Even if Uncle Qiu hadn't said so, no one would dare to have any ulterior motives. Who would dare to mess around with this hard-earned job?
During the slack season on weekdays, they can hardly find work. Even if they do find it, the work is hard and tiring. They don't make any money, just enough to eat, and they have to walk back and forth for two or three hours every day.
"Don't worry, Uncle Wu! If anyone dares to mess around in our village, I'll break his legs!"
"Old man, leave the cooking to me. With me watching over you, no one can bring any more food home!" said Uncle Qiu's wife.
Everyone showed their attitude, and Uncle Qiu was satisfied.
"Okay, tomorrow morning our entire village must rush over to help, and rest early today."
The next day, before daybreak, everyone in the village went to the construction site to help. Men, women, young and old, were all busy doing what they could.
The construction site had just started, and there were still many miscellaneous tasks that needed to be done. Uncle Qiu and others took the initiative to clean the construction site and prepare meals before An Jingzhi arrived without being told.
"Sir, these guys are really hardworking. When we were on duty, we saw a group of them rushing towards us and thought they were thieves."
"Before daybreak, they come here to wash, scrub, sweep and tidy up. You know what, after they cleaned up like this, the whole construction site is much cleaner and brighter." A supervisor said while pointing to other workers who had already started making porridge in the distance.
It was a mess yesterday, but when I arrived today I saw it was tidy and clean. Uncle Qiu and his gang really spared no effort in putting in the effort.
People who started working arrived one after another, lining up with smiles on their faces to get vegetable porridge. This vegetable porridge was thicker than what they ate at home, with only a light sprinkle of salt in it, but they ate it as if it were some rare treasure.
An Jingzhi took a look around and happened to see the women, the elderly and the weak in Heishan Village who were preparing to pack up and go back.
"Uncle Qiu." An Jingzhi called them.
"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it. How can I, an old man, be worthy of being called such a name, sir?" Uncle Qiu was extremely terrified.
An Jingzhi simply ignored him and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Everyone will start working soon after dinner, so we won't make trouble here. I'll take them back." Uncle Qiu explained.
"Let's eat first and then go back. We've been busy all morning and we can't let everyone work in vain." An Jingzhi said.
Uncle Qiu Wu waved his hand in refusal, shaking his head with a determined look on his face. "That won't do. We volunteered to do this job. The young master has already done us a lot of favors. We shouldn't be too greedy. Besides, we didn't do much. We'll skip the meal. We still have a lot of things to do at home."
Did An Jingzhi do them a lot of favors? Not entirely. He simply earned a little less in rent and allowed them to come here to work. He said it was a bargain for them, but in reality, he had to pay everyone he hired.
From An Jingzhi's own perspective, it can only be said that these are just some small favors, but because others are so inhumane, his ordinary behaviors seem extremely kind, which immediately makes him look great and glorious.
Of course you have to eat, and An Jingzhi is not short of food.
Under his strong request, Uncle Qiu and his group drank a bowl of porridge out of gratitude to Wan De before going back.
I was still talking about An Jingzhi all the way.
"Mr. An is such a good man. He not only provides us with food and drink, but also lets us earn wages."
"Yes, I've never heard of any tenant being able to get 46 cents on the rent. Master An is such a kind man. If it were 46 cents, we would be able to eat half full this year. Add to that the money we earn from Master An, and our whole family would be able to eat fully!"
"Eat, eat, eat, all you do is eat. Do you want to repair the house? Do you want to make clothes for the New Year? Do you want to marry your daughter-in-law? How can I have any extra money for you to eat?"
"That porridge is really good, thicker than what we drink during Chinese New Year."
"Do you think you can really make money from coal? I heard that Master An wants to sell the coal."
"I don't know. Doesn't burning coal kill people? Who would buy this?"
"What are you thinking? How could Master An do such a wicked thing? Burning coal is indeed poisonous, but Master An said that some people burned coal with the doors and windows closed and suffocated to death. If you open the windows when burning coal, there will be no problem."
"Really? Wouldn't that be very convenient? A piece of coal can burn for quite a while, which is more convenient than burning firewood."
"Could what Master An said be false?"
"That's true. If this coal is really like this, there will definitely be a lot of people buying it, and we can keep doing this business for a long time."
…
After An Jingzhi asked people to help promote the coal, he gave it to some people for free after it was produced. Later, everyone found that if this thing was used correctly, it would not poison people, so more and more people bought it, and the coal that was not worth anything at all became worth a fortune.
The people who originally made a living by selling firewood were squeezed out and had no room to survive, so An Jingzhi recruited them all to work in the coal factory.
…
When An Zhongyi asked people to buy other coal, not many people knew about coal and the resistance he encountered was not great.
He took all the contracts and went to the palace.
The emperor looked at the stack of contracts handed over by the other party and asked, "What is this about loyalty and righteousness?"
An Zhongyi said respectfully, "Your Majesty, these are my servants' filial presents to you."
"I heard that coal is now making a lot of profit thanks to your son's promotion." The emperor said in a light tone.
"Yes, I was lucky enough to learn that burning coal to ventilate the air will prevent people from being poisoned. Now I have bought the surrounding mountains, and when I manage them in the future, the palace will also have a share."
Originally, he wanted to give the land deed directly to the other party, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was not appropriate, so he wrote another contract, which was a business contract. Their family owned 10%, and the emperor owned 90%. The contract also stated that any expenses would be paid from their family's 10%. In other words, the emperor did not have to do anything and could directly take 90% and just wait to get the money every year.
However, An Jingzhi's share was not included. An Jingzhi's share was registered under his own name, and An Zhongyi would not touch his son's things.
An Zhongyi could clearly feel that the emperor's trust in him was not as great as before. All his power came from the emperor, so of course he had to try his best to make the other party feel his loyalty.
This contract is his sincerity.
"Zhongyi, I'm fine, why should I need your things?" The emperor looked at the contract and was very moved. Coal is now in great demand in the whole capital, and it is winter now, so he is making a fortune every day.
If he followed the other party's contract, he wouldn't have to do anything and could receive millions of taels of silver a year.
It is equivalent to half of the national treasury income, even the emperor would be jealous.
An Zhongyi smiled respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, you are joking. The whole world belongs to the king. How can anything belong to me? Everything that belongs to me is your Majesty's."
"It's just that running a business requires some investment, so I've taken the liberty of taking a 10% stake. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
The other party is responsible for all the management, operation and mining. According to the emperor's idea, it is not excessive for the other party to take 10%.
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