Along the way, Zhao Hao saw many refugees. These refugees came from the north because of the snow disaster before the New Year.
Each of Zhao Hao's three farms housed several thousand people.
It suddenly seemed crowded.
Fortunately, the imperial court and the aristocratic families distributed a lot of supplies, so food and drink did not become a problem.
However, the living conditions were still quite poor. After all, it was a cold winter with ice and snow everywhere, and it was impossible to start construction. Apart from being settled in their original tenant villages, most of these refugees could only build some temporary dwellings.
Fortunately, there was plenty of firewood, charcoal and coal briquettes, otherwise we would still have frozen to death.
Arriving at the manager's residence, Luo Bi hurriedly brought people out to greet them.
Zhao Hao immediately asked, "Lao Luo, there are so many people in the three villages all of a sudden. Did anything major happen during the period before and after the New Year?"
When there are few people, it is easier to manage. But when there are more people, various problems will increase.
The so-called number of people is over a hundred.
All kinds of things (shai).
There are bound to be all kinds of problems, such as fighting, stealing, etc.
The pressure to manage is enormous.
Luo Bi hurriedly said, "My Lord, there are indeed a lot of things, but they are all small things, and there are no major problems."
"I originally thought that with so many refugees coming at once, there would be some major problems."
"But in fact, no. After the refugees were settled, they all behaved very well."
"Of course, I organized them according to the plans you proposed before, Sir, and asked them to cut wood and build temporary shelters by themselves."
"There were some sporadic troublemakers, but before our subordinates could take action, they dealt with them themselves."
“So, overall it’s good.”
Hearing Luo Bi's words, Zhao Hao was very happy and nodded slightly.
"This is us, the simple people. Although there are some bad ones among them, most of them are good."
"They are all reasonable!"
Luo Bi also agreed: "Your Excellency is absolutely right."
"Of course, it is also because you, Sir, gave us detailed instructions in advance. We took the initiative to cut down trees in the surrounding area and built a temporary residence."
"So these refugees have a place to live and no one is freezing to death."
"I have inquired about the situation of other manors. Although they are not lacking in warmth, food, and clothing, the court has provided them with a guarantee."
"But due to the lack of adequate shelter, people could only live in cellars dug underground, and many people still froze to death."
Zhao Hao nodded slightly and sighed helplessly.
"This heavy snow came too suddenly. No one expected the disaster to be so serious."
Zhao Hao felt the same way. In this era of insufficient productivity, even as a time traveler, he felt too insignificant.
Even in his own village, it was extremely difficult to provide the victims with food, clothing, shelter and transportation.
The two of them walked and talked as they entered the manager's residence.
Luo Bi quickly had tea served.
Zhao Hao picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Where are Lao Wang and Lao Zheng? Why can't we see them?"
Luo Bi said, "My Lord, Master Wang and Master Zheng have been looking for a new location to expand their workshop these days."
"After the three of us met and studied it carefully, we all felt that the current size of this manor was sufficient."
"My Lord said before that we built the workshop to help the people in the village."
“So we thought about putting the expanded workshops in the other two villages.”
"This way, the people in the other two villages can also earn some income."
Zhao Hao nodded: "Your idea is good, but the other two farms are mainly for planting, and the workshop must not occupy the planting land."
Luo Bi said: "Don't worry, Lord. We have taken this into consideration as well. That is why Master Wang and Master Zheng went to look for a place to build the workshop."
Zhao Hao then asked, "By the way, what's the situation at the academy now?"
Luo Bi said: "Everything is going according to plan at the school. The students are very enthusiastic about learning. Some of them can already recognize more than a thousand characters."
Zhao Hao was very satisfied: "It's only been more than a month, and the youngest one knows more than a thousand words?"
“Very good!”
Luo Bi smiled and said, "It's all arranged by the Lord. Anyone who enters the school will have three free meals a day, as well as chicken, duck, fish and meat. Everyone says that the Lord is a living Bodhisattva and wants to erect a monument to immortality for you!"
Zhao Hao was shocked: "No, don't let them do this!"
Luo Bi continued, "It's mainly because of the elimination system set by the Sir. If you don't meet the requirements, you will be dismissed. No one wants to be dismissed and go home."
Zhao Hao said, "We need to run this school for a long time. There is no age limit for the students we are enrolling now, and we will have more in the future."
"Our goal is to let everyone know that studying is a way out."
"Of course, that's a later story."
Now he does not have the capacity to roll out the business on a full scale, and the expansion of the papermaking workshop will require a huge amount of money.
"Come on, take me to the school!"
Luo Bi said quickly: "If the students knew that the Lord came to see them, they would definitely be delighted."
Having said that, he took Zhao Hao away from the manager's residence, got on a carriage, and headed for the school in the village.
There are two schools in total, one is for boys and the other is for girls.
When a group of people arrived, they immediately sent someone inside to notify them.
Soon, the headmaster came to greet them with two teachers.
The headmaster is an old man in his fifties, and it is unknown which family he belongs to.
I studied all my life but was never able to enter the government.
Most of the teachers in the school are like this.
The three men came closer and bowed down quickly. Zhao Hao immediately went up and helped the three men up.
"You three are welcome. I came here today just to take a look."
Luo Bi gave Zhao Hao a brief introduction.
The headmaster's name is Zheng Yanbo, and he is from the Zheng family, the same Zheng family that Zheng Zhiqian and his family belong to.
According to seniority, Zheng Zhiqian should call this person his uncle.
However, this person is from a side branch of the Zheng family, and his status and position cannot be compared with Zheng Zhiqian at all.
Zheng Zhiqian is not valued in the family, but that is only true for the eldest branch.
The other two teachers were both in their forties. One of them was named Zheng Lijie and the other was named Wang Di.
Zheng Lijie was also found by Zheng Zhiqian from the Zheng family, while Wang Di was found by Wang Mengyu from the family.
The three of them were very respectful to Zhao Hao and brought Zhao Hao and Luo Bi into the school.
The headmaster Zheng Yanbo said, "Sir, it's just in time for the school's lunch."
"The students are eating in the dining hall now. My Lord and Manager Luo probably haven't eaten yet."
"Why don't we go to the academy together and have lunch first, and then I will take you for a walk in the academy."
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