Construction

The notice was posted.

It quickly attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

Some literate children stepped forward, carefully read what was written on it, and then their breathing became somewhat rapid.

What's written on it?

Those who saw the notice posted in front of them couldn't help but ask a literate person nearby.

This newly arrived prefect has already won the favor of countless people. He has only been here a short time, but he has already won the favor of many.

The fact that he was able to eliminate the corrupt officials in Pingshui City so soon after taking office is already a great thing for countless people.

He naturally felt a great deal of goodwill towards this prefect.

Seeing the prefect post a notice, I'd like to know what it says.

"This is where the adults are recruiting; it's for things like digging canals, repairing streets, logging in the mountains, and building houses."

Someone who understood the notice immediately spoke up.

Upon hearing this, a middle-aged man at the back of the crowd immediately changed his expression. "Could it be that we're going to have to do forced labor again?"

He was a carpenter, and carpenters like him were required to perform a month of corvée labor every year. All the timber, tools, and even food needed for this labor service were his own responsibility.

Moreover, no salary was paid for performing corvée labor.

In the past, when the situation was better, they weren't required to provide timber; the government would allocate funds to purchase it itself.

Later on, however, the money was all pocketed by those above, and they even had to eat their own food.

This was pure exploitation for carpenters and bricklayers.

"It is not corvée labor."

The young man in front glanced at the notice and then said, "It says that after recruitment, the salary will be in rice. You carpenters and bricklayers will get more; each person can receive two and a half pounds of rice a day."

"If you do heavy work like logging, digging, or quarrying, each person will receive one and a half jin of grain per day."

"The amount of arable land will be slightly less."

The young man spoke to the people around him, and upon hearing his words, they all wore expressions of disbelief.

Is it true that you can get paid for doing all this work?

In the past, when they needed to repair the city walls, they might not even have enough to eat and had to fend for themselves.

The notice still mentions work such as repairing the city wall, but according to what it says, this time there seems to be a salary to be paid.

But is it true or false?

The people exchanged glances and then began to discuss among themselves.

"Do you think this is possible? When has the imperial court ever shown such great kindness? Usually, for these kinds of things, they just forcibly conscript laborers."

One of the commoners bowed slightly and then spoke.

The main concern is that some people might overhear what I said.

"The officials are different from the imperial court. Since it's been written down, it's very likely to be true."

"Hmph, that's not necessarily true. The killing of those officials might have been due to infighting within the bureaucracy," a commoner nearby scoffed.

It's clear that they harbor extreme malice towards this matter.

I always felt that such a good thing couldn't possibly happen.

But that's how it's always been, and the people are generally able to understand.

"But when you first arrived in Pingjiang City, you spent money to buy information in order to get reliable news. Anyone who went to the government office to provide information took money and left."

Another person thought for a moment and then spoke.

In any case, those who went to the government office that day received real money.

As soon as these words were spoken, someone nearby was immediately tempted.

Yes, last time that official directly said he would give one tael of silver, and he actually did.

Now they're saying they'll give each person a salary equivalent to more than a pound of rice, which doesn't seem like a lie at all.

Some people, seeing this, were immediately tempted.

After glancing at the notice, he walked towards the entrance of the government office.

At this moment, a large group of people had already gathered in front of the yamen (government office).

Fang Weiyan asked someone to check if there were any bricklayers, carpenters, or similar skilled workers, as these were technically skilled personnel and should be given priority.

The more people came, the more tempted some of the onlookers became, and after thinking it over, they gritted their teeth and prepared to give it a try.

For a time, the area in front of the government office was bustling with noise.

Many people signed up, but Fang Weiyan was busy moving supplies back and forth.

Bags of rice were moved over, and a few small courtyards were temporarily set up as warehouses.

Soon, the courtyards were piled high with bags, estimated to be tens of thousands of bags.

Fang Weiyan then prepared to start operating the grain shop again.

After doing all this, Fang Weiyan summoned several constables to guard the small courtyard, then returned to Earth, preparing to go back to the Daoist temple.

The Daoist temple is still receiving Incense Offerings; I need to go back and check on it often, lest the incense and candles run out before I can refill them.

Soon, Fang Weiyan returned to the Daoist temple and refilled the incense and candles.

I looked at the wishing well again.

I didn't see any koi fish; they're probably hiding in their hole.

Upon seeing this, Fang Weiyan immediately returned to his room. There were still a lot of things to deal with in Pingshui City that required his attention.

A moment later, Fang Weiyan returned to Pingshui City.

Organizing such a large undertaking requires considering many factors, and it's also necessary to appoint oversight officials to prevent anyone from slacking off or withholding salaries.

After Fang Weiyan set up the positions one by one and selected some educated people to temporarily serve as inspectors, the rest of the work became much easier.

I explained to the bricklayers that the entire Pingshui City needed to be rebuilt to prevent it from being flooded in the future, so some of the irrigation ditches needed to be dug deeper.

The city wall needs further reinforcement.

Mobilize all the craftsmen.

There are also carpenters; all the collapsed houses in the city need to be rebuilt.

Fang Weiyan has already moved a lot of cement and other materials over; that should be enough for the short term.

If we don't have enough, we can just bring over more.

As planned, once tasks were assigned one by one, the people of Pingshui City were able to carry out their work in an orderly manner.

Fang Weiyan set up several supervisors and inspectors to prevent some people from slacking off and to prevent some petty officials from abusing their power.

In addition, there were some government officials who would patrol the entire city to minimize these problems.

A day later, Pingshui City entered a busy period, and Fang Weiyan paid relatively high salaries to skilled workers such as woodcutters, stonemasons, and carpenters.

However, on the first day, only fifty-nine people were counted.

I heard that many artisans haven't come yet, probably because they're worried about being forced into corvée labor.

Fang Weiyan wasn't too worried about this; as long as the salaries were paid, these people would all come.