Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 375 New Rules of the Gold Field

After listening to his master's advice, Qu Shaoyang went to discuss it with his father.

Qu Laokou is only in his fifties. People like him who work hard all day long cannot sit idle at all.

But he had no say in any of the matters inside or outside the Qu family, big or small, and no one listened to him.

Apart from strolling around and playing with his grandchildren all day, he was really bored.

So, when Qu Laokouer heard his son asking him to go to the gold field to see the gold, he nodded happily.

"Okay, okay, I can do this job. Don't worry, Sihuzi, I'll make sure not a single grain of gold sand gets lost with me here."

Just like that, the father and son reached a consensus.

A few days later, the gold mine started operating, and Qu Laokouer went over to help look after the machines and guard the gold on the shaking table.

In March, people from the gold field returned one after another. Lao Han and Lao Hu also returned to Maoer Mountain with their newly married wives.

"Hey, Brother Han and Brother Hu, I finally got you back.

I thought you were going back to your hometown to earn money and get married, and you didn’t plan to come back.”

Qu Shaoyang was relieved to see the two return on time.

"These are my two sisters-in-law, right? You must have come a long way to make it hard.

Well, what are your plans, brothers? Do you want to settle down near Maoer Mountain, or go back to your hometown in winter?"

The gold field is different from other fields. It requires a group of foreman who can identify the gold veins. Therefore, Qu Shaoyang has always been courteous to Han and Hu.

He asked this just to test the waters.

If Hu and Han plan to settle down in Maoer Mountain, it means that they can stay in Jinchang forever.

If they say they still plan to go back to their hometown, it may be because they want to earn enough money to enjoy their lives.

“Sir, there can’t be women in this gold field.

We both thought that we would have to trouble the adults to find a place to stay around Maoer Mountain.

From now on, we will settle down in Maoer Mountain and will not return to our hometown."

Both Old Han and Old Hu are already quite old, and their parents have long passed away, so they have nothing to worry about.

This time I brought my wife here with the intention of settling down in the Northeast and living a stable life with her in the future.

As for the rule that there can be no women in the gold mine, this is a rule that has been passed down for many years in the gold mining industry, and it is believed that women are unlucky.

If a woman enters a gold field, no gold will be produced from this place.

Old Han and Old Hu have been bachelors for half their lives. They finally got married and they are still overjoyed.

But the rules of the gold field are there. It is definitely not possible to take the wife to the gold field. We can only find a place to accommodate them in Maoer Mountain.

"Brother Han, this is easy. We have plenty of space in Maoer Mountain. When the weather gets warmer, I'll have someone build a few houses for you.

For now, if you two sisters-in-law don’t mind, you can stay in my house for a while.”

In the gold mining industry, women are considered unlucky, and gold workers are not allowed to have contact with women on a daily basis.

Generally speaking, once a goldworker enters the gold mine, he is not allowed to have contact with women unless his work for the season is completed and the bill is settled at the counter.

Old Han and Old Hu work in the gold field and cannot go home for most of the year. Leaving their young wife behind might lead to difficulties.

That's why Qu Shaoyang said that she could stay in the mansion. There were many maids and wives in the Qu family, and they could take care of each other.

Anyway, the Qu family has enough food and drink for two people, and it is much safer than being outside.

In this way, Old Han and Old Hu entrusted their wives to the Qu family, and they packed their bags and went back to the gold field to work.

In mid-March, all the machines at the gold field were installed and the metalworkers were almost all there. Qu Shaoyang found an opportunity to go to the gold field and called all the metalworkers together for a meeting.

This year, the gold mine added machines. From now on, metalworkers only need to dig holes, dig ore sand, and then transport it to the machines.

There is no need to stand in the cold river to pan for gold as before.

As a result, we can no longer adopt a 40% to 60% profit sharing pattern as we did last year. This year, we will adopt a minimum guarantee plus profit sharing pattern.

The gold shop provides food and drink, and guarantees a minimum of 100 taels of silver per year.

Each mine gives each metalworker a certain dividend based on the ore produced and the gold output at the end of the year.

As the old saying goes, the more you work, the more you earn.

Of course, people like the foreman and the basket boss will have a higher minimum wage and more year-end bonuses.

“This is what the rules are. If you guys have no objection, just sign a contract with the counter.

If you feel that this is not worth it and you don’t want to stay, that’s fine.”

A few days ago, Zhou Chuanzhi brought over the hundred or so prisoners from Shuangdianzi. Together with those from this mountain area, there are more than two hundred prisoners in total.

With machines and Lao Han and Lao Hu leading the workers, these prisoners alone can produce a lot of gold in a year, so Qu Shaoyang is very confident.

Besides, the conditions he offered were not bad. After more than half a year, after spending on food and drink, there would be more than 100 taels left. Where could one earn so much?
Moreover, things are different now than before. Metalworkers no longer have to wash the metal in the cold river water, and it is not as painful as before.

Many metalworkers have been soaking in water for years, their feet are ulcerated, and their legs are in unbearable pain due to cold, rheumatism and other reasons.

When they get old, many metalworkers become paralyzed on the kang and unable to move.

Now that we have machines, this situation can be avoided, and the wages will be lower, which is also reasonable.

After hearing what Qu Shaoyang said, the metalworkers looked at each other, and some began to discuss in a low voice.

Gold panning is a business that relies on luck and luck.

If you come across a fertile mineral vein, you can make money. If not, you may end up working hard for half a year and end up with nothing.

Moreover, gold mining is a dangerous job. The government and bandits are watching closely, and you may even lose your life if you are not careful.

The gold production at the Sandaogou gold mine is booming and everyone made money last year.

Moreover, Qu Shaoyang treated these gold workers kindly and did not oppress or exploit them. Everyone had good food in the gold field and their life safety was guaranteed.

Among the metalworkers, there are many experienced people who were recruited from other places by Lao Han and Lao Hu. These people have their own standards.

So, after everyone discussed it for a while, most people agreed with Qu Shaoyang's proposal.

Of course, there were also a few people who were not very happy. They felt that Qu Shaoyang had robbed them of their livelihoods by making a machine and the money he gave was too little.

So I refused to sign the contract and planned to leave and go somewhere else.

Qu Shaoyang didn't stop him from doing this. He let him go wherever he wanted. He had no shortage of manpower anyway.

Most people have signed the contract, and the gold field is ready to start work.

On March 16, Lao Han, Lao Hu and others brought people to worship the mountain god, and then the gold mine officially started panning for gold.

Those guys have been helping those foreigners during this period, assembling and debugging the machines.

It’s true, these guys are quite smart, have good eyesight, and learn things quickly.

Under the training of foreign engineers, I learned how to observe the fire in the boiler, how to read the pressure gauge, when to add coal, and how to repair general machine failures.

In the combustion chamber of the steam engine, high-quality coal is burning, the steam engine works smoothly, the flywheel is driven by the belt, and the generator starts to run.

At the other end, the ore screener and shaker connected by electric wires also started working.

(End of this chapter)