Not taking Master Zhang’s scolding to heart, Zhang Fang smiled and cheekily reached out to ask, “Father, do you have a handkerchief?”
Seeing him act like his usual quirky self, Master Zhang begrudgingly threw him a handkerchief. After tossing one, he noticed it wasn’t enough for the boy to wipe off his sweat, so he pulled out two more and tossed them to Zhang Fang while scolding, “You smell like sweat! Stay away from me!”
Zhang Fang playfully held the used handkerchief in front of Master Zhang and teased, “Father, what smells?”
Although he didn’t smell bad, Master Zhang had to pretend to be disgusted and scooted away from the handkerchief.
The cart continued moving. Master Zhang glanced outside and felt a pang of sympathy for his youngest son, who had chased after them for so long. He regretted having directly refused Zhang Fang when they were at home. If he had agreed to let him come along, this boy wouldn’t have had to resort to such antics to catch up.
Master Zhang was in a bad mood and kept a stern silence.
Zhang Fang told Master Zhang, “Father, I won’t disturb you while you work. Once we reach the fabric store, I’ll move around freely to understand the situation there.”
Seeing his serious expression, it was clear that he had genuinely reflected on his past mistakes and wanted to take responsibility. Zhang Fang’s sincerity touched Master Zhang; he felt helpless and could only tell him the truth.
Master Zhang said earnestly, “Fifth son, the business has suffered greatly; the fabric store may not survive for long. I do not want you to get involved at such a time.”
“That’s exactly why I should help you, Father. Whether it’s battling nature, competing with others, or racing against time, we must try. Only after putting in the effort will I accept the outcome.”
At that moment, Zhang Fang’s expression showed youthful stubbornness. The cart swayed slightly, and the morning sun outside danced onto him, making his clear eyes twinkle.
Master Zhang gazed at his youngest son with a complex expression, fell silent for a long time, sighed helplessly, and said softly, “Very well. Do as you wish.”
“Thank you, Father!” Zhang Fang beamed, just as the cart turned a corner and a beam of sunlight streamed in, illuminating him completely.
Master Zhang’s lips curved slightly upwards. Although he often scolded his sons, he inherently held expectations for them. Now that they had turned over a new leaf and were striving upwards, he felt a sense of satisfaction.
Upon arriving at the fabric store, Master Zhang busily dealt with issues regarding the return and refund of goods from dealers. He had the manager take Zhang Fang around to understand the situation of the store.
Zhang Fang recognized the familiar face before him and smiled, “Manager Wei, it’s been a while!”
Manager Wei looked troubled and managed to force out a strained smile in response to Zhang Fang’s greeting, “Why does the Fifth Young Master suddenly want to learn how to manage the business?”
To be honest, given the current state of the fabric store, it was barely surviving. If it weren’t for Master Zhang using past profits to keep it afloat, it would have gone under long ago! It could be said that Master Zhang had spent money just to give the villagers, who relied on mulberry and silk weaving for a living, a few more years of decent life.
Even if Master Zhang had a fortune, he could not sustain these people for a lifetime. After returning from the western border, he held a meeting indicating that he would give the fabric store six more months. After that, it would be closed down. The store had already announced that it would stop purchasing raw materials like cotton and silk in six months. The intention was to give the farmers who originally relied on mulberry and cotton time to switch to planting other crops. As for those who wove cloth and dyed fabric, and the laborers who transported goods for the Zhang family, their future became a concern for Master Zhang.
“I want to see if I can resurrect the fabric store,” Zhang Fang said jokingly about his aspirations.
Manager Wei, however, couldn’t find anything to laugh about. Although he knew Zhang Fang was a spoiled rich kid who never cared about business, he said earnestly, “If the Fifth Young Master can truly save the fabric store, that will save countless people who depend on it for a living. That’s tens of thousands of people!”
Zhang Fang inspected the fabric in the warehouse and asked Manager Wei to bring out some foreign cloth for comparison.
“While foreign cloth seems durable, it is not breathable. In this regard, our fabric is much more comfortable and breathable.”
Hearing Zhang Fang’s critique, Manager Wei’s expression momentarily froze. He seemed to want to smile but quickly lost the urge and said dejectedly, “But people outside are only pursuing foreign cloth and clothing; they won’t buy our fabric at all. Especially in the past two years, various fabric stores have been slashing prices to sell their goods. Prices have been cut relentlessly. This has led to a market collapse, and our fabric has been sold at a loss for a long time.”
“To my knowledge, our fabric has always been exported. The market for foreign cloth is expanding rapidly in our country, severely harming our fabric, pushing our prices lower and lower. The foreign merchants take advantage of this to buy our fabric at low prices and sell it at high prices in their countries,” Zhang Fang explained. Before heading to the Daoist temple, he had instructed Butler Zhao to investigate the fabric market situation in recent years. He had already sorted everything out.
Manager Wei listened, dumbfounded. The refined individual suddenly gnashed his teeth, and in a fit of anger, spat and cursed, “Those Western bastards! They are trying to drive us to our deaths! So heartless!”
First, they coaxed the dealers to sell off fabric at cheap prices and switch to foreign cloth. Then, the foreign merchants took the opportunity to buy our local cloth at low prices and sell it to the West! What chance does the domestic cloth have to survive!?
“Let’s go take a look!” Even after having Butler Zhao investigate the market, Zhang Fang still felt the need to observe the situation firsthand.
Manager Wei found himself reminded of the younger Master Zhang as he walked behind the young man. It was said that the Zhang family’s young masters were all extravagant and wasteful, especially this Fifth Young Master, who was even more useless than his older brothers. Seeing him today, Manager Wei realized that a dragon begets a dragon, and a phoenix begets a phoenix. Such an outstanding person like Master Zhang must have equally capable offspring!
Zhang Fang’s words burst like a ray of light piercing through the clouds, allowing Manager Wei to see the sunshine beyond the gloom. He finally understood why the market for domestic fabric had become what it was today. It turned out that from the very beginning, these foreign merchants had laid out a strategy, step by step calculating, devouring domestic cloth bit by bit! Those heartless scoundrels!
The more Manager Wei thought about it, the angrier he became, rolling up his sleeves, eager to grab a few foreign merchants and beat them up! He asked Zhang Fang, “Fifth Young Master, what do you think we should do? Are we just going to let these foreigners bully us? It’s too frustrating! They’re about to drive us to our deaths! If we don’t do something, it’s unbearable!”
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