Chapter 103

Zhang Fangyuan set up a small stall near the city gate, and spent a few cents to hire two runners to spread the news to places where there were many refugees. Before he had even stayed in front of the stall for an incense stick of time, refugees came after hearing the news and soon gathered together.

"We are recruiting hired farmhands here, but this is not charity. Those who are interested should stay and line up to sign up. If you are not interested, please go away and do not disrupt the order."

Zhang Fangyuan had hired someone from a martial arts school to watch over the warehouse before, and he found that he was particularly useful. This time, he hired two more men from the martial arts school. They stood in front of the stall with their arms folded. The refugees did not dare to act rashly and could only look around timidly from a meter away.

"Master, how do you recruit hired farmers here?"

Finally, someone heard that there was an opportunity to stay there. Seeing two men flanking the young man in the middle, they thought they were the boss and stepped forward to ask courageously.

Zhang Fangyuan stood up happily when he saw that some refugees were interested. However, the refugees discovered that the man sitting there was even taller and more powerful than the two strong men next to him, and his face looked fierce. They immediately shrank back in fear.

Seeing this, Xu He pulled Zhang Fangyuan back to sit down and muttered, "I don't know how a man in his twenties can be taller than Rui Jin and Rui Li."

Zhang Fangyuan touched the tip of his nose and thought, it's because you fed me too well. He didn't say anything and sat back obediently.

Xu He then said to the refugees in a clear voice: "There is land in the village outside the city. We are looking for a group of hired farmers to do spring ploughing. Young and strong men can apply for four acres of land, and young women can apply for two acres. We will recruit people with healthy limbs and no serious illnesses. A family is best suited."

The refugees were talking among themselves upon hearing the noise; their voices were so weak that others could not hear them clearly. Xu He tilted his head to glance at Zhang Fangyuan beside him, wondering whether the refugees were willing to come and work as hired farmers.

Zhang Fangyuan was very confident. The refugees had been relying on begging for a living, with no way to get enough food. Now that they had the opportunity to settle down and start a family, how could they let it go easily?

More and more refugees came to watch. The first group seemed to have sent a representative to negotiate with Zhang Fangyuan: "May I ask where your husband's land is in Siyang? Do you have any proof? Where will we be settled after we go there?"

But it's not that the refugees think highly of themselves. It's just that they encountered too many things while begging along the way. When he was in his county before, some people rounded up people in the name of recruiting hired farmers, but it turned out to be children disguised as gangsters who tricked people into selling their indentures. As long as you follow these people, they are not afraid that you will be unwilling to sell yourself, they will beat you up until you accept your fate.

There are also unscrupulous private laborers who recruit people to work for them. They will be imprisoned in the private labor camp for the rest of their lives, and there is no way they can get out unless they work until they die.

The refugees were also afraid of being deceived. Although they were displaced, the best destination was to find a place to settle themselves. However, private labor and becoming slaves were the worst outcomes. Who would want to live like an animal? While starving, they still fantasized that the court would help the victims and give them a way to survive.

Being a farmhand is actually the best option among many unfortunate ways of life. However, because it is good, it makes people more nervous.

Zhang Fangyuan was not angry when he heard this. He had prepared the documents approved by the county government when he reclaimed the wasteland earlier. He took out the things and showed them to the refugees: "Maybe many people can't read, but they should be able to recognize the appearance of the land deed and the seal of Siyang County Government."

"The land on hand is wasteland that was reclaimed last year. This year, we are planting crops for the first time. The land is limited, so it's on a first-come, first-served basis."

After saying this, Zhang Fangyuan took the document and asked, "Any other questions?"

Thinking that such an open announcement on the streets of Siyang would not deceive the refugees, the refugees began to make a commotion and swarmed over to sign up. The first group who came to ask for details quickly gathered together and lined up in an orderly manner. The scattered refugees nearby squeezed in front of Zhang Fangyuan's table, but were driven away by the people from the martial arts hall to line up.

Xu He couldn't help but look up at the old man who led the team and asked, "Do you guys know each other?"

After confirming that they were looking for hired farmhands, the old man was very polite, hunched over in front of Xu He, and showed his respect: "That's right, we are refugees from a village in Wojiang County, Ningjiang Prefecture. Originally, our population was half that of today, but many died of starvation and disease along the way. Now, there are only 20 of us left in Siyang."

Xu He craned his neck to take a look at the team, and the last refugee in the group raised his hand to signal.

He counted the people silently and found that there were indeed more than twenty people including women, children and men. They all knew each other and had a leader. It would be easier to arrange things in the future if the message was to be conveyed, and they could also help each other to overcome the initial difficulties. However... he looked at Zhang Fangyuan again.

The couple had a tacit understanding. Zhang Fangyuan understood Xu He's intention. If they were to recruit them all together, the disadvantage would be that if the refugees united to rebel against their employer, it would be difficult to manage them.

Such opportunities to recruit hired farmhands were rare, and the old man could read. He saw that the document stated there were only 100 acres of wasteland, which was just enough for them. If there were people who were kicked out, they could help them after they settled down. But they were all hired farmhands, so how could they help others so easily? The best thing was that everyone could get a share of the land.

The old man knew the concerns of the masters, and immediately pulled a child of about ten years old from the team behind him and said, "Master, take a look, these are all healthy children from the village, they are hardworking and capable, but they are a little thin from begging along the way. If they are lucky enough to cultivate the land for your family, these children will be sent to your house to do some chores, such as making fire, washing clothes, and carrying manure."

"Everyone will definitely do their best."

Zhang Fangyuan remained silent and exchanged glances with Xu He.

These people are quite sensible. They are willing to send the children to the master's house on their own. In this way, the master's house can have the strongest constraints and is not afraid of the refugees gathering together and acting recklessly. After all, the children are still in the hands of the master's family.

"That's great. Everyone can come here and report their names and hometowns. After we go through the formalities, we can get our share of the land sooner."

The refugees cheered, their gray faces flushed with excitement, but it was a pity for those who came later as they could not get any land.

Zhang Fangyuan wanted to recruit all the refugees to work for him, but unfortunately his ability was limited. There is only so much land, and if each person gets too little, they won't have enough to eat, which would delay others. Moreover, if so many refugees were all recruited, it would probably cause dissatisfaction among the government, which would think that they were secretly forming a group of strong men with ulterior motives.

"Don't be anxious, come one by one, and think about your information carefully. If you lie or make mistakes, you will never be hired once you are found out!"

Everyone was waiting patiently for the record. After completing the registration here, they had to go to the county government to register. There were a lot of procedures and some were very busy.

"Why is there so much noise over there?"

"There are many refugees in the city, and the order in the city is a bit chaotic. There is a landlord over there who is recruiting refugees as hired farmhands."

The child sitting in the carriage heard his parents talking to the servants outside the carriage. He turned his head to look at the lively place, and his eyes flickered: "It's Uncle Gao!"

Luo Yan took another closer look after hearing the voice, and saw the tall, fierce-looking figure in the crowd. He smiled slightly, turned back and touched the little boy's head: "Xing'er's eyes are very good, and his expression is much clearer than that of grandfather."

The young man hugged Luo Yan and smiled, rubbing his arm.

“Where do these refugees come from?”

Although he already had some answers in his mind, Luo Yan still asked. The old servant obviously hesitated for a moment and lowered his voice: "He came from Ningjiang Mansion."

Luo Yan's eyes were somewhat heavy, and he looked at the child beside him with eyes that seemed to be filled with endless vicissitudes and pity. Even though he had a thousand thoughts in mind, after a long while he only uttered one sentence: "Fortunately the epidemic has stopped."

"Let's go back."

Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He were busy for two days before the hired farmers on the record had their household registration completed in the county government office one by one. The county magistrate thought that this was a good job, as more than twenty refugees had been solved in a row. He asked Zhang Fangyuan to go to the county government to commend him and also encouraged the merchants in the city to accept refugees.

From time to time, some wealthy families recruited long-term workers and laundry women from among the refugees.

The refugees were led to the village, where there was nothing at the moment, so Zhang Fangyuan first settled them in the tea shed. There were no guests in the guesthouse recently, so he vacated two rooms to make a large bunk bed, which provided a place to stay that was sheltered from the wind and rain.

But after all, it is not a place to live for a long time. For this reason, Zhang Fangyuan is prepared to lend money to these refugees to build houses and settle down in Jijiu Village.

Naturally, the land occupied by the houses was approved by the county government. The imperial court had ordered all prefectures to accept disaster refugees and not to expel them. There were ways to resettle the refugees, and the county government would also strongly support it.

With a larger population, more taxes will be paid. The county magistrate is eager for the county to prosper, but he is still very cautious about refugees from other counties and will not recruit them easily. It is okay for those like Zhang Fangyuan who have been resettled, but many who have not been resettled will wander around the city and are difficult to deal with.

In fact, the county government can lend money to refugees for resettlement, but there are very few people in the county government who are willing to spend money to achieve political achievements.

After all, a county magistrate will not work in one county for his entire life and may have to move to another place. It would be fine if he could get something in return for paying the money out of his own pocket, but he is afraid that the refugees will not be able to pay it back, and the money will not be taken back by the time he is transferred. By then, all his efforts will be in vain and it will be another bad debt.

Zhang Fangyuan dared to lend money because of this consideration: if he did not recruit refugees as hired farmhands, he could only recruit poor people from the county as hired farmhands. It was easier to find hired farmhands because of the famine years before the New Year than in years of good weather and harvest. However, as he was a newly emerged landlord, his reputation was far inferior to that of other landlords in the county, and even fewer people were willing to join his family.

If they can't find a hired farmer, the family can only hire someone to help with farming. It will cost a lot to hire someone at this time of year. Thinking it over, they'll have to spend money anyway, so why not use the money they earn from hiring someone to do the work to lend to the hired farmer.

Firstly, it is a loan and must be repaid in the future. Even if it is uncertain when it can be repaid, there is still a difference between spending the money directly and not getting it back. Secondly, the refugees are tied to their family’s land and it is impossible for them to just farm for one year and then run away. Even those who can save money have to work for four or five years in a good year before they can buy their own land and get rid of their status as hired farmers.

If he hired someone to farm the fields, he would have to pay for it every year. Xu He would do the math and think that in the long run, it would be better to spend some money now and get a greater and more stable return in the future.

"My master and I are not mean people. As long as you do your job honestly, we will not treat you harshly in the future. Stay in the guesthouse for now and move in when the village has built a house."

Xu He arranged for everyone: "Each adult man or woman can borrow up to 500 coins here to build houses and eat. The grain for this spring plowing can also be borrowed according to the amount of land applied for by the family. The grain will be returned in autumn. The loan is for three years, and the interest will be calculated at half of the money house in the city. If the loan is not paid off after three years, the interest will be calculated at the money house in the city."

This group of refugees who were brought to the countryside saw that their employers had arranged all their biggest concerns, and were willing to lend them money to repair their houses, and the interest rate was lower than any money house in the city. After wandering all the way, they finally felt that their wandering had come to an end and they could finally settle down.

"Thank you for your kindness, Master. We will definitely do our best to manage your land and repay your kindness."

They all knelt in the guest house in front of Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He, unable to get up.

The weather has not yet warmed up completely recently, so Zhang Fangyuan urged the hired farmers to build the houses quickly so as not to delay the time for planting crops.

He was not the only one who was anxious. The hired farmers were even more anxious than him. They got up earlier than the chickens and slept later than the dogs just to speed up the progress of spring ploughing.

The refugees came from the same village, and with the help of each other, they built the foundation quickly.

So many people suddenly poured into the village, and seven or eight families were established at once. The families in the small village were closed and conservative, and there was always some xenophobia in their hearts.

Today, he saw hired farmers going up the mountain to cut wood to build houses. Tomorrow, he saw them picking wild vegetables to eat by the edge of the field. He felt very unhappy and did not dare to say anything to the Zhang family. He ran to the village chief to complain.

The village chief was cheerful, for the refugees were not only recruited by the Zhang family but also requested by the county government. The county magistrate had summoned him a few days ago and had given him detailed instructions to settle the refugees. He was now following the imperial court's orders, so it went without saying that good things would happen to him.

But if he told the villagers, he would be accused of having no conscience, so he sang a sad story: "These refugees are all poor people, who have been hit by disasters many times and have nowhere to go. Think about it, if Zhang Fangyuan hadn't stored charcoal and made everyone rich, wouldn't we still be suffering today?"

"Look at the villages next door. Which village hasn't suffered? Let's put ourselves in their shoes. It's a good thing that our village has more people. In the future, there will be more choices for river irrigation and public hills and public lands, right?"

"Look at the children among the refugees. Some are so skinny that they are just bones. It's okay for adults, but who among you doesn't have children? Can you bear it? Give the children a way out. Since you are here, why do you have to be like this?"

The villagers were really the most vulnerable to this kind of talk after being scolded, and they softened their hearts immediately: "We are not mean, we are just afraid of encountering thieves like the Guang family before. We treated them well at that time, and they still stole their things."

"It's all in the past. Didn't they turn around and ask the Zhang family to send him to the county government?"

The villagers didn't say anything. They chatted for a while at the village chief's house and then went back.

After this incident, the indigenous people of the village were no longer so hostile to these refugees. On the one hand, the village chief helped to speak up for them, and on the other hand, they were hired farmhands of the Zhang family. As the saying goes, they should give the refugees a face instead of a favor.

Some kind-hearted villagers saw the hired farmers digging wild vegetables to eat, so they gave them the extra radishes and cabbages from their own fields.

Although there are many wild vegetables in the wilderness in spring, such as bamboo shoots, ferns, etc., they are wild things after all. It is nice for city people to eat them fresh, but it would be too bland for farmers to eat them for every meal.

But no matter what, it is better than the cold winter. At least people won’t starve to death in the spring.