Chapter 346 Sweating
"Brother Li, did I hear you correctly?"
Lord Qin, who was always calm and composed, was no longer calm.
Li Xiao nodded seriously.
"Master Qin, this is not a joke. If you want to see it, I can take you there to see it in person after the household registration is done."
He paused and said uncertainly, "There are suspected to be many mineral veins near our tribe. The only ones we can confirm are iron and copper mines. As for the others... we basically don't know them. You can only know them after checking them out."
Qin Zhen took a deep breath after hearing this.
Listen to what this guy is saying.
He said there is iron mine in their tribe's land!!
Iron ore is the property of the imperial court, and private mining is not allowed. Once discovered, it must be reported and confiscated directly.
It goes without saying that the Li people must have mined iron ore, otherwise where did they get the iron tools they used for so long?
When he first arrived, he saw so many people holding hoes or sickles in their hands, and he was confused, but now his confusion has been resolved.
What a courage...
If it weren't for the higher-ups' request to be more lenient towards these indigenous people, and if these people were not friends of Jiang Wan, just the concealment of the iron mine and the illegal mining of iron ore would be enough to bring serious punishment upon all the Li people.
What is iron ore used for? Besides some civilian uses, the most important thing is that it can be used to forge weapons.
Anyone who secretly mines iron ore can, at most, be charged with treason.
Li Xiao felt nervous when he saw that Lord Qin didn't say anything and had a strange expression on his face.
"Master Qin, is there something wrong?"
Qin Zhen looked at Li Xiao in a speechless manner, "What's wrong is wrong, don't you realize it?"
But on second thought, they live in the mountains all year round and have never learned any serious law. As the saying goes, ignorance is no crime.
"According to the law, concealing iron ore and illegally mining iron ore are both capital crimes."
Qin Zhen patted Li Xiao on the shoulder and sighed.
"But I understand that you haven't studied the law, so you don't know these things. But no one can go to the iron mine anymore, and all traces of mining must be wiped out. I'll pretend you didn't mention this today, and I'll send people into the mountain again after some time, and they'll just treat it as a new discovery."
Li Xiao's heart was beating fast and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his back. In the end, he could only utter one sentence.
"Thank you, Master Qin, for your consideration."
"Brother Li, don't be scared. I just said that. Now that you have confessed, I can still credit you with a credit. If there are other mineral veins in your old clan land, besides gold, silver and iron, no matter how much you mine, a share of the profits will be given to your clan."
This is all Qin Zhen can decide.
Gold and silver mines were also controlled by the imperial court and were as important as iron mines.
But the Li ethnic group’s territory is so small, there shouldn’t be so many rare mineral veins, right?
Three hours later...
Looking at the pile of stones that Li Xiao brought, Qin Zhen felt numb inside and couldn't utter a word.
Look what this is!
Gold and silver! !
Lord Qin's face hurts.
Among this pile of ore, the only ones he knew about were gold and silver ore, iron ore, copper ore, and calcite...
There were also some stones that he couldn't name, but they looked extraordinary at first glance and needed to be taken a look by someone who knew about it.
With so many minerals, even if he only reported one or two, his official position would be affected.
It was impossible for Qin Zhen not to be excited.
"Okay, okay, they are all good stuff! Brother Li, please take care of the mines first. I will go up the mountain to look for you after I have gathered everyone."
Li Xiao nodded and felt relieved.
Finally, the knife hanging over the heads of the tribe was removed.
The other members of the tribe knew nothing about this and were still excitedly clearing weeds and trees, only wanting to move to the new tribal land as soon as possible.
Baozhu and Anan also came along to help. However, because they were studying medicine recently, they always strayed from the topic when they were talking about trivial matters.
"This is Uncaria rhynchophylla! It can calm the wind and calm the nerves, clear away heat and soothe the liver..."
"Ah! This is Curculigo! It can nourish the kidney yang, strengthen the bones and muscles, and dispel cold and dampness..."
“…”
The two sisters seemed to be competing to see who could pick more herbs. They kept chattering and working, having already put aside the task of pulling weeds.
Lord Qin also joined the people in the fun and worked for a while, but his physical condition was not up to par and after pulling weeds for a while, his back could no longer straighten up.
Looking at the Li people who were still in high spirits, Qin Zhen fell into self-doubt.
Is his body so useless?
Lord Qin, who refused to admit defeat, persisted for another half an hour. When he finally went down the mountain, his legs were shaking as if he had epilepsy, and Li Xiao had to carry him down on his back.
Feeling ashamed, Lord Qin only showed up once outside Jiang Wan's house, took the sea agar jelly that Jiang Wan prepared for his daughter, and hurriedly said goodbye and left.
That night, screams were heard from Madam Qin and Lord Qin's room, which scared Qin Yue, who came to look for her mother, into tears.
Originally, she wanted to "question" the sea jelly when she saw it, but now after hearing her father screaming so miserably, she could not lose her temper anymore. She obediently returned to her yard and ate the sea jelly bite by bite.
"Miss, Master Qi returned all the things you bought for him..."
"Hmm? He's still in a bad mood?"
Qin Yue's appetite was not affected at all. She finished a few bites before opening the small bag.
Inside were the hair crowns and clothes that I had bought earlier, and I really didn't take anything away.
"I just met a few familiar people and talked a few words. Why should I be angry for so long..."
Qin Yue didn't understand. It was difficult for Qin Yue to understand, but she still had to coax him.
Who told me to like him?
"Since he doesn't want the things I bought, I'll go make him a pot of soup and you can take it to him later."
"Miss……"
The expression on the maid's face was indescribable.
My young lady is the daughter of an official, who is that Mr. Qi? He is just a merchant!
Still a merchant with a bad reputation!
Iron Rooster, listen, what an ugly nickname.
Not only does he not coax the young lady, but he also wants the young lady to coax him...
He usually does things in different ways, and no one knows why the lady likes him.
She really couldn't understand.
"Okay, go down and ask the kitchen staff to prepare the ingredients. I'll be there in a moment."
Qin Yue pushed the maid away, carried the small bag into her room, and put it in the corner of her closet.
If I don't accept it now, I will have to accept it sooner or later. When the time comes, I will make him wear it and let me see it.
She has a pretty face, but she always dresses in an old-fashioned way. This is not the way to save money.
Although she didn't know why he had such a reputation as a stingy person, she knew that Qi Xiao was not that kind of person.
Would a stingy person buy a jade hairpin worth nearly 100 taels as a gift to someone?
Qin Yue raised her hand and gently brushed the white jade hairpin in her hair, and a sweet feeling arose in her heart again.
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(Good night, my little cuties~~(～￣▽￣)～)