Chapter 2415: Scabby Head

Her plan had already been set: how to organize, how to mobilize everyone to pool shares, what equipment and consumables to add, how many silkworm seeds to advance on credit, how much Nansha's mulberry cultivation area would increase this year, how to allocate the mulberry leaves from existing groves, how many women to mobilize for factory work...

But this young man's words had cracked the foundation of her plan. If grain was insufficient and the people were strapped, wouldn't all this be nothing but flowers in a mirror, the moon reflected in water?

Thinking back, she realized she had never actually inquired about Nansha's economic situation during her months here, relying entirely on Chen Xuan's assurances. At the time, she had reasoned that she hadn't come to Nansha to serve as an administrative official—she positioned herself in the role of "technical promotion" and tried to avoid interfering too much in local administration.

She had heard something of Chen Xuan's reputation. But honestly, right now he was her only handle in Nansha; without him, she couldn't move an inch.

Then Li Yao'er grew alert again. Chen Xuan had told her that this Chen Lin was originally the son of Fenshenghe's manager, and that Chen Lin's father had long controlled both village politics and clan power here. He treated the factory and Nansha as belonging to his family. He was probably unhappy about the Chief running a cooperative and bore a grudge against Chen Xuan.

Could this young man be deliberately exaggerating? Trying to shake her determination and ruin Chen Xuan's reputation?

Two opposing views collided and spun back and forth in her mind. For the moment, Li Yao'er couldn't judge.

Everything in Nansha had been going smoothly for her, all thanks to Chen Xuan's capable work. But this Chen Lin was obviously far more useful than Chen Xuan when it came to technical promotion.

Which of these two should she trust?

After pondering, she decided it was still too early to draw conclusions. Setting aside for now which uncle and nephew was right or wrong, at least neither had harmed the Senate's enterprise, and both were beneficial to her work in Nansha.

With that in mind, Li Yao'er said: "What you've described—I'm not too clear about it. It seems conditions in the village are quite difficult."

Chen Lin relaxed slightly. "The Chief is here to do great things. It's just that great things must also be done within one's means."

"It's good that you've told me about this. In the future, if similar situations arise, you should come and tell me often. That way I can stay well-informed." Li Yao'er smiled subtly as she spoke.

Chen Lin caught her meaning—she faintly wanted him to serve as eyes and ears. He responded with a "Yes." His heart settled completely—it seemed the Chief didn't trust Second Uncle as much as he'd feared. He might still make something of himself in Nansha after all!

Li Yao'er then called over the several naturalized citizens working in the factory and introduced them to him. She hadn't brought many naturalized citizens to Nansha—including the one squad of guards, only fifteen people in total.

"This is Guard Captain An Zaiduan," Li Yao'er introduced.

The man called An Zaiduan was short and sturdily built, strong and powerful. But when he spoke, his Chinese had a strange accent—he was actually Korean.

Though he was a guard, his left hand wasn't very agile. Li Yao'er explained this was from an injury sustained in battle, which had left some disability.

"...Originally he was to be discharged, but he didn't want to leave, so he came to be my guard."

An Zaiduan studied Chen Lin with suspicious eyes for a long time, making him thoroughly uncomfortable.

"This is my student, Shen Su. She specializes in sericulture and silk weaving," Li Yao'er said. "She doesn't know much about local conditions. The two of you should cooperate and communicate often in the future."

Chen Lin had seen quite a few female False Short-hair cadres in Guangzhou and wasn't surprised by any of this.

After the introductions, Li Yao'er said:

"From now on, you should come to the factory every day. At seven in the morning, a steam whistle will sound, and you come to work. There are many things waiting for us to do."

After leaving the factory, Chen Xuan had been uneasy in mind, not knowing whether recommending his nephew to the Australian woman was blessing or curse. Though Chen Lin had appeared very obedient since his return, the more compliant he seemed, the less reassured Chen Xuan felt.

He understood clearly: when it came to running the silk factory, Chen Lin had real ability. If he gained Li Yao'er's trust and then made trouble behind his back with malicious slander...

Chen Xuan knew his own situation too well—without the Australians backing him, he couldn't survive in Nansha for even one minute. If he lost their trust, forget being Nansha Village's Baojia—whether he could even stay alive would be uncertain!

But if he couldn't handle the silk factory, sooner or later he would lose power anyway. In recent days he had completely figured out Li Yao'er's psychology. Nothing was more important to her than her plan for raising silkworms and reeling silk.

It was precisely because of this woman that he had no choice but to recommend his nephew. If any problems arose, that would truly be lifting a stone to smash his own foot!

He returned to the Ancestral Hall, restless and anxious. A pile of matters awaited his attention, but he had no mind to deal with them.

Just as he sat paralyzed with indecision, a voice came from outside:

"Master Xuan! Master Xuan!"

Such an awkward form of address couldn't be from clansmen. He knew from the voice—Scabby Head had come.

This Scabby Head had drifted to the village begging for food only a few months ago. He spoke a half-baked Mandarin. Though his clothes were ragged—covering his front but not his behind—and he had several bald patches on his scalp, he was quite clever. Chen Xuan had been recruiting men at the time, and seeing this young fellow with good bones and no local connections whatsoever, he enlisted him into his militia.

Scabby Head claimed to have been a household servant for a wealthy family in the past. After his master met with disaster, he drifted out on his own. Sure enough, his skills at serving and flattering were first-rate. Chen Xuan was a local ruffian whose wife and daughter had both run off—when had he ever experienced being served like a master? Within days, he came to rely on Scabby Head as a trusted confidant.

"What are you yelling about! Come in and talk!" Chen Xuan was already in a foul mood. Being called in like this, he spoke without good temper.

Scabby Head entered the room and first gave a respectful bow with clasped hands. "Master Xuan."

This Scabby Head was none other than Lai Xiao, who had jumped ship before the plague broke out. When Lai Xiao leaped from the transport ship into the Pearl River, the weather had been stormy. Though he had some swimming ability, he nearly drowned. He could only cling to a piece of driftwood and go where the current took him. Only after struggling ashore did he rest on the riverbank for half a day before getting up to flee.

Upon inquiry, he discovered he had already drifted into Shunde County. Lai Xiao heard that Guangzhou had a plague and the city was sealed. Only then did he understand why he'd been escorted out of the city. He was so frightened his soul nearly scattered. He kept walking south, wanting only to get as far from Guangzhou as possible.

This walking took him to Xiangshan.

Xiangshan already sat at the Pearl River estuary. Among the counties under Guangzhou Prefecture during the Ming Dynasty, it was relatively remote. Lai Xiao sometimes begged, sometimes helped with odd jobs, drifting all the way to Nansha Village, where Chen Xuan took him in. He settled down under a false name.

He naturally didn't dare use the surname Lai anymore and changed to his father's surname, Chou. The name didn't need changing—after all, names like "Da" (Big), "Xiao" (Small), "Yi" (One), "Er" (Two) were common as dirt.

After this ordeal, Lai Xiao had long since worn away any thoughts of revenge. Even Lai Da's death had gradually faded from his mind. As for his former masters, the Gou family father and son—he didn't even want to think about them now. When he'd been a beggar in Guangzhou, he had dimly spotted traces of them, but had never thought of seeking them out. He only wanted to find a place to settle down quietly, live a few days of normal life, instead of being on the run every day in constant fear.

This remote corner of Nansha had no wealthy households or strongmen worth ransacking, and the reach of the Real Short-hairs didn't extend here. So he earnestly took up his role as Nansha Village militia and Chen Xuan's servant.

But Heaven seemed to be playing a joke on him. Not long after, Australians actually came to Nansha Village. Not only did Australians come, but an authentic Real Short-hair woman; not only did a Real Short-hair come, but she intended to station here!

Lai Xiao nearly broke down. Were the Australians never going to let him go?

He thought about fleeing again but was reluctant to abandon his current comfortable life—he was Chen Xuan's "trusted confidant" now, somebody in the village. Besides, even if he ran, where could he go? The Australians had launched military campaigns; reportedly both Guangs had been conquered. Even if he escaped, how would he make a living?

In the end, he chose to stay in Nansha. Fortunately, the Real Short-hair who came was a woman who had probably never seen him. To be honest, very few Senators and naturalized citizens knew Lai Xiao personally. Unless he returned to Lingao, the chance of being recognized was extremely small.

Sure enough, Li Yao'er had been in Nansha for several months now, and everything had remained peaceful. Lai Xiao's heart had gradually settled, and naturally his thoughts turned to other matters.

As soon as news of Chen Lin's return spread, Chen Xuan had summoned him to the Ancestral Hall to discuss how to respond.

Though Lai Xiao was young, he had followed Master Gou since childhood. From what he'd seen and heard, his heart had grown most vicious. He immediately advised: "Quietly do away with him."

Unfortunately, Chen Xuan shook his head repeatedly. Killing wasn't the problem, but Chen Lin was after all his own nephew—he couldn't bring himself to do it. Besides, this sort of thing couldn't be done flawlessly. If it leaked out in the future, his reputation in Nansha would be utterly ruined.

Since Chen Xuan wasn't willing to take that dark step, they could only keep close watch on his nephew's movements. This task naturally fell to Lai Xiao.

Lai Xiao specially gathered a few informants from the militia and the village. After distributing some small favors, he instructed them to watch Chen Lin closely—observe whose families he visited frequently and what he said.

Today he had come specifically to report. Entering the room and seeing Master Xuan's expression wasn't good, he grew cautious and said in a low voice: "Master Xuan, you ordered us to find out the news, and it's all been found out..."

"Oh? What news?" Chen Xuan's spirits lifted as he asked.

"Last night he was at Chen Ji's house. He chatted with Old Fifth Chen's family very late; the firelight didn't go out until nearly the third watch."

"What did they talk about?"

"Couldn't hear clearly—can't get too close. But it definitely wasn't anything good. There's another thing: someone said that after Young Master Lin returned, he went to the graveyard. He and Miss Yue stayed in the graveyard a long time. There was crying, too."

(End of Chapter)