Tian An ignored Qian's mother and daughter and took everyone back to the homestead. He then notified everyone to return.
A large open space was filled with people. Tian An and his men, along with three yamen runners, stood at the front. Below them, including the masons who had arrived that afternoon, there were a total of 220 people. Nearby were the village chief and others who had come over after hearing the news.
When Tian An saw that everyone was present, he walked to the center, pointed out the indifferent people who had just been present, and asked them to stand in the middle.
He then said: "Their families please step out as well."
There were eight people called, including their families, totaling forty people.
The families of these people didn't know what was going on and were confused about being singled out. It was not until Tian An handed several labor contracts to a yamen runner that they realized they were going to be kicked out.
Suddenly they panicked and asked:
"Why is that? We have been working so hard and have never dared to slack off."
"Yes! Miss An An, I have always done my job conscientiously. Everyone around me has seen it. I didn't take advantage of the situation!"
"Girl, why is this happening? You have to tell us the reason anyway."
Tian An raised his hand and made a silencing gesture. After everyone quieted down, he said, "You haven't done anything wrong, but where are your families?"
Everyone immediately thought of the eight people who had been pointed out first. Their families asked them what they had done to provoke the girl to drive them away.
The eight people didn't react at first, but now they seemed to suddenly understand why.
They all knelt down and begged for mercy.
"Girl, we know we are wrong, please don't chase us away."
"Girl, please, we finally settled down here, don't chase us away! We know we were wrong."
The family members beside them knew that they must have done something intolerable. They pulled them aside and asked them why they were causing trouble for the whole family.
Seeing that they refused to say anything, Tian An asked Chun Xi to tell them everything that had happened so that their families would know whether they had been wronged or not.
After hearing Chunxi's explanation of the whole process, the family members around them started scolding them:
"You unfilial son! Has your conscience been eaten by a dog? The girl took on such a heavy burden to take us in, and you watched her being beaten and scolded, and you just stood by and watched coldly. You...you..."
"Brother, how can you repay kindness with hatred like this! The girl is our benefactor! Hey! You are chilling her heart!"
…
Not to mention their relatives, even the people around them criticized them:
Such a ruthless person!
It’s really disheartening!
You shouldn't help them!
…
After cursing enough, an old man knelt on the ground and begged Tian An:
"Miss, my unfilial son has done such a chilling thing. I don't have the face to plead for him. I only ask that you leave my eldest son, daughter-in-law and grandson behind, and let me take this unfilial son back with me."
When the eldest son heard his father say this, he immediately said, "Miss An An, my father is old and can't stand the hardship anymore. Please leave my father, my wife and son behind, and I will take my brother back."
Others followed suit, wanting to leave their families behind and take the person who had made the mistake away.
Tian An asked Chun Xi to help the old man up, but the old man refused to get up. Chun Xi had no choice but to watch Tian An.
Tian An walked forward to avoid the kneeling old man and said, "Old man, you are the elder and I am the younger. Are you kneeling like this to shorten my life or get struck by lightning?"
The old man hurriedly said, "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. No! Hey~~"
In the end, he had to stand up with the help of his eldest son and daughter-in-law.
Tian An looked at the others again and said, "You all should stand up too! Stop kneeling. If everyone kneels down to make up for their mistakes, then what is the point of laws in this country?"
Tian An looked at the group of people in front of him, old, young, weak, and felt a little sorry for them. But if he didn't punish them severely for what happened today, it would be difficult to manage them in the future. After all, there was still a long way to go!
Alas! Tian An sighed: "I am not a cruel person. They made mistakes that affected their families. Although the family members are innocent, they are also at fault for not supervising them strictly.
Considering this is your first offense, I'll give you a light punishment and a heavy warning as a warning to everyone. I can choose not to send you away, but if I don't punish you severely for what happened today, it will be difficult to convince everyone."
After thinking for a moment, he said, "As a punishment, you will not be allowed to eat from tonight to tomorrow. From today onwards, your family's food rations will be reduced by half for a month."
He looked at the families again and said, "Do you have any objections?"
The old man was about to kneel down to express his gratitude, but then he thought of Tian An's words and had to bow with his family and said, "Young lady, you are so kind. Our whole family thanks you for your kindness. I will teach my children well in the future and will never do the same thing again."
Rations were cut in half, and we just had to tighten our belts and endure it. At least here we had solid food, but back home we'd only have two meals of gruel a day to survive. Finally seeing a glimmer of hope, no one wanted to give up.
They all expressed their willingness to accept the punishment: "Thank you for your kindness, young lady. We are willing to accept the punishment."
The matter ended here, but Tian An felt that today's incident reminded her that there would be no order without rules, and a system must be established.
Tian An pondered for a moment and said:
"Originally I thought that since we were all gathered together, it was fate, and I also thought that we could get along with each other, but since everyone is unwilling to waste their feelings on Tian An, then let's just do business as usual!
Starting today, we'll establish a blacklist and a redlist. The full score is 100, with a passing score of 60. The initial score is 60: 60 means you're not on the list. Those above 60 will be on the red list, and those below 60 will be on the blacklist.
The team is organized as a family. Good performance will earn you one point. If you make a mistake, points will be deducted based on the severity of the mistake. Once all points are deducted, you will be allowed to leave.
Those who perform well on the red list will be given priority to enjoy good welfare benefits and generous rewards.”
He pointed at Xiaokang and said, "The families who made mistakes today will go to Xiaokang to register. Ten points will be deducted from each family."
After thinking for a while, he said, “When the houses are built, those with higher scores will have priority, but those with scores below 60 will have to continue living in straw huts.
Also, I set up this reward and punishment system to improve everyone's enthusiasm and make life better for everyone. But I don't want to see anyone using any means to harm others just to score points.
If I discover that someone is harming the interests of others or the collective for their own benefit, I will directly report them to the government for investigation and punish them accordingly. I will show no mercy. Everyone, listen carefully and understand."
Everyone: I understand. Thank you very much, young lady, for taking us in.
Tian An looked around the crowd again. Then, he pointed at a little girl about eleven or twelve years old and said, "Come out."
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