The next day, Gu Zhongxun arrived at the bank of the river that had recently begun flowing again.
The azure river churned with white-capped waves, beautiful and pure, like snowmelt flowing down from the Tianshan Mountains.
Gu Zhongxun walked over to the stone stele standing on the riverbank.
“Shenxian River. What was it called before?”
Song Qiming smiled and shook his head.
“Before there was any water, the common people all called it a dry ditch. The name Shenxian River was given later, to represent Heaven’s blessing.”
Song Qiming had already reported the incident of lightning splitting the mountain to Gu Zhongxun in the name of an auspicious sign, and Gu Zhongxun had used it to report the good news to the emperor as well. The imperial court, however, had shown little response.
“Which fields were reclaimed by the government, and which belong to the people?” Gu Zhongxun gazed at the vast stretches of wasteland in the distance. In the plot before them, they could still see rice stalks that had not yet been cleared away.
Song Qiming pointed toward the bare trees in the distance. “Everything from that tree to the one over there belongs to the government.”
“Beyond that row of trees, all the reclaimed wasteland belongs to the people. There are at least fifty households in that area alone. Downstream, both banks of the river are covered with fields as well.”
The twenty thousand mu of newly added farmland all lay along both banks of the Shenxian River. The government had dug the ditches beside the roads and built waterwheels in the river, making irrigation much more convenient.
If Sui’ning City had not been so sparsely populated, the common people would have fought over this wasteland when it was first made available.
As they continued downstream along the riverbank, more and more farmland came into view, leaving Gu Zhongxun deeply shaken.
The impact of seeing the figures written on paper with his own eyes was several times greater than he had expected.
As they walked, Song Qiming said, “The soil in Sui’ning Prefecture is shallow and cannot retain water. Before spring arrives next year, I plan to use cement to pave the irrigation channels, as well as build embankments along both banks of the Shenxian River.”
“Of course, the prefectural office will have to pay for all that itself.” He smiled.
Gu Zhongxun’s footsteps paused for a moment. “I heard that County Princess Linghui’s cement factory has hired several thousand laborers since the autumn harvest?”
Song Qiming replied, “There were 4,600 people hired across two recruitment drives. The coal mine also recruited twice, bringing the total to nearly ten thousand.”
“The wages and daily meals for all those people are a considerable expense. My elder sister originally hadn’t planned to hire so many people the second time, but the common people came rushing to Sui’ning City as soon as they heard there was work available. In the end, she had no choice but to take them all on.”
Song Qiming seized the opportunity to suggest, “The cement shop is opening today. Would you like to take a look, my lord?”
She actually hired ten thousand people. County Princess Linghui certainly had nerve.
That was not only Gu Zhongxun’s thought, but also the thought of the other officials from Songzhou City who had accompanied him.
A workshop capable of employing five thousand people at once was beyond anything they had ever dared imagine, yet Song Jinzhao had two of them.
The cement shop was located on the busiest street in the outer city.
By the time Song Qiming and the others arrived, the entrance was already crowded with commoners. Some stood outside watching the excitement, while others sat inside discussing business. A price board was displayed on the wall facing the street, its prices clearly marked.
The characters were larger than a fist, making them easy to read even from outside.
The moment Gu Zhongxun saw the prices, he murmured, “Twenty copper coins a bag. That isn’t expensive.”
For something so useful, he had assumed it would cost at least several silver taels.
Song Qiming said with a smile, “My elder sister says cement can be used not only to build roads, but also to construct houses. It’s both sturdy and durable.”
“She wants ordinary people to be able to afford it, so she’s only adding a small markup to the production cost.”
Li Zhida scoffed from the side.
A small markup? Who would believe that?
The stuff was made from stone, so its production cost had to be very low. Song Jinzhao was definitely making a fortune.
What Li Zhida understood, Gu Zhongxun could naturally figure out as well.
After all, no one would openly announce their profits in business. Anyone who did would simply be a fool.
