With grain prices stable, Shenxi called on established families to hire people to work.
After all, many ordinary people have no source of income and cannot afford to buy food. Those wealthy families are the best option, so it would be better to encourage them to hire people to work.
However, this could not be forced; the servants of the aristocratic families had already had their indentures abolished when Shen Xi issued the order.
No aristocratic family can use a servant's indenture to bind his servants anymore.
All the servants were free men, free to choose their own way of life.
However, because many servants did not have other skills to make a living, and did not want to go out to learn skills in order to avoid greater risks, or because they were already used to working in their master's house, they still chose to stay in their master's house and were hired on a wage basis.
These aristocratic families had no shortage of workers, so Shenxi's call to action did not have much effect.
Only a small number of people were hired.
This is only because these powerful families were afraid of being held accountable by Chenxi, so they had no choice but to reluctantly hire some people.
Later, with the stabilization of the prefectural city and the influx of refugees, many more people lacked the skills and means to make a living.
These aristocratic families were quite clever enough to provide some grain to cook porridge for these refugees, but this could only provide temporary relief, not a lifelong solution.
The northern part of the city was designated as a settlement for displaced people, simply because it had once been occupied by the Wu family, which had been extremely powerful and had a very small population.
After the massacre of the Wu family, Tang Tianxiang ransacked the northern part of the city and set it on fire, leaving ruins and rubble everywhere.
The quality of the migrants varies greatly, and fights, bullying the weak, and even crimes often occur.
Shenxi had no choice but to station more than 3,000 troops there, and the punishments were very strict.
When these migrants entered the city, they had already undergone strict physical examinations and identity checks. Those who were able to enter the city had no problems with their health or identity, but their character could not be guaranteed.
Therefore, only harsh laws and punishments can be used to govern in order to prevent riots.
Meanwhile, they were fed two meals a day of thin porridge with two cornbread buns and some pickled vegetables, and dozens of civil officials and hundreds of minor officials were sent here to manage the place.
The displaced people were resettled in dozens of districts and managed separately.
If the houses are not enough or cannot be lived in, makeshift shelters are built first, and then people are asked to build houses, repair the ground, and construct public facilities in exchange for food.
The food they could exchange for wasn't just thin porridge and cornbread; it also included steamed buns, stewed vegetables, and even, in better cases, meat and eggs.
Anyone who works hard will be able to eat well and be full.
This mobilized the enthusiasm of many people, and they began to seriously build up the North City.
Besides the refugees in the northern part of the city, the people in other areas also faced hardship, and the powerful families were unwilling to hire them in large numbers.
Shenxi summoned Cao Qiang and Cao Changgeng.
Cao Qiang's legs were trembling even before he saw Shen Xi.
He had suffered at Shen Xi's hands before, and he had been quite reckless and made many mistakes. He was afraid that Shen Xi would cause him trouble.
Seeing his younger brother like this, Cao Changgeng couldn't help but laugh heartily.
This was the first time he had ever seen Cao Qiang act so cowardly.
Even though Cao Changgeng is now in charge of the Cao family, Cao Qiang is still the head of the family.
Therefore, Cao Qiang didn't need to be subservient to anyone, nor was he afraid of anyone. Even when facing Cao Changgeng, he had nothing to fear. Because he knew that Cao Changgeng wouldn't kill him.
Cao Qiang glared at Cao Changgeng. Shenxi had been stationed in the prefectural city for more than three months, but Cao Qiang still hadn't come to Shenxi's place even once.
Whenever Shenxi needed to contact the Cao family, it was Cao Changgeng who would step in.
But this time, they actually asked Cao Qiang to come too.
This immediately made Cao Qiang extremely nervous.
Upon seeing Shen Xi, Cao Qiang immediately knelt down and performed a grand salute.
"Cao Qiang, Cao, Cao Qiang greets the commander."
Cao Qiang could barely speak.
In contrast, Cao Changgeng directly bowed to Shen Xi, and then sat down at Shen Xi's prompting.
Seeing Cao Qiang's reaction, Shen Xi's expression softened considerably.
Because Cao Qiang is now the head of the Cao family, and also to give Cao Changgeng some face, Cao Qiang was not punished.
The fact that no action was taken does not mean that Shenxi approves of Cao Qiang.
Seeing how scared Cao Qiang is now, I guess he won't do anything bad again.
Although Cao Qiang had done some bad things before, he did not have any murder cases on his hands.
Shenxi simply made the Cao family pay a hefty sum of money and grain, and dealt with the rest of the criminals.
Shenxi did not make Cao Qiang stand up directly, but made him kneel like that.
Cao Changgeng looked somewhat embarrassed, after all, Cao Qiang was now the head of the Cao family.
Many of Cao Qiang's loyal subordinates support him, and the head of the family cannot be replaced in a short period of time.
Shenxi's attitude was a great insult to the Cao family.
Cao Wang, who had come along, looked even more unpleasant, but he didn't dare to act rashly. He could only bow to Chen Xi again in a gentle tone, "Chief, is there any important matter that you have summoned my family's head for?"
Shenxi then ordered someone to help Cao Qiang up and bring him a stool to sit down.
Cao Qiang was sweating profusely, his legs were trembling, and he dared not look up at Chen Xi.
Shenxi said in a gentle tone, "Patriarch Cao, how have you been?"
Cao Qiang dared not wipe his sweat, and answered tremblingly, "Reporting to the commander, it's alright, it's alright."
"Well, that's good. I had no choice but to imprison Patriarch Cao back then. I hope you can forgive me."
Cao Qiang almost knelt down again. Why was this being brought up again? Was the next thing they going to investigate what happened back then? Was he one of the people who wanted to kill Chen Xi?
"No, no, I don't remember."
Cao Qiang's fear left Cao Changgeng and Cao Wang feeling helpless.
Shen Xi took a sip of tea, her tone unchanged and still very gentle, "Patriarch Cao, I have called you here today not for anything else, but for those people who have no food. I hope the Cao family can give their full support to my policies."
Cao Changgeng immediately understood. If the Cao family did not comply or provide strong support, Cao Qiang might be in serious trouble today.
Cao Qiang, however, was still trembling. "I support you, I support you."
"Good, that's good. Patriarch Cao, your family must be short of people to do the work, right?"
Cao Qiang was stunned for a moment; his family didn't need anyone to do the work.
Just as he was about to reply that there was no shortage of people, Cao Changgeng interrupted, "Reporting to the commander, the family needs to rebuild the house and construct the clan school. It's spring now, and the Cao family's land also needs a lot of people to cultivate it."
It requires a lot of people to do the work.
At the same time, Cao Changgeng secretly tugged at Cao Qiang's sleeve, "Master, our family needs to employ a lot of people."
Cao Qiang wasn't stupid; he knew Cao Changgeng was definitely thinking of the Cao family, so he nodded in agreement, "Yes, we need a lot of people."
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