Re-embroidering life

Chapter 160 Political Achievements

Before going to talk to Ji Zixuan, Shui Qinghua prepared himself mentally.

She had mixed feelings towards Ji Zixuan, and she believed he felt the same way towards her. They both admired certain qualities in each other, but hated others.

Ji Zixuan lay dormant for ten years and helped the emperor to overthrow the noble group in one fell swoop. His intelligence, forbearance, good planning and loyalty all impressed Shui Qinghua deeply. As a minister, he was excellent and worthy of being recorded in history. As a family head, he was qualified and protected the family well.

But as a man, Shui Qinghua had some complaints about his personal morality.

She didn't know what happened between him and Shen Xiu Niang back then, but she witnessed with her own eyes how Shen Xiu Niang died miserably. As Shen Xiu Niang's apprentice, it was impossible for her not to feel resentment towards Ji Zixuan.

Not to mention the impact Ji Zimo would suffer if this relationship was exposed. Shui Qinghua didn't even dare to think about it.

Shui Qinghua took a deep breath and told herself that she was asking to see the chief official of Jiangxia Prefecture in her capacity as the owner of an embroidery workshop, and not as a conversation between a sister-in-law and an elder brother-in-law.

For this purpose, she formally submitted her name card to the government office, and the meeting place was not at home, but at the government office.

Since it was official business, Shui Qinghua dressed formally, put on makeup, put on a head ornament, and changed into formal clothes.

Ji Zixuan received her in his casual clothes. Seeing his sister-in-law's attitude, he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise.

He asked Shui Qinghua to sit down casually and asked, "What's the matter that can't be discussed at home? Why are you mobilizing so many people?"

Shui Qinghua bowed seriously and said, "Sir, I am here today to ask for something." Then he repeated exactly what he had said to Huixin yesterday.

Ji Zixuan asked: "Your idea is good, but what do you want the government to do for you?"

Shui Qinghua said, "I would like to ask the government to open up the Dajia Street in Jiangkou as the base of Chu embroidery. We can give Jiangxia's embroidery shop owners some discounts to encourage them to move their embroidery shops here. With more embroidery shops on one street, it will gradually become famous. People from all over the country who want to buy embroidery products will know to come here, and embroiderers looking for work will also come here. Over time, those shops related to embroidery shops, such as those selling silk and satin, silk thread, and dyeing shops, will gather here. Wouldn't this place prosper? In this way, the government can collect more commercial taxes and solve the livelihoods of many people."

This was the inspiration Shui Qinghua got in Jiangnan. The weaving industry was well developed there, and silk, embroidery workshops, and silk thread shops were often clustered together. It was so convenient for her to go shopping. Whatever she wanted to buy, she could get it all on one street.

"Why is it Dajia Street? It's in a remote corner and transportation is extremely inconvenient." Ji Zixuan keenly discovered the problem.

Shui Qinghua was speechless for a moment. Could she say that this was her experience in her previous life? Dajia Street was far from the downtown area and was in a dilapidated state. It had always been a place where vagrants and hooligans frequented, and the government was too lazy to take care of it. But Dajia Street had an advantage. It was very close to Oujiang River and had a high terrain, so there was no risk of flooding.

In the previous life, a few years after Ji Zixuan was reinstated, he took a fancy to the terrain here and invested a huge amount of money to build a river wharf on Dajia Street. He also built several streets of shops relying on the wharf. With the convenience of transportation at the wharf, this place quickly got rid of its previous poverty and became the hottest commercial area in the city.

Shui Qinghua could only bite the bullet and say that she had accidentally passed by this place before and found it very suitable for building a pier and commercial street.

Ji Zixuan fell into deep thought after hearing this, and said after a while: "Go on."

Shui Qinghua continued, "I have investigated in Jiangnan. The government attaches great importance to textiles and embroidery, and has set up special offices for weaving and dyeing. These offices support the people in planting mulberry, cotton, and linen to provide raw materials for embroidery. The government will reward the people for their innovative techniques in weaving, dyeing, and embroidery. If the people do not have the money to research new techniques, the government will also subsidize them."

Shui Qinghua was not familiar with government affairs after all, and could only describe what he saw and heard in Jiangnan in a simple way. But to Ji Zixuan, he understood everything at once. Building docks, building commercial streets, introducing textile and embroidery industries, and setting up special government offices. If one industry can do this, what about other industries?

Ji Zixuan couldn't help but feel a little excited. As a local official, what he pursued was nothing more than the prosperity of all industries, sufficient tax revenue, and the stability of the people. This was the greatest political achievement.

"What benefits will it bring to you if you build a street like this?" Ji Zixuan still didn't quite understand.

"I will use this street as a base to promote my New Chu embroidery technique. I will build an embroidery school on Dajia Street to teach New Chu embroidery. The embroiderers will learn the skills in my school and then go to various embroidery workshops to work. Over time, New Chu embroidery will surely rise one day. By then, I will start from point and expand to surface, walk out of Dajia Street, and spread New Chu embroidery to the whole Jiangxia, and then beyond Jiangxia, and even to the whole country." Shui Qinghua blurted out these words without any pause. She had already thought these words through in her heart.

"Of course, I will also build an embroidery workshop here. I will not miss the opportunity to make money. I hope you can give me the most favorable land when the time comes." Shui Qinghua blinked cunningly.

Ji Zixuan laughed out loud: "Your idea is good, but it will take time to implement. Just building the dock will take several years."

Shui Qinghua also smiled and said, "I have patience and can wait. It will take a long time to prepare the school, the shop, and the new Chu embroidery techniques. If I can really accomplish this in this lifetime, what does it matter if I wait for ten years?"

Ji Zixuan shook his head and said firmly: "Why ten years? I guarantee that I will achieve some success in five years."

The two of them had a very pleasant conversation. They found that if they put aside their personal matters and only talked about business, they were quite compatible with each other and could temporarily ignore the part of each other that they didn't like.

Until Shui Qinghua said goodbye and left, Ji Zixuan looked at her from behind, his face full of regret: "This girl is good in everything, why can't she give birth to a son?"

When he returned to Ji's house and paid his respects to the old lady, he suddenly found Tan Meixue there. She was dressed in gorgeous clothes, wearing an exquisite jade headpiece on her head, and looked a little plump. She sat beside the old lady, looking like the wife of a prefect.

Old Madam Ji was in a particularly good mood today. She smiled and said to her daughters-in-law, "My eldest daughter-in-law reminded me today that the mansion should be lively when Zimo and his family return. The Dragon Boat Festival is coming in two days, so we will have a Dragon Boat Festival flower-viewing banquet and invite all the relatives, friends, and colleagues of the eldest brother to come."

Tan Meixue said in a clever manner, "The old lady is really thoughtful. I will definitely do my best to host this flower viewing banquet and make it a great success, so that those people who used to look down on others can see that our Ji family is no longer what it used to be!"

Although Tan Meixue's words were vulgar, they touched the old lady's heart, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Sun Xiaolan and Shui Qinghua just sat there like moving backgrounds, drinking tea and smiling.

Shui Qinghua thought to herself that as long as Tan Meixue didn't do anything bad, she could still please her.