Chapter Seven: Making Trouble

  The construction of the factory was carried out completely according to Qiao Yu's plan, and the funds of the two families were very sufficient. There wasn't any problem at all, so why would someone come looking for trouble? Qiao Yu and Bai Kuan exchanged a glance, their hearts alert. Nowadays, ordinary people are very honest and wouldn't easily cause trouble, it's likely that there's someone behind the scenes stirring things up.

  Qiao Yu and Bai Kuan arrived at the construction site entrance, only to see a very lively scene outside. There were over 40 people surrounding something in the center, with hundreds of onlookers gathered around the periphery. This was typical of Chinese people's nature - for days, the Bai family's textile factory had been a hot topic of discussion, and now that a problem had arisen, everyone was gathering to watch, with more and more people arriving by the minute. Bai Kuan's face looked terrible, clearly having never seen such a scene before. Qiao Yu naturally took charge, stepping forward and bowing to the crowd.

  "Fellow villagers, I don't know what everyone has come to the construction site for today, but rest assured that we will do our best to provide satisfactory answers."

  Qiao Yu was extremely polite. The crowd that had been noisy and chaotic suddenly fell silent when they saw this majestic young man speaking in such a manner, and for a moment, no one knew what to do.

  "Don't listen to his nonsense, they're building a factory just to cut off your financial path. Can you compete with machines using only your hands? Once the factory is built, everyone will be out of luck. The old masters absolutely cannot let this harmful factory be built."

  A young man in his thirties shouted loudly, wearing a Japanese student-style uniform, looking like an overseas student, but with a gangster-like air, wearing a hat askew, disheveled and unkempt, just like a hooligan. As he shouted, the people who had gathered around also started to get agitated.

  Qiao Yu walked a few steps and came to the front of the person who was leading the shouting.

  "This friend, I'd like to ask you what your identity is and how do you know that my factory is harming people?" Qiao Yu questioned the man. Behind him, Han Yong and several others had already approached, their eyes all fixed on him, and he suddenly felt a bit timid, his courage no longer as full, but still loudly arguing: "What's there to say? If the factory can't stop weaving, then these weavers will naturally lose their livelihoods. Isn't that harming people?"

  Qiao Yu knew that those people were all weavers, and he also saw that this young man was not in cahoots with them. It was this guy who was stirring up trouble. However, Qiao Yu had long since had a plan in mind, so he didn't bother to respond to the young man. Instead, he went straight to the weavers and bowed to everyone: "Everyone listen to me, I can see that you are all weavers, worried that once the factory is established, it will cut off your livelihoods. This matter is not difficult to settle, I can give you an answer right now. I just want to ask if this friend can represent everyone?"

  Qiao Yu grasped the key point in front of him with just a few words, first separating the troublemakers from the real weaving households. The people who came to make trouble suddenly quieted down. A man in his 40s with a weathered face walked a few steps and stood in front of Qiao Yu: "Mr. Qiao, we are the weaving households nearby. We rely on weaving for a living. We heard that you want to set up a factory. Originally, it's your own money, and we have no right to interfere. However, this gentleman came to us a few days ago and told us that your factory would ruin our livelihoods, so we had no choice but to come."

  "Huang Lao Er, I Yang Hongying am thinking for your sake. The one with the surname Qiao just wants to swallow people whole and not spit out their bones. You can't be polite to him at all! And you're not even helping me get rid of him? You guys are really hopeless!"

  However, at this moment Yang Hongying only felt that the figure in front of him was shaking, and a tall figure had already appeared in front of him. A large hand firmly grasped his chest, and it was Han Yong who had taken action. As the person in charge of the factory's safety, Han Yong had been uneasy when he saw someone causing trouble. Yang Hongying still dared to incite the workers to cause trouble, which was simply asking for death. Han Yong was tall and strong, and with a light lift, Yang Hongying's feet left the ground.

  Qiao Yu was well aware that in handling such matters, one must never harm others. Once blood is shed, even if you are right, you become wrong. He hastily stopped Han Yong and smiled at Yang Hongying: "Yang Zhuang Shi, how do you want to resolve the current situation? You draw a way out first, if it's feasible, I'll definitely follow suit!"

  "Hum, hum, you're quite sensible. I'll give you two options: either shut down the factory or hand over 50,000 taels of silver. You decide which one to take!"

  "The factory has taken up nearly half of our family's savings, it really can't be stopped, just give the money!"

  Bai Kuan listened for a while and felt that something was off, the other party was obviously making an outrageous demand, how could Qiao Yu agree to it? This wasn't taking silver as a joke, was it? Just as Bai Kuan was about to intervene, Qiao Yu subtly waved his hand to stop him from speaking, smiling as he looked at Yang Hongying.

  Yang Hongying did not expect Qiao Yu to admit defeat so easily. The big man from just now was ferocious and intimidating, how could he change his face so quickly? Could it be that the surname Qiao saw through his identity and voluntarily retreated, which is really beyond expectation. However, this kid has become arrogant again.

  "Alright, now get out the money!"

  "Yang Zhuang didn't rush, I'd like to ask how you plan to deal with this money, is it divided equally among these weaving households or put into your own pocket?"

  Qiao Yu's words were piercing, and Yang Hongying, along with the people behind him, wanted to get some money out of the Qiao family, so they incited the weavers to come and cause trouble. However, they never intended to give the money to the weavers, at most just giving them a few dozen taels to dismiss the matter. But as soon as Qiao Yu asked this question, he suddenly didn't know how to respond, his face flushing bright red with embarrassment.

  "How the distribution is handled is none of your business, just hand over the money and we'll be done with it. Otherwise, we'll storm in right now and smash up your factory!" However, Yang Hongying's momentum had already weakened significantly, and Qiao Yu didn't even bother to respond to him, instead turning back to face those weaving households again.

  "Gentlemen, I think you've all seen what kind of person this so-called strongman is. He's just trying to extort money from us by taking advantage of your presence here. This factory was established with the support of the county magistrate and even the governor-general. Your actions today have already broken the law." These were all honest and simple weavers, who immediately became frightened upon hearing these words. The leader, Old Man Huang, suddenly became flustered and at a loss for what to do.

  "My surname is Qiao, don't try to intimidate us with your official power. Even if the Emperor himself came, I would still give everyone a mouthful of food to eat. You can't scare me!"

  Qiao Yu didn't even bother to respond to him, but instead smiled and said to the crowd: "Everyone, I'm not here to threaten you all, I just want to make sure that everyone thinks things through carefully so as not to be taken advantage of without realizing it. Also, I'd like to expose this strong man's absurd remarks."

  Qiao Yu looked around and saw that the crowd had already exceeded a thousand people. He raised his voice: "Everyone, building a textile factory will undoubtedly have an impact on our traditional weaving households, this is undeniable. But I've studied abroad in the West, where factories are everywhere, and cloth production is like flowing water. Not only them, but also Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have established many factories, and even Wuhan, which is close to us, has factories. It can be said that building a factory is already a trend. Even if I don't build one, others will. Even if we Sichuan people don't build a factory, the Hubei people, Jiangsu people, and Zhejiang people will also build factories, not to mention the Western powers who will establish factories as well. This is an unstoppable trend. We Sichuan people can only catch up with the times, run a good factory, benefit our hometown, and protect our rights and interests."

  At this time, it's not just the weaving households, even those who came to watch the excitement are also listening with their ears perked up. Qiao Yu is very satisfied with this situation, and the current scene is exactly a crisis public relations opportunity. If done well, it will definitely enhance the influence of the textile factory.

  "I've already said that running a factory is the trend, and it's irresistible. However, in reality, the factory will impact these weaving households. We're all relatives, so how can we harm our own people? In fact, our factory has already thought of a solution. After the factory starts production, we'll prioritize recruiting the children of weaving households to work in the factory. Apprentices will earn three or four silver coins per month, and after becoming skilled workers, they'll earn at least ten silver coins, plus various bonuses. If you're not willing to be a weaver, we have other jobs that can be arranged for you. If you still don't want to work, our factory can provide small, interest-free loans to help you start a small business. In short, we absolutely won't ignore your difficulties. Here, I give you a guarantee: as long as you're diligent and hardworking, your life will only get better. Additionally, next month the factory will begin recruiting workers and providing initial training. You can all sign up, and the factory needs a large number of people - hundreds in the early stages, and at least one or two thousand later on, with a focus on female workers. If you have clever and skilled girls at home, they can definitely come work in the factory. I guarantee that within a few months, ordinary laborers won't be able to earn as much as them."

  Qiao Yu's words instantly caused a stir, and the people present all raised their thumbs in praise, exclaiming that Boss Qiao was truly benevolent. This was indeed a blessing for the people of Sichuan! The onlookers had already begun to cheer, but those who were most shocked were the weavers. They usually wove fabric just to make ends meet, but according to Qiao Yu's words, they could earn tens or even hundreds of taels in a year - an absolute fortune! How could this not move these people?

  The old man was so excited that he kept bowing to Qiao Yu: "Boss Qiao is really kind and righteous, I've offended you, but you're giving us a way out, no, you're giving us a bright future! Let me kneel down for you!"

  As they spoke, the old man was about to kowtow, and Qiao Yu supported him with one hand.

  "This is what I should do, you don't have to worry about me. But let's be clear, running a factory means pursuing profits, and the rules for employees will be very strict. If anyone violates them, there will be corresponding punishments. However, I believe everyone here is honest and will definitely become excellent employees."

  Then Qiao Yu answered some questions for the weavers, and at this time Yang Hongying had already run away without a trace. He instigated the weavers to make trouble, but instead achieved Qiao Yu's reputation for benevolence, he was like a clown, losing face.

  Qiao Yu chatted with everyone for a while before sending these people away. "Young master is really good at handling things, just a few words and he sent them all away, I thought we would have to take action!" Han Yong said with a smile, he had always been by Qiao Yu's side protecting his safety, this time something happened, it was no exception.

  "Brother Han, someone is plotting against us. You must help me find out who is behind Yang Hongying's back. I will never forgive him!"

  A crisis was thus perfectly resolved, and Qiao Yu's reputation was greatly enhanced. He perfectly turned a disadvantage into an advantage. Bai Kuan on the side was also very pleased, this nephew is a man who can do great things.

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