"The Li family is building a workshop?"
While handling official business, Magistrate Lin Peilin thought of the Li family members who lived far away in Shuxia Village.
After Cao Qian presented the recipe for bean sprouts last time, his relationship with Lin Pei became increasingly close, and he was now firmly a member of the Lin family.
Lin Pei learned more about the Li family's affairs.
Leaving aside the salt smuggling case, the Li family is indeed quite capable.
First came tofu, then they figured out the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), and then pickled mustard greens.
Especially the heated kang (traditional heated brick bed). Last winter, during a heavy snowfall, the death rate among the people under his rule plummeted, decreasing by nearly 80% compared to the previous year, largely thanks to the heated kang. The bean sprouts also won him popular support.
Lin Pei had a very comfortable year.
A while ago, the Li family went to the government to register their intention to build a workshop, and Lin Pei readily approved it.
For him, each additional workshop under his jurisdiction was an additional achievement, so there was no reason not to allow it.
Shaoguan County is truly poor; the poor are mostly impoverished people, while the rich are mostly wealthy and powerful families.
It's the same everywhere under the sun, but it's more obvious in Shaoguan County because it's a remote place.
The Li family built a workshop and promised him that within a few years they would provide dozens to hundreds of jobs to the surrounding villages, promoting economic growth in the area around Shuxia Village.
For Lin Pei, this was a sure-fire way to make money. He didn't need to provide anything, yet he could add to his political achievements. Why not?
"I heard it has started."
Cao Qian replied directly that ever since Shang Jin brought the Li family to his home, he had paid special attention to them. Sure enough, families who had served as officials in the capital had a lot of confidence. Look at their methods, they were full of tricks.
Even a family like that could be politically persecuted and driven to exile. Tsk tsk, the officialdom in Kyoto is terrifying.
Cao Qian had already figured it out; the Li family was bound to rise again. Look how fast they were developing; they'd already hooked up with Lin Pei.
"But are you really going to attend the workshop's opening ceremony?"
Cao Qian couldn't help but marvel at the audacity of the Li family. No matter how powerful they were in the past, that was then. Now, they were even lower in status than commoners, yet they dared to ask the county magistrate to cut the ribbon at their business opening. They had even learned the word "ribbon-cutting" from the Li family. They were truly audacious.
"If it can really boost the economy around Shuxia Village, I'd be happy to go there once the workshop officially starts operations."
Lin Pei felt no discomfort. He went over for a stroll, and the Li family had to fulfill their promise. Even if they couldn't make it, it wouldn't matter. The Li family said that if they couldn't produce results, they would hand over the tofu recipe, and he would definitely make a profit.
Let's just treat it as a spring outing.
Lin Pei smiled nonchalantly, "It's not a loss, it's not a loss."
——
In Shuxia Village, Li Xuming was also having a meeting with his clansmen.
"...We made a solemn pledge before the county magistrate."
"Brother Ming, I don't understand. Our workshop is doing just fine, why do we have to sign a pledge in front of the county magistrate?"
Li Xushen was puzzled. Even without making a pledge, the Li family could develop slowly, and the workshop's future development would not be small.
“We all know the prospects of the workshop, but the adults don’t. Tofu has a low profit margin, and in the eyes of adults, this money is nothing. But once the workshop is established, it will be different. The big families and wealthy merchants in the county will pay attention to us. With our current status, we will definitely have a lot of trouble.”
Li Xushi directly revealed the inside story.
Li Xushen took a deep breath. He hadn't expected that the tofu business was developing too smoothly.
"That's right. We're in Shuxia Village, which is not only poor and remote, but also has a lot of troublesome villagers. Our village, and the surrounding villages, have plenty of difficult people. Why should we help them?"
Why?
"It doesn't matter who we bring in. The workshop has already been approved by Magistrate Lin. If the magistrate himself comes on the opening day, no one in the entire Shao County will dare to mess with our business."
"The second brother is right. Our family has caught Lin Pei's eye. Even if we don't have an advantage in terms of status, we can do business with peace of mind."
"If we fail to achieve this, we'll have to give the tofu recipe to Lin Pei, which is quite risky."
Li Xuming smiled slyly and offered no explanation.
"You'll find out when the time comes."
"If this works out, we'll have the county magistrate as our backer. Who in Shao County wouldn't give the magistrate face? And with our family's products, we won't have to worry about selling them."
"How could they be hard to sell? Haven't you tried the bean curd sheets and dried bean curd sticks? Which one isn't delicious?"
"That's true, our stuff is definitely not bad."
"Now we need to keep a close eye on the construction of the workshop, and also on Xu Jiang's side, the tools need to be made as soon as possible."
"Don't worry, I started working on it last year, and it will definitely be ready in time for the workshop to open."
Li Xujiang patted his chest and gave his assurance.
Since deciding to build the workshop, he has received a large number of orders. Now he has quite a few people working for him, including his own son, people from Shuxia Village, and even Zhao Qi's eldest son, who has a limp, is now working as a carpenter with him.
Li Xujiang has now evolved from a practical carpenter to a carpenter who combines practicality and aesthetics.
Days have passed, and now there's hope for the future.
Every day, the moment I open my eyes, I start working.
"That's good. Xu Hai has also worked hard. Now the work in the fields depends entirely on you. If there's anything you need, just call on the clan brothers. This is the most important thing for our family. The work in the workshop has to take a backseat."
Li Xuhai nodded solemnly.
Li Xuhai learned some inside information from Pan Jinhua, so he naturally took it very seriously.
The other clansmen were somewhat surprised by Li Xuming's words, but they assumed it was because of the tax payment.
The imperial court mainly controlled these people through grain taxes. They had to pay 10% more grain than ordinary people every year, so they had to reclaim more wasteland. The more they reclaimed, the more they paid. But only by reclaiming more wasteland could they ensure their family's food supply. If it weren't for the tofu business, the entire Li family would probably be busy in the fields now.
Li Xuming didn't plan to make things clear. There were no results yet, so it wasn't appropriate to shout it out. Once the results were achieved, there would be no need for him to say anything.
However, he still wanted his clansmen to know that the land was of utmost importance. That's why he made a point of mentioning it.
Li Xuhai was burdened with heavy responsibilities, but fortunately, he was also a person who could endure loneliness, and he didn't even reveal his wife's complaints to her.
The Li family also discussed the division of labor for each person after the workshop was built. When they needed to hire people, they would no longer have to do many things themselves, so the division of labor needed to be more detailed.
Furthermore, the terms of the contract should be carefully drafted, personnel should be allocated, and the procedures that should be kept secret and those that are unimportant should all be thoroughly reviewed.
"The method of making physalt still needs to be done by our own people."
Li Xuyue started by mentioning that everyone nodded in agreement: using brine to curdle tofu is a top secret. Although it's not exactly a secret within the Li family, it must never be known to outsiders.
"Xu Yue is right."
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