Tie Xuan took the chisel and hammer and looked down, not knowing how to work.
Yang Shiqi is indeed a veteran. He probably worked part-time as a craftsman when he was still in society. He placed the chisel along the depression of the stone and started pounding with the hammer.
Tang Buping looked down from time to time. Although the hillside under his feet was not steep, and it was impossible for the stone to tumble down all at once, he still needed to be careful. After all, it was not Liu Chang Pavilion or the like down there.
Zhu Yunwen kicked the "road" under his feet and piled aside the loose stones and dead leaves. Only then did he notice that there were some "staircase" mountain paths on the hillside. The mountain path was very narrow and could only allow one person to stand firmly. However, due to the The mountain is gently sloping, and due to the opening of the mountain, there are many places for footing and support.
Five steps away on the right side of Zhu Yunwen is a gray-haired old man who is nearly sixty years old. This man has a sallow complexion. He bends over and coughs from time to time. His clothes are in tatters. Half of his trouser legs are missing, and his calves are exposed. The scars on his legs have scabbed over, like a piece of dirt clinging to his legs.
"Ahem."
A violent cough made the old man's hands tremble, but he finally stopped, and his whole body was panting violently.
"Old man, you are so ill, don't they even let you rest?"
Zhu Yunwen took two steps closer and asked.
The old man raised his head and looked at Zhu Yunqi. He raised his dirty sleeves to cover his mouth: "If you don't want to have tuberculosis like me, just stay away."
"tuberculosis?"
Zhu Yunwen was stunned for a moment.
Tang Buping, who had both ears and eyesight, suddenly became nervous. This was a terminal disease, and it was said that it would affect others. He quickly signaled Zhu Yunwen to retreat.
"When did you get tuberculosis? Are there other people with tuberculosis like this?"
Zhu Yunwen frowned and looked at the other craftsmen. They were all busy digging into the mountain. Dust and limestone powder kept rising, and the entire hillside seemed to be covered with a layer of gray fog.
The old man faced the stone and knocked a hammer: "Yes, some people in the limestone mill are still dead. They thought I wouldn't live for a few days, so they sent me to the mountain, opened some stones, and died. It’s also convenient for burial.”
"All in the mill?"
Zhu Yunwen realized that this was probably not tuberculosis, but a lung disease caused by inhaling too much limestone powder.
Limestone mines need to go through multiple procedures before they can be made into cement. One of them is to crush it into powder of a certain size. During this process, a large amount of dust will inevitably leak out. There are no masks in this era. If it is just a small workshop, if you inhale it occasionally, It's not a big deal, but if it's a big workshop and you stay there every day for a long time and inhale too much, your lungs will be burned out.
"Are many people dead?"
Zhu Yunwen asked.
The old man knocked the stone twice and glanced at Zhu Yunwen: "Is that much? Haha, everyone here will die here, and no one can escape. Can't you see those three heads?"
"where?"
Zhu Yunwen looked around but didn't see it.
The old man pointed his hammer at the top of his head. Zhu Yunwen looked up along the slope of the hillside. There was only a piece of wood inserted into the stone at the top of the hillside. There were three round things hanging on the wood. Because of the lime adhesion, they looked like three at first glance. It was a stone, but upon closer inspection, I discovered that it was a dried human head.
"hateful!"
Zhu Yunwen was furious, this is a big world, and he is the only one who has the power to decide life and death! But in this Jurong, in this mine, there are people who care about human life and dare to hang their heads in public!
"What are you doing standing around? Work! Be careful you don't have food to eat at night!"
The inspector held a whip and angrily scolded Zhu Yunwen from a distance.
Zhu Yunwen glared at the patrolman coldly, holding the chisel and hammer tightly, and finally did not have an attack. How dark was it in the mine? How dark was it? If he didn't see it with his own eyes, how could he ensure that the renovation was complete?
Compared with iron ore and coal mines, limestone mines are relatively easy to mine. You can at least use hammers and chisels to knock them out. There is no need to burn ore, no need to worry about poisonous gas (gas), and no need to arrange for support. Reinforcement. But the problem of dust inhalation in limestone mines is far more serious than in other mines.
To the north of the hillside where Zhu Yunwen is located, pavilions are built in the quiet canyon.
"What a blessing it is to be a steward. To build a mountain residence in this beautiful place with clear mountains and rivers, you can feel comfortable as a hermit, with silk and bamboo orchestra, and beautiful women by your side. It is really enviable."
Businessman Liang Ya was sitting in the long pavilion, looking at the valley scenery and the dancing women, and couldn't help but sigh.
Guo Hai, the manager of the mine, laughed loudly, cupped his hands and said, "No, if Mr. Liang doesn't dislike it, you can stay a few more days."
Liang Ya's eyes lit up: "If that's the case, then I'll bother Brother Guo."
"Hey, this is nothing."
Guo Hai didn't care. He raised his glass and said, "I, Guo Hai, don't have much ability. I'm just lucky enough to be a relative of the emperor. That's why I got a good job."
The smile on Liang Ya's face grew stronger, and he toasted a glass of wine: "Brother Guo holds three mines, which is second only to Guo Yanqiong in the Guo family. I heard that Mr. Guo has been in poor health recently, and he even summoned I am afraid that I am trusting Brother Guo intentionally. When Brother Guo becomes the number one member of the Guo family in the future, please do not forget Liang."
Guo Hai was extremely satisfied and drank a glass of wine: "Not many of the Guo family can manage this mine. To tell you the truth, the limestone mines in Huangmei, Tingzi and other places will be in my hands sooner or later. If Mr. Guo hadn't been there, , my father’s clan has long since become the clan leader.”
Liang Ya was secretly surprised. In this way, more and more of the Jurong Guo family's mines are likely to be in the hands of the Guo Hai family. This needs to be cured early so that they can receive goods at low prices and early in the future.
"Brother Guo, this is a small gift I bought at the Capital Market. It's not a sign of respect."
Liang Ya took out an exquisite sandalwood box and handed it over.
The maid on the side took it and handed it to Guo Hai. Guo Hai said with a smile as he opened it: "Brother Liang is my friend. Why should I come to give you gifts or something like this?"
The wooden box was opened, and light shone on the face. A sapphire as big as a pigeon's egg lay quietly on the holder of the wooden box. The gem was noble and elegant, with a mysterious light like the sea.
"Could this be an overseas treasure?"
Guo Hai was full of joy.
Liang Ya said with a smile: "I can't say whether it is true or not, but I did buy it from the Shen Family Zhenbaozhai. Brother Guo, if you like it, can you give us our limestone first? At this price... …”
Guo Hai closed the wooden box, extremely satisfied, and agreed: "One stone will cost you two dollars, and in half a month, the goods will be transported from the north entrance of my mine."
Liang Ya quickly thanked him.
At present, more and more concrete roads are being built in various places. I heard that the imperial court plans to examine the new mileage of concrete roads in next year's performance evaluation. Limestone mines are increasing in various places. Even so, the supply is still in short supply. The lowest price per stone is 4 yuan, and in some places it even reaches 5 yuan. , six coins.
Guo Hai can give himself a price of two yuan, and the money spent on overseas treasures is not unfair. With the advantage of low prices, he can monopolize the concrete road sales of Yamen in Zhenjiang, and no one can compete with him.
Mine supervisor Guo Zhi came over and whispered a few words to Guo Hai. Guo Hai frowned, and then said to Liang Ya: "Mr. Guo has been summoned, and I'm afraid he wants to discuss Mrs. Guo's funeral. I need to go to the city first. Brother Liang can live here with peace of mind, and let Hongying accompany you well." .”
Liang Ya wanted to refuse, but after hearing the last word, he quickly nodded and thanked her.
Walking out of the pavilion, Guo Hai asked Guo Zhi with a cold face: "Isn't Mrs. Guo's funeral arranged at the end of the month? There are still six days left. Mr. Guo summoned me at this time. Is there anything urgent?"
Guo Zhi shook his head and said: "With Liang Chen watching over him in Jurong, I guess it's not a big deal. It's probably because of Luo Guanhua's seizure of the Songshan Mine last time."
"Luo Guanhua!"
Guo Hai clenched his fists.
The Songshan Mine was originally jointly owned by the Guo family and the Luo family, but Luo Guanhua used various excuses to drive away the Guo family steward last winter, forming a de facto occupation. This made the Guo family very embarrassed and it was difficult to break out directly.
But the Guo family is a big family after all, with a large number of people, the clan is very powerful. Although the Luo family has a noble status, after all, the clan has a small number of people. No one knew the reason, nor could they explain clearly what the fuse was. When the Guo family and others wanted to take back the Songshan Mine, a fight involving more than 500 people suddenly broke out.
In the end, the government intervened to stabilize the situation, but the ownership of the Songshan Mine was still unresolved. The Luo family occupies the Songshan Mine, but the Guo family does not recognize it and hopes to take it back. The division between the Luo family and the Guo family becomes more and more obvious.
In order to prevent the Guo family and the Luo family from falling apart, the patriarch Guo Xu approached Guo Fei'er for discussion. Guo Xu made a concession and betrothed his granddaughter Guo Qiu'er to Luo Guanhua, and exchanged another small mine for a 30% share of the Songshan mine. dispute at the Songshan Mine.
But the problem at Songshan Mine has not been fundamentally solved. After all, more than thirty people were killed in that armed fight, and the roots of hatred have been laid. Everyone is mining in the same mine, even if they are separated by a distance, conflicts will inevitably occur.
These conflicts made Guo Feier feel very bad. On one side was the Guo family where she was born, and on the other was the Luo family. No matter what she did, it was inappropriate. Under the lamentation and sorrow, after an illness, she completely collapsed. Finally passed away.
Guo Feier was relieved, but the Guo family and the Luo family were not, and the conflict still existed.
Luo Guanhua's father, Luo Hua, was also a greedy man. Seeing that the lime mine was very profitable, he wanted to seize all the lime mines from the Guo family and monopolize the profits. If it weren't for the eldest brother Luo Sheng who suppressed and restrained Luo Yan'er in the name of Luo Yan'er, the two families would have had big problems long ago.
Now that Guo Fei'er has left, the so-called royal status of the Guo family has been greatly reduced, and Guo Qiu'er and Luo Guanhua have not yet been married. At this time, the relationship between the Guo family and the Luo family is very delicate and weak.
Guo Hai knew that it was impossible for Luo Hua and his son to give up asking for more mines, but now that officials from the capital had arrived in Jurong, he should not raise any issues over the mine issue at this time.
"We must find a way to make all the Luo family's mines close down!"
Guo Hai gritted his teeth.
Guo Zhi did not answer. The Luo family mine is not going to close down just because it closes down. Even if it fails, so what. Luo Guanhua is the younger brother of Concubine Shu, and his older brother is Luo Guanying. He is the hero who went to the West. They want to rise up, but they are not Just one sentence?
Guo Hai thought for a moment and asked, "Are there any of our people in the Luo family mine?"
"have!"
Guo Zhi replied.
Guo Hai thought for a while, then leaned into Guo Zhi's ear and whispered a few words. Guo Zhi suddenly shivered and looked at Guo Hai in surprise and said: "This, if this is the case, things will be too big. It might also involve the person in the palace..."
"Hmph, if we don't pull down the one in the palace, we will have to look up to the Luo family for the rest of our lives! You can arrange this matter. I'll be waiting for your news in Jurong."
Guo Hai made up his mind.
Guo Zhi swallowed and asked, "This matter is too big. We should discuss it with the clan leader before making a decision."
Guo Hai waved his hand: "The patriarch is old and he doesn't have the courage to do this kind of thing! Just do it. After it is completed, you will be the director of Dazhuo Mine in the future. This attic and everything here will be yours. Including those women!”
Guo Zhi's eyes turned hot and he quickly agreed: "I am willing to do my best for Brother Guo."
Look at Daming: I was reborn as Zhu Yunwen and remember the domain name: \w\w\w\.\8\2\z\w\.\c\o\m\
