CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Feifei was shocked into silence.
Salt!
Uncle Qi observed Feifei's expression carefully and saw the shock on his face.
I'm not wrong. Shen did not talk business outside the mines. He really can be trusted and cultivated. Head Wen Qi thought.
"This...this.." Feifei swallowed hard and drank the water. Then he whispered. "Isn't salt the King's business?"
Head Wen Qi laughed. "Yes, this is the King's business. The King is monopolizing the salt trade. His Majesty also have salt productions on Chandraneel City but instead of a mine like ours, they are digging wells."
Feifei felt deceived.
He doesn't know why, but he has a certain dislike for royalties. Especially bowing one's head for worship.
Seeing Feifei's look, Head Wen Qi was even more satisfied.
This girl is not greedy.
Basing on her reactions, she shows a certain discomfort when talking about royalty. She even looked like running. Head Wen Qi thought, amused by Feifei's expressions.
"All the people in the Kingdom, except the Kings people, Court Officials, High Military Officers of the West and East Garrison, Officials of Agantuk Town and the mine workers like us, no one else knows about this salt mine. If you noticed, no one in Guhya Village works here. Only Shen."
Feifei was speechless. So that's why.
"Except for the other few who does the bookkeeping, documentation & recording, storage & transport, all the workers in this mine are all convicted prisoners and slaves." Head Wen Qi continued.
"Mostly all with higher positions in this mine are civilians like you and me. Others are Military men or Palace guards entrusted by His Majesty." Head Wen Qi stopped and gave Feifei time to gather her thoughts.
Silence.
"I understand, Uncle."
Head Wen Qi smiled, satisfied. "Then let's talk about the work details. The mine has a production quota of 160 stones per day and 1120 stones per week. These salt is then transported weekly to 5 different locations with 40 stones each city and 80 stones to the Imperial City."
"If we are the only source of salt, these quotas would not be enough. But with Chandraneel, the quota is not that hard a target. Your job as Assistant Chief of Transport would be Coordination on the Salt Production Line, Raw Material Supplies and Salt Storage and Distribution."
" I will give you a brief description of your work then I will ask Heng Yan to give you a tour of the mines. This is for you to be able to fully grasp the production process."
Feifei took a deep breath then smiled. "I'm all ears, Uncle."
"Production Line is making sure that there is no issues between the divisions of labor. It is making sure there is no gap or a break in the chain of procedures between the preceding and succeeding step. This is to ensure that the quota would be met."
"Raw Material Supplies. This is being responsible for checking that all the tools the workers use are enough and in good working condition. If there is an issue or lack of these tools, we might be lagging with production. Or worse, we might stop production entirely."
"Lastly, Salt Storage and Distribution. This is about checking the salt before transport. Making sure its the correct weight. Making sure the salt will arrive to its intended destination. Making sure we have salt to transport not grass."
Feifei nodded. "I understand, Uncle. Thank you for the advise. I will study and learn from you and from others. I will make sure not to disappoint you and my cousin." He promised.
Head Wen Qi nodded as he laughed. "Very good. Then I will bring you to Shen's work station. Anyway, there are people working under you. You can give these tasks to them but you are solely accountable for any mistakes."
Walking out of the room, they went down the stairs, turned left and opened the first door. There are a lot of people in the room. But he did not see his cousin Shen.
Feifei looked up at Head Wen Qi in confusion. "Uncle, is it time to eat?"
Silence.
Then everyone laughed out loud. Feifei was scared to jump!
"Why? What happened?" Feifei asked, even more confused.
"Your hungry already?" Head Wen Qi asked, funnily.
"No. Its just that.." Looking around carefully again, he still did not see any sign of his cousin.
"I don't see cousin Shen around. Is he out on break?"
Silence.
Everyone laughed again.
"No, girl. Your cousin Shen already left!" Head Wen Qi was kind enough to inform him. "Didn't you know?"
Feifei shook his head vehemently. NO!
A woman smiled at him and said, "When Xi Shen received the letter from your hometown, he immediately sat for two hours writing a reply. Then he asked for a temporary replacement from Head Wen and left!"
A middle aged man with a slimy face smiled indecently at him and added, "He might be at your hometown now, the same way you are here standing before us."
Feifei closed his eyes and internally shouted, NOOOOOOOO!