Chapter 216 – Laborers

Chapter 216 - Laborers

Through the latticed window, the young Xizhou governor saw a group of people dressed in coarse cloth and short robes. The clothes seemed thick, hinting at fur lining beneath. There were nine of them, with the oldest appearing to be around twenty-three or twenty-four, while the youngest looked to be about eight or nine. Most were teenagers. One by one, they stepped forward, dipped their pens in ink, and filled out the register.

Many of them seemed particularly thrilled as they wrote, and their posture was impeccable, even the youngest writing with a decent hand.

Were they really scholars?

The governor and the chief secretary exchanged surprised glances.

So many commoners were literate?

After the group left, the two officials emerged from the back chamber to inspect the register. The handwriting was surprisingly readable, with one entry being exceptionally good. Glancing at the listed residences, they noticed a row of Daxing Village.

Daxing Village? The young governor pondered for a moment before realization dawned upon him. "Is that the village nearest the city gates that the Wang family donated? They've already started settling people in?"

"It should be," replied the census officer. Not everything was reported to the higher-ups, so the chief secretary wasn't entirely sure. His gaze fell on the name Wang Yunzheng, and he pointed out the line following it. "This one is from the Wang family, and he registered independently."

It was just an offhand comment, but what made him happier was that there were now thirty-six registrants. Although the quota was not yet full, the remaining spots were fewer. After all, there were still nine days left. He asked, "Shall we still proceed with the public announcement, Your Excellency?"

"Why not? In these times, talents are in high demand. Why should we be restricted as we are now? This is also the Emperor's intention."

...

In Great Prosperity Village, Shen Lie and company entered the town. Seeing the bright sunshine, Sang Luo didn't rush to the fields. Instead, she grabbed a bamboo basket and led Shen Ning to the stream in the mountains behind their permanent land.

"Sister-in-law, can tree bark really be made into paper?"

Paper was so precious; she couldn't imagine how tree bark could be transformed into it.

Sang Luo glanced at her and chuckled. "Isn't the cloth you're wearing made from ramie? If cloth can be woven, why can't paper?"

Shen Ning tilted her head. "Cloth is woven on looms, but can paper be woven too?"

She still found it hard to picture.

To be honest, Sang Luo herself wasn't sure if her ideas would work. What she was certain of was that paper could indeed be made from tree bark, rice straw, ramie, bamboo, and such materials.

"Let's give it a try. It'll just take some time, and the raw materials are abundant in the mountains. We have nothing to lose, and if it works, the benefits will be endless." Not to mention the shortage of writing paper, she also longed for the freedom of having toilet paper.

Unaware of her eldest sister-in-law's contemplation, Shen Ning laughed upon hearing that the materials were abundant in the mountains. A month ago, when her second brother had cleared the mountain path and brought back firewood, his wife had spotted it. On that day, she had led Shen Ning and her second brother to pick out several branches, peeling off their bark to leave bare stems for burning. Not a single one had gone to waste.

"Suppose we really manage to perfect it, could our family set up a stall to sell paper and brushes? The pens we make at home aren't inferior to those bought outside anymore."

San Luo's lips curled into a smile. The young lady was now twelve, much more perceptive than she had been at nine. Not only was her mind filled with knowledge, it was also brimming with business acumen.

"There's no need to wait for the paper to be made; aren't you already doing well with the brushes? If the state school opens, you and Xiaoya can give it a try." In these times, food is too precious to be sold, but these small items could certainly find a market.

Those words lit up Shen Ning's eyes. "I'll give it a try once I'm done with the work in the fields."

Shen Ning's subconscious response triggered some contemplation in Sang Luo.

It was good to have land, but most of her time with Shen Ning was spent working on it. Despite their decent physical strength, neither felt particularly exhausted, but... who couldn't do the task of hoeing daily? Why should she continually engage in this labor?

"Sis, there's no need to wait. Later, I'll go ask around and hire two extra hands. With more mountainous terrain ahead, we'll need help anyway, so might as well start now."

Shen Ning was taken aback, then her face lit up with joy. No young girl would enjoy wielding a hoe every day; swinging a wooden staff would be more entertaining.

She clung to Sang Luo's arm and pouted adorably. "Big Sis, you really dote on me."

"I am the one who feels the pain."

The two women laughed and chatted their way to the mountain stream. Eight small bundles of mulberry bark were tied to the flowing water, with the other ends of the bindings secured to stones. Each bundle had a small wooden tag attached, engraved with simple, line-like symbols that Shen Ning couldn't decipher.

San Luo picked up the two bundles for inspection. Considering the timeline, they had been soaking for thirty-two days?

The first material she chose for her experiment was the bark of the mulberry tree, mainly because in her memory, paper had an elegant pseudonym, "Mr. Chu." The mulberry trees were abundant in these mountains, hence, quite assuredly, their bark became her initial subject of experimentation.

Following the method employed for stripping hemp, the bark was peeled from the trees, the outermost layer discarded, leaving behind the fibrous middle layer. This layer was then divided into precisely eight bundles: four were submerged directly in the mountain stream, while the remaining four were first dried before being subjected to the same aquatic immersion.

Now, upon closer inspection, there wasn't much difference between the sun-dried and non-sun-dried bark; however, the color had changed after a month of soaking. The original light green hue had transformed into a slightly deeper yellow than that of xuan paper.

San Luo picked two bundles each from the directly soaked and sun-dried categories. After draining them, she placed them in a basket. "Alright, let's go back. We'll start with these samples."

Since every household had been allocated ample farmland, the original farmers were responsible for managing more fields. As a result, the dwellings in Daxing Village were relatively scattered, allowing them to avoid any need for seclusion. Behind the house, they piled up four makeshift stoves with stones. They filled four large earthen pots with water and placed them on the stoves. Each pot received a portion of the soaked bark, while the corresponding bamboo tags were left nearby. San Luo instructed Shen Ning to ignite the fires for boiling.

There were numerous jars and earthen pots of various sizes behind the houses, all collected by the village boys every evening from an abandoned village nearby. Even several water jars had been carried back, with each household accumulating quite a stockpile. These containers were perfect for San Luo's endeavors.

While Shen Ning tended to the fire, San Luo went inside to fetch a large sack of wood ash. Once the water boiled, she added a portion of the wood ash to each of the four earthen pots, mixing both the sun-dried and non-sun-dried bark. Then, she covered the pots to simmer together.

She wasn't sure if papermaking required boiling, but when she lived in the mountains, the old woman who taught her weaving had mentioned that to achieve soft and white cloth, one needed to boil it with water and grass ash for an extended period and wash it repeatedly.

The bark fibers, after soaking, were still quite stiff. Boiling was indeed necessary. Grass ash was a useful item, so she decided to divide the four portions of bark—both sun-dried and non-sun-dried—into halves again. Two halves would be boiled in plain water, while the other two would be boiled with grass ash water. Then, she'd observe the differences.

With the same mulberry bark, this resulted in four different methods. After explaining the details to Shen Ning, who was responsible for the fire, she could finally take a break. She went inside, fetched a roll of bamboo slips, prepared ink, and laid them out. On each slip, she noted down the second step of processing for the four samples, labeling them accordingly.

Once the ink dried, she put everything away, closed the door, informed Shen Ning, and left home to seek help from neighboring villages.

...

The Shen family's residence was located in the inner part of Daxing Village. Heading out would take her through various farmlands, starting with Shen Jin and his brother's, followed by the Chen family's.

When Old Lady Chen saw Sang Luo coming, she called out from a distance. Upon learning that Sang Luo was looking for help, Old Lady Chen was taken aback. "You don't need to, our fields will be turned over in three or four more days. Then, we can all come and assist you for a few days. Why spend money hiring people?"

Sang Luo shook her head. "It's not just for a day or two. There's also the mountain land to tend to."

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Chen perked up. "A' Luo, how do you plan on managing your mountain land? Are you planting yams?"

"Yes, but not exclusively. I'm also considering cultivating something else. I haven't fully decided yet, so I'll figure it out as I clear the land," replied Sang Luo.

"Exactly." Old Lady Chen set down her hoe. "Come on, come on. I know which families in the neighboring villages have extra labor. I'll accompany you to look for them."

Unlike Sang Luo, who mostly spent her idle time reading and practicing with her staff, Old Lady Chen had become quite familiar with the people and households around the village since moving out of the valley. She knew every family's number of sons and daughters, along with their ages.

...

After clarifying that Sang Luo needed two helpers, Old Lady Chen asked Chen Dashan a few questions before leading Sang Luo out of the village.

They didn't head to the neighboring villages where the Fengs and Zhou Laazi's family lived; instead, they went in another direction, towards the first batch of former villagers who had settled outside the village after relocating.

On the way, Old Lady Chen told Sang Luo, "I'm taking you to a perfect family. They're surnamed Zhao, and they're incredibly honest. The key is that all four branches of the family live together, and none of their children have reached adulthood yet. I remember they have about six or seven boys aged thirteen to sixteen, and a few younger ones too. They'll definitely be able to spare some strong laborers."

Her words sounded very promising – it couldn't be more suitable!

But Sang Luo never expected the scene she was about to witness.

This family consisted of four brothers and three teenage boys who were supposed to work in the fields. At that moment, they picked up their farming tools and changed course, heading straight for Daxing Village in a group of seven.

They weren't asking for payment; there was no way to refuse them. While Sang Luo was still being held back by the Zhao family's matriarch, the father, uncles, and nephews had already started on their way.

In the household were several teenagers around twelve or thirteen years old. Upon hearing that they could help Master Shen's family, they hastily followed their father, almost getting away from their mother's grasp: "There are no more farming tools; you're not allowed to cause trouble."

Granny Zhao watched with a joyful smile, holding Sang Luo's hand warmly. "Madam Sang, don't refuse. You don't know how many lives you've saved. If it weren't for your teachings on detoxifying the taro, digging and planting yams, and making 'immortal tofu', we wouldn't have known how to survive these past few years, let alone make it out of the mountains safely and be granted land by the government to settle down. It's just a matter of turning over a few acres of land, which can be done neatly in two days. If there were more tools, we could send even more people to help. Our family is big, so helping you for two days won't hinder our own chores."

Sang Luo couldn't help but laugh through her tears. When she first taught them some skills, the nearby villages had always kept her in mind. Whenever there was a new delicacy in the mountains, she would receive some. She never expected that asking for help with farm work would elicit the same response.

She explained, "Granny, I appreciate your kindness, but I really do need workers. It's not just for a day or two; we lack labor at home. Shen Lie has been entrusted by the county clerk to find people in the mountains and inform them of the government's policies before bringing them out. He won't have time to take care of the house, and there's still more mountainous land to tend to. How could I ask your family to work for free?"

As for the matter of studying, she didn't mention it since it was uncertain if they would pass the exam.

The elderly lady knew that Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were among those assisting the government. They had been able to settle in such a good location thanks to Shen Lie's intervention with the official. Thus, she turned to the more familiar Chen woman and asked, "Are they still going into the mountains? Are there still people in our area who haven't come out yet?"

Chen Woman was well aware of the situation. Sang Luo was telling the truth, but she omitted the part about studying. On the ninth day of the lunar month, they would take the exam. If they passed, Shen Lie and Shen An would be busy with their studies, and if they didn't, Shen Lie would still need to venture into the mountains, making it difficult to manage his home.

She nodded. "Yes, they'll still need to go. The neighboring villages are mostly empty, but there might still be some people further in. Didn't the government ask Ah Lie, Dashan, and the others to look for more people elsewhere? To be honest, it's not an unpaid trip. The government also offers benefits, giving us some mountain land to use."

Granny Zhao replied, "Of course. The deep mountains are so dangerous. Without them guiding us, how could we have come out peacefully? We wouldn't have made it."

Hearing this, Chen Woman smiled happily. "That's right. That's why, if it's just a few acres of land, there's no need to search outside the village. Ah Lie has his little apprentices, and we neighbors are here too. Since we came out early and have ample labor, we can finish the remaining tasks soon. When the time comes, everyone will lend a hand, and the work will be done with a few strokes of each person's hoe. Ah Luo didn't ask for help only for the fields; there's still work in the mountain areas, and she genuinely lacks labor. She mentioned hiring two people, so I came to look for help outside. Knowing your family's situation, I believe you can spare two workers. After asking Dashan about where you settled, I brought her here."

Madam Zhao hastily expressed her gratitude and then turned to Sang Luo. "Alright then, don't bother hiring anyone else for those acres of land. Consider it our way of showing appreciation and giving something back. Our boys at home would be delighted too. Take this opportunity to observe them; see if they're efficient and if they meet your standards. If you're satisfied with their work, feel free to employ them in the future. Just provide enough food for them to have half a full stomach."

Madam Zhao spoke from the heart. At this time of year, food was what their family lacked most. In families with many members like theirs, if someone offered enough food to fill one's stomach halfway, they'd be more than willing to take on the job.

Sang Luo had already considered this. She had an impression of the Zhao family, and as Chen Po had mentioned, they were sincere people. Thus, she smiled and said, "In that case, I thank you in advance. This time, I need to hire two people. The tasks are varied, ranging from work in the mountains to the fields. Since I'm not sure about the situation later on, I'll hire them on a monthly basis. If they eat with us, they'll get two meals a day, whatever we have, and 300 copper coins per person per month. If they prefer to cook for themselves, in addition to the 300 copper coins, each will receive ten measures of soybeans and ten catties of cured or fresh meat. Of course, there's no pork available now, so whatever game they hunt in the forest will do."

Madam Zhao and her four daughters-in-law were stunned. "What? So much?"

Even 300 copper coins were a decent wage. Ten measures of soybeans could almost feed a strong laborer with some wild vegetables for half a meal. But the key point was the ten catties of meat.

Since Sang Luo was a woman, even the usually silent Old Man Zhao couldn't help but look over.

Their family wasn't new to this anymore. The city no longer charged an entrance fee, and they had gone in to check it out. Food was expensive, especially meat, which could be exchanged for grain with the stewards or servants of wealthy households. Although he hadn't inquired in detail, Old Man Zhao figured that ten catties of meat could be traded for at least forty to fifty measures of soybeans, depending on the type of meat.

Old Man Zhao instinctively took a couple of steps towards Sang Luo before stopping. "Madam Sang, that's too much. Meat can be exchanged for grain in the city."

Sang Luo nodded. "I know, but there's a lot of heavy work involved. You can use some of it to exchange for grain, and keep a few catties for yourselves to replenish your strength."

In peaceful times, pork sold for eighteen copper coins per catty. Ten catties would be 180 copper coins, plus ten measures of soybeans at 40 copper coins, and another 300 for wages, adding up to 520 copper coins. For a strong laborer working for a month, it was a very reasonable offer.

She was also aware that food prices, including grains and meat, were high. However, their rice paddies and grains were hidden in the valley, barely enough for their own consumption, let alone selling openly. As for soybeans, they had indeed planted a substantial amount on the mountain. Allowing them to provide twenty liters per month was feasible. As for meat, she wasn't as reluctant since Shen Lie would always bring some back whenever he ventured into the mountains to fetch people. With her family and the three Shen brothers, there was no need to worry about food shortage. Among all the items used to offset wages, this was what Sangluo offered with the least hesitation.

Old Man Zhao, hearing her terms, nodded in agreement. "Alright, then Mrs. Sang, you can pick two tomorrow once the land is plowed. We'll bring our own meals and just need a source of heat to warm them up. We'll work hard for you, I promise."

Sangluo smiled. "It's settled then."

Old Man Zhao nodded repeatedly. "Yes, it's settled, definitely settled."