Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 248 New official takes office
Nowadays, it is not uncommon for gentry and wealthy people, regardless of whether they have any achievements or not, to spend a lot of money to donate money to become an official.

However, most of the officials who were donated were just in name only and had no real power.

The defense patrol is different. Although the official position is not high-ranking, he has real power.

Therefore, Liu Dongshan was so surprised and happy that his apprentice was able to serve as an inspector.

"Master, what's the difference between an adult and an adult? It's just like that. I am still me, and I am still your apprentice."

In front of everyone, Qu Shaoyang couldn't tell everything that happened, so he just smiled and responded.

"How can it be the same? Once you become an official, you will no longer be an ordinary citizen."

Once you become an official, you have achieved a class transition. No matter how low-ranking an official is, he is different from ordinary people. There is no comparison.

“Okay, okay, great.

"Mother, hurry up and prepare some delicious dishes to celebrate." Liu Dongshan called Lin Ruolan.

"Hey, I'll go kill the chicken right now." Lin Ruolan responded and went to catch the chicken happily.

The people working around came forward to congratulate Qu Shaoyang, calling him "Inspector" one after another, which made Qu Shaoyang feel a little embarrassed.

Originally, Qu Shaoyang planned to rest for two days after returning from Tadian, and then lead his men to collect pig bristles and mountain products along the lower reaches of the Yalu River.

After collecting enough, he went straight to Yingkou to sell the goods and brought back the ordered guns.

But he had just taken on the post of inspector, and there were so many things to deal with in the government office, so how could he find time?
Chen Yunzhe and Chen Yunhan left and returned to their gang as early as after their conditions in Qidaogou were under control.

Xingye was quite capable and had no problem collecting pig bristles, but he had little experience with hides, medicinal herbs, etc. and could not control the quality and price.

For a moment, Qu Shaoyang was really in a dilemma and didn't know who to arrange to receive and sell the goods.

"What's so difficult about this? Master will go for you." Liu Dongshan knew that Qu Shaoyang was in trouble and said it immediately.

"Master, this is not good, right? You still have to build a house at home. If you go out, what will happen to the house?"

The main reason is that Liu Dongshan is old and Qu Shaoyang can't bear to torment him.

"It doesn't matter. Let Xingjia help me with the house construction. You can come and take a look when you have time.

I will lead people to collect the goods, and also give some advice to Xingye and your third brother.

Just wait for them to gain experience, and then I will stay at home and enjoy the good life." Liu Dongshan waved his hand and said with a smile.

Qu Shaoyang really had no other choice but to agree.

So, after the Dragon Boat Festival, Liu Dongshan took Xingye, Qujiang, and more than 20 men, and walked down the Yalu River to collect goods from each village.

He also took the opportunity to pass on the message to each village, telling them the news that Qu Shaoyang had been appointed as the inspector.

On the other hand, Qu Shaoyang took office as the Yalu River sub-defense inspector.

There were many things to do in the government office. Qu Shaoyang had to check the accounts, verify the population and land, recruit militia, maintain public order, etc. There were so many things to do that kept him busy.

Fortunately, there was a security team, so there was no need to recruit people temporarily. The security team was directly renamed the patrol team and became the servants of the inspection office.

County Magistrate Chen said that the inspection office could provide the amount for six official runners.

So Qu Shaoyang directly arranged three team leaders including Zhou Chuanren to come in, and recruited several smart and capable young men in their twenties from the security team.

In addition, Qu Shaoyang found two people who were good at writing and calculating to manage accounting and other matters.

Afterwards, Qu Shaoyang took his men, starting from Maoer Mountain, and visited every village and hamlet one by one, re-measured the land, and determined taxes.

At the same time, land reclamation was encouraged. As long as the people reported to the inspection office and the land was demarcated, they could start reclaiming the wasteland and pay the land fee after the harvest in the autumn of the following year.

At the same time, those who are found to have reclaimed wasteland privately, concealed or failed to report the land will be allowed to make up the payment after the autumn without being punished.

Those who lacked tools for land reclamation could also report to the inspection office and buy on credit first and settle the bill later. In this way, the enthusiasm of the people to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land was mobilized, and many people scrambled to choose land for reclamation.

At the same time, Qu Shaoyang also encouraged the people to grow more cash crops such as soybeans, tobacco, and hemp, and to raise more pigs.

Anyway, Qu Shaoyang has sales channels, so the villagers don’t have to worry about having nowhere to sell their crops.

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-June and Liu Dongshan returned from Yingkou with Xingye and others.

"This time we collected more than twice as much bristles as we did before the New Year. We sold them for a total of 5,100 taels, making a large profit.

The rest of the hides, medicinal herbs, etc. were sold for a total of 2,700 taels.

According to your idea, you bought a lot of rare things when you came back, so we can open the warehouse now."

When Liu Dongshan got home, he immediately gave an account and calculated all the income and expenses.

After deducting the money for buying guns and bullets, as well as the money for purchasing goods, there was still about two thousand taels left.

With this money, Qu Shaoyang began to prepare for a distillery, a flour mill, a warehouse, etc.

The stove was chosen to be located in the upper reaches of the Toudaogou River.

The most important thing for winemaking is the water source. There are several springs there and the water quality is particularly good.

The flour mill is simple and is located near the river, making it convenient to get water.

After selecting a location and designing the blueprints according to the functions of a distillery and flour mill, we began preparing materials and started construction.

It just so happened that the frame of the Liu family’s new house had already been built, and they needed to wait for some time until the mud and plaster were half dry before choosing an auspicious day to put up the beams.

So these people were transferred to the winery and flour mill, and some other people were hired to start building the winery and flour mill as soon as possible.

It just so happened that a shop in a market town along the river closed down and wanted to return to its hometown in Shandong.

Qu Shaoyang spent money to buy the shop, cleaned it up a bit, and painted it inside and out.

Then we customized some shelves, counters and other things, hired an accountant and two clerks, and Qu Jiang would take care of other things, and the warehouse would be opened.

Qu Shaoyang works as an inspector, and now his family has opened a warehouse. A winery and a flour mill are under construction, and he also runs a business selling pig bristles and mountain products.

It can be said that the Qu family is now the most prominent family in Maoer Mountain, with a prosperous business and unlimited future.

Nowadays, I don’t know how many people are trying to curry favor with Qu Shaoyang and want to have a good relationship with him.

Many people also found Qu Shaoyang and wanted to arrange their sons to join the patrol team to get them a job.

On June 18th, Liu Dongshan's family put up the beams of their new house, and the people who came to help almost filled the yard.

Everyone knows that Liu Dongshan is Qu Shaoyang's master. Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan are as close as father and son, and the two families are almost like one.

We are all smart people. This is a rare opportunity, so why don’t you come and help?

Hired workers, their own servants, patrol team members, and those who came to help.

With so many people working together, it's fortunate that the foreman is experienced and has made proper arrangements, otherwise, the work would have been delayed.

While people were busy putting up the beams here, next door Chen Xiuyun, Lin Ruolan and Li, along with many other wives and servants, were busy cooking and entertaining guests.

"Sister-in-law, I have something to ask you."

While they were busy, Lao Zhou's wife came up to Lin Ruolan and whispered.

"I noticed that there was a young man in the inspector's family. He looked a bit like the inspector. I heard that he was the inspector's brother. Is that right?"

(End of this chapter)