Chapter 89 Some people: You ruined my fortune, wait for me
At the end of May, Wei Shengxue left the shipyard and returned to Buning.
The next day, the yamen runners of Buning County posted a job recruitment notice on the bulletin board with drums and gongs.
"Come and take a look! The kelp farm is hiring. The work is simple and easy to get started. Just five hours a day, two meals included, and a bushel of grain per month. You can also get priority in purchasing this year's high-yield grain seeds!"
The commotion was so loud that many people came to watch, many of whom were attracted by the promise of two meals for a bushel of grain.
After the yamen runner made a loud announcement, he left. The other people who had been surrounding the scene but did not dare to come forward all crowded over, but because they were illiterate, they could only watch.
What kind of job, with such good treatment!
"I heard it's a kelp farm."
"Kelp farming? Doesn't it grow in the ocean? How can we grow it? Are they trying to enclose that area of the ocean and prevent us from entering the water?"
"It's such a vast ocean, why would we need a circle? If we sneak into the sea at night, can we still keep watch all the time?"
"Exactly. If we don't go to the sea, where will those nobles get seafood to eat?"
Everyone was chattering at once, staring at the neatly written words in ink with wide eyes.
"Manager Wang! Hasn't your kid been sent to school? Hurry up and get him to come here!" Someone in the crowd shouted.
The Wang family boy struggled to squeeze in from behind the crowd, squinting his already blurry eyes as he leaned over the notice, reading it out word by word: "Donghai County's No. 1 Kelp Farming Base is hiring. Positions...required: 20 skilled hemp rope twisters, 20 bricklayers, 30 contractors..."
"The salary is five hours of work a day, one day off every ten days, one bushel of grain a month, two meals a day, and a pair of rabbits after six months of work. You can also get priority in purchasing high-yield, high-quality seeds... Is this the kind of crop the county magistrate mentioned two months ago?"
When it comes to this matter, everyone has something to say.
"Is it the ones grown in the best farmland outside the city? There are people watching them day and night. Ordinary people are not allowed to approach, and they even carry knives."
"Someone from my wife's family works at the county government office. I heard that after the crops are harvested, they will sell the seeds to us."
"Come on, if we can't give you that kind of stuff, it's better to sneak into the fields at night and pick up some fallen seeds."
Just as everyone was discussing heatedly, the young man from the Wang family, who was huddled in front of the notice, suddenly raised his voice. He stared intently at the bottom line, took a deep breath, and barely suppressed his screams, then shouted at the top of his voice:
"Looking for pile drivers. Those who are good at floating and rowing are preferred. Work six days a week, one day off. Five hours a day. Accommodation, three meals a day, a monthly salary, ten dou of staple food, and a pair of rabbits!"
Bang!
A clutched hoe slammed to the ground. The owner, who had always taken such good care of it, paid no attention to it. He counted on his fingers, "If I save a little every month, I can eat a bushel of grain. Ten bushels of staple food is enough for ten people, and it includes food. That's enough food for eleven people every month, plus a pair of rabbits. Rabbits can give birth to a litter every month, three or four bunnies each time. After a year, that's..."
He counted on his fingers, but his limited ability prevented him from figuring out the answer.
"Ah!" the man yelled, grabbed his precious hoe and ran back, "Brother, I'm rich! Hurry up and call the brothers! I'm rich!"
One must be good at both floating pile driving and pile driving. People who know this skill are basically responsible for building "ports" for various fishing boats. These are not ports for large ships, but just a few wooden boards and wooden piles placed in a sheltered place by the sea, used to tie small fishing boats.
Coincidentally, there was someone in his family who knew this craft.
He ran away yelling, leaving the people standing there looking at each other in bewilderment. Someone whispered, "Ten dou of grain is already one dan. It takes three or four mu of land combined to produce that much. This is just one month's salary. Is it fake?"
Someone in the crowd raised his voice and shouted, "This is a whole stone of staple food. It won't delay anything if we go and take a look. At worst, we can go back later today, and it won't affect the work at hand."
As the saying goes, money can move people's hearts. People who are already wavering will show a clear tendency after being pushed.
"I'm strong and can't do anything else, so I'll try this kind of work." Someone said it directly. He was a middle-aged man whose wife and parents had died. There was no one left at home anyway, and if one person was full, the whole family would not be hungry, so he decided to give it a try.
"The monthly salary is lower than that of the pile driver, but it is much better than going out to sea to fish by myself." Another echo was heard from the crowd.
Once someone started the conversation, everyone else wanted to check it out, asking, "Where are these job openings?"
The Wang family boy squinted his eyes and continued reading: "The address is..."
As soon as the words fell, the crowd rushed out, pushing and shoving each other, fearing that they would miss their turn if they ran too slowly.
When the young man from the Wang family turned around, all the people behind him disappeared. He stared at the scene in amazement. It took him a while to put away his surprised expression, tidied himself up and walked back to his shop.
A smartly dressed man was already waiting inside, with his trouser legs rolled up, and it was obvious that he was working in the fields.
A scholar with a jade pendant on his waist walked in and saw the two of them. He smiled and said, "Well done, here is your reward." Dozens of Qin Banliang coins were placed on the table.
"Mr. Xiao." The two men saluted awkwardly.
Mr. Xiao smiled and reassured them, "The kelp cultivation base is run by the Daqin government. All the benefits mentioned are true. You two don't have to worry about this."
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A house with carved railings and jade carvings in Buning County.
A man dressed as a retainer walked slowly in the winding corridor, with a faint smile on his face, which made his already gentle temperament even more like a spring breeze.
The servants secretly hid aside and praised his bearing and appearance, saying, "As expected of the past... and after, ordinary people are far from being able to match him."
"No matter how noble you are, you are still just a small servant under our master. How can you be so arrogant and look down on others?" Amidst the praises, the sharp sarcasm was particularly harsh.
The maid was about to retort when the servant beside her quickly pulled her aside and dragged her to her knees on the ground, "Greetings, Mr. Guest."
"As a servant, it is really unruly to commit insubordination. Otherwise, how can we say birds of a feather flock together?" In front of them, another middle-aged man dressed as a retainer raised his chin proudly, waving a white paper full of words in his hand in a show-off manner, and said meaningfully.
The gentle retainer on the corridor turned around, smiled slightly, and bowed, performing a greeting as if he were his equal. "Brother Liu is here. I think you've been summoned by the master of the family. Why bother with these servants and lower your status? If you make the master wait anxiously..."
Liu Menke glanced at the servant kneeling on the ground, then glanced at Wen Menke from bottom to top, moved closer to him, snorted coldly, pushed him away and left.
"Okay, he's gone, you guys can get up." The gentle tone of voice gave people a very comfortable feeling.
"Let's put this matter behind us for now. Don't say such things in the future. It will only bring trouble to yourself."
A group of servants lowered their heads, shrank their necks, and repeatedly promised that they would not dare to do it again.
Seeing this, Wenhe Menke also turned around and left, walking in the same direction as the person who had just walked.
They were going to the same place - the master's study.
"Master, as you expected, Officer Qin has indeed made a move."
When he walked into the study, Liu Menke was just saying this.
"Mr. Tian, you're here." Seeing him come in, the head of the family decisively raised his hand to stop Liu Menke from speaking, and personally stood up to welcome him to a seat.
Seeing the obvious disparity in treatment, Liu Menke's face twisted with jealousy, and he glared fiercely at Mr. Tian who sat down on the chair.
I was clearly here first! Whether it was to offer advice or to gather information...why did it turn out like this?
The offerings given by the owner of the house increased, and the family of the person who was fighting with him fell into decline. These two happy things overlapped, which should have been double the good things. Why did it turn out like this?
"Master! They're up to no good. We must come up with a countermeasure!" Liu Menke beeped loudly, interrupting the lively atmosphere between the two. "Their treatment is very good. Several families in the manor we had our eyes on for this year have already signed up."
He became increasingly excited as he spoke. "Master, they've given us a monthly salary of at least one bushel of grain. That base should last at least six months. If we do a good job, they'll even give us high-yield seeds. By then, these people won't be short of food. How can we get the land and tenants for free?"
These words were spoken bluntly, and the head of the family clearly saw Mr. Tian raise his eyebrows. Although he did not show any contempt, he still felt a little uneasy.
Mr. Tian is of noble status, and being able to invite him as a guest official is already a blessing from the ancestors. The head of the family has always pretended to be devoted to etiquette and abide by the rules in front of him, for fear of revealing the weakness of the family's foundation.
As a result, the result was now exposed by that idiot!
It's so infuriating!
How could he not know that once the base was opened, those people who had set their sights on it would lose their homes and homes and sell their lands!
Since he knew about this, couldn't the idiot just send people to sabotage and spread rumors himself? Why did he have to come to him and tell him about it?
Damn it!
The most damnable one is the base set up by Qin Gou, which cuts off people's source of income!
Huh, farmed kelp?
Haha, it’s so funny!
What a lowly country, do you think you can do such a fantastic thing just by asking for help from gods?
It's really laughable!
The head of the family mocked wildly in his heart, venting his dissatisfaction with his ruined image.
His eyes were vicious, like a hissing snake hiding in the dark.
If a tiger doesn't show its power, should you think it's a sick cat?
The official from Qin State dares to interfere here without even considering whose territory this is!
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