When Zhang Zhong arrived at the foot of the mountain on the east side, there were already many people gathered there. Not only were there people from Huayuan County, but there were also people from other places who came to visit their relatives or look for work.
Some were holding shovels, some were carrying pickaxes, and some were carrying baskets. They all knew that they were going to build a better path up the mountain to prevent people from being squeezed down when there were too many people.
Zhang Zhong had already sent people back to Zhuangzi last night to deliver things here, including all kinds of tools, ropes, and so on. He paid for it first. When the time came, he would take the money from the yamen and naturally sell the things at home. The grocery store couldn't always keep the goods in stock.
When he arrived, it was already 3 pm. Fortunately, he was riding a horse. Otherwise, he would have to wait for a while. The people who delivered the goods here would probably have to wait for an hour or two. In order to wait for them, Zhang Zhong asked the yamen runners to be in charge of choosing people.
First, they could use people from the county. If there weren't enough people, they could use people from outside. The young and strong people were in charge of building the road, and the slightly weaker people were to assist at the side. If there were women, they would be in charge of cooking and boiling water when the weather was hot.
The yamen runners walked to the front of the crowd. They didn't bring a register, so they couldn't recognize everyone. They could only let the people look at each other. After all, this project was for the welfare of the people of Huayuan County.
"Sir, if you do this, won't it be a waste of money and manpower?" He Cangji also followed over. He also rode a horse. He felt that the other side hadn't prepared for the matter mentioned in the morning, and it would be a waste of energy to do it here first.
Zhang Zhong knew what he was thinking. He had already arranged for someone to go over and give instructions. The rest of the matter was to find some elderly people here and ask them about their legends, stories, and so on. When the time came, the tour guide would recite them for others to hear.
If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to clean up his grocery store, he wouldn't have prepared to take things out from home. When he heard He Cangji's question, he said, "He Cangji, I don't want to work so early. The dew in the morning and evening is still a little cold."
"Then why does Sir still want to do this?" He Cangji naturally couldn't think of what it meant to stimulate domestic demand.
"Many of the commoners have already run out of food. If it weren't for the wild vegetables, they wouldn't have any food to eat. Let me do the math for you. I'm planning to hire two thousand people to work on the mountain. The yamen is building my house 24 hours a day without rest. At night, they will carry lanterns and work. Rotating back and forth, I need eight to nine hundred people.
These people were paid. The candles for lanterns and other things had to be bought in the county. Food had to be bought in the county as well. If there wasn't enough in the county, they could get some from elsewhere. My family could get some, and some merchants would also come over to sell.
Merchants had to pay taxes when they sold things, and they also needed people to help transport their goods. The tax money was collected by the yamen, and the people who transported the goods also received their wages. The people in the county raised some chickens, ducks, and pigs, and usually kept them for themselves.
I have already asked Zhuangzi to send some chickens and piglets over to let the commoners raise more of them. The commoners were afraid that they wouldn't be able to sell them, so they were waiting for the people here to start working. At least they would have meat every day. When the commoners see this situation, they would realize that the people working in the county didn't eat enough.
When the people outside come over to sell, they would also send some of their poultry and livestock to sell for money. After selling all of them, I will send out another notice. One month later, the roads in the county will be built. This road can't be finished in a short period of time. In the entire county, as long as there are people, the roads will be built there. "
Zhang Zhong stopped talking and looked at He Cangji. He waited for He Cangji to speak. If He Cangji could follow this train of thought, he was prepared to put him in an important position in the future.
He Cangji didn't know that the county magistrate beside him had the idea of putting him in an important position. He wouldn't specifically think about this, but he did try hard to think about it. In the past, he really didn't think about this kind of thing. At this time, after Zhang Zhong mentioned it, he felt as if he had seen something new, something very magical.
After a quarter of an hour, He Cangji woke up from his various thoughts. He looked at Zhang Zhong with admiration and said, "Sir, I understand. As long as the notice says that when the roads are being built, more poultry or livestock will be used to let the commoners raise them, the commoners will believe it. After all, there is an example here in the mountains.
There will be more people raising them, and they won't only keep them for their own families to eat. The chicks you catch will only take a few months to grow up. If they don't wait to lay eggs, they can be killed and eaten in more than four months.
As for the pigs, we directly catch half of them and raise them. In less than ten months, they will grow up in six or seven months. When they are sold, the commoners will have spare money in their hands. They will want to buy things. This year's rent has been collected in advance. When the time comes, there will be more food and they won't have to worry about food.
They had to buy other things, or save up for their children to choose a wife or build a house. As long as a portion of people were willing to spend money, there wouldn't be enough things here. Merchants would ship things here, and the docks would be more prosperous, and the taxes would be higher.
I just thought about it. As long as we do this for two years, the yamen won't be short of money and the commoners' lives will be better. Sir, you are the real parent official. For the sake of the commoners, you actually took out money first. I don't know when you will be able to make up for it.
Sir, if you are promoted in the future, let me, He Lingwan, follow you. I don't want to be a small official anymore. I will just follow you and help you copy documents. "
As He Cangji spoke, he made up his mind. In the future, he would follow Ren Baqian and see what else Ren Baqian could do. It was really amazing. In such a difficult time, as long as he took out the first sum of money and invested it, he could move the whole county.
If every county magistrate of Huayuan County was not greedy and followed Lord Zhang's path, what would become of Huayuan County after ten years?
Zhang Zhong did not expect He Cangji to think so much. Although he was not completely right, it was not bad. Especially when He Cangji surrendered before Zhang Zhong asked him to put him in an important position. This saved him a lot of trouble. In the future, he would need someone to help him do things, so He Cangji was useful.
"Sir, do you think I am still lacking? Can't I follow you? "He Cangji was full of hope. When he saw that the county magistrate did not speak, he asked anxiously.
Zhang Zhong smiled at him and said, "Just follow me. Let's settle this Huayuan County first. In the future, you can follow me to other places. You will still be an official. If I am promoted, you will also be promoted. If I change departments, you will also be with me."
He Cangji was happy at first, but later he was confused. Whether he could be promoted or which department he would be in did not seem to be decided by the county magistrate. Now, the county magistrate could change his position. Could it be that he could go to the capital in the future?
Zhang Zhong also knew this, but he was not afraid. He had a good son. If he said that he was the best in the state, then he was the best. If he said that he was the top scorer, then he was the top scorer. If he said that he was the county magistrate, then he was the county magistrate. The most surprising thing was that he could decide where he was going to be. It was as if the imperial court was his son's restaurant.
Looking at He Cangji's puzzled eyes, Zhang Zhong laughed heartily, "Hahaha, He Cangji, you don't have to worry about this kind of thing. You will know in the future. As you said just now, you are still lacking. You need to learn more. If you don't understand, you can ask. The people's livelihood is a college examination. It is much more difficult than being the top scorer."
"Sir, you are right. It is difficult. But I feel that the top scorer is not easy. There is only one person in each field. Sir, you are still young, but you have already passed the examination. Sir, what should we do next?" When He Cangji heard the county magistrate say that he was lacking, he was not angry at all.
Zhang Zhong used his hand to point at the road they had come from. "The next step is to distribute the goods. The commoners can't work without good tools. I transferred some from the farmstead and earned some money while I was at it."
He Cangji looked back. Sure enough, there was a fleet of carriages there. They must be carrying tools. He did not care where they were from or who made the money. He just wanted to see what this place would become in the future. It was fine as long as it could catch up with Sanshui County. There were many rich people who wanted to build houses there. Living there was comfortable.
"Master, last night, you sent someone back to the manor to deliver a letter. The family is ready and the things have been transported here. There is also a letter from Madam. Madam asked me to tell Master to quickly finish the construction of the house here and move the family here. Madam can help Master take care of trivial matters."
A servant who followed them here handed a letter to Zhang Zhong and said to Zhang Zhong at the same time.
"Soon, soon. If you work 24 hours a day without rest, the house will be finished in about ten days. Lead the people over there to distribute the goods. Don't be in a hurry to go back tonight. Rest in the Jinlai Building here. I still have something for you to do tomorrow."
Zhang Zhong ordered again. He waved his hand and let the servant go.
He Cangji watched and listened at the side. Seeing the county magistrate's servants dressed well and following the rules, he admired Zhang Zhong more and more.
The commoners had already made their own choices and assigned the work to them. Those who did heavy work would naturally receive more wages. At this time, when they saw that the county magistrate had prepared people to work for them, they stood in line and came to receive their work.
There weren't many people here today. Perhaps there would be more tomorrow. There weren't many outsiders either. Even if they joined, they couldn't stop them from working when they didn't have enough manpower.
As long as the people were not forced to a certain extent, they were very obedient. Even if there were wild vegetables to fill their stomachs, they would not think of rebelling. Now that they had taken the tools, they immediately started to work. Originally, Zhang Zhong planned to start tomorrow. After more than two hours, the sky would gradually become dark.
Looking at the people working there, Zhang Zhong realized that something was missing. He didn't ask anyone to prepare food, so he hurriedly asked someone to go back and get the ingredients so that they could cook here. The firewood was taken from the mountain. With the rake, they could get a lot of firewood to start the fire.
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