Madam Xu was shaking and quickly knelt down.
Now that she had calmed down, she listened carefully. The glowing and talking thing in General Yves's hand didn't change or stop because of her scream. Its voice stayed calm and steady. It didn't seem that scary.
General Ulric said angrily, "You don't know what's good for you. If the High One didn't bless us, do you think you'd still be living such a good life?"
Madam Xu kept her head down and said nothing.
One of the other officers paused, then spoke to ease the mood. "Ulric, it's normal. Most people haven't seen this kind of thing. If they're not ready, of course they'll get scared. Not everyone is lucky enough to see something the High One gave us."
General Ulric's face became a little calmer. He wasn't really angry that Madam Xu got scared. He was upset because of the rude words she said.
Madam Xu knelt on the ground with her head down. The autumn night wind was cool, but her back was covered in sweat.
General Yves said, "That's enough. Get up. If you're not brave enough, we'll find someone else."
He turned to the steward and spoke.
The steward was also sweating and was about to respond.
Madam Xu bit her lip and stepped forward. "Commander, I can do it. Please give me one more chance."
General Yves hesitated, then asked someone to give the tablet to Madam Xu.
She kept kneeling, holding the tablet in her hands. Her heart was beating fast. She forced herself to focus on what the video was showing. What were they doing? What was happening?
The video lasted about half an hour. As she watched, she became more focused.
The people in the video wore strange clothes. Their hair wasn't held up with pins, it was tied back. It looked clean and neat, but their necks and faces were all showing, which felt a bit uncomfortable to look at.
But Madam Xu didn't think about it for long. Soon she noticed what the woman was doing. She stepped on a piece of iron on the ground. Then, the sewing machine on the table started working on its own. It quickly made neat stitches in the cloth.
Madam Xu was completely focused. Her heart was full of curiosity. What kind of magic was this?
Others around her also picked up tablets and started watching the video.
Even though they had already seen amazing machines before, like the diggers, water trucks, and drillers that didn't need to eat and could still work, this still surprised them.
Now they saw another machine. Just one step with your foot, and it could sew clothes. It still felt unbelievable.
General Yves asked, "So, can you do it?"
There were over a thousand sewing machines set up in the courtyard.
They had already used those big machines before. General Yves didn't believe this small sewing machine would be harder. If someone couldn't use it, it meant the seamstress wasn't skilled enough.
Madam Xu had only watched and hadn't tried yet. Her heart was nervous, but she still answered bravely, "I'll try."
If she said no, she would lose her job as head seamstress.
She had her chance now. General Yves wasn't going to wait long.
He gave the order to the steward. "Give each seamstress a sewing machine and a tablet. They have two days."
After giving the orders, he let them leave.
Then he looked at Assistant Hanra and asked about hiring new workers.
"We've found 130 seamstresses so far," Assistant Hanra answered. Her heart was worried. They needed 1,000 people. The tools were ready, but not even one-fifth of the workers had arrived.
Luckily, General Yves didn't blame her.
"Pick the smart ones and train them with the tablets. They'll help teach the others later," General Yves said.
The tablets were only one hundred. It wasn't possible or necessary to give one to everyone. Those who had already learned could teach others step by step.
Assistant Hanra accepted the task.
Soon, what used to be a quiet and lifeless Chen County was now filled with people talking excitedly in the streets and alleys. They were discussing the government giving out land for farming and recruiting sewing workers.
Assistant Hanra went around with people posting notices.
"Hiring sewing workers. Fifty copper coins a day. Also giving three jin of potatoes."
As the officers posted the notice, Assistant Hanra explained loudly to the crowd.
"Potatoes? Sir, will we get the potatoes on the same day we finish work?" someone asked.
At this time, money didn't have much value. Fifty copper coins could only buy one jin of rice, and even that was not always available. But food was different. Three jin of potatoes might not be a lot, but it was enough to feed a family of five or six for a whole day.
And the fifty copper coins could still be saved.
"Yes, you get them the same day. Don't worry about that."
Assistant Hanra had already been to many places. His voice was already hoarse.
"Sir, no one in my family knows how to sew. Can we still join?"
"Sir, I'm a carpenter. Can I join?"
The crowd was full of people. All of them looked pale and thin. Most of them had not eaten a full meal in a long time. But they stayed hopeful. If they could find a job, they might survive this winter.
When Assistant Hanra got back to the office, he was covered in dust. His clothes were wrinkled and dirty.
It was true that there might be a thousand sewing workers in all of Chen County, but it was a large place. Gathering all of them in one place was not easy.
He thought for a moment, then called Madam Xu, the manager in charge of the sewing workers. Madam Xu was still learning how to use the sewing machine. She was in a hurry but didn't dare delay when called.
"Madam Xu, is using the sewing machine very different from normal sewing? Do they have to be professional sewing workers to use it?" Assistant Hanra asked.
Madam Xu smiled awkwardly. "That's a good question. If someone knows how to sew, that's great. But even if they don't, they can still learn how to use the sewing machine."
Assistant Hanra's eyes lit up. That made things much easier.
He left Madam Xu and quickly ran out again.
He changed the notice. Now it didn't require the person to be a sewing worker. Young women with sewing skills and good eyesight could also apply.
In just two days, they gathered one thousand people. Luckily, Madam Xu's team had already learned the basics of how to use the sewing machine.
They used another two to three days to train the new people in small groups.
Getting the workers was not enough. These people were learning outside, so Assistant Hanra had to arrange for shelters to be built.
Because it was temporary and they didn't know what would happen next, they just built a simple grass shelter that could block the wind and rain. They also built a wall around it.
Madam Xu managed to keep her job. She now had twenty team leaders under her. Each team leader managed forty to fifty workers.
Based on their needs, Assistant Hanra told the carpenters to make a huge wooden table, about seven or eight meters long and three meters wide. It was used to cut fabric.
The thousand-person workshop became busy and lively.
At the same time, General Yves started packing and getting ready to return to the capital.