At once...
Down below, Zhan Dongwen assigned some people to cut down trees and others to dig holes for the trunks.
Meanwhile, Tang Wen had more people carry the new tents out of the warehouse. They began leveling all the ground, laying stone slabs, and digging drainage ditches...
The tents for Tang Wen and his mother were renovated as well, with wooden joists laid over the stone slabs and thick floorboards fitted on top.
Tang Wen had bought all these in the Great Eastern Republic. After all, the carrying capacity of his passage between worlds was limited.
He was short of money, too, so for now, he could only let himself enjoy these comforts first.
However, of the sixty able-bodied workers who had originally agreed to work for the Tang family, only half had come today.
They had probably heard about the people killed last night and feared becoming targets themselves.
So Tang Wen was still short of hands.
Besides, Tang Wen wanted to earn another hundred popularity points as soon as possible and unlock his fourth journey through time and space.
Thus, the porridge distribution continued.
He also sent Li Quan off with silver, arranging for Zhao Du and five men to accompany him to Yanling Commandery to exchange it for gold.
After what had happened last night, he feared someone might intercept the gold on the way back.
Once everything was arranged, Tang Wen called Zhan Junru over. "Gather all the women and ask which of them know how to sew clothes."
"Master, I do. So do my younger sister and my mother. Do you want new clothes, Master? I can make them for you," Zhan Junru said.
"They're not for me. I want two sets of clothes made for everyone.
"Look at what they're wearing. Every one of them looks like a beggar.
"They're still wearing their bloodstained clothes from last night's fight. They're filthy and stink.
"The weather's still fairly cold. If we don't make them clothes soon, they'll freeze," Tang Wen said.
"For so many people? How much cloth would that take?" Zhan Junru was startled.
"I have cloth, even double-layered fabric padded with cotton. Come with me." Tang Wen led her into the warehouse. At the sight of bolt after bolt of beautiful fabric, Zhan Junru ran over excitedly, stroking and squeezing them, unable to bear taking her hands away.
"Master, this cotton cloth is so lovely."
"Ah, there's silk, too! It's beautiful. I've never seen such pretty patterns."
"Master, are you really making clothes for us?"
As excited as a child, Zhan Junru looked at Tang Wen with longing written all over her face.
"Of course. From now on, you'll be the head of the sewing team. Pick out the women who can sew and arrange their work," Tang Wen said with a smile.
"Yes, yes! I'll go pick them right away. If they don't know how, I can teach them." Zhan Junru turned to dash outside.
Making clothes in ancient times was fairly simple. A ruler, a pair of scissors, needles, thread, and fabric were all that was needed.
Of course, it was also terribly inefficient. A woman could work all day and probably still not finish a single garment.
He would let them work at it for now. Once he had money, he would bring in sewing machines in bulk, then teach them to work on an assembly line.
As for buying modern clothes outright, Tang Wen did not want to do that yet. Mainly, their styles would look too strange and invite trouble.
At two in the afternoon, Li Quan returned with 3,000 taels of gold.
"Master, the Chen Family Bank in Yanling doesn't have much gold left. If we exchange more next time, they probably won't have this much," Li Quan said.
"Yanling has more than one bank. Exchange it elsewhere. Besides, now that we've exchanged one batch at the Chen Family Bank, we should stop using them. Otherwise, we might attract someone's attention and invite trouble," Tang Wen said.
"Understood. Next time, I'll go to the Zhang Family Bank or the Li Family Bank. But I heard from Second Manager Chen that fighting has broken out in the northwest," Li Quan said with a nod.
"Against whom?" Tang Wen asked, taken aback.
"Great Qin," Li Quan said.
"What started the fighting?" Tang Wen asked.
"I'm not sure. Second Manager Chen said the fighting has been getting fiercer and fiercer. His Majesty has even dispatched a grand general with three hundred thousand troops.
"So every prefecture has been assigned a quota. They have to turn over grain, fodder, carts, and horses, and conscript laborers.
"Grain, fodder, and horses have all gone up in price these past two days. The year before last, one tael of silver could buy a hundred jin of rice.
"A while ago, one tael could only buy seventy jin. Now it buys barely fifty.
"If the fighting keeps going like this, even more people will starve to death.
"And with the war situation worsening in the northwest, more refugees from there are flooding south.
"So Yanling Commandery will only grow more chaotic. We need to be careful, too.
"I'm afraid that if a huge wave of refugees comes pouring in, we won't be able to cope," Li Quan said.
I'm still complaining there aren't enough!
Naturally, Tang Wen could not say that aloud. Instead, he said, "Go with Zhao Du right away and select another dozen or so capable guards with better martial skills to train in the hills behind us. Move our swords, sabers, and small crossbows into the cave for them to practice with."
Damn it! I need people. I have to hurry and gather a hundred popularity points, unlock another crossing, and exchange the gold for supplies and silver...
Three thousand taels of gold would be worth thirty million over in the Great Eastern Republic, enough to buy a great quantity of supplies and silver.
But what he lacked most right now was people. Even supplies and silver were useless without them. Building a dam required a large workforce.
Although he currently had a hundred and forty or fifty people he could put to use, excluding the elderly, women, and children left only around a hundred.
Another five or six had been injured, leaving only about ninety.
Cutting trees required manpower, as did pitching tents and leveling the ground.
Putting up the wire fence needed hands as well, and training had taken away another dozen. There was no one left to spare for anything else.
"Dongwen, even fewer people came for porridge today. Only a few dozen, fewer than yesterday. What do you think is going on?" Tang Wen asked.
"The main thing is, they're the same people who came yesterday.
"They're all people who refuse to sell themselves to the Tang family, or even do temporary work.
"They're probably lazybones. We shouldn't feed them tomorrow," Zhan Dongwen said, rubbing his forehead with a troubled expression.
"Could there really be only two or three hundred people on the island?" Tang Wen asked.
"Impossible!" A voice came from behind them. Sun Ping had actually returned.
"Sun Ping, did you discover something?" Zhan Dongwen asked.
"Earlier, while I was cutting trees, I urgently needed to shit. I wandered off somewhere to do it and accidentally slipped down a slope.
"Then I heard people talking, so I crept over.
"I found quite a few people hiding five or six li away. There were at least a hundred of them," Sun Ping said.
"What sort of people?" Tang Wen immediately perked up. Damn, over a hundred! If I buy them all, I'll have my hundred popularity points.
"I'm not sure. There seemed to be a mistress, and they all listened to her.
"They also said you were a bandit, Master Tang, and wanted to seize the fields they'd worked so hard to clear.
"If they sold themselves to the Tang family, they'd be slaves from then on, and Master Tang could do whatever he pleased with them.
"If you wanted them dead, they'd have to die. If you wanted their wives and daughters, they'd have to hand them over," Sun Ping said.
"Utter nonsense! My sister has been attending Master for several days, and he's always treated her courteously.
"They even sleep in separate beds. He specially partitioned off a little room for my sister.
"He doesn't even let her help him bathe. He does it himself.
"If Master were that sort of man, my sister would already..." Zhan Dongwen stamped his foot.
"Of course I don't believe it, either. Master Tang treats us so well. He couldn't possibly be that sort of man." Sun Ping nodded. "But that's what they're saying."
"Master, could that mistress be spreading rumors and scaring the refugees away? How dare she ruin your reputation! I'll take some men over and arrest her," Zhan Dongwen said fiercely.
"Leave it for today. Sun Ping, go back and keep listening. If you find out more useful information, I'll reward you with half a tael of silver," Tang Wen instructed.
"Master, could I..." Sun Ping faltered, looking embarrassed.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Though you're all servants of the Tang family,
"I, Tang Wen, have never treated you as underlings.
"I'm different from other masters. You'll see that clearly in time," Tang Wen said with a huff.
"That packet of 'Spicy Braised Red Bull Beef Noodles' you rewarded me with last time-after my son ate it, he kept clamoring for more.
"In the end, my wife beat him half to death. The lash marks are still on his legs, and seeing them breaks my heart.
"So I don't want the half-tael reward. Could you give me a packet of instant noodles instead?" Sun Ping asked.
"Ah..." Tang Wen sighed, opened a cardboard box, and took out three packets for him. "Take these. There are three of you in your family, so one each."
"Thank you for the reward, Master! I'll definitely find out what's going on." Clutching the instant noodles, Sun Ping dashed off in excitement like a wisp of smoke.
Before you continue