Winter is coming and spring comes, and it is January of the following year. As the saying goes, the plan for the year lies in spring. In addition to farmers preparing for spring plowing and various tasks of raising silkworms, others are also starting to get busy.

Bashui, a fleet of twenty cargo ships is going downstream. They set off from Yiyang County upstream and are carrying stones to Xiyang County downstream. Each ship has a deep draft and the boat gang is also very close to the water surface.

Building a river embankment requires a large amount of stones, and Yiyang County, adjacent to the mountains, has a lot of stones. The cargo ships carrying water transport downstream from Yiyang, replacing stones weighing dozens of kilograms with copper coins.

On the leading ship, Zhang Ning was looking at the Santai River Estuary in front of him. He was the owner of Yiyang Quarry and had three quarries under his name. After the autumn of last year, the Bazhou Prefecture Office organized manpower and material resources to build the river embankment, and his business never stopped.

The stones that no one wants in the mountains are now valuable. Zhang Ning's quarry has been opened for two months and has earned all the capital back. The next thing is pure profit, and the business is worth the most.

"The boss, you have to enter the river estuary in front of you, please stand in..." The boss of the ship respectfully reminded that their ship was almost overloaded and had a deep draft, and it was also thanks to the small waves that the waves were not afraid of being rushed into the cabin by the waves.

"You have to be careful in a while and don't sink the boat." Zhang Ning explained. He followed the advice of the boss of the ship and moved into the middle. After a while, the cargo ship had to slow down and turn, the hull would inevitably shake. If you accidentally fall into the water, you would be embarrassed.

There are government officials in the mouth of Santai River to prevent any thieves from rushing into the river. In the lower reaches of Bakou, there are even more warships, guarding against Chen's attack on the other side of the river. However, this is not a problem for Zhang Ning, because his fleet is a regular customer here.

"Isn't this Zhang Dong's family? Why did you personally take the boat today?" A lord who was on board to inspect the boat smiled. He was responsible for garrisoning here to prevent prisoners from escaping. Zhang Ning's stone transport fleet had to pass by every few days, so he was so familiar that he could not be more familiar.

"Thank you, Li Zhangzhang, can anyone escape in the past few days?" Zhang Ning was quite familiar with the other party. A large part of the labor force in building river embankments on the Santai River was captured by Chen State. The government set up a village here to guard it, and it was also to prevent someone from diving and escaping at the upstream construction site.

"It's gone, the government army is very strict. Those who dare to escape are hung up and dry. Now they are very honest." The priest smiled. Seeing that the people inspecting the other ships raised their hands to indicate that there was no problem, he bowed his hands and got off the ship.

"No problem, let it go!"

If you are acquaintances, you must check if you need to check. Since taking office, Yuwen Wen has rectified state affairs, and officials from all levels have become much more honest. The "wealthy and easy to do" in the past has no longer worked.

The fleet successfully entered Santai River and went upstream. The boatmen rowed long boats, and the cargo ships slowly advanced with stones. Looking at the stretching river embankment on the south bank, Zhang Ning felt a little moved.

His family lived in Yiyang County, Bazhou for many years and was not unfamiliar with Xiyang County. The two sides of the lower reaches of Santai River were mostly reed marshes, and they had heavy floods every rainy season and were prone to bloating and bloating, so no one dared to clear the land.

It's different now. Last year, the state government organized people to repair the south bank river embankment and extinguish the snails in the water. It is said that it can prevent bulging and bloating. After several heavy rainstorms in the rainy season, the south bank of Santai River was safe and sound, and that large wasteland became a hot item in the eyes of everyone.

The large-scale field teaching last fall was a hot topic. Zhang Ning stood on the boat and could not see the scene on the other side of the river bank, but it can be imagined that in a few months, the wasteland that was being reclaimed would turn into thousands of acres of farmland.

"What a pity, I can't buy it..." Zhang Ning was a little confused. Although there were a lot of wasteland on the south bank of Santai River, it was not much divided. Thousands of households and the number of soldiers was a cent left. Zhang Ning had thought about buying it, but the government was not allowed to sell it.

But it doesn’t matter. The government has issued an announcement that the river embankment on the north bank has been repaired. The larger wasteland on the north bank is welcome to buy. Although rent and adjustment are required, no one will think that there is too much land.

So Zhang Ning decided to open a few more quarries, and after making enough money, you can buy land in a few months. Even wasteland doesn’t matter, because the supporting canal irrigation facilities are also being dug, which can drain water and irrigate the fields.

The fleet quickly landed. Because the unloading site had arrived, the embankment on the north bank of Santai River was progressing rapidly, and it was all the way from northwest to south, and several sections of the river were constructed at the same time.

Now the upstream river embankment has been connected, not far from the mouth of the Santai River entering Ba.

The cargo ship was docked by the simple pier. Zhang Ning saw more than ten empty ships sailing upstream. It was another fleet of quarries. It seemed that he had unloaded the goods and returned home.

The colleagues are enemies, but everyone has money to make money in the face of strong demand for stones. No matter how big or small the quarry is, as long as it is transported to the construction site, the premise is that it is 'real'.

The wooden boat was obviously floating, and the stones in the cabin were carried onto the pier by the coolies, and then placed on the basket at the left end of a scale. After the accumulated number reached a certain number, the scale was balanced. The four coolies used two wooden sticks as thick as bowls to lift the basket and left.

"One basket!" the official guarding one side shouted, and the other person recorded the numbers in the account. As the boss of the ship who came ashore received an iron tag from the official, several large scales were heavy. As baskets of stones were picked up, Zhang Ning's subordinates obtained more and more iron tags.

The iron tag is specially made, with some twisted symbols on it, which basically no one can understand, but you can exchange money with the iron tag in the state yamen, so the more iron tags, the more money you can get.

Yuwen envoy is an official who knows how to understand the businessman. Even if these iron signs are taken to the state government on the same day, they can immediately exchange for the jingling copper coins. They are not as unscrupulous as those who are officials elsewhere. The debts owed in spring will be paid back in autumn, so more and more people are planning to open mountains and quarry.

There is no need to worry about the fact that there are too many monks and too little porridge. Although the river embankment will be completed soon, a series of water conservancy facilities on the north bank are still under construction and there is a huge demand for stones, but this is still a drop in the bucket and the big head is still behind.

Zhang Ning learned a basically confirmed news from multiple channels that after the state government has finished the year, construction of the river embankment will be started next year.

After he confirmed that the news was basically credible, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night. The amount of stone needed to build the river embankment was not comparable to that of the Santai River embankment. I think Yuwen Jun wanted to build a river embankment full of materials. He could not imagine how much stone the river embankment would take for dozens or hundreds of miles.

These are all money. Although I don’t know where the state yamen will raise so much money, Zhang Ning has confidence in Yuwen Envoy. His old acquaintance, Li Fang, followed this person to do business, and the money he earned in a year was more than five years ago, so his chance to get rich came.

But the problem also follows.

Zhang Ning was so excited that he looked at the busy scene on the construction site not far away. He was busy with countless young and strong people on the river bank built. Some were picking up soil, some were ramming the earth, and some were building stones, which seemed to be the legendary "cement".

He didn't care about cement, but was just envious of these young and strong laborers who didn't have wages. His quarry hired a lot of labor. Because it was hired, he had to pay the wages, so he had to deduct a part of the money he got.

Not only that, he also has to include food and accommodation. Quarrying is a laborious job. If the food is too much deducted, it is himself who is unlucky, so Zhang Ning was wondering how to get some free labor.

Yuwen, the governor of Bazhou, used troops to Chen State and captured many prisoners. He once spoke through Zhang Ning's old acquaintance, Li Fang, that if you lack people, you can "rental" some prisoners from the state jail for a low price.

But he didn't dare to use it. After all, these Chen army prisoners were soldiers who had killed people. The guards in the quarry could not hold back. However, when he saw so many young and strong laborers who didn't need wages and even ate worse than dogs, Zhang Ning felt as if he was irritated.

The problem he faces is how to reduce costs. He has to pay even less wages. This is to pay out money from his wallet. The state government has built a large-scale construction for at least several years. Thinking about paying out wages in recent years, Zhang Ning's heart is bleeding.

So he was somewhat looking forward to the war again. When a new group of prisoners were captured, the old prisoners who were trained to obey would have to be "handled at a low price". Then it would be much more cost-effective to get it into the quarry than hiring workers.

While he was distracted, twenty cargo ships had been cleared. Zhang Ning looked at the heavy box of iron signs and showed joy. As if it was too early today, he could only get to cash in before the state yamen closed.

There was a shout behind him. Zhang Ning turned around and saw a fleet of more than 30 ships approaching. He looked at the flags on the leading ship. He recognized it as the charcoal transport ship of Yiyang County Charcoal Kiln.

Linshan, Yiyang County, not only has many stones and trees, Zhang Ning's quarry business is booming, and the charcoal kiln business is not inferior. After going upstream for about a few miles, he is the big customer of charcoal - Bazhou Military Arts Supervision Iron Smelting Floor.

Looking at the faint black smoke upstream to the west, Zhang Ning knew that it was the iron smelting workshop that did not stop fire day and night. As long as the two iron smelting furnaces were burning, they had to burn charcoal, so the charcoal sellers were busy every day.

A charcoal transport ship passed by the river. A middle-aged man on the leading ship immediately bowed when he saw Zhang Ning and said with a smile: "It turns out to be Brother Zhang. Are you also taking the ship personally today?"

"Brother Wang, it's better to meet by chance than to meet by chance. Today is better to have a drink in the city. I'm here at Wuweizhai!" Zhang Ning also smiled and bowed. The brother Wang across from him waved his hand and said that he would enter the city after handing over the goods, but he had an appointment and could only get together next time.

They are all from Yiyang County, and they usually look down but never look up. The brother Wang's clan is the governor of Yiyang County, so they have close contacts on weekdays. Not only that, they are basically familiar with those in Yiyang County. Although they have many colleagues, they cannot fight because the demand here in Xiyang County is too great.

Charcoal is not only needed by military weapons, but also by many demands in the city. Now it is still cold in spring, and wealthy families are required to burn charcoal to keep warm. The same is true in the military camp. Whether it is the state soldiers or the Hulin Army of Yuwen envoy, the demand for burning charcoal to keep warm is high.

Businesses in Yiyang County are getting more and more prosperous, but the problems faced by each company are the same as Zhang Ning: how to reduce costs. You have to pay wages when you hire someone, and you have to pay no matter how much. But even if you pay the wages, you begin to feel that there is not enough people.

Yiyang County still has insufficient staff. If you go to other prefectures and counties to hire people, you will spend a lot of money. Although no one can hire many people in other states, it is urgent to solve this problem.

No one would think that the more money is, the lower the cost, the more you earn. In addition to the general cost, there is also a risk of quarrying or logging in mountains: mountain barbarians are plaguing. Although the government and mountain barbarians in Yiyang County were in peace before, as the quarry and logging farms expanded, the conflicts have increased significantly.

In order to protect the safety of the quarry and logging farm, you have to hire more guards to the town, and you have to spend money on this. Zhang Ning felt a headache when he thought of this. He had a good relationship with the county magistrate, but he could not let the county soldiers guard help guard the house in the quarry.

Besides, when inviting county soldiers, you have to spend money, rice and meat to serve them, and you have to owe the county magistrate a favor. Zhang Ning and others also tried to contact the village leaders in the mountains. After all, everyone was not good at fighting and killing, so it would be better to make a fortune together.

Some village leaders were easy to talk about, but some were completely unreasonable. After feeding this family, the other family took advantage of the excuse to find trouble and asked for a higher price. As a result, the original one quit seeing this, and also yelled that the mountains left by their ancestors could not be allowed to log and quarrel at will.

"The mountains left by our ancestors!" Zhang Ning was so angry when he thought of this, "Is there a land deed? Did you plant the forest? Did the stones be buried by your ancestors!"

"What are you calling yourself a king? I'm gonna invite the official army sooner or later and capture you all to be a coolie!"
Chapter completed!