usatvline Chapter 183 Craftsmen
Chapter 183 Craftsmen
After casually having some tea and dry rations at the teahouse, Shao Shuyi and the others went to see Jiang Chengtuo.
It was a small site with some shacks set up by the river. The entire Jiang family worked together, and they also brought over a few elderly people, women and children from the neighborhood to process the leather.
It's clear they've been doing this for many years.
Some people remove the remaining grease and bits of flesh from the leather, some are responsible for soaking and tanning, some are responsible for forging and pressing, some are responsible for cutting, and some are responsible for the final shaping, painting, and decoration. In short, they are very professional.
Shao Shuyi was very satisfied with the results, so he had the thirteen members of Team Gao come over, line them up, and take their measurements one by one. He even measured himself and Yu Yuan. In the end, he placed an order for sixteen sets—the extra set was returned to Jiang Guanbao as a trade-in. Brother Shao was indeed a man of principle. After the measurements were taken, Jiang Chengtuo remained silent for a long time. For him, this was a big project.
"How long will it take to finish?" Shao Shuyi asked, addressing his most pressing question.
"It will probably take more than a year," Jiang Chengtuo said.
"What?" Shao Shuyi was somewhat surprised. "So long?"
Jiang Chengtuo was much better-tempered than his elder brother; one could even say he was a bit sullen. He explained in a muffled voice, "My family runs a small business and we don't usually stock materials. Since you need so many leather armors, I can only go and buy leather on short notice. There are no leather shops on Yamen Street, so I have to go to various villages and ask around. I'll buy whatever cowhide, pigskin, or sheepskin they have. You'll have to pay me first, otherwise I won't be able to buy many."
After receiving the leather, the process of removing the hair, degreasing, soaking, air-drying, and varnishing all take time. In the end, it takes three months to complete, which is actually quite long. If you're unlucky, it may even be delayed.
My father, my eldest son, and I will be the three of us doing it; the others are just assistants and can't help much. Sixteen sets will take more than a year, won't they?" Indeed, everyone has their own expertise; Shao Shuyi understood after hearing this.
This isn't a professional arms factory, but a small family workshop. They don't prepare materials in advance; it's too capital-intensive, and they don't have the resources. From buying raw hides to processing them at home to finally producing the finished product, the process is indeed very lengthy.
The imperial bureau (the Military Equipment Bureau) generally collects and stores leather regularly, preparing materials in advance. The craftsmen receive pre-processed, ready-made materials that can be crafted on the spot, thus reducing the time required.
There was no other way; these were the conditions. This was the makeshift organization; the military was not standardized, and the logistics system was not standardized either.
"Aren't there any other cobblers?" Shao Shuyi couldn't help but ask.
Jiang Chengtuo fell silent, his head bowed, just like his sullen personality.
Jiang Guanbao coughed and said, "Cheng Tuo, don't be so stingy. When you became an apprentice, you had fellow disciples, right?"
"some."
"That settles it then? I remember someone named Zhan something, your senior brother, wasn't he also in the leather goods business? He even made a leather bellows for the patrol department's kitchen before, his craftsmanship was top-notch, have you ever made leather armor?"
Jiang Chengtuo stood there with his head down, not uttering a single word for a long time.
Jiang Guanbao laughed in anger and cursed, "Do you think I can arrest him and punish him? If we really followed the law, how many people would we have to arrest? Who hasn't committed some kind of crime? Tell me, it's nothing."
Jiang Chengtuo nodded and said, "He made leather armor for Hou Sandao of Muma Xiaosha two years ago. He made two sets in total. Cowhide armor for Muma Xiaosha? Then it's alright." Jiang Guanbao was relieved.
That sandbar is located west of Matuo Sandbar, not far away, and is under the jurisdiction of Taixing County, Yangzhou Circuit, Henan Jiangbei Province. It has nothing to do with him.
"Since you've already done it, then bring him along too. You can call the other fellow disciples over as well. Cao She can't wait that long. If a few people share it, it'll be faster, won't it?" Jiang Guanbao earnestly advised, "Don't say I'm being unfair. Your father-in-law got into a fight over land and injured someone. Now the aggrieved party is relentless and keeps coming to the patrol office to file complaints. Are you aware of this?"
Jiang Chengtuo's expression finally changed.
"You guys should really think this over carefully. Don't just focus on this one deal. Maybe there will be more in the future..." Jiang Guanbao started off smoothly, but at the end, he secretly glanced at Shao Shuyi, and his expression wasn't very good.
Shao Shuyi laughed heartily, patted Jiang Guanbao on the shoulder heavily, and said, "What you said is right, Mr. Jiang. There are many people eating there, and we are planning to build two or three large kitchens. We need to cook quickly, so we will need you to make the bellows."
I'll need you to make the boots I'm wearing from now on; you'll need to make dozens of pairs.
"Tie people up... well, you'll need to make leather straps for sacks, leather water bags, and leather coverings for shields, etc., for a lot of that work."
Shao Shuyi's words were sincere and persuasive. After listening, Jiang Chengtuo finally nodded and said, "I will have my son invite his senior and junior masters over today. My wife and I will go to other villages to collect leather and make it for you as soon as possible."
"That's more like it," Jiang Guanbao said happily, then casually asked, "Do you still have other people asking you to make leather armor?"
Jiang Chengtuo was silent for a moment, then said, "Yes."
Jiang Guanbao's eyes narrowed, and he asked, "Who?"
"The rules cannot be broken," Jiang Chengtuo said.
"Stop talking to me about that." Jiang Guanbao was annoyed and said, "Should I calculate for you how much commercial tax we owe over the years?" Jiang Chengtuo couldn't hold back any longer and said, "A group of guests from Huai River asked me to make a few suits of leather armor, which I just handed over to them a while ago." "People from Huai River?" Jiang Guanbao was slightly relieved, but still a little doubtful: "Huai River is a very chaotic place. What wouldn't they dare to make leather armor for? Why would they need to ask you?" "Perhaps they're being chased by the government and don't dare to make it locally," Jiang Chengtuo said.
Jiang Guanbao pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.
To put it bluntly, there have always been differences between Huainan and Jiangnan, but in the last ten years the differences have become increasingly pronounced, almost like two different worlds. The local governance is extremely lax, and the government is severely incompetent, while Jiangnan, although also lax, is still quite strict compared to Huainan.
Unlike the artisans of Jiangnan who were afraid of many things, the artisans of Huainan became increasingly bold. As long as they were paid, they would make leather armor and other similar items.
In Henan, where the order is even more chaotic, if you pay enough, they'll even build armored vehicles for you.
So he was a little suspicious of the Huainan people carrying sand on horseback to make leather armor; it didn't seem right. But if these people were on the Huainan government's wanted list, then it made sense.
"Could they go south of the Yangtze River?" Jiang Guanbao asked again. "Did they say anything when they came to pick up the goods?"
Jiang Chengtuo recalled for a moment and said, "There were eight of them in total, two of whom stood out. One was a woman, but she had a bow and knife at her waist, and her face was full of fierce features. The other men looked at her with a sense of awe, so she seemed to have some status in the gang."
The second was a man from Wu, who didn't speak with a Huai accent. While waiting to pick up the goods, he was chatting with someone by the haystack when my wife overheard him. She said that with the leather armor, he could go south of the Yangtze River and make a fortune. She said that the people in Jiaxing and Jinhua, where she had lived, were not skilled in martial arts and valued literature. They were very weak and could be robbed in large numbers. Jiang Guanbao's chrysanthemum tightened upon hearing this.
Although these bandits from the Huai region looked down on the poor and remote Ma Tuo Sha and wanted to plunder the rich and powerful cities in Jiangnan, their southward migrations sometimes passed through Ma Tuo Sha, which made him quite nervous. Ma Tuo Sha and Ma Xiao Sha (Ma Tuo Sha) lay across the Yangtze River, and the journey to the north and south banks was very short, making it one of the most convenient crossing points on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
Strict security checks are absolutely out of the question; what if they uncover something?
He can't afford to overlook anything; after all, he's an inspector, and if the security situation is too bad, he might get fired. You see, Matuosha is very close to Huainan, but it belongs to Jiangyin and is managed according to the Jiangnan security standards, which are much higher than those in Huainan.
Thinking of this, he subconsciously looked at Shao Shuyi.
"It's alright," Shao Shuyi comforted him. "From now on, if anyone dares to cause trouble in Matuosha, just send someone to report it, and I'll deal with him." "Okay, good," Jiang Guanbao said with a smile.
The smugglers' force is still reliable.
A while ago, I received a message from Ge Daji, a clerk in the Jiangyin Prefecture Criminal Division, that eight bandits from Huaihe River region had been executed on Taiping Road, and the one who wiped them out was the righteous citizen Zhu Chen.
He personally led the salt gang's armed forces and defeated the Huaixi bandits in a single encounter, killing five on the spot and capturing three alive. They were later taken to Jiangning and beheaded. With this, the Huaixi bandits, who had been helpless against by the patrol offices of Jiqing Road and Taiping Road, were completely wiped out.
Zhu Chen had killed at least 80 to 100 bandits in Huainan and Huaixi over the past ten years. The local government relied on him greatly, although none of them were willing to give him an official position.
Jiang Guanbao is the most qualified to say whether Cao She's men are capable of fighting.
From this perspective, Cao She's position as a local tyrant in Ma Tuo Sha wasn't entirely a bad thing. Most importantly, unlike some ruthless individuals who only knew how to fight, Cao She, while indeed vicious, was also worldly-wise and capable of reasoning.
Who knows, one day a man from Huai might be committing crimes in Jiangyin, and the government will be unable to control him. At that time, we will have to ask Cao She to take action.
The group didn't stay at Jiang Chengtuo's house for long. After settling their affairs, Shao Shuyi had Yu Yuan prepay thirty ingots of paper money, paid through Shengye Trading Company's account. After paying, they left Maqiao and returned to Yaqian Street.
Over the next few days, he and Jiang Guanbao traveled all over the surrounding area, talking with the craftsmen one by one and set up many things.
Matuosha was ultimately a small place with few craftsmen, and their skills weren't particularly refined. This led Shao Shuyi to consider kidnapping some craftsmen from Liujiagang. However, he didn't consider himself a member of the underworld, and kidnapping wasn't something he could do casually.
After finishing all that, it was already the eighth day of the second lunar month. Shao Shuyi followed the second batch of ships carrying fish and salt south and quietly docked at Huangtian Port.
The first thing to do was to gather Manager Huang and his group, and at the same time, send the monk Huiyong, who had come with them, to Ganming Guangfu Temple to inquire whether the abbot of Chongsheng Temple was present.