Chapter 65: Adding More People

Because there were many matters to discuss, Wen Gu stayed at Zhao Zhai for one night.

Sugar and soap were what his aunt valued most at present. The salt that Wen Gu had brought along incidentally could be considered the icing on the cake.

The fine salt currently used by the Zhao Family was not bad either.

Salt did not count as a formal gift, so Wen Gu did not use a fancy gift box, but only a ceramic jar.

After his aunt, Lady Shen, tried it, she added the salt to another plan.

Although she did not state it clearly to Wen Gu, Wen Gu had already sensed that the Zhao Family seemed to have already grasped a source of salt.

Perhaps it was still somewhat in short supply now, but it would soon become abundant.

Not lacking salt was a good thing.

The improved recipe for refining and removing impurities from coarse salt also credited the Daoist Priest with a merit; with these few contributions, as long as Qingyi Daozhang did not court death, building a large Danguan would be no problem at all.

Of course, this was only permission to build, a more tolerant attitude, rather than helping to build it.

The consumption of building materials and such would still have to be saved up by the Daoist Priest himself. What was exchanged for this merit could not build a large Danguan.

However, Wen Gu believed that with this big pie placed in front of him, the Daoist Priest would certainly fully display his dazzling talent.

As for how to use sugar, Wen Gu only needed to provide a tiny bit of inspiration, and those great clans would play all sorts of tricks with it themselves.

Right now, compared to salt and sugar, what Wen Gu valued more was soap.

Once winter passed, it would be time for soap consumption, so he had to take advantage of the present to hoard more.

Although the list given to his aunt included various scented soaps and medicinal soaps, what Wen Gu strongly recommended was the sulfur soap.

"The effect for exorcism will be very good!" That was what Wen Gu said.

As for whether the effect was good or not, his aunt would ask a physician to confirm the medicinal properties and efficacy before deciding whether to put it into production.

Wen Gu also requested a batch of coal, which some currently also called stone charcoal.

People with some status did not like to use coal because of the strong odor; except for matters related to iron smelting, coal was used by families with average conditions for heating or cooking. As for the common folk at the very bottom outside, they might not even be able to afford coal.

When Wen Gu mentioned coal, Lady Shen did not pay much attention, only assuming that Wen Gu, this Ward Chief, wanted to take it back for the people in the ward to keep warm.

Nowadays, firewood was hard to come by nearby; ordinary people could not cut wood at all near Xinzhou City and had to suffer from the cold, so some people in the city did odd jobs in exchange for coal.

It was just a little coal, so Lady Shen agreed offhandedly and even exhorted: "Do be mindful of the carbon poison from the stone charcoal!"

After saying that, she was still somewhat worried, and after Wen Gu left, she had someone send over a batch of high-quality smokeless charcoal. She also picked out an exquisite and elegant copper hand warmer to send along with it.

Wen Gu had just returned to Jingxing Fang when a large batch of goods was delivered; some were given by Lady Shen, and some were sent by his cousin-in-law.

These were all inventoried and put into storage; Wen Gu could not use them all himself, so he could take them out as rewards to boost morale.

When looking at the cargo list, Wen Gu discovered that Lady Shen had sent another batch of salt and sugar; of course, it was not for him to refine again, but just to supply daily needs.

After the workshop on his aunt's side started operations, more refined salt and sugar would also be sent over.

Salt, sugar, medicinal soap, and those things—Wen Gu would not lack them here in the future.

Sitting in the study, Wen Gu made simple calculations on paper.

He had discussed with his aunt and had a rough understanding of high-level transactions.

Around winter, it was precisely the time when transactions were frequent; the threat of evil objects decreased, and between northern and southern nobles, and among the wealthy households of Beidi, there were various social interactions and exchanges, leading to high demand.

Such refined items were very suitable for gift-giving requirements; those wealthy households were very particular about quality and taste no matter the time.

Therefore, he would not have to wait long.

The next day, another batch of building materials and grain was delivered. It was given by his uncle. Perhaps he had already learned about the salt, sugar, and soap from his aunt and sent an additional batch of supplies.

These were not for the ward, but for Wen Gu himself, belonging to his own property.

In the winter of Beidi, the first snow had long since stopped, but the temperature had not risen; standing outside, one could see obvious white mist when breathing.

Even if the river water had not dried up, it was not far from freezing.

Listening to the movements in and out of Xinzhou City brought by He Da, Wen Gu pondered.

The military workshops in the Outer City District were still relatively empty, and most of the Xianshou Army was still outside.

For the fleets coming north from the south, during the autumn and winter seasons, there were only those two waterways in the entire north that could be traveled; while the Xianshou Army cleared threats, they would also go to meet those fleets.

Up until now, few had returned; it did not necessarily mean they had encountered trouble, as it could also be that many teams had not yet reached the north.

"This winter, compared to the last winter, there are many more wealthy households migrating north."

Good thing!

Wen Gu just loved those wealthy households with deep pockets!

Thinking of the to-do list in his hand, Wen Gu put on his cloak, held the copper hand warmer, and strolled over to the opposite Qingyun Fang.

Qingyi Daozhang was finally unable to be leisurely now; he personally cleaned and categorized the batch of Danfang utensils that had been sent over, and then wrote and drew on the task list that Wen Gu had given him.

He was full of drive now!

On the day he moved to Qingyun Fang, he had already checked the feng shui for the location of the Danguan.

Where to build, what orientation, how many buildings to build at the start, how it could be expanded subsequently, how glorious it would be in the future...

All those things had been gone over in his mind.

Now, the land had been finalized, and the connections above had already been smoothed over through Gou Shusheng.

He was just waiting to make money to build the Danguan!

Being in a good mood, when he saw Wen Gu, there were even two more smiles on Qingyi Daozhang's face.

Sigh, although this Gou Shusheng... was indeed quite treacherous at times, but he said he would get things, and he really did get them!

He also knew this Gou Shusheng had his schemes, but!

Where wasn't one working? At least here he could obtain what he wanted.

Qingyi Daozhang consoled himself and adjusted his mindset.

When I become famous in the future and raise my status...

"How is the progress?" Wen Gu walked over and asked.

"The first few questions have been resolved, but the ones that follow will still take time," Qingyi Daozhang said, pointing to the list Wen Gu had given him.

Under each major category above, there were many smaller questions.

Now, they would be solved one by one.

Wen Gu swept his eyes over the items on the list that had already been completed, and he felt confident.

He did not intend to affect the Daoist Priest's state of mind here, so before leaving, he encouraged him: "Be diligent and strive hard; settle your excellent thinking skills into the alchemy furnace. How large the Danguan can be built depends on the extent to which you refine these things!"

After speaking, without waiting for the Daoist Priest to shoo him away, Wen Gu walked quickly out the door to go see the progress of the work at the blacksmith Yu's place.

He had also given the blacksmith Yu and the others some tasks, and he did not know how well they had been completed.

While Wen Gu was inspecting various places, inside Jingxing Fang.

It was mealtime again.

In the newly built canteen, a long line had formed in front of the large pots, and the residents came over one by one with their Grain Tickets and bowls to get porridge.

A villager from Shiqiao Village exchanged a Grain Ticket for a large ladle of porridge, then carried the bowl back to the shack where they were currently staying.

There were already a dozen or so people from the same village here.

They huddled together, slurping their porridge while discussing when to go back to the Village to pick up their people.

Over these past few days, they had learned that Ward Chief Wen was a man with a background and also a down-to-earth person; if they worked, they were given food, and they lived securely without being forced to go outside to fight and kill.

"The houses at the Escort Agency are being built really fast, changing every day. The escort masters will be able to move in soon! They're big and spacious, and they even have heated brick beds!" someone said enviously. "I wanted to be an escort master too, but I wasn't chosen."

In their eyes, those simple-structured houses of the Escort Agency were already very luxurious.

"My family has many people and many laborers, so I want to bring them over quickly now to save money and build a house together! This Xinzhou City is much better than our Village!"

"There's only me and my two younger siblings left in my family, so we can't afford to build a house, but I've asked around. After that collective dormitory is finished, they're going to build a large courtyard specifically for renting. We'll rent a room and live there then."

"There's only me in my family. I went to ask that young master surnamed He yesterday; the collective dormitory the Ward Chief built is for laborers to live in, but they have to be selected. If you're chosen, you get food and lodging included!"

They had asked clearly, and that little brother of the He family said there would be more work later, which might be quite tiring. But it included food and lodging!

They had also seen the building materials piled up in the open space of the Fang, all belonging to their Ward Chief, who said that after the dormitory over there was finished, they would build big houses.

"Besides our Jingxing Fang, I heard they are going to build several big houses in Qingyun Fang across the way too!"

"How many people can that hold?"

They exclaimed in wonder.

"When I went to get porridge today, I heard someone say that those who arrive first get food; if you come a day early, you get to eat for one more day than others!"

When the others heard this, they felt it made so much sense!

The more they thought about it, the less they could sit still; being a day late was a loss!

However, how were they going to get back?

There were fewer evil creatures outside now, but one still had to guard against people; some wandering survivors were ruthless and even ate people!

"We have many people, let's find more fellow villagers to go back together..."

"But, if we leave for a day, we miss a day of work and lose a day's worth of Grain Tickets. Do we really need to all go back?"

The others immediately fell silent.

They were reluctant to give up this, and reluctant to give up that.

It was at this moment that Head Escort Lin came over.

"If you want to return to the Village to pick up people, our Escort Agency can take the escort mission for a trip."

For this order, the reward they asked from the employers was not high; they didn't care for the few Grain Tickets the villagers had saved. Head Escort Lin valued the rewards they could get for bringing people over even more!

Just Shiqiao Village alone had nearly a hundred people, and adding the other surrounding villages, they could exchange for quite a lot of things by making one trip!

Building houses consumed a lot, and with the Escort Agency having recently taken in a dozen new people, the pressure to support the household had increased. Making this trip could help them recover some resources.

Furthermore, he also wanted others in Xinzhou to know the name of their Huwei Escort Agency!

Head Escort Lin's heart surged with excitement.

He knew that there were many teams coming and going recently, and it was a good opportunity to show their faces!

After reaching an agreement with the villagers, Head Escort Lin went to find Wen Gu.

Although coming and going was not restricted here, it was better to inform the Ward Chief about such a big move.

Upon learning of this, Wen Gu immediately put down the matters at hand, returned to the office for the two Fangs, took out paper and a brush to write a certificate, and formally stamped it.

Handing the paper to Head Escort Lin, Wen Gu's eyes were full of sincerity:

"Having this certificate will save you some trouble."

Head Escort Lin took the paper, feeling moved in his heart.

Their Ward Chief Wen was truly a good person! So thoughtful!

After expressing his thanks, Head Escort Lin took the certificate back, gathered his men and horses, and prepared the supplies.

"Raise the flag!"

The new Escort Flag was no longer a rough picture printed on, but a design embroidered stitch by stitch!

The north wind blew, the flag fluttered, and the tiger head on it looked majestic.

(End of this chapter)