The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!

Chapter 580: The Weaving Workshop Sparks an Involution

Magistrate Yao asked, "How can your weaving workshop produce such lightweight and soft cotton fabric?"

Tong Huaqiong pointed at the weaving machine and said, "I’ve improved both the cotton gin and the loom, allowing us to weave lightweight and soft cotton fabric."

She pointed right at the loom in front of Gu Xiaoxue.

Gu Xiaoxue stopped weaving.

Magistrate Yao stepped forward to take a look and touched the unfinished fabric on Gu Xiaoxue’s loom, feeling it was exactly the same as what he held in his hand.

Though he didn’t understand the loom, it didn’t prevent his excitement.

"Aunt Tong, how did you improve the cotton spinning machine?" Magistrate Yao asked, somewhat excited.

The experts really are among the people.

Tong Huaqiong said, "I used to grow cotton and found that the cotton in Qinghe Bay grew very well. But at most, we could plant half an acre for making cotton clothes and quilts because we couldn’t utilize the full value of the cotton. Our looms couldn’t handle cotton well. They would ruin the machines, not to mention the rough fabric they produced. Later, I met a merchant from Hua Ting in the provincial city, and his wife wore cotton fabric. I realized then that cotton fabric could be lightweight and soft. Upon inquiry, I found that in their hometown of Hua Ting, everyone wore such cotton fabric, and it was crucially inexpensive."

"That ignited my desire to weave cotton fabric. Magistrate Liu has a classmate who serves as a parental official in Hua Ting County, so I asked Magistrate Liu to inquire about cotton spinning machines there. Hua Ting County provided the diagrams for the cotton gin and spinning machine. My nephew, Gu Daqiao, studied and improved the machines for several months, enabling them to weave fine and soft cotton fabric."

"In the end, the major credit goes to Magistrate Liu and Gu Daqiao. Magistrate Liu kept the people’s needs in mind. Without his willingness to ask Hua Ting County to lend us the machines, they wouldn’t have given us the diagrams." Tong Huaqiong pointed at Gu Daqiao, who was adjusting a new loom, and said, "And without Gu Daqiao’s diligent work, having the machine diagrams would have been useless."

Magistrate Liu puffed out his chest and praised them.

Magistrate Yao stepped over to Gu Daqiao’s side.

Gu Daqiao was about to kowtow, but Magistrate Yao stopped him.

Magistrate Yao asked Gu Daqiao, "How much cotton is needed for one bolt of fabric?"

Gu Daqiao looked at Tong Huaqiong, who smiled and encouraged him to answer Lord Yao’s question himself.

Gu Daqiao, slightly nervous, said, "Twelve pounds of de-seeded cotton can weave one bolt of fabric, and now we’ve added in the wasted cotton as well. The waste was heartbreaking, so I’m working on improvements to try to reduce it to ten pounds of cotton per bolt."

Magistrate Yao was very pleased with Gu Daqiao’s precise and humble answer.

Then he said to Tong Huaqiong, "An acre of cotton fields can yield 300 pounds of cotton, so your 30 acres would yield 9,000 pounds — this is seed cotton, and lint cotton..."

Magistrate Liu quickly added, "After drying and de-seeding, the amount of lint cotton is 100 pounds per acre, so 30 acres would be 3,000 pounds. Aunt Tong, am I right?"

Tong Huaqiong nodded and said, "You two gentlemen are wise."

Coming from a village background, Magistrate Liu, and Magistrate Yao from a noble family, had a clear understanding of the field yields, showing that their visits to the countryside were not in vain.

Magistrate Yao smiled and said, "According to twelve pounds of cotton per bolt, 3,000 pounds would make 250 bolts of fabric."

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself that this number was auspicious.

Magistrate Yao then became excited, "As Aunt Tong said, not only is Qinghe Bay suitable for cotton planting, but the entire Ning City is. Cotton yields more than hemp and is easier to grow. Previously, large-scale cotton planting wasn’t done because cotton couldn’t be woven into wearable fabric. Now, your weaving workshop can produce fine and soft cloth, making this inexpensive and comfortable cotton fabric accessible to the people."

Tong Huaqiong thought that, as expected, the parental official saw through the key point quickly.

"Aunt Tong, you’ve achieved a great feat, and so has Gu Daqiao. I want to reward you both," Magistrate Yao said excitedly.

For officials, isn’t it their hope that the people in their jurisdiction have places to live and enough to eat and wear? Now that Aunt Tong’s cotton spinning machine has solved the issue of warm clothing, how could this parental official not be excited?

Tong Huaqiong wasn’t concerned about the rewards. She was already a village lady; what additional title could she receive, Commandery Princess or something?

She wanted to secure business at the border.

Su Chengmin mentioned that the soldiers in Mo Bei needed winter clothing, and the old cotton clothes were heavy and not warm enough. She wanted to take this business on.

Business for the hundred thousand soldiers at the border.

She couldn’t do it alone; official backing was necessary. With Magistrate Yao rooted in the Capital Yao Family, perhaps he could assist her.

But this request couldn’t be made in front of everyone, so Tong Huaqiong said to Magistrate Yao, "Lord Yao, I’m just a straightforward businesswoman. As long as governance is clear and society is stable, that’s enough for me to do business peacefully. As for Daqiao, he indeed deserves a reward."

Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Daqiao, "Daqiao, Lord Yao wants to reward you. Our Lord Yao is very generous. What reward do you want? Tell Lord Yao your wish."

Gu Daqiao was already dumbfounded, not knowing what reward to ask for.

Tong Huaqiong noticed the sweat on Gu Daqiao’s forehead and said to Magistrate Yao, who looked regretful, "Daqiao is the first in our Gu Family to study. The teacher praised him for being smart and diligent. Unfortunately, he hurt his leg and returned home to farm before taking the exam. Lord Yao, how about granting him the title of a Righteous Citizen?"

Magistrate Yao said, "Sure. Not only is Gu Daqiao granted the title of a Righteous Citizen, but his family’s land taxes and military service are exempted as well."

Gu Daqiao kowtowed excitedly to express his gratitude.

This was the last time he would kowtow to an official, except when meeting the Emperor.

While Gu Daqiao expressed his gratitude to Magistrate Yao, in his heart, he was most grateful to Tong Huaqiong, who understood his deep regret.

Students who reached the level of a Scholar didn’t have to kneel before officials, but Gu Daqiao would never be able to pass the Scholar exam.

Ordinary citizens, besides Scholars, didn’t have to kneel before officials if they were granted the title of Righteous Citizen.

Tong Huaqiong understood Gu Daqiao’s thoughts and asked Magistrate Yao to award him the Righteous Citizen title.

This reward might not bring monetary or material benefit, but to Gu Daqiao, it was what he desired.

As for the exemption of land taxes and military service, it was an even greater joy for Gu Daqiao.

In Dasheng, farmers not only had to pay land taxes but also perform military service. During wartime, they needed to go to the battlefield or serve labor duties with the army. In peacetime, it was converted into grain or silver taxes to be submitted.

The military service in this dynasty was already considered low, but with Gu Daqiao’s leg problem, it was inconvenient for farming and earning money. Even a low tax of grain or silver was a considerable burden for him.

Now, Magistrate Yao exempted him from land taxes and military service, not only reducing his burden but also ensuring that even if there were a war, he wouldn’t have to send his son to serve due to his leg problem.

Song Qiaoniang, who was guiding the weaving women, naturally heard about her husband being favored and rewarded by the magistrate. She was so moved that tears streamed down her face.

The other weaving women, seeing this, didn’t envy Song Qiaoniang but were grateful that they had aligned themselves with Tong Huaqiong.

Some weaving women even thought to themselves, "aren’t we all people? If Gu Daqiao can improve the weaving machine, why can’t we?"

Why couldn’t they?

Even Tong Huaqiong hadn’t anticipated that by bringing Gu Daqiao to Magistrate Yao’s attention, she would inadvertently trigger internal competition within her weaving workshop.