After all, He Lingchuan had coughed up eighty thousand taels all at once earlier, which was hardly a small sum for an individual. Lu Qing'an spoke with confident ease. "If that's truly the case, it'll be easy to handle! Drive up his costs and throw a few obstacles in his path to choke his cash flow. A wealthy scion like him with no local roots can easily go bankrupt."
Once bankrupt, he would have no choice but to liquidate and dump his assets in a fire sale.
When that time came, the Lu family would have another chance to reclaim the Yangshan Archipelago.
His eldest son remained shrewd in such matters, which put Lu Zhensheng somewhat at ease.
"Furthermore, the earth fiend yin vein erupts with fiend energy every seven days. If that man surnamed He wants to keep the people and livestock on the islands unharmed, he must dispel the fiend energy continuously in real time. He certainly can't accomplish that all by himself."
Lu Qing'an caught on immediately. "Father wants to find out what method he uses to dispel the fiend energy?"
"Of course." Lu Zhensheng gave a meaningful smile. "If he truly can dispel the fiend energy, we wouldn't mind learning from him with an open mind."
For years, the Yangshan Archipelago had remained unusable precisely because of the deadly fiend energy. If this man surnamed He had a way, the entire archipelago would become a prized asset—so why shouldn't it become a new source of wealth for the Bailie people?
A lack of money had always been the Lu family's greatest problem.
Lu Zhensheng asked again, "How are sales for their palm oil?"
"I hear the quality is quite good."
Lu Zhensheng tapped his fingers twice on the table. "Every fried dish on our table today was made with palm oil from the Yangshan Archipelago."
Foods deep-fried in palm oil turned out light, crispy, and visually appealing, without darkening even after prolonged frying. Upscale restaurants in Bailie, the Qing Kingdom, and the Mou Kingdom all used palm oil for their fried dishes.
He pointed to the side, and only then did Lu Qing'an notice a round object placed there. At first glance, it resembled both a drum and a bucket, fashioned from bamboo.
"That's an oil barrel, crafted from giant dragon bamboo stalks on the archipelago." Lu Zhensheng shook his head. "I originally thought that even if they harvested all the palm fruit on the islands and pressed it into oil, they wouldn't find suitable containers. Turns out they didn't even have to spend a copper on oil barrels."
Giant dragon bamboo had a diameter of over one chi, with a girth comparable to a water bucket, and had nodes inside just like ordinary bamboo. Sawing off a section yielded a natural container that was sealed, leakproof, and lighter than wood.
The locals truly did use them as water buckets, and He Lingchuan had simply taken the idea further.
"I don't know whether this Young Master He is as cunning as a ghost or just exceptionally lucky, but every one of these moves has been astonishing." Lu Zhensheng stroked the long beard beneath his chin. "Still, he is an outsider after all, unfamiliar with the area. He's bound to suffer some setbacks."
He asked his eldest son again, "Has the autumn harvest in our territory been completed?"
"More than half. If the farmers in the south stop getting drawn away by the Yangshan Archipelago, we can finish harvesting within ten days."
"Hurry it along," Lu Zhensheng said meaningfully. "The weather can change in an instant."
"By the way, since things on the Yangshan Archipelago are in full swing these days, their palm oil should be shipping out in large quantities soon," Lu Zhensheng added. "Before it's too late, go pay a visit to Superintendent Wu of the Blade Harbor Maritime Trade Office and drop a word in his ear."
He let out a heavy snort. "Our clan has been frail and declining for years, to the point where even an outsider rich boy dares to swindle Bailie!"
The old man simply wouldn't shut up about the Yangshan Archipelago! Lu Qing'an forced a smile. "Fine, I'll make the trip in person shortly. But let's agree: once I speak with Superintendent Wu, let's leave the Yangshan Archipelago alone for now. The east is where—"
"The Ya Kingdom to the east is the real priority! I know that!" Lu Zhensheng cut him off, shifting the topic. "Is Qingbang taking his younger sister to the front lines again this time?"
"Yes. Last year, she won glory in her very first battle and chopped off the enemy deputy general's head, so Feiyan accompanied the army again this time."
"Why are you calling her 'Feiyan' too? Feixuan is the name her parents gave her."
Lu Qing'an rubbed his nose and didn't argue with his old man.
Lu Zhensheng sighed with emotion. "Qing'an, you manage Bailie with great skill, and Qinglin is making a name for himself on the front lines. Bailie carries more and more weight in the Mou Kingdom's eyes. Ah, civil governance and martial prowess securing the state—our clan will surely rise again!"
The hardest times had already passed; from here on out, things would only get better.
Lu Qing'an nodded firmly. "When that day comes, not only the Yangshan Archipelago, but Blade Harbor and the other occupied lands will be taken back by us as well!"
Coming from any other family or state, such words would sound like a fool's pipedream. But Bailie was different.
The decline and resurgence of the Lu family were like the wilting and blooming of flowers, merely cycles repeating time and again.
A revival was certain to arrive, and fortune was certain to favor them—every member of the Lu family believed this without question.
During this season, several hundred old peach trees on Longji Island were laden with fruit, the flesh sweet and juicy.
Although hands were short, Lei Ni specifically reassigned a portion of workers to pick peaches and send them to the docks of Blade Harbor and markets within Bailie for sale.
"Longji Island Peaches" served as a novel gimmick; hardly anyone had ever tasted them before. Driven by curiosity, people bought a few to try, and over a hundred baskets of plump peaches were swept clean in less than half a day.
Two large seagoing ships bought three to five baskets each in a single go.
Back then, Lei Ni had told He Lingchuan that they needed to open dedicated specialty shops, otherwise such good produce would just rot on the island. He Lingchuan had agreed, though what ran through his mind was that it was about time to brew some peach wine.
Two taverns in Yuheng City excelled at brewing; he could steal a recipe from them and bring it back to use in reality.
Unfortunately, there was a desperate shortage of hands for everything right now.
At the moment, Lingguang sat by the table munching on a peach while watching Ding Zuodong report accounts to He Lingchuan.
Its master was as busy as a spinning top all day long, completely lacking its own carefree leisure—eating whenever it wanted, sleeping whenever it pleased.
It pinched its own belly. Mmm, thicker again.
In autumn, one had to put on autumn fat.
He Lingchuan stroked his chin as he looked over the ledger, a pleased expression on his face. "Recruitment progress is far ahead of schedule. That's great news."
By the original plan, recruiting forty-three or forty-four hundred farmhands by now would have been quite good, yet the number of people who had arrived on the islands had already surpassed seven thousand three hundred! Over fifty percent more than expected.
His territory lacked people above all else. A territory without people held no value.
With more hands at work, progress on all fronts naturally accelerated.
"This is because both the displaced refugees heading south and the islanders from the east have increased," Ding Zuodong explained. As a competent chief steward, it was his duty to investigate matters thoroughly so his master could make informed decisions. "Last winter, although the friction between Bailie and the Ya Kingdom didn't last long, the Ya Kingdom frequently raided, pillaged, burned, and slaughtered along the border, destroying farmland and torching towns. In the end, Bailie even paid reparations, driving many Bailie people past their breaking point, forcing them to abandon their homes and flee south.
"Furthermore, the Ya Kingdom has abducted populations from various countries for years, but last year the Ya Kingdom's Supreme Chieftain expelled a portion of them across the border. These people had stayed in the Ya Kingdom for years—twelve or thirteen years for some, four or five for others. Returning to Bailie, they had neither homes nor fields and were reduced to paupers. Once we put out the recruitment call, they came running."
A tree moved dies, but a person moved thrives; in most circumstances, attachment to one's homeland cannot compete with a full bowl of rice.
"In addition, a branch of the Bailong tribe in the Ya Kingdom fled south as an entire clan after offending the Supreme Chieftain. Their tribal chief was killed, the tribe fractured, and several hundred migrated overseas to make a living; we managed to recruit more than six hundred of them," Ding Zuodong said. "Aside from dockworkers and day laborers from Blade Harbor, the recruits consist mostly of these three groups."
"All of it is good news," He Lingchuan rubbed his hands together. "Ahem, for the Yangshan Archipelago, that is."
"Every advantage comes with a drawback; at this rate, we have severely overspent!" Ding Zuodong's face turned solemn. "The Yangshan Archipelago hasn't started producing grain yet, so all our provisions must be purchased from outside. But the Mou Kingdom is at war with Beijia, and both the Qing Kingdom and Bailie must support them with provisions and fodder, driving grain prices on the market through the roof. This time last year, one shi of rice was four hundred and fifty wen, but now the market price is already one thousand three hundred wen—nearly tripling! And the larger the purchase volume, the higher the price. I estimate it will be at least one thousand five hundred wen in five days."
For laborers doing hard physical work, putting away a jin of grain a day was nothing. Eight thousand people consumed at least eight thousand jin of grain daily.
Of course, grain wasn't just rice.
Yet meat, fruits, and vegetables hadn't even been counted yet—a person couldn't just shovel down plain grains without any side dishes.
To attract farmhands to work on the islands, the Yangshan Archipelago had advertised free room and board.
With grain prices skyrocketing in the Qing Kingdom and Bailie recently, countless people didn't even fear the yin fiend anymore just to secure a solid meal, fleeing straight to the Yangshan Archipelago. Had the promise of free food and drink not been so enticing, Ding Zuodong could never have recruited so many hands in such a short time. Conversely, the burden of feeding those thousands of mouths fell squarely onto He Lingchuan's shoulders.
Furthermore, livestock like oxen and horses couldn't survive on grass alone, or they wouldn't have the strength to haul loads and plow fields; mixing concentrated feed like beancurd residue and wheat bran into their roughage was indispensable.
Compared to the price, He Lingchuan was more concerned about whether they could purchase enough grain. Having money but nowhere to buy—that would be the real disaster.
"Can we buy enough? I recall foreign merchants have always shipped grain into Blade Harbor."
"If not for that, grain would have run out long ago! The grain brought by foreign merchants is snatched clean the moment it hits the docks; otherwise, prices wouldn't have shot up two- to threefold." Ding Zuodong shook his head. "I hear the Qing Kingdom has already banned the export and resale of grain within its borders, and civilian purchases are capped. Fortunately, Blade Harbor is a free port and exempt from these restrictions, or we wouldn't have been able to buy grain at all."
The Yangshan Archipelago was not Qing territory, so grain merchants in Blade Harbor selling to the archipelago counted as "exporting."
"Look to other places to import grain as well; don't limit ourselves to Blade Harbor," He Lingchuan reminded Ding Zuodong. "Otherwise, anyone who inquires into how much grain we buy could deduce how many people we've hired."
The records in Ding Zuodong's ledger were top secret, not to be disclosed to outsiders.
The Yangshan Archipelago would eventually station troops, so it would hardly do to let other powers figure out the island's population.
"I understand. A few days ago, I finalized terms with several grain merchants from the Ya Kingdom to the east, arranging for them to deliver grain directly to the archipelago without passing through Blade Harbor first," Ding Zuodong nodded. "However, it's very difficult to drive the price down."
He Lingchuan waved it off nonchalantly. "It costs what it costs. Now is the time to broaden our supply lines; no need to pinch pennies."
After all, no matter how much money one hoarded, wasn't it meant to be spent?
"Once the islands harvest their own grain next year, the pressure on this front will ease." Several of the islands were suitable for cultivation and were currently being reclaimed at an accelerated pace.
Besides that, expenditures on other means of production also exceeded projections—such as farm tools, livestock like oxen and horses, and ships and timber.
Chapter 937