Chapter 53: Building Houses and Making a Living
“Are you saying you want to build new houses for everyone?” Old Li stared at Yang Zhengshan’s planning map, his eyes almost popping out.
“That’s right, a complete rebuild!” Yang Zhengshan nodded casually, then turned to Yang Chengzhi and the others, saying, “We’ll divide into small teams to build, and whoever finishes first will be rewarded with three dou of grain. The second team will get two dou, and the third team will get one dou. The last team will be penalized with a month’s worth of grain.”
Having competition and rewards would motivate people.
Taking advantage of the house-building, Yang Zhengshan wanted to stimulate everyone’s enthusiasm and avoid them being listless and lazy all day.
“As for you, the first prize will be three taels of silver, the second prize will be two taels, and the third prize will be one tael. The last team…” Yang Zhengshan grinned at Yang Chengzhi and the others, saying, “will help me with laundry for a month!”
Yang Chengzhi and the others hadn’t reacted yet, but Yang Minghao, who was standing behind them, suddenly exclaimed in excitement.
“This is great! Doing laundry for a month, haha!”
Yang Minghao didn’t have any position or authority here; he was just Yang Zhengshan’s son, responsible for taking care of him. In his daily life, Yang Minghao helped Yang Zhengshan with chores like washing and cleaning. Now that someone was offering to help Yang Zhengshan with laundry, he was naturally overjoyed.
“Let’s compete, who’s afraid of who? I’m definitely going to be the first!”
“It’s too early to say, let’s just wait and see.”
“Hehe, it’s definitely going to be you guys doing the laundry!”
“My dad’s socks are really smelly, haha!”
A group of young men started flexing their muscles, preparing for a big competition.
Yang Zhengshan glared at Yang Minghao, thinking, “You said my socks are smelly, wait and see how I’ll deal with you later.”
Old Li, go choose ten women who can cook, and during the house-building period, the official residence will provide all the meals!” Yang Zhengshan ordered.
Yang Zhengshan wasn’t worried about a little grain, but the military dependents would be very concerned. They didn’t have much grain to begin with, and normally, they wouldn’t dare to eat their fill.
Building houses required a lot of effort, and not eating their fill was not an option. So, Yang Zhengshan decided to provide meals for everyone in the fortress.
Moreover, concentrating cooking would make it convenient for him to add the Spirit Spring water. The refugees’ bodies were too weak, and Yang Zhengshan wanted to use this opportunity to improve their physical condition and avoid anyone getting sick.
Once the houses were built, the soldiers would start training, and Yang Zhengshan would no longer provide the Spirit Spring water to everyone. Instead, he would only provide it to the soldiers who received training.
“Do we have enough grain?” Old Li asked, worried.
At this moment, he thought Yang Zhengshan, the Battalion Commander, was a bit unreliable, not knowing how to save, and not only building houses but also providing meals for everyone.
“Don’t worry, the grain issue will be resolved,” Yang Zhengshan said.
Not to mention the ten carts of grain he brought, even if the grain wasn’t enough, he could ask Zhou Lan for more. Zhou Lan had promised to provide him with enough grain.
Just like that, under Yang Zhengshan’s motivation, the originally lifeless Lin Guan Fortress became lively.
Everyone was pleased when they heard Yang Zhengshan was going to build new houses for them, and their enthusiasm increased even more when they learned that the official residence would provide meals during the construction period.
For these refugees, there was nothing more important than having a full stomach.
Finally, when they heard about the reward and penalty system, everyone’s motivation increased several folds.
Yang Chengze, Yang Chengzhi, and the others only needed to shout, and all the people in the fortress, regardless of age or gender, started moving. Even seven or eight-year-old children ran out to carry stones and dig earth.
At first, Yang Zhengshan was a bit worried, fearing that these people wouldn’t listen to orders and would cause trouble. But after observing them for a day, he discovered that they were very obedient.
Perhaps it was because they needed the Lin Guan Fortress as a place to settle, or perhaps it was because Yang Zhengshan’s decision gave them new hope.
In any case, they worked very hard, and Yang Chengzhi and the others were very responsible.
Soon, house after house began to rise.
Meanwhile, Yang Zhengshan focused his energy on other things.
They say, “Rely on the mountains and eat from the mountains; rely on the water and eat from the water.” Lin Guan Fortress was located in the midst of the Thousand-layer Mountain, surrounded by low hills, with a small, nameless river flowing beneath. It could be considered to have both mountains and water.
However, in reality, the hills around Lin Guan Fortress had very few tall trees, mostly just shrubs and wild grass. The small river also didn’t have any fish to catch.
The land was poor, and there were no other natural resources to exploit. This was the current state of Lin Guan Fortress.
To change the situation, Yang Zhengshan couldn’t just focus on Lin Guan Fortress itself.
After considering for a few days, Yang Zhengshan brought Yang Minghao back to the Heavy Mountain Fortress.
If you asked who the most numerous people in the fortress were, it would definitely be the military personnel.
Not to mention the soldiers from the Prefectural Banner’s five camps, even the military dependents in the surrounding garrison fortresses would come to the fortress to buy things.
Although the military dependents were poor, they still had some money.
And Yang Zhengshan wanted to make money from them.
It wasn’t that Yang Zhengshan didn’t want to do some high-end business, but he didn’t dare to and wasn’t capable of doing so yet.
For example, salt, iron, medicinal materials, and fur were all industries that Yang Zhengshan couldn’t touch.
The water in the fortress was too deep, and he didn’t even have the qualification to muddle along, let alone stir up wind and rain.
So Yang Zhengshan focused on those low-profit but unnoticed businesses.
He wasn’t doing it for himself; he wanted to find a way for the military dependents in Lin Guan Fortress to earn a living and avoid being stuck on that poor land.
The two of them walked along the street and arrived at a shop called Bai Fu Grain Shop.
Inside the shop, there was a forty-something-year-old shopkeeper and three twenty-year-old clerks.
“What can I help you with, two gentlemen?” One of the clerks immediately came up to greet them.
“We’re not here to buy anything; I’m looking for Lu the Shopkeeper!” Yang Zhengshan said.
The clerk looked Yang Zhengshan up and down, asking, “May I ask your name, sir, and what brings you to our shop?”
“I’m Yang Zhengshan from Anning County, and I’m familiar with Lu the Shopkeeper!” Yang Zhengshan replied.
This grain shop was a business of the Lu family.
Before parting ways with Song An, Song An had told him that if he needed any help, he could come to Bai Fu Grain Shop and find Lu the Shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper behind the counter heard Yang Zhengshan’s words and quickly came out to greet them.
“Ah, Battalion Commander Yang, my apologies for not recognizing you earlier!”
After some small talk, Lu the Shopkeeper invited Yang Zhengshan to the back room.
“I have something to ask for your help, Lu the Shopkeeper. Do you know any cloth shopkeepers?” Yang Zhengshan asked directly.
Lu the Shopkeeper thought for a moment, saying, “I know some cloth shopkeepers, but they’re all small-time operators.”
He had been running the grain shop in the fortress for over ten years and naturally had some acquaintances.
However, he didn’t know if these small cloth shops would meet Yang Zhengshan’s requirements.
“It’s okay if they’re small, small cloth shops are better for me!” Yang Zhengshan smiled.
Lu the Shopkeeper pointed to a shop across the street, saying, “The Luo family cloth shop is familiar to me. Why don’t we go take a look?”
Yang Zhengshan looked and saw a shop with a signboard reading “Luo Family Cloth Shop”. It looked similar to Liang’s Cloth Shop, but unfortunately, Liang the Third was in Anning County, and Yang Zhengshan couldn’t find him to do business.
Then, the two of them went to the Luo Family Cloth Shop.
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