Although this Miss Yu said she was buying land to do business, she was actually saving the people who had suffered from the disaster.
"You're too kind." Yu Jiao didn't think she was doing a good deed. She was just making things convenient for others and herself. In this way, the food used to give out porridge to help refugees could be saved and replaced with the rations on the employment contracts.
Giving alms and gifts may sound noble and clean, but it has too many disadvantages. As the saying goes, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.
The crowd was pushing and shoving, and Yu Jiao reminded them, "Don't worry, line up and take turns signing the land sales and employment contracts. If you can't finish it today, you can still get a turn tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
Hearing the sound, everyone in the yard stepped back obediently and formed a long queue.
The sturdy man who spoke earlier was standing in the front. Yu Jiao asked the waiter to move a stool and let the sturdy man sit down. She first signed the land deed, then took out the employment contract and asked the man to press his fingerprints on it.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a middle-aged man in a blue cloth shirt and a yamen runner entered the yard.
Seeing the officials coming, everyone in the courtyard fell silent, fearing that the officials were coming to disrupt the land transaction.
The middle-aged man in the blue shirt spotted Yu Jiao sitting at the table. He walked past the crowd of people in the yard, approached Yu Jiao, bowed, and said in a friendly tone with a smile on his face, "Miss Yu, I am the chief clerk of the county government of Qiyun County. My surname is Wu."
Yu Jiao stood up and called out politely, "Master Wu."
Wu Zhubu smiled and said, "When Magistrate Shao heard that the young lady wanted to buy and sell land, he ordered me to sign the deed for her and enter it into the deed register."
Yu Jiao was not surprised. She asked her servant to go to the county government yesterday to inquire about a large number of land transfer deeds and employment contracts that should be kept in the government. Today, Chief Clerk Wu came to her house on his own initiative. She was afraid that the Shao family was worried about offending Gu Yun, so they deliberately made things convenient for her and tried to please her.
Such a convenience should not be wasted, she said with a smile, "Then I'll have to trouble Chief Wu."
He asked the servant to bring another chair into the room, and Wu Zhubu also sat down at the desk. The yamen runner who came with him placed the book basket he brought on the table.
Wu Zhubu took out paper, pen, and the official seal of the yamen for signing the contract and other items and placed them on the table.
"Then let's continue. With Chief Wu here, you don't have to make another trip to the yamen with me." Yu Jiao looked at everyone in the courtyard and spoke.
In the past, people who bought and sold land would go to the government office themselves, but Miss Yu was so capable that people from the government office came to their house in person to help them sign the deed. Everyone felt more relieved and waited quietly.
Yu Jiao said to the strong man who had signed the land deed and the labor contract, "Fat land is paid 4 taels per mu, and poor land is paid 2 taels per mu, a total of 40 taels. The wages are linked to the harvest and will be settled once a year. One month's rations will be paid first."
The sturdy man nodded quickly.
Yu Fuling, who was standing by, counted out forty taels of silver from the cash box and handed it to the strong man. The people behind him saw the silver and their eyes lit up, and they were all a little envious.
The strong man was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He took the silver, bit it with his teeth, and then put it in his arms.
Yu Jiao handed the signed deed to Wu Zhubu. After reading it, Wu Zhubu pressed the official seal and wrote it on the book.
The people behind were a little impatient. Behind the strong man was a dark and fat woman, holding a boy in her hand. The boy had a pale and thin face.
She looked at Yu Jiao and said in a somewhat stiff tone, "Miss Yu, my husband is dead. I have three acres of land at home and a seven-year-old boy. Do you think I can sign this employment contract? Don't look at me as a woman. I am no less strong than men!"
Yu Jiao looked at the boy. He was so thin and small that you couldn't tell he was already seven years old.
She smiled and said to the woman, "The woman's annual ration is two dan, and the child has one dan. If converted into farmland, it would be just about three mu of land. It can be signed."
The woman's tense face relaxed, and she pressed her fingerprints on the land deed and the employment deed. She received the money from selling the land and a month's ration. She touched her son's head and said with red eyes, "Now we have something to eat."
The boy looked at the grain bag, his eyes lit up, and he swallowed, "Mom, I'm hungry."
"Go home and I'll cook for you." said the woman lovingly.
The woman looked at Yu Jiao again, bowed to her gratefully, and promised, "Miss Yu, I will definitely do a good job and will do no less work than the men."
Yu Jiao curled the corners of her lips, revealing a clean and warm smile.
The woman took the child away, and the people behind her continued to report their land, population, and labor. Everything went on in an orderly manner.
Those who meet the requirements will sign the employment contract, and those who do not meet the requirements and fail to sign the employment contract will look disappointed but will not complain.
They were busy until noon, and there were still many people queuing in the courtyard. Yu Fuling prepared the meal. Since she and Yu Jiao were both women, they set a table of food in the front hall and invited Wu Zhubu and the yamen runner to have dinner.
She, Yu Jiao and the servants were busy in the yard again, distributing meals to the people queuing in the yard, one portion for each person, and then went back to the backyard to eat.
The people in the yard didn't expect that they would be able to eat. They squatted in the yard with their meals in their hands, feeling more and more grateful to Yu Jiao.
After hearing this, Wu Zhubu, who was having dinner in the front hall, couldn't help but feel thoughtful.
The yamen runner sighed, "This Miss Yu is really a kind person."
"This woman should not be underestimated, for she may have great ambitions." Wu Zhubu said in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" the bailiff asked in confusion.
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