Chapter 642 Fundraising in Full Swing
This was the first meeting of all the people in Dahe Town since its establishment, and the meeting was chaired by Zhao Tiezhu.
After so much experience, he is no longer the child he once was. He has grown tall and strong and looks very honest and reliable.
He stood on the platform and looked at the villagers sitting below. Although Dahe Town had become a city, he was still used to calling these uncles, aunts, and sisters-in-law "villagers."
"I've called everyone here today because of something very important," Zhao Tiezhu said loudly. "You've all seen the notice posted, right? Dahe Town is about to build a wharf and open a canal, connecting waterways in all directions. From now on, Dahe Town will be the premier town in Yun Province! However, our biggest challenge right now is a lack of funds. Therefore, Ping'an County and Dahe Town are publicly soliciting funds. Anyone who contributes a little to the development of the canal will have their name inscribed on the monument of merit."
Those who attended the meeting included the original residents of Dahe Village, refugees who joined later, craftsmen who had just settled here, and many businessmen who bought land and settled here for their children's education... They had all witnessed with their own eyes that Dahe Village was getting better and better. After Dahe Village became Dahe Town, was it still far from being the number one town in Yunnan Province?
So, before Zhao Tiezhu called on everyone to donate, the people below raised their hands one after another.
The first to raise her hand was Old Lady Zhu: "I'll donate fifty taels of silver!"
Zhao Tiezhu was shocked. He knew that the Zhu family was doing good business in preserved eggs, but he didn't expect the business to be so good. They asked for fifty taels of silver without even taking a breath, which was enough to show that the family was wealthy.
He pointed out, "Our village received dividends every year from the funds we raised two years ago, but this time it's a donation. That means no matter how much prosperity this canal brings to Dahe Town, the donors won't receive any benefits."
“How can there be no benefits?” Old Mrs. Zhu retorted. “After the canal is completed, Dahe Town will develop better and better, and everyone in Dahe Town will also get better and better. Besides, as long as someone donates, their name can be written on the merit monument. After I die, my descendants will remember the contributions I made to Dahe Town. This is a great thing.”
Aunt Wang nodded vigorously: "That's right, that's right. This is a great thing. Our Wang family will donate fifty taels."
Not to be outdone, Old Mrs. Zhao said, "Our Zhao family will also donate fifty taels of silver."
People kept raising their hands at the back.
Anyone who does business in Dahe Town has made some money in the past two years. Those who make a lot of money donate fifty, those who make a little money donate twenty, and some simple workers basically donate two or three taels. Of course, there are also poorer people, and these people will also donate a few hundred coins symbolically. Soon, the donation box was filled with silver and copper coins.
Zhao Tiezhu asked Xu Kun to count the amount, and the final total was 1,800 taels of silver.
He couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion. In the past, Dahe Town raised funds in the village to build a market, but it was difficult to even raise one thousand taels of silver. It was all thanks to Aunt Zhao who made up the difference. But this time, before he even made an effort to call for donations, and before Aunt Zhao even participated, they had raised nearly two thousand taels of silver.
The people of Dahe Town have truly become wealthy.
He said gratefully, "Thank you all for your generosity. Dahe Town will definitely live up to your expectations and will definitely become the number one town in Yun Province."
A total of 1,800 taels of silver were raised at this meeting. After discussion, the village finance department raised 2,000 taels of silver and sent it all to Wei, the county magistrate of Ping'an County.
After this incident spread, Wangjiadun was not to be outdone.
They were the first village to join Dahe Town, and now that Dahe Town is undertaking a major undertaking, how can Wangjiadun stand idly by?
So, Wang Lizheng convened a meeting of all the villagers. The meeting topic was the same as that of Dahe Town: to raise funds for the canal. Originally, the villagers were not very willing, but Wang Lizheng persuaded them with various emotional appeals and reasoning. In addition, they were stimulated by the wealth of Dahe Town, and the villagers of Wangjiadun also took out their money one after another.
However, Wangjiadun was poorer and had a smaller population; the total amount of money raised by the entire village was less than two hundred taels of silver.
Wang Lizheng reverently carried the money to the county government office.
With Wangjiadun taking the lead, many surrounding villages were forced to start raising funds, with some donating more than one hundred taels and some less than twenty taels. No matter how much, as long as the intention was there, it would be enough.
Magistrate Wei of Ping'an County was so moved that he didn't know what to say.
When he was first sent to a remote county in Huzhou to serve as a seventh-rank magistrate, he was unwilling. As the saying goes, "Poor and remote places breed unruly people." He was afraid that he would not be able to control these people, and he was afraid that he would stagnate in this position for decades without getting a promotion. But now, when these people brought the money they had painstakingly saved to the county government office for free, he knew that he had been too narrow-minded.
Although the local people have their own selfish desires and all sorts of trivial matters happen every day, they can unite as one when faced with major issues. Because they work together towards a common goal, Dahe Village was able to become Dahe Town, and their lives are getting better and better.
If ordinary people can work so hard, then he must also take action.
Even if it was just one tael of silver or one penny, he would try his best to raise it and contribute his own strength to the development of Ping'an County.
Fundraising in Ping'an County was in full swing, and businessmen headed by Mr. Qian also donated generously. Merchants from Ping'an County, Hekou County, Fenghuang County, Baiyun County... and eight nearby counties all showed their sincerity, with donations ranging from a thousand taels of silver to a hundred taels of silver, and the amount on the fundraising list was increasing.
"As of now, all villages and towns in Ping'an County have donated a total of 5,000 taels of silver, Old Master Qian donated 8,000 taels of silver, Old Master Cao donated 6,000 taels of silver, Master Wang donated 2,000 taels of silver, Manager Zhou donated 1,000 taels of silver, Manager Li donated 500 taels of silver..." Manager Yan read the data in the booklet, "totaling 45,327 taels of silver."
Cheng Wanwan nodded. The funds for the first and second phases were about enough. The main problem was the 100,000 taels of silver for the third phase, which was a tricky matter.
The merchants in Huzhou have already been ripped off, and it would be unfair to rip them off again... Especially Mr. Qian and Cao Defu, these two are not even from Ping'an County, they only donated so much money because of her, they are two complete scoundrels.
Although she has been making money, she has also been spending money, especially the storage space upgrade has consumed a lot of money. Her private treasury only has 30,000 or 40,000 taels of silver, which is far from enough to fill this hole. Besides, she is not that generous.
Her fingers tapped slowly on the table, but her brain was working rapidly.
Manager Yan stood to the side, quietly awaiting her instructions.
He knew that the methods Gongren came up with would never disappoint people, and he just needed to carry them out.
At this moment, County Magistrate Zhao walked in from the doorway and said with a smile, "The new market in Dahe Town has been completed. Do you want to go and take a look, Dashan Niang?"
Cheng Wanwan's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately got up and followed.
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