Chapter 2536: Winning Hearts in the Village (Part 1)

The textile internship group busied themselves with their respective tasks, while Uncle and Nephew Chen had work of their own. Chen Ding was occupied inspecting the sand fields Wu Yijun had purchased in Nansha and elsewhere, checking on the tenants and monitoring their cotton planting progress. Chen Lin remained in the village—where he now faced a considerable challenge: winning the support of the clan members.

Under normal circumstances, this would not have been difficult. As the eldest grandson of the eldest branch, Chen Lin was the natural candidate for clan leadership. Once he reached middle age and grew a proper beard, becoming a clan elder or clan leader would be a matter of course. For years, his father had managed the silk workshop on behalf of the entire clan, and many of its benefits flowed from that enterprise. Numerous clan members regarded his family with favor because of it.

But the situation had changed. His Second Uncle had exploited the chaos to usurp the position of Head of Case and seize control of the silk workshop—and crucially, he had also secured the support of the Australians. Most clan members were opportunists who followed whoever held power. With his father gone, whether they would still recognize Chen Lin as the "eldest grandson of the eldest branch" remained an open question.

Fortunately, after his return, Chen Xiaobing had arranged for him to meet with Li Yao'er. Though she made no explicit promises during their conversation, her meaning was clear enough: she would not interfere in their internal feuds as long as they "did the work well."

To establish a factory in Nansha, he needed to bring the clan members to his side. But he had nothing to offer them now—only the promise of a "future." The clan members were not fools. Though Second Uncle had done many unpopular things, his control of the workshop meant he could distribute tangible benefits to buy loyalty. Compared to Second Uncle's ready rewards, who would trust Chen Lin's empty promises?

He had spent long hours thinking in the graveyard. Once construction of the textile factory began, clan members would naturally benefit, making them easier to win over.

But the urgent task was to build his own base of power in Nansha. Currently, Second Uncle relied on a militia composed of outsiders to suppress clan dissatisfaction. Chen Lin could use the textile factory project to unite the clan members and form a second force of his own.

In the past, he had not dared confront Second Uncle directly—Senator Li's stance had been too ambiguous. Now the Senator's position was clear, and Chen Lin had the backing of Chen Xiaobing along with Senators Li and Zou. He could finally challenge Second Uncle head-on.

If he did not reclaim control of clan affairs, he feared he would find it impossible to accomplish anything in the village.

Fortunately, he had one advantage: his longstanding popularity among the villagers. Many of the younger clan members had good relationships with him. With the right approach, he should be able to gather a group of supporters.

Of course, he could not openly call this a "Second Militia." Instead, he would use the guise of "recruitment training" to bring in young men—something already included in the original plan.

He made his calculations. Besides Chen Qing, seven other young clan members in the village were firmly loyal to him. If he secured these eight first, everything else would follow.

Shortly after returning to the village, he summoned Chen Qing back to his side under the pretext of needing a servant. That night, he asked about Second Uncle's activities during his absence.

Ah Qing shook his head. "Ninth Uncle, Second Granduncle hasn't really done anything lately. He barely even visits the ancestral hall anymore. Apart from reporting to Chief Li every day, he ignores everything else. He's been going to the county seat to visit the pleasure houses often."

"If he's not serving Chief Li, who handles the various matters the Chief sends down? He's also the Baojia of this village."

"He's entrusted all of that to Mr. Lu."

Chen Lin frowned slightly. He knew Mr. Lu—the man had originally been the accountant for the silk workshop. Later, when the clan member handling the ancestral hall's finances was caught with discrepancies in the accounts, the clan members lost trust in their own people and hired this outsider instead. Mr. Lu calculated quickly, kept clear records, and was scrupulously honest. The clan trusted him.

Mr. Lu had been in Nansha for over ten years, maintaining what might be called a "cordial distance" from the Chen clan members. The reason was obvious: if he grew too close to anyone, accusations of favoritism would inevitably follow, undermining his credibility. So for all these years, he had kept his position secure through careful neutrality.

This will be difficult to handle, Chen Lin thought. Though Mr. Lu was honest and surely looked down on Second Uncle's behavior, he was also prudent and absolutely refused to involve himself in internal clan struggles. He adhered to the principle of "support whoever holds power" and focused solely on doing his job well. As long as Second Uncle remained the Clan Head of Case and Shopkeeper, Mr. Lu would follow his orders. Unless Chen Lin could find a way to remove Second Uncle from his position entirely.

"Has anything else happened in the village recently?"

"Nothing really..." Chen Qing blinked.

"Anything at all."

"The Kun person that Second Granduncle brought in stole a chicken from Zhang the Dyer at the silk workshop and caused quite a scene. The dyer got punched. When he went to complain to Second Granduncle, he got slapped across the face instead. He was so angry he made himself sick and has been hiding at home, refusing to work."

"Zhang the Dyer? You mean Lame Zhang?" Chen Lin had a vague recollection. Many of the workshop's laborers were not Chen clan members. As he remembered it, Lame Zhang was a skilled dyer with a gambling problem. Years ago, his excessive gambling had left him drowning in debt, and a creditor had beaten him so badly he was left with a permanent limp. Chen Lin's father had paid off the debts and made Lame Zhang sign a contract to work at the workshop until his obligations to the clan were settled.

The pitiful thing was that Lame Zhang could not break his bad habits. He had continued gambling over the years, always owing the clan money. In effect, he was bound to the silk workshop for life.

"That's the one. Now that the master is sick, his apprentices in the dyeing room are making a mess of things—producing mostly ruined goods. The silk cloth has been piling up. Second Granduncle slammed the table and cursed, ordering the militia to carry Lame Zhang over and force him to work. But when they brought him in, they saw he still couldn't manage it. Second Granduncle was so furious he told them to beat him with a carrying pole... Mr. Lu finally talked him down. In the end, Second Granduncle had to load the silk cloth onto boats and ship it out to another dyer."

"Ship it out? That will ruin the workshop's reputation."

Though Lame Zhang was worthless as a person, his dyeing skills were exceptional. He had developed his own formulas over many years, and the colors he produced were distinctive—famous throughout the county and even in Guangzhou. Another dyer might fool ordinary customers, but anyone with knowledge would spot the difference immediately.

"Mr. Lu said the same thing, but Second Granduncle said he couldn't wait any longer. Delayed deliveries would mean paying compensation."

"I imagine the villagers all have complaints about this."

"How could they not?" Chen Qing lowered his voice. "Ninth Uncle, people in the village are saying this so-called Kun person who stole the chicken—it wasn't any Kun person at all. It was Qiu Xiao, that Scabby Head who works for Second Granduncle. Because Second Granduncle wanted to protect him, he deliberately spread the story that an Australian did it."

"I'll visit Lame Zhang tonight. Ah Qing, spend the next few nights gathering some of the younger clan members—I don't know who's available these days. I have a plan."

"Understood. I'll get started after dinner!"

After the evening meal, Chen Lin quietly set out for Lame Zhang's house.

Lame Zhang was not a member of the Chen family, so his dwelling was tucked away in a remote corner of the village. This proved convenient for Chen Lin's approach from the graveyard. After crossing a few field ridges, he spotted seven or eight thatched cottages clustered near a branch of the river. The people living here were all outsiders who made their living in Nansha Village—either tenant farming for the Chen family or working in the workshop.

Lame Zhang worked at the silk workshop and had once earned a decent income. But his gambling habit had left his house the most dilapidated of the lot. The small courtyard lacked even a proper door, just a simple wicker gate.

Entering the courtyard, Chen Lin found Lame Zhang's wife spinning yarn in the fading daylight. Because Nansha's sandy soil was well-suited for growing cotton, many families cultivated it.

Though Lame Zhang loved gambling, he at least had one principle: he never wagered his wife or his house. But this was mostly talk. He had accumulated gambling debts more than once, and if the Chen family had not intervened, both wife and home would have been seized long ago.

"Sister-in-law Zhang!" Chen Lin called out in greeting.

Seeing who it was, Sister-in-law Zhang quickly rose and curtsied.

"How is Uncle Zhang doing?" Chen Lin had no patience for pleasantries and asked directly.

"How do you think? Lying in there sulking." Sister-in-law Zhang smiled bitterly.

"So his illness is mostly better, then."

"What illness? He just worked himself into a rage!" Sister-in-law Zhang continued spinning, her words spilling out freely. "I told him—haven't you been beaten enough in this life? Before, when you owed those gambling debts, they hung you from the tree at the village entrance, stripped off your pants, and whipped you. You endured that humiliation. Now you take a punch and a few slaps and you're too angry to work? You say you quit—but if you quit, what will we eat?"

Chen Lin had intended to exchange a few polite words before going inside. But Sister-in-law Zhang's remarks clearly contained something more. He decided not to hurry in just yet. Better to hear what else she had to say.

"But that stubborn old fool had an answer ready. He said that when Master Xuan came back to run the silk workshop, he announced that the workshop used to belong to the Chen family, but now it belongs to everyone. He said no one would be allowed to bully people just because they were Chen clan members..." Sister-in-law Zhang sighed. "I told him Master Xuan was just saying what people wanted to hear—and you actually believed it! Besides, this Master Xuan wasn't exactly—" She caught herself abruptly and offered an apologetic smile. "Listen to me, rambling on! I should slap my own mouth!"

Chen Lin laughed inwardly at the thought of Lame Zhang, at his age, believing such empty promises. No wonder he always lost at gambling. He spoke quickly to smooth things over. "Sister-in-law, you're the sensible one! I think you have more wits than Uncle Zhang! Second Uncle truly overstepped this time. Let me apologize to you on his behalf."

With that, he lifted the grass curtain and stepped inside. The room was dim, but by the light filtering in from outside, he could make out Lame Zhang—not lying on the bamboo couch as he had expected, but sitting alone on a rickety bamboo chair.

His left eye was swollen shut, mottled with purple bruising. The right eye was blackened as well. In such a state, working in the dyeing room would have been impossible.

Chen Lin smiled. "Uncle Zhang, is your body feeling any better? I truly am sorry about what happened."

Hearing Chen Lin's voice, Lame Zhang forced his eyes open and hurriedly rose from the bamboo chair. His expression held both resentment and resignation. "Ninth Master, please don't say such things—this humble old man doesn't deserve it."

(End of Chapter)