Yu Fuyang looked at the map and saw some large and small circles drawn on it, as well as some marks such as roads and rivers. He didn't know what these circles represented, but from the direction of the roads and rivers, he could find where he was.
position. He drew a small circle on the picture with his finger and said:
"Member Zhao and I didn't make it too clear. It's roughly just this small area. In fact, our coal mining occupies a small area on the ground. It's just that piling coal will stain the ground, so we have to pay some money to the owner of the mountain farm.
.As for the time, I’m not talking about it. It usually only takes a year to dig a kiln. This amount of money can be considered as a buyout."
Su Hao said: "So, the price of renting a mountain farm is not expensive."
Yu Fuyang said: "These mountain farms were originally deserted. They were surrounded by red soil and crops could not be grown. If they were to grow on the mountains, they could only grow some Camellia oleifera. After one year, the Camellia oleifera seeds harvested were not even enough to pay the wages of part-time workers. I
Giving Mr. Zhao 20 taels of silver for diplomacy is a free choice for him."
Su Hao asked again: "How big is the mountain farm of Zhao's family? Can you point it out to me on this picture?"
As a coal mining craftsman, Yu Fuyang often looked at maps, so he was no stranger to Su Hao's map. He pointed at a few points on the map with his hand and said: "Zhao Yuanwai is a big man in Xuanfeng Township.
Rich man, the mountain farm left by his ancestors is very large. From here to here, a radius of more than ten miles is his family's property. However, the only useful land is this piece of land in the west, which is about 2,000 acres, and it is all leased to others.
Planted. The remaining large area is all barren mountains and wasteland, which can only grow some firewood."
"Okay." Su Hao said, "Yu Dongtou, I can buy this kiln for 200 taels. You let your brothers continue mining first, and I will pay them as much coal as they can dig out. I will pay them on a daily basis.
wages. In addition, I need to rent out all the mountain land in this area and prepare to open five coal mines. Can you help me recruit enough foster husbands?"
"Open five coal mines!" Yu Fuyang's eyes widened, "Master Su, do you believe that more than five mineral veins can be found in this mountain farm?"
"It's not just five places." Su Hao said with a smile, "There is coal under our feet, but you have the patience to dig down. If you dig 200 feet deep from any place, there must be coal, and it is all good coal. The key is that you
Is it possible to dig this deep?"
According to Su Hao's knowledge, there are actually no less than three coal-forming strata in the Jiangnan area. Yu Fuyang is currently excavating the uppermost stratum, the Wangpanli section, numbered C coal group, and Yu Fuyang is only
Only the top layer of the C coal group has been dug. Below the nearly 20 coal seams in the Wangpanli section, there is also the Laoshan section called the B coal group, and the Guanshan section called the A coal group. The depth is estimated to be
Reaching an altitude of below minus 800 meters. Such a deep coal seam would definitely not be mineable under the conditions at that time.
In the past two days, Su Hao and his men had walked around this mountainous area and had a rough look at the basic direction of the rock formations. Su Hao could guess that at least 10 rock formations could be found in this mountainous area.
In areas where coal seams are buried shallowly, by drilling vertical shafts from these areas, coal seams with mining value can be found within a depth of about 100 meters. A well depth of 100 meters was still achievable with the technology of the time.
"Master Su was joking, 200 feet deep is beyond human reach. Even if there is coal, there is no way to dig it out," Yu Fuyang said.
Su Hao said: "Don't worry, I won't let you dig a 200-foot deep well. In this mountain field, I can definitely find coal veins buried no more than 30 feet, and the thickness of the coal seam will not be less than 6 feet. You
Just help me find someone to dig it out."
Seeing Su Hao's confident look, Yu Fuyang couldn't help but believe it. He said: "Master Su is a great talent, and I can't even compare to him. However, Master Su, if you want to rent this entire mountain farm, the cost will probably not be a small sum."
.”
"How much do you estimate it will cost?" Su Hao asked.
Yu Fuyang shook his head and said: "I can't calculate it. Based on my guess, it must be more than 500 taels."
"Well, 500 taels is indeed not a small amount. I'm going to think of a way to see if I can get this member Zhao to rent the mountain farm to us for free," Su Hao said.
"Master, what you mean is..." Yu Fuyang drawled, with a look of disapproval on his face.
Su Hao was stunned for a moment and then understood what Yu Fuyang meant. Yu Fuyang obviously thought that Su Hao wanted to use the power of the county government to forcibly expropriate the mountain farm from Yuan Zhao for free. As an ordinary citizen, Yu Fuyang was disgusted with this behavior.
Yes, it’s just not convenient to say it directly.
Su Hao smiled and said: "Yu Dongtou, you are overly worried. I don't want to bully others and seize the mountain field from Zhao Yuanwai."
Yu Fuyang said with some embarrassment: "No, I know Master Su is not this kind of person, otherwise he wouldn't have paid for a small coal mine. I mean, there are people in Zhao's family who are working as officials. If
If you don't do it well, I'm afraid it will cause some disputes and delay the master's future."
"Aren't you still saying that I want to bully others?" Su Hao said, "I will definitely find a plan that is beneficial to both of us, so that Zhao Yuanwai will rent the mountain farm to me willingly, even crying and shouting that he wants to rent the mountain farm to me
Rent it to me."
"Why is that?" Yu Fuyang was a little confused and wondered what Su Hao had up his sleeve.
Su Hao was too lazy to talk to Yu Fuyang anymore. He ordered: "Lao Yu, our matter has been settled like this. Let's ask Daochang Chen to draw up a contract and we both put money in it. We will officially start cooperation. You are in charge.
Recruit a husband for me, and I will be responsible for solving the problems in the mountain field and identifying the coal veins. I will leave all the rest to you."
"I obey." Yu Fuyang replied. Since the two parties have agreed on a price, and the price is satisfactory to him, he has positioned himself as Su Hao's employee. For his employer, he must be
Be very obedient.
"In addition to recruiting people, there are a few things that you have to arrange." Su Hao said.
"Master, please give me your instructions." Yu Fuyang said.
Su Hao said: "The first thing is to renovate the shack where the righteous husbands live, and make it clean and comfortable. In addition, we need to hire a few more old ladies to help the righteous husbands wash their clothes.
Cooking, so that when they come back from coal mining, they can be clean and have a good, hot meal."
"Thank you, Master." Yu Fuyang stood up and bowed to Su Hao. He didn't expect that the first thing Su Hao told him was to improve the conditions of the miners. You know, these fees will be deducted from Su Hao's profits.
He came out. He was also a miner himself. When he heard that his employer cared so much about the miners' lives, he felt sincerely grateful.
"Sit down." Su Hao waved his hand and asked Yu Fuyang to sit down, and then continued: "The second thing is to make some new air ducts to replace your big bamboo pipes. The air ducts can be swept with bamboo strips
It is made, one foot and five inches in diameter, and is coated with yellow mud to prevent air leakage. On the head of the air duct, a wind wheel is installed and driven by a pedal to draw air outward."
As Su Hao spoke, he used a charcoal strip to draw a schematic diagram for Yu Fuyang on the paper. The wind wheel he mentioned is actually like the impeller of a later generation range hood. It can be realized by using the pedal as power and belt transmission.
Active ventilation underground. The coal kiln he wants to mine is larger and cannot be operated without good ventilation devices.
Yu Fuyang looked at the picture drawn by Su Hao with admiration and said repeatedly: "Master Su is indeed a genius. He actually came up with a way to use a bamboo strip to sweep a tube as a hairdryer. At my age, I am really living like a dog."
Already."
Su Hao smiled and did not answer. In fact, this method was not his invention. In some coal mines in the north, this is how hair dryers are made, but this method has not been spread to the south. Su Hao also studied Chinese mining in later generations.
When I was taking this course, I accidentally heard about this method.
"The third thing is to make some trolleys for transporting coal underground. I just saw your workers using ropes to pull coal baskets, which is very hard. If you can use wheeled trolleys to load coal, then lay wooden planks in the tunnel as a road
, you can save a lot of effort." Su Hao continued.
Yu Fuyang also understood this truth, so he nodded quickly and took note of it. Su Hao then mentioned several things to be done, which were all conducive to optimizing the coal mining process. Yu Fuyang kept them in mind one by one. Finally, Su Hao took his head
Turning to Xu Zong, he said to him: "Old Xu, you will assist Yu Dongtou in making these equipment and recruiting adoptive husbands. Yu Dongtou will be the leader and you will be the deputy. Money will be needed.
You can ask for it from Daochang Chen. When it comes to underground safety issues, don’t be afraid of spending money. Human life is more valuable than anything else, you know?"
"I understand," Xu Zong agreed.
When Yu Fuyang heard Su Hao's arrangement, he quickly said: "How dare you, the young man, to be placed before Master Xu Cha? It is better to take Master Xu Cha as the leader and the young man as the deputy. If anything happens, Master Xu Cha can just tell the young man to handle it."
.”
Su Hao said: "There is no need to argue about this matter. Xu Zong doesn't understand coal mining, so I can only serve as your deputy. Everyone is here to do things. There is no need to worry about the order of status."
"That kid is overstepping his bounds." Yu Fuyang had no choice but to accept Su Hao's arrangement with trepidation, and then turned around and said polite words to Xu Zong countless times. Xu Zong knew that although Su Hao asked him to be Yu Fuyang's deputy, he was responsible for managing
Those with money and real power will naturally not care about these statuses.
After explaining the preparations related to coal mining, Su Hao asked Yu Fuyang about the location of Zhao's wife's home, and then took Chen Guanyu and Ma Yu to visit.
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PS: The terms contract and contract already existed in the Ming Dynasty, so don’t be surprised.