xymnovel Chapter 63 Zhao Guangmei's Other Side
Chapter 63 Zhao Guangmei's Other Side
The brick and tile factory in Tongjifang no longer produces bricks and tiles, but it is still bustling with activity every day.
The clay-for-lunch program has stopped. With bricks and tiles no longer being fired, there's no reason to collect clay. Besides, grain prices in Kaifeng have stabilized considerably, so there's no need to continue disaster relief.
The old kilns, originally used for firing bricks and tiles, were now surrounded by shirtless men: old kiln workers from the brick and tile factory, retired soldiers from the Palace Guard, and blacksmiths specially invited from outside the city.
They were working around the blueprints drawn by Wang Jun, gradually dismantling the original firing channels inside the kiln and rebuilding the iron-making furnace and flue with refractory bricks and mortar.
The deep soil, which was as thick as a mountain, that was collected during the previous mud-collecting process proved useful, as it was used to fire the new type of refractory bricks designed by Wang Jun.
Pan Wu and Hou Liu'er were busy working non-stop, and Han Ling'er was also personally supervising the work, running around. Even in early March, they were both sweating profusely, with some sweat even seeping through their clothes.
"Lu Lang? What brings you here today?" From afar, Han Ling'er, who was directing the workers, saw Wang Lu arrive with Zhao Guangmei and Li Shoujie, and hurriedly went to greet them, holding an account book in her hand.
"Sister Ling, how's the factory renovation going?"
"Two furnaces have already been modified. The main problem is that refractory bricks are difficult to fire. Pan Wu's requirements are also very strict. More than half of the bricks in a batch are substandard. Converting a brick furnace into an iron furnace is quite troublesome. There is a shortage of manpower, and even more so of animal power."
"Are you short of soil compactors?"
"Yes, there aren't enough livestock, so we have to use people to thresh the grain."
To make refractory bricks from deep soil, the soil must be dried and then crushed with a stone roller. After crushing, the bricks must be kneaded into mud balls. Without sufficient animal power, the consumption of manpower would be very high.
Zhao Guangmei suddenly pointed to a large group of people in the distance who seemed to be doing nothing, not doing any work, and some even openly gambling nearby: "What are these people doing? Are they factory workers or neighbors?"
Han Ling'er curled her lip: "What kind of people could they be? They're people with connections that the Second King arranged for them to come in. They're here to be officials, not to do the work. Let them be. If we really made them do the work, they'd probably just cause more trouble."
Zhao Guangmei frowned: "Sister Ling'er, Pan Wu, and Hou Liu'er, you're all working. What kind of official are you? How could you possibly be more important than us?"
Wang Lu: "The Second King arranged for these people to come in just to collect wages without doing any work. Heh, actually, it's not a big deal to give them some wages, it's just that these people are really affecting morale. Of course, now that this factory is yours, you can do whatever you want with it."
Han Ling'er, who was standing nearby, was stunned for a moment when she heard the words "This factory is yours now." She quickly turned her head away, pretending to be indifferent, but her eyes were a little red.
"I……"
When Zhao Guangmei saw Han Ling'er turn her head away, she felt a pang of pain and guilt in her heart. This guilt then turned into a fit of rage. She walked up to the people who were gambling and kicked the gambling table over.
"Who are you...?"
Before the man who appeared to be running the gambling den could finish speaking, Zhao Guangmei picked up a stone from the ground and, without the slightest hesitation, smashed it directly into his face, leaving him covered in blood and stunned.
Seeing that the guards had already surrounded Zhao Guangmei with swords drawn, forming a circle around her, he knew that this was an important person. After standing up, he did not immediately fight back, but instead covered his blood-covered face and said:
"Are you crazy?! Why did you hit me right away? Do you even know who my father is?"
To everyone's surprise, Zhao Guangmei remained silent. She pushed aside her guard, snatched the knife from his hand, and without a word, swung it at the man's head. Her moves were clearly aimed at killing him, which frightened the man into dodging.
He ran while shouting, "What have I done to deserve this?"
"I'm in a bad mood right now. Killing you will make me feel better!"
"Are you crazy?!"
They cursed and swore, but they only dared to run away and didn't dare to fight back.
He wasn't stupid, and he knew Wang Lu, so he already had some guesses about Zhao Guangmei's identity.
Zhao Guangmei only chased after him for two steps, then stopped when she failed to kill him. Turning her head to look at the other people she knew, she waved her hand and said, "Beat them!"
They beat these people until they kowtowed and begged for mercy.
In the distance, Wang Lu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the sight.
He hadn't expected Zhao Guangmei to have this side to her, which was quite different from his usual perception of her, and his feelings were somewhat complicated.
"Who else in this factory was planted by my second brother? Every single one of them, get out! From today onwards, I won't keep idle people in this factory. Do you understand?"
After a long silence, Zhao Guangmei nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good. Now all of you get out of my workshop, or I'll kill someone!"
Seeing Zhao Guangmei's demeanor, those who had connections dared not stay any longer. Since Zhao Guangmei could kill without breaking the law, they all scrambled to pack their bags and leave. No one even dared to mention their wages to Han Ling'er.
These problems, which had been giving Han Ling'er, Pan Wu, and others a headache for over a month, were all resolved by Zhao Guangmei in the time it took her to take a dump.
Pan Wu stepped forward: "Thank you, Third King."
Zhao Guangmei returned the gift.
Wang Lu said, "This workshop will belong to him from now on. Fifth brother, you and my father and I will hold a total of 40% of the shares. Your share will also be diluted."
Zhao Guangmei couldn't help but show a hint of shame on her face, while Pan Wu was carefree and said with a smile, "Big Brother is joking again. There's no reason for ordinary people to do the iron smelting business. If the Third King doesn't take a share, I really wouldn't dare to do this business."
As they were talking, Wang Jun returned from the Palace Guard after taking leave. He greeted Zhao Guangmei with courtesy, and Liu Hou'er stepped forward to explain what had just happened. Wang Jun's expression changed slightly, but he only nodded and didn't say anything more.
Zhao Guangmei stepped forward and said, "Uncle, I know those people were arranged by my second brother. Don't worry, I'll talk to him and make things clear. He won't blame you."
Upon hearing this, Wang Jun sighed, smiled wryly, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Third King, you can just call me by my name. Let's stick to our proper titles. If you call me 'Uncle,' I'm not really comfortable accepting it."
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Come, Third King, and this young brother Li from Hedong, let me introduce you to my iron smelting workshop and this brand-new iron smelting technology."
"Six Monkeys, do you have any finished products that have already been smelted in the factory? Bring them out and introduce them to the Third King and Brother Li."
"Yes."