"Boy understands..."

Kou Ji raised his hand to Li Di and said.

Li Di nodded and left the North City Gate with a long sigh.

After Li Di left, two more groups of refugees were sent to the North City Gate. Kou Ji followed the previous method and selected some prestigious village elders and clan elders to restrain them.

In cooperation with the government servants brought by Kou Ji, Liu Heng and Cao Yi from the government office, the place where the refugees were resettled was managed in an orderly manner.

In the evening.

Kou Ji personally took the spoon and distributed porridge to the refugees.

After the refugees had eaten, they went back to their tents to sleep.

Since there were no beddings, beds or other things, the tents were covered with hay cut by the women during the day.

The refugees lay their whole bodies in the hay. Although it was not very warm, they would not be cold, let alone freeze to death.

For them, having tents and hay is already pretty good.

After all, their biggest wish on the way to Bianjing City was to have a full meal.

I never dared to think that the imperial court would give them a place to live.

The refugees fell asleep after a hard day's work, but Kou Ji did not sleep. Instead, he took the craftsmen from his house, the clerk from the Ministry of Works, and the village elders elected by the refugees to inspect the results of the day's work and prepare for tomorrow.

Refugees prepare.

During the day, the women harvested a day's worth of hay, collected a day's worth of dead branches and firewood, and piled more than a dozen piles at the gate of Ruisheng Garden.

These working women are really hard-working.

Kou Ji was also worried that they would be lazy and passive at work.

They used the fruits of their labor to dispel Kou Ji's worries.

The fruits of labor of young and strong men are not small either.

Under the leadership of the craftsmen, they cleared the mud at the place planned by Kou Ji, dug deep foundations, and rammed the earth into walls. Some prototypes were already in place.

I believe that in a few days, the earthen walls will be solidified, and then the houses will be completed as long as they are covered with roofs.

After Kou Ji took everyone on a tour, he returned to the place where the women were drying their clothes.

Liu Heng lit a bonfire in the open space, and the group sat on a thick dead tree, warming themselves around the bonfire and talking.

Liu Heng held a piece of dry firewood, stirred the bonfire, and said, "In just one day, the number of victims pouring into Bianjing City has exceeded 10,000. In the next few days, I am afraid that there will be more and more victims."

According to reports from the spies I sent out, a large number of victims are still behind.

The largest group came from the south, approximately more than 50,000 people."

Kou Ji stretched out his hands and placed them beside the bonfire. While baking, he frowned and said, "More than 50,000 people? Such a huge number?"

Liu Heng nodded, "Compared to the victims in Xiaowang Township and Liwang Township, those victims really have nothing."

When Kou Ji heard this, his brows furrowed even deeper.

Liu Heng added, "And the number of victims has far exceeded the number estimated by the imperial court."

Kou Ji raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "Is it more than 160,000?"

Liu Heng nodded heavily and reminded in a low voice, "When all the victims arrive, those tents will not be able to live in. Even if the newly built houses are completed, they will be very damp and there will be no way for the victims to live."

You have to find a way to get another batch of tents."

When Chen Jing and Wang Tiansheng heard this, they hurriedly said, "The Ministry of Industry, Liu Fengzhuang, the people from our two villages have already lived in tents. You two, please don't drive them out when the time comes."

Kou Ji glanced at the two of them, shook his head and said, "Don't worry. I won't let you make room."

Kou Ji said to Liu Heng, "Send someone back to the city to tell Mu Chong and the others and ask them to prepare 10% more things."

Liu Heng glanced at the others, came closer to Kou Ji, and asked Kou Ji in a low voice, "Fourth brother, if you want an extra 10% temporarily, are they willing to give it to you?"

Kou Ji said matter-of-factly, "Why not?"

Liu Heng said suspiciously, "What benefits did you promise to give them? Are they willing to spend such a large sum of money?"

Kou Ji stared at Liu Heng with a smile, "You want to know?"

Liu Heng nodded heavily.

Cao Ji was very close to Kou Ji, so he heard the conversation between the two. He also approached Kou Ji and said with a smile, "I am also curious... It is a well-known thing that businessmen pursue profits. If there is not a big profit,

There is no way they would spend such a huge amount of money."

Kou Ji's eyes lingered on the two of them, and he asked with a smile, "You all want to know?"

They both nodded.

Kou Ji stretched out his hand and said, "Get the money! I'll tell you when I get the money."

Liu Heng and Cao Yi looked stunned.

Liu Heng's eyes rolled around and he said cheerfully, "I'll offer you five hundred thousand yuan..."

Cao Yi looked at Liu Heng blankly.

He didn't understand why Liu Heng happily gave out 500,000 yuan even though Kou Ji didn't say anything.

Liu Heng glanced at Cao Yi, with a feeling of resentment that iron could not become steel.

Although Cao Yi didn't understand Kou Ji's purpose, when he saw Liu Heng's look, he happily agreed to pay.

He had just obtained a membership in Wanxiang Tower not long ago, so he hadn't received much dividend yet and didn't have much money in hand.

So he could only use the dividends from Wanxiang Tower at the end of the year to make a call.

After the two of them happily agreed to take the money, Kou Ji said with a smile, "Do you know Mian Mian? I told you about it when I was in Baozhou."

Cao Yi and Liu Heng looked puzzled.

But they still nodded in unison.

Kou Ji smiled and said, "This thing can weave cloth. The cost is higher than linen, but lower than silk. But when it comes to making clothes and keeping out the cold, it's not inferior to hemp or silk."

Although Cao Yi and Liu Heng were descendants of officials, they also had some contact with matters in the business world.

So when Kou Ji talked about this, they already understood the benefits of cotton weaving.

But they still have doubts in their minds.

Cao Yan asked, "You told us about cotton, and we also know some about it. But this thing is really made of balls, can it really weave cloth? Can the common people recognize the cloth it weaves?"

Also, I seem to have never seen cotton in our Song Dynasty."

Kou Ji nodded and smiled and said, "It is true that we don't have it in the Song Dynasty, but there is in the Western Regions. Cotton is not only suitable for planting in the Western Regions, but also suitable for planting on the land of our Song Dynasty. Someone has already sent people to the Western Regions to get cotton seeds."

Cao Yi and Liu Heng nodded thoughtfully.

Kou Ji added, "As for the weaving problem you mentioned, there is no need to worry at all. The craftsmen in my house have already made a spinning wheel. It can not only weave hemp and silk cloth, but also cotton and wool."

Cao Yi looked at Kou Ji in astonishment and said, "Fourth brother, are the craftsmen in your house the reincarnation of immortals? How come they can make anything."

Liu Heng glanced at Kou Ji and lowered his head thoughtfully.

Kou Ji smiled and said, "I don't know if it's the reincarnation of an immortal. But I know that the spinning wheels made by the craftsmen in my house are extraordinary."

Cao Yi immediately asked, "What kind of unusual method?"

Kou Ji laughed and said, "Most people now use hand-operated single-spindle spinning wheels passed down from the Qin and Han Dynasties, but the craftsmen in my house made a three-spindle pedal spinning wheel.

Not only can cotton and wool be used to weave cloth, but the production of cloth can also be greatly increased.

It is equally useful when used in linen and silk spinning."

In terms of spinning wheel technology, Kou Ji did not learn from the spinning wheels and looms of later generations.

Instead, I adopted the skills of my Chinese ancestor Huang Daopo.

Kou Ji mentioned the three-spindle pedal spinning wheel, which was made by Huang Daopo, a cotton spinning expert in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty.

It is more than 500 years earlier than the famous Jenny Secret in ancient and modern times.

When the three-spindle pedal spinning wheel evolved into a multi-spindle spinning wheel, the work efficiency and output were comparable to those of the Jenny machine.

It can be said to be the pinnacle of human-made textiles.

But Kou Ji didn't take out the multiple spinning wheels at once.

Instead, I am going to test the waters with a three-spindle pedal spinning wheel first.

Cao Yi stretched out his arms and muttered, "The description of the hand-operated spinning wheel is quite appropriate, but what do you mean by single spindle or three spindles?"

On this issue, Kou Ji had no way to explain it in detail to Cao Yi.

Kou Ji glanced at him and said, "Go back and wait for the craftsmen in my house to build it. You will know it as soon as you see it."

Cao Yi nodded and asked, "You used the three-spindle spinning wheel to lure those businessmen to help you?"

Kou Ji smiled and said nothing.

He did not tell Mu Chong and the others about the three-spindle spinning wheel.
To be continued...