Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 98 Resistance
The carriage stopped in Sanhe Village, and Meng Jiu immediately went to greet it.

The three gentlemen inquired and confirmed that it was indeed the mine of Madam Xie in Sanhe Village, Daming Prefecture.

"My wife is in the village. Gentlemen, please come in with me."

The Li family had informed the three of Xie's background before their arrival. Xie's husband's family was a small merchant family in Daming Prefecture.

Therefore, it couldn't have been her who asked the Li family for help; it must have been someone else.

They know better than to ask questions they shouldn't ask.

As Zheng Sanye approached the door, he noticed, "Why are there government officials here?"

Meng Jiu said in a low voice, "Something happened just now. Once we're inside, Madam will talk to you all."

The three nodded and continued walking forward, only to find that someone was secretly following and observing them along the way.

Master Zhao frowned; the current situation gave him a familiar feeling. Back when he ran a rice shop in the city, yamen runners would come knocking on his door every few days.

Could it be that someone is eyeing Madam Xie's coal mine?

"What's this on the ground?" Master Zheng noticed the marks drawn on the ground, with wooden stakes nailed into them.

“If there’s a red rope tied to the stake, there’s a coal mine within three feet. If there’s no red rope tied, the coal mine layer is within seven feet. The old lady told us to survey the area so we can decide where to drill the well after the spring planting.”

The three gentlemen stopped and looked around. They counted the wooden stakes in the distance and found that there were at least ten of them tied with red ropes.

"Are there really so many coal mines underground?"

Meng Jiu nodded: "Too much is not good either."

Third Master Zhao was somewhat puzzled: "Why?"

Meng Jiu suddenly raised his voice and said, "Too many will cause trouble."

These words were pointed, and Master Zheng looked to the side and saw a man dressed as a steward. The steward's clothes and demeanor were clearly out of place among the people of Sanhe Village.

With just one glance, the three of them could roughly discern the manager's identity.

A dog belonging to a wealthy family.

"It's just ahead."

As soon as Meng Jiu finished speaking, Shi Yongniang came out to greet him.

The villagers' smiling faces eased the slight tension in the three of them.

The main room of Shi Yong's house had been rearranged. When Master Xu and the others entered, they saw lotus root charcoal laid out on the table.

The lotus root charcoal pieces were all the same size, but each was a different color. Underneath each piece was a note. When Master Zheng went closer to look, he saw that it said "ten days" and had some marks that were hard to understand.

"This is……"

Master Zheng couldn't help but ask.

A voice answered his question: "It's the lotus root charcoal we were testing."

Everyone immediately looked up and saw a young girl in a blue dress. The three of them instinctively avoided eye contact when they suddenly encountered a young woman, but they quickly realized that this must be Lady Xie, whom they were supposed to meet.

They had heard that Lady Xie was only sixteen years old, and within a few days of arriving at the Yang family, she had already taken control of the household affairs. They had marveled at the woman's abilities, but after seeing her, they realized that they had underestimated her. This woman's aura was extraordinary; even without saying a word, just standing there, she gave the impression of coming from a wealthy family.

Yu's mother served the three of them hot tea.

Master Xu, Master Zhao, and Master Zheng exchanged glances. From now on, all they had to do was listen to what this lady was saying and echo her.

"The reason I invited the three of you here is for this lotus root charcoal."

Xie Yuyan pointed to the clay stove on the ground.

Master Xu asked, "Is this lotus root charcoal made from crushed charcoal?"

Xie Yuyan pointed to the table in the room: "If you want to know about lotus root charcoal, just look at that table and you will know how lotus root charcoal is made, how much manpower is needed, how long a pound of lotus root charcoal can burn, and how much silver it sells for."

"The lotus root charcoal that you saw outside just now was made by using different types of crushed stone charcoal. After it was made, it was lit in a clay stove to measure how long a piece of lotus root charcoal could burn."

"After you finish reading this, you will understand that no one in the Great Liang understands lotus root charcoal better than me."

The three of them stood up in unison and walked towards the table.

I only glanced at it casually, but before I knew it, it had caught my eye.

"You can make a pound of lotus root charcoal from this little bit of broken coal?" They all had coal mines, mostly bought as porcelain stone ore, but they never expected to find dark coal inside. Only the best coal is bought; the broken pieces are worthless and scattered everywhere. Can this stuff really be made into lotus root charcoal and sold?

Without realizing it, I walked and looked around.

I saw the stoves used in the water stalls, as well as those clay stoves of all sizes.

Finally, a pile of lotus root charcoal and a pound of charcoal were placed on the ground.

"Can you get this much lotus root charcoal in exchange for a pound of charcoal?"

Even if you can calculate the price in your mind, it's still not as astonishing as seeing the difference with your own eyes.

Uncle Zhao couldn't help but ask, "Isn't coal poisonous? How can this be sold?"

Xie Yuyan smiled and said, "The three of you will stay at the inn tonight. You can go to the market on Yuying Street early tomorrow morning to see if lotus root charcoal can still be sold."

Mother Yu continued, "The first stall in the market has a sign that says 'Shuntong Water Shop.' That water shop is run by our eldest daughter-in-law, and they use lotus root charcoal to boil water."

As for the fact that all the stoves in the market were burning lotus root charcoal, let the three of them see for themselves.

After reading this, the three sat down again.

Master Zheng said, "Did Madam summon us here to buy the coal mine we own?"

Xie Yuyan shook his head: "The coal in Daming Prefecture is enough for my needs."

The three of them thought about Sanhe Village beneath their feet and nodded in agreement.

"That……"

Xie Yuyan said, "It is true that I want to do business with the three of you, but not to take away the coal mines you own. Rather, I want to do coal business with the three of you."

"I will send craftsmen to teach the three of you how to make lotus root charcoal, and I will take more than 60% of the lotus root charcoal from the mine in the first three months. Within two years, I will split the profits and losses from the lotus root charcoal trade 50/50 with the three of you."

"That means I'll take half of the profits and half of the losses."

Master Zheng's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Xie Yuyan hadn't finished speaking.

“I will open a Shuntong Water Shop in the area,” Xie Yuyan said. “This will make buying and selling much more convenient, and I can also give you 30% of the profits from the water shop.”

The three of them were still unaware of what Shuntong Water Shop was all about, but at this moment they should go along with what Madam Xie said.

Third Master Zhao asked, "What are your requirements for us, Madam?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Within five years, you are not allowed to sell the coal mines in your possession. The lotus root charcoal must be inspected by craftsmen before it can be sold. I will set the price of the lotus root charcoal, but don't worry, the profit margin of the lotus root charcoal will not be less than 20% or more than 30%."

"That's all?" Master Xu couldn't help but ask.

Xie Yuyan nodded: "That's all."

The three of them looked delighted.

Master Zheng recited the script in a proper manner: "My lady could have taken the recipe for lotus root charcoal and monopolized the lotus root charcoal business, so why did she give this recipe to us for nothing?"

Xie Yuyan looked out the window: "The three of you should have seen it when you came. Some businesses, once they make money, will attract covetous eyes."

"No matter how much effort you put in, it can be taken away in the blink of an eye."

These words resonated with all three of them.

Xie Yuyan said, "This lotus root charcoal costs only three coins a pound in my hands. If someone else takes it from me one day, I can sell it for ten coins a pound. It's a business with huge profits. How can it not make people envious?"

"So it's better to spread the method of making lotus root charcoal. With more coal mines and more lotus root charcoal, those people won't be able to interfere."

"Once we stabilize the price of lotus root charcoal, this business, which only yields a 30% profit, is not worth their time and effort to calculate."

The three people nodded subconsciously.

Xie Yuyan continued, "This lotus root charcoal can only be made by those who understand it, and it must be sold to those who need it. If they take over this business, who knows how many people will lose their livelihoods."

"On the contrary, the coal mines need to hire workers, and much of the money earned will return to the people. This is a business that wins people's hearts. We are doing good deeds and earning money with a clear conscience. Although we merchants are far less wealthy than those big merchants and powerful figures, we have a large number of people. If we come together, how can we be afraid of them?"

"Or... are we all willing to be oppressed and exploited for the rest of our lives?"

(End of this chapter)