Xu Jin never believed in officials who had good manners, but Bo Zouqian, the head of Fan County in front of him, might refresh his understanding.

Master Zou was about fifty years old. The ninth-grade official robe he wore had been washed and turned white. He even had patches under his armpits. His face was covered with mottled wrinkles, just like a poor old farmer in the countryside.

If Zou Zhubo's dress was not deliberately fake, Xu Jin would definitely believe that he was an honest official with clean sleeves. However, if a country allows honest officials to live like this, it would be a tragedy for the country.

"Mr. Xu, Mr. Xiao is worried that the weather has changed, so he has ordered his subordinates to come back and inform Mr. Xu to speed up the dispatch of 3,000 additional workers to repair the levee." Zou Zhubo said and licked his dry lips.

When I rushed back from the embankment inside and outside, my official robe was covered with mud and my back was wet with sweat.

Gulu gulu...

As soon as Lord Zou Bo finished speaking, his stomach growled.

Xu Jin said with a smile: "I thought the weather had really changed and there was thunder. As the saying goes, the emperor is not short of hungry soldiers. Lord Zou Bo will go down to rest first and fill his stomach. Once enough people have been selected, I will immediately bring him.

People set out to support the embankment."

Master Zou Bo's face was slightly embarrassed. He bowed his hands and left the tent. Someone took him down to eat.

"This Zou Qian is a county boss after all. He is dressed so shabbily and is not ashamed of himself. The smell on his body can make people faint." Huang Jin let go of the hand covering his nose and took a few exaggerated breaths.

.

"Eunuch Huang, let's go, let's go select laborers!" Xu Jin said calmly. No matter whether the shabby clothes of Master Zou were intentional or not, it was a fact that he was hungry. If he pretended to be an upright official, he could achieve this.

Yes, it's a strange flower.

The refugee camp at the moment accommodates more than 20,000 people, so there is no shortage of labor. If it were not to save food, they could be pulled to the embankment to help.

However, a considerable number of these people are women, children and the elderly. It is obviously not cost-effective to let these people work on the embankment. Not to mention the waste of food, they cannot help much. Therefore, only young and strong people who can work are generally selected as laborers.

man.

Staying in the refugee camp, you can only eat two bowls of gruel every day, and your chest is pressed to your back with hunger. But when you work on the embankment, you not only have enough to eat, but also receive half a liter of food every day, so the refugees are happy

By working on the levee, you can not only eat well for yourself, but also earn some food for your family.

So when they heard that 3,000 workers would be selected to work on the embankment, the entire refugee camp was excited. They rushed forward to sign up. Some half-year-old boys and strong women rushed forward, hoping that they would be selected.

superior.

"You bitches, it's our men's business to go up the embankment. Why are you just joining in the fun? Go and cool off." A young refugee who was blocked by women couldn't help but cursed.

"Bah, who said women can't go up the levee? Why don't we compare our strength? Sir, we also want to go up the levee. Our work will definitely be no worse than that of men!" A strong woman with a loud voice said loudly.

"That's right, we work harder than men. Your Majesty, please give us a chance. I still have three children to feed!"

"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, please be kind..."

Xu Jin looked at the disheveled faces and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The floods were ruthless and countless families were separated from their wives. There were many mothers who fled with their children in this refugee camp. These people were all

It is difficult for the vulnerable groups of refugees to find jobs in the city.

"Okay, I am not an unreasonable person. Regardless of men, women, old or young, as long as they can carry the weight of a stone, they can go up the embankment!"

As soon as Xu Jin said this, the whole audience cheered!

At that moment, Xu Jin ordered people to bring in a sandbag weighing one stone for testing. Anyone, regardless of gender, old or young, who could carry the sandbag and walk around would be hired.

The weight of one stone is about 120 kilograms. Even an adult man who is not used to doing rough work should be able to carry it. But don't forget, these refugees are not fully fed. They only drink two meals of gruel every day. They have to carry it.

It is not easy to make a 120-pound sandbag, so the elimination rate of refugees waiting in line is as high as 50%.

Fortunately, the number of refugees queuing up to sign up was large, and 3,000 workers were quickly selected, and more than a hundred women were actually selected. Looking at the cheerful smiles on the faces of these selected women, Xu Jin felt the same.

It's inexplicably good and deeply touching. What may seem like a piece of cake to those in power may be the hope of survival for the poor people at the bottom.

"Master Xu, there are enough for three thousand people!" Lord Zou reminded in a low voice.

Xu Jin waved his hand and said calmly: "Go on, select five thousand people, more people are more powerful, it's better to build the embankment as soon as possible!"

Although Zou Xiancheng felt it was inappropriate, the imperial envoy Jinkou said so, and he, a ninth-grade official, could only do as he was told.

Soon, 5,000 workers were finally selected. Xu Jin was not in a hurry to set off. Instead, he ordered people to cook. Each refugee was given two large steamed buns and a large bowl of hot noodles. As the saying goes, grinding

Only when you are full can you have the strength to work.

Those selected refugees ate steamed buns and noodle soup with large gulps. Some were so happy that they shed tears. When life is so difficult, being able to fill your stomach is undoubtedly a blessing.

After the five thousand refugees had eaten their fill, each one with high morale, led by Xu Jin, marched toward the Yellow River embankment in the southwest of Fan County.

Originally, the leader Bo Zou Qian was a little dissatisfied with Xu Jin's "delaying" time, but at this time he had to admit that Xu Jin's decision to let the refugees eat before setting off was indeed quite wise.

After these refugees had eaten their fill, it felt like wind was blowing under their feet. The more than ten miles journey was almost completed in half an hour. Moreover, these refugees were all full of energy, carrying hoes, shovels and other tools. They looked like "A soldier will die for his friends."

"He looked so energetic that he surpassed the group of workers on the embankment.

"Master Xu, less than two miles ahead is the gap in the embankment!" Master Zou pointed to the place where the mist was steaming in front of him. He could faintly hear the sound of rumbling water, and a turbid yellow river had already appeared in sight.

Xu Jin glanced around, pointed to the tree-covered hillside on his left and said loudly: "Chen Dazhuang, ask the leaders of each team to lead people to cut down trees there. Each team will cut down at least ten logs and transport them all to the embankment."

Xu Jin divided these 5,000 workers into fifty teams, each with a hundred people, with one team leader and nine deputy team leaders, who were responsible for directing and coordinating the work of the workers in the team to avoid a swarm of chaos, which would lower work efficiency.

So at this time Xu Jin gave an order, and these refugees, led by their respective team leaders, rushed to the hillside to cut wood. The women in the team probably worked hard to show that women were no worse than men at work, so they worked hard, weighing a thousand kilograms of wood.

Ten women carry it on their shoulders. Men naturally refuse to lag behind when they see this. Ten women carry a piece of wood, right? Only five of us men carry it. Otherwise, it is not enough to show the strength of men...

Zou Zhubo looked at the five thousand laborers working desperately, and couldn't help stroking his beard and sighed: "I didn't expect that this kind of mixing of men and women would have such a miraculous effect!"
Chapter completed!