Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 258 A big family and a big business
In early September, Liu Dongshan and his family moved into their new house.

Although the two houses have expanded dozens of times, they are still next to each other. A door has been opened in the backyard wall to facilitate visits between the two families.

Originally, Liu Dongshan was thinking that his family had a few hundred acres of land, so he could build a small yard and live a stable life with his wife and three children.

However, seeing that his apprentice's family business was growing bigger and bigger, Liu Dongshan changed his mind.

While he is still young, he should try his best to save more money for his children.

Only when you have money can you educate your children well. No matter which one of them becomes successful in the future, the whole family will be brought up.

Even if these three children in the family are not particularly promising, it would be fine if they can help Qu Shaoyang when they grow up.

With Qu Shaoyang taking care of them, the children will be fine.

Therefore, this autumn, Liu Dongshan bought a large piece of wasteland in the surrounding area and hired forty or fifty long-term workers to open up the wasteland and do the work.

To reclaim wasteland, one had to pay a deposit of two hundred coins for one mu of land.

In addition, there are rents of all kinds, 660 coins per mu.

All together, one mu of land costs two thousand seven hundred and sixty coins.

After Qu Shaoyang took over as the Yalu River sub-defense inspector, he wrote a memorial and submitted it to the county government.

The main contents are to promote agriculture and protect borders, recruit people to try reclamation, and ensure stable reclamation work.

This would strengthen border defense capabilities and prevent Goryeo from crossing the border to reclaim wasteland and confuse the border.

Qu Shaoyang's proposal is very similar to several measures proposed by the Assistant Minister of Border Affairs of Jilin Province.

When the memorial was submitted, County Magistrate Chen took it very seriously and presented it to the government office in the eastern region.

The governor also felt that Qu Shaoyang's memorial was quite insightful.

Moreover, the relevant policies implemented in Jilin Province have already produced results, so the Dongbiandao Yamen agreed with Qu Shaoyang's approach.

Nowadays, the deposit money has been reduced to half of its original amount, and it will be collected in the autumn of next year.

The rent, big or small, can be paid after five years when the wasteland becomes cultivated land.

At the same time, if someone didn’t have farm tools, the government could provide them. If someone needed oxen, the government could buy them for them and pay them back in installments.

The implementation of the new policy has mobilized people's enthusiasm for reclaiming wasteland.

Whether locals or refugees from Guandong, they were all actively reclaiming wasteland.

The news spread quickly and attracted countless refugees to flock in.

With more people, there will be more management tasks. Add to that taxes, land surveys, etc., and the existing people in the patrol team are not enough.

So Qu Shaoyang ordered each village to recruit five to ten patrol team members to be responsible for local security patrols, land reclamation, taxation and other matters.

The inspection office arranged people to be stationed in the villages. These people both farmed and guarded the land. They trained in their spare time and farmed in busy times.

At the same time, Qu Shaoyang also arranged patrol teams to count the number of people and the area of ​​each mountain area, and then set taxes and collect timber donations.

In the past, mountain farms had to pay a certain amount of taxes when they applied for a license every year, and they didn’t have to pay taxes after that.

However, most of the mountain communities have to pay a portion of tribute to the local gangs of bandits, and this portion is even more than the taxes they pay.

Now that we have the patrol team, how can we still have to worry about those gangs?
Once the inspection office collects timber donations, it will naturally protect the safety of the mountains.

Which gang was so blind that it dared to blackmail? Qu Shaoyang led the patrol team over and wiped out the gang directly.

So, after Qu Shaoyang led the patrol team to wipe out three gangs in a row, the bandit gangs in the territory finally realized that the newly appointed inspector was indeed a ruthless man.

Just in time, seeing that it was about to snow, these gangs, big and small, settled their accounts, divided their money, and each found a place to spend the winter.

As for the beginning of next spring, we will have to see the situation. If there is really no room for them here, then they can only go somewhere else.

After Qu Shaoyang's rectification, the public security in the villages along the Yalu River has improved a lot. "Master, I have to take a few people to Dianzi Street."

After the snow fell in October, all the work was done and Qu Shaoyang finally had time to get together with his master to drink some wine and discuss things.

"What are you doing on Dianzi Street? Going to see Erkui and his mother?"

Liu Dongshan felt strange. It was so far away. What important matter could he have to go there?
"Not only do I want to see Erkui and his mother, I mainly want to go to the ginseng garden over there and order some ginseng plants and seeds from the big ginseng farmers there.

Another reason is to go there. The other side of Dianzi Street is closer to Changbai Mountain. There are many hunters and ginseng farmers there. I can go there to collect mountain products, hides, medicinal herbs, etc. ”

Right now, this stall is getting bigger and bigger, but more money is taken out than money is brought in.

The gold factory will not resume operations until next spring, so there is no income at the moment.

The farm only collected a part of the deposit, which can temporarily maintain a balance between income and expenditure. The remaining payment can only be paid back in July or August next year when the wood is transported to Anton.

Needless to say, flour mills and wine mills all require investment, and it will take a while for them to make money.

As for the remaining warehouses, Qu Shaoyang and the Chen brothers have opened warehouses in Andong and Yingkou, and are currently making good profits.

But the family expenses are high and we can’t rely entirely on the warehouse.

So Qu Shaoyang thought about expanding his business scope and going to Dianzi Street, Mengjiang and other places to collect pig bristles, mountain products, hides and so on.

The place is remote and it is inconvenient to transport goods. Although there are many local products, the prices are low.

If all goes well, I should be able to make a lot of money.

Another thing is that Qu Shaoyang still wants to expand the ginseng planting area.

You should know that nowadays, the most exported product besides soybeans and bean cakes is ginseng.

If calculated based on price, yield per acre, etc., ginseng can earn much more money than soybeans.

If we only rely on him going into the mountains to pick ginseng seeds every year, when will we be able to develop?

It is better to go to the ginseng garden at the other end of Dianzi Street and order some seeds and ginseng seeds from them so as to develop the ginseng industry as soon as possible.

"Well, that makes sense, then go ahead, don't worry at home, I'm here for you.

You don't have to take the lead in your third brother's marriage, just let your master's wife and Xiuyun take care of it."

Liu Dongshan thought about it and felt that what his apprentice said made sense. How could anyone complain about making too much money?
It's not easy to maintain such a big family business, so you have to think of more ways to make money.

"Then bring more people with you, and bring guns and everything.

I am old now, and it is really hard for me to keep up with you when you go out and travel around, so I will stay at home and let you steer the boat."

Liu Dongshan sighed, wishing he was twenty years younger so that he could follow Qu Shaoyang and protect him.

Now, I can only stay at home and guard the rear.

“With my master at home steering the helm, I can go out with peace of mind.

I'll leave the house to Master. I'll pack up and lead the group out the day after tomorrow."

As Qu Shaoyang spoke, he poured more wine for Liu Dongshan. The master and disciple clinked their glasses and took a sip.

Shuanzhu was curious about everything.

He was watching his father and elder brother from the side. They didn't know what they were drinking, just sipped it. It looked delicious.

So, while Liu Dongshan was not paying attention, the boy crawled into his father's arms, picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

As a result, when the wine went into his mouth, the spicy taste made him burst into tears and he burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)