Silver Overlord

“What kind of business can earn ten million taels of silver?” Zhong Hongzhang curiously asked. Zhong Ruolan and Manager He were also staring at Yan Liqiang, fearing they would miss out on any of his words.

“A business that can turn waste into treasure, of course!” Yan Liqiang had a calm smile on his face. “If the Zhong Clan will place their faith in me, then please have them collect as much wool as they can and buy farms that will be used for rearing sheep when you return, Lord Zhong. In a few years time, that useless wool will become a high-demand resource in the northwestern region because they will be transformed into expensive, fine fabrics. By then, it won’t be impossible to earn ten million taels of silver a year!”

Realization immediately dawned upon Zhong Hongzhang and his eyes grew as wide as saucers. “Young Lord Yan found a way to turn wool into fabric?”

“Yes, I know how to make fabric out of it,” Yan Liqiang replied calmly. He had already succeeded in making it two months ago and had completely grasped the procedure. All that was required was the cheapest sodium carbonate extracted from the ashes of plants and a simple treatment to scour the wool. After drying and combing out the clean wool, it could then be spun into yarn-like cotton.

Since the normal spinning frame was too inefficient, Yan Liqiang made modifications to it. The concept of a Spinning-Jenny wasn’t that complex, and it wasn’t that difficult to build compared to the spinning frames used in ordinary workshops and households so it only took a few decent carpenters to build. Using Yan Liqiang’s modified spinning frame could improve efficiency by sixteen times compared to traditional spinning frames. The yarn which had been spun could then be used to produce fabric through a modified loom with improved efficiency.

The three people from the Zhong Clan looked at Yan Liqiang in shock and disbelief. Yan Liqiang didn’t say more after seeing their reactions. He stood up instead. “Please follow me, everyone. You will understand what I mean when you see it…”

Zhong Hongzhang, Zhong Ruolan, and Manager He stood up. Together, they left the drawing room with Yan Liqiang and headed toward the rear courtyard.

After a few steps, Zhong Hongzhang finally realized that Yan Liqiang was guiding them toward the rear courtyard so he reminded the latter, “Uhm… Young Lord Yan, are we intruding…?”

“Haha, rest assured Lord Zhong. No women live in the rear courtyard of the Yan Residence. It’s just me, my father, and a few female servants living here in separate courtyards!” Yan Liqiang replied without stopping, leading the three guests through a corridor and two courtyards.

The three guests from the Zhong Clan realized that the place was more heavily guarded the deeper they went. The doors were all guarded, making it impossible for outsiders to enter.

After two minutes of walking, Yan Liqiang finally brought the three guests inside a huge courtyard. The courtyard was even more heavily guarded than the other places. There were six guards at the entrance, and the huge door was locked. It was only opened at Yan Liqiang’s instruction upon his arrival.

It was extremely spacious and vast inside. There were a few buildings at the side which seemed like living quarters. The center of the courtyard was empty without any plants or flowers. There were only wooden frames on the flat-tiled floor, with piles of winnow baskets stacked on top of them like steam baskets. On the other side of the courtyard was a huge building. The sounds of rotating wooden wheels and looms could be heard coming from inside it.

Upon their arrival, the attention of Zhong Hongzhang and the other two guests were immediately drawn to the pile of goods being dried in the courtyard. Something soft and white was being dried on the wooden frames. From afar, it looked like cotton. Yan Liqiang brought his three guests closer to the wooden frame, then took a ball of the thing that was being dried in one of the winnow baskets and handed it over to the guests from the Zhong Clan. “Lord Zhong, Lady Ruolan, and Manager He, can you still recognize what this is?”

The object in his hand was as fluffy as a cloud, and so white that it was blinding under the sunlight. The furry ball was also particularly delicate to touch, and had a more distinctive quality compared to cotton. Looking at the object before their eyes, those who didn’t know better would never associate it with that off-white greasy wool on sheep that was mixed with sand, debris, and feces.

“This is… wool?” Zhong Hongzhang asked in shock.

“Indeed. To be more precise, this is the wool from sheep. After special treatment, that previously worthless wool became the object that you are holding in your hands, Lord Zhong. It has already completely dried out and it is almost the same as cotton. After another simple process, it can pretty much be spun into fabric…”

“So someone is spinning something out of this thing in the house over there?” Zhong Hongzhang pointed to a huge house nearby where all the sounds were coming from.

“Hahaha, since we’re here, you’ll know if you follow me there!” Yan Liqiang led the three people toward the huge house. “This courtyard is a special place I have designed for experiments. I found six reliable couples in town and offered them a lot of money to stay here for up to two months and cut all outside contact. They are to explore on how to spin the wool according to my instructions and requirements. Aside from me, the three of you are the first visitors to this place…”

While Yan Liqiang was explaining, they arrived at the entrance of the huge house. Yan Liqiang reached out and gently pushed the door open.

There were several dozen men and women in the room, including a steward from the Yan Residence. When Yan Liqiang entered, everyone immediately stopped working to greet him.

Yan Liqiang returned their greetings with a smile. “No need to stop, just carry on. I’m just showing these people around…”

Upon hearing Yan Liqiang’s words, the workers immediately resumed their tasks at hand.

Zhong Hongzhang, Zhong Ruolan, and Manager He who were previously shocked by the white fluffy wool, found the objects inside the room to be another eye-opener. There were so many strange tools in there which they had never even seen before. One of them was as big as a bed, and seemed to be a spinning frame. Yet it was different from the ones the three of them had seen before. The traditional spinning frame was placed in a horizontal position, but the one in front of them was a lot larger and stood in a vertical position. There were sixteen spindles on each spinning frame. As the woman sitting in front of the spinning frame moved the handle, the sixteen white threads started spinning magically…

Zhong Hongzhang could tell that the value of this spinning frame was immeasurable with just a single glance, as the object could improve efficiency by sixteen times. Putting aside the rest, it would be amazing if someone could have just one of these in their house. It would take only one woman who knew how to spin to move the spinning frame and earn enough to feed a large family…

On the other side of the room, there was a loom which Zhong Hongzhang couldn’t tear his eyes away from…

“I have invented all these tools here. This is where I continuously tested and improved them until the design was finalized. Conveniently, the first batch of spinning frames and looms produced by the manufacturing bureau will be delivered to town tomorrow. I’ll be setting up a large-scale workshop in town to produce fabrics. In less than a month, the first woolen fabrics should be put on sale…” Yan Liqiang explained to the three guests while showing them around the room.

The sight before their eyes might be unfathomable to the ignorants, but to someone experienced like Zhong Hongzhang who had been exposed to businesses for several decades, this was akin to a door that led to a brand new world. The small iron mine their clan had forked out was nothing compared to everything before his eyes…