Chapter 126
Spring is the best time to plant trees. In the past few years, Zhang Fangyuan has taken good care of the mountain he bought. Although the forest has not made money as directly as land, it has saved a lot of living expenses.
The firewood, charcoal, wood, fodder, etc. used in daily life can all be obtained in one's own mountain, thus saving the money to buy these things in shops. In the end, the money saved is no less than that earned from growing crops.
During the slack season, the hired farmers in the village would go to the hilltops to help weed and plant some saplings. Zhang Fangyuan also asked the hired farmers who came to help to pick up some firewood by themselves. In the past few years, the imperial court sold the mountains to private individuals, and the number of public mountains decreased. There were fewer and fewer hills where ordinary people could go to pick up firewood. Zhang Fangyuan allowed those who helped to manage the mountains to pick up firewood, and the hired farmers were even more enthusiastic to go and help.
At the beginning of spring, Zhang Fangyuan bought some fruit tree seedlings and planned to plant them. He did not hire anyone, so his family just hired farmers to do the work.
Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He arrived at the foot of the mountain. The carriage could not go up, so they had to ride horses instead. The originally barren foot of the mountain was now reclaimed and made into land. Zhang Fangyuan waved his hand and distributed the land to hired farmers for cultivation.
Now that spring has arrived, people are busy tilling the land everywhere. Xu He saw that it was not easy for hired farmers. They had to work on time and also had to send people to the mountains to hoe the land and plant fruit trees. He rode on his horse and said to the people who were protecting him, "We should pay the hired farmers who went up the mountain to help plant fruit trees appropriately."
Zhang Fangyuan responded: "I'll listen to you."
The weather on the mountain is colder, and it is not a mountain that can be climbed on foot, so it is still a bit freezing when the temperature drops suddenly. Zhang Fangyuan pulled Xu He's cloak closer. Although the weather is not very warm, the hired farmers on the mountain are working hard and it is quite lively.
Seeing Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He coming, the servant who was in charge of tilling the mountain and planting trees came up to greet them and reported the progress of the planting.
The hired farmhands also put down their work and came up to pay their respects.
Zhang Fangyuan said, "My husband is thinking of everyone coming here to plant trees during the busy spring season. When the fruit trees are planted, everyone who comes here to do the work can receive 120 coins from the manager. Those who don't want to receive the money can exchange it for firewood and take it back."
Although the wages were not much, it was still better than working for nothing. Everyone was very happy to hear that they would be paid and thanked Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He.
"Everyone, get busy."
Zhang Fangyuan waved his hand and took Xu He to see the newly planted fruit tree seedlings. In addition, they also dug up some bamboos with bamboo shoots and moved them to the mountain. After a few years when they have grown up, they can go back to their own mountain to dig bamboo shoots and make mountain delicacies.
"Master and husband, we found some stones like this under the wild walnut tree ahead."
"What is this?" Xu He had often collected firewood on the mountain before, and had seen quite a few rocks, but most of them were white or red stones, and black stones were very rare. Moreover, the stones he brought were not like the black stones exposed in the forest that had been washed by rain for a long time. They were much clearer and harder.
Zhang Fangyuan took a deep breath and asked the hired farmer, "Where are you from?"
Hearing that the employer was going to pay wages, the hired farmer, who was quite strong, swung his hoe so hard that it almost caught fire. However, he did not expect that there was a stone buried in the ground. When he swung the hoe, he actually broke the hoe given by the employer into pieces.
Iron farm tools are not cheap. I am afraid that if the tools are broken, I will have to pay for them. I am afraid that the wages I get will not be enough to make up for it, and I will have to pay out of my own pocket. While the boss was still on the mountain, he simply took a hard stone and came to apologize.
"Just ahead."
The hired farmer honestly led people to the place where the incident happened.
I saw that the bushes and grass on the big side had been hoed away, and a half-hole had been dug to make a nest for the fruit tree. The hoe had landed on the ground, leaving a hole.
Zhang Fangyuan ignored the farm tools and went straight over to dig up the soil. There was a large area of similar stones buried underneath.
He looked up and saw that the soil in this area was thin and there were not many plants growing on it. Originally, there was a large area of green ferns covering it, but it had never been dug up, so he hadn't realized that the soil here was so thin. Many experts in buying mountains do not like to buy mountains with thin soil because there are many rocks and it is difficult to plant trees.
When they bought the mountain earlier, the couple arrived a little late and the good ones had already been picked up. They only bought this mountain because it was close to their village.
The hired farmer was feeling anxious. It was his first time weeding the weeds on the west side of the mountain, and he dug up too little soil and broke his farm tools. He was really unlucky today.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Fangyuan held the rock and smiled, "No need to hoe this end, thin soil is not suitable for planting."
Seeing that the boss was not unhappy, the hired farmer breathed a sigh of relief and asked carefully, "Hoe..."
"Just ask the person in charge to change it for a new one."
After sending the hired farmhand away, Zhang Fangyuan immediately called over the servant in charge and whispered a few instructions to him. Xu He looked at the hired farmer who was taken away, and turned to see Zhang Fangyuan holding a stone and laughing foolishly, wondering: "What's so special about this stone?"
Zhang Fangyuan pulled Xu He aside and said, "You have never done corvée labor, so you may not know what this is. This is not an ordinary stone, but iron ore."
Xu He's eyebrows moved: "Is it the stone that turns into iron?"
"good."
If someone hadn't told him, he really wouldn't have recognized it. But it's no wonder that he doesn't know iron ore. The imperial court runs the salt and iron industry, and the only ironware on the market is from the blacksmith shops. These finished hoes, sickles and farm tools were all bought back and made by the people in the blacksmith shops from the government-run iron shops. If he hadn't been doing corvée labor in the mining, he would have hardly seen how to smelt iron, and naturally didn't know how to extract iron ore.
Iron was expensive, and many ordinary people could not even afford farming tools. They had few opportunities to go to blacksmith shops, let alone see iron ore. Furthermore, not all the people who went to do corvée labor would be assigned to mine. For these reasons, many ordinary people did not know what iron ore was.
Others may not know it, but Zhang Fangyuan loved hunting and slaughtering pigs since he was a child. He had a room full of tools and ironware, and he had as many opportunities to touch ironware as to touch chopsticks.
If you like something, you will naturally understand it much more deeply than ordinary people.
He couldn't hide the smile on his face, and shook the heavy stone in his hand: "We made a lot of money buying this mountain!"
Xu He didn't know much about how iron ore was handled, but he knew that salt and iron were both managed and controlled by the imperial court. What should they do if they found iron ore in their mountains? Seeing Zhang Fangyuan sending the hired farmers away just now and talking about the private salt business in the morning, he whispered to Zhang Fangyuan, "If people knew that there was iron ore in our mountains, wouldn't it be confiscated?"
"Although my family is not as big as the big merchants in Suhui and Jiangnan, we are still a well-known and wealthy family in Siyang. Ruijin has a good chance of passing the imperial examinations, and the money at home is enough if we don't spend too much. But there is no need to smuggle official iron."
Zhang Fangyuan couldn't help laughing when he saw Xu He's serious look of admonishment. He pinched the back of Xu He's hand and said, "Even if I dare to take risks with myself, I dare not take risks with you and the two children."
Knowing that Xu He didn't know much about the iron industry, he patiently explained, "Anyone who digs out government ore on private land will have 20% confiscated, 40% sold to the court at the official price, and the remaining 40% can be sold by the private owner."
Xu He was shocked when he heard this. He didn't know this. After learning the secret, he quickly said, "Then let's quickly see how many mines there are!"
"Even if they have discovered it, it won't be just what we have on hand. It will probably be a lot. I'm afraid it's hard to estimate. I'll send two trusted people to take a look first. After I have a rough idea, I'll find a suitable opportunity to report it to the court and send people to mine."
Xu He suppressed the smile on his face and asked Zhang Fangyuan tentatively and curiously, "How much money can we expect to earn?"
"It's hard to say. If 20% is confiscated, there's nothing to say. If we sell 40% to the court at the official price, we won't get much good price. But we can make a profit on the remaining 40%." Zhang Fangyuan leaned close to Xu He's ear and said, "It will definitely not be less than 10,000 taels of silver."
"As for the exact amount, we have to see how to deal with it at that time and how much there is."
Xu He took a deep breath. This was simply a blessing from heaven. In this way, he could earn back the money he spent on buying the mountain many times over.
He could hardly hide his joy, but he had to keep it low-key, for fear that others would get jealous and cause trouble if they knew. Everything will only be settled after the imperial court sends people to mine.
The couple tacitly agreed not to talk about the matter, and just thought it was bad luck. The soil in the west mountain was thin and difficult to grow crops. They asked the servants in charge to lead the hired farmers away from this side and plant the fruit trees and bamboos elsewhere. No one asked any questions.
After returning, Zhang Fangyuan took people he trusted to investigate whether it was true. The matter turned out to be true. He was happy but also a little worried.
The matter of the iron mine had to be reported, naturally, to the local officials, and then the county magistrate would report it up the chain of command, layer by layer until the central government commended them. Everyone wanted to benefit from it, and Zhang Fangyuan had no control over the officials in the prefecture or even above. But he just didn't want the magistrate of Siyang to take advantage of the iron mine on their mountain.
If the matter was reported directly to the county government, the county magistrate would certainly get some benefits. On the one hand, he could make a fortune from the iron mine. On the other hand, by reporting the iron mine, the imperial treasury would be replenished. This would be commended to the county magistrates of the prefectures and counties. The officials would not only receive praise from the court, but also add glory to their political achievements, so they would pay close attention to the mining industry.
In view of the past conflicts, Zhang Fangyuan didn't want him to lie on him and suck his blood again. For this reason, even though he was happy about getting the iron ore, he didn't rush to report it. Later, the court sent people to open the mountain and mine.
Since his family was not in urgent need of money and the mine was right on his hill, he could not escape, so he kept the matter secret and did not rush to report to the county.
Just when Zhang Fangyuan was thinking about how to get in touch with other officials and bypass the county magistrate, a message came from the Jiangnan salt merchant saying that the salt price in Siyang was out of control. The court discussed and decided to find a merchant in Siyang to provide salt permits to manage the Siyang Salt Shop. The salt administration would come to Siyang to examine suitable candidates in the near future.
Zhang Fangyuan and other merchants who had attended a banquet when the Jiangnan salt merchants came to Siyang were the first to receive the news. The news was so explosive that it immediately excited the merchants.
"Is this news reliable? Is it true or false?"
Xu He felt that although there were traces of things happening, they were so exciting that people began to doubt their authenticity.
"The Jiangnan salt merchant has been in the salt business for many years, so he must have a wide network of contacts, and he often deals with the imperial court, so he must be right."
Zhang Fangyuan thought: "I guess he also wanted to get the salt permit for Siyang, but the court preferred the local merchants in Siyang. The Jiangnan salt merchants thought that since they had property in Siyang, they did a favor to the merchants who accompanied the banquet. No matter which one is lucky enough to be chosen by the court, they will have to repay him in the end."
Xu He thought that if he thought about it carefully, he felt that the salt merchants had good intentions in passing on the message.
He couldn't help but look at Zhang Fangyuan: "Should our family go and seize this opportunity?"
"If I don't fight for it, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep well every day until the salt administration decides on the candidate!"
At the end of April, Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He finally received Ruijin's letter.
The imperial examination was scheduled to begin in March this year. This letter was written and sent back by Ruijin when he arrived in the capital and found a place to stay. On the way back, the courier encountered some problems and was delayed for a long time. By the time Ruijin received the letter, he had already left the examination room.
I’m afraid that if this letter doesn’t come, the second one will arrive soon.
Brother Xiaoli read aloud the letter sent back by his brother to his two elders. Ruijin didn't say much, perhaps to comfort the two elders, but he said a few more words in the letter, briefly explaining the customs and habits along the way, and talking about the prosperity of the capital and where he settled. He was quite nostalgic for the dishes cooked by Xu He.
There were actually two pages left after all the writing. After reading it, Xiaoli looked through it and said, "Brother, it's rare that you wrote so much, but you didn't say a word for me. You really have no conscience."
Finally, they received their son's letter. Zhang Fangyuan and his wife felt much more relieved. Xu He smiled and said, "Your brother had a long talk with you before he left. Isn't that enough?"
Xiaoli pursed his lips and folded the letter paper. "Since you are thinking about the food at home, I will ask the servants to find the caravan in the capital to bring some easy-to-store food to you. The letter mentioned where you are staying. If you pass the examination, you will have to stay for the palace examination. Who knows, you may be able to enjoy the food sent by home."
"You are thoughtful. But it is not easy to pass the imperial examination. Those who pass the examination are the best in the world, and many of them are children of officials in the capital." Although Xu He said this, he did not stop Xiaoli from sending things to the capital: "Your brother likes to eat preserved eggs, remember to bring more."
"Okay, I'll listen to Daddy."
Xu He urged with a smile: "Okay, stop talking nonsense and go get ready."
After Ruili left, Zhang Fangyuan joked with Xu He: "It doesn't matter if Ruijin doesn't pass the exam. He is already a juren now. It would be a good opportunity for him to open a college in the future."
"He likes studying, so it's not easy for him to give up and not take the exam." Xu He calculated the days: "The results of the examination will be released in the second half of the month. The results must have come out by now. However, if we don't delay on the way to receive Ruijin's letter, it will probably take until May to get them."
Although he said that he didn't care about the test results, he was still anxious to know the result. However, he couldn't hurry because he was not born in an imperial city where he could know the result as soon as it came out.
"You don't have to worry about him. Ruijin has been steady and sensible since he was young. He will handle everything well. The result will be on the way soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the servant came in hurriedly: "Master and husband, there is a letter outside."
Zhang Fangyuan took the letter, opened it, read ten lines at a glance, and immediately stood up.
Xu He quickly asked, "Rui Jin's letter?"
"The salt administration has arrived in Siyang!"
Xu He's eyebrows moved: "Do you know where the salt administration is located?"
"In the magistrate's residence."
"In the residence?"
This news was not good news for the two men. If the salt administration followed the magistrate's recommendation, they did not think that the benefits of salt permits would fall on them.
Zhang Fangyuan said to the servant, "You go down first and keep an eye on the situation."
"yes."
He tilted his head and said to Xu He, "Since we have received the news, I believe the people outside have also received it. Now they must be trying their best to get in front of the Salt Administration. Let's wait and see the situation first."
As Zhang Fangyuan expected, the well-informed merchants in the city are already ready to take action.
The Qin family was the first to be affected.
"Your Excellency the Magistrate, please try this. This is top-quality venison, just sent from the farm. You can address a stranger as sir, but at this table, we are all family members."
Qin Zhong nodded and bowed, standing in front of the table and personally serving the county magistrate dishes. He was so attentive without any trace of his bullying and tyranny.
"This venison is well cooked, not fishy or smelly." The magistrate also enjoyed it very much.
"It is a blessing for you to like this plate of meat. We also have some good venison at home. If you don't mind, I will ask the servants to pack it for you to take back."
The magistrate said, "Xiangshui loves venison. It's rare that my brother-in-law cares about her. I should have brought her back for dinner today, but she caught a cold a while ago and was unable to come back. I really missed out on this feast."
"It is my little sister's blessing to be loved by you, my Lord, and it is also the Qin family's blessing."
The magistrate raised his glass and smiled. He knew exactly why the Qin family invited him to a banquet at this time, but he didn't say it clearly. He was too lazy to tease them. He said, "There has been a happy event in the city recently, and I have been very busy. I have too many banquets and social events."
Qin Zhong heard this and said, "The county magistrate is very busy and has to take time out to care for the salt administrator. It's really hard. Since I am a family member of yours, it would be great if I could help you share your worries."
"I know what my brother-in-law wants, but I still have to see what the Salt Administration thinks."
Qin Zhong had also been dealing with this eldest brother-in-law for many years, so how could he not know what the county magistrate was thinking? He said very wisely: "The county magistrate understands the mind of the salt administration and will definitely handle it with ease. If this can be accomplished, the Qin family will certainly be grateful to Lord Mu for his kindness."
The magistrate looked at Qin Zhong and Qin Qi meaningfully and said, "There are still many merchants waiting to express their gratitude to me."
The father and son paused for a moment. The magistrate stood up and patted Qin Zhong on the shoulder, then smiled and said, "But since we are talking about a family, I still prefer the Qin family. Otherwise, Xiangshui will make trouble with me."
After that, he whispered in Qin Zhong's ear: "But the most important thing is to see what the Qin family thinks."
"Well, today's dinner is very good, and I have to go back now."
The father and son hurriedly and carefully escorted the man out. When the sedan chair was far away, Qin Qi said, "I'm afraid he won't agree easily unless you offer him considerable conditions."
"The family has provided a lot of support over the years. Now that the big event has come, he doesn't seem to care about the Qin family's benefits. Instead, he wants to get more. It seems that my little sister hasn't contributed enough."
Qin Qi said: "Now is a critical moment, it is useless for you to say these angry words. What he said is true, there are many people queuing outside waiting to see you."
Qin Zhong was annoyed. The county magistrate asked for 50,000 taels of silver. Didn't he want to take out all the money from the Qin family? It was really an exorbitant price. He didn't believe that other merchants in the city could come up with so much money at once.
"Even if I grit my teeth and take out the silver, it's only the county magistrate's side, and I haven't dealt with the salt administration yet."
Qin Qi listened to his son's explanation and couldn't help but sigh: "Since he is willing to offer a price, he should have taken care of the salt administration."
Everyone knows that the salt industry is a fertile land, and the Qin family, who started their business as a private salt merchant, knows the benefits of it even better. If not for this, they would not have to try to please the county magistrate and pay attention to his greedy conditions.
"I'm afraid that the money will be spent like water, and it's just a stepping stone."
People outside were desperate for a way out, but the Qin family, having gotten the way out, were hesitating whether to leave or not, and for a while no one got the upper hand.
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