County magistrate Lu stood at the door of the house and looked into the distance, with an unconcealable look of shock on his face.
Longchi has changed a lot.
The Song family who were invited to watch the ceremony were even more shocked than County Magistrate Lu. Standing on the flat land and watching the changed Longchi, they couldn't say a word.
If anyone present besides the Beihai county government office knew Longchi best, it must be the county magistrate Lu and the Song family.
Needless to say, the Song family has controlled the Longchi Salt Field for many years. In their eyes, Longchi has always been a barren place with a salt field and two small fishing villages. Although it has created high value, this place is poor and poor...
In order to snatch the Longchi Salt Farm, the county magistrate of Lu also had a deep understanding of this place. He bought two small fishing villages and long-term workers in the Longchi Salt Farm. More people come here to form a small market around here, but now...
I saw that the previously bumpy land had been leveled, and at a glance, it was a very flat open space.
There are people coming and going on the pier. Many thatched houses were built on the salt field in the past, and the workers on the pier basically lived there. In the open space in front, there is a big stove for cooking salt, and now there are pots on it. Or burning hot water, or steaming rice and steamed buns...
Further forward is the area where the workers live. There are actually some small vendors selling things, some selling clothes, shoes and socks, and some selling some antifreeze ointment.
The area where they are standing now is the working and living area of Cui Wei and other officials and master craftsmen. Some houses have been built around this area. It can be seen that this should also be a temporary building, directly a mud house, but to Better than thatched cottages, at least not so dark.
There is endless flat land behind you, and there are people coming and going nearby. There are too many people, so that it gives people a feeling that Longchi Wharf is very prosperous.
This is popularity!
County magistrate Lu squinted his eyes, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.
His master was also shocked, he also knew Longchi before, couldn't help swallowing and said: "It's only been a year..."
County Magistrate Lu exhaled and said, "This is popularity. Only people can be popular. No wonder Bai Shan couldn't stop recruiting so many people."
Master: "How much will it cost?"
It is very expensive to raise people, not only wages, but also their food, drink and clothing, which is a huge daily expense.
County Magistrate Lu said meaningfully: "So not everyone can use such a method."
At least he can't. He doesn't have the ability to make so much money, nor does he have the guts to take such a big risk.
Governor Guo was greeting with Governor Liu from Laizhou next door.
If Beihai County's finances mainly come from the saltworks, then Laizhou's finances mainly come from the wharf.
Not to mention the opening of a new wharf in Beihai County next door to Laizhou, the seagoing boats they picked up for the first voyage were still given out by them.
But Governor Guo's smile is not very happy. He only needs to think that Laizhou has also learned the method of drying salt, and his mood is complicated.
With Laizhou's coastline, their amount of sun-dried salt next year will definitely not be lower than that of Qingzhou, and whoever suffers will know how it feels.
The two governors were sour and complicated in their hearts, but their faces were smiling. They looked at each other, the smiles on their faces became wider, and they exchanged greetings again.
Bai Shan was very satisfied with their harmonious atmosphere, and handed over the battlefield to the two officers, while he went out to greet other guests, such as the future customers of Longchi Wharf, the current potential customers-gentry businessmen.
Bai Shan took Zhou Liwei and Fang Xiancheng with him.
As soon as the gentry and businessmen who came here heard that Zhou Liwei was in charge of the saltworks, they cheered up and greeted him warmly. When they heard that the follow-up construction of the Longchi area would be in charge of by Fang Xiancheng, everyone became even more enthusiastic , surrounded the two of them in the middle.
Zhou Liwei was young and had little experience, so he kept in mind his uncle's words just now, "You can deal with Fang Xiancheng as you want to deal with them. You are in charge of the saltworks. Although you must be humble in life, you don't have to be humble in doing things."
Zhou Liwei roughly touched a little bit, and in the eyes of everyone, he was neither humble nor overbearing.
Some people couldn't help discussing in private, "You don't look obvious, but you act neither humble nor overbearing. You are worthy of being Lord Bai's nephew."
"If you can raise a family like Mr. Zhou, where can your nephew go?"
"Yes, listening to his words and conversations is also a scholar."
"Longchi is very popular here. I just heard what Fang Xiancheng said. There is a vacant lot behind here to build houses and shops?"
County magistrate Lu was also talking to Bai Shan about this matter, he pointed to the white ash on the ground and asked, "This is?"
"The size of each set of shop yards," Bai Shan said, "I'll sell them piece by piece."
County magistrate Lu blinked, thinking of the gentry businessman who was recommended by him but returned without success, "Didn't you say you don't sell land?"
"Sell it," Bai Shan said slowly, "This is just some request from me."
"for example?"
"For example, the height and size of the house to be built depends on my materials. For example, the price."
County Magistrate Lu directly skipped the first request and asked, "How do you calculate the price?"
Bai Shan pointed to the tunnel under his feet and said: "Buy a piece of land, build a piece of land for free, and each person and household can buy up to five pieces of land."
County Magistrate Lu: "...you are stealing money."
A piece of land of about an acre, especially in such a barren place, is worth three taels of silver. He actually asked someone to build a house for free. Counting the materials and labor, it is less than fifty or sixty taels. Yes, if he built a three-story building, he might have to break through a hundred taels.
How much do the people who buy the land benefit from
Bai Shan pointed to the pier not far away and said: "Magistrate Lu, take a look at my pier, it's still unfinished, wait until it's finished..."
He looked around and found that there were no officials from Laizhou nearby, so he lowered his voice and said, "When the construction is completed, it will be over to the Laizhou Wharf. By then, the business and travel goods that come and go will only be a store for one hundred taels." It's just a year's rent, do you think they earned it?"
He said: "The imperial court and I have spent so much money to build a pier here, attracting so many business travelers, how can it be possible to sell the land at the price of ordinary open land?"
County Magistrate Lu was in deep thought, and looked up at him for a while, "Master Bai sold it?"
"No." Bai Shan was not depressed, and said with a smile: "The reason they didn't sell it before was because they didn't have confidence in Longchi Wharf, but after today, do you still worry about no one buying it?"
"How about it, magistrate Lu, do you want to buy a piece of land?" Bai Shan said with a smile: "You and I have such a friendship, Bai can't help reminding you that you can still choose a good location now, otherwise I will be determined in a few days. , and I can’t leave a good place for you.”
County magistrate Lu suspected that he was deliberately cheating him of money, raised his eyes to look at him, and said after a while: "I'm not from Qingzhou, I always have to leave..."
Bai Shan didn't care and said: "Just sell the property after you leave. Mr. Zhou and I are still buying mountains and land in Beihai County. The princess and the concubine even built another courtyard. Are we going to stay here forever? ?”
He said: "Just deal with it when you leave, don't you worry about selling good things?"
County magistrate Lu actually became excited.