Lin Ze closed his eyes and enjoyed the attentive service of the four maids, saying nothing.
The maids continued to serve him enthusiastically, but deep down, they were growing increasingly uneasy.
They knew their request was a bit much. Asking their master to arrange work for their entire families was improper, even if they really did become his concubines.
So Fei Hua had made the request jokingly, never expecting Lin Ze to actually agree.
But as Lin Ze remained silent, the four maids' movements grew stiff. They were afraid they had angered him.
"Master, this servant was greedy. Please punish me."
At last, Fei Hua, who had first asked Lin Ze to find work for her family, couldn't hold back any longer and tried to kneel and apologize.
But before she could say another word, Lin Ze spoke calmly. "You may each bring five members of your family. Tomorrow morning, come with me to Maple Forest Township. As for the other servants, each family may send two people. I'll arrange some easy work for them."
Of course, Lin Ze hadn't agreed because he'd been seduced by the maids' sugary words.
He had planned from the very beginning to arrange work for the servants' families. His aim was to win their loyalty and make them trusted confidants.
Of course, he couldn't make it too easy for them.
People didn't cherish things they got too easily, so Lin Ze had offered only some of the available positions instead of satisfying every servant's request.
As for the remaining positions, he'd decide whether to offer them based on how these people performed.
"Thank you, Master."
The four maids immediately knelt down in delight to thank him.
Not only had Lin Ze refrained from blaming them, he'd actually offered their families some jobs. The maids, who cared deeply about their families, were moved and filled with gratitude toward Lin Ze. They could think of nothing but staying by his side for the rest of their lives.
"I've given you the jobs you asked for. But since you made such an unreasonable request, I assume you were prepared to accept punishment."
Lin Ze rose with a cold laugh and pulled off his belt.
Before long, muffled sobbing could be heard.
The following morning, Lin Ze, unusually, skipped his morning exercises.
After breakfast, he drank a large bowl of ginseng soup made with ten-year-old ginseng.
Only then, his legs feeling a little weak, did Lin Ze climb into the carriage and leave the city, bringing along the families of his household servants and heading for Maple Forest Township.
On the way, Lin Ze kept regulating his breathing, circulating his Inner Breath throughout his body to restore his energy and vitality.
It wasn't until the carriage reached the Black Stone Village Coal Mine that Lin Ze felt he had recovered from the exhaustion of a night's exertion.
Those maids had been incredibly stubborn last night. No matter how he disciplined them, they refused to beg for mercy.
Young and vigorous, Lin Ze couldn't stand being provoked like that. He'd ended up disciplining them all night, only stopping at daybreak, when the four finally realized their mistakes.
"Good thing I'm young and strong now. If I still had that frail body from my last life, I'd probably have dropped dead by now."
Lin Ze jumped down from the carriage. Although he didn't feel fully recovered, at least there was nothing wrong with him on the surface.
He figured another short rest should bring him back to his best.
"Put everything in the warehouse."
Lin Ze called out to the household servants.
Behind Lin Ze's carriage came many more wagons carrying supplies.
These included rice, flour, vegetables, and meat for the many miners, as well as pots, bowls, mining picks, and everything else they would need.
Once the supplies had been counted and stored, Lin Ze began directing everyone to work.
The families of Lin Ze's servants who had been introduced for work at the mine numbered sixty in all. Most were women and children, totaling forty-two.
The other eighteen were boys just over ten years old.
That was only to be expected. Able-bodied adults were the backbone of a household. If the families of these servants, who had sold themselves into servitude, had had plenty of able-bodied workers bringing in money, they wouldn't have needed to sell themselves to support their families.
Lin Ze didn't look down on them. He assigned the women and children to the kitchen, where they'd receive food and lodging, plus two hundred copper coins a month.
There weren't many miners yet, but the workforce would inevitably grow to thousands in the near future. By then, even these forty-odd cooks might not be enough.
As for the boys, Lin Ze had them help the adult household servants watch over the supplies, buy puppies to raise as guard dogs, and then patrol the area around the mine for anything unusual.
Their terms were much the same as the women and children's: food and lodging, but a lower monthly wage of just one hundred copper coins.
In the future, these people would form the backbone of the Mining Guard. Once they'd grown up, Lin Ze would naturally raise their wages.
As Lin Ze assigned the work, everyone looked at him with gratitude. These jobs really were easy, and the pay was decent. In this day and age, they were plum jobs.
The monthly wages weren't high, but food and lodging were already a great deal. They didn't ask for much; they just wanted to make a living through their own efforts.
As soon as Lin Ze had settled the people he'd brought with him, Zhang Da Yu, the village chief of Black Stone Village, arrived with a vast crowd of able-bodied men.
Some of these men came from Maple Forest Township, while others came from nearby villages.
Besides them, the scholars who had heard about the job openings and come to the mine had arrived as well. Compared to the more than six hundred miners, there were only a little over twenty scholars.
"Neighbors, there's no need for any fancy talk when you work for me. The more you do, the more you earn."
"For every twenty jin of coal you dig, you'll get one copper coin. There's no upper limit. On top of that, for every five hundred jin you dig, you'll get a Meal Ticket that can be used for one meal in the canteen. Every meal comes with meat. If you're capable, you can earn four or even five taels of silver a month working for me."
"On top of that, you can share any extra Meal Tickets with your family, so they can enjoy some meat too."
"Understand? If you do, go to the storeroom for mining picks, baskets, and carrying poles, then get to work."
Lin Ze didn't bother with any flowery speech. He simply and directly explained the pay and benefits, repeating them three times.
With his Inner Breath amplifying his voice, every person present could hear him clearly.
"Understood!"
The miners answered loudly and enthusiastically. Then, guided and assisted by the Mining Guard and Lin Ze's household servants, they took turns collecting tools and began digging coal.
In Lin Ze's simple words, the miners had already seen the hope of building a better life through their own hard work. Naturally, they were full of enthusiasm.
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