Chapter 33 Brother-in-law

  August was the hottest season in Jiangnan, and after a brief and urgent rainstorm, the temperature suddenly rose, and the fields became even more lush. For several months, Rose Garden had been very lively, as if it had become a large construction site. In these two months, Deng Zixuan had hardly left the garden, since the completion of the glass factory, Wanyi followed her husband to work together, accompanying each other from dawn till dusk, that kind of physical and mental joy, made Wanyi feel even more sweet and happy in her married life after being infatuated.

  The husband is not only a good man, but also an understanding and capable man. Especially the latter makes Wan'er often excited, after several months of being together, it seems that there are countless mysterious halos on her husband's body. Take the glass factory's production of mirrors as an example, Wan'er almost participated in all the production processes. Her husband is like a magician, producing bright and clear glass mirrors, when Wan'er sees her own beautiful face and slender figure in the mirror, she can't help but throw herself into her husband's arms, regardless of her image as a woman in public, now Wan'er has developed a habit of being inseparable from her husband.

  Every day, she accompanies her husband to inspect the surroundings, and the two of them hold hands without caring about the gaze of others. Wan'er has completely adapted to her husband's affection. No matter where they go, all the servants' eyes are filled with envy, treating the couple as if they were a golden boy and jade girl. Who wouldn't be delighted by such a loving couple? Especially since Deng Zixuan is kind and gentle, and Wan'er is kind, beautiful, and lovely, in no time, the master of Rose Garden has become the focus of everyone's attention.

  After the rain, the air was fresh and clean. The husband and wife, Deng Zixuan and Wan'er, walked out of a tall courtyard wall. Wan'er asked curiously, "Husband, what is this courtyard for? There's even a soccer field inside?" Deng Zixuan smiled and said, "Before the end of the year, a school will be built here, and all the students who are recruited will live inside. Later, a factory will also be set up here, and it will be expanded." "A school? What kind of school?" Wan'er was surprised. "Wan'er, think about it," Deng Zixuan said, "later we will set up many factories, and the factories need skilled workers. This school is to cultivate these skilled workers." Deng Zixuan lied with a straight face, and Wan'er seemed to understand.

  As they entered the manor, there was a small courtyard beside the road, where the sound of hammering on metal could be heard. Deng Zixuan and Wanyi walked into the small courtyard. During this time, Deng Zixuan had let the maidservants Biying and Danxia learn together with the children of the Deng family. The maidservant following beside him was too annoying, sometimes being intimate with Wanyi affected his mood, so during this time, Deng Zixuan borrowed an excuse to send them away, fully enjoying the space between the two people. Although Wanyi had already gotten used to having a maidservant by her side, Deng Zixuan felt extremely awkward. Now, Wanyi was also accustomed to their world of two.

  "Master! Mistress! You've arrived just in time, Master is here, take a look at the daggers we've made!" Ironworker Wang Tiechui picked up two daggers from the ground and clashed them together several times, the unopened blades showing white marks. After finishing his work at the glass factory, Wang Tiechui came to Rose Manor to make daggers for Deng Zixuan. Wang Tiechui didn't know what the purpose of making daggers was, as long as he had work to do, and Deng Zixuan's pay was very generous. Deng Zixuan's goal was to keep them here, later they would have a big use. If he let them go without work and just gave them wages, they wouldn't stay. Although Wang Tiechui was a lower-class person, they wouldn't bear the shame of taking food for nothing, so Deng Zixuan simply had them make daggers, anyway they would need to manufacture a large quantity later, might as well have them start now.

  "Master Wang, the steel mouth is not bad, I'm very satisfied!" Deng Zixuan took over the dagger and personally bumped into it, but there was no white mark. At this time, Wang Tiechui seemed to remember something and said: "Mr. Deng, you said that adding tungsten steel to iron makes it harder and doesn't rust, when can we get this tungsten?" Obviously, Wang Tiechui couldn't forget the tungsten steel described by Deng Zixuan. "Master Wang, I've already sent someone to Jiangxi to dig, and it's expected to return in autumn. You don't need to worry. After the ore is transported back, at that time, I will work with you to study it." "Mr. Deng, you are a leader, and we have more confidence if you participate!"

  Deng Zixuan had to adopt a strategy of gentle persuasion to make Wang Tiejun stay behind. Not only that, but also through Wang Tiejun's recruitment of more skilled craftsmen in the future, after all, Wang Tiejun was familiar with this line of work. Deng Zixuan required the production of 20,000 daggers, which would take at least a year to complete, and if tungsten steel could be produced, Deng Zixuan believed that Wang Tiejun would stay behind to serve him wholeheartedly. After chatting for a few more sentences, Wan'er seemed unable to bear the smoke and fire, so Deng Zixuan bid farewell.

  "Husband, in a few more days it will be July 10th, Father's 60th birthday is approaching. You are now the master of the Gao family and need to take charge of the preparations. At that time, my elder sister, brother-in-law, second sister, and second brother-in-law will all return. It's almost here, we should prepare now, don't let sisters pick on us." Yuanner said. Deng Zixuan smiled and said: "For Father-in-law's birthday, I have already made plans, just wait and see!"

  On the ninth day of July, my elder sister and her husband came from Nanjing, and my second sister and her husband came from Changshu. Although the three sisters have become noble ladies, they still retain their beauty. Deng Zixuan carefully observed that his eldest sister's daughter was elegant and beautiful, while his second sister's daughter was charming and lovely. Only Wanyan was gentle and pure, with a crystal-clear beauty that stood out among her sisters. It can be said that the three sisters were all beautiful women. When Deng Zixuan looked at his brothers-in-law again, they seemed slightly old-fashioned and awkward in appearance, not quite matching him in terms of style.

  Big sister's husband Zhang Yan is a fifth-grade civil servant in Nanjing, about 40 years old. Second sister's husband Sheng Huaiyin is the county magistrate of Changshu, also around 40 years old, a seventh-grade official. Compared to their official ranks, the two brothers-in-law are quite prominent, while he himself is just a poor scholar. When they meet, the two brothers-in-law are somewhat arrogant and self-righteous about their noble status. The two sisters are very enthusiastic and naturally examine this brother-in-law inside and out. Later, the three sisters go to Wanyi's room to chat.

  "Wow! This mirror is so big, where did you buy it? I bought a pair of small mirrors, and they can't compare to yours!" Jing'er exclaimed in front of the nearly one-person-high floor mirror. "I also bought a pair of mirrors, but I didn't expect such good ones to appear on the market, now they're all sold out in Nanjing!" Wanyu smiled: "You two sisters, don't be surprised when you hear this, these mirrors were made by my husband and me with our own hands!"

  The two sisters widened their eyes and slightly opened their mouths, "Two sisters, please follow me!" The three sisters entered the next room, and Yuanyu walked to the wall and lifted the cover, revealing the true face of the two floor mirrors. "Two sisters, this is a gift from your younger sister." Yuanyu smiled with pursed lips. Jiner was excited and cheered up. "Younger sister, tell us what's going on?" Gui'er asked curiously. Then Yuanyu detailed the process of building the glass factory one by one.

  "Wan'er, your brother-in-law is quite impressive, he didn't disappoint your deep affection. At first, Father was opposed to it, but look at how Father looked at your brother-in-law just now, as if we were all non-existent." Jin'er said with some jealousy. Gui'er said: "No wonder Brother-in-law married into our family without Father saying a word. Originally, this time when I came back to my mother's house, I wanted to figure out what kind of person he was, whether he was after our wealth or not. Now I'm at ease, little sister, big sister truly wishes you happiness!"

  "Two sisters, I'll tell you a secret. You must promise me not to tell anyone, including your husbands." Yuanner said mysteriously. Gui'er and Jin'er nodded. Yuanner continued: "Pu Dong Trading Market has half of the shares belonging to my husband. Moreover, he also owns a fleet of ships!" "Yuanner, is this true?" "Sister-in-law is incredibly wealthy! Sister, from now on we'll have to rely on you!" "Two sisters, if there's any difficulty in the future, just speak up. We shouldn't be polite with each other as sisters!" Yuanner said generously.

  "Sister! Just send a few more mirrors to us, and when we go back to our husband's home, give them to our seven elder sisters-in-law and eight elder brothers-in-law. Our faces will shine even brighter!" Jin'er asked on the spot. Wan'er smiled and said: "Second sister! I've already prepared everything for you, rest assured that you'll be satisfied!" Gui'er said: "Little sister! Sister truly wishes you happiness, finding a good husband. Look at your radiant face, in the future our family's reputation will be renowned, and our waists will also straighten up!"

  The next day, the birthday celebration was successfully held under Deng Zixuan's careful arrangement. The most impressive part of the celebration was that after all the traditional performances were over, the children from the Deng family sang "Happy Birthday to You" in unison, their bright and clear voices bringing a joyful atmosphere to the scene, pushing the festive mood to its peak.

  Such a lively and joyful birthday celebration, both traditional and innovative, made the two brothers-in-law look at Deng Zixuan with new eyes. On the third day in the afternoon, the three brothers-in-law sat in the pavilion in the garden to drink tea. The two brothers-in-law repeatedly praised Deng Zixuan for making the birthday banquet very innovative, after a round of polite conversation, the two brothers-in-law naturally turned the topic of conversation to officialdom.

  "It's said that the warship manufactured by the Mazu Shipyard, which is supervised by Governor Zuo, has been produced and the imperial court is very satisfied!" Zhang Yan said. "I heard that Governor Zuo will soon leave his position as Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and he recommends Shen Baozhen to be the Minister of the Navy." Sheng Huaiyin said. "Is this news reliable? Is it true that Governor Zuo is going to take up the position of Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu?" "The news comes from Governor Li, can you say it's unreliable?" Sheng Huaiyin said confidently.

  Zhang Yandao said: "Your younger brother is now under the command of Lord Li and has received great attention. Your younger brother will rise to prominence in no time, just wait and see!" Shen Huaiyin said: "It's not easy for Huai Xuan! Lord Li let him be in charge of Shanghai manufacturing industry, opening a large Qing factory, everything is ready, but the court can't come up with the money. A clever woman cannot cook without rice, what can my younger brother do with just talent?"

  Sheng Huai Xuan? Deng Zixuan heard with great joy and said: "Two brothers-in-law, I'll be bold and show off a bit!" The two brothers-in-law looked at him in surprise. "Brother-in-law, speak up! What's your brilliant idea?" Sheng Huaixin was somewhat skeptical. Gao Juren knew that Hu Xueyan's background made it impossible to tell the two brothers-in-law about Deng Zixuan and Hu Xueyan's collaboration, so Zhang Yan and Sheng Huaixin currently didn't know the details about Deng Zixuan.

  Deng Zixuan hesitated for a moment before saying, "At present, Lord Li bears the heavy responsibility of reforming and strengthening our country. The only way out is to learn from foreigners, using their techniques for Chinese purposes, which is a wise move. Although the imperial court has opened up the country, it was forced to do so. But Lord Li truly understands the severity of the situation, if one were to say who faces the greatest difficulty, it would be Lord Li!"

  "Your brother-in-law is so young, yet he has such great taste, it's really rare!" Zhang Yan exclaimed. Sheng Huaiyin said: "Anyone can say pretty words, but they're useless!" Deng Zixuan said: "If second sister's husband can introduce his younger brother, brother-in-law can solve his urgent problem. Brother-in-law is not bragging, if there's no real skill, I won't take on trivial tasks!"

  "Your brother-in-law is so confident, I'd like to hear your brilliant insights!" Sheng Huaiyin still looked disdainful. Deng Zixuan said: "Currently, the two most capable officials in the imperial court, Left Grand Secretary and Li Grand Secretary, on the surface seem to be debating about land and sea defense, with Li advocating for strengthening maritime defense and Left advocating for a continental strategy. In reality, this is a deliberate move by the imperial court, aiming to prevent one family from becoming too powerful. Think about it, with the imperial court acting in such a way, not only do the two capable officials have difficulty making progress, but they also have to expend energy on each other. This is the clever politics of Empress Dowager Cixi!"

  "Brother-in-law, you're just a commoner, yet your insight is so profound, your future prospects are boundless." "Indeed, brother-in-law's understanding is extraordinary, but I'd like to know how you plan to resolve Mr. Li's predicament?" Deng Zixuan smiled and said: "Introducing Westerners' modern industries is the foundation of the Qing dynasty's stability. If we can utilize the foreigners' advantages, we must establish a large number of factories. Now everything is ready, but we lack the east wind - in short, without money, all this is just an empty castle in the air!"

  Deng Zixuan continued, "If you want to solve the silver problem, we must open up new sources of revenue. The imperial court doesn't have any silver, but the people do. How can we absorb the silver from the people? That's the key to solving this difficult problem." "What key?" Sheng Huaiyin asked. Deng Zixuan mysteriously replied, "If you can introduce me to your younger brother, I'll reveal everything at that time!"

  "Alright, I'll trust you this time. Coincidentally, my younger brother is coming to Shanghai for an inspection at the end of the month. I'll introduce him to you!" "Thank you, Second Sister's husband, for your help. I won't let you down!" Deng Zixuan said confidently.