Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 111 will be taken down as well.

The discovery of two excellent coal mines within Daming Prefecture is certainly a good thing.

The general smiled. Their previous Salt and Iron Commissioner had been dismissed by the court because most of the weapons he forged were brittle and unusable.

The newly appointed Salt and Iron Commissioner not only had to hand over the annual amount of weapons allocated by the imperial court, but also had to make up for previous debts, causing the entire Salt and Iron Bureau to suffer greatly.

If there were a way to make the molten iron even better, it would truly save the Salt and Iron Bureau.

but……

The general looked at Xie Yuyan with some reluctance: "Is the coal mine in the north of the city also yours?" The imperial court won't give much money when it takes away the land, and the two pieces of land together will probably not be a small amount.

Xie Yuyan smiled slightly. It was true before, but yesterday it had already been bought by Xie Chongjun at a high price.

“Regardless of whose it is,” Xie Yuyan said, “I think they will prioritize the greater good and hand over the mine to the imperial court.”

“Madam Xie is truly admirable,” the general said, looking at Ding Peng. “Let’s go check on the ironware and coal first.” If it’s true, they will take over these two coal mines.

“General,” Xie Yuyan reminded Ding Peng, “the mine over there should be excavated soon.”

There's this one too.

Ding Peng was so engrossed in watching the spectacle that he almost forgot he was also part of it.

“Since it involves ironware, this case should be jointly supervised by our Salt and Iron Bureau.”

The military officer beside him nodded in agreement: "Then let's have the mine surrounded, and we'll go down to investigate with the county officials in a bit."

The Salt and Iron Bureau does manage iron mines and has many skilled craftsmen who know how to survey mineral deposits. Whether someone deliberately framed Madam Xie can be found out with a simple investigation.

Beside the blast furnace, two blacksmiths were busy at work. They hadn't expected that such good ironware would be forged in the temporary iron smelting workshop set up in Sanhe Village.

Upon seeing Ding Peng and the others, the blacksmith immediately stepped forward with a broad smile.

“Coke is a good thing,” the blacksmith said. “The coal mines from which this coke is made are even rarer.”

If the previous method were used to smelt iron, this effort would only yield half of the iron, and the resulting iron blocks would be far inferior to what he already possessed.

The blacksmith looked at Xie Yuyan: "A few days ago, Madam Xie had coal brought from the north city and smelted a batch of coke. It was indeed of excellent quality."

Upon seeing the dark, charred coal, the general immediately decided, "I will lead a troop of soldiers to the north city and seize the coal mine there."

No sooner had he finished speaking than news came from the other side of the mine: "The tunnel is through."

The mine pit that Xie Chongjun had been looking forward to day and night was finally dug.

The time is just right.

……

Master Xu, Master Zhao, and Master Zheng rode away from Daming Prefecture.

Three men from Sanhe Village also left with them; they were going to check out the coal mine and help the three men make briquettes.

The conclusion reached yesterday is that, regardless of whether it's New Year's Day or not, the most important thing is to make the lotus root charcoal and hopefully open the water shop in the next few days.

When it's cold, lotus root charcoal sells very well, so they're not willing to waste any time.

However, Zhao Sanye still has one question: if the coal mines in Beicheng and Sanhe Village are no longer usable, where will Madam Xie get coal scraps from?

Third Master Zheng noticed his second brother's confusion: "I don't know either, Madam Xie must have made some arrangements."

Since Madam Xie is going to do the lotus root charcoal business, she won't leave herself without any broken coal ore.

After saying this, the group pulled on the reins and continued on their way.

Not far behind them, Wang Zheng watched as the group disappeared down the official road.

"You're not even taking a carriage anymore, are you in such a hurry to get back?"

Wang Zheng sighed. It seemed he didn't need to send a letter to the Li family to inquire about the group. If he insisted on stopping them and his sister-in-law found out, she would inevitably be unhappy.

He couldn't upset his brother, and he certainly couldn't displease his sister-in-law; all he could do was let things take their course.

Before his brother returned, he temporarily forgot about the matter, and spent his time composing poems with Tong Zixu and the others, sipping tea in front of the clay stove... enjoying as many happy days as he could.

He has never tried roasting persimmons on a clay oven.

Thinking of this, Wang Zheng became even more impatient and was about to order the servant to drive the carriage back. But the servant was looking in the direction of the official road.

“Hey,” the servant said, “Young master, come out and take a look. That man is a very good rider, and his horse runs very fast.”

Wang Zheng liked literature, but he envied those who were good at riding, such as his elder brother He and his younger brother...

Lifting the curtain, Wang Zheng looked out and a figure gradually came into view.

Then the expressions of the master and servant froze on their faces until the man and his horse arrived in front of them.

As more and more people came and went on the official road, Wang Yan reined in his chestnut horse just before entering the city. At that moment, his eyes swept across the road and he saw a familiar figure.

That was a servant of the Wang family.

Behind the servant... a head suddenly darted back into the carriage.

Without even thinking, he knew who it was.

Wang Yan pulled on the reins and approached the carriage. He didn't speak first, but simply sat upright on the horse's back.

In the blink of an eye, the person in the carriage hurriedly got off and bowed respectfully.

"Younger brother greets elder brother."

The servant hurriedly bowed, never expecting that the spectacle would turn to his own young master. He had no idea when his young master's riding skills had become so excellent.

Wang Yan said in a deep voice, "What are you doing here?"

Wang Zheng already had something to hide, and when he suddenly saw Wang Yan, he could hardly hide his panic: "No... nothing... I just came out to take a look."

Wang Yan pointed to the official road: "To see the snow?"

Wang Zheng stammered, "No, no." His eyes were red, and he could barely breathe.

"Yes……"

Wang Yan fell silent, and Wang Zheng knew he couldn't fool her anymore: "It was my sister-in-law... I..."

Wang Yan frowned: "Who?"

Although there were many members of the Wang family, Wang Zheng only addressed him as elder brother or eldest brother, and He Tan as elder brother. When he suddenly heard him say "sister-in-law," Wang Yan couldn't help but think of himself.

Could it be that he didn't explain things clearly enough at home, and his elders arranged some kind of marriage for him without his consent?
“Which one…” Wang Yan sneered, “Speak properly.”

She sensed that her brother's gaze had become even colder.

Wang Zheng lowered his head even further: "Brother is talking about Madam Xie. Brother... accidentally helped Madam Xie close three deals. Those merchants just left Daming Prefecture. If elder brother doesn't agree, it's not too late to chase after them now."

After speaking, Wang Zheng held his breath and quietly counted his heartbeats.

It seemed... that piercing gaze had softened considerably.

He was right after all; Madam Xie was his sister-in-law. Otherwise, why would his elder brother have suddenly calmed down?

"What kind of business did you do?" Wang Yan asked.

Wang Zheng raised his head, looked at his elder brother's calm face, and tentatively said, "It's lotus root charcoal."

"And... water shops, I heard they're going to try opening a market there."

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Wang Zheng thought he saw a fleeting smile on his older brother's face, though the smile seemed rather forced.

Wang Yan asked, "How was the deal made?"

Wang Zheng dared not hide the truth: "Actually... Sister-in-law... Madam Xie only asked me to find three people to help her perform a play, but for some reason, those three people changed their minds and insisted on doing business with Madam Xie."

Wang Yan's gaze was deep and unfathomable. He had just left when she and her brother made such a large deal.

That little swindler from back then hasn't changed a bit.

It wasn't enough that they deceived him; they also deceived others.

"Moreover," Wang Zheng said in a low voice, "Madam Xie also knows that our family is in Taiyuan."

He dared not tell his elder brother, but puffed out his chest and told Madam Xie that they were members of the Wang family of Taiyuan.

(End of this chapter)