, he won't offend that Assistant Minister Fang easily... With Assistant Minister Fang's ability to build relationships, it's possible that he will have a closer relationship with Prefect Yan than Prefect Pu did before."

This is also the reason why the five families of Fan, Gu, Ma, Shao, and Duan in the city admire Fang Lin very much. Three or five years ago, Fang Lin was just a refugee who came to the city for refuge. But in such a short time, he has built a network of connections from scratch. Xu Kuo Lao, Dong Zugao, Han Yuanjing, the Fan family, and even the emperor later hooked up with him, gave him official titles, wrote prefaces, and stood up for him. - If it were placed in the future, the historical evaluation of Fang Lin would certainly not be enough to describe him as a social expert. Perhaps he would compete with Liu Bei to see who is the real "human succubus"?
"Dad, what should we do next?"

"Keep away from his sharp edge, wait and see what that Fang Chenshi will do!"

Gu Tongren paused for a moment and said, "Even if we fight with the other party, we can't expand it. We can limit it to the business field and don't use tricks. The victory or defeat depends on each other's ability. If we win, we can contain the other party and everything will be fine. If we lose, even if the factory and fleet account for a large proportion of our profits, we must be willing to accept the defeat. It's just a matter of making less money and cutting some meat... There is no need to fight to the death."

This is a mature and steady statement.

When Gu Shiyu heard this, he was quite surprised. He knew that his father was not a good person. He used to be a ruthless man when he was young. But now, he seemed to have lost his ruthlessness and courage.

He looked at the white hair on his father's temples, and suddenly a thought came to his mind: 'Dad, you are getting old!'

Gu Tongren seemed to see through his son's thoughts: "Dad is old, but being cruel depends on who you are targeting. If you are cruel to those peasants, they will be scared and afraid, and you don't have to worry about excessive means causing trouble. They are just a group of sheep. No matter how cruelly you bully them, they will only make a few noises. What's so scary about that? Even if there are two anomalies in the flock and they use their horns to butt people, they are still sheep in essence. When facing wolves, they are bound to be eaten."

"But Lord Fang is different. He is just like us, with a wolf nature. Look at the time when the Zhang family asked for peace, but the other party flatly refused and turned around to kill them... As for that assistant Fang, even Dad can't figure out how much power he has behind him. Last time, he moved the Censor Han Yuanjing, the Minister of Personnel Tao Chengbi, and His Majesty. We only know that he is favored by the emperor, but we don't know how much weight he holds in His Majesty's heart..."

——It can only be said that Gu Tongren was very shrewd and carefully avoided this big pit. Now Fang Lin and Emperor Hongtai have become pen pals, and they are keeping each other hanging, so that Emperor Hongtai can regard him as a confidant. It can be said that as long as Fang Lin does not rebel and does not endanger the country, Emperor Hongtai will give him some face for some ordinary things. If Fang Lin took the initiative to bully others, he might not help. If he was bullied by someone, and it was just the Huai'an Gu family, a local clan, he would definitely do a favor.

"Look at that assistant Fang. He is wearing a wolf's skin, but underneath he might be a tiger or a dragon. If we really show our claws, we might really get beaten to death."

Gu Tongren shook his head and concluded, "So, Yu'er, do you understand? For those of us who wear shoes, we can be ruthless, but we must be selective about the target."

'Isn't this just bullying the weak and fearing the strong?'

Gu Shiyu complained in his heart, but he understood this truth. Fighting with Fang Linsi would be extremely risky and unnecessary. "Dad, a big family like ours has a lot of money and expenses. If we lose in the factories and fleets, our profits will drop significantly. We need to open up new sources of income. What do you think?"

"I heard that there is an area along the river in the city. Prefect Yan is determined to support its development. He wants to build fields and fish ponds nearby, and restaurants and other things farther away. That area is close to the dock and has a lot of people. I think there is a lot of room for development!"

It’s not that the Gu family didn’t investigate, but they were blinded by greed and didn’t expect that there might be flood risks in the future.

However, this area is only needed as a buffer when the dam can no longer bear the pressure. Besides, it is designed as a buffer, and there are paddy fields and fish ponds, so it is generally safe from floods unless there are successive floods or extremely severe floods.

In addition, there is empiricism. Over the past few decades, even if floods broke out in Huai'an, they were only in the villages and counties below, and nothing happened in the provincial capital. This is a fluke mentality.

——This is just like before a certain company goes bankrupt, there are early signs, but many people still hope for the best. Only when the worst happens do they regret it.

"That assistant Fang doesn't seem to care about the land, so I don't think he will compete with us. Our opponents are the Fan, Ma, Shao, and Duan families. However, our family has already made arrangements in that area. If we show our determination against these four families, it won't be difficult to get the biggest bite... Of course, we'll have to wait and see. Our family has a foundation in factories and fleets, so I actually want to do this more."

Gu Tongren shook his head and warned his son again: "If you say you are competing in the business field, then you must not use any tricks. If you get angry and it escalates into a fight to the death, it will be irreversible."

"Dad, I know."

"That's good. It's limited to the business world. Even if we fail, there's still room for recovery. Our family will still be rich and prosperous."

Gu Tongren also revealed his domineering side as he spoke: "Of course, let's not say these discouraging words. Our family is deeply rooted in Huai'an, and we have the first-mover advantage in factories and fleet industries. Even if we don't use any tricks, Dad still has some confidence."

……

Just when the Gu family made the decision, Fang Lin went to visit Yan Shideng.

Yan Shideng went out personally and welcomed Fang Lin in. "I have heard that Lord Fang's Journey to the West is a bestseller. Only after coming to Huai'an did I know how popular it is. The second part of Journey to the West has been heard all over the city recently. It is even more popular than the time when Liu's poems were sung everywhere... Congratulations to Lord Fang."

Everyone was carrying his fancy sedan, and since people had just presented him with a report on his political achievements, they naturally did not hesitate to give him some compliments.

"Lord Yan, you are too kind. It is also thanks to the support of the 'First Jianghuai Cup Popular Fiction Competition' hosted by you that such a grand event has been achieved. This is all thanks to you. I would like to thank you here." Fang Lin clasped his fists.

"Haha!" Yan Shideng felt that Fang Lin's words were pleasant to the ear. He liked him even more and they got along better and better.

"I remember that your Majesty wrote the preface for the first part of Journey to the West, and the second part..." Yan Shideng asked tentatively.

"Lord Yan, you may not know that the second part of Journey to the West was completed thanks to Your Majesty. Some of the poems and Taoist sayings in it were mostly polished by Your Majesty." Fang Lin said casually.

Yan Shideng narrowed his eyes and became more enthusiastic: "Master Fang, this is of great importance to you. I am honored to be the prefect of Huai'an. From now on, I should get closer to you. If you have any questions, you can come to me. I will definitely help you if I can."

"It just so happens that I have something to trouble Lord Yan." Fang Lin said, "Lord, you know that I have a weaving workshop here, and I have recently been planning to expand it... the specific scale... after completion, it can drive the prosperity of Huai'an's business and increase taxes. If there is a disaster year, it can also absorb disaster victims..."

This was just an empty promise, but it hit the opponent's soft spot.

Upon hearing this, Yan Shideng's smile became even more sincere: "This is a good thing. If Lord Fang has any difficulties, please feel free to speak up..."

……

After getting the support of Yan Shideng, Fang Lin came back with another good news: the weaving workshop had earlier sent craftsmen to make technical improvements to the textile machines based on the principle of trying every possible means, and it actually succeeded.

This means that the new factory can adopt new technologies and greatly increase production efficiency!

"Everything is ready. The next step is to start the factory expansion." Fang Lin gave the order and spread the news of the factory expansion.

As soon as the news came out, even the enthusiasm for the second part of "Journey to the West" could not be concealed. The workers in other factories were in unrest, and the four families of Gu, Ma, Shao and Duan were facing a great enemy. It can be said that this move was like throwing a huge rock into the calm pond of Huai'an, causing a sudden storm.

……

(End of this chapter)