Chapter 363 The Best Refutation is Self-Improvement

Chapter 363: The Best Defense Against Slander is Self-Improvement

"Is it really that hard to find a shop in the Second Ring City? After all this time, you've only found me two in the Third Ring City?"

Meng Wan returned from inspecting shops outside, speaking irritably to the broker who had followed him back.

The broker bowed and scraped, saying, "Oh, Meng Fulang! Truly, it's not that I haven't tried for you. The shops in the Second Ring City are all held in the hands of nobles and royalty. Even if they were to sell, it wouldn't come through me. These two in the Third Ring City were found only after I wore out my tongue and went through tremendous effort for you, Fulang."

The broker probably wasn't lying. Meng Wan thought to himself—no wonder the great households all emphasized accumulating dowry properties. Some things truly couldn't be bought with money alone.

Even a family without money, living an ordinary life in Sanquan Village, would still set up property for their sons and sons-in-law, build a house for them to marry into. Let alone Meng Wan, who was now well-off. At the very least, Chu Ci's marriage should come with a few shops to support the young couple, right?

With Chu Ci's marriage on the horizon, Meng Wan suddenly felt the real weight of becoming an elder. The wedding was already rushed—they couldn't let the two children feel slighted, could they?

He thought it over, then decided the only way was to use money as a whip on the broker. "I won't make things difficult for you. If you can find me two shops in the Second Ring City, I'll give you a thirty percent cut."

The broker's eyes nearly bulged out. "Th... thirty percent cut!"

The man was so shocked he squawked like a startled rooster. He'd seen generous people, but never this generous. How was this man even more free-handed than those marquises? Money flowed through Meng Fulang's hands like water.

Didn't it... didn't it leak?

Meng Wan let out a cold laugh, his fair face beneath the gray fur collar carrying an uncommon air of wealth and shrewdness. "This isn't your first time dealing with me. You know I've never cheated you, right? Besides the Second Ring City, also look for shops near the cotton mill in the Third Ring City. Any that are near the mill, however many there are, keep them all for me."

The broker felt as if he could already see chests of silver waving at him. He agreed eagerly, and when Meng Wan mentioned the cotton mill, he thought of his unmarried daughter at home. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he said, "Um... Meng Fulang, I heard your cotton mill was hiring before. I have a daughter at home with nothing to do—why not let her go work there?"

There were many brokers in the capital, and this one had only been sought out again because he'd helped Meng Wan purchase Muquan Manor and handled things reliably. Fearing that if he couldn't find a suitable property quickly, this money god would be courted by other brokers, he offered up his own daughter to get in Meng Wan's good graces.

His intention was to flatter Meng Wan by sacrificing his precious unmarried daughter, but to his surprise, Meng Wan paused mid-step. "A daughter? Can she read?"

The broker was caught off guard and answered instinctively, "She learned some of the Three Character Classic and the Hundred Family Surnames from her brother."

Meng Wan said casually, "The cotton mill's front yard needs a warehouse keeper. Have your daughter come try out tomorrow morning."

"Warehouse keeper?"

The broker wondered what kind of job that was. But the chance to get close to a high-ranking official's husband was right in front of him. At least Meng Fulang wasn't like those wives and husbands who had their noses in the air, trampling people of his debased status into the mud...

Remembering those servants and old women who treated him like dirt, the broker agreed on the spot. He went home and told his daughter to report to the cotton mill the next morning.

"I'm not going! What cotton mill? Everyone says it's not a proper place."

The broker's daughter threw a tantrum on the spot, sitting on the warm kang and carrying on. "What kind of father are you? Everyone else is avoiding the place, and you're throwing me to the wolves!"

The broker's wife chimed in, "The rumors all around us are wild—they say it's full of young women and young lads, all in the bloom of youth, with only a few older ones. What good girl would work there? Better to let Mei Niang go work at an embroidery workshop."

The broker poked his daughter in the head, disappointed she wasn't more driven. "With her clumsy hands, an embroidery workshop? Regular embroiderers earn just a few coppers a month! Meng Fulang's cotton mill pays one tael of silver a month, and they even get six days off to rest at home."

"How can it be that much?" If she'd only been suspicious before, hearing the cotton mill's wages made the broker's wife even more certain that Shijian Cotton Mill wasn't a legitimate workshop.

She tried to persuade her husband, "Our family doesn't need the few coppers Mei Niang would earn. We're not starving. What family sends their daughter out to work?"

"What do you know!" the broker roared. "I've already promised the nobleman! Tomorrow morning, she goes whether she likes it or not!"

The broker's word was law. He dropped his ultimatum and walked out the door. His daughter wailed at the window, "You're just selling your daughter off to curry favor with some nobleman! Mother, how can Father do this!" Mei Niang sobbed into her mother's arms.

The broker's wife felt for her daughter but didn't dare stop him. "Maybe... maybe just go take a look?"

—

The next morning, the broker specially bought Mei Niang a new rose-red padded jacket and skirt to cheer her up. But when Mei Niang saw it, she was even more convinced her father was selling her off. Grief overwhelmed her, and she couldn't even eat breakfast. She arrived at the cotton mill on an empty stomach.

They came early, before the mill had started work for the day, though the front gate was already open. Three or four young women and young lads walked in together, having only started work a few days ago. They chatted quietly as they walked, sensitive to others' gazes. Seeing Mei Niang and the broker at the gate, they blushed and hurried inside.

Because the capital had so many rules, and to protect the reputations of the women and young lads working inside, men were not allowed into the cotton mill. The broker spoke politely with a woman in her thirties at the gate, then handed his daughter over to her.

Mei Niang's heart was full of anxiety as she watched her father walk away without looking back. She nearly burst into tears on the spot.

"Your father said you can read?" the woman asked Mei Niang.

Mei Niang held back her tears, a little frightened by the light brown scar on the woman's face. She stammered, "My brother studies at a private school, and I learned some characters from him." Brokers were licensed by the government, and though looked down upon, they were of respectable commoner status. The family was moderately well-off.

Having seen the refined elegance of officials and scholar-gentry, families with a bit of money all sent their sons to study, and the broker was no exception.

Ying Niang saw that she was a bit scared, paused, and softened her voice. "Good. Come with me. We'll go to the storehouse first to familiarize yourself with the accounts. We're short on hands right now, and the shipments are small, so there are only a few entries."

She herself had only arrived a couple of days ago. Because she had Meng Wan's trust, she was temporarily handling the bookkeeping, and the embroidery workers behind her were also under her charge.

With Mei Niang now brought in, she'd train her for a couple of days, then could focus on the work in the back.

"Meng Fulang's cotton mill really does hire only women and young lads?"

Gu Zhiru hadn't visited the cotton mill in a long time, not since Meng Wan had brought her there once. This time when she came, the place was no longer the empty shell it had been before. Though the workers were few, everyone had their own duties. Most were master-like supervisors patiently teaching the others how to do the work.

Meng Wan had taken time out of his schedule to bring her here. "Since I said I'd do it, I naturally followed through. There's still another group of people who haven't arrived yet—otherwise it would be even livelier."

Meng Wan hadn't planned to make the cotton mill very large. It was just meant to give the children from the charity schools another path in life. After all, compared to the relatively comfortable conditions in Xiwu Prefecture, the children of the north were far worse off. At Songyun College, which cultivated well-rounded talents, most women and young lads who graduated could open their own shops.

"Curious what they're all doing? Come on, I'll take you inside to see."

The cotton mill's operation was simple. The charity schools collected raw cotton, removed the seeds, and transported it to the mill. The workers there dried it, then stuffed it into sewn dolls. For now, that was the simple model.

Several carts of cotton were unloaded at the mill's front gate, and all the laborers inside came out to carry the cotton in. Rou Niang negotiated with the transport workers while teaching her new young apprentice.

"Master Meng, you've come." Seeing Meng Wan, she hurried over, not forgetting to introduce the young girl in the rose-red padded jacket beside her. "This is our new bookkeeper, Mei Niang. Mei Niang, greet him."

Hearing the surname Meng, Mei Niang knew this was the nobleman her father was currying favor with. Nervous and afraid, she didn't dare raise her head. "Meng... Master Meng."

Meng Wan saw she was only about fourteen or fifteen, still just a young girl. His expression softened, and a smile curled at his lips. "Oh, you're Broker Gu's daughter, right? Work hard. The mill is just getting started, and you've all been working hard. Next month when wages are paid, there'll be an extra two hundred wen as a hardship bonus."

Mei Niang hadn't expected Meng Wan to be so approachable. A strange feeling welled up in her chest. This cotton mill wasn't what she'd imagined. Everyone was working hard, just like her father could earn money to support the family on his own.

Could women and young lads really earn a living through their own labor?

It wasn't just Mei Niang who felt this way. Gu Zhiru beside Meng Wan was equally shaken.

Meng Wan walked to the cart, dragging a basket of cotton, and asked Gu Zhiru, "Ru Niang, would it be inconvenient for you? If not, come help me carry a basket of cotton?"

Gu Zhiru had never done heavy labor in her life. Her hands were fair and delicate—she'd barely even done needlework.

"Miss, how can you do such rough work?" Qing Luo urged from the side.

Gu Zhiru had been hesitating, but Qing Luo's words made up her mind. "Meng Fulang is a First-rank Lady, and if he can do it, why can't I? You go help others too—we didn't come here for nothing."

As she spoke, Gu Zhiru had already hurried over, grabbing one side of the large basket the way Meng Wan did, helping him carry the cotton.

"So this cotton mill really is a legitimate place to work? Setting up a workshop on top of a cursed property—is this boss some kind of sucker?

"What are all those baskets full of?"

"What do you mean, you can't tell? It's cotton!"

"A cotton mill making cotton is only natural."

"Why are those two dressed differently from everyone else? Are they the masters of the cotton mill?"

"Dressed head to toe in riches and working right on the street?"

"And one of them's an unmarried girl at that!"

"Oh my, the world's gone to the dogs!"

Gu Zhiru froze mid-movement as she rose, her face flushed bright red, even the corners of her eyes turning pink. She clutched the big basket, afraid to walk in such an awkward way, stuck in place while those humiliating words kept drilling into her ears.

Meng Wan didn't even look back, his stride just as steady. "Chi Yu, did you see those two spreading rumors and ruining people's reputations? Haul them off to the Shuntian Prefecture and have Lord Song charge them with defamation."

"You got it, husband." Chi Yu rubbed his wrists, swaying his body left and right, his manner less like a proper young gentleman and more like a street thug.

Gu Zhiru glanced at him, then at the other women and young men who, like her, were flushed with shame and at a loss, and finally her gaze settled on Meng Wan's tall silhouette.

She bit down hard on her lower lip with her pearly white teeth, slowly shifting her feet. The first leg she lifted felt as heavy as lead. But surprisingly, after that first step, the second, the third... suddenly became much easier.

Gu Zhiru straightened her back. Though the redness on her face hadn't fully faded, her expression gradually calmed.

Once inside the workshop, Meng Wan was leaning against the door of the storeroom, smiling at her—and at those behind her.

The group of young men and women all carried baskets of cotton inside.

Meng Wan's voice was clear and measured as he said, word by word: "Nothing wards off the cold like a heavy fur coat, and nothing silences slander like self-cultivation. The best way to deal with nasty rumors is never to avoid them, but to smash them head-on."

After the grand speech, he added a practical note: "Next month, when your monthly wages are paid out and you go home, buy things for yourselves and your families. When the smell of meat wafts from your pots and you wear brand-new clothes, you won't earn any less than those men—in fact, you'll far out-earn them. By then, who would dare look down on you?"

At the thought of being able to support their own families, several of the young men and women breathed a little faster.

"Boss, will you really pay us one tael of silver a month? We... we don't even know how to do much?" one young man asked nervously. He was being genuine, both doubting he'd get that much pay and worrying he wouldn't be worthy of it if he did.

Meng Wan said with a grand air, "Your one tael a month is just the beginning. Once you get more skilled, I'll raise it. As long as you don't slack off or cut corners and work hard in the mill, this is what you deserve. Rest easy."

There was no shortage of poor families anywhere. These young men and women were still quite young, some dealing with family troubles, some in a huff with their relatives. Having gritted their teeth and worked for a few days, they still felt uncertain.

Once the older children from the charity school arrived in a few days, and when wages were paid next month, they would immediately experience the satisfaction of earning their own money.

Gu Zhiru listened quietly nearby, watching how Meng Wan motivated the mill workers. She truly enjoyed being around Meng Wan—it was a feeling unlike being with ordinary women from aristocratic families.

Meng Wan didn't keep her out of his business dealings; in fact, he deliberately brought her along. The two walked to the grain-drying yard in the main courtyard, where some of the recorded cotton needed to be brought out for sunning. The young men were already completely absorbed in their work.

"Meng Fulang, you... I think I've roughly guessed your intention. Is it to help these women and young men? But the fabric shops in the capital all have their own supply channels. Who are you going to sell this cotton to?" Gu Zhiru asked worriedly.

"I have my own methods. The cotton mill isn't about selling cotton as you think."

Meng Wan wasn't arrogant or conceited. In every business he undertook, he first prepared for potential losses, and only proceeded if he felt he could bear them.

The cotton mill used his own property, so there was no rent. The cotton was purchased this year, but next year he could use cotton from his own land. Moreover, cotton was different from other goods—it was one of the lowest costs among Meng Wan's ventures, easy to transport, and the production process wasn't complicated. All things considered, it was a negligible expense for him.

Meng Wan smiled at her. "Ru Niang, how about I help you make some money? Who needs men when there's money to be made?"