Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 325 In Full Swing

On the ninth day of the intercalary tenth month, hundreds of men, women, and children gathered on an open space on the east side of Yaqian Port.

They were either family members of Shengye Trading Company employees, or refugees from Jiangbei who had been gathered together, or local people from Matuosha. Each person ate a bowl of dry rice with pickles, and then, led by various temporary foremen, they began to clear weeds and shrubs and level the foundation.

In the distance, dozens of strong men were digging clay to make bricks, which were then transported to a spot to dry. They were boatmen on their way to Changzhou to pick up manpower and supplies, and had been temporarily hired to do manual labor on the shore for a few days.

The timber bought from Jiangyin, along with locally made adobe bricks, reeds, thatch, and the like, were used to build some makeshift houses for the newly arrived artisans. There were over a hundred households, and now several families were crammed together in tents, which wasn't warm enough and easily led to all sorts of petty disputes. Half of the materials for building the tents were brought from the Changzhou Textile and Dyeing Bureau, and the other half were purchased from Jiangyin.

Shao Shuyi really cared about this group of people and gave them exceptional treatment. He not only allocated a special area for them to build houses and workshops, but also planned to build a wall around them and send people to protect and monitor them.

As for their affiliation, they will undoubtedly all be included under the newly established miscellaneous housing unit of Shengye Trading Company, and every single one of them will receive a salary. The personnel have already begun to be counted and categorized, and Gao Yue is handling this task.

"The miscellaneous construction workshop has 46 craftsmen and 113 apprentices, divided into eight departments, including:"

The carpentry department has ten craftsmen and twenty-five laborers, who are in charge of gun barrels, knife handles, scabbards, whips, shields, saddles, vehicles, carving, and other related matters; the ironwork department has seven craftsmen and twenty-one laborers, who are in charge of armor and weapon forging.

The weaving and dyeing department has five craftsmen and thirteen miscellaneous workers, who are in charge of cloth weaving, embroidery, dyeing and other related matters.

The production department consisted of five craftsmen and twelve laborers, who were in charge of sewing and manufacturing.

The Xiepi Division consists of four craftsmen and thirteen laborers, who are in charge of making leather belts, boots, armor, and handling unusual furs.

The pharmaceutical department had three craftsmen and seven general laborers, who were in charge of manufacturing medicines in the market;

The Gold and Jade Department has three craftsmen and seven miscellaneous workers, who are in charge of hats, belts, lacquered gauze, gold, silver, pearls, jade and agate.

The miscellaneous construction department consisted of nine craftsmen and fifteen laborers, who were responsible for various miscellaneous tasks. Depending on their skills, these included construction, stone carving, rope making, nail art, bamboo craftsmanship, mounting, printing, oil painting, varnishing, and even the construction of glazed tiles.

Upon hearing this, Shao Shuyi beamed with joy.

This is probably the most technically advanced department since the establishment of Shengye Trading Company.

Thinking back to how I used to have to steal common items like chain swords from the army, now I can make them myself. Not only can I make them, but I can also decorate them.

For example, there are craftsmen who specialize in making scabbards. After they are made, they can be carved, painted with patterns, or even inlaid with agate and jade. These things may seem fancy but are not practical. However, they are still very popular as prizes.

For example, when making clothes, the weaving and dyeing department weaves the fabric and dyes it, the tailoring department takes your measurements and makes the finished product, and then returns it to the weaving and dyeing department to embroider some patterns. You can even have the gold and jade department add some gold thread to make it dazzling.

Such clothing could also be used as rewards for martial arts competitions. What kind of poor guys have ever used such things? Tell me, is that appropriate or not? This is completely a small-scale socialized production system. A sparsely populated and desolate place like Ma Tuo Sha should not have such a system at all. It is really "beyond the scope".

But Shao Shuyi was overjoyed. If he had wavered slightly before, he now had no intention of letting these people go. He would take on any responsibility that came his way.

Men, women, and children were busy until noon, then they sat down to eat.

Surrounded by Tie Niu and others, Shao Shuyi distributed money to everyone one by one.

"Master Zhou, I'll need your support from now on." Shao Shuyi took out a coin and stuffed it into his hand, saying, "Take it. There's no reason for you to suffer losses when working for me."

Zhou Chun initially wanted to decline, but seeing that the Fu brothers, Fu Jian and Fu Yong, were each carrying a large bundle, he shut up. He was determined to get the money today, whether they wanted it or not.

"Master Li, I've heard Old Zhou mention you before. You've been a carpenter for over thirty years, and your skills are exceptional. Here, take this. Don't worry about anything else from now on; the carpentry department is in your hands." Shao Shuyi handed another ingot of paper money to carpenter Li Sanliu and said with a smile.

Li Sanliu's expression was complicated. He hesitated for a moment, then finally took the money and said, "Since we're already here, I hope Mr. Shao will treat us well."

"Don't worry, I can't guarantee anything else, but it's a given that the whole family is well-fed and clothed," Shao Shuyi said.

Li Sanliu cupped his hands in greeting, sighed, and said nothing more.

He had a good relationship with Zhou Chun; they were old friends. Now, with over thirty carpenters and apprentices, they needed someone in charge, and Zhou Chun recommended him, to which Shao Shuyi agreed.

Li Sanliu vaguely understood that he was very likely to become the head of the so-called carpentry department in the future, and his monthly salary would definitely be much higher than others. He thought about this benefit for a long time, but finally accepted it. The reason was simple: a wise person knows when to yield. No matter how dissatisfied he was, things had already come to this point, so what else could he do?

"Master Cao, the leatherwork is now entirely in your hands." Shao Shuyi then looked at a craftsman in his thirties and handed him a banknote. Master Cao's real name was Cao Zhuan, a rare northerner among the miscellaneous leather workshops in Changzhou. He had previously worked at the mink and soft fur workshops in Dadu and the exotic fur workshops in Shangdu. He did not immediately accept the money, and his expression was not very good.

Shao Shuyi smiled as he took the money, his hand remaining outstretched.

After a brief standoff, Cao Zhuan sighed deeply, took the banknotes, and said, "It's come to this."

The rest was left unsaid, but the meaning was clear.

The Fu brothers, who were following behind Shao Shuyi, looked at him with displeasure, as if blaming him for giving Brother Shao a hard time.

Shao Shuyi, however, remained expressionless, offered a few words of encouragement with a smile, and then moved on to the next person.

He had plenty of patience and tolerance for these skilled craftsmen. Besides, his own people had kidnapped them, so they were already in the wrong. What did it matter if they had to endure a little hardship? He believed they would gradually come to their senses.

Shao Shuyi worked for a long time, personally distributing rewards to the leaders of each department, one ingot of paper money to each person. Then he had people call out names according to the register, with each craftsman receiving thirty strings of cash, each apprentice receiving ten strings of cash, and each family receiving five dou of rice as a gift.

This trick does have some effect.

Regardless of your emotions, now that you've received your pay and rations, you'll feel a bit better. If your living conditions improve significantly in the future, your mind will be even more at peace.

After finishing their meal, the people they had gathered continued working.

If the artisan's family members are willing to participate, they can do so. They can earn a few hundred coins a day, enough to get three meals a day, according to the standards of others.

After finishing these tasks, Shao Shuyi moved a little away from the construction site, called over the village head Gao Jian who had rushed over, and asked, "How did things go?"

Seeing his son following Shao Shuyi and appearing to be highly valued, Gao Jian was in a good mood and said, "Back in Shao's village, I've already spoken to the fishermen from several villages. I've explained it to them first, and then the village chiefs and heads of the communities have explained it to them again. I've made it very clear. Any fisherman who dares to help the craftsmen escape or bring unidentified people ashore will not be spared."

"Are you confident?" Shao Shuyi asked a seemingly pointless question, revealing his true feelings.

Gao Jian pondered for a moment, then honestly said, "Shao She, the fishmongers are all elderly. They wouldn't help outsiders for no reason. They're counting on you to sell them their fresh fish, and you're the only place they buy their woven reed mats. So, I've repeatedly told them that if they still want to help outsiders, there's nothing I can do but try to remedy the situation after it happens and punish them severely."

Because of the incident where Wang Er had first accused Shao Shuyi of being the leader of the Red-Headband Bandit, Gao Jian dared not make any guarantees and could only go so far. Actually, that was enough.

Wang Er was a good-for-nothing, penniless and destitute. After his parents died, even his elder brother and sister-in-law despised him. It's not surprising that someone like him would report the crime.

But the fish farmers are different.

After Shao Shuyi officially became the local tyrant of Ma Tuo Sha, the river tax for fishermen became symbolic, with a fixed amount given each year, which was not large, and there was no powerful people controlling or exploiting them.

They used to catch a lot of fresh fish in the rivers, but if they were lucky, they would catch a lot of fish that they couldn't sell, resulting in huge losses. Now they can transport the fish by boat to Chong Sheng Temple and buy as much as they can get. Some of the fish are used for daily consumption, while the rest are used to make salted fish.

Reed mats, firewood, and the like can also be transported to the vicinity of Chong Sheng Temple for sale, and all such items will be accepted.

In short, the fishermen of Matuosha have become deeply embedded in the economic chain of Shengye Trading Company and have profited greatly.

If you have a large family, you can get a job at the docks on a daily basis through an introduction, or after simple training, you can be recruited to work as a steers on large ships, where you can earn even more.

So Gao Jian's statement wasn't exactly boasting.

After listening to his words, Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work. So many people have come; this matter is of great importance."

He paused here, glancing at Gao Jian intentionally or unintentionally.

Gao Jian's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Shao She, don't worry. Based on my past experience, the Changzhou government will definitely try to cover up the scandal first. Only when they can no longer cover it up will they report it to higher authorities. And in order to reduce their own punishment, they might even try to downplay the severity of the matter and try to get away with it. Even if Hangzhou does find out about this, we'll have to wait for them to send people to investigate, which could take who knows how long."

"You have a good point, sir," Shao Shuyi said with a smile. "However, it's wise to be lenient with the enemy; I can't place my hopes on others."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "The master has other matters to attend to."

Gao Jian glanced at his son, and after receiving a signal from him, he bowed and took his leave.

Shao Shuyi soon arrived at the office building next to the small dock.

He Zizu, a clerk in charge of the agricultural settlement, came forward to report on the land reclamation, but was stopped by Shao Shuyi.

"No rush," Shao Shuyi waved his hand and said, "Wu Heizi is leaving tomorrow. Go with him to Sanlinli in Pudong and give five hundred ingots of paper money to Manager Wang (Wang Huadu). Tell him to buy grain as soon as possible. It doesn't matter if there's nowhere to store it. Think of a way. Even if you temporarily store it at a nearby house, it's fine. Spend the money as soon as possible."

"Yes," He Zizu replied without asking any further questions.

Shao Shuyi nodded and began to plan other places to spend money.

Needless to say, he was preparing to spend money spree, buying as much as he could—food, building materials, iron, livestock, and so on—to prepare for unpredictable risks.