Chapter 9

Success, this was the first step, and the most important one. In a short time, Yang Yuanzhao had an opportunity to accumulate wealth in his hands. It seemed that he would have to go through the portal again. Just picking up a stone from the decomposition pool was enough; it was gold ore, though the gold and silver content was a bit low, not very suitable for industrial production. For Yang Yuanzhao, even a trace amount was sufficient. As long as it was decomposed, it represented a huge amount of wealth.

Continuing the setup, the previous 100 decompositions only consumed 12.5 cubic meters, leaving about 85 cubic meters. With the expanded decomposition pool, he could only decompose 85 times. By tomorrow, after about ten hours, the decomposition would be complete. It seemed that no matter what, he would have to go out again tomorrow.

The night gradually deepened and became quiet. Yang Yuanzhao, who was extremely excited, suppressed his agitated heart and slowly calmed down, falling into a deep sleep. A smile slowly appeared on his face, a smile of hope for the future.

In the early spring of the north, the day broke early. Yang Yue and Liu Shu did not show up, but Yang Yuanzhao was not concerned. Early in the morning, he went to the livestock market on West Street. There were many traders in the area, and West Street was an important livestock market. He easily spent 30 silver dollars to buy a horse, equipped it with all the necessary gear, and then left the city.

As the sun began to set, Liu Shu finished his day's work. The work at the chamber of commerce was very demanding, mainly dealing with documents and contracts. Just as the sun was setting, a man in short clothes rushed in and handed him a note. Liu Shu's face showed no emotion after reading it.

The door curtain was lifted, and Yang Yue walked in. Seeing that Liu Shu was alone, he called out loudly, "Brother Zelun, I've talked to Uncle Ming and Uncle Ren. They agreed to let me take over their 90 hectares of land."

90 hectares, or 9,000 mu, was a significant amount of land, especially in the barren area outside the pass. Whether for growing cotton or grain, the potential returns were substantial.

"What about Shanghai? Have you made contact?"

"I've contacted them. Three tons of cotton seeds can be loaded within a week!" Yang Yue said, hesitating for a moment before adding, "But it would be better if I go there myself!"

Liu Shu had already made his decision last night. He was willing to take a risk with this opportunity. The Tianyuan Building could allocate 3,000 silver dollars, and Liu Zhongwang supported him almost unconditionally. On Yang Yue's side, in addition to the funds tied up in fertilizers and seeds, he had raised another 2,000 silver dollars through the Yang family. A 5,000 silver dollar business was not large in Baotou, where fur and other trades had annual turnovers in the millions. However, for planting, it was a significant investment.

"Do you want to see Yuanzhao?" Yang Yue was a bit anxious. According to his nature, he would have gone to see Yang Yuanzhao in the morning, but Liu Shu had stopped him. Liu Shu told him to prepare first and leave the rest to him. He had spent almost the whole day suppressing his excitement and preparing.

Liu Shu handed the note to Yang Yue. He could mobilize many resources from the chamber of commerce. In one day, he had investigated everything about Yang Yuanzhao. From the moment Yang Yuanzhao entered Baotou, almost every move was recorded. Today, Yang Yuanzhao spent 30 silver dollars to buy a horse, rode out of the city to the northwest, and the trackers lost him. They waited in the city and saw him return around noon. He then stayed at Tongfu Inn and did not come out again.

"Strange, isn't it?" Yang Yue said.

"Yes, this person seems to have appeared out of nowhere. I asked around the local horse teams, and no one mentioned bringing him here."

"Alright, why think so much? A business of ten thousand silver dollars, and it's planting. Where could it go?"

Liu Shu was taken aback. Yes, he was overthinking it. If it were trading or commerce, there might be issues, but planting was different. As long as they kept an eye on it, it was fine. Yang Yuanzhao said he was going to Shanghai to buy supplies, and Yang Yue was going with him. The Yang family had started as traders and had connections in Shanghai, so there was no need to worry. He must have been overthinking it.

"Let's go find him." Liu Shu smiled bitterly. It seemed that staying in the chamber of commerce for too long had made him overly cautious. He made a quick decision and said, "Let's go."

Yang Yuanzhao was in the inn, and today's harvest was substantial. The decomposition from yesterday was complete. The 98 cubic meters of huge stones had been decomposed, yielding over 400 grams of gold, 6.7 kilograms of silver, and several precious metals. Although the latter could not be monetized immediately, the gold and silver were already a significant amount of wealth.

Producing silver dollars and small gold bars, Yang Yuanzhao did not need to enter the all-in-one machine. The machine would record the production, so he didn't need to operate it every time.

Ten small gold bars and 270 silver dollars, which amounted to nearly 500 silver dollars. In the all-in-one machine, there was still a thousand cubic meters of material. This time, he used the machine to thoroughly explore the area. He discovered that the all-in-one machine, a treasure made of metal, was also a universal mineral detector. It could detect minerals within a 100-meter radius, which was more than enough. The area was indeed a gold mine, though it was on the edge with low quality. Following the vein, it took about two hours to find a higher-quality deposit. In one ton of ore, the gold content exceeded 6 grams, ten times more than before. The silver content was also good, reaching 42 grams per ton. Even in the modern world, this would be considered a good mine, let alone in the late Qing dynasty. As long as he could extract it, it would be a vast amount of wealth, almost a mountain of gold.

Now, the all-in-one machine could decompose 144 cubic meters of ore per day, with an average density of 3, which was 432 tons. This would yield 2,592 grams of gold and 18,114 grams of silver. In just two or three days, the money for buying cotton seeds would be enough.

"Is Yuanzhao here?"

Hearing the call from outside, Yang Yuanzhao put the silver dollars and gold bars on the table into the all-in-one machine. The hall was not large, but it could accommodate these items, serving as a small storage space. Opening the door, he saw Liu Shu and Yang Yue standing together, smiling at him.

"Yuanzhao, I discussed it with Jitang, and we've decided to go ahead. If we're doing it, we'll do it big. We spent the whole day today contacting landowners and have secured about 90 hectares."

Yang Yuanzhao was slightly moved. 90 hectares, or 9,000 mu, was a significant amount of land, far more than what he had initially planned. Yang Yue noticed Yang Yuanzhao's surprise and said, "Don't worry about the cotton seeds. As long as we decide, they can be shipped from Shanghai within ten days."

Shanghai, Yang Yuanzhao felt a bit relieved. He had thought it would be from America. If it had to cross the ocean, who knew if it would arrive by April. Cotton was a crop with strict seasonal requirements, and missing the planting season would mean waiting until the next year.

"I've drawn up a plan. Yuanzhao, take a look."

Liu Shu handed him a piece of paper with vertical Chinese characters in traditional style, which made Yang Yuanzhao a bit uncomfortable, but it was not too complex. After a quick scan, Liu Shu's intentions were clear. The Liu family would invest 4,000 silver dollars, and the Yang family would invest 6,000, taking up 50% of the shares. Yang Yuanzhao, with his technology and capital, could take the remaining 50%, with technology accounting for 15%. This meant that if Yang Yuanzhao wanted to truly own 50%, he would need an additional 7,000 silver dollars.

Yang Yuanzhao calculated that the cotton seeds for 3,000 mu would cost about 3,000 silver dollars, and the remaining 6,000 mu would require about 2,000 more, totaling 5,000 silver dollars. Fertilizers would also cost about 5,000 silver dollars. The rest, including land use and labor, were not clearly calculated by Liu Shu and would need to be added later.

Tapping the table, Yang Yuanzhao thought that his plan was much larger. Growing cotton was just the beginning; the cotton mill would be the main part, requiring more people to get involved.

"Brother Zelun, Brother Jitang, I have an idea."

Liu Shu and Yang Yue exchanged glances. They thought their conditions were already very good, but they didn't expect Yang Yuanzhao to still be unsatisfied. Was his ambition too great? Suppressing their dissatisfaction, Liu Shu said, "Please speak."

"Can I know where the 90 hectares of land came from?"

"From the Wu family and the Zhao family," Yang Yue said, but his displeasure was evident. The Wu and Zhao families were local powerhouses in Baotou, originally from Shanxi, not as powerful as the four major families, but as local landowners, they owned a lot of land and shops. They had been preliminarily discussed yesterday, and today, Yang Yue had convinced the two major landowners.

Yang Yuanzhao had been observing Liu Shu and Yang Yue. Seeing their dissatisfaction, he quickly revealed his trump card. "Brother Zelun, Brother Jitang, you know I studied mechanics. Your family's knowledge is extensive. You should know how much profit there is in the cotton cloth and yarn industry!"

The room fell silent. Liu Shu and Yang Yue were stunned, unable to speak for a long time.