novelraw Chapter 63: All Yours
Chapter 63: All Yours
Chapter 63: All Yours
Chapter 63: All Yours
Both districts were near the edge of the inner city, but they were still part of the inner city and defended by another inner city wall.
The outer city area was under construction, mostly military districts where most of the city defense army resided.
The corpse drivers received their jobs while in quarantine, and to facilitate their business, they were directly housed in the outer city area.
Daoist Master Qingyi had one less competitor.
After Wen Gu finished discussing current matters, he dismissed everyone to their tasks.
Although the district gate here had been locked before, it was checked by dedicated personnel periodically. Those houses that remained intact were given slight upkeep, so that people from the south could move in directly upon arrival.
In Qingyun District, Wen Gu’s two courtyard houses were ready to be lived in after a little tidying up. He was not picky about living conditions, and it was much better than the conditions during their escape.
A maidservant from Madam Shen, his aunt, brought a batch of daily necessities to furnish Wen Gu’s empty houses.For the kitchen, there were dried fruits, smoked meats, as well as salt, sugar, and preserves.
Although Wen Gu said he could refine coarse salt into fine salt and had some in stock, Madam Shen still sent over a jar.
The sugar was not white refined sugar, which Wen Gu found far too coarse, but it was already a high-quality grade used by nobles.
Winter clothing was delivered in boxes, and the coal for the kitchen was also replenished.
Wen Gu observed that his aunt was so generous, so he had to repay her well.
Reciprocity would deepen their relationship.
He was not idle. Wen Gu went to another tidied-up courtyard house—the Jingxing and Qingyun District Affairs Office (×), the office for affairs of both districts.
Personnel settled into the district needed to be registered. Not just their names and origins; Wen Gu drew up a formatted table. Besides the basic information required, it also recorded special skills and preferred labor categories.
The clerical work was assigned to Cheng Zhi and Little Brother He.
Zhou Shan followed Wen Gu, assisting him.
Wen Gu planned to build a communal dormitory within the district first, where some laborers would be managed collectively.
He discussed this with Zhou Shan, who asked, "How will the wages be settled?"
For settling disaster victims, a certain amount of relief grain was allocated based on the approximate numbers. How to use it was the responsibility of the district managers.
Should it be settled with the relief grain directly? Or with currency?
Copper and iron coins? Gold and silver?
Gold and silver had depreciated, and large amounts of copper and iron were used for defensive fortifications, leading to the large-scale melting of metal currency.
In the areas now managed by the Zhao Clan, including Xin Prefecture City, Shuo City, and other towns, paper money was used instead.
Jiaozi and Qianyin had been issued before, so paper money was not new. Similar practices were now common in various northern regions, though they were not universally accepted.
“We can use Jiaozi and Qianyin for large sums, but what we need now are substitutes for small change and loose coins.”
However, only the authorities could print Jiaozi and Qianyin.
“Then… what do you mean, Foreman?” Zhou Shan asked.
“We won’t deal with money. We’ll print food ration tickets! Food ration tickets that can only be used in our two districts and can be exchanged for food!” Wen Gu said.
Zhou Shan pondered and found it feasible.
Various industries in the civilian sector also issued their own ticket-like substitutes. However, food ration tickets used internally would not touch sensitive lines.
Food ration tickets were essentially meal tickets. Now, those fleeing for their lives valued food the most, and this would offer more peace of mind.
Food ration tickets could be cashed in daily for food. If one wanted to eat more, they would use more tickets; if they were reluctant to eat, they would use fewer.
However, Wen Gu thought that at first, people would be uneasy and would certainly exchange all the food ration tickets they received for food.
It was fine; the food allocated from above was temporarily sufficient.
As for the future, there would naturally be more grain to fill the granaries.
“Let’s settle the food ration ticket issue first.”
Everyone was busy now, and there weren’t enough hands. Wen Gu decided to draw the first version of the food ration tickets himself to make do.
He would also ask Blacksmith Yu to quickly make a stamp for emergency use.
He casually drew a design for the food ration ticket and gave it to Zhou Shan to take to Blacksmith Yu to engrave a stamp.
Looking around, Cheng Zhi and Little Brother He were busy with registration. Who else could read?
Madam Liang from the escort agency?
Anyone who could read should come and share the workload!
And those people from the escort agency.
Look at their Tiger Might Escort Agency’s emblem… cough, how well it was printed. Perhaps they inherited the virtues of their late leader and also had carpentry talent.
He would see the statistics table later. Besides their strength, those people should have other special skills. They shouldn't just focus on exerting their strength; they should play to their advantages.
The remaining supplies in the team had already been distributed. The escort officers from the escort agency, with the supplies they received, could survive for some time without doing anything.
But the villagers and refugees who followed them needed to start working immediately.
They had two choices: first, to complete the tasks assigned by Wen Gu, and the district would pay them.
Second, to go out and take on jobs. There were many construction sites in the city, requiring a large number of people.
Those who followed were generally timid. They decided to stay within the district and accept the tasks assigned by the district head.
Given the current situation, they still trusted Wen Gu as their district head.
Currently, they lived in temporarily constructed shacks, but if they could gain a firm foothold and become capable, they could buy the usage rights to a piece of land and build their own houses on it.
Xin Prefecture City was now encouraging housing construction, and the prices were not too high.
For refugees who had nothing, it was still very expensive, and they were unwilling to spend money on it.
The escort agency, however, appeared wealthy. Knowing that they could buy land and build houses, they directly purchased the usage rights to a plot of land and planned to build houses.
Anyway, they didn’t have any other jobs to take on now. Their strength had to be used somewhere, so they would use it all to build their escort agency branch.
There was stone and earth here, but no bricks or wood. The walls could be built with stone and earth, but wood was still essential.
Escort Leader Lin led people to browse the market and found that their supplies could not buy anything.
Wood was currently in short supply. The nearby trees had been mostly cut down. There were forests further north of Xin Prefecture City, but they were a distance away. Due to labor and transportation limitations, the quantity transported each time was limited, and before the goods even arrived, they were snatched up by wealthy families.
Fortunately, his cousin sent his followers to deliver a batch of building materials for Wen Gu to repair houses. At Wen Gu’s suggestion, Escort Leader Lin found the follower and asked for a contact, thus obtaining the wood for construction.
The escort agency used more than half of their inventory and even offered two horses to obtain it. This was only because the other party allocated it to them out of consideration for Wen Gu, their young cousin. Otherwise, the escort agency would have to wait until next year.
The escort officers felt it was worth it.
With people and houses, they could truly establish themselves here, and their wandering hearts would find stability.
The Xin Prefecture Branch of the Tiger Might Escort Agency was established here!
Wen Gu looked on with satisfaction.
The morale was high, maintain it!
Sitting in the office, he continued to review the responsibilities of a district head.
The district gates opened and closed at fixed times, and fire prevention within the district also needed attention.
Even though many courtyard walls were stone and earth structures, there were many combustible materials used inside.
Even temporarily built shacks, bamboo poles, wooden sticks, and cloth could easily catch fire.
With epidemics spreading everywhere now, everything entering the area had to be heated, and there were fire sources everywhere. Therefore, patrols needed to be dispatched, paying attention to fire prevention.
Wen Gu assigned Little Liu to lead a patrol. Unlike Zhou Shan, who had children to look after, Little Liu was alone. He was currently very emotional and full of energy.
The urgent matters were assigned first.
One day, Wen Gu was drawing in the office.
He intended to build a communal dormitory within the district, forming a large compound with two heated brick beds inside.
Just then, Madam Shen’s maidservant returned, bringing a picture album.
“We don’t know exactly what equipment Young Master Cousin needs, so Madam asked a painter to draw everything. After you’ve chosen what you need, you can have Chang Shun make a trip.”
The maidservant pointed to a young man standing respectfully beside her.
This Chang Shun was sent by Madam Shen and ran errands between Jingxing District and the Zhao Residence.
After the maidservant left, Wen Gu found a room for Chang Shun to settle in, and he himself opened the picture album to see what was inside.
The album contained alchemy room equipment of various sizes. Although they were not exquisite, drawn in a short amount of time and in varied styles as if by multiple people, the general idea could be understood. An experienced person could even fully imagine them.
After flipping through it, Wen Gu took the picture album to Qingyun District opposite.
There was no Taoist temple yet, but Daoist Master Qingyi had already taken in four young Taoist disciples.
The courtyard house Wen Gu was borrowing was cleaned and tidied by these four young disciples, who willingly completed the chores.
These four young Taoist disciples were all villagers who had followed. They had performed well on the journey and were capable, so Daoist Master Qingyi took them in.
By staying by the Daoist Master’s side, they had food and wouldn’t starve. Many people competed, but only these four stood out.
When Wen Gu arrived, two of the four young disciples were cleaning the courtyard, while the other two were massaging the Daoist Master’s shoulders and legs.
Wen Gu glanced at the dog Taoist priest.
He seemed to be enjoying himself, but was he too idle?
“Cough!”
Wen Gu walked over, raising the picture album in his hand. “What you wanted has arrived.”
The Daoist Master Qingyi, who had been pretending to sleep, immediately got up and took the picture album.
He only skimmed through it, but his eyes were already filled with fervor.
Wen Gu sat down to the side. “At the beginning of these chaotic times, my uncle and cousin executed many traitorous Taoist priests and heretical monks who misled the people. These are the implements they left behind.”
The Daoist Master Qingyi, flipping through the album, said, “Oh, good riddance!”
A bunch of useless trash! They didn’t have enough skill but still tried to deceive people, so their tragic end was deserved!
Guarding these treasures and not knowing how to use them! What a waste!
The more the Daoist Master Qingyi flipped through the album, the brighter his eyes became.
*All mine!*
He thought to himself: *Indeed, it was the right decision to stay. As for the disagreeable behavior of that dog scholar, forget it; I’ll endure it.*
Wen Gu saw him flipping through it enthusiastically and knew that everything inside was indeed useful. He said, “You can pick five items first. Choose whatever you like.”
“Only five?” Daoist Master Qingyi was dissatisfied.
He had taken a fancy to many items. Choosing only five was too difficult; he couldn’t bear to part with them.
Pondering, he picked up a pen and was about to circle his choices.
Wen Gu then handed him another list. “These are the things to be refined next.”
The Daoist Master took it and glanced at it. The paper was filled with salt, sugar, and coal.
Daoist Master Qingyi: “……”
*This dog!*
*You’ve already customized it, yet you tell me to choose freely!*
He was so angry that he wanted to smash the picture album in his hand onto the dog scholar’s face, but then he looked at the magnificent and varied alchemy furnaces and cauldrons in the album…
Still… still so damn enviable!
Conflicted and struggling, until his expression became blank. He silently looked at Wen Gu.
Wen Gu pointed to the album in the Daoist Master’s hand. “There are so many things. We can’t get them all now. You need to achieve results first, and only then can I ask for the rest. Don’t worry, as long as you want them, they are all yours.”
(End of this chapter)