It was sunny after the rain, but not only did it not get warmer, but it was actually quite chilly.
Yang Yuan returned to the mountain village, followed by two middle-aged men with yellow faces and thin muscles, who came to the mountain temple together.
"Master, these two are miners who came back from Dongshan. One was the owner of the Dongshan iron yard, and the other was the furnace manager of the iron yard." Yang Yuan introduced the two middle-aged men behind him.
"Little Huang Huai, I have seen the big boss." Huang Huai hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
Seeing this, Chen Hongtao showed a trace of disdain in his eyes.
"My Excellency, Chen Hongtao, has met the head of Hutou Village." Chen Hongtao clasped his hands in fists and bowed his waist slightly.
As a former iron farm owner, he had seen some scenes and could still maintain a certain degree of reserve. Unlike Huang Huai, who would kneel down and kowtow when he saw a bandit leader like Liu Heng.
Hutou Village has a very good reputation. When buying grain from nearby people, they not only gave them money, but also bought it at a price that was 10% higher. Otherwise, he and Huang Huai would not dare to come to Hutou Village.
Liu Heng, who was sitting at the top, could see Chen Hongtao's little move clearly, but he didn't care.
With the memory of later generations, he was not used to people kowtowing to him. Since he took over the bandit camp, he canceled kowtowing and replaced it with placing his right hand flat on his chest in a military salute.
"You two don't have to be polite, please get up!" Liu Hengxu raised his right hand.
Chen Hongtao straightened up. Huang Huai hesitated, got up from the ground, and stood side by side with Chen Hongtao.
Liu Heng said: "Do you know what the purpose of inviting you here is?"
"I heard what Brother Yang said before I came here." Chen Hongtao pointed at Yang Yuan and said, "The boss wants to open an iron yard in Dongshan, and he already has the paperwork for Chen Dafu's iron yard in Dongshan."
Liu Heng nodded with a smile and said: "Yes, I am planning to restore Chen Dafu's iron yard in Dongshan. Both of you are old men from the Dongshan iron yard. Do you have any advice?"
Chen Hongtao said: "The business of iron yards is not easy to do. Since Fujian Iron and Steel became the official railway of the Ministry of Industry, Jin Railway has gone from bad to worse. Many small iron yards have been unable to operate and closed down. If the big boss must open an iron yard, I will not do it." I can guarantee that the iron furnace can make money. If it loses its capital in the future, please don’t blame me.”
Compared with Huang Huai who didn't know what to say, Chen Hongtao talked eloquently.
"As long as you are careful, I won't blame you for the loss of money." Liu Heng responded, and then said to Huang Huai, "Huang Huai, please tell me, you used to be the furnace master of the iron farm, how do you view the iron farm?" thing?"
Seeing that he was called, Huang Huai was startled and stammered: "Little, little doesn't know how to make a loss, little knows how to make iron."
Upon hearing this, Liu Heng understood to some extent that the Huang Huai in front of him should be classified as a technical talent, and would be classified as a technical director in future companies, while the Chen Hongtao was more like a general manager or president.
Liu Heng smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, just say whatever comes to mind."
"Yes, yes." Huang Huai said timidly, "Chen Dafu's iron yard has long been abandoned. If he wants to reuse it, he needs to build a new furnace. The small furnace costs about 800 taels. He also needs to recruit miners, which will take about a month. Only then can we start the furnace to smelt iron, and it will take at least a month and a half if we want to successfully produce iron."
Liu Heng nodded. Just as he had guessed, this was a technical director. He might not understand the business of buying and selling iron, but if you wanted to set up a furnace to make iron, you still relied on such a skilled person.
"Well done." Liu Heng smiled at Yang Yuan.
Yang Yuan replied: "This is a matter within the scope of my subordinates."
Withdrawing his gaze, Liu Heng looked at Chen Hongtao and Huang Huai and said, "You two, if I hand over Chen Dafu's iron farm to you, can you make iron again?"
"This..." Chen Hongtao hesitated.
"Okay." Huang Huai answered directly.
Liu Heng looked at Chen Hongtao with a half-smile.
Chen Hongtao was startled, and then he remembered that the man in front of him was not the owner of the iron farm that he usually saw, but the bandit leader. He quickly changed his words and said: "He can produce iron."
"Since you both think that Chen Dafu's iron yard can produce iron, if you two are willing to take over Chen Dafu's iron yard for me, Chen Hongtao can be the steward, and Huang Huai can be the deputy steward. Each person will receive fifteen taels of silver per month. , five taels of which can be paid now, but you have to sign a document, how about that?" Liu Heng asked Xiang and the two.
Fifteen taels of silver a month is already a very high wage. An ordinary ironworks steward only earns 45 taels a month, while a steward in a large ironworks can earn 788 taels a month.
Huang Huai hurriedly knelt down and said, "The younger one is willing to take care of the iron yard for the older master."
When he was a teenager, he worked as a miner in the iron yard and worked his way up to the position of steward. Later, the iron yard's business was not good and the furnace was knocked down. As a steward, he had no choice but to work as a miner in other iron yards like others.
He also had a good life when he was working as a manager. Since he turned back to a miner, he has been used to spending money lavishly. His life has plummeted. The work of a miner is hard and tiring. The food of a miner is similar to pig food, and there is no trace of meat. When I had the opportunity to become a steward, I still had fifteen taels of silver a month, so I hurriedly agreed.
Chen Hongtao beside him seemed a little hesitant.
Fifteen taels a month's salary is indeed a lot, but he is different from Huang Huai. As a former ironworks owner, he knows some things that Huang Huai has no access to.
The owners of the Dongshan iron yard are all united. It is difficult for outsiders to set up a furnace in Dongshan. The major iron yard owners do not allow outside forces to interfere in Dongshan. What's more, the man in front of him is just a bandit. He is brave enough to go to Dongshan to open an iron yard. As long as someone reports Officer, no matter how much money is invested in the iron field, it will only be wasted.
It costs at least 800 taels to set up a small stove, and there are other places where silver is also needed. The scattered items add up to at least 1,000 taels of silver. Once it is seized by the government, he can't afford to sell his whole family.
After hesitating for a long time, Chen Hongtao said: "Master, can you allow me to go back and think about it?"
"Yes, but I will only give you three days. If there is no reply after three days, Huang Huai will replace you as the manager of the iron yard." Liu Heng did not embarrass Chen Hongtao.
The reason why he is willing to hire Chen Hongtao is that he was once the owner of an iron yard. He is familiar with the affairs of the iron yard and knows how to deal with other iron yard owners and manage official relations.
"Yang Yuan, send him back." Liu Heng ordered.
Chen Hongtao resigned and was taken away from the mountain temple by Yang Yuan, sent down the mountain, and arranged for a carriage to be sent back to Dongshan.
Huang Huai was left alone in the mountain temple. Liu Heng asked Zhao Yutu to bring a piece of paper and asked Huang Huai to put his fingerprint on it.
After pressing his fingerprints, Huang Huai received the five taels of silver paid in advance.
"Thank you, Master. Thank you, Master." Huang Huai's face was filled with joy.
Since he lost his position as a steward, he has never taken as much silver as five taels. Now he holds the silver in his hand, holding it tightly, and his palms are sweating.
Liu Heng said with a smile: "You'll stay in the village for the next few days. I'll have someone build a house for you. You can mention whatever you need to prepare at the iron yard. I'll have someone prepare it. It's almost ready. I'll let you know." Someone will take you to the iron yard."
"The little ones all listen to the big boss." Huang Huai hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.
He was single, without a home or mouth. He could live wherever he wanted. Even if he stayed in Dongshan, he would live in shacks. When he came to Hutou Village, he saw many adobe houses, which were much better than living in shacks.
Liu Heng smiled and said: "Get up, I'm not in the mood to kowtow here."
"Yes, yes, yes." Huang Huai stood up awkwardly.
