Opening a Transport Route

"Shouzhe, where on earth did you manage to get fifty or sixty thousand dan of grain?" Gongsun Qiang took a deep breath, his voice trembling with disbelief.

The Shanyang Gongsun Clan was considered powerful, sitting on ten or twenty thousand mu of fertile land. Yet, even so, their grain yield for a single season wouldn't reach fifty or sixty thousand dan! Not to mention that the produce from a noble clan's fields had to be shared with tenant farmers, taxed by the acre, and set aside for seed reserves, pest-exterminating powder, and other overheads.

From this, one could see what an astronomical figure fifty or sixty thousand dan of grain truly was. Even in ordinary times, acquiring such a massive amount of grain at once would be extremely difficult, let alone in the current climate of the world.

"I bought it from the Qian Clan Trading Firm through a friend's connection," Wang Shouzhe said. "Uncle, there is no time to lose. Let us head to Jucai Manor now, and the carriages will follow."

Because the Gongsun Clan's carriages were used to transport minerals, their cargo beds were specially reinforced. The horses pulling them were Northern Heavy Draft Horses, selected for their sturdy builds and immense stamina; each carriage used four to five of them, capable of hauling thousands upon thousands of jin with ease.

Bought through a friend's connection?

Gongsun Qiang's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Where does one find such friends? Can I get a dozen of them? Harboring a mix of envy, jealousy, and a sliver of skepticism, he followed Wang Shouzhe to Jucai Manor.

Jucai Manor was one of the Qian Clan's properties, specifically used for stockpiling various bulk goods. Many such commodities, often amounting to tens or hundreds of thousands of dan, had no need to be transported into the city of Changning Guard.

As for fearing attacks or robberies, that was a joke.

Not to mention the formidable armed forces within Jucai Manor, the very brand of the Longzuo powerhouse, the Qian Clan, was enough to ensure that no one dared harbor any wicked intentions.

After requesting an audience through the gatekeeper of Jucai Manor, Manager Qian—Qian Xue'an—emerged shortly after with a dark expression, looking as if he had no intention of giving Wang Shouzhe a pleasant look.

Subsequently, he represented the Qian Clan in conducting the handover, and both parties drafted a new contract—a contract for the Qian Clan to "buy back" the Pest-Exterminating Powder from Wang Shouzhe.

The price was very reasonable: ten thousand Qian Gold in cash and sixty thousand dan of aged grain from their inventory. Since the Qian Clan could sell the five thousand bags of Pest-Exterminating Powder for at least fifteen to twenty thousand Qian Gold after buying them back, they naturally wouldn't be at a loss.

Regarding such a "humiliating" affair, the shopkeeper of the Qian Clan's Changning branch didn't even want to show his face, delegating everything to Qian Xue'an. That unseen shopkeeper had clearly already decided to shift the responsibility for all errors onto Manager Qian Xue'an.

Consequently, as Qian Xue'an assisted Wang Shouzhe with the paperwork, his face was so "gloomy" it seemed ready to drip water, and from start to finish, he didn't want to say a single word to Wang Shouzhe.

Once everything was settled, he tossed a thick stack of gold notes and a transport permit for sixty thousand dan of grain to Wang Shouzhe, then flicked his sleeves and departed in a huff.

The acting was so realistic that it left Wang Shouzhe stunned. He couldn't help but think to himself that once Qian Xue'an successfully advanced to the Spirit Platform Realm, he would surely become a man of great talent in the future.

After finishing the procedures, Wang Shouzhe found Gongsun Qiang, who was waiting outside: "Uncle, the collection procedures for the sixty thousand dan of aged grain are complete. Once your men arrive, we can begin transporting the grain."

Gongsun Qiang's body shook violently, his jaw dropping. It was true—it was actually true that he had "bought" a full sixty thousand dan of grain. This nephew of his was truly incredible.

Soon, Gongsun Qiang's fleet of twenty carriages arrived, accompanied by eighty sturdy mine slaves.

In the mountain-like granary, the aged grain was packed in rice bags, each bag containing exactly one hundred jin, or one dan. Yet, those mine slaves easily hoisted three or four bags at a time to begin loading the carriages.

"Uncle, how much can one carriage hold?" Wang Shouzhe had lived two lifetimes and had never seen such a vast quantity of grain. Even though he had made internal estimates, the volume and quantity still far exceeded his imagination.

"Load it, load as much as you can, aim for a hundred dan! Our carriages are specially reinforced, and these Northern Heavy Draft Horses aren't just for show—they can pull it." Gongsun Qiang's eyes were also turning red; he had lived his whole life and naturally had never seen so much grain piled together.

With the strength of the Shanyang Gongsun Clan, stockpiling twenty thousand dan of grain year-round was enough to feed thousands of strong laborers for a year. The Gongsun Clan's tenant farmers, miners, and mine slaves, combined with the family members, totaled at most a few thousand people.

A hundred dan? That was ten thousand jin of grain...

Wang Shouzhe was slightly taken aback; this was indeed a fantasy world. Not only were ordinary people much stronger, but even the strength of these Northern Heavy Draft Horses was so impressive. And these weren't even spirit-beast-level warhorses; otherwise, they would be even more formidable.

The mine slaves were clearly accustomed to heavy labor. With four men assigned to each carriage, they finished loading in just six or seven trips back and forth. The specialized ore-hauling carriages were overloaded, piled high with grain.

Even so, that was only two thousand dan.

At this rate, would it take thirty trips? Forget it, let's just haul it slowly. I wasn't expecting to move this batch of grain in a short time anyway.

Fortunately, at this moment, Qian Xue'an appeared again. Still wearing a cold face, he said, "Our Qian Clan Trading Firm values our commercial reputation above all else and would never leave a client in a difficult position. You may rent our heavy-duty cargo carriages for twenty large copper coins a day, including the driver. This price covers the rations for both the driver and the heavy draft horses. You are responsible for the loading and unloading yourselves."

It was quite obvious that Qian Xue'an was taking a risk to come and assist.

However, Uncle Gongsun Qiang nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. Although the price offered was fair and reasonable, it diminished his own hard work, didn't it?

Gongsun Qiang had originally hoped to use this favor to shamelessly ask his nephew to spare some grain for him.

"Then I shall trouble you, Manager Qian," Wang Shouzhe said happily. "Let's rent another thirty carriages."

The number of carriages owned by the Qian Clan Trading Firm far exceeded that of the Gongsun Clan. Moreover, their business spanned all of Longzuo, so their carriages were naturally of high capacity, in no way inferior to those of the Gongsun Clan.

When all fifty carriages were fully loaded, they drove out of Jucai Manor.

Jucai Manor was only ten miles from Changning Ferry, and under normal circumstances, the carriages would arrive in less than an hour. However, Changning Ferry was crowded and full of prying eyes. Wang Shouzhe did not want to make a scene for the time being, to avoid any complications.

After the carriages passed the fork in the road, they took the path toward Shanyang. After another two or three miles, they turned toward the An River and arrived at the edge of a dense forest. From here, the carriages could go no further. But after walking just over a hundred paces into the forest, there was a vertical cliff five or six zhang high, with a natural water inlet twenty or thirty zhang wide beneath it.

By this time, Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai had already received notice from the family guards and was waiting there with a fleet of boats, having already set up a makeshift slanted ramp. There were fishing boats and ferries—in short, every boat the family could use had been brought.

Although this method of transport was strenuous, it was very discreet.

From the carriages to the forest, and then to the cliff and the boats, the distance was about two hundred and fifty paces. Wang Shouzhe had the mine slaves and guards take their positions, one person every three steps, to transport the grain in a relay.

Once everyone adapted, they discovered the benefits of this simple human transport line: it was stable, orderly, and the efficiency gradually increased. The speed of loading the boats eventually reached one dan every breath or two, and it saved a great deal of time and energy that would have been spent running back and forth.

In just over an hour, they had miraculously finished loading and unloading all the grain from the fifty carriages. Afterward, the carriage fleet returned to Jucai Manor for the next batch, while Wang Shouzhe followed the fleet across the An River all the way to the Fenggu Sluice.

There were even more people at Fenggu Farm—a full two hundred households of tenant farmers—so pulling out one hundred and fifty strong laborers was easy. Using the same method, they transported the grain through the Fenggu Sluice and temporarily stored it at Fenggu Farm.

There weren't enough boats on the inner river, only five or six, so they would have to transport it slowly along this final stretch.

While the successful opening of the transport line allowed Wang Shouzhe to relax, he also felt a strong dissatisfaction with his family's transport infrastructure.

First, there was an over-reliance on public ferries and a lack of privately developed, discreet small docks.

Second, the connection from the An River to the inner river was inconvenient. Because the water levels on both sides were inconsistent, the single sluice gate could not be left open for long periods, or it would cause flooding. Regarding this, he had to find a way to build a ship lock that would allow vessels to pass through.

Furthermore, the family had obvious weaknesses in boat and carriage transport. Perhaps with the Wang Clan's current scale, these weaknesses weren't very apparent, but as the family continued to grow and strengthen, these shortcomings would severely hinder the family's development.

It seemed that establishing his own complete and perfect transport channels was also a matter of urgent priority.