Chapter 3021: Running 2
The temporary workers who worked for Mr. Fang's family were also discussing this matter in secret, especially those whose property had been confiscated.
Even some of the maids who were released heard about it.
Last year, many people had their property confiscated, and many servants were released.
But when the county magistrate distributed the land, he only gave land to the male servants, not to the female servants.
They could only return home.
But going home...
Some people were sold as maids when they were young. Not to mention their feelings towards their families, even their families don't have much feelings towards them.
When they were released and returned home, they were either hastily married off or left at home to do backbreaking farm work, where they could not even get enough to eat, let alone warm clothes.
Seriously speaking, it's not even as good as when I was a maid.
Some families took their daughters back and then turned around and sold them to someone else.
But they are all old, and many wealthy families do not want to employ them, so they can only be assigned to small families, where they serve as both maids and concubines, and their lives are very poor. If they meet a bad family, they may even be sold to a dirty place.
Therefore, when they heard that Beihai County accepted both men and women and that they used to farm and raise chickens, but that they were provided with food and accommodation and received wages, they secretly inquired and found that it was actually better than staying at home.
While helping Mr. Fang harvest rice, several older girls gathered together and whispered, "I've asked Erzhu, who works as a farmhand at Mr. Fang's, and he said that because Beihai County has a medical office and the director is a female official, there are jobs for girls there."
"Are you going?"
"I don't know the way."
"I know. Our young master took me with him when he went to Beihai County for study. I know how to get there. Beihai County is not far from the state capital. As long as we get to the state capital, we can reach Beihai County in a day's walk. It's very close."
"Are we the only ones here? Will there be any danger along the way?"
"It couldn't be any more dangerous," a woman of sixteen or seventeen gritted her teeth. "That old woman has been coming to my house every few days lately. I've been eavesdropping. After the autumn harvest, I'll be sold. I might as well be killed in a car accident than be sold to a place like that."
"You are too angry."
"Bah, what kind of temper is that? They gave birth to me once, and I already repaid them ten years ago. Now this life is my own, why would they sell me out again?"
"Stop arguing. If you're going, let's go together. Call a few more people. I'll call the sisters I used to know, the ones who are still unmarried at home. Besides the ones who really love their daughters, who else doesn't want to keep them for winter and sell them for a good price? Let's just go together. There's nothing to worry about with more people."
"I know the way to the state capital. Erzhu is a good man. He often delivers things to the county town for Mr. Fang. He knows a lot of people in the car dealership. When we get to the county town, we can ask him to help hire a car to the state capital."
"We can't let the news leak out. Let's contact the right people and leave."
“What about household registration?”
"Why do we need household registration? We are all women and we have no land. We are just refugees."
"Yes, become a refugee!"
Meanwhile, Cui Yuan was in the county town not far from them. He grabbed two strings of money and gave them to a few hangers-on, saying, "Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. I just thought your county doesn't have enough land to support people, while we have plenty of land. If they stay in the county, they'll either become beggars or work odd jobs here and there. If they get into trouble and become vagrants, won't you be the ones to take the blame in the end?"
The hangers-on had limited knowledge and thought what Cui Yuan said made a lot of sense.
What's more, it's just some news, and it's true. Whether people go or not is entirely voluntary, so there is nothing that cannot be said.
So the hangers-on took the money and patted their chests to say that it was no problem.
Cui Yuan invited them to drink, and breathed a sigh of relief after they left.
The servant following behind him couldn't help but ask, "Master, aren't we going to run?"
Cui Yuan: "...Why are you running?"
"What if the county magistrate here finds out that you're poaching people? Won't he arrest you?"
Cui Yuan waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "Don't worry, the county magistrate won't know our plan. This is just the beginning. I'm even planning to set up a booth to recruit workers."
Bookboy: ...
Cui Yuan said that a stage would be set up to recruit workers, and sure enough, a stage was set up the next day, right at the city gate, in front of the city guards.
The city guards and yamen runners came to ask curiously, "Why don't you recruit laborers from West Street when there are so many laborers there, but only recruit them here?"
Cui Yuan said confidently, "Those over there are only temporary workers, they can work for a day or two, but I'm looking for permanent workers. If we start now, it might take until the beginning of next spring to finish."
The yamen runner looked him over and asked with a smile, "You don't look like the manager of a business. What's going on? Are you planning to form a caravan and start trading?"
"That's not the case," Cui Yuan said with a smile. "The head of the family is the magistrate of Beihai County. He needs to build roads and bridges, and cultivate the estate, so he needs a lot of manpower. Beihai County is short of people, so he needs to recruit some temporary workers from outside."
He sighed and said, "There aren't enough yamen runners."
Beihai County recruited people here, and the yamen runners immediately reported to the county magistrate.
The county magistrate didn't think much of it and waved his hand, saying, "Don't worry about it. Beihai County is now wealthy and powerful. The county government office and the county town are in such a dilapidated state that they definitely need to be repaired. They don't have enough people, so it's normal for them to recruit from outside."
The county magistrate was quite open-minded. "It's just right. They go out and make money, and when they come back they have to spend it on our county and their families. This will make us richer."
The yamen runners thought the county magistrate was right, so they stopped restricting Cui Yuan and looked at the people he recruited every day when they passed by. Unfortunately, most people were unwilling to go to Beihai County when they heard that they had to stay there for several months. After two or three days, he only recruited three or four people.
Cui Yuan himself did not expect that the first batch of long-term workers he recruited would be a group of young ladies.
There were eighteen of them, ranging in age from twelve to eighteen. They found him as soon as they entered the city gate and asked him if he was recruiting workers for Beihai County.
A young lady at the head asked, "Is there anything we can do?"
Cui Yuan looked at them blankly. In fact, he didn't understand what they could do there. Could they open up wasteland or build a dock?
But before coming, the county magistrate repeatedly reminded him that women were also allowed, regardless of gender.
So he nodded affirmatively at them, "Yes, you are all going to Beihai County. Are you sure you can stay for a long time?"
The girls nodded vigorously, "Sure."
Cui Yuan then picked up the ink and wrote, "Come, tell me your name."
An older young woman clutched her bag tightly and asked, "Can we leave today?"
Cui Yuan raised her eyebrows slightly and said with a smile, "Of course, I just happened to recruit a group of people in the past two days. I'll send someone to take you there."
As for him, he was going to go to the next county with the remaining money, and in the past two days he finally found a reliable person to help him continue to set up a stage here to recruit workers.
The father of the yamen runner who always came to join in the fun could recognize a few words. Cui Yuan made an agreement with him, "If you recruit one person, as long as the person arrives in Beihai County, you will get ten coins. If you can recruit a hundred people, that will be a thousand coins."
See you at 10pm
(End of this chapter)
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