Chapter 94: New Year's Goods

This year, Huichun Hall's business was incredibly prosperous, earning over 80,000 taels of silver just from selling ready-made medicines. The main buyers were sea merchants from Fujian and Guangdong provinces. The most popular local products were cold medicine pills (capsules) and various deworming medicines, which had no seasonal restrictions.

Chen Xie did not participate in the profit-sharing of the cash from selling medicines. Instead, he asked for some wild ginseng (less than 100 years old), caterpillar fungus, and recently added a new item: golden-threaded nanmu. When Yu Zhen, the shop manager, saw this, he looked puzzled—transporting wood from such a distance!

Yu Zhen distributed salaries to everyone in cloth bags with red paper labels bearing their names. There were ten doctors, all experienced and recruited from various places. Each doctor had five apprentices, and for this, they had to lease two additional storefronts and expand the backyard several times over.

When the doctors received their cloth bags, they weighed them and smiled in satisfaction. This year had not been in vain, and they would have a substantial bonus at the end of the year, allowing them to have a good New Year. Each doctor received a 20-tael silver year-end bonus, a new term coined by Chen Xie. Surprisingly, each apprentice also received a red envelope, though it contained only 2 taels of silver, which brought joy to everyone's faces.

Typically, apprentices were given two meals a day and a few pounds of millet during festivals, which was considered generous. At Huichun Hall, however, Chen Xie insisted on three meals a day, with one liquid and two solid meals, each including a meat dish. Whether it was a piece of salted fish or a piece of meat, Huichun Hall even built a canteen specifically for meals.

At the end of the year, everyone thought they would receive a few pounds of millet, but instead, each received 2 taels of silver. How could they not be delighted? After everyone received their red envelopes, Chen Xie said, "Yu Lian, you announce it."

As Chen Xie's only inner disciple, Yu Lian now had the authority to prescribe some tablets and pills. Even so, he had already gained considerable prestige, and even Liu Gaoming did not act arrogantly in front of him.

"At the end of the year, according to the master's wishes, we will reward some diligent and well-behaved students with material incentives. There are not many, and now I will announce the winners of the Excellence Award..." Three apprentices were called, all of whom were considered the most promising and fastest-improving.

The three apprentices, extremely excited, stepped forward, and the other apprentices watched with various emotions in their eyes. The prizes were not many: a porcelain enamel basin, two cans of luncheon meat, and a towel.

When Chen Xie picked up his teacup, the water was cold. He instinctively reached for the hot water pot but found it empty. Having not poured water for himself in a long time, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he was momentarily moved to tears. "Damn, how could I forget this big weapon? How much silver would this have brought in?"

"Next, we will announce the Best Diligence Award and the Best Conduct Award!" This time, more people came forward—six in total. The prizes were the same as before, except for the porcelain enamel basin. The students who received the awards looked satisfied and proud. After bowing to their masters and the owner, the award ceremony ended.

The doctors would not envy the students' prizes; they already knew that the owner had prepared a big gift for them. It included cigarettes, glass bottles of fine wine, and various canned goods. There was no need to envy the apprentices who worked hard all year.

As Chen Xie's representative, Yu Lian successfully completed the award ceremony, which further increased his prestige. Looking at Chen Xie, Yu Lian loudly announced, "Finally, please welcome the master to give the year-end summary."

Many of the new terms used at Huichun Hall were invented by Chen Xie and quickly became popular among the merchants in Dengzhou.

Chen Xie, smiling, looked at the young people standing in the courtyard. These children cherished their learning opportunities and worked hard, performing very well. However, Chen Xie still wanted to create some artificial differences, fostering a competitive internal and external environment. Smart and quick learners would be rewarded, as would those who worked hard and those who were friendly and got along well with their classmates. Not everyone who graduated from here would be a qualified doctor; some would become management or practical talents. Chen Xie wanted these children to understand that there are many paths to success, and effort would be recognized.

This was a successful persuasion! Chen Xie would not say it outright, but he would say:

"Everyone has done very well, you are all great young men. If you didn't win this year, try harder next year. Finally, I won't talk much. I have prepared some New Year's goods for everyone. Take them from the gatehouse when you leave. Everyone has a share! Dismissed!"

The doctors remained calm, as they already knew about the New Year's goods. The apprentices, however, were not so calm. They had already received silver, and now they were getting New Year's goods? This was too unbelievable! They had heard that the divine doctor was generous, and the daily meals had already shown this. But they never expected...

Severely lacking talent, Chen Xie treated every child learning here as a treasure. Every doctor teaching here was afraid of not being thorough, so he took strong measures! As long as you worked hard, you would feel that your efforts were rewarded beyond measure. If you didn't work hard next year, would you feel you were worthy of this reward?

In general, people in the Ming Dynasty were easy to manage, relatively simple and honest.

After speaking, Chen Xie left. The apprentices, accustomed to semi-military management, lined up to receive their New Year's goods. Each received a basket, a bag of flour, and a cardboard box. The basket contained a fish, three pounds of meat, and one pound of lard. The flour was in a 10-pound cloth bag, and the box contained a set of new clothes for the New Year.

After receiving the New Year's goods, each apprentice had red eyes. The first apprentice set an example by kowtowing three times to the divine doctor, who was watching them receive the goods. Chen Xie did not dare to move to go to the toilet, as it would have been too much of a blow to the children. So he had to hold it until all fifty children had left, then he went to the outhouse to relieve himself.

Each apprentice carried a pole and left Huichun Hall with laughter and joy. In comparison, the doctors were more composed. They called a wheelbarrow, loaded their New Year's goods, and the considerate owner even knew how many family members they had, preparing a set of new clothes for each. Before leaving, they bowed respectfully to the owner, then got on the wheelbarrow and went home proudly for the New Year.

A scholar would die for a true friend. Next year, they would work hard for the owner!

As an old-timer at Huichun Hall, Liu Gaoming was the last to leave. The owner's carriage was responsible for taking him home, a treatment that made this honest man, who had dedicated his life to medicine, deeply grateful. Not to mention the heavy documents in his pocket, the owner had given him a half-share in Huichun Hall. What more could he say? He secretly wiped the tears from his eyes and sat up straight.

Liu Gaoming's home was not far, just a village five miles from Dengzhou City. When the carriage stopped at the gate of his wattle-and-daub house, his children were waiting at the door, looking at the four-wheeled carriage, which symbolized status and prestige in Dengzhou City. The villagers also gathered around.

His old wife, supported by his daughter, stood in the courtyard waiting for him. He had a 20-day holiday for the New Year, a special consideration from the owner. Other doctors and apprentices had to take turns working at Huichun Hall until the 15th of the first month, a first in Dengzhou City.

Stepping down from the carriage, Liu Gaoming felt the envious gazes of his neighbors and walked steadily. The driver got out and started unloading the New Year's goods, and his two older sons quickly came to help. There was too much, and Liu Gaoming only found out about it before getting on the carriage. One hundred pounds of white flour, one hundred pounds of millet, two pig legs, and twenty pounds of dried scallops. Six cardboard boxes, the contents of which were unknown.

As the pillar of the family, Liu Gaoming naturally sat in the main hall, politely giving the driver a silver coin for the carriage fare and sending him away. Then he came out and bowed to the neighbors, saying, "Liu Gaoming thanks you all." He took out a tin of cigarettes from his satchel and gave them to his two sons to distribute, along with a bag of candy, originally intended for his grandchildren. Now, it seemed unnecessary, as the owner had already prepared it. So he had his sons take it and scatter it among the children until it was all gone.

Finally, the family settled down to count the New Year's goods. Suddenly, his youngest daughter-in-law exclaimed, "Oh my!"

Everyone looked over and was surprised. One of the boxes was filled with dozens of pounds of fresh vegetables. His youngest son said, "No wonder, this box was the heaviest when we moved it."

Liu Gaoming knew that Chen Xie had some fresh vegetables, but he did not expect to receive any. After a moment of thought, he said to his two sons, "After the New Year, hire someone to work the fields. You both have studied for a few years, so go work for the divine doctor."

Yu Zhen had mentioned this to him before, but he had not agreed. Now, he could make a decision.

At the joint merchant association, Chen Xie looked very impatient, which made him seem very annoying. Liu Zhen knew his character, so he did not waste words. He handed him a piece of paper and said, "Sir, this is the total. I will send it to the village tomorrow."

Chen Xie did not even look at it, put it away, and said, "Is that all? If not, I have something to say. Next year, buy the land around Zhangjia Village. Can you do it?"

Liu Zhen had a difficult expression and said, "My divine doctor, buying people is easy, but buying land is hard! You don't know, no one is willing to sell good land." Chen Xie was also speechless; the people of this era were impossible to communicate with.

"Then, use Zhangjia Village as the center and expand in all directions. Buy as much as you can. Don't send the silver; next year, arrange for someone to be responsible for buying land." Chen Xie seemed determined to become a major landowner in the Ming Dynasty.

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End of the chapter.