Mo Zi led Eunuch Lian on a tour around the shipyard, and instead of hearing compliments, she received nothing but complaints. First, he criticized Hongyu for lacking a proper slipway—such a vast area without a soul in sight. Then, when he saw the ship shed, he questioned why they built such a large canopy for no reason. Once inside, she thought surely he’d have nothing to criticize when seeing the shipbuilding operations. But instead, he criticized the ship design as ordinary and the scale too small. Right in front of all the shipbuilders and craftsmen, he even claimed Hongyu lacked any decent master craftsmen.
After each round of criticism from Eunuch Lian, his three attending junior eunuchs would hastily echo in agreement, as uniform as reverberating sounds.
Throughout all this criticism, Mo Zi not only maintained her smile from beginning to end, but repeatedly held back Wei Qing who was burning with anger and ready to argue back, while using eye signals to restrain Min Song who was equally upset. She even proactively joked and bantered with Eunuch Lian, making him laugh heartily, while she herself kept her head lowered and eyes downcast, appearing extremely obedient.
Faced with such a compliant person, Eunuch Lian ultimately didn’t change his mind. As the saying goes, those who understand current circumstances are outstanding individuals. To be honest, he wasn’t at all satisfied with Hongyu—few ships, few people, looking utterly shabby. Eunuch Liu’s arrangements were one thing; though Liu seemed to have higher official rank, when it really came to comparing backing, Lian didn’t need to care about Liu’s opinion. However, seeing that this Supervisor Mo was quite sensible, he’d let such a small shipyard earn this silver.
“Supervisor Mo, you could say you’re quite lucky. Under normal circumstances, even burning high incense wouldn’t get it your turn. The ship—it’s a celebration barge for the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration in three months, to be used for water performances and acrobatics. It follows the specific specifications for palace vessels, so it’s not difficult. The Ministry of Works’ shipyards are so busy they wish they could operate twelve hours a day, which is why the Bureau of Imperial Manufacturing is contracting out such small jobs to outside shipyards. This should have gone to Risheng—after all, aside from the official shipyards, Risheng is the best. But Supervisor Mo is quite capable, managing to get Eunuch Liu to put in a word. If I don’t do this favor, it would seem unreasonable. Now then, where do we affix the seal?”
Mo Zi led them back to the building at the front.
A junior eunuch brought over a box from the carriage. Eunuch Lian opened it and took out two sheets of excellent quality paper, handing one to Mo Zi.
Mo Zi looked it over—it was a pre-written ship purchase contract, listing ship type, delivery date, and transaction price, all clearly itemized.
“Thank you for your recognition, Eunuch Lian.” When she saw the price, her eyes brightened. “This is my first time doing business with the palace. For things I don’t understand, might I ask your guidance?”
Eunuch Lian particularly liked Mo Zi’s unassuming yet meticulous attitude. She was clearly someone who knew how to conduct herself and handle affairs—no wonder she could climb the connection to Liu Ning. Having spent most of his life in the palace, he was an old ginger root, incredibly skilled at reading people. Earlier, he had deliberately said those harsh things and seen the workers’ displeased expressions, but he hadn’t watched others—only this Supervisor Mo. Not very old, yet steady as a mountain in temperament, with a clever, honeyed tongue. He knew in his heart she was flattering him, but it sounded so smooth and comfortable to his ears, not the least bit exaggerated or fawning, as if she were an old friend he’d known for years, making him genuinely laugh.
And now, she knew exactly what to say, without any ambiguity. Had it been someone who couldn’t handle themselves and had never seen the world, they would puff themselves up and rush to accept this business, never exposing their shortcomings before the deal was sealed. When the delivery date came and problems arose, not only would they lose silver, but having their reputation ruined and closing down would be the lighter consequence. The serious outcome would be charged with harboring ill intentions, unable to keep their head.
“Supervisor Mo, please ask freely.” Eunuch Lian was in good spirits today.
“Just now you said the ships are all custom-made. Might there be ship diagrams or ship models?” Otherwise, having never seen a Great Zhou palace vessel, how was she supposed to proceed?
Eunuch Lian nodded. “Even if Supervisor Mo hadn’t asked, I would have given it to you shortly—it’s a ship diagram. Build it exactly the same.”
Mo Zi acknowledged this, sparing her the mental effort, then asked, “The contract says to deliver the initial vessel in three months. This ‘initial vessel,’ as I understand it, is a bare ship—unpainted, uncarved, in its raw wood form. Is that correct?”
“Correct. Since it’s for palace use, the detailed decoration will be done by palace craftsmen. Even if Hongyu wanted to do it, you don’t have the materials.” Eunuch Lian meant no mockery—this was simply fact.
Mo Zi acknowledged again, saving on paint and later finishing costs. “Then, are there requirements for what type of wood to use?”
“You needn’t worry about the lumber. In a couple days, someone will naturally deliver it. Palace items must all use the finest materials.” Eunuch Lian thought for a moment, then added, “The quantity will absolutely be sufficient. Don’t try to fool us into thinking we don’t understand.” Though admittedly, their Bureau of Imperial Manufacturing truly didn’t understand the processes and materials for most things they supervised, they simply followed old precedents for custom orders.
“I wouldn’t dare.” Mo Zi lowered her head slightly, asking her final question cautiously. “The price is three thousand taels—”
“You think it’s too little?” Eunuch Lian assumed.
“No, no. I just wonder whether it includes the cost of the lumber?” Using the finest wood meant the profit wouldn’t be much.
“Since the lumber comes from the palace, how could it be included in the three thousand taels?” Eunuch Lian thought this Supervisor Mo was quite honest. “If you had to pay for the wood yourself, you’d lose everything on this business. The three thousand taels is purely the shipbuilding fee.”
The palace certainly was generous in their spending! Three thousand taels was almost pure profit!
After listening to “the palace this, the palace that” for so long, her ears hadn’t grown calluses for nothing. Think about it—in the civilian ship business, prices always included the lumber. Wood was the biggest cost in shipbuilding; labor was cheap. After all deductions, for a thousand-tael ship using the lowest grade wood she’d seen at Hongtu, you could earn about eight hundred taels net profit. The better the ship materials, the less profit margin at the same price, which is why ordinary shipyards wouldn’t accept orders for small custom-wood vessels—they could still profit from the markup on lumber. She wasn’t that ruthless, and considering she needed to build her reputation, she used somewhat better materials and paid workers generously, so net profit was roughly half the price.
“I understand now. Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch Lian. Otherwise I really would have been a headless fly, not knowing which way to buzz.” Mo Zi smiled and bowed.
They each affixed their seals and stamps. Eunuch Lian provided one thousand taels as deposit.
Mo Zi personally escorted Eunuch Lian out through Hongyu’s main gate and waited there for quite a while until the carriage turned the corner and disappeared from view.
Returning to the ship shed, she discovered everyone’s spirits weren’t very high—they worked listlessly. So she temporarily called them together for a general meeting, letting them speak their minds directly.
This could be considered Hongyu’s first full staff meeting.
Though it felt quite novel, since arriving at Hongyu there were constantly novel things—like festival bonuses, campfire parties, one day off every seven days, accumulated annual leave, plus Mo Zi’s strong affinity—everyone adapted quickly and eagerly requested to speak.
“Mo-gege, was it really necessary to go to such lengths?” Wei Qing’s emotions were rather agitated, which is why Mo Zi hadn’t let him follow later.
“What lengths?” Upholding the principle that the customer is always right, and given their impressive background, greeting them with a smile was surely appropriate!
“The lengths of being obsequious.” Min Song spoke with contempt. “Why should we let people say Hongyu is worthless? Just days ago, we all followed Mo-gege to Hongtu and gave them a harsh lesson, got a thousand logs for free without lifting a finger, rafted them downriver—it was both liberating and deeply satisfying. Today when Mo-gege acted this way, it made people’s hearts burn. We have ability—why must we accept others’ charity? Are palace people really so impressive?”
These two rivals normally fought until her head ached, but when ganging up on her, they were quite united. Moreover, both were popular at the shipyard—handsome guys, after all. When they took the lead, everyone chimed in agreement.
Niu Gao shouted the loudest: “Mo-gege, we won’t build ships for people who look down on us!”
“Palace people are very impressive indeed!” Mo Zi’s opening always left people confused. “Anyone who comes to give us money is very impressive. Whether they complain or praise, whether they’re pleased or annoyed, being able to do business with them is our capability. Why should we care what they say verbally? If I wanted to lower a price, I’d also first declare that thing worthless. If the seller lacks confidence, I can take advantage and buy it cheap. I have confidence in our Hongyu. You’re all so righteously indignant—does that mean you lack confidence?”
Many people lowered their heads at this. Wei Qing, Min Song, and others’ eyes became blazingly bright.
Mo Zi smiled. “I admit, in order to seize this opportunity, I did position myself lower than them. But taking wood from Hongtu was based on a prior wager, with written evidence. If we lacked momentum, we’d have suffered a real loss of our rightful share. The palace people finding Hongyu was because I asked for favors first, so naturally we should treat them courteously. The palace is unlike other places. Those few people have seen all manner of fine things. Coming to our place and criticizing a bit—I actually think that’s reasonable. Showing strength depends on timing. If today Hongyu’s business orders were booked into next year, unless it was the Emperor himself, everyone else would have to wait for me. Insufficient foundation, unbending spine. As we are now, with two orders and not knowing when the next will come, can I show people attitude? Don’t be anxious, everyone. Hold your breath, look to the long term. In just a few years, we’ll have palace people begging us, imploring their grandfathers and grandmothers.”
Everyone listening had glowing faces.
Niu Gao muttered, “Who’s ever seen the palace beg people?”
Mo Zi pointed with her hand, cheerfully: “That’s why I’m telling you to wait and see.”
She continued: “Everyone work hard for me. When this silver comes in, I’ll give each of you a big red envelope for New Year. Let’s pursue practical benefits. Whether we have capability is for us to determine. First manage food and clothing, then manage people’s wagging tongues.”
Hearing this, everyone became even more spirited, shouting as they dispersed to get busy.
Ding Xiu gave Mo Zi a thumbs up and pulled Niu Gao away.
Wei Qing looked at Mo Zi for a while. “I won’t say anything more. I’ll go to the front building. If I show a sour face again, Mo-gege can dock my wages.”
Mo Zi and Min Song went to the dragon boat. Min Song remained silent.
“What, still can’t understand? You couldn’t be accustomed to seeing me fear neither heaven nor earth and think I’m made of iron, could you?” She half-joked.
But unexpectedly, Min Song actually agreed: “I originally thought, who in this world could make Mo-gege lower her head and bend her back?”
Mo Zi laughed heartily. “You really do think highly of me. I’m merely a maid handling affairs for my master. In this ship business, anyone who can shout loudly might have higher status than me. If I don’t bend my back, I’d have lost my life long ago. This back of mine—when it should be straight, it’s straight; when it should bend, it bends. As long as it doesn’t violate conscience and principles, what does it matter? However—” One shouldn’t speak too absolutely.
“What?” Min Song felt the old master was right to send him here. This woman handled affairs with perfect balance between tension and relaxation—he admitted he couldn’t compare.
“Bending is acceptable, breaking is not—that’s my bottom line. Anyone who touches my bottom line, I’ll fight them with my life!”
Where others would rather break than bend, she did the exact opposite.