Go back to ancient times to engage in sideline business

Coincidentally.

But if it is too coincidental, some people will be suspicious, while others would like to understand it as God's will.

Chen Yuanbao, who is obsessed with money, naturally belongs to the latter.

When he was waiting in front of Dayi Gate at noon with his assistant Wang Jiu, he happened to meet a white-covered carriage slowly passing by and stopped at the entrance of Rugui Inn dozens of steps away.

"Shopkeeper, isn't this the carriage that transported the silver yesterday evening?"

"Not bad!"

Chen Yuanbao stared closely at the front, his eyes seemed to be attracted by a magnet.

God has eyes and gave him another chance to meet the boss of the boat, he must make good use of it!

Whether it will be prosperous from now on, it all depends on today!

Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Yuanbao trotted forward.

The captain of the ship in the compartment had just lifted the curtain, and a thick arm was stretched out in front of him graciously, serving as a handrail.

"It's really a coincidence that I met the honored driver again, and the villain will help you out of the car!"

The boss of the boat took a narrow look, reluctantly appreciating his face, put his hand on Chen Yuanbao's arm, and stepped down on the horse stool.

"I have a heart..."

The boat boss just thanked him casually, and then walked into the inn quickly, hardly even looking at him.

Chen Yuanbao, however, was like a spring breeze, he just felt that he had already connected with the nobleman, Baba followed behind and chased after him.

"I haven't asked your honorable name yet."

The boss of the boat walked through the lobby of the inn, his footsteps were like the wind, and he didn't pay any attention to it.

Instead, the attendants tied up the carriage and followed, walked to Chen Yuanbao's side and said: "We all call him Jiu Ye."

At this moment, Chen Yuanbao had only one thought in his mind, and that was to try his best to curry favor with this Ninth Master.

In order to let him lead himself into the water transport and get a share of it.

Thinking about it, Master Jiu should not come to Qingjiang County often, so he allocated two taels of silver to Wang Jiu and ordered him to buy some specialties in the city.

Then he turned his head to the counter of Rugui Inn, settled the rent for Master Jiu and his party, ordered another pot of high-quality tea, and personally carried it upstairs.

Compared with the flattery he treated Tang Zhong in Qingshi Lane a few days ago, this time, Chen Yuanbao was obviously much more attentive.

Judging by Jiuye's walking aura and attitude towards himself, it is obvious that he is a figure with status and status in the Cao Gang.

I don't know why, the more Jiuye hates to see him, the more anxious he is to post it.

Holding the tea tray, he reconfirmed the name on the door of the room, and was about to knock on the door to enter, only to hear Master Jiu's voice from inside, his words were full of worry.

"It happened suddenly. The people and ships under my hand are busy on various rivers now. It is impossible to gather together in a while! Let's forget it."

"Jiuye, this is a hundred taels of gold, as long as the food arrives as scheduled, do you really want the money?"

"Then what do you say? The silver was exchanged for bank notes yesterday, and the second child was ordered to take it to exchange for [-] shi of grain. Now that we have insufficient financial resources and manpower, what else can we do besides abandoning this list?" Solution? It's a pity that we are far away in Qingjiang County, and we can't find anyone who can entrust us to do us a big favor!"

creak...

Before he had time to knock on the door, Chen Yuanbao couldn't wait to open the door and come in.

What about face and identity, I can't take care of it now.

He put the tea tray on the table, knelt down and knelt down in front of Shan Jiu, imitating the way people in the rivers and lakes do obeisance to the wharf to recognize the eldest brother, and cupped his fists to make a wish: "The villain Chen Yuanbao, I would like to share my worries for Lord Jiu, and I will be with you in front of the saddle and behind the horse." No excuses!"

On Shan Jiu's face, there were three points of surprise, three points of difficulty, and four points of relief.Turning his head away, he quickly exchanged glances with the followers behind him.

It wasn't until in front of Fuxing Restaurant that Tang Zhong waited for Chen Yuanbao and Wang Jiu to come out of Rugui Inn after the queue of diners changed twice from beginning to end.

"Here it is!"

Tang Zhongchao waved to the two, and then took out the blueprint in his arms.

"I also designed a slop bucket that can be opened by pressing a button. I thought about it, and each slop bucket can sell for at least five yuan."

Just finished chatting about a business worth a hundred taels of gold, how could Chen Yuanbao have any interest in a business worth five cents.

He grabbed the drawings that Tang Zhong handed over into a ball, threw them at his feet, and said almost in an orderly tone: "To design a cargo ship, it must be able to hold enough cargo without requiring too many sailors. Paddle. I only give you one day!"

Tang Zhong had never seen such an arrogant attitude from Chen Yuanbao. Even when he threatened to submit to him before, this guy had at least a layer of hypocrisy on his face, and there was still some politeness in his words.

Right now, he is acting like a running dog, for fear that no one can see that there is someone behind him.

"Shipbuilding? I don't know how to do it."

"If you don't know it, go learn it! Go find it in the book, and ask the boatman at the dock!" Wang Jiu, who was behind him, also called out to him, relying on his momentum.

How big of a bone did the two of them pick up, so crazy?

Chen Yuanbao also got excited: "Warning you, if you can't draw the boat I want at noon tomorrow, you and the Gao family father and son will not be as simple as suing and going to prison!"

Chen Yuanbao gritted his teeth while Tang Zhong pretended to be terrified.

After all, it was due to the constraints of the structure, and he couldn't hold his breath. Chen Yuanbao thought that he had joined the gang, but now his status was different, so he put on a show of kindness and power, and took the opportunity to show off: "To be honest, I just got a It is a deal of a hundred taels of gold, as long as you draw the boat I want, I will reward you with some silver taels when it is done."

"One hundred taels of gold? What kind of deal is that?" Tang Zhong looked like he had never seen the world.

"Don't try to inquire about other things. You just need to know that within fifteen days, I will hand over ten cargo ships that are large enough to load and save manpower. Go back and think about it carefully. Uncle will not treat you badly."

On Tang Zhong's face he was submissive, but in his heart he had already set ten thousand feet on top of Chen Yuanbao's head.

Just let it go, two grasshoppers after autumn!

According to the plan discussed with Shan Jiuye before, they would show their wealth publicly at the pier first, and then Tang Zhong would guide them from the side, which aroused Chen Yuanbao's fascination.

After that, they made a chance encounter in front of the Rugui Inn, and came to invite you into the urn.

In the end, in the name of a huge business, Chen Yuanbao was willing to bite the hook, willing to spend a lot of money to build ten cargo ships for grain transportation.

As for the ten thousand taels of silver they saw at the pier the day before.It's just a common trick of Shan Jiu men walking in the rivers and lakes.

Knead the shape of silver ingots with clods, and then paint with silver paint after firing. Looking at it from a distance, it is no different from real official silver.

But if you get closer, you can see that the surface of these silver bumps is like bricks and stones, full of rough potholes.

The so-called greed is not enough to swallow the elephant, in front of the alluring wealth, Chen Yuanbao only cares about his head and fantasies, so how could he notice these flaws?

As early as the formation of the plan, Tang Zhong had already referred to the private salt cargo ship run by Shan Jiuye, and conceived the structure he wanted to design in advance.

Now, he just needs to draw the design in his head on paper.

This matter needs to be kept secret, the Dongcheng Tower during the day is obviously not good, Tang Zhong waited patiently until night.

As usual, the four of them played poker until the second watch. As usual, Hu Touer offended the card god, and after losing the money, he went home in a jerk.

Since Deng Erhu was taken away, the guards of the East City Gate couldn't be transferred, so the night watchman changed from two to one.

Tang Zhong consciously came over to take his shift, and said: "Two days ago I was transferred to you on vacation, today's night shift should be considered as a bonus, and I will send you off for nothing!"

"That's enough, brother!" Zhao Li seemed to have picked up a huge advantage, accepted the favor without hesitation, went back to the inner room with a yawn, fell down and fell asleep.

In the dead of night, only the sound of the clapper of the watchman came rhythmically from a distance.

The thick ink smudged in the inkstone, and then soaked every hair.

The rice paper is laid out and stretched, and the strokes are smooth and free.

The warm yellow light was burning in the wick of the oil lamp, reflecting the wet water on the paper brightly.

Tang Zhong repeatedly checked the formulas on the straw paper to ensure that the dimensions of each part were marked correctly.

Although the drawings are based on the design of ready-made cargo ships, you can only rest assured after repeated checks and calculations.Fortunately, he hasn't fully returned the trigonometric functions and the Pythagorean theorem in middle school to the math teacher.

Compared with drawing drawings before, he appeared more careful this time.

Strictly speaking, the previous drawings were all the things in the modern society in the previous life, drawn on rice paper as they were.

And now, it is the first time that he draws the utensils he modified.

The structure of the cargo ship on the rice paper is roughly in accordance with the basic skeleton of Shan Jiuye's cargo ship.

But the difference is that Tang Zhong canceled the position of all the oars and replaced them with the bottom and stern of the ship, adding propellers that are only found in modern ships.

In order to transmit power to the propeller at the tail, he laid several spur gears of different sizes and bevel gears to change the transmission direction in the cabin.

The final source of power for the entire freighter is a device that is installed on the deck and shaped like a millstone.

Inspired by the big stone mill in the village that day, Tang Zhong designed and installed a disc-shaped start on the deck.

Before sailing, you only need to drive the donkeys and horses onto the deck, and put them on the rope rings just like driving a donkey to grind a mill.

Donkeys and horses push the grinding rod to drive the initial rotation, and the layers of gears are transmitted in sequence, and finally transmitted to the propeller to generate thrust.

In order to increase the power, Tang Zhong designed three push rods at the beginning, which can be operated by three donkeys and horses at the same time.

In this way, when each ship is moving, at least one sailor at the helm and one boatman who takes care of the donkey and horse are needed to transport a ship of grain on the road, which greatly saves the staffing.

Tang Zhong kneaded the straw paper with formulas into balls, stuffed them into his sleeves, and held up the drawn drawings in front of his eyes, appreciating his masterpiece with a sense of accomplishment.

Sitting by the oil lamp and staring at it for a long time, he finally thought of a unique and appropriate name for the cargo ship he personally improved:

Donkey moves the boat!

About two miles west from the wharf, there is an abandoned shed, which used to be a fishing boat workshop.

The waterways in Qingjiang County are not prosperous, and there have been no decent shipbuilders for many years, and the workshops have also been abandoned.

Chen Yuanbao invited many carpenters from all over the world, occupied this old workshop, and started working day and night to build ships.

At the beginning, some people passing by to buy fish came in from time to time to have a look, but they didn't care.

It wasn't until five days later that the first built donkey-powered boat was pushed out of the shed and successfully launched into the water, which caused a sensation among the crowd watching on the shore.

The news of a strange boat launching on the riverside spread widely, and quickly spread in the small Qingjiang County. Even the officials in the county government were talking about it when they went to the public kitchen for lunch. thing.

"My lord, have you heard? There are people on the Qingjiang River who are pulling a boat with a donkey and running very fast!"

When the master came back from work in the city, he made a special trip to report to Linzhi County.

Before he stepped on the floor tiles of the study, he couldn't help but recite the anecdote he just heard.

Lin Zhixian was looking through the account book with his cheeks propped up, and said impatiently: "It's just some strange skills, so there's nothing to make a fuss about."

Compared with the new things outside, it is obvious that the accounts in hand are more important.

Next month, the newly appointed Lord Tong Zhi of Yongning Mansion will go down to inspect the counties, and he has to quickly clear up all the accounts in the county government.

I heard that this lord was quite famous when he was an official in another place before, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with this time's errand.

Just sent away a magistrate's yamen steward, and a fellow magistrate is coming. Do you really think his Qingjiang County is a racetrack?Hurry up!

The grievances belong to the grievances, and after throwing a few cups to vent, they have to honestly find out the account books.

It's a shame that this mess of accounts is made up of ramblings, and I don't know where to start.

It's not possible to really spit out the greedy money, right?

"You came at the right time! This troublesome thing is your job. You must settle all accounts with me before Mr. Tongzhi arrives!"

The smile on the chief bookkeeper's face froze on the spot: "This... This really overestimates the ability of the subordinate official. The figures on the account are easy to fill, but the money in the treasury and the grain in the warehouse have really bottomed out. .”

"The auditors in the past were just going through the motions, but if this Master Tongzhi really wants to do something real, as the rumors say, he will definitely close the warehouse for inspection. When the warehouse door is opened, our current cover-up will be in vain."

Lin Zhixian already had an ugly face. Hearing what the director said, he grabbed the teacup at hand, wishing he could smash it on the ground to hear it again.

The master secretary is a brilliant mind. Seeing this posture, he slapped his forehead and immediately came up with an idea that was enough to fool him.

"My lord, perhaps the most urgent solution is on the donkey boat on the river!"

"really?"

Lin Zhixian put down the teacup silently, and signaled the master to speak carefully...

Soon, it was the day when Chen Yuanbao and Master Jiu agreed to deliver the ship.

These days, in order to meet the construction deadline, he has lost a lot of weight, and even the tip of his belly in front of his waist has receded several inches.

But it's okay to work hard. Looking at the completed cargo ship in front of him, he is already full of expectations for the upcoming rich life.

Ten donkey-driven boats are moored side by side on the vast and turbulent river.

Each boat is more than one foot wide and three feet long. If it is fully loaded, it can hold two hundred shi of grain.

The ten donkey-driven boats in front of me have the capacity to transport two thousand stones.

Although it is not comparable to the loading capacity of a seagoing ship, it is outstanding enough to be placed in a river.

Moreover, donkey-driven boats do not require too many boatmen, and the speed of sailing is very fast.Except for the initial shipbuilding expenses, there is almost no need to invest too much in the later voyage.

In order to get the ten donkeys into the water as scheduled and convince Master Jiu of his strength, Chen Yuanbao spent a lot of money this time.

Among other things, the three gray donkeys equipped for each ship cost him a full 210 taels of silver.

God damn donkey dealer, the price has risen at this time, and the gray donkey, which is usually only two taels, is insisting on selling him seven taels.

Damn, when he gets rich, he must come back and deal with these peddlers.

Moving a boat with ten donkeys is no small project, and the money he had saved in the first half of his life alone was far from enough.

Youdao was reluctant to leave the child without a wolf, so Chen Yuanbao simply sold all the coffins in the store at a low price, and then pawned off the store in Fengshan Town and the house in his hometown.

For the remaining gap, they borrowed money from banks in the city at high interest rates, and only then did they get together the payment for timber and the wages of dozens of carpenters.

As for Wang Jiu, the clerk who has been working for him, Chen Yuanbao didn't take care of his old relationship, and fired him long before pawning off the ancestral house.

What kind of buddy can't be found in the future when the wealthy party?

He watched the donkeys lined up in front of him moving the boat, and then looked behind him at the thirty gray donkeys who were slowly gnawing on the grass sprouts on the river beach. His heart was surging like the waves of the Qingjiang River.

Just waiting for Jiuye's grain to be shipped away, the business worth a hundred taels of gold will be considered complete.

According to the previous agreement, he will share with Master Jiu fifty-fifty.

From then on, he was formally supported by Master Nine to join the Cao Gang to transport food.

Thinking of Master Jiu being so overbearing, he can easily cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, as long as he hangs out with him, he will surely become rich and powerful!

The beautiful blueprint for the future has slowly unfolded in front of Chen Yuanbao's eyes. He couldn't help laughing ahead of time, and raised his eyes to look in the direction of the East City Gate, waiting for Jiuye's grain transporters to arrive.

However, before Master Jiu's eye-catching white-covered carriage, the more eye-catching police team arrived one step ahead.

"You are Chen Yuanbao?"

Qi Butou looked him up and down, his tone as rough as ever.

"Exactly, what's the business of all the servants?"

Catcher Qi didn't bother to write with him, so he greeted the little catchers behind him: "You two, tie him up for me and bring him back to the county government! A few more people, guard the donkey and the boat!"

Chen Yuanbao, an autumn grasshopper, jumped three feet high, struggled to push away the rope on his body, and shouted in surprise: "Why arrest me! What crime have I committed!"

"What crime did you commit? The county magistrate has the final say!"

"Jiuye! I am Jiuye's man! If you dare to offend me, when Jiuye finds out, you will definitely be unable to eat!"

Catcher Qi picked out his ears with his little finger, and saw that the two little cops were dawdling and hadn't subdued him yet, so he couldn't help getting angry.

He went over in person, and hit the back of the neck with a knife in his hand. Chen Yuanbao's limbs became paralyzed immediately and he passed out.

"What are the ninth and eighth masters, I am your Qi father!"

"It's terrible, it's terrible! Linzhi County got ten strange ships from nowhere, and ordered people to drive them to the Cao River to help transport the army rations. Now the official documents of the governor's meritorious deeds and rewards have come down!"

Hu Tou'er had just returned from the county government office, and before he even had time to drink water, he panted heavily and excitedly announced the news.

"Have you rewarded the county government with a lot of money?" Zhao Li leaned over and asked.

"You're worthless, you know money. Let me tell you, he's probably going to be promoted this time!"

Tang Zhong, who had been silent all this time, couldn't help frowning.

This time, Lin Zhixian, a fatuous black official, actually took advantage of it!