The crowd below immediately fell silent. A small door on the side of the city gate opened, and guards carried out more than a dozen tables, which were then arranged at the city gate.
Guards came out to maintain order, dividing the group into several teams and having them line up in front of the table.
Everyone obediently followed instructions, and no one dared to complain.
Then buckets of porridge were carried out, and Zhang and Aunt Li, along with a sturdy woman, stood behind the table with ladles, ready to serve porridge to everyone.
Under the command of the guards, teams began to serve porridge in an orderly manner, with each person receiving a large spoonful. Those who received porridge would then leave and go to the back to eat.
The guards on the city wall kept a watchful eye with their bows and arrows, and no one dared to cheat or cause trouble.
The porridge was finished before noon. Zhang and her men took away the porridge buckets, leaving the table unmoved. More than twenty guards remained at the city gate.
Before long, Lin Fu led his men to post the copied announcement outside the city wall.
After Lin Fu left, the refugees gathered around him. Most of them were illiterate, and they stared at the notice for a long time without understanding what it said.
What does it say on this?
"Make way! Make way, why are you crowding in front if you don't know the words?" A migrant worker pointed to the top two characters and shouted, "Public, Announcement..."
Hundreds of eyes were fixed on him, listening quietly as he continued reading.
But the refugee couldn't recognize any of the characters below. He could only recognize those two characters because he had heard a scholar read the announcement aloud when he went to the city before.
"I don't know the characters below."
If it weren't for the bodyguards standing by, everyone would have wanted to beat him up.
You say he only knows two words, that's utterly useless.
So, one of the refugees mustered up his courage and asked the guard, "Sir, what does it say on this?"
The guard didn't say anything. He walked to the notice, glanced at what was written on it, and then read it aloud with a deep breath.
After he finished reading, seeing that the refugees still hadn't reacted, he read it twice more.
The crowd erupted in excitement, with the displaced people discussing the matter at length.
"Those who remain in the villages surrounding Longtan will each receive 30 jin of grain."
"My God! They gave us land for free, and there was a tax exemption policy for the first two years."
They found it hard to believe that such a huge windfall would fall into their laps.
"Rice seeds can be bought at 20% below market price."
"You can rent oxen and farm tools, as long as you work during the off-season to pay for it."
"Free technical support for rice cultivation will be provided."
This greatly excited people who didn't know how to grow rice.
With such favorable conditions offered by Longtan, what reason do they have not to stay?
"Mother, I want to join the army. There are six hundred coins every month!" A passionate young man was attracted by the conscription conditions.
Those who enlisted in the army received three meals a day, and were also given 600 coins a month, as well as clothes and shoes for all four seasons.
This was the last thing Lin Yinan and the Yun brothers decided to add after discussing it. Removing a small number of young and strong men wouldn't have much of an impact on the pioneering work, and they could take this opportunity to train their own elite team as soon as possible.
The woman's thin, dark face was covered with wrinkles, and she looked worried after hearing her youngest son's words.
"If you enlist in the army, who will farm the land allocated to your family?"
They've never grown rice before, so even with two years of tax exemption, it's hard to say whether they'll be able to fill their stomachs.
Looking at his mother, who had aged considerably due to the hardships of life, and thinking of his nephew who had passed away from illness and his impoverished family, the young man's resolve grew even stronger.
He lowered his voice and whispered in his mother's ear, "Mother, I have an older brother and sister-in-law. If I join the army, I'll get three meals a day and six hundred coins a month. Plus, I'll get thirty catties of grain, so you can eat for a longer time."
This offer is really attractive, and quite a few families with many sons are considering it.
When Lin Yiheng and his men came out with pens, ink, and booklets to register, the line for enlisting in the army immediately became very long.
"Everyone, bring out your household registration certificates and line up to register. Only those who are registered can receive free grain and land allocations," Lin Tiezhuang shouted to the crowd of refugees.
After the incident of serving porridge, as soon as he spoke, the refugees spontaneously lined up.
"Sir, does registering mean I can receive thirty catties of grain?" A middle-aged man at the front of the line handed over his household registration and asked anxiously.
Lin Yiheng opened the household registration book, looked at the information on it, and said, "Yes, but we can't collect it today. Everyone has to be registered first."
Then, referring to the household registration information above, he inquired in detail about the man's family situation and recorded the details of his parents, wife, and children behind him.
Because the process requires meticulous attention, the registration work is progressing rather slowly.
Lin Yinan ordered that they be provided with two meals of porridge each day, and they waited quietly at the city gate.
It took two days to complete the registration of everyone's information.
To Lin Yiheng's surprise, the number of young men who chose to join the army was as high as 1,500.
This number was within the Yun brothers' expectations. With such generous terms offered and no need to sell themselves or become a military household, many people were bound to sign up.
After registration was completed, Lin Yiheng asked each household to come out and receive a number plate written on a piece of white paper, and instructed everyone to keep it safe and not lose it.
Meanwhile, the grain transport team personally led by Chen Gu arrived before nightfall the following day.
Lin Yinan sat in the lobby, looking at him with a half-smile, "I really like this generous gift from Young Master Chen."
After traveling for days under the scorching sun, Chen Gu gulped down two jugs of water before putting down his cup, and waved dismissively at Lin Yinan.
"I'm glad you like it, Lord City Lord. I know you're lacking things here, so I've thoughtfully sent you something you urgently need. Guess what it is?"
Lin Yinan was too lazy to play games with him and went straight to the point, "Besides the 30,000 shi of grain, how much rice seed and farming tools did you bring us?"
Chen Gu pointed at her and said, "How would I know I brought these with me?"
"Do you think I can conjure these things out of thin air?" Lin Yinan looked at him like he was an idiot.
I've heard that Chen Xianming is a cunning old fox; I'm afraid his son must have given him a lot of trouble!
"Don't worry, there will be enough. I'm just trying to help the city lord."
"Can you make it cheaper?" Lin Yinan asked tentatively, hoping to bargain and save some money.
Chen Gu almost spat out his water, complaining, "Lord City Lord, you can't do this! I personally delivered it to your door, and it wasn't very expensive. It's a bit unreasonable for you to haggle over the price."
Lin Yinan picked up the teapot and poured him water. "I'm just asking, Young Master Chen is a kind and righteous person, so why did you charge us so much money?"
Pan Qingfeng and Lin Yiheng, who were standing nearby, immediately showered Chen Gu with compliments, making him feel extremely comfortable.
Once Chen Guyi felt comfortable, he revealed another piece of news to Lin Yinan.
"When I came to Longtan, I heard that a group of refugees from Shigong City and Nanzhou Prefecture were on their way to Longtan. Lord City Lord, you should be prepared."
"You actually went to those two cities in person to recruit me?" Lin Yinan asked in surprise.
Chen Gu swiftly opened his fan and gently waved it. "Not so. My father would never let me go to someone else's territory to steal food."
"Who could it be?"
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