Chapter 32: The Deputy Factory Director Has Arrived

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Panyu.

At the ruins of Zhao Tuo City, Zhao Shaojie voiced the same sentiment as Bu Zhi: this truly was an excellent place.

“From this moment onward, the First Panyu Paper Mill of Great Han Jiaozhou is officially established!” Zhao Shaojie declared loudly to Ma Su, Mi Fang, and the others who had followed him there.

Ma Su curled his lip.

Mi Fang looked somewhat bewildered.

Ma Su was still in a foul mood and did not wish to face military affairs, so he had decided to see how Zhao Shaojie would produce paper unlike any other.

Mi Fang, meanwhile, had simply been dazzled by the grand promises Zhao Shaojie had made earlier. He wanted to see what this paper would ultimately look like—and whether it could truly make him rich.

Even so, Zhao Shaojie felt rather dissatisfied. At such an important moment, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang ought to have come for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. There should have been firecrackers, speeches—this was a landmark event in the history of Great Han.

Unfortunately, not only were Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang absent, but even Lai Gong, the most prominent figure in the province, had not come.

What a pity!

“These are the construction plans I designed overnight. Take a look!” Zhao Shaojie said, pulling himself back from his reverie and taking out a sheet of coarse paper covered in rough sketches.

The plans included layouts for a furniture workshop, paper mill, ironworks, sugar refinery, laboratory, and several other facilities.

Mi Fang clicked his tongue. “All of these places are supposed to be built at once?”

Zhao Shaojie shook his head. “We’ll build the paper mill first. For the furniture workshop, a simple shed will do for now. We have only so many people; it’s impossible to begin everything simultaneously.”

In truth, Zhao Shaojie had another concern: he was not confident that every project would succeed.

He had never personally worked with any of these things. He had merely watched others do them.

When he used to watch videos, he especially enjoyed those about recreating ancient methods of papermaking and sugar production. He also liked videos about beachcombing, digging ponds, restoring old objects, trimming horses’ hooves, surviving in the wilderness, and countless other things.

Still, he had considerable confidence in some areas. Papermaking, for instance, already existed in the form of Cai Hou paper, and the processes were broadly similar. With enough experimentation, success was certain.

Moreover, he had established a laboratory. To avoid making a fool of himself, he intended to test all other technological innovations on a small scale first. If they succeeded, he would expand production. If they failed, he would continue experimenting.

Mi Fang nodded. “That is indeed the wisest course.” He, too, had worried that Zhao Shaojie would launch everything at once, spend a fortune, and achieve nothing.

Ma Su, however, looked utterly uninterested. “Seeing the scale of your plans, I thought you were going to begin construction on everything at once!”

Zhao Shaojie glanced at him and replied irritably, “Are you giving me the money?”

Ma Su raised his chin proudly. “If we were in Jingzhou, I would.”

“You know perfectly well that we’re not in Jingzhou!” Zhao Shaojie retorted.

He could not be bothered to argue further and turned to Mi Fang. “Zifang, set up your camp right beside mine. While construction proceeds here, drill your men there. That way, those prisoners won’t have a chance to escape.”

Mi Fang naturally had no objection. It was merely a matter of relocating the camp. Besides, he felt a faint nostalgia for commerce and was curious to see the operations up close.

Construction began.

Suddenly, someone arrived with a report.

A man calling himself Jiang Wan had come to see him.

Zhao Shaojie froze for a moment, then beamed. “Ah! The deputy director has arrived!”

Jiang Wan would later become one of Shu Han’s Four Chancellors. Compared with Ma Su, he stood on an entirely different level.

When Jiang Wan appeared, Zhao Shaojie looked him up and down. As expected, the man was not bad-looking either. Without bothering with any polite preliminaries, he said, “Jiang Wan, from today onward, you are the most important man under my command. When I’m away, you will oversee the work.”

Jiang Wan was dumbfounded.

He had not wanted to come to Jiaozhou in the first place. But Jingzhou was already showing signs of chaos, so he had traveled from place to place with his cousin Liu Min, searching for somewhere peaceful to settle. When Zhao Shaojie sent men to invite him, Jiang Wan had hesitated for an entire day before finally agreeing to come.

He had never expected that, upon their first meeting, Zhao Shaojie would dispense with all pleasantries and immediately put him to work.

“Commandant Zhao, I’m afraid that would not be appropriate…” Jiang Wan began, attempting to decline.

Zhao Shaojie waved him off. “No need to be afraid. I know what you’re capable of. Having you serve as a supervisor is beneath your talents, but all management experience begins with the smallest details. You have the potential to become Chancellor. Work hard! I have faith in you!”

At those words, Jiang Wan was completely stunned.

He was somewhat proud, certainly.

Otherwise, history would not have recorded that, after being appointed county magistrate, he simply gave up and stopped doing his work.

But even he had never been so arrogant as to imagine himself becoming Chancellor.

Mi Fang stared at Jiang Wan in shock. Was this man really so formidable?

Ma Su was practically about to explode.

What was going on?

I am merely an armchair strategist, yet he can become Chancellor?

Even Liu Min, who had come with Jiang Wan, looked terrified. Chancellor? Could one really say such a thing aloud?

The court had abolished the office of Chancellor long ago.

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“What? You still haven’t agreed?” Zhao Shaojie asked when he saw that no one was speaking.

Jiang Wan had never imagined that Zhao Shaojie would think so highly of him. He immediately replied, “Yes, sir!”

Zhao Shaojie smiled broadly. “That’s more like it. Don’t worry about the position being too low. I have work to do. Take these plans and study them carefully!”

With that, he thrust several sheets of drawings into Jiang Wan’s hands.

What work did Zhao Shaojie have to do?

Naturally, he had to attend to the furniture business—the industry most capable of making money.

…

That day, Zhao Shaojie’s furniture workshop became the first to produce goods. Besides sending some to Guangxin and Buxi, he deliberately loaded an entire ship and dispatched it to Shi Xie in Jiaozhi.

His simple paper-mill buildings were also nearly complete.

A considerable amount of tree bark, fresh bamboo, weeds, and other materials had been collected.

Zhao Shaojie did not become overconfident. Instead, he bought out several craftsmen from local Cai Hou paper workshops in Panyu and had them take charge of the work. Together, they began researching papermaking.

Just as Zhao Shaojie and several craftsmen were engaged in heated discussion, Mi Fang rushed inside with a deeply troubled expression.

“Shaojie, look! Our lord has personally written to reprimand Xu Shu and me!”

Zhao Shaojie was somewhat confused. “What happened?”

“Isn’t it because of you? Our lord said that even if it meant abandoning Jiaozhou, he would still protect you at all costs. Shaojie, this is the first time I’ve ever seen him so worried about someone—more worried than he is about his own wife and children…” Mi Fang suddenly stopped, realizing that he had gone too far. He awkwardly added, “The importance our lord places on you is simply beyond comprehension!”

Zhao Shaojie naturally knew why. He was a time traveler, after all. How could Liu Bei not value him?

“Our lord has always been like this. He cherishes talent and loves capable people. It isn’t that I’m especially important; it’s that our lord is benevolent. If anything happened to any of you, he would be just as worried,” Zhao Shaojie said.

Mi Fang paused.

Really?

Thinking about it carefully, that did seem to be the case. When Zhang Fei lost Xuzhou, Liu Bei had comforted him instead of blaming him in the slightest.

“To be able to serve beneath our lord is indeed a blessing earned over three lifetimes,” Mi Fang said with feeling.

Zhao Shaojie shook his head inwardly. If you truly feel that way now, how is it that you eventually betray Liu Bei?

But aloud, he merely smiled. “Then let us work hard together and strive to restore the Han dynasty as soon as possible.”

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