A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 193 Medical Clinic
Tang Dynasty law stipulated that slaves and servants were treated like livestock. Producing vassalage included things like a maid giving birth to a child or a horse giving birth to a foal.

These are all clearly stipulated in the law. Slaves are property like cattle and horses and do not have independent personalities.

Du Shiniang came from a prominent family and was used to ordering slaves around.

It is said that when the capital was at its most prosperous during the Kaihuang period, the city had a population of 500,000 to 600,000, of which nearly 100,000 were slaves.

As the mistress of the house, Du Shiniang had a very good deal. She bought more slaves who could both work and give birth to children. The children she gave birth to were either house-born or slaves, and her assets increased in value. She raised these house-born children from childhood and made them more reliable and secure to use.

If there are smart ones, we can pick them out and train them well, so that they can become village heads, managers, etc. in the future.

Just buy it,

One thousand pieces of silk could actually buy one hundred and forty-two slaves, most of whom were young and strong men in their twenties and thirties, and the rest were in their teens and forties. From an investment perspective, it was really a good deal.

The grain prices in Chang'an were surprisingly stable.
The price of grain has been maintained at around 1 dou of rice and 1 piece of silk. Since Li Yuan ascended the throne, the price of grain seems to have been basically this price. Only during the defeat at Qianshuiyuan, there was a brief surge in grain prices in Chang'an. Originally, the autumn harvest in Guanzhong was good this year, and the price of grain should have fallen.

But now the price is stable, which reveals a lot of information.

First, the imperial court took the opportunity to collect grain for storage, and second, wealthy landlords and grain merchants were hoarding grain to control prices, deliberately preventing grain prices from falling.

They hoarded and controlled most of the circulating grain and deliberately limited the release of grain, so the price was naturally maintained at a higher level.

This also indirectly shows that the Tang Dynasty has not yet taken care of these people's livelihood issues, and the top priority is still unification.

The high grain price also caused trouble for Li Yi. He now had more and more people, including tenants, workshop workers, shop assistants, and even slaves.

Those are all mouths that need to eat.

Even though these slaves had no human rights and lived in extremely poor conditions, they still had to be fed. Even if slaves were assets like cattle and horses, no one would deliberately feed cattle and horses to death. Wouldn't that be a loss for the slaves themselves?

The cattle and horses need to be fed with fine feed.

A young and strong slave needs at least six or seven stone of grain a year, which is enough to buy the food of several of them.

So on the other hand, if Du Shiniang and the others wanted to keep slaves and support their troops, they would have to buy more land and produce their own food. If they relied on buying food, it would be too uneconomical.

Ten-day break,

Li Yi returned to Yushuchuan, and he felt a stronger sense of belonging to Luojiabao.
Although the Qianshuibo Mansion in Pingkangfang, Chang'an is more exquisite and close to the East Market, making shopping convenient, he still prefers the countryside.

Luo Er, Luo San, Luo Wu, Liu Heizi, Guo Erlang and the others also became familiar with each other.

It is the end of the year and the twelfth lunar month has arrived.

The weather is very cold this year, and it snows every few days.
Although auspicious snow indicates a good harvest and can freeze insect eggs in the ground to death, it is also beneficial to wheat as it can reduce soil evaporation and help alleviate spring drought. Accumulated snow can even act as an insulation layer to prevent large temperature differences between day and night.

However, the successive snowfalls also made it very difficult for many people to endure the winter. They lacked food, clothing, and fuel. Many poor people froze to death, especially the many victims who fled famine.

It is said that in several large disaster relief camps outside Beijing, many people died of freezing or starvation every day.

Before going back, Li Yi went to the East and West markets to do some shopping.

The winter fields are bleak.
The carriage slowly passed through Shenheyuan.

I still remember the last time Zhao Yongan and his men were shooting rabbits here. This time, after it snowed again, Li Yi specially asked Zhao Yongan to bring a slingshot, and called on the servants and soldiers to chase rabbits in the snow together.

The soldiers followed the trail and drove the rabbit out of its nest.
Li Yi rode a horse and held a slingshot, using clay balls, which were made from stone powder, clay and glue. He rolled them into balls with a stirring spoon and let them dry. This was cheaper than clay balls made from fired pottery.

It has been a while since I started practicing slingshot with Zhao Yongan.
Li Yi can now catch rabbits on horseback.
In the open fields,

Chasing and catching up,

Li Yi rode on horseback, holding a bow, and shot one shot after another. Although nine out of ten shots missed, after all, there were so many people chasing rabbits for him.
After beating them for a while, he had killed five or six of them, which satisfied him greatly.

"Next time, let's go hunting in the mountains," said Zhao Yongan. He was an old hunter and had even been organized by the government to hunt big beasts with many hunters.

Passing by Fengjiabao,
Li Yi first went to visit Dong Xiucai's home,

His private school has not yet closed for the holidays.

Li Yi came with two rabbits he had hunted himself, two pheasants Zhao Yongan had hunted, and many gifts he had bought from Chang'an.

Dong Xiucai is still the old scholar.
There was a charcoal brazier burning in the house.
Ordinary charcoal, sitting there to warm myself, the front is hot, the back is cold, and the smoke makes my eyes tear up.

"Didn't I bring some okantan to the teacher last time?"

Gang charcoal is the finest kind of charcoal. It is made from the charcoal of the Qinggang tree. The charcoal is as thick as an arm and can emit a crisp sound of steel. It has a particularly strong fire power and is very durable. It can burn for two or three hours and is especially smokeless.

"The charcoal you gave me is good and smokeless. I'll leave it for my mother to warm herself with."

"The student will ask someone to send some more later."

"This is the same." Dong Xiucai said with a smile, while putting a small rack in the brazier, sitting a clay pot on it, and started to boil tea.
His method of making tea is not that complicated.
Add water to the ceramic pot, then throw in small pieces of tea cake, some red dates, some wolfberries, and some salt.

"Are you used to drinking it?"

"Very good." Li Yi used to dislike drinking Tangren tea, especially the various additives, but now he is somewhat used to it.

Just drink tea as a functional beverage. Adding salt and milk can indeed replenish your mental and physical strength.

"Teacher, Wuji Academy will expand its enrollment after the new year. We will have a three-year elementary school and a three-year senior elementary school. We even plan to open a middle school in the future, and there will also be a girls' elementary school.
The school is in need of a highly respected principal. I would like to invite a teacher to take charge of the Wuji School, and I will just be the honorary principal."

Mr. Dong sat there and didn't answer immediately.

He has run Feng's private school for many years and has developed some feelings for it.

"I have to admit that I never thought that you could run a private school like this. I am surprised and admire you.
Wuji Academy is now doing very well, and it has truly benefited the community.

But I am old and no longer capable of being the principal."

"No, teacher, you are highly respected. You have taught for thirty years and have many students all over the world. You are the most suitable. You don't have to worry about the Feng family private school. It can be directly merged into the Wuji Academy."

"I won't hide it from you, teacher. I have some dreams about running Wuji School. Your words that scholars like me, even if we are in the countryside, are still local sages and should benefit the village, touched me deeply.
The right to study was almost monopolized by the gentry.
How can ordinary people have such a chance? Since I have settled in Xingshengli, Yusu Township, I also want to run this school well."

"Please help me, teacher."

Dong Xiucai asked Li Yi several questions seriously, especially about the planning and positioning of Wuji Academy, as well as the use of the academy's assets. Li Yi answered them one by one.

"I hope that one day, Wuji Academy can become Wuji College, and that the outstanding students of our college can obtain titles such as Mingjing and Jinshi in the imperial examinations. I also hope that our college can also cultivate some outstanding talents in calligraphy, painting, music, mathematics, and even manufacturing craftsmen.

I also hope that our society can develop healthily and be well managed, so that in the future it can not only support the school's operating expenses, but also set up scholarships to reward outstanding students.
Even helping the orphans and widows around us. If there is enough money, I hope that the society can fund an orphanage to adopt some abandoned babies, an orphanage to take in some orphans, an orphanage to take in some elderly people who are widowed and widowed, and buy a piece of land to build a cemetery to bury the unclaimed bones and those who cannot afford to bury them...”

The society is a fund that buys land, lends money and collects interest, and will later build a pig farm and even some workshops.
Part of the profits earned will be used to run the school, part will be used for public welfare and charity, and part will be used as the capital of the fund to continue operations.

A virtuous circle.

The academy will grow bigger and stronger, and the society will also grow bigger and stronger, complementing each other.

Such an academy does not have to rely entirely on Li Yi or donations from everyone to operate for a long time.

"The society is actually run by you. Are you really willing to give up such a huge profit?"

"The reason why students want to set up a society is to better support the school. I will be very happy if the society can be run well. We take from the people and use it for the people.

The initial capital for the school was also donated by fellow villagers. In the future, besides running the school, we can also give back to the village by doing charity and supporting the orphans and the elderly. How wonderful!

Dong Xiucai nodded.
"Just because of what you said, I will close the private school and take these dozens of students to Wuji Academy."

"Thank you, teacher."

"What's there to thank? I just did some practical things. What I'm most proud of these years is not that I studied in the Imperial College, nor that I was recommended to participate in the scholar examination, nor that I became a guest of honor for many nobles in Chang'an.
What I am most proud of is that I have run this school for 30 years and have also been practicing medicine for 30 years, teaching many students and curing many people's illnesses."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Teacher, now that you've said that, I have a new idea. I think we can get some money out of the society.

Build a clinic, invite a few doctors to see patients, and recruit some pharmacists."

Li Yi talked about his plan. This clinic would not only have doctors to treat patients, but also process and sell medicinal materials. He could also select some smart and talented people to learn how to process medicinal materials and diagnose and treat diseases.

Even in the future, we can develop medicinal fields and grow some medicinal herbs.

"Our clinic is people-oriented. Medicinal materials are affordable and consultation fees are close to the people. If any villagers have no money to pay for medical expenses, they can record the bill first..."

Whether it is called a medical clinic or a medicine shop, it is a place that combines medical treatment, teaching, processing and selling of medicinal materials, and it also has a certain public welfare nature.
"If you do it this way, you will have to invest a lot of capital at the beginning, and there is a possibility of losing money." Dong Xiucai reminded that it is easy to keep accounts, but it is difficult to get the money.

Li Yi didn't care. In fact, he was more concerned about entering this industry and even using it to train some of his own doctors and pharmacists. Moreover, this business was registered under the name of the society, which was a non-profit organization.

Besides, Li Yi had seen the medical care and medicine of this era. First, there were few doctors, and second, the medicine was expensive, so the people often could not afford to see a doctor or buy medicine. They had to bear minor illnesses and major illnesses. There were not even a few professional and experienced midwives in the surrounding area.

Those ring doctors who go from street to street and village to village make a lot of money, not to mention the regular medical clinics and pharmacies.

If the business is run normally, even if it's selling affordable medicinal materials and charging affordable consultation fees, as long as the business can be opened, it's basically impossible to make a real loss.

Don’t think that the couplet hanging at the door of the drug store, “I would rather the medicines on the shelves gather dust, I wish there would be no illness and suffering in the world,” really means that this business is not profitable.

In fact, in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, doctors are high-end, scarce and valuable talents, and the pharmaceutical industry is the most profitable industry.

Mr. Ximen lived such a carefree life in Yanggu County because he made his fortune by opening a herbal medicine shop in front of the county government office. Later, when he became rich, he took charge of some public affairs in the county, taking on people, negotiating matters for money, and communicating with officials.

"It's rare that you're willing to do so much good for the village. Since you're learning how to open a clinic and a medicine shop, I can help you contact doctors, pharmacists, and medicinal materials. I've also been practicing medicine for many years, so I have some connections in this area."

"Thank you so much, teacher."

"They are all good deeds, count me in."

Boil the tea,

Li Yi poured two cups of tea.
Let's raise a toast to Mr. Dong. Li Yi is not so pure in doing things. Whether he is running a school or planning to open a clinic, he has his own little calculations behind it, but Mr. Dong is really generous.

It's worth to admire.

(End of this chapter)