amaotonovel Chapter 27 The county magistrate is indeed superior!
Chapter 27 The county magistrate is indeed superior!
A certain decadent writer, Xun Ge'er, who wished to remain anonymous, once said: "Whether it is more important to avoid being hated or to make money, that is the question."
Yang Shaofeng paced back and forth a few steps, then suddenly stopped and snorted coldly, saying, "As the old saying goes, if you hear cicadas chirping, will you stop planting crops? Just because you're afraid of being resented, you won't make lighters. When will the people of Ningyang County ever live a good life?"
Just as Limpy Five was about to try to persuade him again, Yang Shaofeng raised a finger and said, "Brother Limpy Five, there's no need to persuade me. I'm determined to get my hands on lighters, even if it means being resented by others."
After retracting his fingers and pacing a few more times, Yang Shaofeng suddenly smiled slightly and said, "Besides, this thing might not necessarily make me resented by others; on the contrary, it might even make those people owe me a favor."
Limpy Wu was slightly taken aback and asked, "How can you avoid being resented and still make people owe the county magistrate a favor?"
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, then picked up a tinderbox from the table with a smile and said, "How much can such an ordinary tinderbox sell for? If the bamboo tube is painted and carved with flowers, how much more can it sell for? Is it more elegant for an official like myself to use a tinderbox or a lighter?"
Limpy Wu asked, looking completely bewildered, "Ya?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded: "That's right, it's elegant."
"It's like drinking tea. If you carefully grind the tea leaves, prepare the soup, and add a bunch of random spices, mutton fat, lard, and so on, that's called elegance. But if you just steep the tea leaves in water, that's called vulgarity."
"Similarly, using a tinderbox is considered elegant, while using a lighter is considered vulgar."
"Literati and officials have always liked to be 'elegant'. For them, as long as it is elegant enough, it doesn't matter whether it is practical or not, whether it is expensive or troublesome. But it must not be 'vulgar'. Once it is vulgar, even the best things become bad."
Limpy Five blinked: "Does the magistrate mean to make this lighter a vulgar item and the tinderbox a refined item, then sell the tinderbox at a high price and the lighter at a low price?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "That's right, that's exactly what I mean."
"Besides, lighters themselves aren't difficult to make. The master craftsmen in the court and the army can figure out how to make them with just a little thought, and I won't stop them from making them."
"As for how elegant or expensive the tinderbox will become, what does that have to do with me?"
"As far as I'm concerned, as long as we can sell the first batch of lighters to Chang Pingzhang and Xu Xiang, and once lighters become commonplace, Ningyang County can continue to sell them to other places, allowing both the county government and the people to make money, that's enough."
The lame man suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Brilliant! The county magistrate is truly wise!"
Yang Shaofeng reached out and picked up the blueprints, handing them to Limpy Five: "I'll trouble you, Limpy Five, to find a few craftsmen and make a few to see. After they're done, I'll also trouble you to go to Chang Pingzhang's place and see if you can get some kerosene."
Limpy Wu carefully put away the blueprints, cupped his hands and replied, "Rest assured, Your Excellency, I will handle everything properly."
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "Let's go see how their steamed buns are. If they taste okay, we'll have another dish to eat in the future."
……
Limpy Wu carefully poured kerosene into the lighter casing, soaking the cotton in the kerosene. Once the cotton thread protruding from the casing was also wet, Limpy Wu tightened the cap at the bottom of the lighter and then gently activated the mechanism on the lighter.
"Snapped!"
After a soft sound, bright flames shot up instantly.
Chang Yuchun jumped up from his seat, walked a few steps to the lame Wu, snatched the lighter from the lame Wu's hand, first closed the top cap of the lighter, then opened the cap, and then, imitating the lame Wu, gently pressed the mechanism next to the cotton thread.
Another soft "pop" sound, and another bright flame.
The flames, not very stable, flickered slightly, and the firelight reflected on Chang Yuchun's face, making his already dark complexion appear even darker.
Chang Yuchun closed the lighter cap again, examined it repeatedly, and asked, "How much does this thing cost? How many can Ningyang County make a day? Can it supply the army's needs?"
The lame man replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Grand Councilor, the cost of this thing is around ten coins. Magistrate Yang instructed me to tell you that he would quote you a price of twenty coins. The extra ten coins are to be paid to the people of Ningyang County for their labor."
"Ningyang County can produce about a hundred of these a day. Magistrate Yang said that the most difficult part of making these things is this small mechanism. But if the blacksmiths make a mold first, this small mechanism is actually the easiest to make. The only thing that limits the production of these things is the speed at which the women thread the rope."
"As for supplying the army's needs... Magistrate Yang said that the lighters produced in Ningyang County can be supplied to the army in their entirety, but the army's needs are considerable, so it would be best to let the army or the imperial court's artisan workshops manufacture them themselves."
Limping Wu said, "Lord Yang also said that he wanted the Grand Councilor to allocate some kerosene to Ningyang County."
Chang Yuchun nodded without hesitation and said, "Okay, we'll have someone send him about a hundred catties of kerosene later, which should be enough for him for some time."
After a slight pause, Chang Yuchun continued, "Tell us everything he's been up to lately in Ningyang County. We're getting more and more curious about this Magistrate Yang."
After Limpy Wu recounted in detail Yang Shaofeng's recent actions in Ningyang County, Chang Yuchun fell silent.
After a long while, Chang Yuchun suddenly sighed and said, "We are not as good as him. If the Yuan Dynasty had had such a good official as him, if he had been loyal to the Yuan court, hehe."
The two words "hehe" actually contain emotions such as relief, lingering fear, and joy, which are truly beyond the description of words.
After a long while, Chang Yuchun finally spoke, "Now that you've returned to Ningyang County, you should work diligently under his guidance. It's a blessing for the people of Ningyang County to have an official like him, and it's also a blessing for our Great Ming Dynasty."
The lame man bowed respectfully and replied, "Yes, I understand."
Chang Yuchun hummed in agreement, then suddenly his eyes lit up, and he laughed and said, “No, we’ve been tricked by that guy surnamed Yang, so how can Xu Da get away with it? Here’s what we’ll do: take this lighter with you and make another trip to Xu Da’s army, so he can learn something new.”