Chapter 54 Upgrading the Mine Guards

"It has been thoroughly interrogated." Shen Jifeng was also afraid that this matter had something to do with Zhao Jian, so she had Dongyang interrogate him for a full day. "Old Third Qian harbored a grudge because he was driven out, and combined with the alcohol he drank yesterday, his courage was bolstered by the booze, so he came to set the fire."

The two of them walked aimlessly against the setting sun. Before they knew it, they had walked out of the mining area, and less than five Li further down the road was Uncle Ma's charcoal kiln.

"I haven't seen Uncle Ma in a long time. Would the Princess care to accompany me to visit him?"

Shen Jifeng hadn't checked on the charcoal kiln for quite some days either, so she readily agreed.

Below the hillside, three kiln openings were venting blue smoke. Uncle Ma was squatting beside the charcoal kiln, holding a long iron hook in his hand, probing into the mouth of the kiln from time to time. Seeing Wei Xiao and Shen Jifeng walking over, a smile immediately spread across his dark face, though his hands did not stop working: "Oh, it's the Princess! This kiln of charcoal has been sealed for five days, and it's right at the critical moment."

His eyes lingered on Wei Xiao for a moment, still treating him as Shen Jifeng's bodyguard just like in the past.

Uncle Ma straightened up and pointed to the blue smoke rising from the top of the kiln: "Look at the color of this smoke, cyan tinged with white, drifting evenly—that's how you know the heat inside the kiln is steady. The other day when we stacked the chestnut and elm wood inside, we deliberately laid down rice husks in layers the old-fashioned way. When the fire blazed up, we splashed mud slurry against the kiln walls three times. Now the kiln door is sealed airtight, relying entirely on the residual fire inside to slowly simmer."

He walked over to a small observation port on the side, pushed aside the covering blue bricks to peer inside, and then turned back to say, "At this time, air leaks are the most feared. We have to let the wood 'change color' slowly inside the kiln without actually catching fire. In a couple of days, when the smoke turns light gray and no longer smells of raw wood, it will be time to open the kiln. When that happens, prying open the kiln door will reveal those pitch-black chunks of charcoal rolling out with sparks still on them. Quench them in cold water with a loud hiss, and they'll become top-quality, long-burning charcoal."

Shen Jifeng looked at the wisps of blue smoke curling around the top of the kiln, recalling the leaping flames in the charcoal brazier from winters past. A tiny piece of charcoal actually concealed so much intricate knowledge.

"Uncle Ma, why are you the only one here? Where are the two men assigned to help you?"

"They went to eat," Uncle Ma replied with a good-natured smile. "The kiln can't be left unattended, so I had them bring it over to me."

Shen Jifeng looked around. Two stacks of firewood, each at least five zhang square, were neatly piled not far away, sorted by thickness. A peeling knife lay casually to one side, and the accumulated tree bark on the ground was almost a foot thick.

Every scene and detail was demonstrating Uncle Ma's dedication to Shen Jifeng.

"Uncle Ma, are you facing any difficulties? Don't be shy to speak up. I am at the mine every day; if anything comes up, just come find me."

Uncle Ma put down his poker, his rough palms covered in charcoal ash. "There actually is one thing. I'd like to build a few more brick kilns."

Brick kilns were larger than earth kilns. Burning a batch of charcoal in a brick kiln could yield several hundred catties more than an earth kiln, but it also meant a greater physical toll on the charcoal burner.

Those three kilns were originally dug with Wei Xiao's help when he first arrived. "Uncle Ma, these earth kilns haven't been used for many days yet. Why add brick kilns?"

"The wood here is simply too good. The sealing of an earth kiln is not as good as a brick kiln, and its heat retention is also inferior. I've experimented; to burn truly superior white charcoal, a brick kiln is an absolute must."

"A single batch in a brick kiln takes at least over a thousand catties, and the cycle is longer. I worry about your health," Wei Xiao said, afraid that Uncle Ma, who was over fifty years old, wouldn't be able to bear the strain.

"That's easily solved," Shen Jifeng immediately came up with a solution. "I'll send a few more miners from the site; from now on, they can assist Uncle Ma."

Shen Jifeng walked over to Uncle Ma's living quarters—a temporary shack constructed of wood and grass curtains. It was fine while the weather was warm, but once it grew cold in a while, it would be completely unlivable.

"Uncle Ma, tomorrow I'll have Uncle Li go out to purchase blue bricks. Aside from building the kilns, let's build two proper rooms as well. This shack is not a long-term solution."

Uncle Ma rubbed the charcoal ash on his hands, gratitude flashing in his eyes, yet he still waved his hand and said, "Princess, we mustn't! Building brick kilns already costs enough money. It doesn't matter if this old bone of mine lives in a shack; please don't spend any more silver..."

Shen Jifeng interrupted him with a smile, "Uncle Ma, if this 'old bone' of yours freezes, who will burn top-quality white charcoal for me? Besides, as the charcoal kiln expands its operations in the future, someone has to guard it day and night. How can we do without a decent house?"

Listening to Shen Jifeng's words of comfort to Uncle Ma, the image of the Princess who had haggled with him over a mere thirty taels of silver seemed to fade further and further away. Ever since coming to her side, everything he had seen and heard demonstrated that the Princess's stinginess never extended to mistreating her miners. On the contrary, she treated every single person at the mine as a living human being of flesh and blood, with parents, wives, and children, rather than mere expendable meat and bone on the path of mining.

The two miners who had gone to eat returned, bringing back Uncle Ma's meal: three coarse-grain steamed buns, a plate of braised pork with napa cabbage, and a plate of plain-stewed tofu. The rations at their Xijing Garrison were hardly any better than this.

Wei Xiao could not help wondering whether women were all so fickle and unfathomable. She was clearly so stingy that she couldn't even bear to paint her own front gate, yet at times she was extraordinarily generous—paying him extra wages or handing out loose silver pieces to passing beggar children.

Princess Zhaoyang truly was hard to understand!

As the sky gradually darkened, Shen Jifeng interrupted Wei Xiao's thoughts, "General Wei, I have a question I'd out like to consult you on."

Wei Xiao recovered his composure, "Princess, please speak freely."

"If I wanted to implement military-style management at the mine, would that be feasible?"

Hearing this, Wei Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly. The blue smoke from the charcoal kiln gathered and dispersed behind him, casting a shifting shadow over his silhouette. "Does the Princess want to govern the mine with military law?" He crossed his arms and pondered, "Feasible, but it requires adaptation."

"Not as strict as the military, but the arson incident reminded me that the character of the miners varies. If a few more instances like Old Third Qian were to happen, it truly would be unbearable. I want to divide the miners into small squads, just like when they work, so they can supervise one another. It's similar to the squads in your army—ten men to a squad."

Wei Xiao chuckled softly. "I didn't expect the Princess to have such a deep understanding of the military. Soldiers in an army must vouch for one another, commonly known as 'collective joint liability.' If one man deserts, the whole squad is punished. Does the Princess intend to enforce this at the mine as well?"

Shen Jifeng shook her head. "After all, the mine is not an army; we cannot achieve absolute obedience, but necessary punishments are still required. Right now, my biggest concern is safety."

Gazing at the dark, cavernous entrance of the mine earlier today, Shen Jifeng couldn't help thinking: what if a miner brought gunpowder down there? With a single boom, everything would be completely destroyed.

"Princess, you should isolate the people at the mine from the outside world." This was what Wei Xiao most wanted to tell her today.

"At least until the ninth day of the eighth month," Wei Xiao added.

"But I previously promised the miners that they could be paid daily wages, and quite a few of them go home to deliver money every two or three days."

"Simple," Wei Xiao said, having anticipated this. "Have Steward Li set up a table outside the mining area so family members can collect the wages there. Furthermore, the workers descending into the mine every day must be searched to prevent them from smuggling in dangerous goods like lamp oil or gunpowder."

"Also, before the silver is refined, no packages or goods are allowed to be brought in for the miners; the mine can provide everything they need."

Shen Jifeng started running the numbers in her head. This expense wasn't small either; mining was particularly hard on shoes, and many miners wore straw sandals just to save money.