Chapter 611 Make More Money While You're Young
After Grandpa Ming and his entourage left, Dahe Village returned to its usual bustling state.
The sound of students reading aloud from Dahe School floated in the sky, the shouts of coal miners filled the air, the market was bustling with activity, the sounds of bargaining and building echoed, and houses were springing up one after another. It was indeed becoming less and less like a village.
Cheng Wanwan then began to look at the account books from the past few months.
The soap workshop's output income has always been stable, and this is her main source of income.
With the Qian family leading the charge in the glycerin workshop and also selling lotus root starch produced in winter, they have already established a firm foothold in Yuncheng. Next, Old Master Qian's target is the Beijing market.
"Women's demand for skincare products has exceeded my imagination." Old Master Qian exclaimed in amazement. "According to the current daily output of the workshop, it can only supply the Yuncheng area of Huzhou. If we want to expand the market in the capital, we must expand production. Sui Gongren, I heard that Dahe Village is going to be changed into Dahe Town. The population will increase. There are also manpower available. I think the workshop can be expanded again."
In fact, the glycerin workshop has already been expanded once, otherwise it would be impossible to supply the Yuncheng market.
But there's no way around it; this product is cheap and has obvious effects, making it very popular among women, and it's often in short supply.
After thinking for a while, Cheng Wanwan said, "Since we're going to expand, let's expand the soap workshop as well and build a new one."
She has always purchased large quantities of the high-proof alcohol needed for soap production from the mall and stored it in the warehouse for people to take directly from the warehouse. This cannot continue indefinitely, so a workshop specifically for producing industrial alcohol must be built so that it can operate smoothly when she goes to the capital in the future.
High-proof liquor requires grains to brew, while the extraction of industrial alcohol is much simpler. Raw materials include plant roots, stems, fruit peels, wheat stalks, etc. Any plant containing starch and sugar can be fermented into alcohol.
Grandpa Qian left with a heart full of joy.
Cheng Wanwan opened a map of Dahe Village. In the past, Dahe Village was full of open spaces, and people could buy wherever they wanted.
However, since the policy on reading was introduced, the open space in Dahe Village has become increasingly scarce, especially near her home, where there is practically no open space left.
To expand the workshop, they had to buy those neglected wastelands on the edge of the village to build the factory.
She summoned Zhao Dashan and asked him to buy land, to have Manager Yan manage the expansion of the workshop, and to have Old Madam Zhao prepare to recruit people in advance.
At the same time, Aunt Wang, Old Mrs. Zhu, and Daya also came to hand in their account books.
The Wang family's braised food business has grown bigger and bigger. They have not only established cooperative relationships with restaurants in nearby counties and towns, but have also sold their braised food to Huzhou.
The preserved eggs from Old Lady Zhu's family were even more remarkable. Ever since their reputation spread, many out-of-town merchants who came to Dahe Village saw the business opportunity and would buy a cartload of preserved eggs to take back to their hometowns to sell whenever they came to the soap workshop to pick up goods. The Zhu family's business was getting better and better.
Daya and Erya specialize in selling ice jelly, but it's a seasonal business that can only be done for a few months in the summer. Because it's difficult to transport and preserve, it's currently only sold on a small scale. Fortunately, tourism in Dahe Village is getting better and better, and the ice jelly market is also quite good. In the past few months, the two girls have made a lot of money.
The combined dividends from these three families amounted to more than four thousand taels of silver.
In addition, she also contributes to the village's tourism industry by selling lotus ponds and flower gardens, earning a share of the profits. Over time, this adds up to a considerable income.
Cheng Wanwan sighed comfortably. This money was earned effortlessly; it was the easiest money she had ever made.
In fact, she spent a lot of money on this trip to the capital. First, she upgraded the mall's storage room, and second, she spent almost all of her savings on that top-grade ginseng.
I used to think I was a rich woman, but after going out for a while, I realized that money really doesn't last long.
Therefore, you should make as much money as you can while you're young.
She sat in the wicker chair and saw the bright red chilies hanging under the eaves.
She laughed. She had developed all sorts of chili-related condiments, such as chili sauce, broad bean paste, and Lao Gan Ma chili sauce. She had always supplied Dahe Banquet and used them herself, keeping the exclusive recipes for Dahe Banquet and launching the more common ones into the market, which also brought in a considerable income.
This business can be handed over to someone else; she can just sit back and collect the money.
Just as she was pondering this, she saw Cheng Jia lead the village head into the flower hall.
“Grandma Dashan, this time I can only ask you for help.” The village head sat down with a worried look on his face. “Eunuch Ming said that as long as I pass the county’s assessment, I can be promoted to a ninth-rank county magistrate. I specifically asked Lord Shen, and he gave me more than twenty books…”
He took out his bundle, which was full of various books, including basic management books, books on government affairs, and books on governance... Although the village head knew all the characters, it was difficult to understand the meaning when put together, and he was too old to remember them.
He thought the promotion was a good thing, but he never expected it would almost cost him his life.
Cheng Wanwan flipped through it and also felt a headache coming on; classical Chinese was really too difficult to understand.
“Since the Emperor has spoken, the county assessment shouldn’t be too difficult. Besides, the new county magistrate will need someone familiar with the area to assist in governing. I think it’s enough to just remember some key points from the books.” She selected five books. “These are the management methods and imperial decrees that we should read thoroughly. Uncle Village Head still has to give it his all.”
"Thank you so much, Aunt Shan!" The village head quickly separated the five books and put them away. "I estimate it will take at least half a year to understand them. Isn't half a year too long?"
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Six months from now, around the time Dahe Town is established, the county will need people, so they definitely won't make things difficult for Uncle Village Head. Don't worry. What Uncle Village Head needs to think about now is who will manage our Dahe Village next."
The village head wanted to say, "I'll leave Dahe Village to you to manage."
But he knew that Da Shan Niang had many more important things to do; her world was far and wide, not confined to a small village.
Seeing that the village head remained silent, Cheng Wanwan finally spoke up: "Tiezhu has made great progress in the past year or so. Before Uncle Village Head is promoted, could we let Tiezhu serve as the acting village head for a while? If he does well, after Uncle Village Head goes to the county to take up his post, our Dahe Village will be directly handed over to Tiezhu."
In most villages, the village is based on clan relationships, and administrative positions such as village head and village chief are not included in the government's staff. Therefore, the village can make its own decisions on this matter. Of course, if the county magistrate is dissatisfied with the decision, he can dismiss the village directly.
“Tiezhu is my own grandson, it’s not appropriate for me to make the decision on this matter.” The village head stroked his beard. “How about this, our village has a precedent of voting by show of hands, right? This time, let all the villagers participate in the decision. If everyone chooses Tiezhu, then it’s Tiezhu. If everyone has someone else in mind, I don’t mind letting someone else be the acting village head. What do you think, Aunt Dashan?”
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "It is indeed better to let everyone decide."
Dahe Village is no longer the simple village it once was. In the beginning, the Zhao family was in charge, and they made all the decisions.
However, the combined population of people with the surname Shao is now almost greater than that of the Zhao family. It would be inappropriate for the Zhao family to continue to rule in their own right.
Democratic elections are undoubtedly the best solution at present.
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