Chapter 188: Chapter 183: Begin
Zhao Hanzhang first went to see the Yushan Hall. Seeing it was packed with people, indeed there was no space left.
More than ten children were living in a single room, and it was impossible to squeeze in any more.
She walked out of Yushan Hall, glanced at the yards on the street, and asked, "Are there any yards vacant on this street?"
"Yes," replied Chen Si Niang, "There are three empty yards, two of which were left for sale by the real estate agency as the families moved out, and another one..."
She paused and said, "It’s the Song Family’s other residence."
Zhao Hanzhang directly skipped the Song Family’s residence and instructed, "Go to the Household Department to check the quotes for the two yards. If the price is suitable, buy them."
Chen Si Niang said, "But even if the yards are cheap, they still require a considerable amount of money. Right now, funds are tight, and the county government probably cannot come up with so much money."
Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and said, "Let’s use the private account and register the property under my mother’s name. This yard can be considered my mother’s loan to Yushan Hall. Have some adjustments done inside the yard so you can build a few more rooms. In the future, keep the two halls separate, one for boys and one for girls. It will be easier for you to manage."
Chen Si Niang breathed a sigh of relief and responded cheerfully.
Regarding blankets and other winter supplies, Zhao Hanzhang reviewed the account books of the county government and had to admit that if she used public funds, she wouldn’t be able to provide anything.
She handed Chen Si Niang the list of blankets to be purchased that she had calculated, "Use my private account for this too. When my steward arrives, I’ll have him buy enough cloth and silk cotton for you. Check if there’s anyone in Yushan Hall who can sew blankets. If manpower is insufficient, find someone from the county."
In Xiping County, because of the city’s destruction and the death of many robust men, many women became widows. Winter is approaching, and they also need to earn some household income.
Thinking about the chaos earlier when rebels set fires, burned many houses, including blankets and other items, it seems many people will lack winter supplies this year.
So Zhao Hanzhang immediately went back to the county government to write a letter to Ji Yuan.
She needed linen and cotton for making blankets, preferably fine linen, along with various winter fabrics.
Zhao Hanzhang sighed while writing. Besides Yushan Hall, there’s the military camp. They recruited so many refugees, all needing winter clothes and blankets. It’s quite an expense.
Having finished writing the letter, she left the figures blank for now. Only when Fu Tinghan finished his current work did she say, "Ting Han, you need to help me calculate the minimum required winter supplies for purchase this season."
Fu Tinghan glanced at the letter she handed, looked around on the desk, then found a list and gave it to her, "I’ve already calculated it."
Looking down, Zhao Hanzhang saw that it was meticulously detailed, listing the number of people, required winter clothing, blanket quantities, even the number of shoes.
Further down were the materials needed, costs for making a set of winter clothes, blankets, and shoes, estimated prices, and finally, the total.
Zhao Hanzhang asked, "...When did you calculate this?"
"Just now," Fu Tinghan said, "When you went to Yushan Hall. Since the children there need blankets, the refugees we took in naturally also need them. The prices for various fabrics and silk cotton were taken from Geng Rong, but we are taking a lot, and the prices here are a bit high, so I think they might not be accurate. This list is only for your reference."
So he directly used Arabic numerals, not even bothering to convert them, as long as it’s mutually understood.
Holding the list, Zhao Hanzhang pondered, "Such a large amount of clothes and blankets cannot be made solely by the women from the county." freew\ebno\vel..(c)om
Fu Tinghan encouraged her, asking, "So?"
"So I need to meet with the village chiefs from all the villages. Keep the resource within our own people. I’ll find some skilled women from nearby villages to take on the task of sewing blankets," Zhao Hanzhang said, "And Shangcai, with its big population, can do the job faster."
Just in time to let the common folks in Shangcai know Mr. Ji, and also Zhao Hanzhang!
Zhao Hanzhang’s thoughts turned several times, deciding on a course of action. She estimated a rough figure from the list provided by Fu Tinghan and instructed Ji Yuan to handle the purchases.
She looked at the total price estimated by Fu Tinghan at the end, calculated her personal assets, and breathed a sigh of relief, her dowry should still be enough.
Fu Tinghan put down the pen, rubbed his wrist, looked up, and saw her staring at the list he gave, seemingly knowing what she was thinking. Fu Tinghan said, "The county government’s paper is about to run out."
Zhao Hanzhang snapped out of her thoughts, "How is the construction of the paper workshop going?"
"The workshop is not hard to build; it’s completed according to your instructions, but we haven’t found any craftsmen, not a single one."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "If there are none, it’s fine. We’ll start training from scratch, select some loyal people to follow directions, and let’s try it first."
"But the paper-making cycle is not short. Starting the production now, we might only know the results after the winter solstice." Zhao Hanzhang added a few more lines to the letter, "I’ll ask Mr. Ji to buy more paper."
Mr. Ji received Zhao Hanzhang’s letter and, seeing the list of needed purchases, couldn’t help twitching his mouth, tossing the letter aside, then retrieving the dowry list he brought out from Luoyang.
Uncle Cheng was waiting nearby, taking a glance at the procurement list, sighed, "Sir, with the lady spending so extravagantly, can we really afford it?"
Mr. Ji said, "The lady was lucky... back in Luoyang, she exchanged land and shops in both Luoyang and Chang’an for gold, silver, and jewels, so it’s still sufficient."
"But it will only suffice for a year or two. Once those years pass, if she continues spending and doesn’t have other income, it might be challenging to maintain."
Uncle Cheng hurriedly said, "Don’t we have the Glazed Workshop..."
"Glazed products are profitable, but what comes in still doesn’t compare to what we spend, and this item can fetch a high price initially. Once it becomes common, the price will naturally drop, making it hard to earn much."
Ji Yuan tapped his finger on the table, "This won’t do. We can’t rely on money to sustain them. They need to be self-sufficient, though military supplies are an exception. However, not everyone can become military supplies."
Ji Yuan asked, "How’s Chang Ning doing?"
Uncle Cheng immediately said, "Mr. Chang has already prepared, and he can set off for Xiping tomorrow."
Ji Yuan nodded, "Go with him and take some money along; the lady can’t be left without funds."
Uncle Cheng agreed.
At that moment, Zhao Hanzhang was holding a bowl of wheat porridge, squatting at the military camp gate, with Fu Tinghan squatting next to her, chewing with difficulty before swallowing.
While eating, Zhao Hanzhang sighed, "This isn’t sustainable; we need to be self-sufficient. I can spend money on military supplies, but the ordinary people’s food needs to be self-sufficient, and preferably have some left over to support the army."
Fu Tinghan said, "We’re doing things as they come to mind; it’s indeed not ideal. Shouldn’t we settle down and make a comprehensive plan?"
Zhao Hanzhang asked Qiu Wu, "Has there been any news from Mr. Chang?"
Qiu Wu shook his head.