Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Page 142

The items with the highest exchange rates are no longer pig iron, tendons, or horns—materials that can be used to manufacture weapons.

Instead, it was anti-epidemic supplies such as medicinal herbs, cloth, and lime.

All medicinal herbs, regardless of their price, were used to brew medicinal soups to treat people infected with the epidemic.

The cloth was used to sew masks and protective clothing. Although it cannot be compared with later generations, it was already quite good in this era when even cotton was only grown on a small scale.

Lime, on the other hand, is used to disinfect campsites. This stuff can not only kill bacteria and repel insects, but also absorb moisture in the environment, keeping the air dry and preventing the growth and spread of germs.

These three items are the supplies that Liangshan has been consuming the most in recent days.

Even though the village had accumulated some savings, it gradually became unsustainable, so they had to increase the amount they exchanged with merchants.

Fortunately, refined salt and white sugar were still hard currency in Liangshan.

The exchange rate for goods was still determined by Liangshan, thus preventing unscrupulous merchants from taking the opportunity to raise prices and make a fortune.

Next to the hotel, a row of new inns was built, originally intended for merchants who came to Liangshan to exchange goods to stay overnight.

But now, they have all been occupied by wealthy families who have contracted the disease and come seeking medical treatment.

On the north bank of the marsh, the treatment of the epidemic has been divided into two parts.

One side was where a makeshift camp had been built.

This is the territory of the poor. After entering, in addition to receiving treatment for the epidemic, they can also get enough to eat. Of course, the quality of the food cooked in large pots is not very good.

The other part is the guesthouse on the hotel side.

The wealthy people who came seeking medical treatment for the plague naturally did not want to crowd together with the poor, so Zhao Yuan granted their wish.

They gave all the inns originally intended for merchants to wealthy households, and even built many new ones next to them.

Compared to the free meals, lodging, and medical treatment provided to the poor,

The inn charges for accommodation, food, medical fees, and medicine, and all of these costs a lot of money!

Initially, some wealthy households caused trouble, feeling that Liangshan was treating them unfairly.

But after a dozen or so heads were chopped off and hung on the flagpole,

The wealthy households then realized that the Liangshan bandits they were facing were not government officials, but bandits who had seized the mountain as their own.

After figuring this out, they immediately settled down.

However, some stingy rich people were still not giving up and asked Liangshan if anyone could go to the poor people's camp.

After receiving an affirmative answer, many wealthy households entered the poor people's camp, hoping to experience free medical care.

In less than a day, they all fled, returned to the inn, and obediently paid their bills.

This is understandable; the wealthy, accustomed to fine food, luxurious clothing, and cozy bedding,

How could they possibly endure a life of eating coarse grains, wearing hemp cloth, and sleeping on straw mats!

To the north of the inn was the simple shed campsite that Zhao Yuan had previously ordered people to build.

The shed camp is divided into two parts, left and right.

On the left is the isolation area for Hebei disaster victims who have not shown any symptoms of infection, while on the right is the treatment area for patients infected with the plague.

The poor were treated similarly on both sides, except that the medicinal soup they drank was different.

To the wealthy, this camp was like a living hell.

For many people who used to struggle to get enough to eat and wear, it was like paradise.

Many local patients with mild symptoms have recovered from the disease and are unwilling to leave the camp.

········Requesting flowers·· 0

Although Zhao Yuan was compassionate towards the poor, he would not indulge them or let them reap without sowing.

Many of the dirty and strenuous tasks in the camp were no longer done by the Liangshan soldiers.

Instead, all of it was distributed to the civilians who were unwilling to leave, in exchange for free food and lodging in the camp.

Outside the camp was the Liangshan army camp.

The soldiers in the military camp were responsible for guarding the camp and strictly prohibited the sick from entering or leaving.

At this moment, Zhao Yuan was in the military camp, listening to reports from the leaders of various places.

"Brother, the number of wealthy people coming to seek medical treatment has been increasing these past two days,"

Du Qian laughed and said, "I suggest we build another row of inns for them to stay in."

. . .

"Are all the inns that cost ten strings of cash a day fully booked?" Sun An asked in surprise.

"This ten strings of cash is just for lodging. If you include the daily food expenses, medical fees, and medicine costs, it will cost at least thirty strings of cash per day!"

Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "Just from those inns alone, the mountain stronghold earns no less than four or five thousand strings of cash every day."

"Four or five thousand strings of cash a day, how much would that be in a month?" Li Kui suddenly asked.

Although Du Qian was puzzled as to when this dark-skinned fellow had started to care about the mountain stronghold's income, he still replied, "It's about a hundred thousand strings of cash a month."

"My goodness, when it comes time to divide the gold and silver, how much will I get?"

Li Kui wore a thick silk mask, but it still couldn't hide his silly laughter.

He and Shi Xiu had been at Liangshan for three or four days.

Li Kui's mother was taken to Jinshatan for quarantine.

A camp has already been built there specifically for isolating the Liangshan personnel; the conditions are naturally much better than those on the north bank.

Once it is confirmed that he is not infected with the disease, Li Kui's mother will be taken to live on the mountain.

According to Liangshan's current regulations, people coming down the mountain do not need to be checked, but those who want to come up the mountain must first be quarantined at the Jinshatan camp for half a month.

Many leaders who needed to go down the mountain for business simply decided to stay on the beach instead of going up the mountain for the time being.

This time, Zhao Yuan went south to Jiankang, and the brothers he brought back have all been assigned their respective duties...

Chapter 196 Liangshan's Salary

Fei Bao, the Red-Bearded Dragon; Ni Yun, the Curly-Haired Tiger; Di Cheng, the Thin-Faced Bear; and Bu Qing, the Taihu Dragon, will temporarily serve as the deputy commanders of the three Ruan brothers in the navy.

Firstly, to familiarize themselves with the environment, and secondly, to lead their own teams when the pandemic subsides and recruitment of online trolls expands.

Wang Dingliu was originally Ruan Xiaoqi's chosen deputy, but because the inn was short-staffed, and he had experience working in a hotel,

Zhao Yuan then sent Wang Dingliu to help temporarily, and he would return to the navy later.

An Daoquan and his wife were medical officers responsible for medical care and epidemic prevention throughout Liangshan.

Zhang Shun's mother had recovered completely after witnessing firsthand how Liangshan provided free treatment for the plague to the poor.

Without saying a word, the old lady had Zhang Shun pay his respects to Zhao Yuan and acknowledge him as his brother!

Like Longhu Xiongjiao, Zhang Shun also temporarily familiarized himself with the environment in the naval force.

Because Xucheng was under lockdown, Zhu Gui, the person in charge of the hotel, was unable to leave. During this period, Shi Qian was in charge of the hotel's intelligence.

This thin, short man was busy every day and had become noticeably thinner from exhaustion.

After Shi Xiu arrived, considering the brother's cautious nature, though seemingly rough, he was actually quite meticulous.

Zhao Yuan then had him temporarily take over the hotel intelligence work from Shi Qian, finally giving Gu Shangzao some time to rest.

As for Li Kui, Zhao Yuan originally intended to make him a captain of the infantry.

But on his very first day in office, this fellow got into a fight with his soldiers while drinking.

After Zhao Yuan had Pei Xuan administer military law to him, giving him fifty lashes,

So they simply kept this dark-skinned fellow by their side, making him the deputy of Jiao Ting, the commander of the personal guards.

Li Kui was initially unconvinced and shouted that he didn't want to be the deputy.

Zhao Yuan told him to go out and spar with Jiao Ting unarmed.

After returning with a bruised and swollen face, the black-faced fellow became much more obedient in front of Jiao Ting.

As for Hu Sanniang, she encountered Wang Dingliu and his son, as well as Zhang Shun and his mother, when she went south, which moved her deeply and reminded her of her brother from Hu Family Village.

After returning to the mountain and staying for two days to confirm that he had not been infected with the disease, he went back to Hujiazhuang to visit his brother.

Zhao Yuan had promised to go back with her, but he couldn't leave because there were too many things to do in Liangshan.

Fortunately, Hu Sanniang was reasonable. When she left, she not only did not blame Zhao Yuan, but also comforted him.

When Zhao Yuan returned from his journey south, he brought back another person with him, namely Liu Huiniang.

When Hu Sanniang suggested that she return to Shandong with the others after discovering that her family had left Chuzhou,

The young girl thought Zhao Yuan and his companions were just ordinary merchants.

Then, not long after they traveled north together by boat, she discovered everyone's true identities.

Liu Huiniang's father, Liu Guang, was extremely loyal to the Song court.

Having grown up in such a family, Liu Huiniang naturally developed no fondness for bandits and outlaws.

However, this girl was a clever one; realizing she had fallen into a wolf's den,

Not only did she not show the slightest disgust, but she also quickly won everyone's favor by being well-behaved and sensible.

When Hu Sanniang was around, she was inseparable from this valiant and spirited older sister every day.

This forced Zhao Yuan to sneak around when he needed to see Hu Sanniang.

These days, after Hu Sanniang returned to Hu Family Village to visit her brother...

Zhao Yuan originally planned to send Liu Huiniang to Liangshan so that she could live there.

The young girl suddenly displayed her intelligence and volunteered to help Zhao Yuan with the paperwork.

Zhao Yuan was well aware of Liu Huiniang's abilities, and seeing that she seemed extremely uneasy about her situation,

That's why she had been clinging to Hu Sanniang's side all along. Now that Hu Sanniang has gone home, she has followed Zhao Yuan here.

Zhao Yuan agreed to her request and asked her to help with some paperwork.

Having followed Zhao Yuan these past few days, Liu Huiniang has become very familiar with the situation at Liangshan.

After hearing Li Kui's musings about dividing the gold and silver,

The girl immediately snorted, "It's true that the inn can earn four or five thousand strings of cash a day, but the shack camp also needs to subsidize three or four thousand strings of cash a day. If you add the wages of the guards, we can barely break even."

"Furthermore, as my brother has said before, the stronghold no longer distributes gold and silver. Each leader receives a monthly salary according to their duties. Extra gold and silver rewards are only given out during festivals, when the stronghold wins a battle, or when there is a happy occasion to celebrate."

"So, does that mean I won't get any of the gold and silver?"

After listening for a long time, Li Kui only remembered one sentence: "The mountain stronghold no longer distinguishes between gold and silver!"

"Then how will I eat meat and drink alcohol in the future?"

After considering his own situation, he remembered his old mother on the mountain and hurriedly ran to Zhao Yuan, saying worriedly,

"Brother, it's okay for Tie Niu to miss a couple of meals, but we can't let Mom go hungry!"

"Tie Niu, Ah Xiu didn't mean that,"

Zhao Yuan glared at the smirking girl: "Hurry up and explain yourself to him!"

Liu Huiniang was intelligent and a bit cunning.

With just a few words, she won over the leaders of the mountain stronghold, who all treated her like a younger sister.

Only Li Kui, that dark-skinned fellow, is a completely natural simpleton.

As the saying goes, natural beauty can overcome cunning. Liu Huiniang's attempts to please and charm Li Kui not only had no effect on him, but often only provoked this dark-skinned fellow to glare and huff.

The relationship between the two was naturally extremely poor.

Having seen enough of the excitement, Liu Huiniang continued, "Li Kui is the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, and his monthly salary is two hundred strings of cash."

Currently, the salaries of Liangshan leaders are simply divided into two levels.

The head of the unit receives 300 strings of cash per month, while the deputy head receives 200 strings of cash per month.

The fees for lower-ranking officials ranged from one hundred to twenty or thirty strings of cash.

Don't think that Li Kui's monthly salary of two hundred strings of cash is too little.