jdhmnovel Chapter 169 Begging
Chapter 169 Begging
Border wars continued and people were displaced.
Suining City is the most prosperous prefecture not far from the border and is well-known for its kindness to refugees. Refugees outside the city gate were crowded with each other, and children were dragged forward, but upon closer inspection, there were not many elderly people to be seen.
This group of newly arrived refugees were not as good as the refugees who came here before. They were pale and thin, and their clothes were loose. There were long holes on the linen cloth, which was already too short, hanging from the armpits to the waist.
An officer in sackcloth stood at the city gate and shouted, "New refugees are here to be registered. There are three places to go. One is the Salesian Home, one is..."
"Don't push, don't push... Women, children and the elderly come first..."
……
At that time, only Guo Xin and Su Zhizhou were left in the private room.
The tea leaves on the table turned hot and then cold, and then cold and then hot again.
Su Zhizhou looked at Guo Xin sincerely and said, "Madam Guo, the situation in Suining City is like this now. You see, I would not ask for your help if it were not a last resort."
Guo Xin remained silent. It could be a big deal or a small matter that Su Zhizhou wanted to use it on the refugees.
Nowadays, instant noodles are military supplies, and their production, packaging and transportation are all done by government officials, so she does not need to bear any risks.
If they wanted to produce supplies for the refugees, they would have to rebuild the workshop and separate it from the workshop that produced military supplies.
Although this can expand the instant noodle workshop and recruit new employees, it also brings risks: the character of the newly recruited employees may not be familiar to the employees.
If something unexpected happens and someone wants to poison the instant noodles, then all the refugees who eat it will certainly not be spared. Even if someone with good character is arranged to go there, there is no guarantee that something unexpected will happen during the process, which is likely to cause a crisis of trust.
After a long while, Guo Xin said, "I still don't recommend giving instant noodles to refugees. First, because instant noodles are used by soldiers on the frontier, they are expensive and not suitable for refugees. Second, if they are to be used by refugees, we need to rebuild workshops and recruit workers, which is risky..."
Guo Xin stopped talking to the point.
When Su Zhizhou heard this, he frowned. If the survival of the refugees could not be solved, simply giving them porridge would not be a solution.
"I need to open a new workshop soon, and I will need a lot of strong laborers. The conditions are difficult, and the initial wages are not much. But I can help arrange accommodation for his family, but this workshop is definitely not in the city."
Su Zhizhou's frown relaxed slightly, his eyes showing gratitude: "Madam Guo, you are really a timely rain. If your workshop can take in a lot of refugees, the pressure on the government office will be much less."
Guo Xin smiled and said nothing more.
The glass factory originally needed to recruit a lot of strong laborers. If people from Suining City were recruited, the wages would be higher. Moreover, the lives of the people in Suining City have been much better recently, and not all people might be willing to work in such a hot environment in the glass factory.
But it is different for the refugees. After a long journey to Suining City, their physical fitness and endurance are unmatched by others.
Secondly, if she accepted some of the refugees and provided them with better conditions than those provided by the government, these refugees would naturally be much more loyal than the hired workers in the city.
Finally, the wages for refugees are low, and they can also owe a favor to Magistrate Su, so why not do it?
Su Zhizhou: "I just don't know how much labor Miss Guo needs, what are the conditions?"
"The requirements are not many. You need to be strong and hardworking, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, and you only need to be able to lift a basket of stones. Once you are selected, one person can live with three people."
"Stone? I wonder why Madam Guo's new workshop needs someone with such great strength?"
Su Zhizhou's expression froze. Could it be that this young lady was planning a rebellion? Otherwise, why would she need these people? Moreover, this General of the Cavalry was indeed powerful, and as a granddaughter, she naturally had to help her grandfather.
Guo Xin turned his head away: "Su Zhizhou, don't worry. My workshop is still in the confidential stage, but you can rest assured. They are just some tools that benefit the country and the people, and they will be reported to the court after they are finished."
Upon hearing this, Su Zhizhou's face froze.
Report to the court? Could it be weapons?
Forget it, he kept a close eye on the workshop. If there was anything wrong, it would still be in time to stop it.
"Sir Su, if there are any refugees who are proficient in craftsmanship, they will be recruited as well, and they can bring five people with them."
"This...is naturally feasible." Su Zhizhou said stiffly, sweat oozing out of his back, and he kept guessing in his mind about the big things that might happen.
After all, the princes in the capital are now fighting each other, and the situation is tilting towards the third prince. The He family has joined the third prince, but the General of Cavalry is regarded as the person with the greatest ability to rebel. Will he really be so willing to be under someone else?
But for a moment, Su Zhizhou suppressed this guess in his heart and was concerned about the resettlement of the refugees.
Some time ago, that nobleman sent a message, wanting to entrust the management of the orphanage to the state government. However, the state government does not have enough energy to manage the orphanage given its current situation.
Although the person in front of you may have the intention to assist in the rebellion, it is only a possibility, not now.
Moreover, if the person in front of him took over the orphanage, there would be less money to use for rebellion. Even if he won the hearts of the people, he would not be able to win the hearts of the people as much as his provincial government.
"Madam Guo, I have something else to ask of you."
Guo Xin looked at him and motioned for him to continue.
But in his heart he thought, this Magistrate Su is really a man who never comes to visit for no reason. As soon as he arrived, he came to ask for a lot of things. It seems that the young master Su did not learn everything from his mother. He might have also learned some of his father's behavior.
"Mrs. Guo's orphanage is now thriving. Every citizen praises her for her beauty, kindness, and ability, which are greater than men's. However, there is another orphanage in Suining City that is obviously not as well run as Mrs. Guo's."
Su Zhizhou paused, and then continued, "That nobleman is now busy with many affairs, and wants to entrust the orphanage to the government office. However, you also know the current situation of the government office, so I wonder if the young lady is willing to merge the orphanage into the jurisdiction of the orphanage?"
When Guo Xin heard this, he frowned. Wasn't the relief home set up by Zhao He?
Why do they have to entrust the relief house to the government office now? Even if there are many things to do, a relief house is not a big deal, right? What happened?
Although he thought so in his heart, he said, "The orphanage I set up is only for women and children, while the relief house is mostly for young men. Have you ever thought about where those young men would go if they all became orphanages?"
Su Zhizhou smiled and said, "Isn't it time for Madam Guo's workshop to hire people? I think it will need a lot of men, and those men have hands and feet and are strong, so they can go anywhere."