Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 219 Going out to collect mountain products

Among the Qu family's long-term workers, about twenty of them just came here at the beginning of this spring.

They didn't have much money saved, so it was a bit difficult for them to go back to their hometown and get married.

So when these people heard that their boss was going to trade in hides, mountain products and other things in a few days and would pay them wages, they immediately said that they wanted to stay.

As for the elderly people in the family, some of them weighed the money in their hands and then thought about the situation at home.

If he returns home with this little money, it would be gone before he can get married.

Just stay and save money for two more years.

Some people, such as Jiang Chunfu, Xingjia Xingye and others, want to go back to their hometown, marry a wife and live a good life.

After some discussion, about a dozen people decided to go back to their hometown.

Qu Shaoyang paid these people this year's wages in advance and gave them some extra money for travel expenses.

"Chunfu, the rest of you go back and remember to help us recruit some more people.

If there is anyone who can brew wine and make powder, I can hire him for a high price.

Next year I want to set up a whole distillery and flour mill in Maoershan. We are short of manpower in this field. Please help keep an eye on it."

"Hey, boss, we've got this in mind. We'll definitely look for it carefully when we get back." Jiang Chunfu's hands were shaking with excitement as he took the silver money given by his boss.

I thought it was good enough that the employer paid me the wages in advance, but I didn't expect that the employer was so kind as to even give me travel expenses.

Who wouldn't serve sincerely when they meet such a boss?

"We used to have a stove in our village, but there was a disaster a few years ago and there wasn't enough food to eat, so how could we have extra food to make wine?

I'll go ask around later. Several of his boys haven't married yet. If they're willing to come, I'll bring them all over to work for the boss."

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you all, please work harder and recruit more people.

It’s okay. I’m not afraid of too many people. The more people we have, the more ways we can make money.

I will support as many people as you can recruit, don't worry." Qu Shaoyang nodded.

"Have you decided where to go? It's best to go back together. This world is in chaos and it's good to have more people around.

Make sure to keep your money close to you, and don't wear new clothes. The more worn out you wear when you go out, the better. No one will want to take advantage of you."

Qu Shaoyang was still a little worried, so he gave some special instructions.

The guys took their wages and travel expenses, happily returned to their residence, packed their things and prepared to go back to their hometown to visit their relatives.

Qu Shaoyang found an opportunity, called Xingjia and Xingye out separately, and gave them one thousand and two taels of silver.

That was set aside by Chen Yunzhe's brothers as dividends from smashing the kiln.

Xingjia and Xingye thought about it and decided that they couldn’t take all the silver back.

The two of them each took one hundred taels, which was enough for their wages and travel expenses when they returned.

The rest will be temporarily left with Qu Shaoyang to avoid any accidents on the road and loss of money.

On the ninth day of October, several family members packed their luggage and money and set off for their hometown.

Lin Ruolan and Chen Xiuyun specially used bear's oil to bake a thick stack of oil cakes and steamed two pots of steamed buns, which was almost enough dry food for these people for two to three days.

In addition, we also made them fried meat sauce, pickles, and fried dried fish. In short, we did everything we could think of.

“If you can find food and shelter along the way, don’t touch these dry rations.

No one knows what might happen along the way, so dry food can be stored longer in winter, just in case."

Liu Dongshan and Qu Shaoyang distributed dry food to everyone and gave them careful instructions.

Jiang Chunfu and his friends thanked them profusely and took the dry food. They also repeatedly assured him that they would return home after the New Year and would not delay their work at home. After that, they walked away, looking back every three steps.

After a dozen old men left, the remaining guys each had their own arrangements.

Qu Shaoyang picked out a dozen smart and capable ones from among these people, and asked them to follow him to collect mountain products in Shuidong, Badaogou, Tadian and other places.

The others stayed at home and were led by Liu Dongshan to take care of the household chores.

Brothers Chen Yunzhe and Chen Yunhan are both restless people. When they heard that their brother-in-law was going out, they followed him.

So the three of them led a dozen men and formed a horse team, first going up the Yalu River and heading for Tadian.

We went from village to village along the way to collect various mountain products, hides, medicinal herbs, pig bristles, soybeans, etc.

Every autumn, people living in the mountains go into the woods to pick hazelnuts, walnuts, pine cones, mushrooms, etc., mainly for their own consumption.

Most people don’t actually think that these things can be sold.

Most of the villages and towns in the upper reaches of the Yalu River are located in the mountains, far away from towns. It is not easy to go out of the mountains, and it is not worth going to the city just for those few mountain products.

As for pig bristles, no one knew they could be sold for money.

Most houses in the countryside have walls made of loess, and many people keep pig hair and bristles for use in repairing houses in the summer.

This stuff is easier to use with mud than tower grass. It can increase the strength of the mud and make the wall more solid and durable.

So when Qu Shaoyang led his men into the village, saying they wanted to collect all kinds of mountain products, medicinal herbs, and pig bristles, many people regarded it as a sight to behold.

People didn’t believe it at first, but later when they saw that Qu Shaoyang and his team were really willing to pay to buy it, those smart ones quickly went home to look for it everywhere.

Everything that could be exchanged for money was taken out for exchange.

The land in Northeast China is fertile and the resources are abundant, so most families have no worries about food and drink.

However, transportation was inconvenient, commodity circulation was poor, and many people did not have much money.

The appearance of Qu Shaoyang and others gave them hope of making money.

These people didn't know whether Qu Shaoyang and his team would come again in the future, so they all wanted to seize the opportunity.

It is not time to slaughter pigs yet, but in order to sell the bristles, many people just pick them alive.

Now, the pigs raised by each family were suffering, and the screams of pigs could be heard all over the village.

Qu Shaoyang realized that this wasn't going to work, so he promised the other person that he would come back after a while.

Just leave the bristles when you kill the pigs, don't be so hasty. That way, the pigs will be spared the suffering.

In addition to mountain products and pig bristles, the largest business is hides and skins.

Generally speaking, the period from light snow to heavy snow is when animal fur is most abundant, and many hunters go into the mountains to hunt furs during that period.

Qu Shaoyang chose this time to enter the village to collect hides, and the timing was perfect.

Qu Shaoyang buys all kinds of skins, whether it is gray skin, Yuan skin, otter skin, sable skin, wolf skin, badger skin, etc. He buys them all and prices them according to quality.

The price Qu Shaoyang offered was quite fair, higher than that offered by some vendors, and he paid promptly, so the hunters were quite happy to do business with him.

However, there are too many uncertainties when going into the mountains to hunt, and no one can guarantee that they can hunt prey every day.

Qu Shaoyang couldn't stay in one place for a long time, so he discussed with the hunters and told them not to sell the skins in a hurry but to save them first.

He will come again later, and I will definitely take as much as I can.

At the same time, Qu Shaoyang also made an agreement with the wealthy households in the village, asking them to help with receiving the goods and keeping accounts, and Qu Shaoyang would then bring people to pick up the goods directly.

The two parties signed a contract, and Qu Shaoyang paid a part of the deposit so that he wouldn't have to worry about anything next time he came.

(End of this chapter)