Dahe Village should be regarded as the largest village in Ping'an County.
The imperial court successively awarded about 4,000 acres of wasteland. The back of the village was very empty, so this group of refugees was circled behind the village.
More than a dozen thatched huts were built overnight and divided into five residential areas. The ground was covered with dry straw and could accommodate more than a dozen people lying down at the same time. Four people shared a quilt, so they reluctantly stayed there.
The village is divided into several areas.
The first is the free activity area, where people in Dahe Village who are not infected can move freely.
The second is the segregated area, where sick people in the village live alone in ancestral halls or schools.
The third is the refugee area, which is located in the open wasteland and is guarded by patrol members in turns.
As soon as these refugees lay down in their thatched huts, it was getting dark.
They had to get up and work, because Zhao Lizheng made it very clear that if they don't work, there will be no porridge to eat, and they don't want to starve to death.
Wang Yongcheng is now the leader of the patrol team. He said coldly: "There are three jobs in the village that need you to do. One is planting trees. You are not allowed to run around in the area over there. The second is cutting firewood. You can only do it in the village. There are activities on this low mountain. The third is to dig ponds. One person can get a day's meals by digging two cubic meters of soil a day."
Cheng Wanwan delineated the area for digging the pond.
This was something she had planned to do for a long time, but it had been delayed until now because she didn't have the manpower.
But it’s not too late now. It happens to be winter and there is less rain. Generally, rivers and ponds are dug in this season.
However, the soil is frozen hard in winter, making it quite difficult to dig, and the ancient tools were relatively backward. A person can dig four or five square meters of soil in a day, which is almost bearable. Such a large area is a greater workload than planting mulberry trees.
She used the two hundred acres of ponds to plant lotus roots and raise some aquatic products. She dug them about 1.8 meters deep. After the lotus roots were planted for the first time, she backfilled them to 30 or 40 centimeters. The pond water depth looked like 1.5 meters. Neither deep nor shallow.
She does not require quality when growing lotus roots. Because the quality is too good, she will be selected as a tribute. The tribute is collected and she will not be given a penny. She does not do such a thankless job.
Lotus flowers are divided into two types, one specializes in growing lotus roots, and the other specializes in lotus flowers. She chooses a lotus root species that has both qualities, as long as the quality of both is general.
It takes at least two years to grow lotus roots using lotus seeds. It is faster to cultivate lotus root nodes. A few days ago, she went up the mountain to see that the place where wild lotus roots used to grow has not been dug up. Next year, some will be transplanted symbolically, and then they will be transplanted from the mall. Buy lotus root seeds here, so you don’t have to go to the south to buy lotus root seeds just to hide others’ eyes...
Cheng Wanwan looked at the more than thirty refugees in front of him. They were all dressed in single clothes and shivering in the cold wind.
Although she felt sympathy, she didn't want to release her kindness so quickly.
She said quietly: "Start digging from here. Each person is responsible for a piece of land. If you dig out a square of soil, you can receive a small token. Two tokens can be exchanged for a bowl of hot porridge."
The location she chose was more than 800 meters away from her backyard, so there was no need to worry about exposing her family to the plague.
Each refugee was given tools and immediately began to work.
Cheng Wanwan set up a large pot to cook porridge at home to provide food for the refugees who came to work.
People in and outside the city of Ping'an County are also busy cooking porridge and medicine.
It wasn't until the discussions among the refugees outside the city reached Shen Zheng's ears that he realized that more than a hundred people had gone to Dahe Village to grab food.
He suddenly became furious, dropped what he was doing, turned around and went to find his father.
"How could such a thing happen?!" Magistrate Shen suddenly stood up, "Our Ping'an County provides them with two meals of gruel a day, but they actually go to harm the countryside. They are just a bunch of mobs! I think they are too idle. Oh, you actually have such treasonous thoughts! Come on, hurry up and ride to Dahe Village to see what's going on!"
Master Yuan came in sweating profusely: "Nothing is wrong in Dahe Village. Those more than a hundred people were tied up by the people in Dahe Village. This is a false alarm!"
"Hahaha, I knew Dahe Village would not be bullied so easily by the refugees." Shen Zheng suddenly laughed, "These more than a hundred people dare to attack Dahe Village at night. All of them will be arrested and punished as serious crimes!"
Magistrate Shen also had this intention.
If this group of unruly people is not dealt with, other refugees may follow suit, and it will be very difficult to manage the refugees if they become chaotic.
Master Yuan took a breath and said, "We can't deal with those more than a hundred people..."
Shen Zheng frowned: "Master Yuan, why didn't I realize that you are such a compassionate person before?"
"If we deal with it, there will be no one in Dahe Village to help with the work." Master Yuan couldn't laugh or cry, "I also thought that Dahe Village was handing over the group of refugees to the government. Unexpectedly, only ten people were dealt with in small quantities, and the remaining people They all stayed and worked. They were given two bowls of porridge for a day's work, and the group of refugees were managed separately, so there was no trouble for the time being."
"It must be Aunt Zhao's idea." Shen Zheng grinned, "Aunt Zhao told us about working-for-relief before, but we didn't expect it to be implemented one day. Now, several cities near Ping'an County are besieged by refugees. Only Ping'an County provides two meals a day, and the number of refugees coming here will only increase. Even if there are mountains of food, it will soon bottom out. Why not find something for the refugees to do, the more work, the more reward, no Just starve to death if you work too hard. In this way, Ping'an County can develop and eliminate those who love leisure and hate work..."
Magistrate Shen looked at his son with relief.
This kid has been outside the city all day and hasn't slept all night. His eyelids are dark blue, but he is full of vitality.
When talking about these political matters before, he was not interested at all.
Now, he is getting more and more enthusiastic.
"Let these refugees build river embankments and improve ditches so that they can deal with droughts and floods next year." Shen Zheng said while thinking, "After these things are done, roads can be built. Every time I come to Ping'an County from Dahe Village, , the road was bumpy as hell... Aunt Zhao felt dizzy while riding in the carriage, the road must be uneven..."
He said several things in one go.
"I'll do as you say." County Magistrate Shen picked up a writing brush and wrote down several measures mentioned by Shen Zheng, "Master Yuan, you are responsible for announcing the new decree."
Shen Zheng took one look and was stunned: "Are you really going to do everything I said?"
Magistrate Shen patted his son on the shoulder: "Because what you said is very good, but let's put the road construction aside for now."
Things have priorities, what is important and what is not important, he has a strong balance in his mind.
Although he often goes to Dahe Village and hopes that the roads will be smoother, building village roads on a large scale is very narrow-minded from every perspective.
He said happily, "My son has finally grown up."
Shen Zheng was instantly agitated.
He likes to be affirmed and praised, so he likes Aunt Zhao.
He never thought that his father would affirm him, not find fault with him, and trust him so much...
"Dad, leave this matter to me!"
"good."
Shen Zheng laughed and followed Master Yuan out.
As soon as the two of them left, the letter from the prefect came again.
"...The refugees fleeing famine this time have caused great disasters. From the south to Huzhou, all the counties and towns have been harmed...The imperial court has ordered to regulate the refugees in place and help them settle down. According to the settlement The number of displaced households determines the performance of the current year..."
Magistrate Shen suddenly had a headache.
He was asked to provide meals and medicine to the refugees, which he could barely do.
But settling down... it's really difficult...
But no matter how difficult it is, he will still face it.
The most critical issue now is to control the plague first.
