353, Recruitment
353, Recruitment
On this day, officials from the yamen posted several notices at the city gate and at the entrances of restaurants and inns in the city.
An illiterate old man carrying a load from outside the city stood before the notice and could not understand a single word. He asked a young man standing next to him, "What's on that?"
"This notice says that the government office is recruiting workers, regardless of gender, and ages ranging from fifteen to fifty. Anyone who can work should go and sign up at the government office." The young man was wearing a half-iron mask on his face. It was Fu Lianxin, who could not show his true face to others.
After all, he is now a dead man outside.
Although he might not run into anyone who knew him in this Northern County, who could guarantee that he wouldn't? So, to avoid implicating those who had helped him, he changed his identity and name, concealed half his face, and walked the world with a completely new identity.
This time, taking the opportunity to deliver food, he also visited his family who had settled in the countryside. Today he returned to the city to say goodbye to Lu Mingfei.
Seeing something posted on the city gate, he took a look out of curiosity and found out that it was a job recruitment notice posted by the government office.
Judging from the handwriting above, it was written by their county magistrate himself.
Seeing that the people around him were illiterate, he raised his voice and told everyone what was written on the notice.
However, the people around changed their expressions when they heard it.
Realizing that everyone had misunderstood something, Fu Lianxin quickly finished what he hadn't finished saying: "It's also written here that there is compensation for government recruitment."
"The wages are ten cents a day, paid on the same day, and two meals are provided. The working hours are from the beginning of Chenshi to the end of Shenshi." It was the first time he saw such a notice written in such a simple and easy-to-understand way.
However, it is quite understandable. This way of writing the notice is also in line with their Lord Lu's personality and way of doing things.
"Really? Is there such a good thing?" A middle-aged man next to him asked in disbelief.
The people around them also looked incredulous, because in the past, the government asked them to work and never offered any compensation or food.
Is this new county magistrate so kind? He must have tricked them into working for him and offered them nothing.
"There's the county magistrate's seal on it, so it must be real. Could the new county magistrate still be able to deceive us?" Fu Lianxin pointed at the seal on the notice and told the people around him.
Then, regardless of whether anyone believed him or not, he turned and walked out of the crowd, got on the carriage waiting outside, and went into the city.
So Fu Lianxin didn't know that after he left, more and more people gathered outside the city gate to read the notice.
It was the place in the city where the notices were posted, and there were a lot of people gathered around to read them.
***
The carriage stopped in front of the county government office. Fu Lianxin got off the carriage and walked into the government office.
Led by the guards, they came to see their Lord Lu.
When he saw Lord Lu, he even bowed formally and said, "I greet Lord Lu."
"Oh, what are you trying to do to me?"
Lu Mingfei grabbed Fu Lianxin's hand and slapped him, "Don't try to play that on me. You and I are not outsiders. Don't talk about common people and masters."
Fu Lianxin dodged, avoiding Lu Mingfei's hand that was about to hit him, and laughed too.
Lu Mingfei probably guessed some of Fu Lianxin's inner thoughts. He grabbed Fu Lianxin's hand, pushed him down on the chair, and told him seriously: "No matter who I am, our friendship will never change."
"To you, I will always be Lu Mingfei, not Lord Lu." He did not want to create any identity gap between him and his friends because of his professional identity.
Because in Lu Mingfei's own view, being an official is just a job, and it does not affect the way he gets along with his friends.
Fu Lianxin was initially a bit worried. He was now just an ordinary person who couldn't even show his face. Meanwhile, Lu Mingfei was still an official in the government. Their statuses were now vastly different. After meeting Lu Mingfei, would he have to correct his own status and not be on equal footing with him?
But now after hearing what Lu Mingfei said, he knew that he was worrying too much.
Knowing that Fu Lianxin had visited his family yesterday, Lu Mingfei sat down on a chair next to him and said, "I've been busy lately and haven't had time to visit your family. You went to see them this time. How are they doing over there?"
"They have all settled down in their new residence. My father asked me to tell you that thanks to your help, they were able to get here safely." Fu Lianxin was very grateful to Lu Mingfei for this.
Fu Lianxin knew very well in his heart that if it were not for Lu Mingfei's help, not only his own life, but also his family would have died on the road of exile.
And now, because Lu Mingfei helped them, not only did he not die, but none of his family members died either, and they all made it here alive. Although the whole family now lives in a thatched hut in a village in the countryside, being able to survive is already a great blessing.
"My uncle has already thanked me, so you don't need to thank him again. Let's not talk about thanking him again in the future." Lu Mingfei waved his hand a little embarrassedly. He was just following his conscience and doing what he thought he should do.
I don't deserve others' repeated thanks.
Fu Lianxin knew Lu Mingfei's character and nodded with a smile.
Thinking of the notice he saw at the city gate when he entered the city, he asked Lu Mingfei, "What are you recruiting for?"
"There's a lot of work to do, and the few people in the government office right now can't finish it all."
Seeing Fu Lianxin asking, Lu Mingfei counted carefully, "In a few days, the village heads and headmen from each township will come over. I have to recruit people to clean up a few houses for them to live in."
"There are quite a few vacant houses in this city. I plan to hire people to clean them up and rent them out to passing merchants and vendors, or people who need housing."
"The county school has been closed for so long, I plan to reopen it and recruit a few teachers who are literate and skilled in crafts. I'll have them teach the children to read and learn some crafts that can help them make a living."
"Also, the walls of Li County are too dilapidated. It would be fine if we hadn't encountered the Hu soldiers. But if the Hu soldiers crossed the border, no one in our city would have survived."
"So, I plan to build a military castle. If we encounter the Hu people, we can close the city gates and the enemy can't attack from the outside, and we can protect the people inside."
"Now that I'm the magistrate of Li County, I should provide the people here with a place to shelter from the wind and rain, right?"
"Moreover, if we build a castle here, it can also serve as a rear base for Pingzhou City. If anything happens in the future, we can provide food and supplies to Pingzhou City." Lu Mingfei also mentioned some other ideas to Fu Lianxin.
However, when Fu Lianxin heard that Lu Mingfei wanted to build such a small and shabby county into a castle, he was worried about the cost. "This will probably cost a lot of money."
"Of course we need money. However, if we can't build it in one year, we won't be afraid to spend two, three, or even ten years. I plan to enclose the area first, and then slowly develop it inside." Lu Mingfei naturally knew that building a city would cost a lot, and it was impossible for the court to allocate money to them for the project.
Moreover, in the current situation, the imperial court is already busy with its own affairs and has no time to care about the lives of local officials and people.
Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei began to understand why the princes rebelled. The imperial court had no money to allocate to the local areas when natural disasters or man-made disasters struck, so they had to rely entirely on themselves to fend for themselves. However, the imperial court still required them to pay grain taxes and tribute every year, and also required these princes to pay tribute to the imperial court.
If it were him... thinking about the people under his jurisdiction paying grain taxes to the court after the autumn harvest when they themselves could not even get enough to eat, he also wanted to leave the court.
However, there is no movement from Prince Ding yet, and these local officials certainly cannot take the lead in rebelling against the court.
How about finding an opportunity and letting Prince Zhao act as a middleman so that he can meet Prince Ding? Lu Mingfei touched his chin, thinking about this matter.
Fu Lianxin reminded him, "If you take up your post in three years, you will most likely be transferred elsewhere."
"Who can predict what will happen in the future? Don't you think so?" Lu Mingfei didn't think that the court could last for another three years in its current situation.
After hearing Lu Mingfei's words, Fu Lianxin also thought of this.
If that is the case, then their Fu family would have a chance to rise again?
Thinking of this, Fu Lianxin asked, "Ming Fei, are there any restrictions on hiring people for work here?"
"The age range is from fifteen to fifty, and sixty is also acceptable. There is no gender restriction." When Lu Mingfei heard Fu Lianxin ask this, he knew what Fu Lianxin meant. He took the initiative to ask, "I wonder if your father and others think my temple is too small?"
"If they don't mind, I'd like to ask them to come out and help. I wonder if they would be willing?"
"Of course they are willing. How about I go back later and ask them what they think? If they are willing to come, I will bring them to you?" Fu Lianxin asked.
"I'll go with you. I'll visit everyone by the way." Lu Mingfei thought that it would be awkward for a junior like him not to go and ask the elders to come out to help, so he said.
However, Fu Lianxin knew that Lu Mingfei was busy at the moment, so he said, "Aren't you busy here? Just stay here, I'll go by myself."
"It's okay, it only takes half a day. No matter how urgent the matter is, it's not as important as meeting my uncle and the others." Lu Mingfei still knew how to prioritize. Once he invited helpers, he would be able to relax a little.
Otherwise, like now, I have to do all the work by myself, which will tire me to death and I will never finish the work.
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