This year, the government needs a large number of people to perform hard labor.
However, the casualties in Anping County were not significant, so it's unlikely that a few more people would be of any use.
The government could easily make an exception and use money to exempt the people of Chijia'ao from corvée labor.
In previous years, it would cost five or eight taels of silver to exempt one person from this expense, but this year it might only cost one or two taels.
They can pay for it first, and the villagers can pay it back gradually later.
All we need to do is negotiate the soap sale with Ms. Qiao, and then have her build the soap workshop in Chijia'ao.
Or perhaps they produce it themselves and then sell it to the Qiao family.
By then, they won't be worried about the villagers not having a stable source of income.
Naturally, the money will definitely be able to be repaid!
Chi Qiao had many thoughts on her mind. When she left with Qin Mu and the others, all the baskets in the courtyard were taken away with her.
At the same time, the three stones that Qin Mu had just smashed were also taken away.
Although it was already dark and the magistrate should have already left the office by now, Fang Shizhong did not rest.
The reconstruction of Anping County after the earthquake was a real headache for him.
Each county town is not formed in just a few years.
It's not something that can be solved by spending tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Especially in a county town with a population of fifty or sixty thousand.
Given the existing terrain conditions, we also need manpower, material resources, and financial resources.
These three are indispensable!
Currently, Anping County is short of manpower. Everyone is either anxious about spring plowing or busy with their own construction, let alone anything else.
Coupled with the threats of various unstable environments around him, he was extremely worried.
If he were a prince with great power, rebuilding a county town would be a piece of cake.
But now he is just a county magistrate from a noble family, and since the noble family can't help him, he has to rely on himself for everything.
In order to safely weather various natural disasters, his mother had given him a lot of money.
We haven't even recouped much of that investment yet, and now we need a lot more money.
No matter how much money the Empress Dowager has, it can withstand his extravagant spending.
As for his uncle, the Emperor's rewards and the wealth under the Marquis's name were not enough for him to support those wounded soldiers!
The wealthy businessmen in Anping County are not doing well themselves, so how much can they donate?
Just as Fang Shizhong was racking his brains trying to figure out where to get the money, Qin Mu arrived.
It's unclear whether Officer Lü learned something from Magistrate Zheng.
After Master Li was arrested, he voluntarily took on the roles of both constable and advisor.
But he knew he wasn't very learned and didn't have the brains to back it up, so most of the time he would just stand outside the door or follow from a distance.
He only gave his opinion when Fang Shizhong asked him.
Similarly, Fang Shizhong did not rest, nor did he go home.
When Qin Mu arrived with his men, he was standing guard outside Fang Shizhong's study where he was handling official business.
Upon seeing him, he nodded to Qin Mu, then reached out and knocked on the door.
"My lord, Master Mu has arrived!"
Yes, Constable Lü had been in the yamen for a long time, so he knew a thing or two.
Unlike other ordinary people in the county, he didn't turn pale at the mention of Qin Mu.
He guessed that Qin Mu might still hold an official position, but he didn't know why he had returned or why he kept appearing at the yamen.
But he knew that their Lord Fang and the County Commandant both trusted Qin Mu very much.
So when he saw Qin Mu, even though the other man was younger than him, he still respectfully called him "Master Mu".
Fang Shizhong, who was in the study, hurriedly replied upon hearing Qin Mu's arrival:
"Let him in!"
"yes!"
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