After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Chapter 639 Gathering Manpower, Let's Do It!

Upon returning to Tongzhou Wharf, Qiu Cheng immediately summoned the craftsmen who were resting in the workshop for a meeting.

Most of the craftsmen in the workshop were from the south; those from the north who lived closer to home had gone back.

Now Qiu Cheng is thinking about getting all the craftsmen who returned to their hometowns to come back, and ideally, they should bring more people with them when they return.

Recruiting workers nationwide sounds simple, but it's actually not easy.

There are many people in the Great Zhou who can build ships, but not many who can build ocean-going ships. Many people are not free and cannot go out to work.

"Why are you contacting us at this time? Are you planning to break up? Shouldn't we at least have a farewell dinner?" The young craftsman from the south poked his head out of the workshop.

"Sigh, I thought they wouldn't let us leave because there was more work to be done. I should have gone back to the village with Liu Zi and the others; we could have gotten home sooner."

The other person also felt that the group was going to break up.

"You're wrong. We've received a lot of subsidies and eaten dozens of meals for free these past few days. We're not losing out at all; we've made a fortune."

"Hehe, that seems to be true~ Isn't this just like a pampered young lady in her boudoir? She doesn't do any work and yet someone supports her~"

"What nonsense are you talking about? You think you can compare to a sheltered young lady? You can't even imagine the life she lives!"

"I'm not envious at all! Staying indoors all the time is so stifling, you can't eat meat or drink wine to your heart's content, how can you be happy!"

The more they talked, the more they felt they were living a more comfortable life than young ladies from wealthy families, and they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Once everyone was present, Lord Qiu arrived with Wangchuan, Aniu, and his deputy.

"I've urgently gathered everyone here because there's something I need to announce."

All the craftsmen: Here it comes, just as expected, they're announcing the disbandment!

"Having kept everyone here for so many days, you've probably guessed it: our master will continue building ships."

"What? It's not a breakup after all!"

"Hey, listen to the adults, don't interrupt!"

"Everyone has had a good rest these days, and now it's time to get back to work. But our food and wages will be more satisfactory than before."

The landlord said that there must be meat in the dishes every day, and that we should eat separately for the north and south, just like before.

In addition, everyone who participated in the construction of the first ship will receive an additional 10% increase in their wages!

"My God, is this for real?! It was already low, and now they want to add another 10%? This boss really doesn't value money!"

"Shh! What do you know? They want the ship built quickly, why would they care about such trivial matters? Have you ever seen anyone feed their craftsmen two dishes and a soup?"

"Yes, yes, that's true."

"Alright, everyone, quiet down, let's hear what the adults have to say."

The scene fell silent instantly.

Qiu Cheng continued, "This time, the boss wants to build ten more ships. With our current manpower, it's definitely not enough. Let's all pool our wisdom and help come up with a solution."

If you know any skilled craftsmen, we'll cover the cost of writing and sending letters. As long as you can hire someone—one who can immediately start working—we'll reward you with one hundred coins; ten will earn you one thousand coins, and so on.

Qiu Cheng's words caused another stir in the room. "My God, this is free! We don't have to do anything, there are no costs, and we just get paid for nothing! This is a great job!"

"What do you mean by taking money for free? You'd have to be able to gather this many people, and they all have to be experienced shipbuilders. If you bring in greenhorns, they won't want you."

“Hey, that’s easy. I’ll write a letter to my father and ask him to bring the whole clan. Our clan has been skilled shipbuilders for generations.”

After all the calculations, our clan can gather several dozen people, which means I can get several taels of silver for free!

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone around him looked on with envy. This was a large shipbuilding family; they couldn't compare.

However, it's not the best, but it's better than nothing either. A hero needs three helpers, and a fence needs three posts.

If you can't find a large group of dozens of people, can't you find a few?

Even a mosquito's leg is meat, and a few hundred coins is still money!

The audience whispered amongst themselves, as if they all had someone to write to.

Qiu Cheng was very satisfied with the result. The Second Prince really had the guts. If it were him, he really wouldn't have been willing to spend so much money.

The Second Prince asked in his letter what this was called, a referral fee? No, it was an agency fee.

It's similar to the middleman's fee for a human trafficker, but this is a really high amount.

After all, the people were hired, not bought out in one go, and they were given such a high salary. This is truly unprecedented.

"Alright, alright, everyone, let's get started! Those who need to write or send letters, line up and register with Brother Wangchuan."

Those who could write took paper and pen and wrote letters themselves; those who couldn't write dictated their letters, and my subordinates wrote them down for them.

"Yes, yes, line up, line up, and stop making a fuss!"

"Everyone, line up! Everyone has a chance, no need to rush!"

A Niu was in charge of maintaining order, Wang Chuan was in charge of registering senders and addresses, and Qiu Cheng's subordinates were in charge of writing on their behalf.

For a time, the dock became lively, with candles and torches illuminating the scene, as everyone wanted to continue writing until dawn the next day.

After all, the sooner you write the letter, the sooner you can send it out, and the sooner you can send it out, the sooner you can call someone to come.

Haha, the sooner we call someone over, the sooner we can get the middleman's fee!

Whether they dictated or wrote it down themselves, what they were writing wasn't letters; they were drawing money for themselves!

More than an hour later, all the registrations and letters were completed. Wangchuan checked them one by one and put them into envelopes.

The envelopes were blank envelopes that he had written in advance for everyone according to the registration list and address, in order to save time and make the envelopes look uniform and nice.

If the messenger cannot read the envelope, it will be very difficult for him to deliver the letter to its destination.

The torches gradually died down, and the crowd dispersed.

Qiu Cheng seemed to have lost his spirit, appearing somewhat listless.

"My lord, isn't everything going smoothly? A large number of craftsmen will be arriving in the capital soon, so what are you still worried about?"

"Ah, silver, all of it is silver!"

Well, okay, my parents are at it again, worrying about the cost. It's hard to talk them out of it, and you can't really offer advice.

Let the adults recover on their own. After all, there will only be more and more places to spend money in the future. The more pain the adults experience, the less pain they will feel, since they will eventually become numb from the pain.

"Forget it, let's go back!"

His subordinates helped Qiu Cheng up and led him towards the office.

I thought I could return to Beijing, but it seems I'll have to continue fighting here.

For the sake of His Highness's great cause, what is this little bit of hardship?

Qiu Cheng quickly and successfully brainwashed himself along the way, regaining his former spirit.