Chapter 341 Crowdfunding to Build a Market
The carriage stopped in front of the house.
Three children got out of the car.
Zhao Sidan jumped for joy, Zhao Tiezhu was excited, and Yu Zhan was slightly more reserved.
"How is it?" the village head asked impatiently. "Tiezhu, you little rascal, stop grinning like an idiot and tell me how things are going?"
“Grandpa, the exam is very easy.” Zhao Tiezhu said confidently. “The first question is about what I’ve memorized before. Cousin Cheng and Master Yu have both taught me, so I finished it in no time. Although the later questions are a bit difficult, they’re no problem for me. I’ll definitely make it to the next round.”
The village headman burst into laughter: "That's good, that's good."
Their family has produced a scholar; this is an auspicious event, a sign of good fortune from their ancestors. They should go back and burn incense for their ancestors.
"Don't be too happy yet," Cheng Zhao's voice rang out calmly. "The county examination consists of four rounds. The first round is only to eliminate the worst candidates. You are the best in Dahe Village, so you naturally find it easy. The second round is a re-examination, the third round is another re-examination, and the fourth round is a series of re-examinations. These include classical texts, poems, classical texts, and even essays on love... none of these will be easy for you. You cannot be careless in your studies. You must always take them seriously."
Zhao Tiezhu straightened up and immediately nodded: "Cousin Cheng, I understand."
Zhao Sidan quickly stopped smiling. He had indeed been too complacent. He thought he would succeed after only one exam. Little did he know that this was the first hurdle on the road to the imperial examination, and also the simplest and easiest one.
"Alright, come in and eat, everyone," Cheng Wanwan said. "Uncle Village Head, stay too, we can talk about building houses in the village."
The village head had been pondering this matter for the past few days, and upon hearing this, he stayed.
Cheng Wanwan's family is large, with more than a dozen of her own family members, plus Kong Xiuniang, Master Yu's family, He Xiao, the village head, and Tie Zhu... There were two large tables in the dining room, which barely provided enough seating.
The conversation started with the exams, but all three children seemed confident, so we didn't talk about it any further.
The topic then shifted to building houses in the village.
“I’ve spoken with Lord Wu a few times. His idea is that after the government office and the lodgings for the officials are built, the next step is to build roads to facilitate the transport of tools in and coal out,” the village head said. “After the roads are built, a wall will be built around the coal mountain to prevent people from stealing coal… The first batch of workers will be about two hundred, and after the basic construction is completed, another four or five hundred workers will be recruited to mine and transport coal.”
The coal mining operation needed to be expedited, so Lord Wu extended the working hours and increased the wages to forty cash a day. Many people from Dahe Village signed up, as did people from nearby Chengjia Village, Guihua Village, Wangjiadun, and even some laborers from the town. In the past few days, people from other villages have been coming to register at the foot of the coal mine.
“They earn forty coins a day, which is more than one tael of silver a month. For the villagers, that’s a huge income. They shouldn’t be as stingy with their money as before,” Cheng Wanwan said. “We can build a market here, with two rows of two-story houses facing each other. The houses can be used by the village or rented out.”
"Wait a minute," the village head couldn't help but interrupt. "Building a two-story house would definitely require bricks and tiles, which is too expensive. What if no one comes to buy anything?"
Shen Zheng smiled and said, "With this coal mine, what is Uncle Village Head worried about? After the coal is mined, merchants will come and go every day. When they come to the village, they will always want to drink tea and eat, which will generate income. If they get carsick and tired, they will always want to rest for a night, which will also make money. In addition, there are merchants coming to Auntie's soap workshop every day. I heard a merchant complain before that he came from afar and had nowhere to rest. The houses built in the village will make things more convenient for so many people."
Zhao Ergou nodded: "Some people want to buy some trinkets to take back, and our village can set them up to sell, so we can make some money."
Zhao Tiezhu rested his chin on his hand and said, "From now on, won't our Dahe Village be just like Ping'an County, where we can buy whatever we want?"
“That’s right.” Cheng Wanwan smiled. “My plan is to use this place as the center to develop Dahe Village into a small market, and then gradually expand to the surrounding areas as the market matures. In the first phase, we will build two rows of houses, see the effect, and then make further plans.”
Two rows of houses, a total of twenty two-story shops, all built with blue bricks and tiles, would cost about a thousand taels of silver.
The village head was a little pained. The village's public property had finally accumulated to nearly a thousand taels, and now it was all going to be spent?
“The village will contribute half, and the rest will be crowdfunded,” Cheng Wanwan continued. “Anyone who contributes will receive a year-end bonus. The bonus will come from two sources: first, the profits from the shops, and second, the rent. Although no one is renting it now, I believe that rent will be the main source of income in the future. Therefore, this land cannot be sold, no matter how high the price.”
Master Yu immediately understood the key point.
He looked at Cheng Wanwan with more admiration. This woman was truly a prodigy; no wonder she had been promoted two ranks in a row.
"Crowdfunding means everyone contributes money, right?" Lu Yingxue reached into her sleeve. "Here's ten taels of silver. I'll pay first."
Shen Zheng quickly took out money from his pocket. In the past six months, he had made some money from the braised meat business, earning four coins per pound of braised meat, and had saved up more than ten taels of silver. He threw the money bag out: "Here is eighteen taels of silver, Uncle Village Head, please count it."
Kong Xiuniang had been listening attentively the whole time. For some reason, she suddenly found it very interesting. The feeling of concentrating the strength of the whole village to accomplish something big... was very exciting.
She got up, took out ten taels of silver from the room, and placed it in front of the inner room.
Cheng Wanwan did a quick mental calculation. The first phase was expected to require 1,000 taels of silver. If the village contributed half, there would still be 500 taels left. It would be difficult for the entire village to raise that much money on their own. This was her proposed solution, so she decided to contribute the majority of the money. She took out a 100-tael silver note and placed it on the table.
They just scraped together the money, but they were still short 362 taels of silver.
The village headman immediately gained confidence, stroked his beard and laughed: "Good, Aunt Dashan's idea is good. Those with money can contribute money, and those without money can contribute their labor. Our Dahe Village is a whole. In the future, we will make money together, share dividends together, and live a good life together!"
The next morning, the village head convened a meeting of all the villagers.
"Our Dahe Village has always been united, and we do everything together with one heart. That's why we've become the most famous village in Ping'an County, and even in Huzhou. Even the Emperor has heard of our Dahe Village's reputation! So, we must continue to spread Dahe Village's fame!" the village head said passionately. "After discussing it with Dashan's mother, we plan to build a street in the village similar to Ping'an County. In the future, all buying and selling will take place on this street. Then, the people of Dahe Village will be able to buy goods from all over the country without leaving their homes! However, there is a problem!"
“Building this street will cost at least a thousand taels of silver. The village is willing to allocate five hundred taels of silver to help with the construction. The remaining five hundred taels of silver will need to be contributed by each household! Those with money can contribute money, and those without money can contribute labor. The wages will be calculated at thirty copper coins per day, which will be converted into silver and distributed as dividends at the end of the year!”
“I see skepticism in all of your eyes. That’s good; it means you’re thinking. Since you’re willing to use your brains to think about this, then think carefully about how many people will come to our village after the coal mine is officially mined. Won’t these people spend money on food, clothing, shelter, and transportation…”
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