Although Shenxi lived a good life in this era, now as the leader, she enjoys a high quality of life.
However, it still cannot match the convenience and speed of later generations.
For example, when going out, one still needs to take a horse-drawn carriage.
The jolting of the carriage almost threw her out.
Chenxi, who is prone to mild motion sickness, has to mentally prepare herself for a long time before taking a horse-drawn carriage ride.
After all, this is just too painful.
Shenxi had long wanted to build cement floors, but due to a lack of funds, she had to use a large amount of money to ensure the daily necessities of the people and to support the army.
A large amount of manpower was also devoted to the production of basic necessities, such as farmland and factories that manufacture various daily necessities.
If manpower were allocated to build cement floors, it would be extremely wasteful of manpower and resources.
No matter which aspect, it is impossible to satisfy the requirement of cement floors in every region.
In the end, Chenxi simply turned the main streets of the provincial capital into cement surfaces.
However, that's already eye-catching enough.
The Cao family was one of them.
The Cao family is now undoubtedly Shenxi's strongest supporter; 80 percent of their family's income depends on Shenxi.
Therefore, one-third of the profits must be handed over to the government.
In addition, a portion should be allocated to charity.
This is where Cao Changgeng's brilliance lies; he knows that Shenxi dislikes a single dominant entity, let alone a conglomerate.
Therefore, he voluntarily distributed some money and carried out charitable activities under the guise of being a leader.
Shenxi greatly admired Cao Changgeng's intelligence.
This is exactly the kind of person she needs.
Otherwise, constantly having to outwit and outmaneuver powerful families would be too unbearable.
The Cao family's practices have already influenced other prominent families.
Those aristocratic families didn't have much money left, but even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; they were still much better off than ordinary people.
So, like the Cao family, they did a lot of work in both making money and charity, maintaining the standard of living of an ordinary wealthy family.
That's the general atmosphere in Jianming Province. No one dares to flaunt their wealth, no one dares to be rich and heartless, and no one dares to cause trouble for the region.
When the Cao family saw this cement floor, they sensed a business opportunity.
He took the initiative to request an audience with Shenxi.
Ordinary local powerful families cannot meet with Chen Xi; at most, they can only seek out Zhao Xun, the governor of Jianming Province.
But Cao Changgeng could see Shenxi at any time.
When Cao Changgeng met Shenxi, he told him frankly that he wanted to contract the construction of cement roads on the main routes from various county towns to the provincial capital.
Chen Xi looked at him and smiled, "Do you know the cost?"
Cao Changgeng nodded slightly, "I've calculated it. If we take all of the Cao family's assets into account, it's enough to make the repairs possible."
"You're going to use all your wealth to build the road?"
"Yes, sir."
Shenxi drank the tea brewed by Di Yingxue, and indeed, the new tea was really good.
"What are the conditions?"
"The condition is that I will collect the extra toll fees."
Previously, there were tolls on the official roads, and special funds were allocated every year for their maintenance and repair.
The main method now is to compact the ground and then pave the road with stones.
This road is already pretty good; it won't be too muddy even when it rains.
But it's far inferior to a cement road.
Chenxi finds charging a toll acceptable.
How much will it cost?
"It will be 20 percent more than the current official road levy."
Shen Xi nodded, saying that an extra 20% was acceptable. In fact, the official roads of the past were rarely used by ordinary people, just like highways in later generations, which people without cars could not travel on.
However, ordinary people are now allowed to walk on the official roads, but because they have to pay a fee, very few ordinary people use them.
The vast majority were businessmen or government officials traveling on official roads, and most of them rode horses or carriages.
These people generally don't care about the extra 20% fee, since they have plenty of money and the road will be easier for them to travel.
Shenxi agreed, but there were many details to consider. For example, the person collecting the taxes had to be an official, not an individual member of the Cao family.
At that time, the tax officials will take the original portion of the official road, and the remaining 20% will be taken by the Cao family.
If the Cao family is not at ease, they can send an accountant to each tax collection point to keep records, and then reconcile the accounts with the government later.
Cao Changgeng readily agreed. It wasn't that he didn't trust Shen Xi, but rather that he didn't trust the people below him who were handling things.
Even the most brilliant leaders have their subordinates who are cunning, corrupt, and take bribes.
This is human nature; it's unavoidable.
To prevent any disputes or misunderstandings later, the Cao family naturally had to send someone to keep an eye on things.
“You can’t possibly complete all the projects at once. I suggest you subcontract them out. But you need to find the right people.”
Chenxi would prefer more people to participate, so that the cement road can be built quickly.
She didn't hand over the cement formula.
Even Ge Congshan, who frequently took advantage of her, failed to obtain the cement formula from her.
Chenxi still relies on selling cement to make money.
In the end, Ge Congshan had no choice but to buy cement from Chenxi and then use it to build his Xianghe Mansion.
In other states, people also buy cement, some to repair a road, and others for household use, such as to build cement floors or cement walls.
Later, Chenxi also produced cement bricks, which were much cheaper than the fired red and blue bricks.
Many ordinary people started using cement bricks when building their houses.
Ordinary people need to pay a sum of money, which is the cost price. Then each family is responsible for building their own house.
Although the houses we live in now belong to the government, we have permanent residency rights.
If you do not die, you can live there indefinitely; if you die, your children can continue to live there.
If no children inherit the residence, it will be reclaimed by the government.
However, this right is only valid for the children to continue living there. The third generation will not have this permanent residency right and will be reassigned at that time.
The Cao family also needed to purchase cement to build the official road.
With just a word from Chenxi, he can offer a 10% discount.
Cao Changgeng was of course willing, as this would save a lot of costs.
When Cao Changgeng was building the cement road, Shenxi also instructed that too many laborers should not be used. It was fine if things were a little slow, but it was absolutely unacceptable if it delayed the production of the local people.
Cao Changgeng naturally agreed; he wouldn't dare recruit too many migrant workers.
If he were to hire a large number of migrant workers at high prices, it would be strange if Shenxi didn't demolish it.
People still live and work collectively, but there are some loosening of these traditions.
Even within a village, once the collective labor is completed, it is permissible to take on some private work.
The collective labor in the village was farming.
If the farmland is well managed, one can do private work in their spare time after finishing farm work.
Furthermore, farmland also has holidays; each person has two days off per week, which are under their own management.
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