Chapter 413 - Making Money
Chapter 413 of "After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times" starts here: Because of the new goods arriving, the area in front of the simple Treasure Pavilion... Discover what happens next!
Because of the new goods arriving, the area in front of the simple Treasure Pavilion was bustling as workers who heard the news rushed over with money.Now they werenât short on food anymore. Working here, they had food every day, and the wages they earned could also buy food.
So everyone had a certain amount of grain stored.
However, they were very short on cloth and finished clothes, shoes, socks, etc., especially since itâs winter; everyoneâs clothes let in the wind, and the shoes were still straw sandals, not to mention socks and other items.
With money, they wanted to buy some things for themselves, at least something warm, to make life a bit easier.
Zhao Hanzhang had anticipated this. Since the end of the war, she had ordered Ru Nan County in Anding to start producing various supplies in large quantities.
In Zhang Family Village, Shangcai County, Ru Nan County, Zhang Dayan and Bao Sanzhu pushed a handcart into the village, immediately catching the sharp eyes of the villagers who quickly ran out to ask, "Dayan, did you bring our money back?"
"Yes, yes, come to my house later to get the money."
"No hurry, no hurry," the person said they werenât in a rush while grinning widely and keeping their eyes on the cart, "Dayan, is this fabric? Is there more work? You must save a few more pieces of cloth for us; my wifeâs skills are good..."
Zhang Dayan replied: "Thatâs not possible. The county governmentâs manager didnât choose your wifeâs clothes because the stitches werenât fine enough. However, the shoes were decent. I have a quota for two hundred pairs of shoes this time and will give your wife twenty pairs."
"Twenty pairs? How long would that take her? How about fifty pairs? She can do it quickly with my daughterâs help."
"Thatâs not possible," Zhang Dayan said, continuing to push the cart home, "Everyone has a fixed quota, and the managerâs requirements are very strict. Dahuaâs shoe-making skills are not as good as your wifeâs. If she makes shoes and the manager doesnât accept them, youâll have to cover the material costs."
The person immediately fell silent.
Zhang Dayan continued: "Making shoes is not as profitable as making clothes. I heard from the county government manager that skilled tailors and embroiderers could enter the embroidery workshop. The clothes made there are of silk. Each set can earn at least fifty cents."
Zhang Cong was amazed, "Earn that much?"
"Indeed," Zhang Dayan said: "So Brother Cong, donât hold Dahua back. Iâve seen it; among all the young ladies in our village, only Dahuaâs skills are good enough. Sending her to the embroidery workshop for training might lead to learning something valuable."
"Letting her sew shoe soles at home is a waste. Now, there are so many refugees, and the governor is kind, so he lets us make shoes for relief. But once this wave passes, how many people will buy shoes?" Zhang Dayan said: "But entering the embroidery workshop is different. Not only do you learn tailoring and embroidery, but you also learn spinning and weaving. Learning even one of these skills will be beneficial in the future."
Zhang Cong was still pondering while Zhang Dayan had already pushed the cart into his courtyard.
He didnât need to go out to announce it; children who saw him spread the news around the village that Zhang Dayan and Bao Sanzhu had returned from the county town.
The villagers immediately got busy, rushing to Zhang Dayanâs house to collect their wages.
This was the money for their familyâs work weaving cloth, making clothes, sewing shoe soles, and making socks for the county government.
At first, the county government requested each family report their specialty, whether it was weaving cloth, spinning thread, tailoring, sewing shoe soles, or making socks, and each family had to submit a sample.
They were nervous and proceeded as instructed, afraid of doing poorly, and put in great effort to complete it.
After submitting the items, people from the county government came soon, selecting several households, and let them do what they were skilled at. However, another ten households were not selected due to poor craftsmanship.
To be honest, those ten households were quite proud and happy at the time.
The selected households felt as if they were mourning, timidly taking the materials from the county government and handing in exact replicas after completion, then earning the first wages.
Things suddenly reversed, and the unselected households immediately did not look pleased and came over again, surrounding Zhang Dayan: "Dayan, did you speak to the manager for us?"
"I did," Zhang Dayan untied the rope on the cart, "but the manager didnât agree, saying your skills were too poor."
Their faces turned sour.
Zhang Dayan said: "If you truly want to earn money, it doesnât have to be this way. I heard the manager said the county government needs a batch of wood and bricks transported; they lack manpower. If you really wish to earn money, you can go."
"Where to?"
"To Liang State."
"Where is Liang State?"
Zhang Dayan: "Who knows, somewhere within Yu State. I heard Chen County is in Liang State, and the governor is in Chen County."
"How long does the round trip take?"
"A journey carrying cargo, walking to and fro, takes about ten days," Zhang Dayan said: "Food and drink along the way are supplied; just deliver the goods and return. They say one trip earns 100 cents."
Upon hearing this, the villageâs young and strong men were all tempted, itching to say: "Dayan, why donât you lead us to the county town?"
"Sure, we can leave tomorrow. Come on, make way; let me first distribute the wages to the aunts and sister-in-laws."
The women who had been squeezed to the back immediately pushed forward; these were their wages!
Some young girls also squeezed forward to look; they too had a share in it.
Zhang Dayan divided the wages, then opened a book and marked it with symbols only he could understand, "The old rules stand: those who spin thread will spin thread, those who weave cloth will weave cloth, and those who make clothes will make clothes; no messing around."
He also said: "No one is allowed to transfer work to others after receiving it. Everything delivered to the county town will be checked by the managers; if the work isnât up to scratch, itâs returned directly, and you not only lose the salary but have to compensate for materials."
The women unanimously agreed and happily received the materials before returning home, while the men followed closely behind, driven away by the women, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry home and cook! We need to make the most while the sun is up; itâs impossible to work once it turns dark."
The men being ordered around didnât get angry. They complied immediately and headed to the kitchen to work, calling their sons along, "Hurry, stoke the fire. Havenât you noticed your mother and sisters are busy?"
Meanwhile, at Zhao Manor in Shangcai County, Ru Nan County, it was men who were the busiest.
They pulled bricks from the kiln, placing them aside. Not long after, someone came to inspect, and once they passed inspection, they started watering them.
On the empty ground nearby, a lot of bricks were already stacked. Some pushed carts over, and people immediately began loading bricks onto the carts. After stacking a full cart, they secured it with ropes and pushed it to the side.
Some drove ox carts, mule carts, and donkey carts over, loaded them up, and then stacked them aside, ready to form a caravan the next day and depart.
Hu Zhi rushed over and shouted: "Speed up, speed up; there are many caravans waiting to load behind us. The day is almost over, and if you delay tomorrowâs departure, youâll face the consequences!"
Everyone instinctively accelerated their pace.