Chapter 310 Though Humble in Rank, I Never Forget My Country's Worries
After Magistrate Shen left, the village head gathered all the refugees together.
"All 125 of you will settle down in Dahe Village and become members of Dahe Village." The village head stood on a large rock under the big locust tree and announced loudly, "Dahe Village accepts you, and also your families. You don't need to work this afternoon. Go to the city and bring your families over. You have a day off tomorrow. Help each other find a place to stay. After you settle down, the village will allocate land to you."
The magistrate had just given them a stern warning, which left the group feeling uneasy.
The village head's words were like a warm spring breeze, soothing their fears and anxieties.
These people who fled famine were all farmers. For farmers, the most important thing is their land. Now, they can settle down and even own their own land. Is there anyone in the world more fortunate than them?
“However, the land in Dahe Village didn’t just fall from the sky. It’s not like it was given to you outsiders for no reason.” The village head paused and continued, “People aged fourteen to fifty, regardless of gender, can be allocated three mu of land. The price of one mu is five qian. After the harvest each year, you have to hand over grain. Once you have collected five qian, the land will belong to you.”
The refugees all showed surprise and delight.
Each person has three mu of land, so a family can have about ten mu. If we farm well next year, we will definitely not go hungry again.
Moreover, it only cost five qian of silver per mu, which was much cheaper than they had imagined.
"As long as you live your lives honestly and work and farm in peace, you are all part of Dahe Village." The village head played with the long knife that Magistrate Shen had bestowed upon him and said with a smile, "If anyone tries to cause trouble in secret... hehe, I have a bad temper, I'd rather use my hands than my words, so please bear with me."
As he spoke, he brandished his long sword, making random gestures.
The refugees witnessed the knife sever the heads of four people, and they were terrified, shrinking back and not daring to speak.
"It's getting late, everyone hurry up and pick up your families."
All the refugees quickly dispersed.
They all went to the city to look for their families.
One hundred and twenty-five refugees, plus their families, brought the total number to three hundred and ten.
Most of the women used as human shields were women without men. They returned to the city to bring their children or elderly mothers with them. Most of the men had wives and children, while some had lost all their families. In the end, they brought a lot of children, but there were almost no children under three or four years old; they were mostly older children. Cheng Wanwan pondered for a moment, feeling a chill run down her spine.
The wasteland in Dahe Village is scattered in all directions. Cheng Wanwan suggested that these migrants build houses near their own fields and live separately to avoid gathering and causing trouble.
They built thatched huts, using trees as supports, covering them with dry thatch, and then plastering on a layer of mud. That was how the huts were built. Although Dahe Village is now a bit richer, there are still many such thatched huts in the village, which are cheaper and easier to build than mud houses.
Some bachelors, too lazy to build their own houses, live in the collective dormitories that the village had previously helped build.
In one day, the thatched hut was built. First, dry grass was laid on the roof, then more mud was applied, then broad leaves were placed on top, then more mud was applied, and then another layer of thatch was placed on top... This process was repeated several times to prevent leaks.
While the village was busy, the village head was summoned to a meeting in the county.
The plague in Ping'an County has been brought under control. The city gates are wide open, and there are hardly any refugees to be seen inside the city, as they have all been relocated to various villages. At first glance, Ping'an County seems to have returned to its former tranquility and prosperity.
Thirty-six li were sitting down in the county government office.
"The main reason I've gathered you all here today is to discuss the matter of the displaced people," Magistrate Shen said, sitting on the high platform. "The resettlement of the displaced people mainly depends on food. It's only the beginning of the twelfth lunar month now, and it won't be easy to make it to the spring harvest next year. We'll need your villages to provide more assistance."
Sun Lizheng couldn't help but speak up: "Our village is short of food itself, how can we feed so many refugees..."
Guihua Village has no public property at all. Asking the villagers to contribute their own grain is harder than climbing to heaven.
Li Lizheng chimed in, "There are forty refugees assigned to our village. Even if they only eat one meal a day, that's at least ten catties of grain."
“Of course the county will not ignore this,” Magistrate Shen said. “Once the refugees have settled down, each person can be given ten catties of grain. If they are frugal, they can eat until the New Year. After the New Year, it will be spring, and everything will be reviving. There will be wild vegetables to fill their stomachs, which will help them survive for a while longer. In addition, spring plowing is busy, and the villagers can hire the refugees to work and provide them with meals. This is a mutually beneficial thing.”
Sun, the village head, muttered, "No matter how busy spring plowing is, the villagers can finish it themselves. Why would we hire migrant workers..."
Unless someone has bought wasteland and doesn't have time to cultivate it, they won't hire someone to do the work.
But their Osmanthus Village is too poor, with a lot of lazy people, so no one buys land to cultivate it...
Other villages shared similar sentiments.
Magistrate Shen said coldly, "This is a task assigned to each village. If anyone refuses to accept it, I don't mind replacing the village head."
Although the village head is not a formally appointed official, he is still a minor official, the top leader in the village, and his words carry a lot of authority.
With such a deterrent, the village heads indeed became obedient.
Magistrate Shen stood up: "In that case, let each of you collect your rations."
Each refugee received 10 jin of rice, so 400 refugees received 400 jin. Except for Dahe Village, the other villages each received an average of about 40 people, some with 41 people and some with 38 people. In short, the amount was about the same. Only Dahe Village received more than 3,000 jin of rations.
The other villages were immediately dissatisfied.
"Why should Dahe Village receive so much grain?"
"Just because there's Lady Sui in Dahe Village? That's so unfair."
"Even if Dahe Village has developed a cure for the plague, they shouldn't be treated differently like this. They are all refugees; who is more valuable than whom?"
"..."
"Silence!" Magistrate Shen slammed his gavel. "Don't any of you ever go out and find out what's going on outside? Master Yuan, you tell them what's going on!"
Master Yuan cleared his throat and said, “Ping’an County needs to resettle more than 1,700 refugees. Each village should receive 60 people, so why did you only accept 40? It’s because Zhao, the village head of Dahe Village, selflessly accepted more than 300 people! This is what it means to have a responsibility to the country! There’s a poem that says it well: ‘Though lowly in rank, I dare not forget my duty to the country; even after the matter is settled, I must wait until my coffin is closed.’ This describes ordinary people like Zhao, the village head…”
The room was completely silent.
Everyone was stunned by these elegant and literary poems.
Even Zhao Lizheng himself stared wide-eyed.
He knew that everyone had a responsibility to their country; Cheng Zhao had used that phrase before. But could that phrase be applied to him?
He didn't understand what "lowly position, not yet settled" meant, but for some reason it sounded very impressive.
It turns out that in Master Yuan's eyes, he was such a capable person.
Zhao, the village head, straightened his back and felt the gazes of all the other village heads upon him, as if he had reached the pinnacle of his life.
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