Chapter 381: Jinshuigou Coal Mine

Liu You sold all three carts of flour to a grain merchant in the city, receiving a large sum of silver in return.

He then hired a horse-drawn carriage, letting his wife and children ride inside.

One horse-drawn carriage and three oxcarts departed Heyang County together, slowly making their way to Jinshuigou Coal Mine.

By the time he arrived, Li Daoxuan was peeling spicy shrimp while watching the construction progress at the coal mine.

After Gao Yiye and Thirty-Two visited Jinshuigou Coal Mine last time and settled the “privatization” issue with Feng Jun, this coal mine had become Li Daoxuan’s focal point.

After all, coal mining was the “father” of the Industrial Revolution; without the father, there could be no children, meaning the Industrial Revolution couldn’t flourish.

The Industrial Revolution was, in turn, the father of modern society. Without it, the ideology of an agricultural society could hardly undergo fundamental change.

As the Great Teacher once said, “Content must match form.”

An advanced political system needed matching advanced productive forces to thrive.

If productive forces lagged, the system couldn’t develop.

If the system became a hindrance, productive forces would also stagnate.

Li Daoxuan could currently stabilize “new ideologies” in Gaojia Village by using his “golden hand” to cheat.

But if anything unexpected happened to him—or when he died of old age—the support of productive forces would vanish.

All these new ideas would collapse.

Raising the productivity of his followers themselves was an urgent matter.

Three engineering teams bustled within the coal mine.

The first team consisted entirely of people from Heyang County, tasked with the simplest road construction work.

The second team also came from Heyang County but included several blue hat technical workers from Gaojia Village.

They guided the yellow hat workers in building concrete dormitories for the coal miners.

Construction had only just begun a few days prior, yet the vast scale and imposing grandeur of the structure were already evident.

The third engineering team was impressive—all wore blue hats and hailed from Gaojia Village.

Mixed among them was a young lord sporting a white hat.

Clad in white robes, this was none other than Young Master Bai.

Almost seventeen now, Young Master Bai was handsome and poised, an age considered capable of standing on one’s own in this era.

He sketched and wrote on a blueprint, occasionally glancing up at the coal pit before reverting to his annotations.

His blueprint depicted a small track extending from outside the coal pit into its depths.

Above the track sat a small cart connected to iron chains, stretching outward to a system of pulleys.

Finishing the sketch, he held the drawing aloft toward the sky.

“Honorable Deity, please take a look. Is this feasible?”

Tap-tap-tap.

Li Daoxuan typed a few characters, and the printer whirred to life.

Moments later, he displayed a paper:

“Don’t ask me whether it’s feasible.

Test it.

Perform experiments.

Practice yields genuine insights.”

Young Master Bai hastily bowed deeply.

“The Deity’s teaching is profoundly correct.”

He then slapped the blueprint into the hands of a nearby blue hat.

“Commence work immediately! Build this coal transport cart according to this design!

Once completed, I will personally test its viability.

If successful, miners won’t need to exhaust their strength hauling coal up from the pit bottom!”

A group of blue hats briefly studied the blueprint before directing the yellow hats into action.

The entire coal pit buzzed with fervent activity.

Amid this hive of productivity, Liu You arrived.

Parking his carriage and oxcarts beside the mine, Liu You peeked at the bustling construction site and felt a wave of apprehension.

Was this really the Jinshuigou Coal Mine he remembered?

What had happened to it?

A soot-covered coal miner approached him.

“Good Sir, how may we help you?”

Being addressed as “Sir” momentarily flustered Liu You.

Then he understood—traveling with oxcarts and a carriage, dressed in clean clothes, he now appeared a wealthy gentleman in the eyes of the poor.

He straightened up, rushing with pride.

“I’m here to buy coal.

With everything this busy, is coal still being sold?”

“Sold? Absolutely!”

The miner exclaimed excitedly.

Turning, he shouted:

“Leader! Leader! We have a buyer!”

Soon the head of Jinshuigou Coal Mine arrived.

This man wasn’t a newly appointed leader from Gaojia Village.

He was the original overseer of Jinshuigou, formerly a minor official retained by Heyang County’s authorities to manage the mines.

Though technically employed by the county, pay was nonexistent—even the border army went unpaid; how could coal miners expect wages?

For a long time, Jinshuigou’s workers secretly sold coal to earn what their government wages should have provided.

Feng Jun knew but couldn’t intervene; funding was unavailable.

He simply turned a blind eye, permitting the miners to survive independently.

Now that Gaojia Village had taken over, Thirty-Two arranged for proper wages.

Trepidation about losing their jobs overshadowed any temptation toward illicit sales.

Proceeds from documented coal sales were submitted to Gaojia Village, which granted the workers commission-based silver payments.

This greatly boosted their motivation—more sales meant higher commissions!

The overseer stood face-to-face with Liu You.

“Here to purchase coal?”

Liu You nodded.

“Three carts full.”

Delighted, the overseer beamed—a three-cart purchase meant significant commission!

Liu You probed:

“As for the price…”

The overseer answered quickly.

“Unchanged.

Usual rate.

But since you’re purchasing three carts at once… I can offer a slight discount.”

It was Liu You’s turn to rejoice.

“Excellent!

Fill them! Load all three!”

The coal miners sprang into action.

Carrying baskets, they swiftly hauled enormous quantities of coal, packing Liu You’s carts to the brim.

Liu You felt joy bubbling inside him.

He’d haul this coal back to Gaojia Village to boil water for Fresh Water Hele—countless bowls awaited!

Distributing costs per bowl again would further reduce expenditure.

Life was about to become truly beautiful indeed…

Daydreaming, he suddenly spotted an enormous transport team arriving.

Thirty-Two had dispatched dozens of carts.

Stretching over a hundred zhang, the caravan overflowed the mountain path completely.

His wife leaned out from the carriage to ask:

“A-you, are all these carts really loading coal for Gaojia Village?

What kind of village consumes so much?”

Liu You chuckled.

“You’ll understand once we arrive.

It’s no small village—’Gaojia City’ wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Artisans’ wells burn day and night, spewing dark smoke.

Schools overflow with students; our own children may study there.

And the Gaojia Business Circle!

Lights blaze brightly—it’s the most magnificent place I have ever seen.”