Horse on the World

Chapter 387 Dingzhou Internal Affairs (2)

Long Sihai was sitting in the inner hall of Zhenxihou's Mansion, sipping tea while waiting for Li Qing's reception. He was quite satisfied. Now that Marshal Li has a lot to do every day, it is rare for many officials to see him easily, but every time he asks to see him , can get satisfactory answers, even if the commander-in-chief really can't spare time, he will make an appointment for him at other times, which greatly satisfies Long Sihai's vanity, and makes his status in the fixed position The state, especially in Jing'an County where he is located, has been greatly improved, and the Jing'an county magistrate sometimes asks him to mention Jing'an a little when he meets the commander-in-chief.Long Sihai is from Jing'an, he has a high status in front of the commander, and the commander will naturally pay more attention to Jing'an, so that he has more opportunities to show his face.Now Long Sihai is not the person who had to wait until seeing the county magistrate in the past, especially after his son Long Xiaotian became the magistrate of Chongxian County, his status has risen even more. The county magistrate basically means that he is about to become a successful person.

In the past few years, Long Sihai's family business has also increased geometrically. The monopoly of some businesses in the military has allowed him to accumulate wealth rapidly, and at the same time, he has also begun to get involved in other industries. For such a popular man in front of the general , All walks of life also have to accept his intervention. In Dingzhou business circles, he is already a pivotal figure. Now, he is one of the deputy directors elected by the merchants of the Dingzhou Commerce Department. Already have a considerable right to speak.

He came today to report to Li Qing on the cotton issue.After cotton was discovered and introduced by Li Qing, no one dared to take the risk of planting this new crop with no experience in planting on a large scale, and it was Long Sihai who came first. In fact, it was not because of his insight, but because he realized that he must hold on tight Li Qing's thigh, regardless of whether his crop is a success or a failure, the important thing is to let the commander-in-chief see his utter loyalty to him. In other respects, I made money back.

In Jing'an County, he bought tens of thousands of acres of land at one go, found a group of old farmers who are good at cultivating crops, and lived by feeling the stones. With the introduction he heard from Li Qing, he succeeded in one blow. The cotton harvest was bumper, and the output per mu reached an astonishing four hundred catties. Looking at the cotton that had just been picked by the white flowers in the Cangku, Long Sihai was in full bloom, and immediately rushed to report the good news to Li Qing. When Li Qing heard about it, It was about cotton, so I immediately decided to take time out of my busy schedule to meet him.

Although I waited in the side hall for almost an hour, and the tea in the cup had already turned into white water, Long Sihai was not anxious at all, and sat there peacefully. The longer he stayed in the waiting mansion, the better he could be in the outside world. Prove that you are important in the eyes of the handsome.

Waiting from the afternoon until the sun was westward, no matter how patient Long Sihai was, he was drowsy. It wasn't until this time that he heard footsteps coming from the inner hall and Li Qing's voice. Long Sihai immediately stood up energetically. Get up, rub your eyes, pat your face, try to look refreshed.

"Mr. Long, I've been waiting for a long time!" Seeing Long Sihai saluting to him, Li Qing gave him a little support with a smile, and said, "Sit down, sit down and say, today's meeting is a little longer, but let Mr. Long I'm really sorry for sitting there for half a day."

Long Sihai said with a smile: "The villain waits for the commander, let alone half a day, even a day, that's what he should do, the commander manages everything every day, and it is the villain's blessing to be able to meet each other." While speaking, he also bowed to Lu Yiming who was behind Li Qing, but Lu Yiming bowed his hands back. Now Long Sihai has a high status in the eyes of the commander-in-chief, Long Xiaotian is also optimistic about the future, Lu Yiming Naturally, it won't be too big.

Seeing that Li Qing was sitting at the main seat, Long Sihai said: "Commander, this villain wants to congratulate Commander. This year's cotton harvest has been bumper, and now the villain's warehouse is full of cotton."

"Oh, really?" Li Qing straightened up and said happily. He originally thought that this new crop would take several years of trial and error to succeed without any experience in planting it. Unexpectedly, Long Sihai succeeded so quickly.

"How much is the yield per mu?"

Seeing Li Qing's happy appearance, Long Sihai said happily: "Marshal, the yield per mu is a full four hundred catties."

"Okay, that's great!" Li Qing applauded and laughed. He knew that in later generations, with such advanced technological conditions, the yield of cotton per mu would be no more than six or seven hundred catties, preferably no more than one thousand catties. He was overjoyed to have a yield of four hundred catties per mu.

"Cotton can have such a good harvest. It seems that Mr. Long has put in a lot of effort. Li is very relieved to work so hard!" Li Qing looked up to the sky and laughed.

"This also depends on the shadow of the commander-in-chief, the villain just follows the trend!" Long Sihai complimented.

Li Qing smiled, and was too lazy to pay attention to the other party's flattery. He asked carefully about some experience and lessons in the planting process. With the first success, there will be experience to follow in the future large-scale promotion, so it will be much easier.

"Commander, now that the cotton is harvested in abundance, it is piled up in the warehouse. I still need to ask the commander to show me what to do later!" Long Sihai said with a smile.

"After the cotton has been harvested, the next step is of course spinning and weaving, and we will push it to the market. Mr. Long is a businessman, so I need to talk about it. I must have already made up my mind, right?" Li Qing said with a smile. .

"The villain still needs the commander-in-chief to clarify the scope of his use of cotton and how to position the products he makes!" Long Sihai replied cautiously.

Li Qing nodded thoughtfully, "Well, you can think of this, which shows that you are very careful. Cotton is a new crop, and it is not widely planted at present. I mean, it is not only for military procurement, but also for the market. Cloth woven from cotton can be used as a high-end luxury item, has Mr. Long made a sample, how do you feel?"

"It feels really good!" Long Sihai said excitedly, "The texture is soft, close to the body, and absorbs sweat. It's much better than silk and hemp. It's not at the same level. The commander knows that even though we have money like silk, we are not qualified to wear it." Yes, I am not afraid of the handsome joke, I used to make some silk into underwear and wear it next to my body, although it is better than linen, it is not as good as this cotton!"

Li Qing said with a smile: "You are right. Underwear made of cotton is indeed very comfortable. Even if it is made into a robe, as long as the dyeing is done well, it is also very good. Well, later on, you will make this Send me a few sets of underwear and jackets, and I will ask you to give you the size later."

Long Sihai was overjoyed, Dashuai was doing a live advertisement for himself, as long as Dashuai put it on, it would be good and effective, and the products he would launch in the future would definitely become popular in Dingfu and several states.

"Okay, okay, the little ones will rush to work overnight after they go back, and they will definitely deliver them to the commander as quickly as possible." Long Sihai smiled happily.

Lu Yiming also joked on the side: "The commander-in-chief has positioned this kind of clothes as high-end goods, so today I will take advantage of the commander-in-chief to come to Mr. Long for an autumn breeze, how about some sets for me?"

"I can't ask for it, I can't ask for it!" Long Sihai laughed all the way behind his ears.

Li Qing changed the subject with a smile, "Speaking of this cotton cloth, I have a few questions for you."

"Please ask the commander-in-chief for more information!"

"How do you separate the cotton from the cotton and the cottonseed?" Li Qing asked. This should be a big problem. There are seed removers in later generations, but there is no such thing now.

Speaking of this, Long Sihai said enthusiastically: "In the beginning, it was indeed a big problem and it was very troublesome. I couldn't think of any other way at the moment. I could only do it manually one by one, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the efficiency was extremely low. Later, a craftsman came up with a good way to use manpower to drive two jagged wooden strips to roll over the cotton bale, and the cotton husk and cottonseed were naturally separated, and the cotton was hung on these jagged wooden strips. , the efficiency is more than ten times and a hundred times higher than before!"

Li Qing exclaimed, the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated, the cotton crop just appeared, and there was such an invention, although it is simple, it is extremely practical.Truly true knowledge comes from practice. "Okay, wonderful!" Li Qing clapped his hands and praised: "This is a remarkable invention, Mr. Long should reward this craftsman!"

Long Sihai said: "The commander-in-chief is very right. At that time, I rewarded this craftsman with 100 taels of silver."

"Well, it is indeed worthy of a heavy reward. The 100 taels is not a loss for you! Then how do you spin the thread?" Li Qing asked.

"Spinning is a ready-made craft, so it doesn't take much effort! I distribute the cotton to each household and collect it regularly every day." Long Sihai said.

Li Qing frowned slightly. In the past, the single-person spinning machines were driven by hand, and the efficiency was very low. Moreover, this kind of family-based operation method is considered to be in Dingzhou today. Those who fell behind were Long Sihai's own workshop, which also specially hired craftsmen.

Seeing Li Qing's expression, Long Sihai immediately knew that the commander-in-chief was not satisfied, but he didn't know what was wrong, so he could only look at Lu Yiming for help, and Lu Yiming shook his head slightly, expressing that he didn't know.

Li Qing pondered, "I know there is a spinning machine that is much more efficient than the hand-operated spinning wheel."

"Really?" Long Sihai was overjoyed, "Please tell the commander!"

Lu Yiming on the side was also terrified, looking at Li Qing in disbelief, the handsome man was born in a wealthy family, how could he know these things, and this kind of hand-operated spinning wheel has been used for many years, and he has never heard of it. There is something more efficient than him!
Li Qing smiled and ordered Tang Hu to bring a pen and paper. He lowered his head and carefully recalled the oldest spinning jenny that he had seen in the museum in his previous life, and drew it on paper. As for the more advanced ones that use flying shuttles He didn't know anything about the spinning machine.

After drawing the picture, Li Qing checked the drawings and said, "In fact, as long as these spindles are erected, the efficiency can be greatly improved. Of course, the more these spindles are erected, the higher the efficiency. As for how to do it, I don't know. Go down and explore slowly!"

Long Sihai was overjoyed, holding the thin piece of paper with both hands like a baby, "Thank you, Commander, thank you, Commander!"

Li Qingdao: "Once this kind of thing is made, the family-style single-person spinning wheel will be greatly impacted, and basically there will be nothing to do. You must do a good job in dealing with the aftermath. Don't let these people lose their livelihood. Try to recruit as many children and family members of these families as possible to work, understand?"

"The villain knows, the villain knows!" Long Sihai nodded repeatedly.

"Put the picture away, I still have something to ask you!" Li Qing raised his chin and signaled him.

(End of this chapter)