Chapter 54 Needlework Workshop
The shopkeeper or owner of Luo's Cloth Shop was named Luo Shang, a thin man in his thirties.

After the introduction by Shopkeeper Lu, Yang Zhengshan and Luo Shang got to know each other.

Yang Zhengshan was too lazy to be polite and just told him the business he wanted to do.

"Shopkeeper Luo, I want to ask, if I can provide a batch of cloth shoes, can you sell them here?"

That’s right, he was going to open a needlework workshop in Linguan Fort.

The first product launched was cloth shoes.

The women in Linguan Fort all know some needlework, so it is no problem for them to sew cloth shoes or simple clothes.

There were five battalions of soldiers from the Linguan Fort. These soldiers were all recruited and had no parents, wives or children around them. Most of the clothes they wore were distributed by the army or purchased by themselves.

Most ordinary people sew their own cloth shoes, but these soldiers need to buy them, which means that there is a market for cloth shoes in Guancheng.

"It can be sold, but the profit may not be very high!" Luo Shang said after hesitating for a moment.

"If I sell them to you at twenty cents a pair, would you be willing to help me sell them?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"You can try, but I can't guarantee that I can sell it!" Luo Shang did not refuse, firstly because Yang Zhengshan was introduced by Manager Lu, and secondly because Yang Zhengshan was a centurion.

Although he was not optimistic about this business, he was still willing to give it a try, not for the sake of making money, but just to avoid offending Manager Lu and Yang Zhengshan.

Anyway, helping with sales is not a big deal.

His shop originally sold ready-made clothes and also accepted some orders for sewn clothes, but the profit margin of cloth shoes was too low and he was not interested in it.

"Yes!" Yang Zhengshan nodded and said, "I would also like to ask Manager Luo to help me buy old clothes. I will charge you by the pound, three cents per pound!"

Ordinary people use old clothes at home to sew cloth shoes, and Yang Zhengshan also plans to use old clothes to save material costs.

If he doesn't have enough old clothes, he will buy them.

This can also be considered as waste utilization.

"This~~"

Luo Shang's eyes moved slightly, and she immediately understood Yang Zhengshan's thoughts.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Master Yang, there is nothing wrong with purchasing old clothes, but there is something I don't know whether I should say or not."

"Please speak, Manager Luo, don't be afraid of anything!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"Then I'll be frank. It's easy to buy old clothes, sew cloth shoes, and sell them. It's a business, but the profit is probably very low."

"Lord Yang may be busy for a month and still not earn a few taels of silver!"

Luo Shang said sincerely.

He already understood Yang Zhengshan's idea, but he still did not agree with Yang Zhengshan doing such business.

The profit was too low, even he didn't think it was worth it, and he didn't think Yang Zhengshan would think so either.

For ordinary people, earning a few taels of silver a month is already a lot, but for shopkeepers like them, such business is too much of a waste of energy.

If he had that much time, he might as well take on a few more orders for sewing clothes.

Some wealthy families would purchase clothes for their servants and family members. Such clothes did not need to be too high-end and were relatively simple to sew, but the profit was not low.

Therefore, small cloth shops like them would rather take such orders than engage in troublesome business like cloth shoes.

But Yang Zhengshan just noticed this point.

Low profits mean less competition.

Others may not like it, but he does.

"I do this business not to make money, but just to help the military households in Linguanbao find a way to make money!" Yang Zhengshan explained.

For the women in Linguan Fort, earning a dozen or twenty cents a day is already a good income.

This kind of income will allow them to get through the most difficult year ahead.

And this is just the beginning. If this business can be sustained in the future, Yang Zhengshan can also expand into other businesses.

For example, making ready-made clothes, handkerchiefs, silk flowers, embroidery, etc. Of course, the latter ones require certain skills, and whether they can be done depends on whether the women's skills are qualified.

"So that's how it is. Lord Yang really has good intentions!" Luo Shang looked at Yang Zhengshan with some admiration.

He had met many low-level military officers in the army, but to be honest, no one had ever come out like Yang Zhengshan to help the military households under his command to make a living.

It is already good enough that those low-level military officers do not oppress the military households under their command, let alone go to great lengths to help those poor military households.

"I still need Manager Luo's help at this moment. If this matter can be accomplished, I will be grateful to the two managers!" Yang Zhengshan said politely.

After hearing what he said, both Luo Shang and Shopkeeper Lu took the matter to heart.

Favors are much more valuable than money.

Luo Shang has decided that as long as he does not lose money, he will continue this business.

Although Lord Yang is only a trial centurion, for someone with a shallow background like him, one more friend means one more security.

Afterwards, Yang Zhengshan agreed with Luo Shang to pick up the worn-out clothes in five days and to provide the first batch of cloth shoes in ten days.

Before leaving, Yang Zhengshan gave Luo Shang three taels of silver as funds to buy used clothes.

……

The rebuilt garrison of Linguan Fort did not attract much attention in Chongshan Pass, or even any attention at all.

Even Zhou Lan seemed to have forgotten the existence of Linguan Fort. For several days, Yang Zhengshan did not receive any news from Zhou Lan.

Yang Zhengshan didn't care about this. He stayed in Linguan Fort and built houses and set up a needlework workshop.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is already early May.

After half a month of construction, everything in Linguan Fort looked brand new.

Behind the government office, adobe and thatched houses were neatly arranged, and the training ground in front of the government office had also been renovated and became extremely flat.

The needlework workshop on the left side of the Tunbu gate was also built.

A dozen women were sitting in front of the workshop, each guarding a wooden basin and washing worn-out clothes.

The workshop has five rooms, and in each room there are six or seven women sewing cloth shoes with their heads down.

Today, the first batch of cloth shoes has been delivered to Luo’s Cloth Shop.

Whether this business can be done depends on the next few days.

However, Yang Zhengshan left these matters to Lao Li and Yang Minghao. At this time, Yang Zhengshan was busy training soldiers.

He has been in Linguan Fort for more than half a month, and it is time to put military training on the agenda.

"Line up!"

"Stand still for me!"

"Keep your head up, chest out, and legs together!"

"Count!"

"one two Three……"

In the training ground, ten small flag officers including Yang Chengze and Yang Chengxu were leading the soldiers in line.

Chaotic counting sounds came one after another, and rude scolding was heard all the time.

The first queue took a full quarter of an hour to complete.

"Report, the Linguan Left Banner responded with 56 people, and the actual number is 56. All are present!"

In front of the government office, Yang Zhengshan stood with his hands behind his back. Yang Mingzhi walked up to him with standard steps and stopped to report.

"Report, the Linguan Right Banner responded with 56 people, and the actual number is 56. All are present!"

Later, Yang Mingwu also came to report.

(End of this chapter)