1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 85 New Year’s Eve
"Brother, this is the total account for this year. All the money in our account, converted into silver, is 1,272 taels and 8 mace of silver and 41 taels of gold."

The warehouse also contained 338,600 jin of mixed charcoal, 186,500 jin of hardwood charcoal, 74,800 jin of charcoal, and 17,400 jin of white charcoal.

Selling at the current market price in Jiangkou, after deducting the boat fare for the hired boatmen, the wages for the coal porters in Jiangkou, the membership fees of the Xunzhou Chamber of Commerce, the money for bribing the officials, taxes, and other miscellaneous expenses, we can recoup 980 taels, 3 mace, and 8 fen of silver from this batch of coal.”

Peng Yi, who had been managing Peng Gang's accounts for more than half a year, was already very proficient in this job. Before the end of the year, Peng Yi and Peng Min compiled the accounts for the year.

Peng Yi was of a rather gentle and mild temperament. Back when he was still in Honglianping, Peng Gang had tried to have Peng Yi train in marching drills and lead troops.

However, Peng Yi had no interest in fighting and killing; he preferred dealing with abacuses and warehouses and enjoyed it immensely.

When Peng Gang explained the military formations and the use of muskets to Peng Yi, Peng Yi always seemed to be dozing off.

On the contrary, whenever I teach him math and explain some economic common sense, this kid always listens intently and learns quite quickly. Now he can even solve quadratic equations in two variables.

Peng Gang then abandoned the idea of ​​having Peng Yi practice commanding troops in combat.

Since this kid prefers managing accounts and logistics to leading troops, let him be.

As for her younger sister Peng Min, she has a well-behaved personality; she learns whatever she is taught and does whatever she is asked to do.

Peng Min is not as smart as Peng Yi, and he doesn't learn things as quickly as Peng Yi.

Peng Gang taught the two of them math almost simultaneously, and they studied together for more than half a year.

Peng Yi can now solve quadratic equations in two variables with ease, while Peng Min struggles to solve even a quadratic equation in one variable, and sometimes even makes mistakes in division.

However, Peng Gang now intends to have Peng Min, along with her two aunts and Zhao Hanwei, manage the women and children of Honglian Village to gain management experience.

"That's all?"

Since the establishment of Honglian Village in Jiangping, Yiyingshan, Peng Gang has been spending money like water. He originally thought that the money from selling charcoal could make up for some of the expenses, but unexpectedly, the amount of supplies purchased and the number of refugees accommodated exceeded his expectations, and the speed at which his savings were depleted exceeded his expectations.

Of the 1,272 taels and 8 mace of silver, some still had to be squeezed out to send as New Year's gifts to Yang Xun.

After the New Year, not much of the gold and silver they had obtained from the wealthy Zhang and Wang families was left.

Yang Xun has written to him several times, telling him to behave himself, as Gu Yuankai and Zheng Zuchen have already set their sights on the God Society.

Peng Gang's meager wealth was barely enough to bribe county officials, let alone Gu Yuankai and Zheng Zuchen, a prefect and a governor, respectively. He certainly couldn't afford to feed them.

Unless there's an uprising next year, we definitely won't be able to take advantage of the big spenders.

Peng Gang was somewhat worried. Since he couldn't make a fortune out of thin air, he could only honestly cut down trees, sell timber, and burn charcoal to make money.

"We bought a full 11,200 jin of wrought iron alone. We managed to raise the price of wrought iron in Jiangkouwei and Guipingcheng from 51 wen per jin to 60 wen per jin."

There are also Yunnan horses, each costing fifteen taels. We bought twenty-one in total, and you gave the horse dealer a deposit of sixty-five taels. We plan to buy another twenty-six next year. And you bought twenty-three mules, each costing eight taels.

Other large livestock, such as cattle, cost thirteen or fourteen taels of silver each, not to mention the eight qian of silver hoof tax for each cow. Even so, you, brother, didn't even blink an eye and bought eighteen of them. You also bought one hundred and forty-five pigs, including piglets.

Then there are the twenty-eight new craftsmen, all of whom you hired at great expense.”

After checking the ledgers, Peng Yi knew every single account inside and out.

"I know, I know. How much grain do we have left in our granary?" Peng Gang, who was getting a bit of a headache, interrupted Peng Yi and asked him how much grain was left in the granary.

Peng Gang did not buy so many mules and horses to build a cavalry.

Furthermore, Yunnan horses have short legs and are not fast, making them unsuitable as mounts for cavalry.

However, its strength lies in its endurance, making it suitable for hiking mountain trails.

Peng Gang bought these mules and horses to prepare for the formation of a supply corps, and at the same time to train a dozen or so trainees who could ride horses to serve as messengers in the future.

“There are only 121 shi of various kinds of grain left,” Peng Yi blurted out.

“One hundred and twenty-one shi is too little. We should burn more charcoal to exchange for silver and store grain,” Peng Gang said after a moment of contemplation.

“Right now we are buying coal from our coal farmers at 40% of the market price in Jiangkou Market. We’ll give them a 10% discount. We’ll spread the word that after the New Year, we’ll buy coal from them at 50% of the market price in Jiangkou Market.”

"Third Brother, at this rate of burning, we won't be able to burn the nearby mountains for more than a few years," Peng Yi said hesitantly.

“Silly brother, with the current chaos, do you really expect to be able to peacefully burn and sell charcoal in the future?” Peng Gang said with a smile. “Just do as I say.”

"So how much New Year's gift do you plan to give to Magistrate Yang this year?" Peng Yi asked.

“If you’re short on cash, send less. Three hundred and ten taels will do. If you think that’s too little, I’ll give him more if he’s still the magistrate of Guiping next Dragon Boat Festival,” Peng Gang said after thinking for a moment.

"In addition, I will give my eldest uncle another hundred taels to buy a charcoal shop in Wuxuan County and entrust it to his family to manage."

Yang Xun was Peng Gang's only support in the government. No matter how difficult things got, Peng Gang had to squeeze out some money to keep Yang Xun in check. This was money he absolutely couldn't skimp on; Wang Zuoxin was a cautionary tale. "Wuxuan? If we want to sell our charcoal to Wuxuan, we'll need to hire a lot of people to pull it by water, and by land, it's all mountain roads. The price of charcoal in Wuxuan is lower than in Jiangkouwei, so selling charcoal there isn't worthwhile; it's a complete loss."

Peng Yi couldn't understand why Peng Gang would open a charcoal shop in Wuxuan County. He found it unbelievable and couldn't quite keep up with his brother's thinking.

“The charcoal business in Wuxuan is just a front. You’re not interested in these things anyway, but you’ll find out later,” Peng Gang said.

He opened a charcoal shop in Wuxuan not for profit, but as part of a plan to attack Wuxuan County in the future.

If Honglian Village wants to sell its charcoal to Wuxuan via the Qianjiang River, it requires hiring many people to pull the boats. However, if goods from Wuxuan County want to be transported to Honglian Village via the Qianjiang River, they can simply go downstream and arrive in a matter of days.

Wuxuan County is a small town, not as grand as Guiping, the prefectural capital. It also has a very small garrison. The entire town is built on a plain along the Qianjiang River, with only one side facing the water, making it a typical place that is easy to attack but difficult to defend.

Before the Qing army's reinforcements from other provinces entered Guangxi, it was uncertain whether they could capture Guiping City. However, Peng Gang still had a great chance of independently capturing Wuxuan.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month of the 28th year of the Daoguang Emperor's reign, the air in Jiangkou Market was already filled with the smell of firecrackers and gunpowder.

Wang Dalei, carrying the letter from Honglian Village, gave his wife a few instructions and then walked out of Pengji Charcoal Shop towards the magnificent seven-courtyard house by the river outside the dike.

The most magnificent courtyard in the entire Jiangkou dike, located on the riverbank outside the dike, was the residence of Huang Tizheng, the most prominent gentry in Xunzhou Prefecture.

The moment Wang Dalei stepped out of the charcoal shop, dozens of skinny laborers who had been sitting idly at the entrance waiting for work swarmed around him, eagerly asking, "Manager Wang, is there any work coming in?"

Most of these gaunt laborers were bankrupt and landless farmers.

Besides farming, they had no other skills to make a living, and they didn't dare to join the Heaven and Earth Society or the God Society.

They had no choice but to work as laborers in Jiangkou Market to make a living, but as the year drew to a close, most of the charcoal shops in Jiangkou Market had already closed for the New Year, and there was no work to be done.

“The boatmen have all gone home for the New Year. Even if there is charcoal in the mountains, it can’t be transported now. It’s getting cold, so don’t wait at the charcoal shop entrance,” Wang Dalei said, shaking his head and waving his hand.

"Everyone, you can all go home for the New Year."

Wang Dalei wasn't lying to them. The boatmen from Luo Dagang, Su Sanniang, and Qiu Ersao's three units who used to help them transport coal were all busy preparing for the New Year and wouldn't start work until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

The laborers sighed and complained, even if they only had a peck or two of rice in their rice bins to get through the year.

Why would they stay at Jiangkouwei on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month waiting for work?

Passing by a small alley near Jiangkouwei, there was a pile of garbage at the entrance of the alley, with a conspicuous bamboo basket on top of the garbage pile.

Wang Dalei peeked out and saw a dead infant lying in a bamboo basket, its body curled up and its swollen head pressing against the edge of the basket.

With a calm expression, Wang Dalei lifted the hem of his long robe, stepped over the pile of garbage, and strode quickly toward the Huang family mansion.

On the seven-courtyard, seven-section blue brick wall of the Huang family mansion, the newly pasted mulberry paper rustled in the cold wind, and the two stone lions at the entrance were also draped in red silk decorations.

Inside and outside the Huang residence, fires blazed and oil was poured, and flowers were adorned like brocade, creating a lively and bustling scene.

Even through the wall, Wang Dalei could smell the aroma of roast suckling pig, eight-treasure duck, and steamed glutinous rice.

So many people came to the Huang family to deliver New Year's gifts that a long queue formed at the door.

In the past, people would line up to give gifts to the Wang family during festivals.

Compared to the Huang family, the Wang family is nothing.

The people who came to the Wang family to deliver festival tributes were at most county clerks or landowners from various parts of Zijing Mountain.

Besides wealthy merchants from Xunzhou Prefecture, many county magistrates, as well as school officials and instructors from Xunzhou Prefecture, Guilin Prefecture, and Nanning Prefecture, also came to the Huang family to offer New Year's greetings.

Even Gu Yuankai, the prefect of Xunzhou Prefecture, who was unable to attend the event in person due to his mission to suppress the bandits, still sent a three-foot-tall enamel-painted vase symbolizing good fortune and longevity to Huang Tizheng as a birthday gift.

Zhou Lu, the steward of the Huang family, had sharp eyes and quickly noticed Wang Dalei, who was empty-handed and mixed in with the crowd.

He slowly walked up to Wang Dalei, looked him up and down a few times, and tentatively asked, "Whose family are you?"

“I am a member of the Peng Gang family from Zijingshan Village, delivering a letter to Master Huang,” Wang Dalei replied.

"A gang leader? A gang leader should take the side door! What kind of trash dares to use the main gate of the Huang family! The main gate is reserved for guests with official positions and titles!" Upon learning that the other party was just a family member of a minor gang leader, Zhou Lu coldly mocked and drove Wang Dalei out of the main gate.

Zijingshan Group Director?
Huang Yujiang, the eldest grandson of the Huang family who was greeting guests at the gate, arrived upon hearing this. He dismissed Zhou Lu and asked, "Are you a member of Peng Gang's family?"

"Which member of the Huang family are you?" Wang Dalei asked in return.

“I’m in charge of the Huang family’s militia,” Huang Yujiang said.

"If that's the case, here's the letter for you." Wang Dalei handed the letter to Huang Yujiang and turned to leave the Huang residence.

(End of this chapter)