Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 352: A good wife at home
"Mother, Shaoyang went out for serious business. He was doing errands for the government, not going out for sightseeing."

Without waiting for Qu Shaoyang to explain, Chen Xiuyun spoke first to help her husband out.

"It's not easy for Shaoyang to be an official. He has to carry out the orders from his superiors, otherwise he will not be able to hold on to his position.

There are so many people under him who all depend on Shaoyang for their livelihood. How can he not work hard?
I can't help with anything else, I have to take care of the mess at home for him.

Besides, there are so many people at home, how hard can I work? "

Chen didn’t know what Qu Shaoyang was doing when he went out, but how could Chen Xiuyun not know?

These days, she was worried all the time, not knowing how Qu Shaoyang was doing outside and whether he was in any danger.

At least my brothers came back a few days ago and revealed some news that Qu Shaoyang led his men to wipe out two gangs and took back the jurisdiction of wood tax in the area around Shuangdianzi.

Chen Xiuyun was relieved to know that her husband was safe and sound.

Now that her husband has returned safe and sound, Chen Xiuyun is filled with joy. How could she complain about anything?
As she spoke, Chen Xiuyun immediately ordered someone to boil some hot water so that Qu Shaoyang could take a bath and change his clothes first.

He also instructed the kitchen to prepare a few more delicious dishes in the evening as a reward for the guests.

After the hot water was ready, Chen Xiuyun handed the child to her mother-in-law to take care of, and she went over to help Qu Shaoyang wash his hair and take a bath.

The couple, one in the wooden barrel and the other outside it, chatted while scrubbing.

"Brother has brought back the explosives you mentioned, and also brought back two foreigners who he said were experts in blasting.

The master left with the two foreigners and the people from the gold field.

They said we should go to Tadian first, from upstream to downstream, and blow up the strategic outposts first. "

At the beginning of winter, the upper reaches of the Yalu River were frozen, and people could stand on the ice, so Liu Dongshan said that they should start working from the upper reaches.

“Over at the gold field, work stopped at the end of September, and all the accounts were settled.

The profits this year are pretty good, with a total of about 900 kilograms of gold produced.

I divided the profits according to what you said, deducted the gold workers' food and drink expenses for this season, exchanged the gold for silver, and settled their bills.

Some of the goldsmiths returned to their hometown in Shandong with the money, while some who did not return settled in the mountain fields or worked with their masters, and were paid separately.

When panning for gold, you need to use a lot of water to wash the gold sand.

After September, the river water becomes freezing cold and is no longer suitable for gold panning.

So at the end of September, the gold mine stopped working, and the gold workers received their wages and found places to spend the winter.

In the first year of the gold mine, the profits were divided into 40% and 60% according to the agreement, with the gold workers taking 4% and the counter workers taking 6%.

The goldworkers worked in groups of several people. When they finished work each day, each group would hand over the gold they had earned to the counter and keep a record of the accounts.

When the accounts are settled at the end of the year, the amount of gold earned by each group of metalworkers will be deducted from the expenses for the past six months and the money will be settled to them.

Of course, when settling accounts, gold is not given, but silver is given according to the local gold-silver exchange rate.

There are more than two hundred gold workers in the gold field. After deducting expenses, some can get one hundred and forty or fifty taels, and some can get around two hundred taels.

Of course, those that carry basket heads, mill heads, pit heads, handle heads, etc., take more.

For example, Lao Hu, as the boss of the gold field, took more than 600 taels of silver when the accounts were divided. Lao Han got more than Lao Hu.

The two of them were so happy that they shouted that they wanted to go back to their hometown to find wives.

"I have checked the accounts. After deducting the benefits we gave to County Magistrate Chen and other expenses, there is probably about 90,000 taels left at the gold field."

The profits of the gold field are divided into 40% and 60%, with the cashier taking 60%. This 60% includes the wages of bribes to the government, as well as the wages of the gold field security team, Qu Jiang and others.

All in all, a lot has to be deducted.

Of course, after working hard for half a year, a net profit of 90,000 taels is already a pretty good business. "My third brother came back from the gold field and started to lead people to collect mountain products. He is very busy every day.

My third sister-in-law gave birth to a boy a few days ago, weighing just six kilograms. He is growing well and is still in confinement.

Our mother and my third sister-in-law's younger sister are taking care of her, and my third sister-in-law is doing well during the confinement period.

Didn't my parents go to Kuandian these days? My mother was worried that I couldn't take care of my second child, so she came to help me. "

Both daughters-in-law gave birth one after another, and as a mother-in-law, Chen had to take care of them all, which made her very busy.

Fortunately, the Qu family had a lot of manpower, and the maids and wives could all help, so Chen was not tired.

"You saw when you came back that the fence has been mostly repaired.

The master said that after the beginning of next spring, we can cover the outside of the wall with a thick layer of bricks and stones to keep it solid. "

The enclosure built by Liu Dongshan and his men included watchtowers, corner towers, gates, etc., all of which were made of bricks and stones. The foundation of the wall was made of stone, and yellow mud mixed with glutinous rice was rammed on top.

This kind of earth wall is quite strong, but just in case, Liu Dongshan suggested that the outer wall be covered with another layer of bricks and stones next year to make it stronger.

Unless you use cannons, it is basically impossible to attack.

Qu Shaoyang sat in the hot water, letting Chen Xiuyun scrub his body and wash his hair.

When the weather is cold, no matter how warm the house is, the water will gradually become cold after a while.

So when he was almost done scrubbing, Qu Shaoyang quickly got out of the wooden barrel, dried his body, and changed into clean and warm clothes.

Chen Xiuyun helped Qu Shaoyang button up his clothes, and then wiped his hair over and over again with a dry towel.

He didn't stop until his hair was half dry, then he used a comb to comb his hair over and over again.

"Wife, thank you for your hard work.

"My mother is right. When I'm not at home, you have to take care of the two children and take care of all the things at home and outside. You are very busy."

Qu Shaoyang leaned back, resting his whole body in Chen Xiuyun's arms, muttering with his eyes closed.

"It's okay. When Lan Xin comes in, I'll teach her a little bit and let her practice. Then I'll let her manage the business outside."

After Chen Yunzhe and his brother came back from Shuangdianzi, they told their sister and parents about Qu Shaoyang and Meng Lanxin.

Chen Xiuyun and her parents were mentally prepared for this matter, so they did not have any extreme reactions.

Even Chen Xiuyun accepted this fact calmly after her parents and brother analyzed the pros and cons.

Qu Shaoyang, on the other hand, felt guilty when he saw his wife accept Meng Lanxin's existence so calmly.

"Wife, I'm sorry, we both drank that day and lost control of ourselves."

Qu Shaoyang turned around and hugged Chen Xiuyun's waist.

Chen Xiuyun pushed Qu Shaoyang, asked him to sit up straight, and then began to braid his hair carefully.

"Why are you saying this? You and I are husband and wife, how can I be angry with you for such a small thing?

Lan Xin is a good girl, she is good at martial arts and marksmanship, and she is devoted to you.

Besides, our family business is so big now, we have to have more children to help you in the future.

Having more sisters will help you expand, and I will have more companions.

From now on, one of us will take care of the inner house, and the other will take care of the outer house. You can just do your job with peace of mind. Isn't that great?"

(End of this chapter)