When Jin Chun first arrived in Beijing, he only took a casual position in the Ministry of Household Affairs. Now, under Jin Tong's instigation, he took on the arduous task of rebuilding West Street.
Zhang Xianzhong, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, was very busy with the earthquake relief work. He wished that there would be a few more high-status and rich fools like Jin Chu to help him share the pressure. The Ministry of Revenue was currently short of manpower, so he just allocated it to Jin Chu.
The four handymen, Jin Chun, didn't care about anything and only expressed to Zhang Xianzhong that he would rebuild West Street in order.
Zhang Xianzhong did not skimp on the money relief. The Four Kings and Thirteenth Marquis immediately donated 600,000 taels of silver, and Jin Chun received and used every penny of it.
Zhang Xianzhong came from a humble background. He relied on his own ability and hard work to climb from an eighth-grade official to his current position step by step. He certainly has good eyesight. He thought that 600,000 yuan would not be enough to rebuild West Street, but 80% of it would not be enough. I guess Jin Chun was
I have to pay for it out of my own pocket so that I can sell it well and gain a reputation in Shangjing, so I give the money very generously.
Although Zhang Xianzhong only sent four people, Jin Tong didn't mind at all. Jin Tong sent Mr. Gongsun, Brother Wu An and twenty servants to assist him personally. Besides, no matter how bad the Jingbei Hou Mansion was, his father and three
The brother still has some confidence in fighting with his life. This time he went to Beijing and brought with him about a hundred loyal guards, which is enough manpower.
The original West Street was in chaos, with shacks built haphazardly. To describe it in modern terms, it would be called illegal construction.
Mr. Gongsun first asked the clerk of the Ministry of Household Affairs to quickly clear out the household registrations on West Street and check them one by one. If good citizens hold the official land and house deeds of West Street, when West Street is rebuilt, they can exchange the old land and house deeds for a house of the same size.
.After such a liquidation, less than one tenth of the houses on West Street are actually owned, and the chaos is evident.
Next, Mr. Gongsun asked dozens of his subordinates to send a message that all able-bodied men and women on West Street could temporarily work for Anjifang, and then the wages would be converted into houses and three meals a day. So Anjifang temporarily built
The shack is overcrowded every day.
Jinzhu had already ordered people to pack ten bags of rice in burlap bags, each bag containing one stone of rice. Those who come to sign up can carry the rice around West Street according to their own abilities. Then, according to the strength of each person, they will be selected first.
More than 400 of the most powerful people were sent out to help transport materials, sand and gravel and compact the ground on West Street.
The Ministry of Industry sent twenty people to help, and Jinzhu recruited dozens of craftsmen from the private sector who knew how to build houses. In just ten days, the entire West Street was built with great fanfare.
All the people in West Street who help will have three meals a day provided by Anjifang. They will be paid extra every day in the form of bamboo chips. If a certain number of bamboo chips are collected, the houses on West Street will be built by then.
Change rooms based on number.
The people of West Street saw with their own eyes that the bricks and tiles that were shipped were all real bricks and tiles and wood! In other words, when these brick and tile houses were built, they would all be able to live in them. Brick and tile houses, they were just dreaming.
I didn’t dare to think that I would be able to live in such a nice house one day.
Suddenly the whole West Street was in a state of excitement. Everyone followed the arrangements of Jin Zhu and others, divided into sixteen groups, registered their rosters, and Zi Ren, a folk craftsman sent by the Ministry of Industry, took the lead in guiding them, and started building houses vigorously.
Before sunset every day, people from each group will inspect them. If they are not qualified, they will be demoted. No wages will be taken into consideration. Those who are qualified will be given bamboo chips according to their workload. After only three days of this, no one will be lazy and lazy.
Work hard.
There are also those who are too lazy to do anything, either spreading rumors or waiting for opportunities to steal materials. Gongsun Wuji has been on guard for a long time. To prevent theft, several teams of people take turns patrolling every night. If he catches those little thieves, he will trap them first.
He was put in shackles weighing 30 kilograms, and he was put on the shackles for three days to be shown to the public before being sent to the Yamen for trial. In this way, no one would dare to fish in troubled waters.
The six brothers of the Lu family were the first to collect the money. They were from Jiangnan, and they were originally engaged in the escort business. Jiangnan was prosperous, and they had a small fortune. Eight years ago, they were robbed by bandits by mistake. Although they later helped
The government wiped out the group of bandits, but nearly half of the goods were lost and a lot of money was lost. They also lost their reputation, and gradually they couldn't do business.
Lu's father was injured while helping to suppress bandits. As he watched his family's family decline, he became depressed and depressed, and his old injury relapsed and he died.
The six brothers of the Lu family had been practicing martial arts since they were young. They all had a big appetite and did not know how to run a business. However, the family fell into decline in a few years. The brothers had no choice but to carry their old mother on their backs and went to Beijing with their families to seek work. Unexpectedly, they were not there just after settling down.
Half a year later, there was an earthquake.
The small shabby house where the brothers lived was in the middle of the collapse, and everything in the house was crushed to pieces. My mother and Lu's wife were at home, and it was already freezing when they were dug out!
Fortunately, during the earthquake, the brothers and Lu's second daughter-in-law were all working outside, leaving only Lu's first daughter-in-law to take care of her seriously ill mother. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
When Jinzhong recruited people to carry materials, they were the first to sign up. The brothers had practiced martial arts since childhood and were able to carry a cauldron. Each of them carried a sack of rice on each shoulder, and placed a sack of rice horizontally on top. Their feet were like flying.
The brothers walked six rounds back and forth like a relay race. They were calm and relaxed and didn't even sweat much. The weak one carrying a bag of rice hasn't come back yet.
Seeing their magical power, Jinzhu was the first to arrange for them to help. They worked hard and did not cheat or be lazy. They took the initiative to do all the heavy work, and one person could do the job of two or three people. The supervision was quite fair, and the six brothers worked together every day.
They could get at least ten bamboo sticks, and by the time a few houses on West Street were completed, they had already collected hundreds of bamboo sticks.
Lu Da discussed with several younger brothers: "Now we have 137 bamboo chips. I said hello to Master Wu last night and followed the patrol to take a look. The house near the west gate is small. It takes almost three rooms to cover the east side.
One room. I’m thinking we should just change to a larger one. What do you think?”
In order to prevent theft on West Street, all people are not allowed to move around at will from the beginning of the first year of the year. They must stay in the shacks arranged by Anjifang. Violators will be punished.
Lu Si: "Brother, is it really possible that the imperial court will give us the house for nothing? Yesterday, a Jia Tu laughed at us brothers for being stupid and giving our efforts to the imperial court in vain."
Lu Liu was young, but he was the smartest: "Fourth brother, that Jia Tu is so lazy that he followed Liu Daoban to make trouble on the day of the earthquake! If that guy hadn't run fast, he would have been caught by the official! Such a scoundrel.
Do you believe what I said? Besides, we have got the bamboo chips. If we go to exchange them tomorrow, won’t we know whether they are genuine or not?”
"Don't change the subject. We originally planned to change two huts first, and then you, the second brother, take them to continue working in Anji Fang in exchange for bamboo chips. The sixth brother and I will buy some daily items. But looking at it this way,
It would be more cost-effective to just change to a big house first. I saw the big house and there are eight rooms in it, which is enough for us brothers to live in."
"Brother, we agreed to gather 300 bamboo chips, and then we can live in one room, and Third Brother and the others won't have to worry about getting married and having children. Why did you change your mind again?" Lu Er has a wife, and his wife has always been there.
He complained about being held back by his younger brothers, so naturally he wanted to live alone.
After some discussion, most of the brothers clamored for a bigger house. Lu Er thought that the brothers had enough strength, and it was not impossible to change to a smaller house after changing to a bigger house, so he no longer objected.
Early the next morning, with two dark circles under his eyes (he had been thinking wildly last night and almost stayed up all night), Lu went to Jinzhong with 120 bamboo sticks in his arms.
Jin Chun usually goes to the household department in Maozhong to order Mao, and then comes to West Street for the first time, and does not return home until Youzhong. Lu Da has fifteen buckets in his heart, and he is waiting for Jin Chun.
As soon as the news came out that someone was going to change their house, Anjifang temporarily stopped there and gathered in a circle to watch the excitement. By coincidence, yesterday a batch of wood was transported from Nanshanying and piled outside the city.
He then took people to count and transport them back to West Street, but no one was there.
The more Lu Da waited, the more anxious he became, and the onlookers whispered.
That Jia Tu even fanned the flames without any trouble: "Tsk, tsk, tsk! You tricked us ordinary people into working hard, and now the people who come to change houses are nowhere to be seen! It's so embarrassing!"
"Jia Tu, please shut up! After all, the officials are given enough food every day, and there is meat to eat from time to time, so you guys can just be satisfied!" Some people retorted.
However, there were also a few common people who echoed Jia Tu's remarks and made sarcastic remarks. The more Lu Da listened, the more flustered he became, and sweat broke out on his forehead.
Li Liu was so angry that he came out with his hands on his hips and cursed: "Who is Mr. Jin? How could he deceive you?" He rolled up his sleeves with a murderous look: "Who was spewing excrement just now! Come out and show me!"
He was frothing at the mouth and arguing with the people. A half-year-old child ran over and shouted: "Master Jin is here! He is pulling several carts of lumber!"
"Look, look, Master Jin is worrying so much about you, and you are just talking about it! Don't run away, let me see which family it belongs to! If I don't change your house, don't eat the relief food!" Several instigators
The alienating one ran away quickly.
In the rush, Jin Min led the soldiers from the Nanshan Battalion and pulled more than a dozen carts of lumber. Li Liu quickly called on a few people to run over to help, and Lu Da also followed behind and took the initiative to help.
Jin Min smiled and said to Lu Da: "I just thought that your family must be the first one to change. Sure enough, you come in with me."
Lu Da nodded and bowed to say hello to Jin Chu, and then offered 120 bamboo chips with shaking hands. Jin Chu took them and asked Li Liu to count them. The bamboo chips were all hidden in order to prevent those local ruffians from cheating. Li Liu
Looking carefully at each one. Lu Da rubbed his hands uneasily. Jin Zhu smiled and patted his shoulder: "Which house do you like?"
Lu Da smiled sheepishly: "Master Jin, I said hello to Master Wu last night and went to see it secretly. I want to change to a big room on the east side near the Thanksgiving Pavilion first."
"You are very smart!" Jin Chu took the deed that had been prepared long ago and asked Lu Da to sign it and seal it.
But Lu Da was sincere: "Master Jin, you can't just write my name here! We brothers have agreed that my fifth and sixth brothers and I will live in this house first, and we have to sign our names."
Jin Chun sent someone to invite Lu, Wu and Luliu over, and the three brothers happily signed and stamped their names. Seeing this, the people who were watching dispersed in a hurry and went to their homes to report the news.
Jinzhu had a very good impression of the brothers, and knew that their mothers and Lu Da's wife had both died in the earthquake, so he sympathized even more. Seeing that there was no one around, he quietly stuffed a 20-tael banknote to Lu Da.
He didn't dare to give more, so 20 silver was just enough to buy some simple furniture and the like. "The house doesn't have anything. With this money, you can use it as a supplement to buy something."
Lu Da did not accept the salary for his merits, so he refused and said: "Sir Jin, I just want a shelter from the wind and rain. This house is good enough, big and new. I really don't dare to accept any more money from you."
Jinzhu smiled and said to Lu Da: "Hurry up and accept it! If you keep pushing it back and forth like this, it won't be good for others to see you."
Lu Da hid the banknotes and knelt down together with Lu, Wu, Lu and Liu. They banged their heads three times: "Master Jin, your great kindness and virtue will be remembered in the hearts of our six brothers."
Seeing that the Lu family had really changed their house and that there was a house deed registered with the Ministry of Household Affairs, the people on West Street became even more enthusiastic and busy every day. In less than two months, the entire West Street had a completely new look.