Chapter 147: Recruiting 3,000 Laborers
It rained heavily at night when the soap was made.
Qin Yao was woken up by the cold and rolled up the warm quilt, feeling lucky that she didn't hang the soap in the corridor.
Otherwise, after a night of wind and rain, all three days' efforts would have been wasted.
It rained heavily all night and only gradually subsided at dawn, turning from a patter to a drizzle, with no sign of clearing up.
Every autumn rain brings a chill. When Qin Yao opened the door early in the morning, she immediately felt the chill of this sentence.
September is already halfway through.
Today is the 15th, and it is time to pay the workers their wages for last month.
After having breakfast at home, Qin Yao changed into thick cotton clothes and went to the manufacturing plant with the account books and silver.
She hasn't been here for nearly half a month, but with Carpenter Liu around, everything in the factory is still running in an orderly manner.
When the workers saw the account book tucked under Qin Yao's armpit, the drowsiness brought by the rainy day disappeared and they could not hide their excitement.
Qin Yao first found Carpenter Liu, checked the accounts for the past half month, and then took out a piece of draft paper to calculate the workers' wages.
Before leaving work in the evening, all the workers' wages were paid out, and the entire manufacturing plant was filled with joy.
The workers took their wages and left one after another. Qin Yao and Carpenter Liu stayed behind at the end. After agreeing on some details, they locked the door and went home.
After receiving wages today, every household had an extra meal. Qin Yao walked through the village, the aroma of various dishes wafting to her nose, and she immediately quickened her pace to go home.
When she got home, Dalang had already prepared dinner. When he saw her come home, he started eating immediately.
Perhaps influenced by the joyous atmosphere in the village, the mother and her five children enjoyed the simple meal very much.
But just when everyone was relaxing and feeling the joy, the assembly bell suddenly rang.
Qin Yao and her mother and her two children, who had just finished their meal, were all worried.
"What's going on?" Qin Yao murmured suspiciously.
The four siblings looked confused and had no idea.
"I'll go and take a look." Qin Yao gestured to Dalang and the other three to stay at home, stood up, put on her hat, and quickly went out.
On the way, they met Old Man Liu and Liu Bo. The three of them looked at each other, all suspicious and uneasy, and rushed to the village ancestral hall together.
The assembly bell in the village rarely rings. If there is any important announcement, the village chief will usually have someone ring a gong to call people in the village.
The last time the assembly bell rang was when the horse bandits attacked.
In the past, when the bell rang, it meant a new round of conscription and corvee labor was about to begin.
The villagers in Sheng State, who had just felt a little peace, then remembered that Sheng State had only reduced corvée and taxes, not exempted them.
A moment ago, everyone was happily eating extra meals because of the monthly salary they received.
The next second, they all gathered in the ancestral hall with solemn expressions, in the drizzle, looking at the village chief holding the household registration book.
Looking at the representatives coming from every household in the courtyard, the village chief sighed and had to announce the news he had just received.
"The barbarians in the northern desert are invading, and the border war has started again. Zijing Prefecture has issued a decree, requiring all counties under its jurisdiction to quickly gather 3,000 civilians to escort food and fodder to the border."
"Every household, from 12 years old to 50 years old, must provide two out of four males, and one out of three males. Only sons are exempted. Time is urgent. Each family should go back and discuss overnight, report at noon tomorrow, and set out in three days."
After saying that, the village chief immediately opened the household register and began to call out the names of each family, counting the number of male adults and how many should be sent out.
When it comes to the Liu family's old house, there are four men who meet the age requirements, and two of them need to come forward.
Before Qin Yao had time to look at the expressions of Old Man Liu and Liu Bo, it was her family's turn.
"Liu Ji's family is eligible for one male heir, so one should be sent out."
"Liu Dafu's family is qualified to have four male offspring, and two of them should be born."
Everyone whose name was called could not help but lower their head.
There was a continuous drizzle in the sky, and a gloomy feeling weighed on everyone's hearts. The atmosphere was so depressing that it was hard to breathe.
Among the corvée laborers, those who transported grain were the type that the common people were most reluctant to encounter.
It is only slightly better than being drafted into the army. It is a logistical job and does not require direct confrontation with the enemy.
But that doesn't mean there is no danger.
The most fatal of these is the time limit of the military order. If the food cannot be delivered to the designated location in full and on time, the consequences may be death at the very least, and the entire family may be implicated at the worst.
After the village chief finished reading the long list, he sighed repeatedly and looked worried.
His family has five eligible people, and two of them should be sent. As long as they have no merit, ordinary people cannot avoid performing labor service.
However, he also managed to secure certain exemptions for everyone.
The village chief shouted twice to get everyone to cheer up, and said loudly:
"There are still 35 prisoners in this county. Six taels of silver can get one replacement prisoner. First come, first served. If you have silver, hurry up!"
These thirty-five vacancies were the ones that were waiting to be executed in the autumn when the horse bandits were suppressed.
If the decree comes later, you won't be able to buy a place even if you have money!
The villagers, who had still held out hope, gasped when they heard the number six taels.
But even so, as long as we can get it, we will try to get it even if it means selling everything we have.
Even if you lose money, you can still survive even if you have to endure hardship.
If a person is gone, then there is really nothing left.
Old Man Liu and Liu Bo clenched their fists tightly, turned around and went home to collect the money.
Fortunately, there was a good harvest this year, otherwise the twelve taels of silver would never have been raised, and at least one person would have to be required.
Mrs. Qiu was about to give birth, so the second child definitely couldn't go.
Liu Fei is still young. What use can a furry kid be? If something happens to him on the road, I dare not imagine the consequences.
In the end, this spot will go to either Old Man Liu or Liu Bo.
The father and son can only be thankful that they have been able to get the money due to the good harvest this year.
But I didn't dare hold out too much hope. There were only thirty-five vacancies, and three thousand civilians were conscripted. With so many people competing, I couldn't delay even a minute.
The father and son hurried out of the ancestral hall, and suddenly remembered Qin Yao. Liu Bo ran in again and told her to go home quickly to get the silver.
"It's only six taels of silver. Don't be reluctant, sister-in-law. Hurry up and give it to the village chief, otherwise the third brother will have to transport grain, which is a life-threatening job!"
After quickly explaining everything, Liu Bo followed Old Man Liu into the house.
The father and son thought that Qin Yao knew the seriousness of the matter and would definitely go home to give Liu Ji money to buy a substitute service spot.
Little did he know that Qin Yao was not in a hurry, but instead had a slight sneer on her face.
Liu Ji, I see you're not going to die this time!
"Mother!"
Seeing a figure far down the mountain, Si Niang couldn't help but shout out loudly.
Qin Yao waved her hand and said, "Go inside, it's raining outside!"
Si Niang didn't move. She waited until Qin Yao came, then she took her clothes and led her into the house.
The little girl looked up at her with worried eyes, "Mother, did something bad happen?"
The three Dalang brothers also looked over, looking worried.
Qin Yao put away her bamboo hat, brushed off the moisture on her body, and smiled, "It's nothing. The government is just looking for civilians to help transport military rations to the border to give food to our soldiers who are fighting against the barbarians at the border."
Sanlang and Si Niang heaved a sigh of relief and said innocently, "So that's how it is."