Li Xianyun had taught the women in the garment workshop how to use the new machinery and then proceeded to the workshop's backyard.
The women in the backyard were significantly inferior to the female workers in the front yard when it came to weaving and cotton spinning.
Li Xianyun had never intended to rely on these women to produce much cotton clothing, so she had provided them with old cotton-spinning machines and looms.
Li Xianyun suspected that among these people were spies planted by Murong Ce.
A majority of these women were rather indolent, but there were a few who were diligent and steadfast.
Li Xianyun took note of a woman named Jiang Ying, who was quiet to the point of being nearly invisible.
Yet Li Xianyun acutely realized that despite her unobtrusiveness, this woman held a high level of prestige among the other women in the backyard, and she was particularly influential.
Such a person was truly exceptional, and Li Xianyun began to observe her discreetly.
