The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Before he finished reading, Zhang Chunsheng started yelling that it was every month, not every day, and that the landlord Zhang said it himself.

Zhang Yinghao shook the paper, then asked Zhang Feng to read it again before saying, "Do I get candy if I lie to you? Even if we lied to you, you must have heard of similar cases where people scribbled IOUs and then seized other people's land. You couldn't win the lawsuit. Some people lost their families just like that. So it's good for us to read a little and learn a few words.

We're also giving everyone something very simple and useful this time. At the end of the project, there will be an assessment—an exam—and there are prizes for these exams. If you pass all the tests, you'll receive 100 kilograms of grain, a set of clothes, and 5 kilograms of salt. If you fail even one item, you'll still receive 20 kilograms of grain and 5 kilograms of salt. Of course, if you fail any of the tests, we'll consider your hard work and give you 5 kilograms of grain as a reward.

These rules will be posted on the wall, so everyone will be fair. Of course, if you really can't get out of bed, you won't have breakfast. If you don't come to work, you won't get any land, food, clothes, or salt. Okay, now you can form a team freely. If you've formed one, come and tell me, and then we'll have breakfast. If you haven't formed one, just follow the instructions."

Zhang Yinghao's 520 registered men and women, a total of 520 people, had breakfast and then, with some hustle and bustle, began to work. The villagers were no strangers to hard work; they were all seasoned veterans, so they understood it all easily. Building a reservoir was easy for everyone to understand. Once they got started and became familiar with the steps, they gradually picked up speed, and after a while, they were completely familiar with the process.

There are definitely some who are lazy and say strange things, but among the people registered by Zhang Yinghao, there has never been anyone who says they don't want to come to work. Unless there is really something important, they will ask someone to tell Zhang Yinghao the reason for asking for leave.

So, very quickly, those who dug the earth dug, those who rammed the earth rammed the earth, and those who carried the earth carried the earth. The wisdom of the people is endless, and soon, naturally, a road was built, and then ox carts and horse carts came into use. The progress accelerated more than a little bit, and the earth wall rose up steadily.

Zhang Yinghao didn't go to work. He was very busy. Organizing a relatively complete engineering team with a shortage of personnel was no easy task. The food problem alone was a real headache. Zhang Yinghao was so busy that he couldn't keep up. Later, he called in a few students to serve as his secretaries and messengers, telling them to notify or directly handle anything. That's how Zhang Yinghao discovered a secret.

That is, as the central coordinator and the highest decision-maker, you control the vast majority of resources. As long as you focus on the current work, the overall situation of the entire matter will be clear at a glance. Then, you only need to focus on the key points and delegate the other details to others. Although you currently have fewer people available, if one person is not enough, two or three people can work together to discuss and generally complete the task.

As long as the relevant personnel are organized, many problems can be easily solved. For example, the tools used to carry soil broke down very quickly after the work began. The bamboo craftsmen couldn't keep up. Zhang Yinghao then organized a meeting with the bamboo craftsmen and decided to divide the work into different parts, using an assembly line. The people who cut bamboo, weaved bamboo, and cut bamboo strips were all assigned to the same specifications, and soon they were producing a large number of baskets.

The other tasks were similar, and through repeated improvements following meetings, labor efficiency was greatly improved. This also made Zhang Yinghao understand the power of organizing people. No wonder, as the Bible tells it, God was terrified when the Tower of Babel was being built.

Chapter 15: Explain the truth clearly to the masses

3866 words

When you sow hope, you cannot expect to harvest immediately. Instead, you need to weed, loosen the soil, water and fertilize. — Quotes from Zhang Yinghao

Zhang Chunsheng had been feeling strange lately. It wasn't because he'd lost face at the meeting after being rebuked by Zhang Yinghao, nor was it about the money he'd been scammed out of. Instead, he couldn't understand the group of people Zhang Yinghao had brought with him. They weren't very old, but they were the ones teaching the village kids, and then in the mornings, they'd have them teach these illiterate, poor, poor people. And the teachings were bizarre. I heard it was Gou Wa who had invented some kind of pinyin system, where you could pronounce a word by spelling it, and then have everyone memorize it. At noon, they'd teach addition, subtraction, and some multiplication tables.

Zhang Chunsheng knew that this was a precious knowledge, something he would have to work tirelessly as an apprentice for years before someone could teach him. It was knowledge that couldn't be bought with money, yet now it was being taught to him for free. Zhang Chunsheng felt there must be some hidden agenda. Should he learn it or not? Zhang Chunsheng pondered bitterly.

I don't have the energy to work in the mornings without breakfast, so I better go study. It's useless if I don't learn. If something goes wrong later, I'll say I didn't learn anything. Seeing his kid teaching addition and subtraction so skillfully, Zhang Chunsheng felt incredibly relieved. He didn't have to endure the same hardships as himself. After learning, he could definitely get a job as an accountant in the city. And these kids even taught me a song. They couldn't eat until they finished singing. Now I can sing that song myself, even humming a few lines. "Unity is strength, unity is strength," he said. "This strength is... why did I suddenly start singing again?" Anyway, this life felt strange to Zhang Chunsheng.

The strangest thing was the way these kids treated their own cousin. They even named her Chen Guiying. They used to beat up their cousin whenever they wanted, but then the neighbor beat up their wife for some unknown reason. These kids went after him with guns, scaring him so much that he turned into a fool and never dared to beat up a cousin again.

Gou Wa Zi also talked about establishing a farmers' association. All future quarrels would be held there, and hitting people wouldn't be allowed. Every time Zhang Chunsheng wanted to beat up the attendants to vent his anger, he'd think of those shiny guns, and his heart would tremble. Most importantly, the eyes of those who attended Gou Wa Zi's nighttime lectures were now sparkling, terrifying, and they worked with reckless abandon.

To be honest, Zhang Chunsheng was a little scared when he saw the eyes of his cousins. All his previous timidity was gone, and he exuded energy and spirit. He didn't know what kind of magic potion Gou Wa had fed these people.

Zhang Chunsheng himself initially wanted to attend the lecture, but felt it was useless at his age, so he didn't go. Later, he heard that all the villagers had attended the lecture, and now the attendance is increasing. After hearing about the lecture in Zhangjiagou, people from other villages also came from far away to attend. Gouwazi then organized these attendees to work with the villagers, so that the reservoir could be built faster.

Sometimes Zhang Chunsheng really didn't want the reservoir to be built so quickly, because after it was finished, he would have no food to eat again. Zhang Chunsheng tormentedly considered whether he should also attend the lecture. At the same time, he also hoped to secretly communicate with others, to see if they could work less hard. One more day of work would mean one more day of food.

If I could learn and see if I could finally get some food, it would be best if we could share the work and work more evenly, so that I could work for a few more days. After all, it was all the landlord's food. Zhang Chunsheng knew very well that Zhang Xianglong's family was wiped out by Gouwazi and his gang. In fact, everyone knew it very well. What do you think? Who dares to say anything?

Sigh! Should I go to class? Should I talk to someone about working slower? And where I'll find work after the reservoir is built? Zhang Chunsheng was constantly worried about all these things.

Zhang Yinghao knew that the Qing Dynasty was at its weakest. The South had even launched the Southeast Mutual Protection, and the local officials and the Manchu imperial family were alienated. He also knew that the Qing Dynasty was rotten to the core. Previously, when passing through Xi'an on his way to Dunhuang, he had considered giving Cixi a peanut, but after much deliberation, he decided against it. He had no ability to control the situation, and if he succeeded by chance, the situation would inevitably descend into further chaos, potentially leading to an early outbreak of warlordism.

Since he had the ability to predict the course of history, there was no need to drastically alter its course. Furthermore, maintaining a unified Qing dynasty would help preserve China's vitality, and no other country would be able to carve up China. Furthermore, Zhang Yinghao knew that Empress Dowager Cixi had initiated the New Deal after the Boxer Rebellion, and that modern education had fostered a large number of people who were open-minded and open to the world.

After the raid on landlord Zhang Xianglong, Zhang Yinghao realized it was too late for the state capital to remain unaware of the situation. Furthermore, he had organized over 700 people in Zhangjiagou, yet the state capital hadn't reacted at all. Zhang Yinghao was practically despairing of the state governor. He thought it would be unjust if the Qing Dynasty didn't perish.

Now think about the revolutionary martyrs of the Tongmenghui. While the Qing might have grown stronger after training its new army, such a shabby grassroots organization would spread rumors before each uprising, giving the Qing ample time to prepare, and always catching them in the trap. If it weren't for the Qing's own series of magical operations that brought about its own demise, it might have survived until after the establishment of the Soviet Union or even after the September 18th Incident.

Zhang Yinghao now feels deeply fulfilled. He's finally found a direction for his desired career, unlike when he first arrived, feeling overwhelmed and hustling like a donkey pulling a millstone during the day. Evening classes followed by meetings, and then lesson preparation. But now that he's found his direction, he doesn't feel tired anymore. Instead, he's filled with joy every time, the joy of seeing his colleagues grow.

Now the children have started to memorize Chinese pinyin, learned some addition and subtraction, and started to memorize the multiplication table. It’s exciting to think about what will happen next, because all the subsequent courses will be taught by myself, and no one can help me.

"No, I can't do it alone, or I'll tire myself to death."

After Zhang Yinghao discovered this situation, he made a decision that he himself felt was enough to change history.

That means buying the Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, and Thousand Character Classic, then copying them all in simplified Chinese, annotating them with pinyin and simple annotations, and using them as a dictionary. After students have learned pinyin, it's now up to them to master it. Whether they can seize the opportunities in this era of great change depends on themselves. Furthermore, current literacy training relies heavily on these three books. Zhang Yinghao has been diligently compiling the textbooks, but time is running out and the schedule is too tight.

Zhang Yinghao had already decided that when he found talent, the first thing he would do was to compile a dictionary. It was useless for people to just recognize a single word; they had no idea what was being said. They had to form words to form concepts in their heads and understand what was being said.

Comrade Liu Xinsheng was feeling a bit anxious. As Zhang Yinghao's captive, he knew his platoon leader had let him off, and he'd studied hard, almost as well as the others who had followed him. But after a few nights of studying, he realized how much he still didn't understand. He'd previously thought he was pretty good about himself, hoping the platoon leader would give him a more important assignment.

After the evening class, Liu Xinsheng realized that he, like the other farmers, often heard exclamations of sudden enlightenment, which made his life more and more clear. Many principles were so simple to understand, why hadn't he thought of them before? Liu Xinsheng now admired his platoon leader even more. As for Zhang Feng and the others, Liu Xinsheng knew they were under great pressure too, always feeling unable to keep up with Platoon Leader Zhang Yinghao's pace. He understood the pressure, but he just couldn't understand why his platoon leader was so successful.

I used to wonder why such good land was being given away for free, but after the lecture, I finally understood. Now, more villagers are willing to follow the platoon leader, treating him as their backbone and often asking him questions.

Liu Xinsheng picked up his notes again and started reading them, imagining the scene of Platoon Leader Zhang Yinghao giving a lecture at that time.

Platoon Leader Zhang Yinghao stood at the podium and spoke to the crowd: "Today I'm just chatting with you all. Although I'm also from Zhangjiagou...why do you all feel that life is so hard? Let's do some calculations. How much grain can we get from one acre of paddy field in a year? Is it 400 kilograms?"

"No?"

"No, then let's assume it's 400 kilograms. What about one acre of dry land? Let's assume it's 250 kilograms. Uncles, aunts, and uncles sitting here, how many acres of paddy fields and dry land do you have? 3 acres? 4 acres?"

"Three acres."

"Four acres."

......

"Okay, some say three mu, some say four. I know some people rent out their own land to others and also rent out their own land. That way, whether there's a harvest or not, they won't starve to death. I won't go into details. Four mu of paddy fields is fine, right? Two mu of dry land? That means your family can produce 2,100 kilograms of grain a year. Do we have that much?"

"No, where can there be so many?"

"Yeah, not that many."

"No? Then let's just calculate based on the higher amount. Even if it's this much, what percentage of the rent should we pay? How many layers of tax? 60%? 70%? 80%? And what about the meat tax?"

Now everyone was talking about it.

Zhang Yinghao waited until the crowd quieted down before continuing, "We'll collect a 70% tax. Let's see how much grain we have left. I've already calculated it for you: 705 kilograms. Everyone knows there's a problem here. When the harvest is good, everyone pays in silver. When the harvest is bad, everyone pays in grain. This year, of course, everyone has to pay grain again. Everyone knows the current grain prices. What should we do if we don't have money? Sell grain? Then we'll sell some grain at a low price."

Everyone knows how high the interest rate is for borrowing money these days, right? I even took out an IOU yesterday. It's 100% of everyone else's interest, which means they're paying back two taels for every two taels they pay. Nine out and thirteen back is a low-interest loan, but the interest rate is sky-high, pushing everyone down the road to death. And we only have 700 kilograms of food left for a year, and there are at least three people in our family, right? Even if we work hard for a year with good weather and good harvests, each person only gets a little over 230 kilograms of food a year, a little over 6 kilograms a day, and we still have to save the food for seeds. We also need salt, which is over 200 coins per pound now, and over 160 coins per pound when it's cheap. How can we survive? There's also the fire consumption tax, livestock tax, vehicle tax, flower tax, and lantern tax. Having said all this, I just want to say one thing to everyone."

Zhang Yinghao turned to his fellow villagers and shouted, "This is unbearable!"

After hearing this, Liu Xinsheng felt like his scalp was about to explode. He turned around and saw that the people around him had goose bumps on their arms, but they just sat there, motionless and silent. Liu Xinsheng knew that everyone present understood what the platoon leader said.

People who have not experienced it don't know the suffering of people today. Lu Xun said that when seeing beheadings, the people around were numb. No, it was the darkness without hope. Death might be a kind of relief. Lu Xun's books contain harsh criticism of reality but lack the ability to solve real problems. He only felt pain and saw cannibalism, but didn't know how to solve the root cause of the pain.

In fact, since ancient times, many people have criticized reality, and their criticisms have been profound. For example, "The Snake Catcher," "On the Qin Dynasty," "Three Officials and Three Farewells," and so on. But do these poems offer solutions to the problem? No, they don't. There hasn't been a solution to this problem since ancient times. Or perhaps there was, but the rulers simply turned a blind eye.

Zhang Yinghao knew that the current hardship was just a small part of his life. He knew that the next step would be the beginning of even greater suffering. Sichuan's bandits, local tyrants, corrupt officials, and corrupt officials would appear one after another. Then came internal wars between warlords and external invasions by foreign powers. In the late Qing Dynasty, tax revenue in some parts of Sichuan was as high as that of the new China, and in the Republic of China, it was as high as that of the 21st century. That was when there was no hope, a life worse than death, and no place to bury one's body.

Chapter 16: Founding the Foundation of a Group Training Team

3789 words

When you suddenly become rich, you should always remember that poverty is the only way to last. — Quotes from Zhang Yinghao

Zhang Yinghao just watched silently, and they watched Zhang Yinghao silently, looking at this young man in their eyes, as if they were expecting something in their hearts?

Zhang Yinghao knew that when people are in pain, they like to live in a dream. The clearer they see the reality, the stronger their sense of powerlessness will be, and the greater the pain in their hearts will be.

"They will all suffer from insomnia tonight! Maybe some people won't come to class tomorrow," Zhang Yinghao thought silently.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Zhang Yinghao said calmly: "Do you know how much tax the Zhang landlord's family paid? I have his tax receipt here. His family only paid taxes on more than 200 acres of land, and only paid 50% of the tax. So the taxes everyone paid were either taken away by corrupt officials or these local tyrants and evil gentry. They eat the food we grow, lend us money when we are in trouble, and take the opportunity to intensify the exploitation of our blood and sweat. Think about it, when taxes were levied every year, people didn't die? When taxes were levied every year, families were not broken up? And weren't those lands taken away by these landlords? So they are eating people!

Think about the people who die every year. Aren't they being eaten by these landlords and officials? They eat people every year. Think about the surplus food in your homes. Is it you who are eating it this year? What month is it now? Is there any food in the fields? How are you going to survive next year?"

Zhang Yinghao saw some people closing their eyes sadly and slightly tilting their heads, while more people were discussing in low voices.

Zhang Yinghao still believes in a saying, there is no harm without comparison. Now with such a comparison, a strong feeling of pain suddenly emerged from the bottom of his heart, and the strong feeling of pain makes people unable to adapt.

After the noise subsided, Zhang Yinghao knew it was time to give people hope, so he ignored them and continued, "I've calculated carefully. We'll finish building this reservoir, including digging the ditch, in about a month. After a month, we'll distribute the land to everyone. All the land in the village will be reclaimed and redistributed, giving each person about two and a half acres of land, both men and women. The land that originally belonged to your family will be distributed to you first. From now on, everyone only needs to give me 30% of the food. You can deal with the rest of the food yourselves, and I'll handle the government affairs.

The land we've divided up this time can't be bought or sold. You can exchange it with others, but the transaction won't be valid. With this reservoir, we'll never go hungry again. Everyone will have land to farm, so work hard. The sooner we finish, the sooner we'll get our land. After the reservoir is built, it'll rain after all this dry weather. Next year, everyone will have water to irrigate their land. We'll have food to eat every day."

Zhang Yinghao had asked his mother about this and learned that a village usually had one landlord, large or small. If others had land, it wasn't much. If there were two landlords, conflicts would generally be intense. Furthermore, during this era, splitting up families was common, but large families generally relied on the clan leader for support. The clan leader had the final say on how to divide the family, and side branches would rely on the main family for survival.

Although Emperor Yongzheng implemented a policy of equalizing the land tax and per capita income, which helped to maintain the Qing dynasty's prosperity, it still failed to break the patriarchal control of the clans. Therefore, clan leaders would not allow anyone to escape their control, so the land was not distributed much, let alone evenly. Even evenly distributing land would have been a self-destructive move in the feudal era.

At this time, a man from the neighboring village stood up and said, "What about our village?"

"You can also pay me 30% of the grain tax, and I'll protect you. However, we won't be able to visit your village until next year to inspect your land. If anyone comes to collect grain from you, come and tell me immediately, and I'll handle it for you. Okay, we've been talking for so long today, so everyone, go back and think about what we're working so hard for. If you have any questions, come and ask me. Be safe on the road, and let's go home."

Seeing that everyone was still sitting in their seats, Zhang Yinghao said, "You don't want to stay here and cook a midnight snack, do you?"

Everyone then stood up and walked out, but no one spoke. Zhang Yinghao saw that some people were thoughtful, some were smiling, some had no expression on their faces, and a few people stayed to ask questions.

Zhang Yinghao looked at the crowds and kept saying to himself, "I can't be impatient now, I can't shout slogans now. What I need to do now is to work hard and find those who are willing to approach me and change their lives. I'm not rebelling, and it's not enough to just overthrow the Qing Dynasty. I want revolution. Revolution isn't about entertaining people, writing articles, or painting or embroidering, which are so elegant and leisurely. Revolution is an uprising, a violent act of one class overthrowing another. I must quietly accumulate strength now, because once I start, I have to move forward without hesitation."

Zhang Yinghao pondered for a moment, feeling his forces were still too weak. He lacked the courage of true revolutionaries to directly start a revolution with two kitchen knives. He would continue to recruit soldiers under the guise of the security corps. He couldn't rely on the young men for the time being, so he could only recruit adults, who would work during the day and train after classes at night. Relying on just a dozen or so men was still insufficient. He didn't know when Luo Zelin and the others would return, and after so many days, he wasn't sure if he could find any useful personnel.

In the end, I lack the revolutionary's fearless spirit. Without guns or cannons, the enemy has given us the courage to fight. Our own resources are too limited. At the next meeting, Zhang Yinghao discussed with several comrades the possibility of incorporating those willing to train into the team at night, provided it did not affect work. After reviewing the day's shortcomings and checking the supply consumption, they went back to bed.

The next day, a piece of news spread like wildfire across several villages: Zhangjiagou was recruiting security forces to defend against bandits. Tuanlian (military training) was a familiar concept in the late Qing Dynasty. The Hongyang Rebellion was suppressed by tuanlian (military training). Zhang Zhongyuan, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang all rose to prominence through tuanlian training. The current "soldiers" were the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, and the "yong" (military training) were local militia.

Now the nearby landlords could no longer sit still and sent people to inquire about the news.

Zhang Yinghao's answer to these people was consistent: the landlord Zhang Xianglong in our village was killed by bandits, so Zhangjiagou decided to form a security team to protect the safety of the village.

This was also the case during the late Qing Dynasty, when bandits were rampant in Sichuan. Organizing militias was a fashionable thing, and merchants had their own armed forces—the Merchant Corps. So it wasn't surprising for landlords to organize militias, but Zhangjiagou couldn't afford a large-scale militia. Furthermore, many of the bandits' backers were the landlords. The landlords would send bandits to handle tasks they found inconvenient, and the landlords would then clean up the mess. This was a cause of panic among nearby landlords.

They also learned through their own channels what was happening in Zhangjiagou: a large group of people had been gathered to build a reservoir, and after it was completed, the land was being distributed, which infringed upon the interests of the landlords. Furthermore, the landlords were collecting over 70% of the rent and taxes, which was simply inhumane. It was like bad money driving out good money, and bad gentry driving out good gentry. Those families who dared to lower the landlords' or the rent were either extremely wealthy and didn't rely solely on the land for their livelihood, or they were so powerful that no one dared to mess with them, in order to gain something other than money.

Landlords and gentry all knew that the wool comes from the sheep, and organizing militia in a year of great disaster was acceptable. However, this matter required consultation among all. Landlords without major conflicts over interests could sometimes unite. Moreover, everyone was from the same village, many of them related by marriage. If one person acted alone, it would be a violation of the rules. In feudal society, those who broke the rules were unwelcome. If any small or medium-sized landlord dared to lower the rent on their own, they would be labeled an outlier among the landlords, a thorn in their side. Anyone who dared to lower the rent would be breaking the rules, and the landlords would unite to destroy them.

The destruction of Zhang Xianglong's family was a matter within Zhangjiagou, so he could have let it go if it hadn't affected him. But now Zhangjiagou was actually planning to divide up the land and only collect 30% tax, which was a stark threat to the other landlords.

Zhang Yinghao knew he couldn't resist now. Organizing the people to build the reservoir had already broken the rules, and then announcing the land distribution was a death sentence for the landlords. If others followed suit, life would be over. Zhang Xianglong had been a local criminal for decades. Due to his excessive expansion and greed, he was not well-liked. Coming from a soldier's family and advocating for the use of force, he was unpopular for his rough and tactical approach to solving problems, so everyone accepted it.

When faced with the people sent by the landlords, Zhang Yinghao repeatedly assured them that they were only recruiting a few people to protect their own village, and that anyone from other villages who needed help could come and seek assistance. He also strongly supported anyone who wanted to form a security team and welcomed them to send people to protect the area and the people. Later, when he noticed something was amiss, Zhang Yinghao immediately visited each household in person to explain the situation and the absolute lack of rent reduction. Only then did the landlords calm down somewhat.

Everyone has their own armed forces, and who doesn't understand this? Now that Zhang Yinghao has shown his attitude, these landlords will just wait and see. If they find anything wrong, they might report it to the authorities or do something else.

Zhang Yinghao was full of a sense of crisis. Anyone who might have been sent by the landlord to attend the lecture would be investigated, and only if there was no problem would he be allowed to enter the village to attend the lecture.

At the same time, Zhang Yinghao called Yuan Kesheng and said, "Comrade Kesheng, I have a task for you to investigate the landlords. I wonder if you dare to take it."

"Platoon leader, you go ahead."

"Well, you should thoroughly investigate all the landlords in this area, including the crimes of their families. It will be useful to us in the future. Talk to Comrade Shilin about the details; he has more experience."

"Okay, I'll go right away!"

"Well, you must stay hidden and be safe."

Humph, you landlords force me, so I will settle the score with you later!

As Zhang Yinghao expected, some people didn't show up for class that evening, but some new faces showed up. Zhang Yinghao didn't mind. He needed steadfast individuals, not fickle opportunists. Those who showed up now had to stay and train until the end before leaving. That was Zhang Yinghao's attitude. Those who remained were the ones Zhang Yinghao needed, and only then were they worthy of his dedicated training.

In the following days, Zhang Yinghao talked at length about the wars the great powers had waged against the Qing Dynasty, the amounts of indemnity, and the impact these treaties had on everyone. He also talked about how corrupt officials and local tyrants had exploited everyone.

Zhang Yinghao knew that those who saw clearly the class contradictions were the most steadfast in the revolution. Furthermore, those who saw clearly the class contradictions were either steadfast revolutionaries or betrayed the revolution and became steadfast counter-revolutionaries. There was no third way. Now, everyone needed to be filled with hatred for the old system and to raise their voices against the injustice of their own fate.

Just like this, more than ten days passed, and now the construction has entered the final stage. People who are not familiar with Zhangjiagou now think it is a barracks, and from time to time, loud and orderly shouts of one, two, three, four can be heard.

Zhang Yinghao has now figured out his work, and some of his colleagues have already emerged from the ordinary peasants. We all have to admit that some people are born with leadership abilities, and their ability to handle problems is much stronger than the average person. Furthermore, within a team, it's easy for them to generate charisma.

More and more comrades are now able to attend Zhang Yinghao's evening meetings. These comrades are the backbone of the future. Some comrades have left the front lines of reservoir construction. For these more progressive comrades, Zhang Yinghao has set up a training class for them. After the training, they go to work and learn in the iron furnaces, salt wells, and shops. He hopes that they can quickly change their mindsets, accelerate their pace of progress, and become part of the working class instead of just thinking about their wives and children.

More than ten days passed, and the supplies in Landlord Zhang's house had been digested and absorbed, and Zhang Yinghao had also taken over the salt wells and shops.

Chapter 17: Victims of Salt Well Control

3743 words

There is no need to be surprised at any time, because reality is often stranger than fiction. - Quotes from Zhang Yinghao

Zhang Yinghao also went to the two salt wells for an on-site inspection. The salt wells were one of the properties of the landlord Zhang's family that Zhang Yinghao valued most. Now the high price of salt made even Zhang Yinghao feel that he could not afford to eat salt.

"My name is Yang Tianxi, the foreman of this salt well. Welcome to the new owner."

"Hello, hello, please take care of me."

This Yang Tianxi is the general manager of one of the salt wells. When Zhang Yinghao saw him, he knew that this greasy-faced man had been fed with oil by the salt well.

"Foreman Yang, what is the daily output of our salt well?"

"Well, there's no specific number for this. The average daily brine output is 200 tons, which can be used to make 5 tons of brine."

"Very good, Foreman Yang, keep up the hard work, and you will definitely benefit from it."