In order to save time, so that the laborers could eat delicious food as soon as they finished their work, all the food was prepared half an hour in advance. Of course, some measures were taken to keep the food warm so that it would not get cold.
Ang Lee and his entourage ate in advance when the food was just ready. The meals at the construction site were not served at the same time. The petty officials and other managers in charge of management were given priority to eat, but the laborers had to delay their meals for about a quarter of an hour. The cooks in charge of cooking had to delay their meals for another quarter of an hour. After everyone finished eating, the cooks had to clean up the dishes and prepare the next meal.
The managers' meals were carried out in the temporary wooden house. Although the environment was not very good, it was still quiet. Due to the limitations of the conditions, the dining environment for the laborers was relatively simple. When they were eating in a swarm, most of them did not even have a bench. They all squatted on the ground to eat. The dining environment was quite simple, but everyone still ate happily. Even if the soil fell into the food, they did not seem to care. Naturally, they were used to this kind of dining environment.
More than half of the five to six hundred people squatted to eat. There were very few standing, and even fewer were lucky enough to get a bench. Basically, the benches were given to those who were slightly older. The young, strong, and children were not qualified to sit on the bench.
In order to take care of the fact that they did not have a bench or a table, they used big bowls. All the food was placed in a bowl. The left side was vegetables, and the right side was rice. They just held the bowls in their hands and ate. After eating, they had to take the big bowls to drink soup.
"Why don't you prepare tables and chairs for them? In addition, the sun is strong during the day. We should build more houses so that they can use the time to eat and enjoy themselves."
Ang Lee said.
"Assistant Minister Li, these things take time to prepare. Now that the road construction is so urgent, they are also worried that they can't complete the road construction task, so all the manpower is used to dig and build the road. There is no manpower to prepare these things. In addition, these people usually eat and drink like this when they are doing farm work at home. How can they prepare these things?"
Chen Long explained.
Let alone the era of the Great Tang, even in the prosperous eras of the future, when ordinary laborers were conscripted, they had to squat and eat. There were no stools, and no one would prepare tables or chairs for them. They even had to bring their own food. As for wages, there was no need to mention them. This was all voluntary labor, so how could they be paid?
Therefore, in the eyes of many petty officials, the Tang dynasty had been very good to these laborers. As long as they worked hard, the petty officials of the Tang dynasty would not embarrass them and even often give them some rewards. Only those ruffians and beggars who did not work hard would be cruelly whipped in order to reform them and make them work hard. Although the peddlers did not work well, they would at most be given some reminders and let them persevere. Among all the laborers, only those who deliberately made trouble would be treated violently.
After listening to Chen Long's words, Ang Lee felt that it was reasonable. However, it was more appropriate to prepare a better dining environment for these people, which would be easier to boost their morale. As for the preparation, in fact, there was no need to prepare anything. Whoever did not have a table and chair could just bring it over and take it back after the work was done. To prevent theft, they could put a mark on it and write their own name and the name of the village. As long as the petty officials of the Tang dynasty were responsible for guarding and finally distributing it, there would not be much trouble. The laborers were all nearby people. Their homes were not far from the construction site, so it was not difficult to bring a set of broken tables and chairs over.
Ang Lee made this request, and Chen Long also expressed his support. No matter how poor the ordinary people were, they could not even have a few broken tables at home. The nearby mountains were rich in resources. For these people, buying rice cost money, but getting the simplest tables and chairs did not cost them money. They could go to the mountains to cut wood and then use the wood to make simple tables and chairs. Even if they did not know how to do it, there were always talented carpenters in the village. It was not difficult to invite them to have a meal and ask them to help make a table.
The laborers who were more active in their work received an extra portion of Red Braised Meat, especially several ruffians who had turned over a new leaf. They received the most rewards. There were at least dozens of pieces of red Red Braised Meat in their bowls, and the aroma could easily spread hundreds of steps away.
As for those ruffians and demented beggars who deliberately caused trouble and refused to work, they only received a steamed bun and a few salted vegetables. They did not have to think about snatching other people's food. When they were eating, more than a dozen supervisors still stood by and watched them, not allowing them to move. If they tried to snatch the meat in other people's bowls, the supervisors would directly beat them down and then confiscate the steamed bun. They were not allowed to eat, nor were they allowed to leave. It was very overbearing. Perhaps it was unreasonable, but it could not be reversed. The Tang dynasty was the law, and these people were just insignificant ruffians and beggars. Even if they were all buried alive, no one would dare to say anything. This was the power of a big country.
This method of using food as a lure was still feasible. In just a few days, there were some results. In the next few days, several more beggars and ruffians were reformed. The situation had been developing in a better direction, which made Ang Lee very satisfied. He believed that in less than a month, most of these ruffians and beggars should be reformed. Then, the Tang dynasty would really gain more than 50 laborers, and speed up the road construction into the city, so that the roads could be built as soon as possible, so that the railway could be opened as soon as possible, and so that the road could be built as soon as possible.
While the roadbed was being built, the stations along the way were also being built in an orderly manner. Almost every 50 to 100 kilometers, there was a station under construction. The scale of these stations was naturally different. There were big stations and small stations for temporary stops. The railway itself was a two-way lane, while the small stations had four lanes, two of which could be used for parking. The medium-sized stations had six to eight lanes, and the ones with more than ten lanes were big stations.
This was because only important places would have big stations, such as cities with a large population, very important strategic locations, ports, terminals, and so on.
Logically speaking, Angji City should be a very small town, and it was enough to build a small station here. However, considering that there was a very important top-grade gem mine here, Ang Lee decided to build an eight-lane medium-sized station here, which was also the largest station in the northern Pyu. The four stations before and after Angji City Station were all small stations with only four lanes. In this way, it would naturally greatly promote the importance of the Angji family's location, and as a local force, the Angji family could obtain great benefits. As long as the Angji family seized this opportunity, it would certainly accelerate the rise of the family. The day the train opened would be the day the Angji family would rise rapidly.
In fact, Li An originally thought that opening six lanes was enough. However, in order to support the obedient Angji family, he simply added two more lanes and made this place the center of the northern part of the Piao Country. With the support of a top-grade gem mine, he believed that the Angji family's stone city had the potential to become a big city. It would definitely speed up its glory in the future.
At this time, the scale of Angji City was too small, and it would definitely need to be expanded on a large scale in the future. Fortunately, there was a large piece of useless alkali soil around the stone city. These alkali soil could not be used to grow crops, so it could only be left idle. The location of the railway station was a large piece of alkali soil, which was also the foundation of the railway station's expansion. The remaining alkali soil was enough to expand Angji City by dozens of times. In the future, as long as there was a need, it could be expanded at any time.
After hearing about the scale of the construction of the various stations along the way, all the families along the way were shocked. Among them, the happiest were naturally the Angji family, while the Deqin family and a few other families were quite shocked, and even felt a sense of extreme fear in their hearts.
"Haha! That's great. Our cars here are going to be built with eight lanes, which is double the number of other cars, but in fact, it's three times. After all, there are two roads that the trains need to pass through, and you can't park on them. Ordinary cars can only park two trains, but we can park six trains here, which is three times the amount of parking. Naturally, the cargo handling is also three times the amount. In the future, our family will be rich. "
In the meeting hall, a new elder of the Angji family said excitedly.
This elder was only in his forties. His father had just passed away, and he had directly inherited the elder's position. He was naturally very happy to hear such good news as soon as he took up the position. Even if his father had just passed away, it could not dispel the excitement in his heart.
The other elders were even happier. They already knew that their family would get the position of deputy stationmaster of the station, which was a lucrative job. Not to mention that they would be able to obstruct the enemy family, just the ability to avoid being obstructed by others was enough to make them excited.
"Patriarch's decision was so wise. The money and materials we spent were worth it. We originally thought that the cars built by the Tang dynasty were all the same, and that every one along the way was almost the same. I didn't expect that the waiting tracks here could be so much more than theirs. This must be because the Tang dynasty saw that our Angji family was sensible, so they brought us such great benefits."
A patriarch said excitedly.
The head of the Angi family could not hide his excitement and said, "Well, don't talk about it. I know everyone is very happy. Indeed, our money is not in vain. The Tang Empire also takes good care of us, but we can't be arrogant and careless. We have to keep a low profile, and we can't spread it everywhere. You know, the Angi family has gained so many benefits, so other families must be very jealous of us. We can't give them a chance to do bad things secretly. When you have nothing to do, you should hang out with the officials of the Tang Empire, spend more money to treat them, and get closer to them. Whether our Angi family can continue to prosper in the future depends on the Tang Empire. Of course, we also count on you. Whether you can keep getting closer to the Tang Empire is very important. If other families take advantage of this and our family loses the control of the station, then our Angi family can only watch others get gold from under our eyes."
"Patriarch, don't worry. We're just happy in our hearts. We won't show off everywhere. We'll be careful and keep a low profile."
"Patriarch, don't worry. We won't make trouble for you. By the way, when the railway is built in the future, the prices of the shops and houses in our Angji family will definitely skyrocket. Shouldn't we prepare in advance? It's good to stock up more houses and shops."
An elder said.
"It's more than that. When the population increases in the future, I'm afraid that our small city will be too small. We must expand it. Shouldn't we consider the plan to expand the city?"
One of the elders said.
"Patriarch, there are saline-alkali lands everywhere outside the city. These lands can't be used to grow crops. It's not difficult to expand the city, but it will cost a lot of money," An elder said.
"You're right.
However, it's definitely not suitable to expand the city for the time being. After all, the Tang dynasty is busy building roads and has exhausted all their manpower. If we expand the city now, we'll have to mobilize a lot of manpower. Isn't that going against the Tang dynasty? That's definitely not feasible. After the railway is built, we'll expand the city. Right now, the most important thing is to take the opportunity to stock up more shops and houses. "
"Alas, I'm afraid it won't be easy! The merchants in the city are not fools. After the news is leaked, they'll definitely predict that the prices of the shops here will skyrocket in the future. How can they sell the shops that will appreciate in value? "
"That's right. Recently, several people who want to sell their shops have increased the price by 50%. Moreover, after the buyer negotiated with them, they suddenly stopped selling. Then, they increased the price by 20%. The buyer was so angry that I don't know if they sold it."
"Oh, the road has just begun to be built! The prices of the shops have already begun to rise. When the road is built, the prices of the shops will increase several times! "
"I think the prices will increase by at least ten times. Why don't we buy the shops? Anyway, as long as we buy them, we won't lose anything unless the railway of the Tang dynasty suddenly stops building. But the Tang dynasty has paid such a huge price. How can they not build the railway? If they suddenly stop building it, the Tang dynasty will become a joke. "
"Alas, it would be better if we started earlier. The prices have almost doubled. We're suffering a loss!"
"If we don't start now, we'll suffer more losses in the future. Do we have to wait until the prices continue to double? We'd better make a prompt decision and buy this shop!"
All the elders were talking at once.
The head of the Angi family smiled and said, "Well, you don't have to say anymore. I've already sent people to negotiate and try to buy this shop. In addition, as long as there's news of other shops and houses being sold, we should buy them as soon as possible. Also, when we expand the city in the future, there will be many new shops and houses. These will all belong to the Angi family. At that time, we don't have to buy them.
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