On the earthen platform, Ma Xiaoliu held a hammer in one hand and a simple loudspeaker made of rolled up iron sheets in the other.
He looked at the dark crowd below and felt a little scared.
This was his first stage appearance.
Deng Cunli needed someone who could write and calculate and was trustworthy.
The lack of talent not only causes headaches for Gu Jiu, but also for the people working below him.
The speed at which Erzhuang cultivates talents cannot keep up with the needs.
There was no other way, so Gu Jiu had to send out the few eunuchs around him.
He asked them to study hard under Deng Cunli, hoping that one day they would be able to stand on their own.
Ma Xiaoliu looked back at Eunuch Deng Cunli who was standing behind him.
Deng Cunli glared at Ma Xiaoliu, who shuddered as if he were in the imperial palace. He quickly suppressed his nervousness and became extremely alert.
Boom boom boom!
Ma Xiaoliu took a mallet and hit the gongs and drums hard.
"Everyone's here, right? I called you all here today for three main reasons."
The refugees all pricked up their ears and listened carefully, afraid of missing a single word.
The children were hungry and a little restless. Wang Lian raised her hand and hit them, "Be quiet! Listen to what the boss has to say first."
Li Sheng stood in the crowd, his face pale and his body thin, with not a pound of flesh on his body. But he was tall, and he stood out from the crowd.
He rubbed the yellow mud off his body and crushed another flea to death.
He was originally from Caizhou and his family had some property.
My hometown has been suffering from severe drought for three consecutive years. We have sold everything we could, and we have no food left. We can only eat wild vegetables and tree bark.
When there were no more wild vegetables or tree barks to eat, he had no choice but to follow the whole village to escape the famine.
As a result, they encountered a rare rainstorm on the way, the river water rose, broke the river bank, and separated the family.
The flood receded, he survived, but his family disappeared.
He didn't believe that all ten members of his family were dead.
He remembered that his family had made an appointment to go to the capital.
Maybe his family is waiting for him in the capital.
He tightened his belt, set out on the road alone, and became a refugee in the capital.
He survived by relying on the thin porridge provided by the government every day.
Since arriving in Beijing last year, he has been wandering around trying to find his family until this year.
Hope is ignited again and again, and disappointment comes again and again.
Two months ago, the lifeless refugee slum area welcomed its first job recruitment.
That time, he missed it because he was heartbroken.
In two months, he saw with his own eyes that the people around him gradually became stronger because of the work they got on the construction site. Not only could they support their families, but they also had enough money to buy a foot of cloth for their wives, so that they could at least have clothes to wear.
He also saw a young boy working on a construction site, who could bring home a few copper coins every day, as well as white flour buns that he was reluctant to eat.
It’s real white flour steamed bun.
The white steamed buns made Li Sheng drool in his dreams every day.
He also wants to eat white flour buns, he also wants to work, and he wants to save money.
When he finds his family one day, he will have enough money to buy two feet of cloth for his wife to make new clothes and two taels of brown sugar for his children.
He stretched his neck and looked at the beardless young man on the platform.
He had heard that the owner of the house was a member of the royal family, so the people in charge here were all eunuchs from the palace.
The word "father-in-law" is very intimidating.
Anyway, no one dares to act rudely in front of the eunuchs.
Ma Xiaoliu coughed twice, cleared his throat, and spoke loudly through a tin loudspeaker, "Everyone listen carefully. The first thing we need to do is recruit 500 women and children to pick up manure and clean up garbage in the lanes every day. We will also need to clear the trees and weeds on the nearby hills.
The salary is four steamed buns a day, plus three copper coins. Anyone who wants this job can line up here to sign up. Anyone who dares to fight or cause trouble will not be hired.
There was a commotion among the crowd.
Women and children swarmed towards the left side of the big locust tree.
Wang Lianshi, with her three children, was also running to the left.
While running, one of her straw sandals fell off and she had to go back to pick it up.
By the time she got in line, there were already hundreds of people in front of her.
Wang Lian felt lost and her face turned pale.
If it weren't for the straw sandals, she should have been ranked within the top 300.
She brought a few children with her and said to them, "Cheer up, there are three of us, one of us has to be chosen."
Wang Ergen nodded heavily.
He was already twelve years old and was short because of lack of food and clothing.
The construction site didn't want him because he was too young.
He envied his elder brother Wang Jiangen who could go to the construction site to work every day, eat white rice and drink bone soup every day.
Moreover, on the construction site, they could eat meat every two days, although it was only three slices of pork. Wang Ergen slurped his food, feeling really envious.
I heard that those craftsmen can eat meat twice a day.
He looked ahead eagerly, determined to be chosen.
In this way, there would be four steamed buns and three copper coins every day.
When he had saved up a hundred copper coins, he would buy a pair of straw sandals and eat meat.
The team progressed quickly, some people were selected and some were eliminated.
Those who were chosen cried with joy.
Even if the eliminated people were dissatisfied, they dared not complain, because the guards standing next to them were wearing swords and holding sticks.
These guards are not vegetarians.
In the past, if someone cut in line, sticks would rain down like raindrops and they would be beaten half to death.
There was also a homeless bully who caused trouble, and as a result, he disappeared from the slum area two days later.
Some say he was thrown into a pond and drowned.
Some people were buried alive on the mountain.
Some people said that he was caught and beaten to death by the government.
No matter what you say, it all means death.
These guards, using sticks in their hands, taught the refugees what it meant to be obedient and have food to eat, and what it meant to queue up.
On the platform, Ma Xiaoliu was announcing the second thing.
"The second task requires a thousand laborers to dig ditches. The wages are two meals of brown rice, four steamed buns, and meat soup a day, plus eight copper coins a day. Those who want to work should line up on the right to sign up. Anyone who dares to fight or cause trouble will be kicked out."
boom!
The group of refugees exploded as if firecrackers were lit.
The men ran to the right desperately, fearing that they would be too late to register.
Li Sheng took advantage of his height and long legs and ran ahead.
Since he had a bowl of watery porridge yesterday at noon, he hadn't eaten a grain of rice for a whole day and night.
He was very hungry.
He ran at the fastest speed in his life to the front of the line, but he felt a little dizzy and nervous.
He tightened his belt; he must have been very hungry.
He is quite strong and will definitely be selected.
Boom boom boom!
Three more gongs and drums sounded.
Ma Xiaoliu held up a metal loudspeaker and spoke loudly, "One last thing. Over at the construction site, the first batch of tenement buildings are about to be completed. Anyone looking to buy a house can come here for consultation. They're always busy. Oh, and don't worry if you don't have money; you can work to pay for the rent. Besides the tenement buildings, there are also two-story houses with individual entrances and exits."
No movement.
How can you buy a house if you can’t even afford to eat?
Few people took the so-called third thing to heart.
But Li Sheng listened to it.
A slum?
A two-story building?
Can I work to pay for my rent?
He felt a little itchy in his heart.
If I could be selected, eight copper coins a day would be something I could hope for.
Once you find your family, you won’t have to live in a shack anymore and can move directly into a new house.
But, aren’t you going back to your hometown?
Li Sheng was very conflicted.
But he didn't hesitate for long, because it was soon his turn.
Ma Xiaoliu was a little embarrassed. "House, what do you want? People work hard all their lives just to have a roof over their heads." Why didn't these people react?
He turned around and looked at Deng Cunli.
Deng Cunli didn't care.
The main target of the first phase of the project was not these refugees who could not even get enough food to eat.
Those who really have purchasing power and are willing to buy houses are the craftsmen working on construction sites and the refugees who have income.
This is also the first group of people to be relocated in the plan.
For the second group of people planned to be relocated, violence will inevitably be used when necessary.
But it's not time yet.
If we want to carry out a second large-scale relocation, we must first ensure that most families have someone working and earning money.
Since last year, we have been conducting surveys and registrations of these refugees.
Information on tens of thousands of refugees, including their place of origin, reasons for their arrival, whether they had committed any crime, their family structure, and the number of laborers in their families, had already been registered.
When recruiting workers, it is not just about whether they have the labor force or not, but also whether they can endure hardship.
We also need to see how many workers there are in this family and how many of them are already working.
If a family has three workers and two of them have already found jobs, then the remaining worker, sorry, must give the opportunity to another family.
In order to accommodate these refugees, they must be distributed equally to a certain extent.
If the food cannot be distributed equally, then some work must be distributed equally.
Finally, it was the Wang Lian family's turn.
"Where are you from?" the waiter glanced at the family and asked seriously.
Wang Lian was very nervous. She rubbed the corner of her clothes and whispered, "I'm from Caizhou."
The guy understood.
Caizhou suffered severe drought for several consecutive years, and many people fled from famine.
Some went to the south, and some came to the capital.
Many people died along the way.
The waiter picked up the Caizhou population registration book and asked, "What's your husband's surname?"
"My last name is Wang."
Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li...
Population registration, sorted by the Hundred Family Surnames.
"King of what?"
"Wang Lianshi."
"What's your son's name?"
Wang Ergen took the initiative to step forward and said, "My name is Wang Ergen, my brother is Wang Jiangen, and I work as a laborer on the construction site."
The guy nodded and quickly found Wang Ergen's family.
"Is Wang Jiangen the only one working in your family now?"
Wang Lian nodded repeatedly and said cautiously, "Only my eldest son is working. There are many people in the family, and the food he earns from working is not enough to eat."
The guy said nothing.
He glanced at the steward beside him, who nodded slightly.
The clerk said expressionlessly, "Wang Ergen, you're hired. Take this note and go to the next door to complete the paperwork. Next!"
Wang Ergen was overjoyed and held the note tightly, fearing that it would fall.
Wang Lianshi was anxious, "Then, what about me?"
The guy said rudely, "If we recruit your son, you won't have a chance. Don't block it, next one."
Wang Lian was a little flustered and wanted to ask more questions, but was pushed away by the person behind her.
The people behind him were very dissatisfied and muttered, "Your son has been hired, what else do you want? Do you want your whole family to be hired as well?"
Wang Lian's face turned red and she quickly left with the children.
Wang Ergen took the note and went next door.
The clerk took the note, took a look at it, took out a wooden stick, dipped the brush in a little red paint, and wrote Wang Ergen's name, age, hometown, and date.
After blowing the paint dry, I handed it to him and said, "Here you go to work with this and get your wages and food. If you lose it, you must replace it in time."
Wang Ergen gripped the wooden stick tightly, as if he was holding not an identity badge but a priceless treasure.
He had seen similar wooden strips on his elder brother Wang Jiangen.
The eldest brother treated the wooden stick as a treasure and would not allow anyone to touch it.
He had heard from his elder brother that without wooden strips, he wouldn't get paid for his work.
Someone on the construction site once dropped a wooden plank. Before replacing it, he didn't have a chance to eat or receive a penny of wages.
Wang Ergen looked all over his body and found that it was inconvenient to put the wooden stick anywhere.
Fortunately, there was a hole on the wooden stick. He found a string to string it together and hung it around his neck without having to worry about it falling off.
On the big locust tree, in the crowd, many people already had a piece of wood around their necks.
Anyone who has a wooden stick will be looked at with envy by others.
They subconsciously puffed out their chests to distinguish themselves from those who were unemployed.
Even though they were still hungry and hadn't received a penny, those who had wooden sticks felt that they were superior to others.
Wang Lian was very happy and envious.
She didn't expect Ergen to be selected.
"Mom, the manager just said that I have to go to work today. I can go home tonight with steamed buns and my wages."
Wang Lian cried with joy, "Great, great. You and your elder brother both have jobs, and good days are coming for our family soon."
Wang Ergen grinned.
Li Sheng also had a wooden stick hung around his neck and gathered with a group of young men.
The recruitment process was very fast, and by the time the sun came out, the 500 women and children had been recruited.
The men selected ten captains from among them, each captain had fifty men under him.
"Remember, each team has its own mission area. Teams that fail to complete their mission will have their wages reduced by half."
The rules set by Gu Jiu only deduct wages, not food rations.
The women and children were buzzing with discussion, and the ten men chosen as captains were suddenly under immense pressure.
The clerk continued, "No fighting, no cheating. Anyone who disobeys will have their sticks taken away and kicked out. Choose someone else to take over."
Everyone's heart sank and they were a little nervous.
I heard that dozens of people have been replaced at the construction site because of laziness.
"Everyone gets one set of tools. Anyone who dares to hide the tools or secretly takes them home will have their wages cut in half."
Those who had originally thought of taking the tools became panicked and quickly gave up the idea.
The guys assigned the tasks, and the five hundred people started working under the leadership of their respective captains.
If the task for the day is not completed, wages will be deducted.
No one wants to have their wages docked.
The leader of Wang Ergen's team was a stout woman in her thirties. It was said that she had previously worked as a laborer and a manager for a landlord.
Under the leadership of the team leader, everyone received the tools and came to the place where the land was to be marked.
Wang Ergen was assigned to pick up dung balls.
He was full of fighting spirit and felt a sense of superiority even when picking up dung balls.
…
A thousand strong laborers were gathered together, also in teams of fifty.
Because Li Sheng could read, he was appointed as the team leader.
He led the team, took hoes, shovels, shoulder poles, and baskets, and set off for the mission area.
As required, they had to dig a ditch.
According to the design drawing, the ditch dug by Li Sheng and his team was an underground sewage channel.
After the channel is dug, a stone road will be built on it.
After several days of strong sunshine, the ground was hardened by the sun.
Every time I used the hoe, my hands were shaking.
Li Sheng spat on his hands and rubbed them.
I haven't worked in the fields for a year and I can hardly swing the hoe.
Today's task is quite heavy, and he is the team leader, so he cannot be lazy and must take the lead.
Even if you are hungry, you must use all your strength.
If he fails to complete the mission, his wages will be cut in half. He will be killed by his teammates.
The sun is getting higher.
The aunt from the logistics team brought over a few buckets of buckwheat tea.
Everyone drank tea in batches to replenish water.
More importantly, buckwheat tea can give a tired and hungry body a boost of energy, allowing it to work hard until noon, and then have brown rice to eat and broth to drink.
After drinking tea, continue working.
At noon, under the shade of trees near the construction site.
Li Sheng took the ceramic bowl and ate the brown rice quickly with pickles.
Meals are provided at the construction site.
He ate three bowls in one go and drank two bowls of broth.
Touching his round belly, he felt very satisfied.
How long has it been since he had a full stomach?
One year?
Two years?
Three years, five years?
Anyway, he hadn't had a proper meal since the disaster, let alone a bowl of broth.
The satisfaction after eating washed away the fatigue and tiredness in the body.
I really want to eat brown rice and drink meat broth every day for the rest of my life.
Like Li Sheng, the others felt it was unreal to eat their fill for the first time in years.
"The boss is kind!"
"I'm so full I can't move."
"Hurry up and lie down and get some sleep. You have to work in the afternoon."
"Woo woo...I want to take the broth back home for my family."
Bang!
The crying boy received a slap on the head.
"Why are you crying? There are steamed buns for dinner. Take them home."
When working on a construction site, you can only bring back steamed cornbread.
That's the rule.
The reason for establishing this rule was that workers might go to work hungry every day, not wanting to eat for their families. This would not only delay the construction period, but could also cost them their lives.
The second is the worry that someone will embezzle the money and take it for themselves.
Food also costs money, it’s not something that falls from the sky.
If a construction site wants to control costs, it must put an end to any behavior that harms the public interest and benefits oneself.
Someone once secretly hid a rice ball and was caught, beaten, and fined ten days' wages. This was used as a model for publicity in the refugee slums.
If it happens a second time, kick him out immediately.
Since then, many hands that were ready to take action have withdrawn.
How many rice balls can I buy with ten days’ wages?
What a loss.
Of course, some people don't believe it and insist on challenging the rules of the construction site.
The result is being kicked out with no way out.
If Li Sheng is full, the whole family will not be hungry.
He doesn't have to bring rice balls to anyone, nor does he have to worry about whether to bring rice balls or not.
After eating and drinking, he lay down on the ground and went to sleep.
I still have to work in the afternoon, so I need to take good time to rest.
Wang Jiangen finished his meal and his mouth was covered in oil.
There is meat to eat today.
The aunt in charge of logistics gave him three slices of the fattiest meat, which made him very happy.
It feels so good to eat meat.
After eating meat, I felt full of strength.
After dinner, the captain called them together for a talk.
"The house on the construction site was built by us ourselves, brick by brick. I don't need to tell you how it is, you all know it."
Everyone nodded, not knowing what the captain was up to.
The captain asked, "Do you want to live in the new house?"
A man grinned and said, "Captain, you're such a joke. We're not worthy of living in such a nice house."
"Who said I was joking?" The captain said with a serious face.
The man was stunned. "Is it really livable?"
The captain smiled and said, "The boss is considerate of us and has given us the opportunity to live in a new house. It's a quadrangle courtyard with a well, and each room costs eight taels of silver."
If you don't have the money, don't worry. You can pay it off in three installments. However, paying it off in three years will cost you one tael of silver, requiring nine taels of silver. Alternatively, you can pay it off in five installments, requiring ten taels of silver per room. This is the price of the main house.
The smaller side rooms on the left and right are 6 taels of silver each, with 7 taels to be paid in three years and 8 taels to be paid in five years. There is also a two-story building, which can be purchased upstairs and downstairs. However, it is too expensive, so I won't give the specific price.
There was complete silence.
Everyone was confused.
Everyone is satisfied as long as they can have enough food to eat, support their families, and buy two decent sets of clothes.
I never thought I could buy a house.
This impact is quite big.
The key point is that the house is really solid, and it is in the capital. Sixty or seven taels of silver per room is quite expensive in my hometown, but it is really not expensive in the capital.
Although everyone fled famine, lived in shacks, and relied on relief, they all knew that prices in the capital were high.
"This, this, this, is this true?"
"Of course it's true. How could I lie to you? See those craftsmen over there? Some of them are planning to buy a courtyard house, and some are planning to buy a two-story house."
"How much will that cost?"
"Craftsmen are paid well, so they don't have to worry about running out of money."
“After buying a house, can I still go back to my hometown?”
"Once you buy a house, you can settle down in Beijing."
"Isn't it possible to go back home?"
"If you want to go back to your hometown, don't buy a house. If you want to buy a house, you don't have to go back to your hometown."
"Houses are too expensive. I can't afford them."
"Captain, do you want to buy a house?"
"I plan to buy two houses. One for my own use and one to rent out for rent."
"The captain is amazing."
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