The weather was getting colder and colder. Fortunately, the county government had enough money and the number of yamen runners had increased significantly. At the same time, at Xichun's suggestion, a temporary rescue team was formed so that if anyone was heard to be trapped in a collapsed house, they could be rescued in time.

After a busy winter, the death toll has finally come down. Most of the deaths were among the elderly or children who couldn't withstand the cold winter and sadly passed away.

However, such results also earned the sincere praise of the people, who said that after so many years, a good official had finally come to their place and had done two great things right away.

Fu Changfeng also frequently went out on patrols. When the people saw him, they would bow from afar. Even the yamen runners would not shout at the people; everyone was very polite.

On this day, when everyone saw that the yamen runners had suddenly posted notices again, they were all on edge. The yamen didn't post notices very often. Could something have happened again?

"Officer Li, what is this you've posted? Has someone committed another crime?" Someone familiar with Li Chang asked shamelessly, while the others looked at him nervously.

"Don't worry, everyone. This is good news. Our county government is recruiting workers, but this time we are mainly recruiting women. Anyone who knows batik can come and apply."

"The yamen recruits women? What kind of talk is that? This is the first time I've ever heard of a woman becoming a yamen runner." Someone heard this and didn't understand the meaning, which made the others burst into laughter.

"Look at you all, you have no knowledge at all. This isn't to recruit you as yamen runners, but to recruit you as female workers. The county magistrate wants everyone to make money, but our county doesn't have any special skills."

To help the magistrate solve his problems, the county magistrate's wife took a liking to our batik craftsmanship, saying she wanted to sell our batik cloth to outsiders so that people would know that we have genuine products.

"That's why we need to hire female workers. We'll build a dye shop later, and then your wives and daughters can earn money. Won't the family be better off then?"

After Li Chang explained it to everyone, they suddenly realized what was going on. But could batik make money?

"But I don't see those noble ladies wearing that dyed fabric. They all wear the commercially available ones. Would anyone even look at our fabric?"

"What's there to be afraid of? Anyway, the county magistrate and his wife both said they need to hire people, and they're the kind who have money. As long as they don't owe us wages, we don't care who they hire. We can't read anyway. Officer Li, tell me what other conditions there are so I can go home and tell my wife."

"As I said before, those who can dye cloth, are willing to work hard, and are willing to come to the county government office to register the day after tomorrow, which is the sixth day of the month. On that day, the county magistrate and his wife will examine the applicants. If they pass, they can stay and work."

"Oh dear, I'll have to go back and tell them that making money isn't easy."

“I think so too. My wife told me before that the clothes worn by the county magistrate’s wife looked a bit like the local dyed fabric. I didn’t believe it, but it turns out it’s true. The county magistrate is really kind to us, he’s incredibly good to us.”

Xi Chun was originally worried that no one would come. She had heard that the local people were somewhat xenophobic. If no one came, she would have to buy some people first and wait until she made a name for herself.

Xi Chun didn't want to go down this path either, but buying and selling people was legal in this era, and girls who were sold, especially those with a little bit of beauty, were almost all falling into a pit of fire. If she could give them another way, it would be a way of saving them.

However, on the sixth day of the lunar new year, to Xi Chun's surprise, quite a few people came to register, young and old, forming a long queue in front of the county government office.

"Madam, there are so many people signing up this time, I'm afraid it will take a whole day to select people." Yang Cuiniang, the owner of the batik shop, has been poached by Xichun with a high salary. Xichun also admires her dyeing skills, so he made her the manager of the dyeing workshop and put her in charge of this area.

"It's alright. As long as everyone is enthusiastic, that's a good thing. Only when everyone is hardworking can life be better." Xi Chun was also very happy with everyone's enthusiasm. People who are willing to work hard for a living are worthy of respect.

Xi Chun divided all the applicants into groups of twenty for evaluation. Manager Yang was responsible for the professional knowledge, while Xi Chun was responsible for observing each person's personality and strengths. If any good ideas came up in the future, they could be selected from these people.

After a day's work, they finally selected the right people. This time, they plan to recruit thirty people first. As for the others, they can only register them and contact them if there are any suitable candidates.

As for those who are clueless and cunning, Xichun eliminates them directly. After all, she's not doing charity work, but making money. Keeping these people around will only bring more trouble in the future.

The Long family used to own a dyeing workshop, but after their property was confiscated, no one took over the business. Now that the county government has requisitioned it, they have readily available materials, which will naturally save them some money.

On the second day of the second lunar month, the day the dragon raises its head, the dyeing workshop in Shaoming County officially opened for business, and the female workers, who had undergone several training sessions, began to work in an orderly manner.

Fu Changfeng came in person to celebrate the opening of the dyeing workshop, and the onlookers also wanted to see how much profit the dyeing workshop could bring.

If it's truly profitable, even if they can't get into the dyeing workshop, they can still do it at home. If the county magistrate and the others have any sales channels, they can follow suit and sell some as well.

It is spring plowing season, and Fu Changfeng has discovered that many families here still plow the land by hand. Oxen are also very valuable assets here, and not everyone can own one.

Just then, the Long family's land was taken back, and even the cattle in the village were confiscated. So, on everyone's advice, Fu Changfeng lent out one cow to each village, and everyone took turns using the cow, which greatly improved the efficiency of farming.

The prerequisite is that the cattle must not be tired or hungry. If the returned cattle are found to be in these conditions, the villagers must provide certain compensation as required.

Upon hearing this news, those who had initially harbored malicious intentions no longer dared to act recklessly, and the village chief kept a close watch on every household to prevent such an incident from occurring.

Xichun goes to the dyeing workshop every day to check on everyone's progress and to resolve any problems that arise. This time, she didn't let Taozi get involved in the dyeing workshop, to avoid gossip that could be detrimental to both sides if it dragged on for too long.

That would truly be a case of good intentions gone wrong, so she'd have to worry about it herself.

"Madam, look, how come there's a child here at the door?" That day, as soon as they arrived at the dye shop, they saw a small basket at the door. Xiaoyue opened it and found a child inside, who looked to be less than a year old.

"Whose child is this? Go ask if anyone knows them?" After becoming a mother, Xichun couldn't stand these acts of abandoning children.