Looking at their appearance, besides being tanned, their faces seem to have gained weight.
Thinking about how he had been captured while searching for them, the guard leader looked at himself and his ragged men, and gritted his teeth in hatred.
"Why am I here? It's all because of you!"
Hearing that the leader had come looking for them, Ah Da was deeply moved. "Leader, so you came to save us."
The guard leader couldn't help but roll his eyes. They were free to do whatever they wanted; did they really need someone to save them?
Please make him understand that he's the one who really needs saving, okay?
Is he blind and doesn't he see the heavy iron chains binding his feet?
The guards beside them didn't give them a chance to catch up, brandishing their whips and shouting, "Stop dawdling, get to work, or you won't get any dinner tonight!"
Upon hearing that there was no food, Ah Da and the others hurriedly picked up shovels and other tools.
"Boss, we can talk about it tonight. I'm going to get back to work now."
The guard leader's mouth was full of bitterness, and he found it hard to believe that they had never been this obedient when they were under his command!
How did Longtan manage to get them to obey and work obediently?
He was still in a daze when the guard nudged him. "Don't be in a daze. Our master said that once this official road is repaired, you can go back. He will also give your master a big gift."
"How long will this take?" The guard leader glanced at the construction site where yellow dust was flying everywhere.
"It can be repaired in three to five days if things go smoothly."
The guard kindly handed him an iron shovel.
The guard leader obediently took the shovel. He had given up resisting. He couldn't fight them or run away from them. The guards toyed with him like a cat playing with mice for a long time. Apart from their tattered clothes, none of the eleven of them had a single wound.
"You'd better keep your word!" the guard leader said, looking at the secret guards.
The guard said, "Don't worry, we have no reason to lie to you."
After leaving Changyi County, the man followed the convoy heading to Longtan on the newly built, flat, and wide official road.
Those who went to Longtan to seek refuge after hearing what Yun Si and Yun Liu said immediately started discussing it.
"It seems that young master wasn't lying to us!"
"Uncle, look, this official road has been newly built."
"It's easier to travel than the road to Huaizhou City."
The man carried a load on his back, his head still looking around.
“It must have cost a lot of money to build such a wide official road!” someone who had done corvée labor estimated in his mind.
"Look, there are still people repairing the road ahead. It turns out the road isn't finished yet!"
After a day's journey, they finally arrived at Longtan.
Some people went up to greet the villagers who were repairing the road.
"Brother, are there really no more Japanese pirates in Longtan?" He was still afraid of dying.
The villager chuckled, speaking with a heavy northern accent.
"I don't know. We've been here for half a year and haven't seen any Japanese pirates. We don't know what they look like."
The man and the people behind him exchanged glances. It seemed that the threat of the Japanese pirates in Longtan was completely gone.
After the villagers finished speaking, they saw that the villagers had large and small bags and asked warmly, "Are you also here to seek refuge in Longtan?"
"Yes, our village can't survive anymore, so we're here to find a way to make a living."
The villagers laughed and said, "Then you've come to the right place."
The man took out a piece of maltose he had obtained in Nanzhou Prefecture and stuffed it into the villager's hand.
"Brother, tell us about it!"
So, the kind-hearted villagers pulled them aside and began to explain in detail.
At first, no one believed that such a good thing could exist in the world. Unlike the numbness and hardship they had endured from being conscripted for labor, the road builders here were all smiles and showed no sign of reluctance.
It is clear that they all came voluntarily.
When they saw the food they brought over—the fragrant, thick white rice porridge and the glistening green vegetables—they had no choice but to believe it.
"Where are you from?" the villagers asked.
The man swallowed hard. "We came from Huaizhou City."
The villagers exclaimed in surprise, "What? You can't survive in the south either? There's no war here."
The man's eyes dimmed, his heart filled with bitterness. "The grain tax is increasing year by year, and the harvest from the land is low. It's no wonder we can't survive."
The guard leader, who was sharp-eyed and keen-eared, looked up and saw that there were actually one or two hundred people in the group.
He frowned slightly; it turned out that the people of Huaizhou City were already starving.
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became, wanting to return as soon as possible to report the matter.
"Don't worry, you've come to the right place. You'll definitely have a good meal. My family doesn't have to pay grain tax this season. With some beans, other grains, and wild vegetables mixed in, it's enough to feed my whole family for a year." The villager patted the man on the shoulder to comfort him.
Immediately, he took out his own bowl and chopsticks and went to queue up for food.
The villagers' words rekindled hope in everyone's hearts, and they decided to continue their journey to Longtan as soon as possible.
Most importantly, the villagers' food was so delicious!
When the towering city walls of Longtan County came into view, everyone was amazed. These walls were even taller and larger than those of Huaizhou City.
There were quite a few soldiers patrolling up there, making it feel like a major military city.
Soon someone opened the side gate next to the city gate, and the convoy of freight cars entered the city smoothly.
The men following behind stepped forward, but were stopped by the guards.
What are you people doing?
The man quickly bowed and said, "We were introduced by Master Yun to seek refuge here."
As he spoke, he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to the guard, "This is a letter of introduction written to us by Fourth Master Yun, sir, please take a look."
The guard took the envelope and immediately noticed their unique markings.
"You all stay behind, and I will go and report to them."
"Thank you for your help, sir," the man said, bowing again.
The letter was quickly presented to Lin Yinan and Yun Mo, who were discussing the sugarcane harvest with Lin Yiheng, Pan Qingfeng, and others.
Only more than half of the late-season rice has been harvested, but the second-season corn harvest is also possible. The main problem is a severe labor shortage.
"What a coincidence, just when you're about to fall asleep, someone brings you a pillow." Yun Mo handed the letter he had finished reading to Lin Yinan.
"That's great, now we have people to harvest the sugarcane."
Lin Yinan smiled, and her expression softened considerably.
After reading the letter, Pan Qingfeng immediately had an idea.
After considering it for a moment, he said, "Our sugarcane is all planted on the mountain slopes. We can find an open space around the sugarcane field, build a shed for them to live in first, and then arrange a village for them after the sugarcane is harvested."
"The village closest to the sugarcane fields is on the way to Xihe County. We'll see if they're willing to settle there then."
"What salary and compensation should we offer them?" Lin Yinan asked.
They already had experience with these things. Lin Yiheng said, "How about providing two meals a day and twenty coins a day for the workers?"
Pan Qingfeng pulled over the abacus on the table, fiddled with it for a while, and nodded, "The cost is within a reasonable range."
"Then let's proceed according to this method," Lin Yinan made the final decision.
At this moment, Yun Er came in carrying a tray with five or six cups on it. The cups contained a pale yellow liquid with some green onions and bubbles.
"Everyone, come and try Yun Er's freshly squeezed sugarcane juice," Yun Er said with a bright smile, putting down the tray.
Lin Yinan asked, "Is the juicer ready?"
Yun Er raised an eyebrow. "With Yun Er on my side, is there anything I can't do?"
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