The Spinning Machine

"We can set up a textile workshop," Zhao Ruxi said, "And hire all the female workers."

It is a common belief that textiles are a woman's job, as women are more dexterous and skillful than men, making them more suitable for this work. Therefore, opening a textile factory is seen as the best way to provide employment opportunities for women.

Although their establishment of textile factories would have some impact on women who wove coarse cloth at home to earn money, the fine cotton cloth produced by the factories would be fine, soft, and inexpensive, improving the lives of the lower and middle classes of the entire Great Jin. They would be able to take off their rough and stiff coarse cloth clothes and wear soft, fine cloth clothes.

Every social progress comes at a price. Just because some people make a living by washing clothes doesn't mean the whole society should stop using washing machines; just because rickshaw pullers exist doesn't mean motor vehicles shouldn't be invented.

Moreover, textile factories would hire a large number of female workers, providing employment opportunities for women, which could be considered a form of compensation.

The Industrial Revolution in the West began with the cotton textile industry.

The Great Jin may not have all the conditions that existed before the Western Industrial Revolution, but it has the powerful figures of Zhao Ruxi and Xiao Lingyan, who can certainly usher in the Industrial Revolution.

"A textile workshop?" Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui asked, puzzled. "How do you do that?"

Zhao Ruxi stood up. "Your Highness, please come to my place with Teacher Cui. I happen to have a machine there."

She had asked Lady Zhu to collect several textile machines for research, and the improvement of these textile machines was now out in the open.

Everyone knew she bought a courtyard in Beining specifically for her workshop. She had a jewelry shop that made and sold jewelry of her own design, so it was natural that there were jade craftsmen in the workshop. In addition, the blacksmith produced safes; the carpenter, however, did not produce anything on the surface.

Therefore, she planned to openly bring out the spinning machines and partner with Grand Princess Shangde and the Emperor to open spinning factories throughout the entire Great Jin.

Because the printing industry is a form of material cultural output, it is almost entirely controlled by powerful families and nobles. She didn't want to confront these people, so she secretly sold printing presses.

The textile industry, however, doesn't need this approach. Aside from scattered workshop operations, textile production is mostly done by small, family-run households. She can simply mass-produce textile machines, transport them to major cotton-producing cities, and establish textile factories.

With the Emperor and Grand Princess Shangde protecting them, no one else dared to interfere or steal the Emperor's business.

The group arrived at Zhao Ruxi's Green Plantain Courtyard.

"Yang Song, go next door and fetch a mule," Zhao Ruxi instructed the gatekeeper as soon as she entered the courtyard.

Yang Song agreed and ran out quickly.

Zhao Ruxi led Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui to the west wing, where a spinning wheel was placed.

Initially, Zhao Ruxi improved the textile machine to mislead others and conceal the other machines she manufactured. Therefore, she didn't put much effort into improving this textile machine, only modifying it into a flying shuttle, and only made one or two units, which were piled up among a pile of parts and never assembled.

Later, she discovered that Xiao Lingyan had opened a silk shop in Jiangnan, which also produced fine cloth, so she gave the two machines to Xiao Lingyan.

After speaking with Madam Cui Madam Cui once before and giving her the idea of starting a newspaper, she came up with the idea of starting a textile factory. So, in her spare time from reading, she further improved the textile machine.

What was being shown to Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui was a mule loom. It could drive three to four hundred spindles to spin fine and strong yarn.

However, the mule machine was not powered by mules, but by water. But for the sake of demonstration, Zhao Ruxi temporarily modified it into a livestock-powered textile machine.

Although Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui were noblewomen, they had some experience with spinning machines due to their position in charge of the academy. However, when they saw hundreds of shuttles moving back and forth as mules pulled them, both of them stared in astonishment.

"This... this... how did you do that?" Grand Princess Shangde stammered.

"This lever drives this gear, and then drives this..." Zhao Ruxi explained the principle to them.

Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui felt they understood every single word, but put it all together, they still didn't understand anything. Even if they asked again, they still wouldn't get it.

In the end, the two simply stopped asking.

Anyway, this machine can spin yarn without human intervention, and it spins quickly and well, so it looks very impressive.

The two looked at the newly spun yarn, utterly astonished and filled with emotion.

"Where did you get this machine?" Grand Princess Shangde asked.

"I developed and improved it myself," Zhao Ruxi said.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room looked up, staring wide-eyed at Zhao Ruxi, completely incredulous.

"Did you do this?" Grand Princess Shangde asked again.

Zhao Ruxi nodded. "Yes, it took almost half a year to figure it out."

She added, "This kind of machine isn't actually pulled by mules, but by water power. However, you'll have to find a place with a drop in water level to see it."

Seeing the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, she continued, "Although these machines don't require human labor, they still need people. If the workshop is large, it will need quite a few people. If we hire all female workers, we can provide many jobs for women."

She pointed to the fine cloth woven from these yarns beside her, saying, "Because of the low cost and fast production, our cloth can be sold very cheaply, making it affordable for poor people to buy and wear fine cloth clothes. The cost of printing has decreased, leading to lower book prices, making books more affordable and allowing more people to attend school. The same applies to our textile machines."

Imagining the blueprint she had drawn up, Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui were both filled with excitement and emotion.

"This is wonderful, wonderful," Madam Cui murmured.

Zhao Ruxi looked at Grand Princess Shangde: "Your Highness, let's have the Emperor invest and open textile factories all over the Great Jin. Once we make money, I want to use my share of the profits to establish a technical academy, teaching women to read and write and learn some skills for free, so that they can support themselves and no longer depend on others."

With the steady stream of income from bells, Feicui, and printing presses, plus Xiao Lingyan making money through other means in Jiangnan, she felt that helping Xiao Lingpu and Xiao Lingyan through two coups was enough.

She wanted to use the money she earned from textile machines to do charity work and improve the social status of women.

Upon hearing this, Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui became even more agitated.

"Alright, alright, I'll join you in founding that technical academy," said Grand Princess Shangde.

She grabbed Madam Cui's arm. "Cui Wen, let's do it together."

Madam Cui was so moved she almost cried, and nodded vigorously, her voice choked with emotion, "Okay."