Thanks to the chaos of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the people of Guanzhong were well-versed in militarization from a young age.
Therefore, when they heard the commands "queue up" and "register," the crowd did not panic but instead became orderly.
Wang Shanbao also lined up amidst the jostling and pushing of the crowd, but he was filled with worry about the future.
How will the Crown Prince treat them?
Should they be treated like Princess Jiujiang, or should they be treated to a few meals and then driven away?
Wang Shanbao preferred to be the Crown Prince's household slave rather than a free citizen.
After all, while domestic slaves lacked personal freedom, they were well-provided for in terms of food and clothing.
However, he talked to his cousin from his third uncle's family last year and said that life in the village is much better now. Not only does everyone have food to eat, but they can also make new clothes for festivals.
If the Crown Prince really could allocate land to them and let them become free citizens, that wouldn't be bad.
While Wang Shanbao was lost in thought, he had unknowingly walked to the front of the line.
"Name!"
"ah?"
"I'm asking for your name!"
"Wang Shanbao..."
"Whose people are they?"
"What?"
"I'm asking who you worked for before!"
"Oh, oh, oh, for Princess Jiujiang..."
"What are you doing at Princess Jiujiang's residence?"
"To be...the manager of the saltworks!"
"The manager?"
The person in charge of registration immediately brightened up upon hearing this.
"Management talent!"
"What's the most people you've ever managed?"
"Managed..."
Although Wang Shanbao didn't know why the man asked that question, he instinctively felt that this was an opportunity.
Therefore, he boasted that he was in charge of a dozen or so people, but in fact he was in charge of hundreds.
"I've managed... over a hundred people!"
The person in charge of registration looked incredulous upon hearing this.
Don't lie!
"If you dare to lie, you will be punished when it is discovered!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Shanbao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly changed his words.
"I...I dare not lie. I do usually manage a dozen or so people at most, but once when the head of the gang was sick, I took over for half a month. Not only did I not make any mistakes, but I was also praised by the princess!"
"Oh oh oh..."
"Then why weren't you promoted to head of the gang?"
"Because...because I have no relatives, no connections, and am disliked by the steward of the princess's residence..."
"oh……"
Upon hearing this, the person in charge of registration stopped asking questions and only inquired about routine matters.
How many people are in your family?
"There are... one, two, three, four, five... seven people!"
"Do you still have relatives in the princess's residence?"
"It's gone!"
"The princess has driven us all out, even my parents..."
The person in charge of registration nodded upon hearing this, and then continued to ask questions.
"Do you have any special skills?"
"Special skills?"
"It's about what you're best at!"
"Oh, oh, oh, I'm best at eating salt!"
"Eating salt is hardly a special skill!"
"Even a pig will eat salt!"
“You may not know this, but what I mean by ‘eating salt’ is that I can remember any kind of salt as long as I’ve tasted it once.”
"I'm not bragging, but back in the day, I could tell where any of the dozens of types of salt sold on the market, no matter how similar their colors were, just by tasting them!"
"oh?"
"That counts as a special skill!"
"What are the others?"
"Your Excellency, I know all the processes involved in salt production!"
The person in charge of registration curled their lip in disdain upon hearing this.
"This is useless!"
“Our saltworks are different from yours. What you used to know is basically useless now. You’ll have to learn it all over again here!”
"If you have nothing to add, that's enough!"
"My lord... my wife can cook excellent soup and rice, does that count?"
"No!"
"That's your wife's specialty, what does it have to do with you!"
Wang Shanbao was stunned when he heard this. He wondered what was going on. Did his own wife also have to register?
Sure enough, someone handed Wang Shanbao a set of clothes and a name tag, then led him aside to wait, and then it was his wife's turn to register.
"Name!"
“Sun E…”
"Special skill!"
"Cooking, sewing, washing clothes, breastfeeding..."
As Sun E spoke, she deliberately puffed out her chest. She had just given birth to her third child and was currently producing plenty of milk. If the mistress of the house were to give birth, she could easily serve as a wet nurse.
"Breastfeeding..."
"Let's not talk about that. Our Crown Prince isn't married yet, so he doesn't need a wet nurse!"
"But your figure, tsk tsk... you're really cut out to be a wet nurse!"
"Now that you've registered, go stand aside with your husband and wait. Someone will take you to the workshop to report for duty!"
"Oh, by the way, how many children and elderly people do you have in your family?"
"Register everyone!"
"promise……"
It took Wang Shanbao half an hour to register the whole family.
Although he didn't know why the Crown Prince had even registered the elderly and children, he was still very grateful that he could receive two steamed buns per person after registering.
As the saying goes, "With food in hand, one has nothing to fear."
Wang Shanbao and his wife ate only one steamed bun together. They wrapped the remaining three in cloth, intending to save them for their children and parents that evening.
However, their little tricks were quickly discovered.
Eat!
"This is your breakfast. There will be more food for lunch later!"
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