Chapter Nineteenth: Territorial Income

  Yu Ze Cheng's territory, apart from the urban area, also includes three villages outside the city: Ma Jia Zhai, Li Jia Gan and Zhao Jia Tun. Li Jia Gan and Zhao Jia Tun are both large family villages, in addition to the village itself, there are also some scattered households living in small villages deep in the mountains, but they all belong to this village.

  These mountain people make a living by hunting, farming and collecting medicinal herbs in the mountains. The two villages have more than 1,000 laborers, with a population of nearly 2,000, and their lives are still manageable. Every month, the clan leader collects protection fees first, with one village handing over 50 taels of silver per month.

  Majiazai is a small town, which controls more than ten small natural villages. There are no large family forces in the village, and the town head is elected by the gentry. The population reaches 5,000, with special products such as mulberry forests that can produce silk fabrics, making it relatively rich. There are more than 20 small shops in the village. In the past, the Wild Wolf Gang would send three people to guard this place and collect 100 taels of silver every month.

  The protection fees for these three villages are fixed and will not fluctuate greatly. The rest of the disciples were sent to Ma's village, Li's pole, and Zhao's village to take control, which was no problem at all. Three people were casually selected and sent out.

  It seems like Yu Zecheng is casually choosing, but in reality, he has arranged everything quietly. One of them is Cui Yunhao, an old brother from the original gang, one is Lao Geda, a disciple who defected to the Wild Wolf Gang, and the other is Li Sanguang, a former street thug and Ma Tianyu's younger brother. These three people are arranged together, with each keeping an eye on the others, so they won't form an alliance, and it's easy to control them in case of any trouble.

  Then there is the collection of land protection fees in the city. In the city, there is a free market where passing merchants sell precious goods found in the mountains. This market collects commission income based on the transaction amount, sometimes without any transactions for a year, but sometimes with just one transaction, it can earn hundreds of taels of silver.

  Apart from the market, there were 13 hotels, 34 shops, 7 inns, 2 rice stores and 1 coffin shop. During the reign of the Wolf Gang, each wine house paid different protection fees every month according to the size of the hotel. Among them, three small hotels paid eight taels of silver per month, four medium-sized hotels paid fifteen taels of silver, and six large hotels paid twenty-five taels of silver. The largest brothel in the city was also counted as a large hotel and paid twenty-five taels of silver.

  There are 34 shops, each paying 16 taels of silver per month. There are 7 inns, each paying 26 taels of silver per month. The rice shop pays 30 taels of silver per month. The coffin shop is calculated based on the number of coffins purchased by the deceased in the city, with one tael of silver paid for each coffin. Calculated this way, the monthly income is at least over 1,250 taels of silver. If there are more deaths or more free market transactions, the amount of silver will increase.

  Of course, not all of this money belongs to them. Among them, 700 taels of silver need to be handed over to the helm, and the helm will hand over 400 taels of silver to the government. One hundred taels of silver will be returned as a sample silver for the disciples, and the rest will belong to Yu Zecheng.

  Every month, more than 550 taels of silver can be left over. Calculating this result, Dong Zhen suddenly became stunned, this money is too much, the porters in Linhai City absolutely do not have such a high income. This site is indeed lucrative.

  This money can't be taken away by Yu Ze Cheng, some need to pay rent, the remaining disciples need to receive silver, the disciples need to change four sets of clothes in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and weapons and equipment are also purchased from the organization. There are also welfare benefits for various festivals, consolation money for dead or disabled disciples, gift money when related units have affairs, daily food and drink expenses, etc., all together, Yu Ze Cheng can get 300 taels of silver per month.

  Three hundred taels of silver, and the rest was more than what he used to earn as a chef in two years. It was equivalent to working as a chef for one hundred and fifty months. This deal was indeed a profitable one. In fact, in other places, Yu Ze Cheng wouldn't have been able to get so much money. The bosses of other docks were tyrannical, and the dockworkers had to give them at least one hundred taels of silver as a tribute. However, this dock belonged to Shan Zhu, which used to be oppressed by the Wild Wolf gang, and its boss Shi Tianyun was extremely weak. He didn't even think about the income that his subordinates should give him, nor did anyone remind him. The dockworkers, including Tan Er Lang and Yu Ze Cheng, wouldn't mention it to him either.

  There are still thirteen days until the beginning of the month to collect protection fees. After calculating the accounts, Yu Ze will announce that Master Shi's monthly allowance will be increased by twelve taels of silver to fifteen taels of silver, and Hong Bai Qing Hua's monthly allowance will be increased by nine taels of silver to twelve taels of silver. However, after Hong Hua Chen left, this position has been vacant. The monthly allowance for each of the disciples under him will be increased by one tael of silver to four taels of silver.

  At the same time, it was announced that the family members of the disciples could come to the stronghold for meals. The stronghold provided three meals a day, and those who didn't eat could be sent back. Most of the Wolf Help disciples who had surrendered had families with them, because they were burdened by their relatives and forced by life, they had no choice but to take this path of surrender. The elderly in the gang also had family members, which greatly reduced the burden on many households, and everyone was overjoyed.

  For Yu Zecheng, it's not a big deal. There are chefs here, grain from Li Jia and Zhao Jia villages, and plenty of game in the mountains. The meat from these animals is cheaper than pork sold in Linhai City. There's a vegetable garden in the backyard, just need to spend some money on oil and seasonings. This way, buying people's hearts doesn't cost much, and harmony comes easily.

  Yu Ze Cheng then made a calculation, announced the policy of welfare for his disciples, and at the same time announced the training plan. He began to train these apprentices, letting Lin Ye Hong, Dou You Zi, and Fu Gang be the coaches, every day commanding the disciples to practice martial arts for at least three hours, everyone relied on their sword skills to make a living, if their skills were not good enough, that would be a death sentence.

  There was one person who stood out in the training, and that person was one of the three disciples who were insufficient in martial arts but were hired exceptionally. His name is Huang Xiaodong. Although his martial arts skills are average, he excels at deploying troops and formations, and his ancestors were once a disciple of the great array master Guiguzi.

  Yu Ze Cheng appointed him as a training instructor, letting him teach everyone the tactics of war. Lin Ye Hong, Fu Gang and others had experienced many battles, they knew the importance of formation, they all studied hard, others even if they were dissatisfied, did not dare to say anything, only wholeheartedly trained.

  Many disciples heard that each person would receive four taels of silver as a monthly allowance, and there were other benefits. Everyone was overjoyed and didn't care about the training anymore. The original disciples of the Wild Wolf Gang, the old men in the school, all had good martial arts skills, no one was afraid of training, except for Ma Tianyu's little brothers, the original young hooligans, who were a big headache.

  In the past, the Wolf Gang's Shan Zhuo branch was ruled by Mo Tianchen, a ruthless leader who not only refused to increase the monthly allowance for his subordinates but also deducted some of their allowances to offer tribute to himself. As a result, the disciples under him were filled with resentment. When the Wolf Gang's leader, Mo Tianlang, encountered trouble and the main gate was breached, many disciples here defected and joined forces to kill Mo Tianchen. It would be more accurate to say that they killed him out of indignation rather than betraying or surrendering to the enemy.

  Now I'm settled here. Although the training is a bit tougher, the pay is good and family members get to eat for free, which is much better than before. Everyone is very satisfied.