Chapter 194 Veterans' Concerns

After getting the receipt, Wang An prepared to set off back to the capital. However, when he returned to the inn where he was staying in Datong Prefecture, he was shocked to see hundreds of veterans sitting or standing around the inn, blocking the entire road.

The shopkeeper at the entrance of the inn saw Wang An coming back, and hurried over and said, "Hey, Shopkeeper Wang, you're finally back!"

Wang An felt a little guilty and asked, "Manager Zhang, what's going on?"

Shopkeeper Zhang pointed at the old soldiers around him and said, "They all said they were waiting for you. As for what's going on, Shopkeeper Wang, don't you know?"

At this moment, the old soldiers also recognized Wang An and came over.

But these old soldiers didn't say anything. They just stared at Wang An, as if they were waiting for Wang An to speak first.

Wang An rolled his eyes and suddenly realized, "Oh, right, you guys are here to help your comrades settle their wages, right?"

Wang An clapped his hands and said, "Don't worry, everyone. We are registered as imperial merchants in the court and we will not default on our debts!"

Wang An said, and took out two large silver ingots of fifty taels from his pocket and handed them to the innkeeper, saying, "Manager Zhang, please do me a favor. I know you have a lot of small change when running the inn. Can you help me exchange it for one hundred taels of small change so that I can pay everyone!"

Shopkeeper Zhang said in embarrassment: "I do have small change, but we can't get it out right away. How about I cut it out for you?"

"But the cut pieces won't find a place to melt for a while, hehe..."

Wang An knew what Zhang meant, and waved his hand nonchalantly, saying, "These crumbs are for Zhang's hard work, but if there is still a shortfall, please help me weigh it out so I can make up for it for the guys."

Shopkeeper Zhang immediately beamed with joy and reached out to take the two fifty-liang silver ingots.

But at this moment, the old soldier beside him finally spoke up: "Don't bother Manager Wang. We have already agreed on the monthly salary. How can we ask the boss to pay the wages in less than a month?"

Wang An turned around and saw that it was Tian Erlangzi who had nothing in his sleeves.

Wang An was slightly stunned and asked, "If you are not here to ask for your wages, why are you all gathered here?"

Tian Erlangzi looked at the veterans around him and said embarrassedly, "I heard that the shopkeeper's mission is done. I think we should return to the capital in the next few days, right?"

Wang An nodded and immediately understood.

When I set out for the grassland, I had promised Mangui that I would use all these veterans.

However, they saw that their work was completed and they were about to leave, but they had no idea how to accommodate these old soldiers. No wonder they were anxious.

When the time comes, Wang An will just walk away, and the hope for life that they have finally seen will disappear into thin air. How sad they will be!

However, what these veterans didn’t know was that it was no longer a question of whether Wang An wanted them or not, but that Wang An was trying every means to persuade these veterans to go to Beijing with him.

Because of the days on the grassland, Wang An thought about it carefully.

Whether it is the production of soap or glycerin, or other business ideas in his mind, Wang An needs a large number of manpower. Instead of recruiting people of unknown origin in the capital, it is better to use these veterans directly.

Firstly, these old soldiers were already people without food and clothing, and Wang An recruited them as if he was showing them a favor and giving them a helping hand. These old soldiers were all men in the army, and compared to ordinary people, they were more moral and would not easily leak Wang An's business secrets.

Secondly, if these border soldiers were brought to the capital, they would be unfamiliar with the place and even if they wanted to betray themselves, they would have to consider the consequences. Moreover, the reason why he recruited them was because of Sun Zushou and Man Gui, and their families were also in Datong Prefecture. If these veterans betrayed him, how would he face Man Gui and their families even if he returned to Datong Prefecture?

To put it bluntly, if you want to settle the score later, you can find someone.

The most important thing is that it is difficult for these veterans to find jobs to make a living. If I give them jobs, any one of them who betrays me would be betraying other comrades in the same situation as them.

If something goes wrong with one of them, everyone will be affected.

In short, if these Datong veterans are brought to the capital, they will become Wang An’s most trusted men.

As for the fact that they all have their own defects which may affect production efficiency, Wang An doesn't care too much about it.

In later generations, there were many special factories for the disabled, and a lot of production equipment and processes were designed and developed specifically for these disabled people. All they had to do was design jobs and tools specifically for these veterans.

The most important thing is that the production process of the soap box glycerin currently planned to be produced by the chemical plant is not complicated, and the special adjustments are not very complicated.

Even after the business became bigger, Wang An could bring all their families to the capital, build a special library for employees, and tie these veterans firmly to his own interests.

What kind of workers' confidentiality could be stronger than that of a group of helpless disabled soldiers?

Just a flash of thought in his mind, Wang An immediately nodded and smiled: "You said my brain has been blown silly by the cold wind on the grassland these days."

Wang An slapped his head and took back the two large silver ingots.

This made the innkeeper lick his lips in annoyance, regretting that he couldn't make any money from the "loss" of cutting silver.

Wang An said: "Since everyone is here today, we might as well inform everyone."

Wang An said, and he took out a stool from the inn and stood on it. He looked at the hopeful and anxious eyes around him and said, "My fellow brothers, we have already made an agreement before we went to the grassland. Anyone who wants to follow me, Wang, must go to the capital. Have you all thought it through?"

"Think it through!"

"As long as I can make a living, I can go anywhere."

"Back then, we followed General Man and chased the Tartars everywhere. It just so happens that we haven't reached the capital to see the world yet."

The veterans seemed to be afraid that Wang An would go back on his word, so they responded immediately.

Wang An nodded in satisfaction and said, "Since everyone knows the rules and is willing to follow me, Wang, to Beijing, then everything will be easy!"

"Anyone who is willing to follow me should go to Tian Zongqi to register. Each person will receive three months' wages in advance to settle their families, and then go back to pack up. We will set off tomorrow!"

But when Wang An finished speaking, he suddenly realized that all the veterans looked stunned.

Wang An frowned, confused, and touched his head, wondering if there was something wrong with what he said.

(End of this chapter)