Chapter 83: Grain Prices and Charcoal Burning
Yang Family Village.
When Yang Mingwu returned with fifty soldiers, it was inevitable that he would attract a lot of attention and discussion.
Many villagers looked at Yang Mingwu with enthusiasm and admiration.
“Mingwu, are these all your subordinates?”
“I heard you’ve become a Deputy Commander. Is that true?”
“How’s Uncle Zhenshan doing?”
“Don’t forget Uncle Zhenshan’s kindness to you, and don’t be ungrateful!”
Listening to the villagers’ concerned and admiring words, Yang Mingwu couldn’t help but smile broadly.
After finally extricating himself from the enthusiastic crowd, he came to stand before Yang Zhengxiang.
“Clan Leader!”
“Not bad, you’ve grown stronger!” Yang Zhengxiang stroked his long beard, sizing him up from head to toe.
Compared to the original Yang Mingwu, the current Yang Mingwu was more robust and more ferocious, but that was if one ignored the silly expression on his face.
“How have you been lately, Clan Leader?” Yang Mingwu also began to examine Yang Zhengxiang.
Yang Zhengxiang was already old, and despite being a martial artist, he couldn’t hide his aging.
However, his vital energy was still very good, his murky eyes shining with an unbounded vitality.
“I’m doing well, extremely well!” Yang Zhengxiang laughed heartily.
As the Yang clan developed and grew stronger, Yang Zhengxiang, as the clan leader, became a prestigious figure in Anning County.
Especially after Yang Zhenshan’s promotion, many people came to visit him, hoping to use his connections to gain a foothold in Yang Zhenshan’s administration.
With so many people fawning over him, Yang Zhengxiang seemed to have regained his second wind, his spirits high every day.
Yang Mingwu also began to laugh, but his gaze quickly shifted to the woman standing behind Yang Zhengxiang, holding a three- to four-year-old child, Yang Mingwu’s own wife and child.
“Father, Mother! I’ve neglected my filial duties, and I’ll kowtow to you!”
Yang Mingwu stuttered, but sincerely knelt down before his parents and kowtowed three times.
“Get up, get up!” The old couple looked at their son, both delighted and anxious.
They were delighted that their son had made a name for himself, but worried about their son going to war and fighting against the brutal Hu tribe.
“Father!” Yang Mingwu chuckled, his gaze falling on the woman standing behind his father, his wife.
“Head of the Family!”
“Father!”
The family reunited, with much to discuss.
Yang Zhengxiang naturally wouldn’t disturb the family reunion, so after seeing Yang Mingwu, he let Yang Mingwu return home.
As for the soldiers Yang Mingwu brought back, Yang Zhengxiang had already made arrangements for them.
After resting for a night, Yang Mingwu came to Yang Zhengxiang’s house again.
“Clan Leader, this is a letter from the adults!”
Yang Zhengxiang took the letter and, after reading it, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“The drought in Chong Shan Zhen is quite severe?”
Earlier, Yang Zhenshan had written to him about the severe drought in Chong Shan Zhen, saying that this year’s grain prices would likely rise and instructing him not to let the clan members sell their grain at a low price.
“Yes, many places have had a poor harvest, and even the better ones only managed three or four tenths of the usual yield!” Yang Mingwu replied honestly.
Yang Zhengxiang nodded, stroking his beard in thought for a moment. “I can decide on behalf of the clan members to sell the grain at last year’s price to you!”
He said “you” instead of “Jing’an Prefecture”.
“No need, the adults have already said we can’t let the clan members suffer a loss!” Yang Mingwu shook his head.
“If the price is too high, won’t that bring trouble to Yang Zhenshan?” Yang Zhengxiang had concerns.
“If the price is too low, that’s when there’ll be trouble!” Yang Mingwu laughed.
He was silly, but not foolish.
Chong Shan Zhen’s grain prices were bound to rise, and if Yang Zhenshan were to buy a batch of cheap grain at this time, what would happen if others also came to buy grain from Yang Zhenshan at that price?
Others might not be a problem, but what about the officials from the Jing’an Prefecture?
They wouldn’t necessarily use the grain for the soldiers, but rather to make a profit.
So, if Yang Zhenshan really did buy cheap grain, not only would there be no benefits, but it could also lead to trouble.
Yang Zhengxiang thought for a moment and said, “Then let’s set the price at four taels of silver per picul!”
“Good!” Yang Mingwu readily agreed.
Before returning, he had gone to Anning County Town, and the current grain price in Anning County Town was roughly four taels of silver per picul.
Buying grain at this price from Yang Family Village was actually a bit high.
However, as it was autumn, when grain was most abundant, and the price was usually the lowest, if they waited until after the new year, the grain price would definitely rise again.
Yang Family Village’s villagers only needed to keep their grain until after the new year, and they would definitely be able to sell it for four taels or even higher.
After settling the grain price, Yang Zhengxiang immediately gathered the villagers to start selling.
And after handing over the silver, Yang Mingwu went to Yang Zhenshan’s house.
“Adult says to pack up and follow us to Jing’an Prefecture in two days!” Yang Mingwu told Yang Mingcheng.
Earlier, Yang Zhenshan had already decided to move his family to Jing’an Prefecture, and with Yang Mingwu returning, they could go together.
“Really!” Yang Mingcheng was overjoyed.
If not for the regular letters from Chong Shan Zhen, he would have thought that Yang Zhenshan, as his father, had forgotten about them.
Yang Zhenshan had been away from home for over half a year, and he really missed him and wanted to be by his side.
“Adult has always been thinking of you!” Yang Mingwu smiled.
“Then I’ll get ready!” Yang Mingcheng couldn’t wait.
…
Outside Jing’an Prefecture.
Yang Zhenshan was supervising a dozen young men digging a pit on the riverbank to construct a charcoal kiln.
There was a large pile of wood from the mountain nearby.
The charcoal kiln they were building was triangular in shape, with sides about two meters long, one meter deep, and a slightly higher front end, with a smoke vent and chimney at the back.
After the charcoal kiln was built, Yang Zhenshan instructed the men to start burning it.
“Father, can this really produce charcoal?” Yang Minghao looked at the burning charcoal kiln and couldn’t help but ask.
Yes, Yang Zhenshan was making charcoal.
Chong Shan Zhen had a long and cold winter, and the demand for charcoal was extremely high among the common people.
Especially among the wealthy officials, who would always stockpile a large amount of charcoal before winter, and the price was not cheap.
Yang Zhenshan had watched videos of charcoal production in his past life and had even thought of trying it, but unfortunately, he was too busy with work at the time.
Now, he wanted to find a way for the military dependents in the garrison to make a living, and charcoal production was the most suitable.
The market was large, the cost was low, and the key was that Jing’an Prefecture was surrounded by mountains, providing an abundance of wood.
If he were in Lin Guan Fortress, Yang Zhenshan wouldn’t bother with charcoal production, because Lin Guan Fortress lacked access to wood.
Jing’an Prefecture was different, with the mountain ranges to the west, providing an unlimited supply of wood.
Apart from Jing’an Prefecture, the three mountain forts also had rich wood resources.
With an abundance of wood, the cost of charcoal production was merely the labor cost.
Compared to the array line workshop in Lin Guan Fortress, the profit from charcoal production would be greater.
“It should be possible, right?” Yang Zhenshan lacked some confidence, as he had only seen videos of charcoal production and hadn’t actually done it before.
The burning process would take two days, and the result would be known after that.
After returning to Jing’an Prefecture, Yang Zhenshan visited the military dependents’ residential area behind the government office.
After the autumn harvest, he had mobilized all the military dependents in the garrison to start construction.
Burning charcoal was just a small matter, with twenty people being enough, but the real task was the construction of the entire garrison.
Although the houses in Jing’an Prefecture were better than those in Lin Guan Fortress, Yang Zhenshan was still not satisfied.
Moreover, he still had to recruit refugees, settle them, and build houses for them.
So, Jing’an Prefecture, San Shan Fortress, and Xiang Yuan Fortress were all undergoing large-scale construction.
Building houses, stables, pigsties, chicken coops, and so on.
In short, Yang Zhenshan wanted to renovate the three forts entirely.
Not just the three forts, but also all the watchtowers and beacon towers would be renovated after the forts were complete.
Looking at the busy military dependents, Yang Zhenshan nodded in satisfaction.
“Old Li!”
“Yes, Adult!” Old Li, who was leading a group of half-grown children to build a stable, came running over.
“Get two pigs and reward everyone with an extra meal today!” Yang Zhenshan instructed.
“Adult is kind!” Old Li’s face lit up with a smile.
Everyone would get an extra meal, and he would get to eat free pork.
“By the way, notify everyone that from now on, private pig farming and chicken raising are not allowed in the garrison!” Yang Zhenshan said, thinking of the overcrowded environment in the garrison.
For the military dependents, raising pigs and chickens at home was a normal thing.
But Yang Zhenshan couldn’t allow it.
The garrison was too small, with every military dependent’s house packed tightly together.
Military dependents were different from village farmers, who had big courtyards and could raise pigs and chickens without disturbing their neighbors.
The garrison was too crowded, and if everyone raised pigs and chickens, it would become a breeding ground for filth.
“Is it better to put them together then?” Old Li asked, not being foolish.
Yang Zhenshan nodded, “That’s your responsibility now.”
After arranging matters in the garrison, Yang Zhenshan returned to the government office.
“Adult, the first batch of trainees has been selected, do you want to take a look?” Yang Chengxiu handed Yang Zhenshan a roster.
Yang Zhenshan didn’t take the roster, but instead said, “You’re in charge, just handle it! When will the training start?”
“Tomorrow, I’ll notify the various forts, and the training will begin in three days!” Yang Chengxiu replied.
“Yes! Have you found the cook in charge of food?”
“Yes, I’ve found twelve of them, and they’re ready to start work!” Yang Chengxiu smiled, showing his two small tiger teeth.
Feeding the trainees was no small task, with two hundred trainees, and Yang Chengxiu had already made arrangements.
“Are the tents enough?” Yang Zhenshan asked again.
“Yes, we have thirty tents in storage, and the forts can provide another ten or so, which should be enough for two hundred people!” Yang Chengxiu said.
Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, “Then go and get to work!”
(End of Chapter)
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