But before he could open his mouth to reply, he heard Zuo Feng continue:

"But it's not easy to open a mine, and there are three problems that need to be solved."

Hearing the word "problem", Huaxing immediately put away his smile and asked with a serious face:

"Which three? Lao Zuo, but it doesn't hurt to say. ”

Then, I saw Zuo Feng hold up a finger and say:

"First, no one has been in the mine for more than half a year, and in addition to the continuous rain in the spring, many of the pit wood (the wood used as pillars in the mine) has rotted. If you want to reopen the mine, you must check and replace them one by one, otherwise there is a risk of landslides. ”

Hearing the word "landslide", Huaxing realized the seriousness of the matter, and immediately nodded in response:

"Well, that's right! Safety in underground work comes first, and we must not take this kind of thing lightly. Don't know how to carry out the replacement work? ”

"It's not difficult, as long as there is a new pit wood, it can be replaced in a maximum of 10 days. It's just that the price of pit wood is not low, if you change it all, the cheapest one will cost one or two hundred taels, so, so ......"

As a veteran miner with nearly 30 years of mining experience, Zuo Feng has worked in four different mines.

Although the ore mined in each mine is different, and each mine owner has a different personality, all mine owners are surprisingly consistent when it comes to buying pit wood, and they are not willing to spend too much money on the wood that supports the mine.

Just like this iron vein, when the mine was first built a year ago, according to the mining plan at that time, even if the cheapest wood was used, it would cost 200 taels of silver to ensure the safety of this mine.

But the owner of the mine at that time only gave Zuo Feng a hundred taels of silver to prepare the pit wood, and refused to give a penny more.

In the end, for the safety of his brothers, he could only take a group of miners out to cut wood, and it took more than half a month to get together the remaining pit wood.

Therefore, as soon as he mentioned spending money to buy pit wood, Zuo Feng subconsciously showed a look of embarrassment, and his mouth was also broken.

But after Huaxing heard about this, his attitude was different from that of any previous mine owner, and he said with a concerned face:

"Oh, the cheapest one is two hundred taels of silver. And what about the most expensive? How much does it cost? ”

"The most expensive?"

This question obviously surprised Zuo Feng, and after being stunned in place for a few seconds, he opened his mouth and replied:

"Expensive...... It's too expensive! There are several kinds of wood with strong pit decay, and the price is two or three times higher, and we actually can't use such good ......."

But before Zuo Feng finished speaking, he was interrupted by Huaxing's words:

"That's a mistake! Ore is precious, but life is even more valuable! When it comes to safety, we can't afford to save money! ”

Speaking of this, I saw Hua Xing directly take a bunch of silver ingots from the black cloth bag beside him and put them on the table:

"There are eight hundred taels of silver here, buy the best pit wood, and don't cut corners at all!"

After nearly 30 years of working in the mine, Zuo Feng has encountered this kind of mine owner who is willing to spend 800 silver to buy pit wood for the safety of underground workers.

As soon as these words came out, I saw that Zuo Feng's face was full of gratitude, and the sharp and black nose also transmitted a burst of sourness.

"Alright, that's it! Let's talk about the next one. ”

Seeing that Zuo Feng was stunned and didn't say a word in the field, Huaxing reminded him.

Hearing this, Zuo Feng came back to his senses, and while sorting out his thoughts, he nodded and replied:

"Oh, okay, okay. The second question is about mining tools. ”

"Mining tools?"

"That's right! Not long after Dong Zhuo's death, the mine owner saw that his backer had fallen, and in order not to be implicated, he didn't dare to stay longer, so he simply gave up the mine and ran away secretly. Before leaving, he took not only all the ore with him, but also the digging tools, so there are no tools available in the mine now. ”

As soon as these words came out, I saw Wei Kuo on the side with puzzled eyes:

"Huh? Take away the ore I can understand. But what can he do when he takes the tools away? ”

"Wei Hujun didn't know that most of the tools used in mining were made of fine iron. If it is sold in the market, the price is not cheaper than that of a weapon, so it is normal for someone to take it away. ”

After listening to Zuo Feng's explanation, Wei Kuo nodded brightly:

"Oh! So he wanted to sell it for money? In this case, if you want to get the tools, you have to spend a lot of money, right? ”

"Exactly!"

Speaking of spending money, Zuo Feng subconsciously glanced at Huaxing first, and then snapped his fingers and said:

"Normally, tools like hammers, drills, hoes, pickaxes, and hammers have to be at least as human as they are, otherwise they are very inefficient. In addition, in order to facilitate transportation, it is also necessary to prepare some iron wheeled vehicles, plus other miscellaneous tools, which may cost a ...... Three, four hundred taels. ”

As the saying goes, if you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools.

In terms of tool purchases, Huaxing was not ambiguous at all, so he heard a commotion, and he took out a pile of silver from the black cloth bag and put it on the table:

"Here are five hundred taels of silver, buy more tools, and replace them in case they break." Okay, let's talk about the third one. ”

Good tooling, in addition to improving work efficiency, can also make it relatively easy for underground workers to mine.

Zuo Feng clearly remembers that when he worked in the last mine, the owner of the mine at that time refused to buy them iron wheeled cars in order to save money.

The workers could only use their own shoulders to carry the heavy bags of ore from the mine more than ten meters underground to the ground.

Not only is it laborious, but it can also be easily injured, and it can be called one of the most painful jobs in the mine.

Therefore, seeing that Huaxing was so generous in purchasing tools, Zuo Feng said with gratitude on the spot:

"That's great! To meet a mine owner like the general is really a blessing for my three lives! After clenching his fists and bowing deeply, Zuo Feng turned the topic to the third problem:

"As for the last one, it is about labor. To tell the truth, working in the mines is very hard and dangerous, and it is no easier than going out to fight. I'm worried that even if the mine opens, no one will want to go there. ”

Zuo Feng's worries are not unreasonable, mining is tiring, bitter and dangerous, if it is the same treatment and conditions, then most of the people will choose to stay on the ground, which is not difficult to understand Huaxing.

After thinking about it for a while, I saw Hua Xing raise his head and ask:

"How much silver did you pay each year when you used to work in the mines?"

"It's about seven or eight taels, which is higher than enlisting in the army." Zuo Feng replied truthfully.

"Hmm. If it comes out of fifteen or twenty-one years, do you think anyone will come? ”。

"What? Ten, fifteen, two years? So high? ”

As soon as these words came out, he saw that Zuo Feng couldn't close his mouth, and his face was full of shock.