After the suspects were taken away, the Cangzhou government office returned to its previous tranquility. Except for Pei Che, everyone else was very frightened before, but after the imperial edict came down last time, they felt relieved.
I can't escape the accountability anyway, so what's the point of being so scared? Anyway, there are so many officials in Cangzhou, and the emperor can't kill them all. The most important thing now is to keep to your duty, do your job well, and don't make more mistakes. Otherwise, I'm afraid I will become the chicken in the story of killing the chicken to scare the monkey.
Compared to the quiet government office, the streets and villages in Cangzhou were bustling as if it were a festival. The reason was the notice posted at the city gate.
The notice said that an iron mine had been discovered outside Cangzhou City. Now they were looking for miners. Anyone interested could come and try.
In addition to the recruitment notice, there were people explaining the benefits of being selected. First, the monthly salary was not fixed. It was based on the principle of more work, more pay. The ore mined was weighed and the money was calculated. An average person could earn about 40 to 50 coins a day, and those with greater strength could earn much more. Secondly, working in the mine also included a meal at noon. The standard was two vegetarian dishes with oil residue, enough rice, and three meat meals a month. Finally, people who worked in the mine were paid on a daily basis, and at the end of the year, those who worked hard were selected and given generous rewards.
Although people don’t know what the generous rewards are, it doesn’t stop them from rushing to the mine to sign up. After all, the first two items are very tempting to them.
They live in Cangzhou, which is close to the mountains and has scarce fertile land. In the past, they had to rely on mountain products to make a living. Even if they could barely make a living, they still yearned to have a proper job.
In just a few days, the mine recruited more than 300 people. Most of these people were strong and healthy, and those who were small and weak naturally had no chance to become a miner.
After being rejected, one boy was very dissatisfied and pointed at a figure not far away and said, "Since he was selected based on his strength, why can he also be a miner?"
The figure was about the same size as him, and looked even younger than him. Zhang Quan, who was teaching people to identify stones, sneezed. He looked up blankly, not knowing who was talking about him.
The soldier in charge of recruiting people smiled and said, "He knows how to identify and find minerals and how to work with a shovel. The master is arranging him to lead the new miners. If you can do the same, I can also select you. How about it?"
The boy was silent. He wanted to come in to make a living, but he didn't have the skills. After being rejected, he had no choice but to go back and train hard to be able to come here as a miner next year.
In addition to these new miners, some old miners also stayed. Some of them were sent back because they missed home, and most of them were orphans who came out to make a living. They had no place to stay if they went back, so it was better for them to make some money here and buy two acres of thin land in their hometown, so that they could be considered as people with roots.
The quarrying was in full swing at the mine, and on the other side, at the newly built smelting site, Mr. Tan and a member of the Ministry of Industry were also busy and happy. Mr. Tan worked in the mine for almost his entire life, and was later sent back to his hometown due to his old age, but he still missed the days when he was with stones. Now that he had the opportunity to start over again, he suddenly felt full of energy.
Soon, the first batch of iron was smelted. The Ministry of Industry immediately submitted a report, praising the quality of the iron and the iron ore, saying that the iron smelted from it was twice as good as that from other sources.
While Emperor Liang Ping was happy, he hated those who mined iron ore privately. He immediately ordered them to investigate the matter as soon as possible and catch the person behind the scenes who dared to do anything.
Under the pressure, soon, someone found people who were suspected to be from Datong Commercial Bank near Nanyang Prefecture. The leader seemed to be Manager Xu in the painting. He was rushing home with his people. Two days ago, he received a letter from Master Liu claiming that he was ill in bed and asked Manager Xu to bring back medicinal materials to treat him. Manager Xu was worried, so he only disguised himself hastily and resolutely embarked on the road back home.
Facing the wanted orders posted all over the country and still daring to return home, the officials thought they were crazy. In fact, Manager Xu had already guessed his own fate. The court was so aggressive in wanted them, unless they hid in the mountains and forests and never came out again, the whole world belongs to the king. Where can they hide? Manager Xu just wanted to return the business to Master Liu before he was caught. He didn't know that the master he was thinking about had already been exposed.
After being arrested, Manager Xu even tried to bribe the yamen runners to help him deliver the letter. The people who arrested them sneered, saying that even if they were going to die of poverty, they would not dare to ask for the money. This was an order directly issued by the Ministry of Justice. Anyone who dared to bend the law for personal gain would be directly beheaded in public.
Manager Xu and his companions were taken to Liangjing. When he heard those people holding a piece of paper covered with red handprints and sentencing him to death, he finally realized that the mistake he had made was indeed unforgivable. He could no longer muster any strength and collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud.
In these cells, Manager Xu saw many people, including his capable subordinates and his master, Master Liu.
Master Liu sat at the foot of the bed, dishevelled, thinking about something, his eyes staring blankly ahead. He was arrested in a brothel, watching the courtesan dance. He wanted to complain, but the yamen runners only used two words to silence him.
He actually discovered the Cangzhou Iron Mine by accident. His grandfather was once a mine guard, and he often took advantage of his position to steal things from the mine and take them home. After a few visits, Mr. Liu also got to know the appearance of the ore.
When he was on the trade route and passed through Cangzhou, he heard that there were many mountain products in Cangzhou, so he went into Cangzhou City and hired some local people to help him pick them. He was afraid of being fooled by people selling inferior products, so he naturally followed them into the mountains. Unexpectedly, he found iron ore exposed in the open.
For a moment, Master Liu was in a state of confusion. On one hand, he was thinking about reporting this to the government, but on the other hand, he was told to keep his mouth shut. He didn't even need to think about how much value an iron ore could bring.
"Dig secretly for a while, and then tell the government!" A voice in his heart told Master Liu. If he gave up this easy-to-get wealth, God would not forgive him!
So, a few days turned into half a month. Half a month turned into a few months. A few months turned into a year or two. After that, there was no need for excuses. In Mr. Liu's mind, this was the Liu family's mineral property.
Manager Xu was his confidant, so he gave the task to him. Whether it was quarrying or transporting the stones, smelting or making them into tools and then selling them, he was in charge of everything.
A major case came to an end in this way. All the guilty people were dealt with according to the national law, and the punishment of prisoners who made special contributions was reduced depending on the degree of their contributions.
Pei Che finally put his mind at ease after reading the final result of the incident in the imperial report. After reading it, he put the report aside and never had to think about it again.
Unconsciously, time passed quickly. This was already the second year that Pei Che and Jiang Miao had spent in Cangzhou. Unlike last year when the whole family stayed at home to celebrate the New Year, this year Pei Che lifted the curfew and allowed the people to revel for three days during the New Year.
When the locals heard the news, they were extremely happy. Many of them had made money in the mines this year, and after working hard for half a year, they naturally wanted to have a good New Year. Although some people did not become miners, the large number of outsiders who poured into the mines revitalized Cangzhou's market economy.
After working hard in the mines, they finally had a break and went out to the streets. At first, there was nothing good to go around, but later, when people who smelled business opportunities opened shops and made money, all kinds of shops opened one after another. Even grain shops had several more than before. Shops needed to recruit workers to open, and the goods from the source also needed people to make them. For a while, almost everyone in Cangzhou had something to do.
After making money, you have to spend it. In order to attract these customers, merchants showed off their magic weapons. Some set off fireworks at the door of the store, and some displayed various exquisite goods for people to win treasures by throwing pots. The streets were crowded with people, and everyone's face was filled with happy smiles.
Jiang Miao and Pei Che wore inconspicuous clothes and walked among the crowd. Looking at the current appearance of the once lifeless Cangzhou, they felt very relieved.
"Brother, there are people selling little candy men up ahead. Can I buy two?" Little Stone suddenly turned around and ran to Jiang Miao, pulled his hand and said.
"Buy it. Didn't I say you can do whatever you want today?" Jiang Miao said. The two children have almost no holidays during their studies and are locked up in school every day. It's not easy to celebrate the New Year, so how could they bear to restrict them
Xiao Shitou's eyes curved, and he smiled and stretched out his hand in front of Jiang Miao to indicate that he wanted to give money. It turned out that he was pretending to seek consent, but in fact he didn't want to pay out of his own pocket.
"Didn't I give you the New Year's money?" Jiang Miao asked. He and Pei Che each gave a big red envelope, so it didn't make sense that it was all used up, right
"But brother, you once said that the New Year's money cannot be used before the end of the Chinese New Year!" Little Stone argued.
Jiang Miao asked, "What about the pocket money you usually give me? Did you spend it all?" He promised that if Xiao Shitou said so, he would teach the child how to manage money next year.
"No, but that's my private money. I want to save it for my future studies."
Jiang Miao was shocked. It seemed that there was no need to teach him financial management. This kid was obviously a miser.
"Okay, here you go, let's go!" He took out a few coins and put them in Xiao Shitou's hand. The child immediately happily pulled Pei Mu and ran towards the candy man stall on the corner of the street.
"Who do you think he takes after? Why is he so stingy?" Jiang Miao complained to Pei Che.
Pei Che was extremely thankful for the dim vision at night, otherwise Jiang Miao would have seen the words "whatever you want" written all over his face.
"Brother, brother!" Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu suddenly ran back.
"What's wrong? What do you want to buy again?" Jiang Miao sighed. He was already prepared to spend a lot of money.
"The grandpa selling the candy man refused to take our money!" Little Stone was obviously very anxious. He had already licked the candy man and it was too late to return it. How could you buy something without paying
"Why?" Jiang Miao glanced at the sugar figures in their hands. Wasn't this sold to them
"I don't know. Brother, come with me." Xiao Shitou pulled Jiang Miao to the candy figurine stall, and Pei Che and Pei Mu followed.
"Old man, my two younger brothers just bought some candy figures from you. I heard they haven't paid yet. How much is it? I'll give it to you." Jiang Miao looked at the old man with white hair and beard in front of him and said politely.
"No need to pay. I can make money thanks to Master Pei's good management. How can I accept money from two young masters for two strings of sugar figurines?" said the old man. It turned out that he refused to accept money because he recognized Xiao Shitou. His two sons were in the mine, and his two daughters-in-law were at home taking care of the tea mountain. He and his wife usually took odd jobs in nearby shops and took care of their grandchildren. Their lives were fulfilling and happy.
"Father-in-law, you can make money by yourself. It has nothing to do with others." A voice sounded.
The old man frowned and looked up to refute, but found that the person in front of him was very familiar. He wanted to kneel down, but was supported by a pair of strong hands. The old man was very excited and greeted him repeatedly. The visitor also greeted him warmly for a long time.
After they left, the old man found the ten coins on the table. He carefully put the money away and put it in his arms. He wanted to tell others how good their parents were!
(End of this chapter)