Chapter 3067 Plot
This is not the only drawing designed by Cui Wei. What Bai Shan saw now was just a small part of it.
After he was helped back to his residence, he took a sip of tea and took Bai Shan to his study. He took out seven or eight drawings from the study, each of which was half the size of a table, and spread them out for Bai Shan to see.
Some were rough, some were delicate. He picked out three and put them together to show Bai Shan.
Because the table was not big enough, he asked someone to spread a piece of cloth on the ground, and then placed the drawings on it. He opened the doors and windows to let the natural light in. He also lit candles because it was not enough.
This blueprint is like a beautiful painting, with docks, houses, and streets lined up in an orderly and symmetrical manner. Even the villa built by Bai Erlang is marked on it.
Bai Shan fell in love with it at first sight. Yes, this was exactly the Longchi Wharf he had imagined, even more orderly than the Laizhou Wharf.
Bai Shan became excited and asked, "Master Cui, have you ever estimated how long it will take to build this dock?"
Cui Wei looked up at him and said, "Based on the current speed, it will take at least ten years."
Bai Shan's blood ran cold.
Cui Wei was used to it and said nonchalantly, "So I just drew this blueprint. You don't necessarily need to build it according to it. However, we can't save money here at the ferry."
Bai Shan touched his chin and asked, "Master Cui, are you worried that I don't have money?"
Master Cui hummed, then asked hopefully, "Does Master Bai have enough money?"
"Not enough." Bai Shan looked at the houses and streets on the blueprint and shook his head decisively.
Even if the salt field made more money, it would be difficult to raise enough money to build houses in a short period of time, not to mention the dock.
The wood, stone, and craftsmanship required are not cheap.
Lord Cui's heart turned cold and his eyes fell on his drawings again. What could he say if he had no money?
Bai Shan touched his chin and said, "Money and other things have never been the most important thing. The most important thing is people!"
As for the money, if he ran out of it, he could think of other ways. He had plenty of ways to get people to build houses, but the manpower and craftsmen needed to build the dock...
Bai Shan looked at Cui Wei and said, "Master Cui, you have been working in the Ministry of Industry for many years. Can't you help me through the backdoor?"
Cui Wei ignored him.
Bai Shan surrounded him and persuaded him, "Your design is so good, it would be a shame if it can't be realized."
He said, "If Longchi Wharf is successfully built according to your concept, and it lasts for a hundred years, not only the people of this area, but the entire world will remember you, Lord Cui. This will be an achievement that will go down in history."
Cui Wei was not an ordinary official in the Ministry of Works, he was from the Cui family.
As a scholar from an aristocratic family, he has a special feeling for leaving his name in history. When there is no opportunity, Cui Wei is willing to focus on doing what he likes;
Being able to do what you love and having the opportunity to become famous through your favorite career is a huge temptation.
Cui Wei began to think.
Bai Shan looked at him eagerly.
Cui Wei raised his eyelids and looked at him, a look of suspicion on his face. "Master Bai has no money, what's the point of asking for people? I found someone, can you afford to support him?"
Bai Shan immediately said, "There is still money to support people."
Cui Wei lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "Just building a dock isn't a great achievement. If the buildings behind the dock are messy and in disarray, what's the difference between it and any other dock?"
Bai Shan assured him, "Don't worry, sir. Just build the wharf with confidence. Leave the rest to me. I will definitely build the houses and streets behind the wharf according to your drawings."
Cui Wei narrowed his eyes and stared at him, "Really?"
“Really.”
Cui Wei started to think about it and realized that he actually had some people under his control.
After all, he had been in the Ministry of Works for many years. Although he was a little eccentric, he had some familiar master craftsmen who had a group of young craftsmen under them, and he also had some connections in the Ministry of Works.
If he takes the initiative to request, Minister Han should assign some people to him.
Cui Wei thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Lady Zhou once delivered the young lady of Minister Han's family. She performed a laparotomy and saved both mother and child. If she can intercede for him, it's not impossible for Lady Bai to transfer more craftsmen."
Cui Wei is a loner, but given his background and intelligence, he is very adaptable. It all depends on whether he is willing to do so.
Bai Shan looked at him quietly, "Master Cui has really thought it through. What else?"
Cui Wei smiled slightly and said, "I can call some people over. With Lord Zhou's intercession and Minister Han's willingness to help, we'll have almost all the people here. If there's any shortage, I can transfer some more from home."
Bai Shan rolled his eyes and asked, "From the Cui clan?"
Cui Wei: "...Master Bai has a nice idea, but I, Cui, don't have the ability to do it."
If it is his home, then it is his own home!
He doesn't have the ability to transfer craftsmen from the Cui family yet, and it seems he will never have the ability in his lifetime.
Because he was obsessed with fortifications and arithmetic, some elders in the family thought he had brought disgrace to the family, and his branch was ostracized. Although he did not fall into decline, he had little say in the family.
Fortunately, his brother was open-minded and did not blame him, allowing him to do whatever he wanted outside.
Also because Cui Wei liked construction work, when he was young, before he became so outrageous that his family gave up on him, he bought a lot of craftsmen and kept them on his own farm. He also exchanged some craftsmen with some families in the clan, and at that time they were all kept on his own farm.
Cui Wei decided to write a letter back and ask his brother to send them over as well.
Bai Shan was overjoyed when he got a rough idea of the number of people, and began to search in his house. However, the number of craftsmen in his family was limited, just a few scattered around. Apart from a few who were good at building houses, the majority were carpenters.
Bai Shan sighed. There were too few people. It would be a waste of time to ask them to come over. It would be better to find ready-made people to train.
There are only two small villages near the Longchi Salt Field, and they are also very lively at this time.
After Bai Shan closed the salt field, their lives were difficult for a while, but they soon got better.
First, Bai Shan wanted to build a dock here, which required a lot of workers. At first, they thought building a dock was harder than boiling salt, but after getting used to it, they found that they were about the same, and the wages for building a dock were higher than boiling salt.
Secondly, more and more craftsmen are coming here, and with more people, they need food and drink. Although the food, vegetables and meat to the construction site are transported from the official fields outside every day, occasionally when there are not enough vegetables, the large kitchen on the construction site will buy from them.
In addition to food and drink, there are other expenses, such as the wear and tear of shoes, clothes, socks, etc. A group of grown men don’t know how to repair them, so the women in the village can do some needlework to earn money. All in all, life is better than when there was a salt field.
They were very happy, not knowing that Bai Shan was standing at the foot of the hill, looking at their land, and said to Bai Erlang Yin, "Their house needs to be demolished and rebuilt."
See you at 7pm
(End of this chapter)
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