Hearing what Boss Yin said, He Zhiyuan immediately became interested. Such technical talents are rare in the Ming Dynasty, and it is much more convenient to find ore veins in the future with such people around. So he immediately had the idea of recruiting his own subordinates. But in any case, let's negotiate this deal now.

So, He Zhiyuan still asked quietly: "Where did Boss Yin learn this skill?" ”

Boss Yin said proudly: "This is handed down from my ancestors, my grandfather used to help people find ore veins, not only to find coal mines, but also to find iron ore, copper ore and so on. ”

The shopkeeper felt that the topic of the two had gone off the rails again, and he kept going and stopping like this, and he couldn't finish the three coal kilns in a day, and there were still a lot of things waiting for him to go back and deal with. Therefore, he hurriedly brought back the topic: "Is He Gongzi satisfied with these three coal kilns?" ”

He Zhiyuan nodded: "Well, that's good!" ”

The shopkeeper said happily: "Since He Gongzi is satisfied, let's find a place to talk, set the price, sign the contract, and complete the delivery, and these three coal kilns are yours." ”

"Don't rush, turn around."

Then He Zhiyuan asked Boss Yin for advice on how to find the secret of the coal mine. There was no concept of surveying and geological exploration in this era. But these people who have been looking for minerals all year round will naturally have a set of methods to find ore veins. Some families have been accumulated from generation to generation, and they have been compiled as heirlooms and passed down from generation to generation.

Although Boss Yin would not reveal the secret of eating to He Zhiyuan, and even if he did, he thought that He Zhiyuan would not be able to learn it. So he still showed the tape measure, compass, pole and other tools he carried with him, as well as their hand-drawn topographic diagrams.

To He Zhiyuan's surprise, on that topographic map, he even saw a mapping method similar to contour lines, which did not appear in Europe until two hundred years later, which shows that Boss Yin is at the forefront of the world in geological exploration and mapping, but it has not been recorded in history and is not known to the world, so it is silently drowned in the long river of history.

On the contrary, these coal kilns themselves, there is nothing to surprise him, the coal kilns here are very shallow, the deepest is only twenty or thirty zhang, and most of them are abandoned when they dig to about ten zhang. This is because it is limited by the level of the tool, and it is not cost-effective to dig deeper. Second, the area of Heishi Mountain is just at the confluence of the alluvial plain of the Yihe River and the western mountainous area, the groundwater is very abundant, and the water will seep out when digging down for ten zhang or so, and if the water is not drained in time, the well will soon be unable to continue digging coal.

In addition, the coal resources in this area are too abundant, so that the coal bosses are too lazy to spend the cost of drainage, and it is better to find another coal nest with that effort.

After visiting these coal kilns, it was already noon. The miners came out of the coal kiln one after another and walked towards a compound at the foot of the mountain. He Zhiyuan asked Boss Yin: "What is the place in that yard under the mountain?" ”

"It was a compound built by several of our families, and it was where the miners ate and slept." Boss Yin explained.

"Let's go down and have a look." After He Zhiyuan finished speaking, he walked down the mountain.

"Gongzi He, don't want it, it's smelly and dirty, and it's crowded with so many people......" Boss Yin had an embarrassed expression on his face.

He Zhiyuan ignored Boss Yin anymore and walked straight there.

"Hey, why is this son even here

See also? Boss Yin whispered to the shopkeeper who walked down side by side.

"How do I know?" The shopkeeper said helplessly. Today it was the first time he had walked so many mountain roads, and he was so tired from going up and down the mountain that he was about to fall apart.

When he arrived at the gate of the courtyard, He Zhiyuan found that the courtyard was surrounded by tall walls, the walls were full of porcelain bowl fragments, and the two iron doors were closed.

Boss Yin came to the door and patted the door, opened a small hole from the inside, and the foreman inside saw that it was Boss Yin, so the foreman found the iron door and let everyone in.

The first thing I saw when I entered the courtyard were three or four hundred miners who were squatting or standing in the courtyard, all in pitch black and extremely dirty. Each of them was holding a porcelain bowl with a few cabbage soups floating in the bowl. The miners were gobbling up two or three black nests in their hands.

Hearing the sound, the miners raised their eyelids, and when they saw that it was not their foreman, they ignored it again and continued to bury their heads in their hands. Instead, a few of the guys who were cooking in the cafeteria came over and asked Boss Yin, one of the owners, to say goodbye.

Passing past the miners, He Zhiyuan came to the cooking room, which was dimly lit and dark everywhere. There were huge black terracotta pots scattered on the floor, and there were still some filthy vegetable soups left in them. A pot of cabbage was boiling in the pot, and a man with a shovel was stirring wildly in the pot.

He Zhiyuan thought to himself, fortunately it was winter, if he came here in summer, he couldn't imagine how many flies would be buzzing around here, how disgusting and disgusting that scene would be.

By questioning the chief, he learned that there were more than 1,000 miners in this valley. The canteen has limited supply capacity, so it is necessary to come back to eat in shifts. In fact, even if the supply comes, in order to save time, the coal bosses will only let the miners eat one hot meal a day, and the other two meals are three nests per person, and they will nibble two bites when they are hungry for work, and drink the stagnant water in the mine directly when they are thirsty.

Then He Zhiyuan went to the room where the miners were sleeping, and the whole room was a large bunk made of wooden planks. There were still more than a dozen wounded and sick people lying on the Chase bunk, and when he saw someone coming in, he raised his eyes to look at the crowd, and continued to lie on the bunk and hummed.

Boss Yin explained redundantly: "These people are all injured and sick people who can't go to work. ”

Through talking with Boss Yin, I learned that these injured and sick people do not have a doctor to treat them at all, in addition to cooking, they also have a doctor here, if there is a sick number, they will go to the town to grab some herbs indiscriminately, it is luck to be cured, and it is normal to be cured.

He Zhiyuan asked Boss Yin again: "What if these injuries and illnesses die?" ”

"This is also easy to do, those who know the family members will be notified by the dental shop to carry them away, and the dental shop will deal with the family members for other things. If you don't know your family or you don't have any family members directly, notify the person in the dental store to carry it away and bury it. Boss Yin explained.

Hearing this, He Zhiyuan felt a sadness in his heart, it seems that the fate of these miners is even worse than that of prisoners, when they are alive, they eat worse than pigs, work more than donkeys, and bury them after death, and they can't even leave a grave.

But the reality is so cruel, there is no tiger in the world that does not eat people. These coal bosses did not have the slightest mercy on these miners, and if they were allowed to go out to another continent, they would be even more ruthless than the English capitalists of the seventeenth century, but the coal bosses were not like that

The meat in the mouths of the bigger tigers......

After coming out of this courtyard, at the urging of the shopkeeper, a group of them began to descend the mountain. At this time, He Zhiyuan suddenly realized that he was actually a member of the capitalists, but he was kinder than these coal bosses.

Back at Luoquanzhuang, naturally Boss Yin invited everyone to eat together.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of wine, the shopkeeper first asked He Zhiyuan: "He Gongzi, we have all seen it this morning, and these three kilns are all high-grade kilns that have just been excavated." Shopkeeper Yin and I are both real people, and the three coal kilns really don't have much to ask for eight thousand taels of silver, if it weren't for Boss Yin's eagerness, he would definitely not sell it at this price. ”

What the shopkeeper said is indeed true, a coal kiln like this can make a profit of at least 12,000 taels of silver a year, and the so-called management fee of 3,000 taels of manpower is also 9,000 taels. As the shopkeeper said, it can be repaid in a year, and according to the current market, it is reasonable to sell at least 10,000 taels. If He Zhiyuan bargains with him again, it will be a bit insatiable.

Yes, He Zhiyuan said: "This price is indeed very cheap, and I can't say anything at such a cheap price, since Boss Yin is willing to sell at this price, I don't have any problem." After eating, we can make a note, but we didn't bring so much cash this time, and we still need Boss Yin to go to Hejia Town and get it with me. ”

Seeing that He Zhiyuan did not take the opportunity to lower the price and agreed so happily, Boss Yin was naturally happy, and of course he was willing to go to Hejia Town again, and it was only two days to go back and forth, so he was not in a hurry at this time.

The shopkeeper saw that this business was completed, of course he was very happy, the tooth shop is an intermediary business, and he wants to take a cut of both the buyer and the seller. For the business of eight thousand taels of silver, according to the rules of the trade, he had an income of one hundred and sixty denarii. However, He Zhiyuan said that there was no cash, but he made a difficulty.

Yes, the shopkeeper said in embarrassment: "Gongzi He, according to the rules of our industry, if there is no cash, this contract cannot be signed now." ”

Boss Sun said at this time: "Shopkeeper Ma, Boss Yin, the two may not know who this He Gongzi is, he is from Hejia Town, Juzhou, and these new objects such as soap, cement, and glass were invented by him." His family's wealth is not enough to describe, how can he rely on his debts. Rest assured, I will guarantee that there will be no problems. ”

"Oh? He Gongzi is the talented man who is surprised in his dreams? Both asked in unison.

He Zhiyuan smiled and nodded, but did not speak.

Boss Yin immediately said: "I don't need Boss Sun as a guarantee, I believe in He Gongzi and make a contract this afternoon." ”

He Zhiyuan saw that Boss Yin was also so happy, so he bowed his hand to Boss Yin and said, "Thank you Boss Yin for your trust." ”

At the same time, He Zhiyuan's impression of Boss Yin increased a few more favors, and then he raised his glass and said to Boss Yin: "He respects Boss Yin with a glass to express his gratitude." ”

Boss Yin was flattered, and hurriedly raised his glass and said, "Accept and concede." ”

The shopkeeper saw that Boss Yin said so, so naturally there was no reason to disagree.

After a full meal, a few people came to the tooth shop of the horse shopkeeper, and the horse shopkeeper personally wrote the contract, signed by both parties, pressed the handprint, and gave the horse shopkeeper a commission. For the shopkeeper, the deal is officially completed.

(End of chapter)

The little people of the Ming Dynasty

The little people of the Ming Dynasty

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