Why Not Try and Find Out?

Recruitment for railway construction in various regions was also launched across the entire Mortal Realm through newspapers.

Although it was only spread by word of mouth, the job postings in the newspapers and the news that various countries were starting to build railways quickly spread to every corner of the Mortal Realm.

"Village Chief, is the job posting in the newspaper that Brother Dachui heard in town true or false? Can I go?" In a remote village in a remote country thousands of miles away from Xiushui City, a farmer, sweating profusely, ran to the village chief's house. When he arrived, he found that a number of young and strong men from the village had already gathered in front of the village chief's house.

The village chief, who had just returned from town, took a sip of water and, without even catching his breath, waved to the crowd at the door, saying, "It's probably true. This time, it's not just the newspapers reporting it; the yamen summoned me this morning to discuss it. They need to recruit people, but the first month is supposed to be for some kind of training. Only those who pass will be allowed to stay and work. However, they'll provide meals for this month and give us ten coins a day."

Upon hearing this, the group of young men discussed it amongst themselves for a few moments.

Ten coins a day isn't much. If you work hard carrying bags in the city, you can earn twenty or thirty coins a day, but carrying bags doesn't include meals.

Some people thought that since it was only a month, they might as well give it a try. If they passed the test and were hired, they might be able to enjoy the 'employee benefits' mentioned in the newspaper.

However, many people backed down, thinking that they would only earn 300 coins a month after training, and their families would be missing a strong laborer like themselves. If they failed the training and were dismissed, it would be embarrassing for others in the village to pass.

Then someone started counting on their fingers and saying, "Those employee benefits are fake, right? They say that if you officially start working, you not only get one and a half taels of silver a month, but you also get meals, two seasons' worth of clothes, holiday gifts, monthly leave, and annual leave. And what else do you get when you turn fifty? Oh right, you can retire, and then you get a pension, I heard it's at least one tael of silver. Where does such a good thing come from?"

"You forgot to mention, the 1.5 taels of silver is for the first year, and the salary will increase every year thereafter, at least 100 coins!"

Upon hearing this, some people who were initially hesitant due to a lack of understanding suddenly became interested again.

Everyone looked up at the village chief.

Meeting their gazes, the village chief coughed awkwardly. He wasn't sure himself; although he had lived for decades, he had never seen or even heard of such a good thing.

So he simply waved his hand and said, "How would I know if it's true or not? Anyway, that's what the newspaper said, and that's what the government office said. Tomorrow, some constables will come to take your places. If you want to go, go. But if you get your pay cut later, don't come looking for trouble with me. I won't be able to get justice for you."

Seeing the village chief's reaction, everyone felt even more uneasy and uncertain. However, they couldn't get any more information out of him, so they all turned around and went home to discuss it with their families.

Indeed, such employee benefits would seem like a pipe dream to the lower classes in most countries.

They teach them skills, give them money and clothes, and even provide wages when they get old and stop working. Isn't this just throwing money away? The government has always been collecting money and grain from them; when has it ever given them money like this?

"Master, do you really think this is true?" The people discussed quietly under the moonlight in their homes at night.

"Really? Why don't we try and see?" the man said.

"You're really planning to go?" the woman asked, slightly surprised. "What if you get scammed?"

"Being scammed will only cost me a month or two at most, but if it's true and I get selected, then our family will have hope for the future. My Dalang is about to get married, and my Erlang still can't even afford a decent pair of pants. Mother coughs terribly every day but we can't afford medicine. That's just how poor we are. I'll take a gamble for a month or two, to fight for a future for you three." The man seemed to have already thought it through, and slowly said to his wife, "But after I'm gone, you and my Dalang will have to take good care of the family."

Thinking about the situation at home, the woman was filled with unease about her husband's impending departure, but she still said, "Then be careful out there. I don't know what kind of work they're asking you to do. If you sense something's wrong, come back right away. Things may be tough at home, but we can manage."

"Okay, I know. Go to bed early."

Similar conversations have occurred in the homes of countless impoverished people.

Some people decided to give it a try, while many others ultimately decided not to go for various reasons.

Every day, all sorts of big and small things happen in the world. Every moment, people make different choices, experience different ups and downs, and then head towards different paths in life.

However, during this first planned recruitment cycle after the establishment of the Xiushui Railway General Bureau, this event was destined to become the most significant event in their lives.

After responding to the recruitment notice, many people packed their bags and left home, heading to the training points set up by the railway bureaus in various regions.

The number of people trained by Xiushui City itself is naturally insufficient to completely take over the more than a thousand training sites of all sizes in the Mortal Realm. They can only serve as assigned supervisors to provide guidance and oversight at the training sites.

However, since the officials and yamen runners from various countries' training centers had already been specially sent to Xiushui City for training, the entire training program proceeded relatively smoothly overall.

Furthermore, the Lingxian Sect would also send its disciples to various countries' training sites in rotation to conduct covert investigations.

The funds and materials of each branch are regularly distributed by Xiushui City, and there is also a financial supervision department specifically responsible for supervising the use of these funds and materials.

In short, all the departments established around the Xiushui Railway Bureau are rapidly being improved under the extraordinary executive power of Xiushui City and Lingxian Sect in coordinating various sects and the nation.

More than half a year passed, Lin Xiao finally went on strike after a long day of monotonous cycle of cultivation → research → reviewing important documents and reports → cultivation → research.

Their current research project is still something applicable to ordinary people, as mentioned before. However, after achieving some initial results, Lin Xiao said that they cannot limit themselves to agriculture and must also delve into the production and construction lines of trains and railways, as well as maintenance tools.

To liberate agricultural productivity, improving agricultural methods is essential; and to further enhance industrial productivity after liberating productivity, improving production lines is equally essential.

The technological innovations that have led to improvements in these two areas are currently almost entirely due to Lin Xiao and Liao Pantu, as well as ideas and suggestions from other technical departments of the Lingxian Sect and optimization suggestions from the Cage Compound.