After returning to the Yang Mansion, Yang Sichen paid his respects to Old Master Yang and returned to the Greenwave Courtyard.
After entering the study, Yang Sichen asked Rongguang,""Rongguang, what do you think after watching it for the whole day?”
"Nothing much, I just feel that I don't get enough candy in one day." Rongguang laughed.
Yang Sichen slapped the back of Rong Guang's head."If you still think it's too little, I'll send you to the workshop to squeeze sugar and do manual labor!”
"Don't! Young Master, if you send me away, who will help you change?!”Rongguang quickly tried to curry favor.
Yang Sichen laughed after hearing that. He put the matter aside and began to draw something on the paper.
…………
The next day, Yang Sichen asked Rongguang to hire a carpenter to forge something. Rong Guang left the residence with a helpless expression, obviously thinking that his young master was starting to mess around again.
In less than an hour, Rong Guang brought a skinny old man into the Blue Wave Courtyard.
Old Shen smiled when he saw Yang Sichen,""Brat, what do you want me to do now?”
Old Man Shen laughed,"Kid, this time it's not that wooden man that can move on his own, right?" I can't make that thing.”
Yang Sichen blushed and didn't know how to reply. At this moment, Rongguang returned with the things and helped Yang Sichen escape the awkwardness.
Old Shen took the paper and squinted his eyes to read it carefully for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. He raised his head and said," Not bad. It's much better than last time. It's simple and clear. I know what to do with one look. Give me a day. I can do it."”
"Thank you, Uncle!" Yang Sichen said excitedly.!!”
After that, the old and the young discussed for another fifteen minutes before deciding on the details. After that, Rongguang sent Old Shen out of the Yang residence while Yang Sichen returned to the study to practice his calligraphy.
Rongguang nodded, his eyes filled with curiosity.
…………
On the afternoon of the eighth day, Yang Sichen had just finished his lunch break and was preparing to spar with Rongguang. Old Shen then carried a box and followed a servant over. Apparently, the servants in the residence knew that Yang Sichen and Old Shen had a good relationship.
Old Man Shen had just arrived at the entrance of the Jade Wave Courtyard when Yang Sichen came up to him and asked,""Uncle, is the food ready?"
Old Shen patted the box in his hand and said,""It's done. It's all in here!”
Yang Sichen led Old Shen into the courtyard. Old Shen squatted down under a tree and opened the box while instructing Rongguang to get a water bottle to fill it up.
Old Shen took out a wooden four-legged stand from the box. The top of the stand was an inverted half-cylinder. Old Shen placed the stand on the ground and let the four legs of the stand stick into the soil. Then, he took out a wooden stick that was thick in the middle and thin at both ends. There was a depression in the middle of the wooden stick that could be buckled onto the top half of the pillar. He also installed a bamboo tube that could be turned over at one end. Finally, he installed a weight on the other end to make the bamboo tube tilt up.
Rongguang came back with the water bottle and looked at the thing curiously. Yang Sichen nodded at Old Shen, took the kettle, and began pouring water into the bamboo tube. The end of the bamboo tube gradually sank. When the water was full, Old Shen used his hand to flip the bamboo tube. The water flowed out of the bamboo tube and rose up again. This repeated five or six times before Yang Sichen stopped pouring water, looking satisfied.
Rongguang also reacted and said in surprise," Young Master, build another waterwheel. After enlarging this thing, you can install a juicer near the bamboo tube…"
"Your reaction isn't slow this time!" Yang Sichen laughed.!”
Rongguang covered the back of his head with a smile.
After that, Yang Sichen chatted with Old Shen for a while and gave him a tael of silver before letting Rongguang send Old Shen out of the Yang Residence. At the same time, he instructed Manager Li to bring a few waterwheel craftsmen over tomorrow morning. He said that he wanted to build a waterwheel near the workshop to drive the machine to squeeze sugar.
On the morning of the ninth day of the lunar month, Yang Sichen finished practicing his calligraphy and asked Rongguang to bring some things with him to the nearby Dexing Teahouse. Manager Li had already brought two craftsmen to wait in the private room.
When Yang Sichen entered the teahouse, Manager Li came up to him and whispered,""The thinner one is Master Li, the craftsman of Song Jiang's Ruide Workshop. The white and fat one is Master Zhang, the craftsman of Daheng Workshop.”
Yang Sichen nodded and followed Manager Li upstairs into the private room.
After entering the private room, Yang Sichen exchanged pleasantries with the two craftsmen for a while before asking Rongguang to take out the items and explain his intentions.
When the two craftsmen saw the item, they were a little surprised and couldn't help but take a few more glances at Yang Sichen.
Yang Sichen didn't feel uncomfortable and said,""Masters, this is just a model of a hydraulic juicer. It was only to prove that this machine could be manufactured. As for what it would look like, the two masters would have to come up with their own ideas. They would have to provide the blueprints, list the materials needed, and the amount of silver needed. I'll give this job to whoever's suitable. How about this?"
The two of them were very surprised by Yang Sichen's words. After thinking about it carefully, they felt that it was very fair, so they nodded. They agreed to come up with a plan for Yang Sichen to choose in two days.
Yang Sichen left the teahouse and returned to the manor after he saw that the deal was settled. Steward Li was left behind to take care of the two craftsmen.
…………
On the morning of September 12th, Yang Sichen went to Xingde Teahouse again. The two craftsmen took out their plans and showed them to Yang Sichen. Yang Sichen frowned and called Manager Li to the side,""Take a look at the proposal and help me estimate if they have applied too much.”
Manager Li carefully read through the proposal. Carpenter Li's offer was 210 taels while Carpenter Zhang's was 195 taels. The difference was not big. Carpenter Li's proposal seemed more feasible. He looked at it carefully again before answering,"Young Master, the materials used are a little expensive, but the materials used for the waterwheel and juicer need to be processed. As for how to process these materials, each workshop regards it as their own secret manual and will not let outsiders like us know.”
"How much profit can we use from the workshop now?" Yang Sichen asked again.”
Manager Li thought for a while and said," The total profit for the first eight months is 210 taels. After deducting expenses and savings, there are still 100 taels that can be used." Many families were only willing to buy a packet of brown sugar to taste it before the new year, so business was not very good in the first few months.”
"How much silver would it cost to build a shed for the juicer?”Yang Sichen continued to ask.
Manager Li thought for a while and replied,""Building a sturdy house costs 24 or 25 taels. If it's just a shed with tiles on top, 10 taels will be enough.”
Yang Sichen gritted his teeth and said," I'll choose Carpenter Li's. Two hundred and thirty taels." I've contracted the waterwheel, juicer, and the house to him. It's best if you can lower the price to less than 200 taels. You can pay half of the silver you save. I'll give the other half to him when I'm satisfied with the construction. If anything happens to the machine within two years, he must fix it for me for free.”
Manager Li nodded and turned around to bargain with Carpenter Li.
After an hour of debate, Steward Li and Carpenter Li finally reached an agreement. Yang Sichen paid Carpenter Li two hundred and ten taels of silver. Carpenter Li would take care of the waterwheel, juicer, wooden house, and all other construction works and guarantee that they would be completed within twenty days. Yang Sichen paid Carpenter Li one hundred and fifty taels of silver first, and the rest of the silver would be paid after twenty days when Yang Sichen was satisfied with it.
…………
After returning to the Yang Residence, Yang Sichen asked Granny Zhao,""Granny, how much money do I have now?”
Granny Zhao went back to the room to get the account book. After looking at it, she replied,"Young Master's monthly allowance is twenty taels. However, in the past, Young Master would spend almost all the silver every month, so there are only one hundred and twenty taels for these six months. In addition to the one hundred taels of pocket money given by the elders during the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, the total is two hundred and twenty taels. This old servant has saved them all for you, Young Master."
Yang Sichen didn't expect that the previous owner of this small body was actually a " Moonlight Clan ". He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Two hundred and twenty taels of silver was too little. It was almost used up to build a hydraulic juicer.
In the afternoon, when Yang Sichen had just woken up, Xia Zhong came to the Blue Wave Courtyard and said that Old Master Yang wanted him to go over. Yang Sichen looked at Xia Zhong in confusion. "Young Master, Steward Li just came out of Old Master's room."”
Yang Sichen's heart sank, and he asked hesitantly,""What did Grandfather say?"
Xia Zhong replied,"They say that Young Master is like Old Master."”
Yang Sichen heaved a sigh of relief. Yang Sichen knew that this wasn't a bad thing. Even the Emperor's imperial edict had to have the words " deeply admire my bow ".
Yang Sichen followed Xia Zhong to the Blue Sea Hall. Old Master Yang was sitting on the main seat, smoking. Yang Sichen didn't dare to be negligent. He quickly stepped forward and bowed.""Grandson pays his respects to grandfather. May I know why grandfather has called me here?”
Old Master Yang didn't say anything. He just smiled at Yang Sichen, his eyes shining with an inexplicable light. Yang Sichen felt his hair stand on end under Old Master Yang's stare and was about to explain. "Little Chen, do you know how your father got his first silver from his business?" Old Master Yang asked with a smile.”Without waiting for Yang Sichen to reply, Old Master Yang continued," That bastard is really audacious…"
From Old Master Yang's narration, Yang Sichen learned about the history of his deadbeat father's fortune. Old Master Yang's name was Yang Xingrun. He was born in the third year of Wanli and was the only son of Old Master Yang. He had been drifting on the sea with Old Master Yang since he was young. He was very intelligent, bold, careful, and had a bad temper. At the age of thirteen, he wanted to start a business, but Old Master Yang did not agree. Therefore, he used the excuse of going out to train and stole a few paintings that Old Master Yang had hidden. He received more than two hundred taels of silver. He fooled a few of his childhood friends, kidnapped a private advisor of the Flying Fish Gang, and rented a boat with them to transport a batch of silk seized by the Flying Fish Gang to Nanyang to sell.
When Old Master Yang discovered that something was wrong and began to investigate, Old Master Yang had already redeemed the calligraphy and paintings and made up for the silk. He even earned 1,500 taels. Old Master Yang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but Old Madam Yang didn't lose her temper. She just felt sorry for her son and tried to persuade him. After that, Old Master Yang never asked about his son's business. He only asked his son to check the accounts every year after he became the Song Jiang Navy Admiral to see if there were any prohibited transactions.
Three years ago, Old Master Yang used the Longevity Festival to offer a hundred thousand taels of silver to the Emperor. The Emperor was delighted and ordered the Imperial Noble Consort to give the Yang family a plaque with the words: Harmony breeds wealth. This matter was then passed down as a legend. Afterwards, according to Old Master Yang, Old Master Yang gave the Imperial Noble Consort a hundred thousand taels of silver to moisten his brush.
Last year, he had used the Mid-Autumn Festival to present two hundred thousand taels of silver to the Emperor. The Emperor had specially approved the Yang family to build fifteen large ships of five thousand materials. Once these ships were completed, plus the twenty large ships of two thousand materials that the Yang family currently owned, the size of the Yang family's fleet could be considered to be at the forefront of the Ming Dynasty. It was said that Old Master Yang had promised that once all 15 5,000-material ships were put into use, he would give the Emperor 200,000 taels of silver every year. However, due to the expansion of the Yang family's dock, the big ship had yet to land.
According to Old Master Yang, the Yang family's assets currently exceeded five million taels of silver. However, Old Master Yang was extremely shrewd and hid most of his assets in the overseas Zamboyan. The court only had two million taels of silver.
Yang Sichen was speechless. Five million taels of silver was almost one billion yuan in the future. The official tax of the imperial court was only four to five million taels of silver a year.
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