Chapter 54: Chapter 53 Building a House, Making a Living Chapter 54: Chapter 53 Building a House, Making a Living “Master, are you planning to build new houses for everyone?”
In the study, Old Li’s eyes bulged as he looked at the planning map drawn by Yang Zhenshan.
“Exactly, a complete rebuild!”
Yang Zhenshan casually nodded his head, then turned to Yang Chengche and others, saying, “Build by units of small flags, tell your subordinates, the first to finish will be rewarded with three dou of food per household, the second will receive two dou, and the third one dou. The last one will be penalized one month’s food allowance!”
Competition fosters motivation, and rewards lead to greater enthusiasm.
Taking advantage of this house-building opportunity, it was perfect to boost everyone’s enthusiasm, to prevent these people from being lifeless all the time.
“As for you, the first place will be rewarded with three taels of silver, the second with two taels, and the third with one tael. And the very last one…”
Yang Zhenshan turned to Yang Chengche, Yang Chengxu and others with a grin, “The very last will do my laundry for a month!”
Before Yang Chengche and the others could react, Young Minghao behind them cried out in excitement.
“That’s great, that’s great, doing laundry for a month, hahaha~~”
Yang Minghao had no position here, nor was he a soldier at Linguan Castle. He was Yang Zhenshan’s son, responsible for taking care of Yang Zhenshan.
All the daily washing and cleaning chores were done by Yang Minghao for Yang Zhenshan.
Now hearing that someone would be doing Yang Zhenshan’s laundry for a month, he naturally cheered.
“Bring it on, who’s afraid? The first place is surely mine!”
“It’s too early to talk now, let’s just wait and see.”
“Hmph, it’s definitely going to be you guys who’ll end up washing clothes!”
“Let me tell you, my dad’s socks really stink! Hahaha~~”
A group of young men rolled up their sleeves, ready to get to work.
Yang Zhenshan glared at Yang Minghao; this kid actually said my socks stink, let’s see how I sort him out later.
“Old Li, go and select ten women who can cook. During the construction period, the government will provide all the meals,” Yang Zhenshan ordered.
A little grain was no concern to Yang Zhenshan.
But for those military households, it mattered a great deal, they had very little grain to begin with and could hardly afford to eat their fill on a regular basis.
Building houses required great effort, and you can’t do that on an empty stomach, so Yang Zhenshan decided to provide uniform meals to everyone in the garrison.
Moreover, centralizing meal preparation made it easier for him to incorporate Spiritual Spring Water.
The refugees’ health was poor, and Yang Zhenshan wanted to take the opportunity to enhance their constitution to prevent illness.
Once the houses were built and the soldiers began training, Yang Zhenshan would no longer provide Spiritual Spring Water to everyone, just to the training soldiers.
“Do we have enough food?” Old Li was somewhat worried.
At this moment, he thought that the Hundred Households Master Yang was a bit unreliable, showing no concern for economizing, building houses was one thing, but also providing meals for everyone.
“Don’t worry, the food issue will be taken care of,” Yang Zhenshan said.
Not to mention the ten carts of food he brought, even if there was not enough, he could ask Zhou Lan for more.
Zhou Lan had promised him she would provide sufficient food.
And so, under Yang Zhenshan’s mobilization, the once subdued Linguan Castle came to life.
Hearing that Yang Zhenshan was going to build them new houses, everyone grew fonder of Yang Zhenshan.
Furthermore, learning that meals would be provided by the government during the construction, each of them became greatly excited.
For these refugees, nothing was more important than filling their bellies.
Finally, upon hearing about the reward and punishment system, their eagerness increased manifold.
Yang Chengze, Yang Chengche, and the others just had to give a shout, and everyone in the garrison got moving, with men and women, young and old, all pitching in.
Even children of seven or eight years old ran out to move stones and dig earth.
At first, Yang Zhenshan was a bit worried, fearing these people might resist authority and create chaos, but after observing for a day, he found that the group was really compliant.
“Perhaps it was because they needed Linguan Castle as a place to settle down, or perhaps it was Yang Zhenshan’s decision that gave them new hope.
In any case, they were all very enthusiastic about their work, and Yang Chengche and the others were also very responsible.
Soon, one house after another sprang up from the ground.
Meanwhile, Yang Zhenshan focused his energy elsewhere.
It is said that one should rely on local resources for a living.
Linguan Castle is nestled among the Qianchong Mountains, surrounded by low hills, and there is also an unnamed small river flowing below, blessed with both mountain and water.
However, in reality, there are scarcely any tall trees on the hills around Linguan Castle, mostly shrubs and weeds, and the small river below lacks fish and shrimp to catch.
The land is barren, with no other natural resources to exploit, which sums up the current situation of Linguan Castle.
To change the situation of Linguan Castle, one cannot limit their vision to within the garrison itself.
After several days of consideration, Yang Zhenshan took Yang Minghao back to Chongshan Pass City.
When it comes to who is most numerous within the city, it’s definitely the soldiers.
Not to mention the soldiers from the Five Camps, the military households in the surrounding garrison towns also come to the city when they need to buy things.
Although military households are poor, they do have some money.
And what Yang Zhenshan intended to do was to earn their money.
It’s not that Yang Zhenshan didn’t want to do more upscale business, but he currently neither dared nor could afford to engage in such trade.
For instance, industries like salt, iron, medicinal herbs, and fur were beyond what Yang Zhenshan could meddle with.
The waters of the city were too deep, and he didn’t even have the qualification to fish in murky waters, let alone stir up trouble.
Therefore, Yang Zhenshan set his sights on those businesses that had low profit margins but did not attract much attention.
He wasn’t doing this for himself; he wanted to find a source of income for the military households within Linguan Castle, so that they didn’t have to solely rely on that barren land.
The two of them walked down the street and arrived at the entrance of a shop named Bai Fu Grain Store.
Inside the shop was a shopkeeper in his forties and three helpers in their twenties.
“What can I do for you two guests?”
Seeing Yang Zhenshan and Yang Minghao enter, a helper immediately came forward to serve them.
“We’re not here to buy things; I’m here to see Manager Lu!” Yang Zhenshan said.
The helper sized up Yang Zhenshan and asked, “May I know the name of the esteemed sir, and what business do you have with our shopkeeper?”
“Yang Zhenshan from Anning County, I am acquainted with Mr. Lu!” Yang Zhenshan replied.
This grain store belonged to the Lu family.
Previously, when parting ways with Song An, Song An told him that if he needed help with anything, he could seek out Manager Lu at Bai Fu Grain Store.
Manager Lu behind the counter, upon hearing Yang Zhenshan’s words, quickly came out to greet them.
“So, it’s Master Yang, my apologies for not recognizing you sooner!”
After a bit of courteous exchange, Manager Lu invited Yang Zhenshan into the back parlor.
“I have a favor to ask of Manager Lu, I wonder if you know any shopkeepers of fabric stores or embroidery workshops,” Yang Zhenshan got straight to the point.
Manager Lu thought for a moment and said, “I do know some shopkeepers of fabric stores, but they are all small fabric stores!”
Having operated the grain store in the city for over ten years, he naturally knew some shopkeepers.
However, he wasn’t sure if these small fabric stores would meet Yang Zhenshan’s requirements.
“There’s no need for a large fabric store; a small one actually suits my purposes better!” Yang Zhenshan smiled.
“The Luo Family Fabric Store across the street is acquainted with me, why don’t we go have a look!” Manager Lu said, pointing to a shop diagonally opposite.
Yang Zhenshan looked over and indeed saw a shop with a signboard that read ‘Luo Family Fabric Store.’
It seemed similar to Mr. Liang’s Liang Family Fabric Store, what a pity that Mr. Liang was in Ning County, otherwise, he could have completely sought out Mr. Liang for this business deal.
Afterward, the two made their way to the Luo Family Fabric Store.”