This time, the two sections of the road from Lishi County to Xipo Village are best located at the beginning and end. They are all pledged by families with deep foundations in the county. Merchants like Ma Wang must not be able to compete with these people, so they had to choose another section.

Although the good location was fought over by others, the two of their families had long roads to pledge. The pledge process on that day almost demonstrated the status of their families in Lishi County.

Those who were really too weak to speak, so they didn't say anything at that time, just thought it was just going to see the fun. After having a full meal, they happily went back. They didn't spend any money, but they gained knowledge and talked more. They were also happy. They couldn't be unhappy. They were not as good as they wanted to spend this kind of money.

There are people rushing to build roads in Xipo Village, and several villages along the road also benefit from it. But people from other places only have a lot of jealousy. For example, Xiaohe Village, not far from Xipo Village.

Luo Yong told them that if Xiaohe Village wants to build roads, he will also come to Xipo Village to buy cement. Luo Yong will sell it to them at a 5 cents a stake. This is also the price of the merchants and wealthy families who recently sold cement to donate the road to their Xipo Village.

This is not like the mechanical era in later generations. Everything depends on manpower. For a load of cement production, you must first dig yellow mud, add some lime gypsum and evenly, and then smash it into square mud blocks, move it to a soil kiln and pile it up. When calcining, there must be a special person responsible for watching the fire. Not everyone can do this job.

After the calcination is cooled, the workers have to move them out of the earth kiln, smash them with a hammer, and then put them on the stone mill to grind into powder. Once they are not fine enough, they have to grind at least twice. Sometimes if the heat is not mastered during calcination, or they have not reconciled with the mud before, the subsequent crushing work will become very difficult, and they will roll them through three or four times.

Luo Yong and his disciples calculated that the cost of a tumble of cement is about less than two cents of material costs plus more than two cents of labor costs. If the selling price is six cents, it will be a profit of two cents. Luo can use it and his disciples can also get some.

If he sells it for five cents, he should have a profit of one cent in theory. However, Luo Yong cannot let his disciples do idle work, so he himself won’t make much money, and it’s nothing if he doesn’t make money. Anyway, he doesn’t have to worry about the matters in the cement factory.

What Luo Yong is most concerned about now is the production and use of Eucommia ulmoides.

If efficiency is not considered, the extraction of Eucommia ulmoides is not difficult. Just as everyone was busy building roads, the first batch of Eucommia ulmoides soles from the Luo family finally came out smoothly.

Then Luo Yong went to Lishi County to invite the craftsman who made leather boots to come over, and together with some of his family's skin, he brought it back to Xipo Village.

People were placed in the yard on the slope. Every day when it was dinner time, the children from the Xu family house would come to deliver food to him with a basket. If he wanted to go out for a walk by himself, he would go to the Xu family house for dinner by himself, and the meal money would be recorded in the account. Then Luo Yong would settle the settlement with the Xu brothers.

This is also a treatment that has never been received. When this cobbler went to the homes of wealthy merchants to help people process fur and make leather goods, he mostly ate with the servants and slaves in the mansion. If he met a generous person, he could give him one or two side dishes, some fine food such as cooking cakes and stews. Even if it was very good, he would not treat him as a distinguished guest like Luo Sanlang.

But he didn't know that for Mr. Luo, who had lived in the 21st century for thirty years, a craftsman like him who knew how to make nitrogen, tanning, and making saddles and leather boots could basically be considered a senior technician, and it was worth the treatment.

However, in this era, the status of craftsmen is really low. Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are theoretically ranked first among merchants, but in fact they often have to work for merchants.

Feng Pijiang was also a family-born craft. His ancestors fled to Lishi County and earned some money and food by helping people make saddle fur. They could barely live a life, so they settled here since then.

There are also rumors in the city that his ancestors were originally Hu people outside the pass, and Feng Pijiang himself thought this was somewhat reasonable, but he would definitely not admit it to the outside world. Besides, his ancestors and parents all married and had children here, and had already integrated into local life and had no problem with household registration. Then he is naturally from Lishi County now.

Since his father and grandfather did not tell him that he was a Hu people outside the pass, they would definitely not be Hu people outside the pass. His father hoped that he could live and work in the local area. He himself was willing to live such a life, and he was also grateful that he could have a relatively stable life.

A few years ago, I often heard that there were snow disasters outside the pass, and countless cattle and sheep died, and the Hu people were afraid that they would violate the border again. For the vast majority of people in the Central Plains, they only care about the safety of the border. They don’t care much about whether the Hu people’s life is good or whether many people starve to death.

Life outside the pass is not easy, and it is not that there are no people who have thought about entering the pass to make a living, but how do they enter?

Without a household registration, it is hard to move forward in the Central Plains. Some people are really forced to do nothing, and some have accepted the protection of some wealthy merchants and wealthy households in the pass and are willing to be sent to others, and then they become slaves.

These Hu people who are slaves are usually called Hu people, and many of them are sold slightly, not out of voluntary terms.

However, in the Central Plains, groups like Hu Nu and Kunlun slaves did not have much right to be human. Tang Lu also said that bitch slaves are more liars than livestock.

Therefore, Feng Pijiang's family is still lucky. Although the social status of the craftsmen is relatively low, they also have serious household registration and are protected by the laws of the Tang Dynasty. No one can kill and sell them at will.

After finishing the work on hand, he must burn a stick of incense for his ancestors when he goes back. He has a premonition that the good days for their Feng family will be coming soon.

"How smooth is my sister's boots?" On this day, Luo Yong came over to check the progress.

In the past few days, Feng Pijiang has prepared the boots of Du Gou and Ma Feiyang, and also the boots of Luo Siniang and Luo Wulang. What we are doing now are the boots of Aunt Luo and Luo Erniang.

Du Gou and Ma Feiyang both made horse boots, and Luo Siniang and Luo Wulang's boots were fleece. This cotton was not the cotton wool of cotton in later generations, but silk fabrics, similar to silk quilts. At this time, wealthy families often used it to make winter clothes.

Si Niang and Goro either stay on the kang without having to wear boots or go out to exercise, so they exercise more. They are the age of running and dancing. If they make hairy boots for them, they will probably have to stomp all the fur in a few days. The leather boots are covered with a thin layer of cotton, and it should be enough for the children to warm themselves.

The two pairs of aunt and second wife made of hair boots, using two broken wolf skins.

Last year, several wolves fell from the mountain northwest of Lishi County and were beaten away by villagers. Two of them were killed and sold in the city. The wolf meat was not delicious and the wolf skin was damaged by them. There was no good price. In the end, Feng Pijiang accepted it at a relatively low price.

These two pieces of wolf skin are not of good quality, and they were smashed by villagers with hoes and shoulder poles. The fur is not very beautiful, so no one has ever been interested in it. It is suitable to use it as a boot now. If you work it carefully, you can't see any incompleteness. In addition, the fur is thick enough, so it should be relatively warm.

"This is almost done." Feng Pijiang straightened his body and said to Luo Yong with a smile.

For him, these fur-integrated boots are much easier than those made by horse boots a few days ago. Just cut and sew the wolf hair inward, and then fix them on the sole of the Eucommia rubber.

"Is this a foundation made of fur under the wolf's belly?" Luo Yong picked up a made-up shoe on the kang table, reached in and touched it, and the touch felt quite soft.

"It's the softest hair there." The girl's feet were small, and she couldn't use the two pairs of boots that were more than half a foot tall, so she naturally picked the best and softest materials for her use.

"It's very warm." Luo Yong said happily.

"It's not a good thing, it's not as fine as the ones in front." Especially the two pairs of boots Luo Siniang and Luo Wulang, the two pairs of boots are made of deer skin on the outside, and the inside is thin and soft. The two pairs of boots are exquisite and beautiful, warm and easy to walk.

"Just be warm enough. When the spring is coming next year, I will make other shoes for them." Luo Yong didn't think that there was anything wrong with these fur-integrated boots. Like the ugg in later generations, they often cost thousands of dollars, so they can't buy wolf skins.

However, the concepts were different at this time. After all, there were few people in the Central Plains who used leather goods, and they did not penetrate into people's lives in all aspects like those in later generations. Luo Yong had never seen anyone wearing such fur-integrated boots.

"If you dye some more colors, it will look better." Feng Pijiang suggested.

"It just so happens that there is dye there." Luo Yong sat on the kang. He felt a little cold, so he got off the kang and burned a fire, and then took out the wood ash in the stove.

"Hey, hey, just leave it, I'll do it." Feng Coaching said quickly. How could he, a coaching maker, let Luo Sanlang help him burn the kang?

"No problem, you're busy with yours." Luo Yong also knew that these craftsmen didn't even know that they had to take a sip of water when they were busy, and they often forgot to burn the kang.

"Feng Aweng thinks how about my soles, is it good?" Luo Yong talked to Feng Pijiang while burning the fire.

"Of course it's very good." Feng Pijiang carefully checked the light from outside the oil paper window, looked at the light he had just made, and found out that there was no problem. Then he put it on the wooden cabinet at the end of the kang together with the other boot.

"We used to make boots with people, and we were worried about the soles of the shoe. The soles of a single-layer leather are too thin. Use a few more layers and sew them with thread. It is thick enough, but we are afraid that water will enter the middle. The leather soles are not as good as linen soles. If water is entered in the middle, it will be difficult to get out. If water is accumulated inside, the skin will be soaked. If a few holes are pierced, it will be difficult to wear in the rain and snow."

"Your soles are good, and you are not afraid of water accumulation inside, they are also moisture-proof and wear-resistant. For those soles that are made of twine, if the twine is broken, the soles will not be strong. Your soles are fine. If I hide the thread on the soles, I will not be able to get it any longer."

Speaking of the sole of the Luo family, Feng Coachieu became more and more fond of it. Unfortunately, this thing is really rare. Luo Sanlang mobilized all the troops and got so many Du planted trees from the south. After planting them for a whole year, he hired people to pick many leaves, which were fermented and washed. In the end, he was afraid that he would not have many soles.

"My soles can still be recycled if they are used in old ways." Luo Yong said proudly: "Save a few broken soles and melt them in a pot, pour them into the mold and let them cool down, and then you will have a new pair of soles."

"This is not a waste at all." Feng Pijiang was amused by the scene he told.

"There are still many Eucommia ulmoides leaves in my fermentation pond. When they are all made, I can get a hundred pairs of soles. Feng Aweng, please help me make boots in the future." Luo Yong planned to determine the employment relationship between them.

"Old man is naturally willing." Feng Pijiang has done work for people for most of his life. This is the first time he has met such a good employer. What else can he not want to do?

"There are still young people who can work in Feng Aweng's family. You might as well call one or two to help." Since you have to do your homework for a long time, relying solely on such an old man will definitely be more difficult.

"Although my son is not good, it's okay to fight me." Feng Pijiang was even happier when he heard that Luo Yong asked him to call one or two more family members over.

He didn't say anything else about his salary, just by calling his son over for three meals a day.

Besides, he has figured out the skills of making rubber-soled leather boots over the years and has to continue to make efforts to improve in the future. If his son can watch and learn, it will be better. If he changes somewhere else, how can he have such shoes for him to see and touch.

"In this way, you, father and son, made boots with me. The monthly salary is 200 cents. You still eat three meals a day in the Xu family's guest house. It's okay if you send them here or you can go there yourself. How about it?"

Luo Yong is also willing to pay more for such technical talents, but he also has to consider the market conditions.

Because Feng Pijiang's son was basically only considered an apprentice, Luo Yong did not consider his salary. He gave him three meals a day and the opportunity to learn how to make rubber-soled leather boots was not considered unfair.

When everyone discovers the benefits of Eucommia ulmoide soles in the future, more and more people will plant Eucommia ulmoide tree to get Eucommia ulmoide. In this trend, Feng Pijiang and his son are already ahead. If they can seize it, there will naturally be many opportunities to make money in the future.

So the 200 cents can be said to be just Feng Pijiang's wages alone, plus the three meals a day for two people. The configuration of these three meals is also relatively high. In this era, it is not something ordinary people can afford.

In Feng Pijiang's opinion, such treatment was naturally excellent. He thanked Luo Yong repeatedly and said that he had paid too much wages, but Luo Yong asked him to help him make boots well. As long as the boots were done well, he could naturally earn the wages elsewhere.

·

On the sixth day of the October 10th, Du Gou was finally leaving. Luo Yong drove the donkey cart and sent him out of the village entrance.

"Sanlang, don't send it again, let's go back now." When he walked to the sheep pen, Du Gou stopped and advised Luo Yong to go back quickly. Although it didn't snow that day, the temperature was already very low.

"Dalang is going all the way." Luo Yong handed him a small bag, which contained the date bean cake he had Aunt Luo made early this morning.

"Just leave!" After staying in Xipo Village for so long, Du Gou was reluctant to leave. He has gained a lot of knowledge here. He has lived in the yard on the slope and has always been with Luo Yong.

"If Dalang is not afraid of the wind and snow, he might as well buy some seeds of Duyuan first, and then return to Laizhou." Luo Yong said to him.

"I'm just thinking that." Du Gou also saw the benefits of this Eucommia ulmoides glue. At this time, he wore a pair of leather boots with Eucommia ulmoides glue as the sole. Luo Yong also told him that this Eucommia ulmoides glue is not the only use for making soles.

At this time, when going south to buy seeds, the price should not be very high. After all, the news here has not been spread yet. After these rubber-soled leather boots become famous, it is very difficult to buy seeds if they want to buy seeds.

Looking at Du Gou's back as he was riding a horse gradually distant, Luo Yong slowly reversed the donkey cart and asked the five pairs to take him back to the village.

Calculate the time, there are still seven or eight years left before the rebellion of Prince Li Chengqian in the 17th year of Zhenguan. I don’t know whether history can be rewritten this time. Luo Yong neither knows nor understands it, so he doesn’t have much thoughts, but for Du Gou, Luo Yong hopes that he can live well, rather than ending up dying in Bianye because of some things that have nothing to do with him.

When Du Gou arrived in summer, he brought Luo Yong the seeds of Chameng rice and helped him make a batch of very exquisite peony cushions. Luo Yong planned to use these cushions to flatter the emperor.
Chapter completed!