Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 171 The Xishan Workshop on the Verge of Bankruptcy?
Just half a month later, the price of briquettes in the capital city changed drastically.

Yang Tiancheng searched several stalls on Qipan Street but still couldn't find any with goods.

Looking at the bustling crowd, he habitually wore a mask as he searched for coal stalls while his mind began to wander.

Since my father, Yang Jishi, became the vice president of the "Renmin Taiyi Association", he has rarely been home.

From time to time, the doctors in the clinic would be organized to conduct consultations on certain difficult and complicated diseases.

The purpose was to teach newly arrived folk doctors so that they could better accept the theories of "modern medicine".

The "Yang Family Medical Clinic" was then handed over to Yang Tiancheng.

As for Yang Family Clinic, it had long ago displayed the business license issued by Renmin Clinic.

According to the terminology used in medical clinics, this Yang Family Medical Clinic is called a "basic medical clinic," belonging to the "Level 1 Medical Clinic" that provides basic medical care to ordinary people in the city. Above that, there are "Level 2 Medical Clinics" with certain capabilities, and the most advanced is the "Level 3 Medical Clinic."

These three levels of medical clinics were even further divided into "Special Grade, Grade A, Grade B, and Grade C".

Yang Tiancheng didn't quite understand this complex hierarchical system. He even felt that since the Ming Dynasty didn't have that many medical clinics, it seemed completely unnecessary to create so many levels.

However, Yang Tiancheng did not feel that there was anything wrong with it.

On the contrary, he believed from the bottom of his heart that Zhang Tongzhi must have had his reasons for doing what he did.

But the most pressing issue right now is where to buy this "lotus root coal".

Since the advent of briquettes, almost all medical clinics have used this fuel for decocting medicine.

It is much cheaper than charcoal.

Compared to ordinary coal, it burns longer and, in some cases, even produces no smoke.

If you buy a special stove made in Xishan and use it with briquettes, you will achieve twice the result with half the effort.

But why is it that such a good product has become increasingly expensive lately, and even to the point of being unavailable despite its price?

Could there really be a problem with Xishan Workshop?

Yang Tiancheng was puzzled, but he walked straight to a stall.

The coal stall owner was an acquaintance of his, and he often went to Yang's clinic for treatment.

Yang Tiancheng looked around the stall, then lowered his voice and asked the old woman inside.

"Aunt Qi, did you leave me those ten catties of briquettes?"

Upon seeing Yang Tiancheng, Aunt Qi's face immediately lit up with joy, but upon hearing his words, her expression turned somewhat bitter.

She wiped her hands on the apron in front of her before speaking.

"So it's Doctor Yang from Yang Family Clinic. You've finally arrived. If you had come any later, I wouldn't have been able to hold onto these ten pounds of briquettes."

As she spoke, she stealthily pulled out a large bundle of briquettes from under the stall and carefully handed them to Yang Tiancheng.

"Can't be contained?" Yang Tiancheng looked quite surprised. "This lotus root coal is so scarce?"

"Isn't that right~"

Aunt Qi sighed and said.

“These days, it’s not easy for us ordinary folks to buy briquettes outside the city. Each person can only buy about 100 jin at a time, and even then, you can’t buy any if you go too late.”

Since the establishment of the Shanxi workshop, many people have taken up the business of reselling.

These briquettes are of excellent quality; transported from the Xishan workshop to the capital, they only fetch a low price of twenty coins.

Those people with a modicum of sense would push their carts or their own vehicles to the city gates early in the morning to wait for the coal carts to arrive.

You can buy briquettes from the Xishan workshop for twenty coins and resell them in the capital for thirty coins.

The potential profits from this attracted countless people to flock to it.

Earning this money is not an easy task. Ox-carts and horse-drawn carriages are expensive, and human transportation requires a lot of strength.

Most importantly, one needs to find a coal transport team in the suburbs as soon as the city gates open, otherwise the coal may be snapped up by others.

Aunt Qi explained this to Yang Tiancheng.

"The price of briquettes has been rising lately, and ordinary people are reluctant to use them. Everyone is hoarding them and unwilling to sell, saying that they can make money from these briquettes!"

"Money making money?"

Yang Tiancheng could tell something was wrong.

Isn't this just a hoarding tactic?

He couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, do you know why these briquettes are getting more and more expensive? The Xishan workshop has never raised prices, and these briquettes have always been sent to the capital."

"I don't know that."

Aunt Qi looked somewhat worried.

“In the past, the price of briquettes was not high, and my husband and I were able to buy some and sell them in the capital, earning quite a bit of money.”

But now that the price of briquettes is so high, the people waiting to buy them outside the city are like vicious wolves. How can I possibly steal any?

Yang Tiancheng frowned deeply, never expecting things to develop this way.

But then Granny Qi continued, "Doctor Yang, I'm afraid I won't be selling these lotus root briquettes anymore. In the capital, coal from other places has dropped to ten copper coins a pound, so I figure I can still make some profit."

After saying goodbye to Aunt Qi, Yang Tiancheng went around inquiring at the coal stalls, only to discover a very strange problem.

The price of these briquettes has already been driven up to eighty coins per pound.

However, it was nearly impossible to buy more than ten kilograms of briquettes at any of the coal stalls in the capital; almost every stall was out of stock.

According to Yang Tiancheng's understanding, the coal from Xishan was subject to purchase restrictions, just like the coal from Renmin Medical Hall. People could buy it by presenting documents such as household registration certificates or travel permits to prove their identity.

Each person is limited to purchasing 100 jin (50 kg).

Even so, the coal was sold out before it even entered the city.

The price of briquettes is getting higher and higher, but the amount of briquettes available on the market is getting less and less.

The people who once revered briquettes had no choice but to vote with their feet and switch back to using raw coal.

After all, the price of coal has dropped to around ten cents, which is a better deal than before.

At the same time, many people were starting to have doubts.

Zhang Shiyuan's talk was all bark and no bite. Could it be that the Xishan workshop is truly on the verge of collapse?
Along the way, Yang Tiancheng heard a lot of rumors and gossip.

"I heard that the Xishan Coal Mine disturbed the dragon vein of our Great Ming Dynasty?"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"If it weren't for this, how could my Great Ming Dynasty have declined so drastically over the years?"

"Now that young master Zhang is undertaking such a massive construction project, tsk tsk tsk~ the days ahead are going to be tough~"

Yang Tiancheng frowned deeply, looking very uncomfortable, and quickened his pace toward his family's clinic.

He put down the hard-won ten pounds of briquettes, feeling uneasy and unable to sit still.

The Yang family is now bound to Zhang Yunxiu; their fates are intertwined, whether they prosper or suffer.

If something goes wrong with this Xishan workshop...
With this in mind, he set off for Renmin First Medical Center, wanting to find his father, Yang Jishi, and ask him what was going on.

Upon entering the back room of the clinic, he neither found his father nor the formidable Zhang Shiyuan, but instead encountered a Jinyiwei official who was frantically jumping around.

"Damn it~ Damn it~"

Zhang Jianxiu was so anxious he was like a monkey, pacing back and forth in the lobby. The way he scratched his head and cheeks made anyone who didn't know better think he was having a fit.

"Student Yang Tiancheng pays respects to Vice Commissioner Zhang~" Yang Tiancheng bowed respectfully. He often came to the clinic and was naturally familiar with Zhang Jianxiu.

"Are you a son of Yang Jishi?"

Zhang Jianxiu looked up at the other person and said.

"Zhang Shiyuan and your father have been very busy lately. If you want to learn any medical skills, go ask Li Dongbi in the back room."

Yang Tiancheng already knew that Li Shizhen had entered Renmin Medical Hall, and had even gone to see him a few times.

However, he clearly had something more important to do.

Yang Tiancheng cupped his hands and said, "Vice Minister Zhang, there is something I am unsure whether I should say."

Then he told Zhang Jianxiu about everything he had seen and heard on Qipan Street that day.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianxiu finally calmed down. He sat heavily on the armchair, looking somewhat composed, and said helplessly.

"Zhang Shiyuan and I were already aware of this matter."

Yang Tiancheng couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

"Do the two gentlemen have no other solutions?"

"Yes, how could it not exist?"

Zhang Jianxiu, with dark circles under his eyes, looked like he was about to be summoned to Yulou. He sighed heavily and said...

"The sale of briquettes was limited to about 100 jin per household, but even so, some people were still able to gather the people and sell them all, then hoard them and never sell them on the market."

The common people can easily make money by reselling these goods; why bother coming to the capital to sell them?

"What Zhang Qianshi means is..."

Yang Tiancheng was somewhat shocked.

"Is someone deliberately buying up briquettes on a large scale?"

"Humph!"

Zhang Jianxiu sneered.

"Such an obvious thing, anyone can see that these people are harboring evil intentions. They want to hoard coal and drive up the price of briquettes so that they can sell their coal blocks without worry. Then they can sell the briquettes back to them and make a profit from the price difference!"

Zhang Jianxiu didn't quite understand these intricacies, but after listening to Zhang Yunxiu's analysis, he copied it and expressed it according to his own understanding.

Yang Tiancheng still seemed a little confused.

"Why doesn't Zhang, the Assistant Magistrate, ask the Vice Magistrate to raise the prices?"

He gave a brief analysis.

"The students have heard that if Xishan Workshop wants to operate every month, distribute monthly wages to tens of thousands of refugees, and build a number of factories, it will not be possible without an income of seventy or eighty thousand taels of silver."

These people want to hoard goods and speculate, so let them hoard them. The workshops can simply raise prices, and their income will only increase, not decrease.

This is a very simple principle, and Yang Tiancheng doesn't understand why the workshop still insists on the price of twenty coins.

"That's what I said to that brat Zhang Shiyuan too."

Zhang Jianxiu had a strange expression on his face.

"But that kid said I knew nothing about merchants, and told me not to get involved."

He knew that Zhang Yunxiu had plans in mind, but he just didn't want to tell him.

This feeling of being intellectually outmatched made Zhang Jianxiu extremely angry.

They said prices could be raised, but not by too much, as that wouldn't be in line with market principles, and that coal briquettes are all about volume, so they weren't afraid of hoarding; the more they hoarded, the higher the price would rise, and the more drastically it would fall.

Yang Tiancheng frowned. He was well-versed in medical books but didn't know much about these business matters. However, he did have some understanding of running a clinic.

He couldn't help but say it.

"The main problem now is how to solve the problem of water seepage in Xishan."
Based on past experience, if the water seepage problem cannot be solved, the mines that were originally dug in Xishan will be abandoned, and the coal production will become lower and lower.

For the Xishan workshop to operate, it needs monthly revenue. If coal production continues to decline and Magistrate Zhang remains unwilling to raise prices, then…

However, after thinking about it, Yang Tiancheng began to understand the other party to some extent.

“It’s hard to raise the price. If Xishan coal were to sell for fifty or sixty coins, ordinary people would probably have to go back to buying the old coal they used to have.”

In comparison, if prices weren't lowered, more people would be able to buy them.

"What's the use of this!"

Zhang Jianxiu looked very angry.

"My money is in there, the money of the court officials is in there, and His Majesty's money is in there too. If this is ruined, I won't live anymore!"

Seeing the Imperial Guard Commander's desperate act of crying and wailing, Yang Tiancheng frowned deeply.

This Assistant Magistrate Zhang seems to be just as rumored, far inferior to his younger brother.

A moment later, Zhang Jianxiu was heard crying and wailing again.

"Zhang Shiyuan! I'm going to report this to Dad! I'm going to tell Dad!"

A few days later.

On a cruise ship on the Tonghui River.

Logically speaking, the Tonghui River is an important waterway for the capital's grain transport, and it should not be allowed for anyone to set up pleasure boats on it for drinking and merrymaking.

But rules are rigid, while people are flexible.

The capital city is bustling, but there are only a few places where you can find entertainment.

Officials, gentry, nobles, and merchants naturally wouldn't miss this quiet and undisturbed place of enjoyment on the canal.

In recent days, wealthy merchants from the Shanxi Merchants Guild Hall have been holding lavish banquets on pleasure boats on the Grand Canal.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and the exchange of toasts, specially hired courtesans served them, and with their days and nights turned upside down, they felt as if they were floating into a fairyland.

Wang Dengku was a master of pleasure, embracing two courtesans on either side of him. They looked old enough to be his juniors, yet he never tired of it.

He downed the grape wine in the glass in one gulp and couldn't help but sigh.

"Hey~ Zhang Shiyuan finally couldn't hold back and raised the price of briquettes to thirty wen per catty."

In recent days, the output of briquettes from Xishan Workshop has decreased significantly.

It seems that mining at the Xishan Coal Mine is gradually becoming unsustainable. Once production decreases further, we will sell our stockpiled briquettes at a discounted price.

Wang Dengku let out a burp, his face glistening with oil.

"Then we'll see what kind of money he uses to feed that bunch of soldiers in the Western Hills. Once the soldiers have no livelihood and can't get enough to eat, they'll start causing trouble in the Western Hills."

"When the emperor finds out, even Zhang Juzheng won't be able to protect him!"

Fan Yongdou has quite the unique taste. He was accompanied by an old woman who was almost old enough to call him "mother." He swallowed the grape that the old woman handed to his mouth and chuckled as he spoke.

"The people of Xishan are now in a state of panic. Zhang Shiyuan is delusional, thinking that he can calm people down with his erotic pictures and some bullshit crosstalk."
Little did they know that if the soldiers didn't have enough to eat, they would really rebel!
If there are any more voices that fuel the flames for the soldiers, providing them with some pretexts.

Even if the emperor tries to protect him, he must be dealt with to quell public anger!

The two of them chatted back and forth, looking confident of victory.

But at that moment, an old voice came from the table.

"You two should not be so ungrateful."

(End of this chapter)