This is not the only drawing designed by Cui Wei. What Bai Shan sees now is just a corner of it.
After he was helped back to his residence, he only took a sip of tea and took Bai Shan to his study. He took out seven or eight drawings from the study, each of which was half the size of a table, and spread them out for Bai Shan.
look.
Some were rough and some were detailed. He picked out three and put them together for Bai Shan to see.
Because the table was not big enough, he asked someone to spread a piece of cloth on the floor, and then put the drawings on it. The doors and windows were opened, and the skylight came in. He thought it was not enough, so he also lit a candle.
This drawing is like a beautiful picture scroll, with piers, houses, and streets all lined up in rows, very orderly and symmetrical, and even the villa built by Bai Erlang is marked in it.
Bai Shan fell in love with it at just one glance. Yes, this was exactly the Longchi Pier he envisioned, and it was even more orderly than Laizhou Pier.
Bai Shan became excited and asked, "Master Cui, have you estimated how long it will take to build this pier?"
Cui Wei looked up at him and said, "At the current speed, it will take at least ten years."
Bai Shan's hot blood suddenly ran cold.
Cui Wei took it for granted and said nonchalantly: "So I just drew the blueprint. You don't necessarily need to follow it to build it, but you can't be frugal here at the crossing."
Bai Shan touched his chin and asked, "Master Cui, are you afraid that I have no money?"
Mr. Cui said "hmm" and asked with some expectation: "Does Mr. Bai have enough money?"
"Not enough." Bai Shan looked at the houses and streets on the drawing and shook his head decisively.
Even if the salt farm makes money, it will be difficult to raise so much money to build houses in a short period of time, not to mention there is a dock.
The wood, stone, and craftsmen's craftsmanship required are not cheap.
Master Cui's heart cooled down and his eyes fell back on his drawings. What could he say if he had no money?
Bai Shan touched his chin and said, "Money is never the most important thing, the most important thing is people!"
When money is gone, the only other option he can think of is to have people build houses, but the manpower and craftsmen needed to build docks...
Bai Shan looked at Cui Wei, "Master Cui, you have been working in the Ministry of Industry for many years, why can't you give me a back door?"
Cui Wei ignored him.
Bai Shan gathered around him and persuaded him, "Your drawing is so well designed, what a pity it would be if it cannot be realized?"
He said: "If Longchi Pier is built successfully according to your vision, as long as it lasts for a hundred years, not only the people here, but also people all over the world will be able to remember Mr. Cui. This is an achievement that will go down in history."
Cui Wei is not an ordinary Ministry of Industry official, he is from the Cui family.
As a scholar from an aristocratic family, Cui Wei has a special passion for being famous in history. When there is no chance, Cui Wei is willing to do what he loves wholeheartedly;
Being able to do what you love and having the opportunity to become famous throughout the ages with a career you love is a huge temptation.
Cui Wei thought about it.
Bai Shan looked at him eagerly.
Cui Wei raised his eyelids and looked at him with a look of doubt on his face, "Master Bai has no money, what's the use of just asking for people? I've found people, can you afford to support them?"
Bai Shan immediately said: "I still have money to support people."
Cui Wei lowered his eyes and thought for a while before saying: "Just building a pier is not a great achievement. If the houses behind the pier are messy and disorderly, what is the difference between it and other wharves?"
Bai Shan promised: "Don't worry, my lord, just build the pier with confidence and boldness. Leave the rest to me. I will definitely make the houses and streets behind the pier be built according to your drawings."
Cui Wei narrowed his eyes and stared at him, "Really?"
"Really."
Cui Wei started to think about it, and found out that he still had some people in his hands.
After all, he has been in the Ministry of Industry for many years. Although he is a bit lonely, there are some master craftsmen he is familiar with. The master craftsmen have a group of small craftsmen under them, and he is also a bit thin in the Ministry of Industry.
If he actively requested it, Han Shangshu would probably send some manpower to him.
Cui Wei thought for a while and then said: "I heard that Mr. Zhou once delivered a baby to Han Shangshu's wife. He opened the abdomen to remove the child and saved the mother and son. If she intercedes, Mr. Bai would like to recruit more craftsmen.
It’s not impossible.”
Cui Wei is lonely, but given his background and IQ, he is still very adaptable. It all depends on whether he is willing or not.
Bai Shan looked at him quietly, "Master Cui has indeed thought carefully, what else is there?"
Cui Wei smiled slightly and said: "I can call some people, and Mr. Zhou will intercede. If Han Shangshu is willing to raise his hand, the number of people who will come will be about the same. If there are any worse ones, I will bring some more from home.
that is."
Bai Shan rolled his eyes and asked, "From the Cui clan?"
Cui Wei: "...Master Bai has a beautiful idea, but Mr. Cui doesn't have the ability."
If it is said to be his home, it is his own home!
He doesn't yet have the ability to recruit craftsmen from the Cui clan, and he predicts that he won't have it in his lifetime.
Because he was addicted to fortification and arithmetic, some elders in the family thought that he had ruined the family tradition, and his branch was ostracized. Although it was not a decline, it was difficult for him to speak up in the family.
Fortunately, his brother was also considerate and didn't blame him and let him do whatever he wanted outside.
Also because Cui Wei liked fortifications, when he was young and before his family gave up on him, he bought a lot of craftsmen and kept them in his own village. He also exchanged some craftsmen with some other families in the clan. At this time, they were all raised in the village.
In my own farm.
Cui Wei decided to write a letter back and asked his brother to send them as well.
Bai Shan was overjoyed when he got an approximate number of people, and began to search around his house. However, the number of craftsmen in his family was limited, just a few here and there. Except for a few who were good at building houses, the carpenters were the most numerous.
Bai Shan sighed, there were too few people, and letting them come over would not be worth the gain. It would be better to find ready-made people to train them.
There are only two small villages near Longchi Salt Field, and they are also very lively at this time.
After Bai Shan closed the salt farm, their lives were difficult for a while, but they soon got better.
First, Bai Shan wanted to build a dock here, which required a lot of workers. At first, they thought that building a dock was harder than boiling salt, but after getting used to it, they found that it was almost the same, and the labor cost of building a dock was higher than boiling salt;
Second, more and more craftsmen are coming here, and when there are more people, they need to eat and drink. Although the food, vegetables, and meat at the construction site are transported from the official fields outside every day, occasionally when the vegetables and vegetables are not enough, the large kitchen at the construction site will also
Buy with them.
Besides food and drink, there will also be other expenses, such as the wear and tear of shoes, clothes, socks, etc. If a group of grown men cannot repair it, the women in the village can make some money by doing some needlework. In general, life is better than when there was a salt farm.
Be good.
They were very happy, but they didn't know that Bai Shan was standing at the foot of the hillside looking at their land, and said to Bai Erlang Yinhe: "Their house has to be demolished and rebuilt."