The weak scholar in the end of ancient times

Chapter 65: Adding More People

Because there were many things to discuss, Wen Gu stayed at Zhao's house for one night.

Sugar and soap were the things my aunt valued most at the moment. The salt that Wen Gu had brought along was the icing on the cake.

The fine salt used by the Zhao family is not bad nowadays.

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

After trying it, my aunt, Mrs. Shen, included salt in another plan.

Although he didn't tell Wen Gu explicitly, he had already realized that the Zhao family seemed to have grasped a source of salt.

There may be a shortage now, but it will soon be plentiful.

It's a good thing to have enough salt.

The Taoist priest was also credited with the improved recipe for purifying and removing impurities from crude salt. With these achievements, as long as Taoist Qingyi doesn't do anything stupid, there will be no problem in building a Taoist temple.

Of course, this only allows construction and is more tolerant, rather than helping to build.

The Taoist priest would have to continue to save up the money for the construction materials. The credit earned from this effort would not be enough to build a Taoist temple.

However, Wen Gu believes that with such a big pie in front of him, the Taoist priest will definitely fully demonstrate his dazzling talents.

As long as Wen Gu gives a little inspiration on how to use sugar, these wealthy families will be able to come up with new ideas on their own.

At the moment, compared with salt and sugar, Wen Gu values soap more.

When winter is over, soap will be consumed, so you should stock up now.

Although the list given to my aunt included various scented soaps and medicated soaps, Wen Gu strongly recommended sulfur soap.

"The exorcism effect will be very good!" Wen Gu said.

To see whether the medicine is effective or not, my aunt will ask a doctor to confirm its properties and effects before deciding whether to start the baby's pregnancy.

Wen Gu also asked for a batch of coal, which is now also called stone coal.

People of some status disliked using coal because of its strong smell. Apart from its use in iron smelting, coal was used by ordinary families for heating or cooking. As for the lower-class people outside, they might not even be able to afford coal.

When Wen Gu mentioned coal, Mrs. Shen didn't care. She just thought that Wen Gu, the head of the neighborhood, was going back to keep the people in the neighborhood warm.

Firewood is hard to come by these days. Ordinary people cannot get firewood near Xinzhou City and have to endure the cold, so some people in the city do work in exchange for coal.

It was just a little bit of coal, so Mrs. Shen agreed without hesitation, and also reminded: "Be careful of the carbon toxicity of coal!"

After saying this, he was still a little worried. After Wen Gu left, he sent over another batch of high-quality smokeless charcoal. He also picked out an exquisite and elegant copper hand warmer to send along.

As soon as Wen Gu returned to Jingxingfang, a large number of goods were delivered to him, some from Mrs. Shen and some from his cousin's wife.

These are all counted and stored. If you don’t need them yourself during review, you can use them as rewards to boost morale.

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

After my aunt's workshop starts operations, finer salt and sugar will be delivered.

Things like salt, sugar, and medicated soap will never be lacking when you review them later.

Sitting in the study, I review simple calculations on paper.

He had discussed it with his aunt and had a general understanding of the upper-level transactions.

Around winter, trade is frequent and the threat of evil spirits is reduced. There is a great demand for various social interactions between nobles from the north and south, and between wealthy families in the north.

This kind of exquisite items are very suitable for gift giving, as wealthy people always pay attention to quality and taste.

So, the wait won’t be long.

The next day, another batch of building materials and food arrived. It was from my uncle. Perhaps he had heard about the salt, sugar, and soap from my aunt, and had sent another batch of supplies.

These were not given to the people in the fang, but to Wen Gu himself, and were his own property.

In the winter in the north, the first snow has stopped long ago, but the temperature has not risen. When you stand outside and breathe, you can see obvious white mist.

Even if the river hasn't dried up, it will soon freeze over.

Listening to the news from He Da about the developments in the inner and outer cities of Xinzhou, Wen Gu pondered over it.

The military quarters in the outer city area are still relatively empty, and most of the hunting troops are still outside.

In the autumn and winter seasons, there are only two water transportation routes in the entire north for fleets heading north from the south. While the hunting army is clearing out threats, they will also go to meet those fleets.

So far, few have returned, which may not necessarily be because they have encountered trouble, but may also be because many teams have not yet reached the north.

"This winter, there are many more large households migrating north than last winter."

Good thing!

Wen Gu likes those wealthy families with great wealth!

Thinking about the things to do, Wen Gu put on his cloak, held the copper hand warmer, and strolled to Qingyunfang across the street.

Taoist Qingyi finally couldn't relax anymore. He personally cleaned and classified the batch of alchemy room equipment that was delivered, and then wrote and drew on the task list given by Wen Gu.

Now I’m full of energy!

On the day he moved to Qingyunfang, he had already taken a look at the feng shui of the Taoist temple's location.

Where to build, what direction to face, how many houses to build initially, how to expand later, how glorious will it be in the future...

And so on, all of that went through my mind again.

Now, the land has been finalized and the relationships with higher-ups have been arranged through Gou Shusheng.

Just waiting to make money to build a Taoist temple!
Being in a good mood, Taoist Qingyi smiled even more when he saw Wen Gu.

Hey, although this damn scholar... is really a rip-off sometimes, but when he says he will get something, he really gets it!

He also knew that this dog scholar had a routine, but! It didn't matter where he did things. At least here he could get what he wanted.

Taoist Qingyi comforted himself and adjusted his mentality.

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

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

"The first few questions have been solved, but the rest will take time." Taoist Qingyi said, pointing to the list given by Wen Gu.

There are many small questions under each major category above.

Now let’s solve them one by one.

Wen Gu glanced at the things on the list that had already been completed and had an idea in mind.

He didn't intend to influence the Taoist priest's mentality here. Before leaving, he encouraged him: "Work hard and put your excellent thinking skills into the alchemy furnace. The size of the Taoist temple depends on how well you refine these things!"

After saying this, without waiting for the Taoist priest to send people away, Wen Gu hurried out and went to Yu the blacksmith to check on the progress of his work.

He also assigned some tasks to Yu the blacksmith and others, but it is unknown how they were completed.

While checking around in various places, inside Jingxingfang.

It's time to eat again.

In the newly built canteen, there was a long queue in front of the big pot, and residents came one by one with food coupons and bowls to get porridge.

A villager from Shiqiao Village exchanged a food coupon for a large spoonful of porridge, and then carried the bowl back to the shack where he was currently staying.

There are already about ten people from the same village here.

They huddled together, slurping their porridge while discussing when to go to the village to pick someone up.

Over the past few days, they knew that Director Wen was a man with a strong background and a down-to-earth person. He would be fed if he worked, and they would live in peace and would not be forced to go out and fight.

"The buildings at the escort agency are being built so quickly, changing every day. Their escorts will be able to move in soon! They're big and spacious, with kangs!" someone envied. "I wanted to be an escort, too, but I wasn't chosen."

In their eyes, the simple houses of the escort agency were already luxurious.

"I have a large family with a lot of labor, and I want to bring them over as soon as possible so we can save money and build a house together! Xinzhou City is much better than our village!"

"There are only me and my two younger siblings in my family, so we can't afford to build a house. But I heard that after the dormitory is completed, they will also build a large courtyard for rent. We will rent one then."

"I'm the only one in my family. Yesterday I went to ask that young man surnamed He about it. The dormitory built by the neighborhood chief is for laborers to live in, but you have to choose. If you are selected, you will get food and accommodation!"

After they inquired, the He family's younger brother said that there was still work to do and it might be tiring, but food and accommodation were provided!

They also saw that the building materials piled up in the open space in the neighborhood all belonged to their neighborhood chief, who said that after completing the dormitory over there, he would also build a big house.

"Besides our Jingxingfang, I heard that the Qingyunfang across the street is also going to build several large houses!"

“How many people can this accommodate?”

they marveled.

"When I went to get porridge today, I heard someone say that those who come first get to eat. If you come a day earlier, you get to eat a day more than others!"

When others heard this, they thought it made a lot of sense!

The more I think about it, the more restless I become. Every day I delay will be a loss!

But how do they get back?

There are fewer evil creatures outside now, but people still need to be on guard. Some of the wandering survivors are very cruel and even eat people!

"We have a lot of people, let's find some fellow countrymen to go back with us..."

"But if we leave for one day, we'll miss one day's work and one day's food coupons. Do we really need to all go back?"

The others immediately fell silent.

I can't bear to give up this, and I can't bear to give up that.

Just at this moment, Lin Biaotou came over.

"If you want to go back to the village to pick someone up, our escort agency can take them there."

For this order, they did not ask for much compensation from the employer. They did not care about the few food coupons saved by the villagers. What Biaotou Lin cared more about was the reward he could get for bringing people over!
There are nearly a hundred people in Shiqiao Village alone, plus other villages around it. They can get a lot of things in exchange for one trip!

Building a house is expensive, and with the recent addition of a dozen new hires, the pressure to support the family is increasing. This trip will help me recover some of the losses.

In addition, he also wanted to let other people in Xinzhou know the name of their Huwei Escort Agency!
Lin Biaotou's heart was filled with emotion.

He knew that there were many teams coming and going recently, so this was a good opportunity to show up!
After reaching an agreement with the villagers, Lin Biaotou went to find Wen Gu.

Although there are no restrictions on coming in and out here, it is still better to inform the head of the neighborhood about such a big commotion.

When Wen Gu learned about this, he immediately put down the work at hand, returned to the Liangfang office, took out paper and pen, wrote a certificate, and stamped it solemnly.

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

"Having this certificate will save you some trouble."

Lin Biaotou took the paper and was moved.

Their Wen Fangchang is such a good man! He is so thoughtful!

After expressing his gratitude, Lin Biaotou took the certificate back, gathered his men and horses, and prepared supplies.

"Raise the flag!"

The new dart flag is no longer a rough printed picture, but a picture embroidered stitch by stitch!

The north wind blew, the flags fluttered, and the tiger heads on them looked majestic.

(End of this chapter)