In just a few months, Old Lake Town is no longer the same as it was when she left.
The original one hundred households have now more than doubled in number, and with the addition of temporary workers and some refugees, the small market town has become very lively and no longer as desolate as before.
The shops on both sides of the road are already filled with various stores, and most of the houses here were purchased and renovated by Qiao Xin.
When a region is about to develop rapidly, it will first be reflected in people's food, clothing, housing and transportation, especially houses will start to become valuable.
Since ancient times, houses have been the biggest obsession in the hearts of people in prosperous times.
Qiao Xin was no exception. When everyone still despised Laohu Town as a deserted town, she gradually bought nearly 60% of the abandoned houses in Laohu Town.
In her spare time, she renovated the house and now all the deeds are written in her name. This will become her most basic economic guarantee.
Before leaving for a long journey, Qiao Xin told Nanny Qin and Madam Xu to rent out the shops one after another.
Although it was early, the commercial street in Laohu Town was crowded with people, and the shops on both sides had already opened their doors and started doing business. Qiao Xin walked back on the smooth stone road, carrying a basket of fresh Alstroemeria.
Li Zhong came to the door early in the morning and talked about things in the apiary and the town.
"Madam, there are no flowers blooming these days, so the honey harvest has been reduced by more than half, but more and more people are coming to buy honey. Many families know that you are back, and they have sent people here early to wait for news from you."
"The nectar source is greatly affected by the weather, and no one knows what will happen next. I won't sell it for the time being, I have a use for it."
Li Zhong was a little surprised, "You keep them all?"
Qiao Xin thought for a moment, "If we keep them all, I guess it won't be enough for us! We don't know when His Majesty will need them again, so we have to prepare some."
"Okay then. I'll tell everyone to move here later."
Li Zhong now works for the Qiao family and has seen more people and things. He knows what to ask and what not to ask. Seeing that Qiao Xin stopped asking, he automatically skipped the topic.
He took the initiative to talk about the weeding of rice fields and the reservation of fruit and vegetable picking: "Now there are a lot of weeds growing in our rice seedlings that are only a few centimeters high. What should we do? Can you give me some advice?"
It wasn't her who used this trivial matter to oppose Qiao Xin. Most of the people in the town had never grown rice before, and they didn't know much about how to work in the fields, so they didn't dare to interfere. Everyone cried for everyone to see how precious Qiao Xin was to these rice seedlings.
He occasionally heard refugees from Jiangnan say that the fields needed weeding, so he came to ask!
"Don't we have a thousand ducks in the lake? From tomorrow on, we'll drive them all to the rice fields and we don't have to worry about the rest."
Li Zhong: ...
That's it? Just ducks?
Seeing his confused look, Qiao Xin had to explain: "Don't underestimate the mallards we raise. They eat everything, weeds, pests, and mud snails. There is nothing they can't chew. Now that the rice has not yet bloomed, if we drive the ducks in, we don't have to worry about the ducks stealing the millet in the fields, and we can save a lot of feed. This deal is a good deal!"
Just assign a few more people to watch over it. The ducks are more than two months old now, and it’s almost time for them to lay eggs. Bring a few more baskets with you every time you go out, so you can bring back any eggs you find.”
Li Zhong was sincerely impressed after hearing this. The old lady had really considered everything. After this operation, Qiao decided to save labor costs and feed, and also obtained a lot of duck eggs. It can be said that she achieved three goals with one stone.
Qiao Xin invited Li Zhong to have breakfast at her house, and went over all the things that needed to be done at the dinner table.
First of all, the Qiao family of Laohu Town plans to discuss with all the villagers of Laohu Town to set up a makeshift team and elect a few more village representatives. The Qiao family will no longer handle all the affairs of Laohu Town alone.
Now everyone is not as poor as when they first came. In the past six months, who among the newcomers, the former refugees, the hunters, and the later long-term workers and servants does not have three or five taels of silver in their pockets? They have a roof over their heads and live in a different world. If the Qiao family is still the only one in power at this time, it will definitely be hated by others.
Qiao Xin herself does not have much desire for power. She took on the responsibility because capable people do more work and wise people worry more. While protecting herself, she can reduce the human tragedies around her and live a more comfortable life.
She had never thought of turning Laohu Town into the Qiao family's private base in public. As long as most people in Laohu Town now depend on the Qiao family's industry, it doesn't matter whether they want to seize this public power.
The three sons of the Qiao family are all officials. If they just sit any one of them there, no one would dare to ignore him. So why should she act in a high-profile manner?
"Village head, while I'm free now, let's hold another collective meeting, mainly for the previous group of people, and you can also go and ask the later ones if they are willing to come and see. I have something important to tell everyone."
"Well, I'll go and inform them right away. Actually, everyone has been waiting for this for a long time!"
After a while, Qiao Xin heard the sound of "clang clang clang" of gongs outside.
"It's time for a meeting, it's time for a meeting. Young men, young wives, and old ladies, hurry up and gather at the wheat field."
When Liang Shengming swallowed the last bite of the wonton and prepared to order another bowl, he found that the stall owner was busy cleaning up the stall. He didn't even look at them.
She looked around and found that more than half of the shops on the street were starting to close down. He looked up at the rising sun. It was a beautiful day, why were they in such a hurry?
When the stall owner saw that he had finished eating the wontons, he immediately stepped forward to put away the bowl and chopsticks, saying, "I'm really sorry, sir. I don't have time to set up the stall today. If you want to try more, you can come back tomorrow!"
"Shopkeeper, where are you going in such a hurry? Why are you just giving up on a good business?"
"Oh, you are from another place, right? Didn't you hear our headman beating drums and gongs to notify everyone to hold a meeting? The old lady of the Qiao family came back yesterday, and she must have something good to tell everyone today. If we go too late, we won't be able to get a good seat.
"Oh, no more talking, sir, please do as you please, we have to go! Mother, hurry up!"
"Here we are, here we are, why are you in such a hurry? I have already asked the kid to bring a small stool to take up space..."
Liang Shengming saw such scenes everywhere. Children were running and shouting, and there were many people rushing there with their families. Even elderly people were using crutches to rush to where the crowds were gathering.
Most of those looking around are outsiders like them!
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