Chapter 199: Chapter 139: Second Recruitnt of Vagrants (Part 2)
’It was simple: the more won who settled in the village, the more children would be born there in the future. In the long run, children born in the village would feel a greater sense of belonging than the ones brought back now.’
’Artisans, no matter their trade, were welco. Anyone with a craft could be taken. The village was in desperate need of such people.’
At a steady pace, Cheng Zongyang made his way to the cluster of dilapidated houses he had visited before.
With the weather turning cold, many of the refugees had chosen to gather together, as it was much warr than staying alone.
Most of them worked as laborers for the County Magistrate’s Office, earning just enough money or a al to scrape by.
Life was still difficult, but it was far better than their previous situation outside the County Town. At least here, they had shelter from the wind, rain, and cold, even if they didn’t know where their next al was coming from.
Wherever people gathered, a so-called leader of a small group would inevitably erge to take control of the area.
This area was no exception.
The last ti Cheng Zongyang had co here, he had sought out the leader of the refugees.
Cheng Zongyang’s arrival imdiately caught the attention of several underlings. One of them quickly entered a small, rundown courtyard nearby.
Soon, a middle-aged man who was slightly better dressed and more robustly built than the others strode out.
The mont he saw Cheng Zongyang, his stern expression instantly transford into a fawning one. He half-bowed, clasped his hands, and said:
"Sir! You’ve finally co. Quick, please, co inside and have a seat."
Seeing the man’s deanor, Cheng Zongyang couldn’t help but smile.
’The last ti I ca here, I had to beat him up a bit. He straightened up right after I revealed I was a Martial Artist.’
"That won’t be necessary." Cheng Zongyang shook his head. "Zhao the Seventh, how is the task I gave you last ti coming along?"
The middle-aged man replied hurriedly, "It’s all been registered, just as you instructed, Sir."
As he spoke, he carefully took a crumpled piece of paper from his robes, unfolded it gingerly, and presented it with both hands, his voice still full of respect.
"I found four literate scholars among the refugees and had them write this. Please, Sir, take a look."
Zhao the Seventh was illiterate. But in tis like these, literacy didn’t matter. The reason he lived better than the other refugees was his strong fists and sturdy build.
After speaking, Zhao the Seventh turned and habitually raised his foot to kick one of the underlings behind him, only to abruptly rember Cheng Zongyang’s presence. He imdiately suppressed the urge, instead pointing at the man and saying, "Baldy, go get those scholars."
The scrawny young man, whose hair was patchy and bald in spots, heard this and nodded quickly. "Oh, right. I’ll go now."
When Zhao the Seventh turned back to Cheng Zongyang, his impatient expression toward his underling had once again morphed into a fawning smile.
"Sir, as per your previous instructions, this ti I’ve focused on large families, able-bodied young n, and young won. There are also so with skills. I followed your orders strictly, persuading them one by one. When those n get here, I’ll have them go and fetch the people on the list. You can take a look then. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied."
To this day, Zhao the Seventh still believed Cheng Zongyang was from a brokerage, engaged in the business of human trafficking.
They had seen countless such situations on their journey from Linchuan.
Many agents from brokerages would buy children along the road, and refugee families on the brink of collapse would sell their own.
This not only allowed the children to survive but also gave the family so grain to live on.
’But what Zhao the Seventh couldn’t understand was, if this was about human trafficking, why take whole families? And why want able-bodied n? And artisans?’
’Was it more like recruiting for hard labor?’
’But that didn’t seem right either.’
’Zhao the Seventh figured his brain wasn’t cut out for this kind of thinking, so he decided not to dwell on it. Completing this Sir’s task was more important than eating; otherwise, he might lose his life.’
Soon, Baldy returned with four young n who were dressed in rags, disheveled, and as thin as bamboo poles.
"Sir, these are the four," Zhao the Seventh said imdiately.
Cheng Zongyang looked at the four of them, shivering from the cold, and gave a slight nod. Ignoring Zhao the Seventh, he addressed them directly. "Have you all studied before? Where are you from?"
The four n looked at each other but didn’t answer. Zhao the Seventh, losing patience, barked, "What are you staring for? Answer the Sir’s question!"
"Ah, I... I’m from Linchuan."
"I’m from Xiangyang. From Furong Town."
"I... I’m also from Linchuan."
"I’m from Qingfeng County."
Hearing the last one, Cheng Zongyang was a bit puzzled. "Qingfeng County? Isn’t that also part of Xiangyang? Why co here from over there?"
Qingfeng County was to the north of Jade Peak County, even farther north than Bowan Town. ’But to go from one county to another just to be a refugee?’
Furong Town made sense; it was a town just south of the County Town and also part of Jade Peak County. ’But is Qingfeng County in even more chaos than Jade Peak County?’
The young man stamred, "I... I’m from a village under Qingfeng County’s jurisdiction. Qingfeng County wasn’t letting anyone in, and there was no disaster relief. We couldn’t survive, so my... my family and I could only head south, and we ended up in Jade Peak County."
Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly, not dwelling on the reason. He said, "Zhao the Seventh has probably already told you that I’m looking for a group of people to co with . There will be food, drink, and a place to live. Since you’ve all studied, do you know how to teach?"
"Yes, yes we do."
"I was once a county scholar, but after the disaster struck, I never went on to take the higher exams."
"..."
The four n all nodded in agreent.
Cheng Zongyang was very pleased. He didn’t need these n to have profound knowledge. He just needed people who knew how to teach, who could help the village children learn to tell right from wrong, to read, and to write. More importantly, they had to be receptive to the clan-based ideology he planned to instill in them.
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