The old lady sat down and talked, while Ren Ning and Lei Er drank water and nodded to listen.
By the time she finished telling her story, the two of them had already fed their mounts and even brushed them from beginning to end.
"What about the rest of your family, ma'am?" Lei Er looked around curiously, "They don't seem to be here on a hot day?"
"They," the old lady smiled and pointed in the direction of the city wall, "they are building the city wall."
Lei Er suddenly realized, "It turns out he went to do corvee service."
The Great Wall, cities, post roads, canals, river embankments and other infrastructure here in Yunchui were almost all built with the hard work of the people who served in corvee service.
"Serving as a corvee? It seems like the two young men have just come to Guangxin."
Having said this, the old lady raised her head slightly, as if she was proud of showing off her wealth to outsiders.
"My child can be said to be doing corvee work now, but it can also be said that he is not."
Well.
"I wonder what auntie means by this?"
Lei Er's interest increased greatly.
Seeing that Ren Ning had no intention of leaving for the time being, he simply pulled over two stools and the two of them sat down.
hehe.
The old lady's smile was a little proud.
"Because when you serve as a corvee here in Guangxin County, you can not only eat well and rest well, but as long as you work hard, you will be paid by the court... Other places do not have such good treatment."
"Is there still wages for doing corvee service?"
Lei Er glanced at Ren Ning next to him in astonishment.
Of course, the county magistrates in various places in Guangxin and the county guards living in Nanshu City would not pay their wages out of their own pockets or tax dollars. This should be what Yingpan or Ren Ning meant.
"Yes." The old lady was also a little unbelievable, "It sounds strange. But the court does pay wages. My son and daughter-in-law received copper coins on time every month."
Tsk tsk.
"So good." Lei Er smacked his lips repeatedly, "After hearing what my aunt said, even I want my family to move to Guangxin."
"Come on." The old lady smiled and nodded, "This is a good place. Although there are a lot of mosquitoes, snakes and ants, it is nothing compared to surviving."
"I think back then our family had to die a few times. After today, we don't know where we will be tomorrow. No one will care if we die on the road or in the garbage dump one day. But the county magistrate here not only gave us food to eat but also gave us a house.
They gave us land to live in, and we even got money for doing corvee work."
"What else can we people do for such reborn parents besides being grateful and working hard?"
"That's right." Lei Er nodded thoughtfully.
hehe.
When the old lady saw someone who felt the same way, the conversation became more interesting.
"Although the old woman and her family don't know a single Chinese character, they still know what it means to repay the favor of survival."
Speaking of this, she pointed to the clear blue sky above her head.
"It's already September, but the weather is still as hot as a fire. But all the young people don't care about this, and they are all working hard on the construction site."
"Part of it is for the wages; the other part is to repay the kindness of living here."
Snapped.
Lei Er suddenly slapped his thigh hard.
"The officials here are kind, the people are diligent, and the trade routes are prosperous. I bet this place will get better and better. Madam, I wonder if Guangxin needs more people?"
"I want it." The old lady became even more happy when she saw Lei Er's heartbeat, and her old face almost turned into a chrysanthemum with a smile.
"The county governor once issued a notice saying that Guangxin has high mountains, dense forests, sparsely populated areas, and there are still many places that are short of manpower. The more people who come to settle here, the better. The people who come first can still choose good residences and land.
"
Hiss.
"That's great." Lei Er wiped his envious saliva, "Then I have to finish the work at hand and then go home to pick up my family."
The old lady also became anxious, "It's rare to find such a good place. Brother, you have to hurry up..."
The three of them chatted for a few more words.
After the two horses had rested, Ren and Ning bid farewell to the old lady and turned towards the old city.
"Old Ren," Lei Er couldn't help but say after walking for a while, "do you want to pay for the corvee service?"
Um.
Ren Ning nodded.
"The wages are actually not much, but it can encourage the people who are doing corvee work to work harder, unlike other places where they are dragging their feet. In fact, it is a good thing."
"After all, time is money."
What's more important is that Guangxin is located at the southern end of Yunzui, with sparsely populated areas and insufficient spending power.
Although the rubber products here are becoming more and more popular in other places, attracting countless caravans to purchase. The trade routes gradually become prosperous.
But what has to be admitted is that caravans usually don't bring much goods with them when they go south, or they have sold all their goods before arriving at Baihua County.
Because Guangxin cannot afford the consumption here, if the goods are shipped over, it will end up in its own hands.
Nowadays, people get a certain amount of money through corvee service or other labor. Although it is not much, when accumulated over time, it will create various consumption potential and needs.
As the saying goes, where there is demand, there will be supply.
At that time, it will be a great benefit to both the living standards of the people and the caravans who are accustomed to taking the north-south route. At least they will no longer have to go south with empty cars in the future.
After walking around for more than half an hour, the two finally arrived in front of the newly built General's Mansion.
Lei Er looked at General Li Hebai's mansion opposite, winked at Ren Ning, "So your family is here. What a coincidence!"
"What a coincidence," Ren Ning said angrily, "Why don't you go in and have a cup of tea?"
"No." Lei Er shook his head and refused.
If you go in, you will definitely be dragged away by Yingpan. It is impossible to leave so quickly, and you will have to be fed a mouthful of dog food by the two of them.
He had better go home and see his home and wife first to get down to business.
"I'll come back in two days." After saying that, Lei Er rode away.
Both of them were very popular, and Zhui Feng and Ben Lei were even more valuable. Not long after they arrived at the gate of the General's Mansion, they attracted the attention of the two mansion's disciples.
It didn't take long for someone to recognize them and go back to inform their master.
"General, it's really you!" The old housekeeper hurriedly came out and said with surprise and joy: "When did you come back?"
"I just got off my horse."
Ren Ning looked around at the new home in front of him and patted him sympathetically, "Butler Zou, you're all right. Are you all used to moving from the prosperous Xingji City to the remote and remote Nanshu City?"
Ha ha.
Zou Dahe laughed heartily, "For me, it's the same wherever I go. Wherever the general and his wife move, I will follow them."
He summoned his servants to take Zhui Feng to the stable.
"As for the guard brothers in the house. They have been soldiers for a generation, and they move with the army every few years. They have been to all over the world. It seems that they get used to it faster than the old slaves."
"The capital city is prosperous, but there are too many wealthy families there. Everyone says that talking and doing things in Xingji City always feels awkward, so Guangxin County, which has high mountains and far away from the emperor, is better."
"That's good." Ren Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
He strolled into the main hall and admired the array inside, "How is the construction of this mansion now?"
"Back to the general, after more than a year of renovation and expansion, the general's mansion is basically completed. As long as the plants in the mansion are fully grown, it will be a house with excellent feng shui. I believe it will be able to protect the health of the general and his family in the future.
May the future be bright and the family happy.”
"That's good." Ren Ning nodded with satisfaction, "Thank you for your hard work, brothers. I told you to go down to the kitchen and make extra meals today."
"Yes!" Zou Dahe quickly agreed.
Squeak.
At this time, the back door of the main hall was suddenly pushed open.
A half-grown girl burst in furiously.
"Brother, is it really you who is back?"
Yo.
Ren Ning was looking at the pretty Miao Dong in front of her, "She has grown up to be a big girl. By the way, where is your sister-in-law?"
whee.
"Sister-in-law is in the back house."
Miao Dong's eyes were so happy that they became slits.
"My sister-in-law was very happy when I heard that my brother was back. She originally wanted to come to the front hall, but she was heavy and was stopped by Jixiang."
"Good job Jixiang." Ren Ning hurriedly took a few steps, "Let's go! I'm not familiar with the roads here yet, take me to meet your sister-in-law."