Chapter 773: Chapter 590 Martial Artist’s Salary_2
Yang Zhenshan shook his head and said, "You decide what to do with it. There aren’t many places to spend money on the island anyway!"
Star Moon Island was just a small island; it wouldn’t be worth as much as this amount of silver even if it were sold.
"Should we give some to the government?" Zhen Yang proposed.
Yang Zhenshan replied, "The government isn’t short of silver either! Forget it, let the old man handle the division!"
He naturally wouldn’t monopolize the wealth of the Luo family and the Zhen family. There was no need, nor did he want to.
Moreover, there was one problem he had not yet considered, which was the island’s economic issues.
The island’s residents needed silver coin to buy various living supplies, and the prices on the island had to be maintained at a reasonable level.
The amount of silver coin in circulation couldn’t be too much, as excessive amounts could lead to inflation.
How much rice a family could produce in a year, how much was needed to eat their fill, how much money the surplus rice could be sold for, and then how many living necessities that money could buy.
The income and expenditures of ordinary people, the income and expenditures of martial artists, and the income and expenditures of high-level martial artists - how could these reach a balance?
You can’t let ordinary people be unable to afford things, nor can you allow high-level martial artists to hold silver without being able to buy what they need.
Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and then said, "Take some out for the Yang Family Trading Company as starting capital, some for the government as reserve funds, and you can keep the rest! It should come in handy in the future."
"How much gold and silver can you contribute?"
Luo Shang thought for a moment and said, "Our Luo family doesn’t need too much silver right now, so let’s contribute three hundred thousand taels of gold and five million taels of silver for now!"
"Then we will give two hundred thousand taels of gold and three million taels of silver," Zhen Yang said.
Yang Zhenshan nodded and replied, "Alright, give three-tenths to the government and seven-tenths to the trading company!"
"The Luo family eight million taels, and the Zhen family five million taels!"
"I’ll jot this down for you, and in the future, we’ll find some way for you to spend it!"
That’s right, he was going to find a way for these people to spend money.
Not just for them, but others needed it too.
Like Luo Jingsong, what would be an appropriate salary for him?
A Half-step Innate Martial Artist couldn’t just be given a few hundred taels a month, right?
Well, previously Yang Zhenshan’s salary for Luo Jingsong was just a few dozen taels.
Of course, salary was just salary. What Yang Zhenshan gave to Luo Jingsong couldn’t be measured in gold or silver. One Three Yellow Plum, which couldn’t even be bought with money.
After parting with Luo Shang and Zhen Yang, Yang Zhenshan began to set salaries for everyone.
The salaries were divided into two parts: one based on cultivation and the other based on specific positions.
First was cultivation. Innate Martial Artists, one Three Yellow Plum, one Ice Heart Fruit, twelve jars of wine, one jar of Bee King Honey, and ten jin of Dongling Spring water a year.
Half-step Innate, one Three Yellow Plum, one Ice Heart Fruit, ten jars of wine, one jar of Bee King Honey, and ten jin of Dongling Spring water a year.
Postnatal Ninth Layer Martial Artists, after breaking through to the Ninth-rank, could get one Three Yellow Plum in three years, one Ice Heart Fruit, eight jars of wine, and five jin of Dongling Spring water annually.
Postnatal Eighth Layer Martial Artists, eight jars of wine and five jin of Dongling Spring water.
Postnatal Seventh Layer Martial Artists, six jars of wine and three jin of Dongling Spring water.
Postnatal Sixth Layer Martial Artists, four jars of wine and one jin of Dongling Spring water.
Postnatal Fifth Layer Martial Artists, two jars of wine and half a jin of Dongling Spring water a year.
Postnatal Fourth Layer Martial Artists, one jar of wine a year.
Postnatal Third Layer and below Martial Artists did not receive a cultivation salary.
As for the official positions’ salaries, only silver was given, with the highest positions such as Assistant Governor, Military Assistant, Navy Commander, etc., earning a monthly salary of a thousand taels of silver.
The silver was just a supplement; the main focus was cultivation resources.
Currently, the Ice Heart Fruit was the most abundant in the Spiritual Spring Space, so it was the most distributed.
As time passed, the number of Spirit Fruits in his possession would only increase, so he didn’t have to worry about not being able to provide salaries.
In a few more years, the Star Origin Fruits and Jade Dew Spirit Peaches would also bear fruit, by which time they could also be added to the salaries.
As for the Silver Coin provided by the Luo family and the Zhen family, Yang Zhenshan would not treat them unfairly.
He would convert these Silver Coin into Spirit Fruits, alcoholic beverages, and Dongling Spring to give to the Luo and Zhen families.
In the end, Yang Zhenshan gave the Luo and Zhen families two Three Yellow Plums and two Jade Bone Ice Heart Pills each, as well as a certain amount of alcoholic beverages and Dongling Spring.
The alcoholic beverages and Dongling Spring were given to the Luo family right away.
As for the Three Yellow Plums and Jade Bone Ice Heart Pills, they were put on a tab for now. It’s not that Yang Zhenshan didn’t want to give them, but currently, neither the Luo nor the Zhen family had anyone capable of consuming these two items.
Neither family had a Martial Artist above the Postnatal Fifth Layer yet; giving them now would be a waste.
It would not be too late to give them the Three Yellow Plums and Jade Bone Ice Heart Pills once either family had a Martial Artist at the Postnatal Ninth Layer.
The salary system established by Yang Zhenshan almost made everyone on Star Moon Island drop their jaws in shock.
In the government office study, Luo Jingsong and Wu Zhan looked at the list of salaries in their hands, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Island Master, is this real?" Luo Jingsong felt as though he was dreaming.
A Half-step Innate receiving a Three Yellow Plum and an Ice Heart Fruit each year was simply unbelievable.
Even Da Rong wasn’t this extravagant.
"Of course, this will be implemented from now on. However, be mindful of keeping this confidential. Do not let outsiders know, as you should understand the perils of owning a precious item. Keep this hidden to avoid trouble," Yang Zhenshan said.
Wu Zhan nodded, saying uncertainly, "Understood, but where do these Spirit Fruits come from?"
Yang Zhenshan glared at him, "That’s not for you to worry about, come to me at the end of each year to collect them. If you don’t want them, you don’t need to come."
"I want them, I definitely do!" Wu Zhan said with a chuckle.
Yang Zhenshan spoke calmly, "Pass down this salary list. Remember, those with lower cultivation levels must not know what the salaries are for those with higher cultivation levels. A Postnatal Sixth Layer must not know what the salary of a Postnatal Seventh Layer is, understand?"
The rest didn’t matter; this was mainly to conceal the existence of the Spirit Fruits.
He trusted his subordinates, but the more people who were aware, the greater the risk of exposure.
The effects of the Ice Heart Fruit weren’t very useful; it only provided a unique ability to resist cold, which was practically unnecessary on Star Moon Island.
However, turning the Ice Heart Fruit into the Jade Bone Ice Heart Pill is a different matter altogether. Beautifying and nurturing one’s looks was just a secondary effect; the key was cleansing meridians and purifying the body, which is highly beneficial for Martial Artists. It helps to eliminate impurities within a Martial Artist’s body, heal hidden injuries, enhance potential, and aid in the clearing of the meridians.
Yang Zhenshan’s wine brewing and tea roasting were manageable since these tasks could be done in bulk, not requiring too much time.
But making the Jade Bone Ice Heart Pill was different; a day’s worth of work could only yield a few pills, and Yang Zhenshan didn’t have time to make them for everyone, so he had to simply distribute the Ice Heart Fruits.
In the future, they would have to find someone else to make the pills for them.
However, this required training an Alchemist. He’ll see who on the island is interested in Alchemy, and when the time comes, Yang Zhenshan could give some guidance.
It was a pity Wang Mingzhe didn’t come along; the boy was still learning Medical Skill and Alchemy from Sun Wanzhen. Without ten or eight years, he couldn’t possibly master all of Sun Wanzhen’s skills.
After the Martial Artist salary standards were issued, everyone’s enthusiasm for work and cultivation immediately increased quite a bit; to tell the truth, everyone’s work spirit wasn’t very high before. Who were those around Yang Zhenshan? Just pick a few to place in the Camp at Chongshan Town, and at the very least, they would qualify as Bazong. People like Yang Chengche and Yang Qinwu would have no problem serving as Guerrilla or Assistant General.
But what are they doing now? Each of them was only leading a few dozen to a hundred people; it was truly a case of talent being misapplied.
So everyone only handled things casually and didn’t take matters too seriously.
Now that everyone’s enthusiasm for work had increased, Yang Zhenshan could rest assured and act as a hands-off Shopkeeper.
Jiang He was in charge of the government affairs, Luo Jingsong was in charge of the Navy, the Luo family and Zhen Yang were in charge of the Yang Family Trading Company, and Yu Qingyi managed domestic affairs, leaving Yang Zhenshan completely free.
As time moved into the twelfth lunar month, the immigrants from the Tenglong Guard arrived at Star Moon Island.
The military households who moved from the Tenglong Guard were almost all teenagers, yes, all teenagers, the oldest being just fifteen and the youngest only ten.
There were both boys and girls, a full two thousand young people.
To be honest, when Yang Zhenshan saw these young lads and girls, he was baffled for a moment.