AWB Chapter 505 The Workshop Encounters Trouble
Chapter 505 The Workshop Encounters Trouble
When Yu Wan arrived at Wan Yan's workshop, the dye house was already in chaos.
Since the workshop was founded, nothing like this has ever happened. Su Qingchan and Xiao Huanyan were both unable to calm down and were in a panic, not knowing what to do.
Upon seeing Yu Wan, the two seemed to have found their pillar of support and quickly stepped forward to grab her.
Xiao Huanyan's face betrayed her anxiety. "Yu Wan, someone added a large amount of alum to the dye vat, causing this batch of Floating Cloud Brocade to become hard and brittle, with uneven coloring and clumping. I had the dyeing workshop's craftsmen try to salvage it as soon as it was discovered, but it was to no avail..."
Su Qingchan's face was pale, and her voice trembled, "Sister Yu, the people from the palace will come to collect this batch of Floating Light Brocade in five days. It's definitely too late to redo it now."
Seeing that the two were almost in tears, Yu Wan gently comforted them, "Don't panic, let's try to see if we can salvage the situation."
Xiao Huanyan nodded hurriedly and led Yu Wan quickly to a row of dye vats.
"These cylinders are less damaged."
Yu Wan lowered her eyes and looked into the dye vat.
The damage to these cylinders is only slightly less severe compared to the others; the variegated patterns inside have visible mottled flaws.
Yu Wan reached out and touched the stiff folds, her mind racing as she tried to recall how to remedy the damage the alum had caused to the fabric.
She said, "Take out the less damaged fabrics and rinse them repeatedly with clean water."
Before Xiao Huanyan and the others could say anything, Yu Wan quickly added:
“Alum dissolves in water, but this batch of fabric is too damaged; rinsing alone is not enough.”
"I once saw a rescue method in a miscellaneous book. I don't know if it will work, but I can only try it as a last resort."
Yu Wan turned to Su Qingchan and said, "Qingchan, take some people to get soap pods, hibiscus bark, and wood ash, boil them with water, and then soak these fabrics in the boiled water."
This method sounded novel; the artisans in the dyehouse had never heard of it before.
But these people all trusted Yu Wan completely, and even if they had never heard of a method before, they would act quickly as soon as Yu Wan spoke up.
The workers deftly removed the fabric from the dye vat and rinsed and soaked it again.
Although everyone was still very anxious, the panic that had gripped the dye shop when Yu Wan first arrived was gone.
Xiao Huanyan touched the retreated fabric, her expression relaxing slightly. "It works! This method works!"
"But most of the fabric was ruined, and there wasn't nearly enough left for delivery."
Yu Wan was well aware of this. After a moment of contemplation, she instructed Xiao Huanyan, "Go to other workshops and transfer some manpower over here. We need to work day and night these next few days to try and produce another batch of Floating Cloud Brocade."
Xiao Huanyan frowned and nodded, "This is the only way now."
If workers are transferred from other workshops, they can easily become resentful if coordination is not handled well. However, if the workshop cannot produce enough brocade by the delivery date, not only the dyeing workshop's workers, but the entire workshop's workers will likely be punished.
Yu Wan believes that everyone can tell which is more important and which is less important.
She instructed Xiao Huanyan, "Explain the seriousness of the matter to everyone, and prevent the workers from getting into a conflict."
Internal strife must be avoided at this time.
Xiao Huanyan nodded with a serious expression.
Even if Yu Wan didn't remind her, she would understand this.
"I'll leave this to you and Qingchan." Yu Wan's expression turned cold, and Xiao Huanyan met her gaze and instantly understood what she wanted to do.
There must be a traitor in their workshop.
If we don't find this traitor, there's still a possibility of trouble.
Xiao Huanyan reassured her, "Leave this to me and Qingchan, don't worry."
Yu Wan agreed and left the backyard of the dye house to go to the front hall.
She summoned the manager of the dye house.
The workshop was divided into many small workshops, each with a designated manager.
Zhang Zhi, the head of the dye house, was recommended to her by the Duchess of Anguo. He had previously worked at an estate in the Anguo Mansion. The Duchess of Anguo thought he was loyal and capable, so she recommended him to her.
When spoken to alone, Zhang Zhi's honest face was full of guilt. "Boss, it's all because I didn't do my job well, which allowed someone with ulterior motives to take advantage of the situation."
With Wan Yan's workshop thriving, Yu Wan was naturally not naive enough to think that all merchants would be afraid to do anything because of Yun Shang behind her.
Sometimes, when people are driven by self-interest, they are not even afraid of death, so why would they be afraid of offending others?
As long as the potential profit is large enough, there will always be people who are not afraid of death, clinging to the hope of getting away with it.
Yu Wan stared at Zhang Zhi and asked expressionlessly, "Manager Zhang, who was in charge of guarding the dyehouse last night?"
Zhang Zhi hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the head of the household, it's Wang the Cripple and his son. I've known them since we were on the estate. Wang the Cripple joined the army when he was young, and that leg was injured in battle. I know their personalities well; they would never do something like putting alum into a dye vat!"
Zhang Zhi mentioned that Yu Wan had met the Wang Cripple and his son. Because he felt sorry for the two, Yu Wan kept them on as guards in the dye shop.
Although Wang the Cripple was somewhat lame, he was quite skilled, and ordinary petty thieves were no match for him.
Yu Wan didn't think it was Wang the Cripple and his son who did it, but she didn't show it on her face. She just said coldly, "Bring them to see me."
Zhang Zhi didn't dare to delay and quickly went down to call for help.
"Master, please have some tea." Xizhu handed over a cup of tea.
Yu Wan had been busy all morning without a sip of water and was really thirsty. She took the tea that Xi Zhu handed her and drank it all in one gulp.
Before she could even swallow the tea in her mouth, Zhang Zhi's panicked voice rang out from outside, "Boss, something terrible has happened!"
"Something's happened to Wang the Cripple and his son—"
……
Because of the accident at the dye house, everyone was busy trying to find a way to save Fuyunjin. Wang the Cripple and his son were on night watch, so when no one saw them, they assumed they were still fast asleep.
However, when Zhang Zhi went to call for help, no one answered after a long time. He pushed the door open and found Wang the Cripple and his son lying on the bed, both lifeless!
Someone died in the workshop; this is not something an ordinary merchant would do.
When Yu Wan learned that Wang the Cripple and his son had died, she remained silent for a long time. She then instructed Zhang Zhi to make arrangements for their funerals before taking Xi Zhu back to the city.
Yu Wan remained silent throughout the journey. Seeing this, Xi Zhu whispered, "Master, I'm afraid Wang the Cripple and his son saw something that led to their being silenced."
Yu Wan nodded with a sullen face. She said, "I have a feeling that this matter is not simple. I'm afraid that it's not some competitor who is jealous of the workshop's booming business, but someone else."
Yu Wan couldn't say it.
But she had a strange intuition that this incident was not only aimed at her, but also at Yun Shang.
Lost in thought, she was startled when the carriage suddenly lurched violently.
Xizhu quickly helped Yu Wan up and was about to lift the curtain to ask the driver when she heard a muffled thud outside, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.
Both of them changed their expressions, realizing that something was wrong.
"Master, be careful!" Although she was scared, Xizhu quickly shielded Yu Wan behind her.
Yu Wan grasped Xi Zhu's arm and whispered, "Don't be nervous. Yun Shang sent guards to protect me secretly. Nothing should happen."
However, it was eerily quiet outside the carriage; even the snorting of the horses had ceased.