After discussing with Liu Xu, Ru Yi, and the two elders of the Hou family, Cen Ang and Liu Xu decided to open a paper mill in every city of Beining.
Wang Zheng was definitely going to disperse and resettle the displaced people; there was no reason why the newly appointed prefect wouldn't know about these methods.
If they're going to do big things, they'll do the biggest things. Their paper mills will be all over Beining. This is just the first step. In the future, they'll have a presence throughout the entire Dayan.
Not only that, this time He Xiaoniangzi also joined in, along with Wang Buyou, who has been hanging around her lately.
"Master Cen, why don't you open a brothel in Beining? Let me tell you, the Lady of Beining is incredibly wealthy."
"These are not good times. There are so many refugees. It's not appropriate for high-ranking officials and nobles to indulge in such blatant entertainment. Haven't you seen how my daughter has been called in for beauty treatments lately?"
Ugh, so annoying.
Young Master Wang was unhappy. He wanted to use his mother's credit card. His mother was very rich. Why didn't he bring her over first?
"What about the maternity and children's home? Will the prefect still build it? If not, what will happen to those women..." He Qingzhu asked, since it was indeed unsafe for orphans and widows to live in the village.
"We're not building any more. For all our paper mills, aside from the heavy manual labor, we'll prioritize hiring these women."
"Can it accommodate so many people?"
"That's about right, if it doesn't work, we'll think of something else."
He Xiaoniangzi came from a gentry family and had seen a lot of things in the countryside. It was common for the big families in the village to gang up on you and bully you.
You want to resist? They outnumber you, you can't win a fight. You want to report it to the authorities? Without evidence, without anyone to verify it, the government can't even investigate.
Either you leave this village, or you join them in their corrupt ways.
"Mom, I'm so hungry!"
Outside Pingyang County, fortunately, after a year of rest in the mountains, there was still some food at the foot of the mountains, but it has all been looted in the past few days. Some daring people wanted to explore further in, but were dissuaded several times by the locals. Unable to bear the hunger any longer, they went and never returned.
The woman was holding a boy in her arms; he was her only remaining family member in the world. She had endured countless hardships along the way, and now he was finally here.
The woman looked towards the city gate tower, where the three large characters "Pingyang County" stood out prominently.
I wonder if this place can offer them, mother and daughter, a way to survive.
"Mom will go get you something to eat."
The woman stood up and walked towards the county town gate, where the main gate was tightly closed, with only a side gate open for people from the county to pass through.
"Sir, I have a few coins left. Could you...could you exchange them for some food? My child is starving. He hasn't eaten for two days and has barely drunk any water. Please!"
The woman's face was mottled with black and gray, and her clothes were thin, but the child in her arms was wrapped up tightly, with only the little face showing.
Fortunately, there are no child abductors in Pingyang County, and no one dares to snatch children, which is the most comforting thing for women.
Do you have a travel permit?
She nodded hastily and took the travel permit from the blanket wrapped around the child.
"have!"
"Sun Ye?"
"Yes, sir, it's me."
Where is your man?
"Dead"
The woman's face was expressionless, as if all the hardships she had endured along the way had numbed her, to the point that she could calmly state the fact that her husband had left her.
Sun Ye had prepared himself to be beaten before he arrived. Along the way, being beaten had become a common occurrence as he traveled with the refugees to this place.
"Here, eat your food before you leave."
The soldier guarding the city gate handed her two sesame cakes and a water bag, saying...
The woman wept with joy.
"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
After saying that, he knelt down and kowtowed to them several times, which made the two Northeastern men standing guard at the door feel uneasy, since it was just a meal.
Yes, it's just a meal.
Because of this very food, countless families have been torn apart, countless homes have been destroyed, and countless people have been forced to leave their homes.
Why is living so difficult?
Huo Xiaolong, inside the city gate, watched everything happening outside. The sesame cakes and water were brought over by her, Hou Xiangxiang, and Da Nier. Wang Zheng's son had also arrived. Only those who had reached their limit would come to the guards at the gate to beg for food.
The little dumpling felt a pang of sadness and reached out her little hand to rub her chest.
"Sir... there are still a few children among us. Could I take this pancake back and share it with them?"
Sun Ye cautiously observed the expressions on the two men's faces. These two gentlemen seemed to have good intentions, but what if... what if things went wrong?
She didn't come here alone. All the orphans and widows among the refugees gathered together. They risked their lives to get here. If anyone dared to touch them or their children, these women would fight to the death with their belongings.
There was famine; some people even resorted to cannibalism.
Therefore, Sun Ye is not afraid of death. Even if she dies, her other sisters will take good care of her son. She trusts this kind of friendship that she risked her life for, and she trusts them even more than she would entrust her child to her husband.
The two armored men took a deep breath, turned around and looked at the children, the three little girls with longing eyes, and the prefect's son following behind.
The young boy nodded to him, agreeing, since his father would send someone to distribute porridge soon anyway.
"Call them over; they can only eat here, they can't take them away."
"Okay! Then my child will..."
Give it to me, and I'll watch over him for you.
The man took the child from the woman's arms. At first, the boy was a little nervous and wanted to cry in the arms of a stranger. Then his attention was drawn to the glittering armor.
"Hehe! It's cold!"
The boy reached out and touched the armor.
"Mom! It's cold."
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