Chapter 2413: Reeling Workshop (II)

The so-called Cold Basin Method didn't mean reeling silk in cold water. Rather, the former single-pot process for cooking and reeling cocoons was separated into two distinct stages. Two basins were prepared: a hot basin for cooking cocoons, placed directly over the stove and heated with firewood, and a cold basin for reeling. Unlike the cooking basin in the Fire Silk Method, the hot basin was kept small, cooking small batches of cocoons multiple times. This ensured thorough, even cooking and avoided the uneven results that came from overcrowding.

Though called "cold," the water temperature in the second basin was actually quite high—just slightly lower than the hot basin. The cooked cocoons were transferred there for reeling.

Cold Basin silk was far superior to Fire Silk. As the ancients put it: "Bright and lustrous, tough and colored." It ranked among the finest raw silk. The Huzhou silk that Chen Lin admired so greatly was mostly reeled using this method.

Fenshenghe had always used the Fire Silk Method. It wasn't that Chen Lin and his father were ignorant of the Cold Basin Method—adopting it simply posed considerable technical challenges.

Though superior, the Cold Basin Method demanded more complex technique. The difficulty lay in heating and insulating the cold basin. It couldn't be directly heated with firewood, yet the temperature had to remain uniform during reeling. Usually it shared a stove with the hot basin, drawing residual heat for warmth. The exterior was plastered with yellow mud for insulation. Both the fire tender and the reeler needed extensive experience in temperature control.

Chen Lin couldn't make sense of the pipes and valves, but he understood what two basins at each workstation meant. The moment the Australians arrived, they had switched directly to the Cold Basin Method!

"Chief, is this the Cold Basin Method?"

"Correct. You're familiar with it?" Li Yao'er nodded approvingly.

"I am. My late father considered adopting it, only..." Chen Lin's father had suffered setbacks when introducing silkworm seeds in his early years and had grown hesitant about further improvements. Besides, the Cold Basin Method required additional equipment and manpower—all expenses.

"Introducing new technologies and varieties always carries risk. Your father's hesitation was understandable," Li Yao'er said. "However, for us, the Cold Basin Method is already quite outdated..."

Chen Lin thought her tone rather presumptuous. Li Yao'er, oblivious to his skepticism, continued with evident enthusiasm: "In Australian silk factories, cocoon cooking uses a dedicated large pot that processes tens of thousands of cocoons at once. Every cocoon is cooked evenly without overcooking. After cooking, reeling is done centrally—no need to beat basins while reeling like this. Speaking of silk cars, Fenshenghe's old model can only reel one end at a time. The retrofitted version we installed can manage three ends. But in the best Australian silk factories, one silk car can reel four hundred ends. With that many, only three skilled workers are needed to watch over them..."

Li Yao'er's eyes shone as she spoke, but Chen Lin was full of doubt. Surely she's not bragging about Australia like this? One person reeling over a hundred ends—what kind of superhuman could manage that! Besides, a car driving four hundred ends would require supernatural strength to pull. In his experience, one reeling worker doing foot-pedal reeling could handle three ends at most.

Seeing the Chief speaking so happily, Chen Lin dared not interrupt. Only when Li Yao'er paused briefly did he quickly interject: "Chief, what are these iron pipes for?"

"Pipelines for transporting hot water."

Li Yao'er explained briefly, and Chen Lin immediately grasped the principle: the biggest improvement in this reeling workshop's so-called Jiqi Dajie wasn't the reeling car or the basin-beating method. In essence, it remained an improved Cold Basin system. But compared to the old laborious, smoke-filled one-stove-two-basin approach, hot water now flowed from a single large furnace, eliminating individual stoves. What had previously required one household operating one car could now be centralized. Water from one furnace maintained uniform heat, removing the need for a dedicated person to tend the fire and control temperature.

In the past, their own reeling room had run ten stoves powering ten cars simultaneously, which everyone considered quite impressive. By comparison, the Australians had set up one hundred cars in a single facility! Looking at this scale, all the cocoons in Xiangshan could be reeled here without a problem. But was this expansion too ambitious? Where would so many cocoons come from? And where would the workers come from?

His sycophantic Second Uncle would certainly exploit the Australians' name, forcing villagers to sell their cocoons to Fenshenghe and probably conscripting them to work in the factory as well. The potential abuses were obvious. Cold sweat broke out on Chen Lin's forehead at the thought.

Li Yao'er noticed his expression change. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing..." Chen Lin quickly covered. "I'm just worried there won't be enough cocoons to collect when the time comes."

"As for that, I'm preparing to raise silkworms myself once spring arrives," Li Yao'er said. "I've already set up the silkworm-raising facility. We'll raise some ourselves and purchase more. Your Second Uncle said Nansha Village will fully support Fenshenghe. Every family's cocoons will be sold to the factory, the women will come help raise silkworms and pick mulberry leaves, and each family's mulberry leaves will prioritize Fenshenghe's needs..."

Chen Lin cursed inwardly. Second Uncle, you won't rest until you've completely ruined Fenshenghe's reputation, will you! If this continued, how could their branch ever gain a foothold in the village again?

"...However, I don't agree with his approach. We're running a factory and doing business, not acting as government officials dispatching corvée labor. We can't rely on orders to make people work. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, yes, the Chief is wise!" Chen Lin nodded repeatedly.

"So my idea is to adopt cooperatives. This method has worked well for us in Hainan. Everyone pools shares to raise silkworms."

The cooperative model was an important production-management approach that the Senate promoted in rural areas. From the earliest Ma Niao Salt Field Cooperative to the later Leizhou Sugar Industry Joint Operation, Senate rule and the Heaven and Earth Society had supported numerous similar institutions. They were especially common in the production and processing of cash crops—a thoroughly tested model.

"I've discussed this with your Second Uncle. Essentially, we establish a joint-stock company..."

Li Yao'er outlined the cooperation plan. It was straightforward—whoever had money contributed money, whoever had labor contributed labor. Everyone received shares. After selling raw silk, participants collected dividends according to their shareholding.

"...This method has succeeded in many places, and people respond well to it. I believe it should spread smoothly in Nansha too—especially with strong support from you and your Second Uncle."

As she spoke, Li Yao'er watched Chen Lin intently. The young man's face flushed involuntarily.

"This humble one will certainly serve. Whether there are dividends or not, I honestly don't care much. As long as our clansmen can be fed and clothed, and Nansha recovers its vitality..."

This wasn't false modesty—Chen Lin spoke from the heart.

"Well, what you say is quite proper and sincere." Li Yao'er suddenly laughed, her smile bright as a flower, almost girlish. Chen Lin's pulse quickened. He quickly collected himself, lowered his gaze, and explained:

"This humble one speaks from the heart."

"Heartfelt or not, I don't much care either," Li Yao'er smiled. "What matters is your attitude!" She sighed. "Since ancient times, the hardest thing has been getting things done. If you can wholeheartedly help me make this enterprise succeed, dividends will be the least of your worries."

Leaving the reeling workshop, Li Yao'er took him to the west side courtyard to visit the "Thread Weaving Workshop" renovated there.

Fabric was formed by vertically arranged warp threads and horizontally arranged weft threads interwoven together. The silk reeled couldn't be used directly as warp and weft—it needed to go through a series of preparatory processes. The threads required for weaving silk fabrics had to pass through multiple stages: silk turning, silk doubling, silk twisting, silk starching, warping, quill winding, and more before they were ready for the loom.

Here, Li Yao'er hadn't introduced any new technologies or equipment—no suitable power source existed. The various machines inside looked finely made but were essentially no different from the improved foot-pedal reeling machines. Chen Lin took one look and roughly understood where the improvements lay. Some of these improvements he had conceived himself in the past, even drawing designs for blacksmiths and carpenters to attempt. The results were invariably disappointing—either they couldn't make it at all, or they made something that looked identical but wouldn't function as intended. It was either sluggish and hard to move, or it cracked and broke after brief use.

The Australians truly possessed unmatched ingenuity! Chen Lin marveled. But for him, these "seemingly similar" things before him weren't simply about cleverness. That connecting axle arm, for instance—the same component that the Australians made fine yet tough, but that the best blacksmith he could find produced only coarse and clumsy. Why was that?

Just examining the wooden components revealed a vast gulf between Australian craftsmanship and local carpentry. The same item made by Australians was smaller, more delicate, and even more pleasing to the eye than locally made objects.

"The same object, but what the Australians make is simply different," Chen Lin said sincerely. "This humble one truly admires it!"

"This is nothing," Li Yao'er replied, accustomed to the "shock" of natives and long past taking it to heart. But Chen Lin was different from ordinary natives—he showed genuine insight. "If you went to Lingao and saw all the equipment our machinery factory produces, you'd prostrate yourself in admiration."

"A pity this humble one lacks such fortune," Chen Lin sighed.

"What's difficult about going to Lingao? Since you came from Guangzhou, you know there are scheduled boats. The ticket isn't cheap, but given your status, it probably isn't a problem."

"The Chief jests," Chen Lin said. "It's not that I don't want to go. It's just that this mess before me can't be left unattended..." Fearing Li Yao'er might misunderstand, he quickly added, "Although Fenshenghe is now in good order, the entire village of Nansha remains dilapidated. The livelihoods of clansmen and villagers after spring still need to be arranged..."

"Are the villagers' lives very difficult?" Though Li Yao'er had been in Nansha for several months, she had been consumed with factory renovations, interacting with locals mostly through Chen Xuan. She knew little about actual conditions in Nansha.

(End of Chapter)