Chapter 3027: Go All In
Bai Shan had only one condition: each of them should cultivate two acres of government land for three years, free of charge.
The county government only provided seeds and farm tools, and a dedicated person would be responsible for checking to verify whether the other party was diligent. "The official fields given to you for cultivation must all be in accordance with the county's instructions. As for the final yield, you are not responsible."
He said, "Whether it's good or bad, this county will accept it all. The seeds and farm tools will all be provided by this county. I will send people to check. As long as you do what this county has instructed, after three years, the land allocated to you will be registered and the land deeds will be issued, and it will be considered your permanent land."
Zhu Sanlang couldn't help but ask, "What if the master is gone?"
Bai Shan: "Unless I die, I will remain in office for three years. But don't worry, if I leave office or die within three years, someone will handle the land deeds for you. This can be written into the contract."
A group of people were puzzled, "Contract?"
"Yes, the contract between this county, or Beihai County, and you will be written down and signed by both parties. This is not only an agreement between this county and you, but also an agreement between Beihai County and you. So even if this county is no longer the magistrate of Beihai County, someone will take care of all this for you."
Of course, Bai Shan would not let this happen. It would feel like a breach of trust if the promised thing were to be done by someone else.
The refugees were very excited and wanted to agree on the spot, but they had some concerns, so they didn't say anything.
Bai Shan didn't want them to give an answer right now. He was willing to give them time to think about it.
Zhou Man and Bai Shan only ate one bowl of porridge before stopping and watching them share the remaining two buckets of porridge.
This was the most filling meal they had had in four years. Fortunately, the rice was cooked very well and the side dishes were light, so there was no need to worry about upsetting their stomachs.
Considering that they had four children with them, Zhou Man asked someone to borrow four sets of clean children's clothes from the home of Fang County Magistrate, who was not far away. "The county government doesn't have any clothes for children, so you can take these four sets with you."
The county government allowed people who came to work as long-term workers to bring their children with them, and these children had two places to go.
One is the Yushantang, but they require each child to pay five cents, and these children can eat, live and study like the orphans in the Yushantang;
The second option is to bring the children with you, and the food and accommodation will be provided by the county government, but their wages will be less than others, and they will have to pay five cents for each extra child they bring with them.
They had just arrived and were worried about leaving their child in Yushan Hall, so they took him to the official fields outside the city.
The clerk at Guantian arranged them together so that they could take care of each other.
They also got the legendary medicinal soap from the county magistrate's house, which was said to be very useful, as told by Zhu Sanlang.
They had just finished packing when it was dark, the city gates were closed, and no matter how hard they tried, they still couldn't catch up. The guard stamped his feet, looked back at the thirty or so people following him, and sighed, "Let's stay outside the city for one night and go in tomorrow."
Among the more than 30 people, there were more women, as many as 21. Four of them were staying in some villages on their way back. When they heard that they were going to Beihai County to work, they left their family affairs and followed them.
There was a difference between men and women, so the team was clearly divided into two factions. When the guards said they would camp outside the city, the girls found a piece of grass to sit on, found some firewood nearby to light a fire, and then huddled together.
They also knew that it was not safe for women to go out, so they were very united and basically did not talk to men along the way. Even if they were from the same team or even from the same county and village, they would ignore them.
The men sitting by the other campfire had long been accustomed to it. At first, a few hooligans looked at the girls with lustful eyes and flirted with them, but after the guards scolded them a few times, the women actually started beating them with their bags and stones.
More than ten people fighting against a few people, even if there is a huge disparity in strength between men and women, they can still win, not to mention that there are guards from Beihai County who turn a blind eye and help them.
That's right, the men thought the guards were helping them. Otherwise, why would he scold them after just a few words? And when the women started fighting, he still stood aside with his sword and shouted weakly, "Stop fighting, stop fighting, let's be peaceful..."
So along the way, no matter whether the man was truly honest or pretending to be honest, he stayed away from these women.
Now everyone is camping outdoors. The women are making a fire here, and the men are sitting far away and making a fire.
The two guards were not on their side and started a fire in the middle. When everyone was asleep at night, they kept watch while whispering to each other, "When I return to the city this time, I must tell Brother Daji that I would rather work as a runner in the government office than go on a long journey."
This kind of work is really not for humans.
"Don't even think about it. The Lord is short of people right now. It's hard for the county government to find people for this kind of thing. If not us, who else can we use?"
The next day, before dawn, they were woken up by merchants and common people who were about to enter the city. Because Bai Shan had recently hired a lot of long-term workers, the consumption of vegetables and other things in the city was increasing, so the price of vegetables had risen slightly recently. When the villagers from several nearby villages heard about it, they picked vegetables early in the morning every day to sell in the city.
So now there are many more people entering and leaving the city gate every day than before.
When the young ladies woke up, the knowledgeable older maid said to herself: I didn't expect that the city gate of Beihai County looks so shabby, but there are so many merchants coming and going. No wonder they have so much money to recruit people from outside.
As soon as the city gate opened, two guards immediately took them into the city without eating and sent them directly to the county government office to register.
But the county government office hadn't even started yet. When the bailiff who came to open the door saw them, he couldn't help but rub his eyes and closed them again. "Why are you knocking on the door so early in the morning?"
"We've brought people back. Who will take them down to rest?"
The yamen runner forced himself to open his eyes. "Oh, yes, you went out with Mr. Cui to recruit people."
He glanced at the people behind them and couldn't help but yawning. "Come in, there are people waiting. Zhao Li hasn't come back yet. Everyone, please find a place to sit. Don't be polite."
He continued, "There are food stalls outside the county government office. If you're hungry, go out and buy some. The fifth stall selling pancakes is owned by my eldest brother. They're delicious. You can go and try them."
Everyone smiled awkwardly and didn't respond. Although they had brought some money with them when they went out, they didn't plan to spend it at this time. Didn't the county government provide food and accommodation?
They can skip two meals and it won't be too late to eat again after they are assigned work.
The men thought so, but the women stood even more firmly. Most of them had not prepared much dry food, let alone money, and they had eaten all the food they brought with them by today.
So now they have no way out and can only move forward with all their might.
(End of this chapter)
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