Chapter 360: Hiring The Refugees ( 7 )

Chapter 360: Hiring The Refugees ( 7 )

Hearing Steward Han’s report, Xue Ya’er nodded and smiled. "Uncle Han, thank you for your hard work. You should go and rest."

"This is what this servant should do."

After bowing to her, Steward Han left the hall to handle his work.

As the head steward, he was as busy as a bee. But even though the work was tiring, he was happy.

After he was injured on the battlefield, he was forced to retire. If not for the General’s father’s kindness, he might not even have had a place to stay, let alone live a good life like now.

To repay this favor, he vowed to be loyal to the General for the rest of his life and take care of the General’s family as if it were his own.

Now that the matter of hiring refugees was handled personally by Steward Han, the Magistrate of Zhu’an Town didn’t dare to stand on the side and do nothing.

He quickly ordered the town guards to help maintain order, while the Fei Long Escort Agency brothers recorded the refugees’ information and told them the requirements.

Thanks to their help, the process of investigating the refugees’ backgrounds and criminal records went faster than expected.

At midnight, Zhao Xian received the letter sent by Steward Han. He checked the seal, opened the letter, and read it. After he finished reading, his lips curled up into a smile.

Standing a few steps in front of him, Yu Ji asked, "Master, is there good news?"

Hearing this, Zhao Xian nodded. "It’s good news indeed."

Picking up his brush, he wrote a letter and blew on it until the ink dried before he put it into an envelope and handed it to Yu Ji. "Send this to the General’s mansion."

Yu Ji accepted the letter and nodded. "Understood."

When he was alone, Zhao Xian thought for a long time before he muttered softly, "It seems that the Madam indeed has a powerful backer behind her."

While everyone was wide awake due to the Xue family’s and the General’s mansion’s sudden act of hiring a lot of refugees, Yao Zhi and her people were sleeping soundly.

Early the next morning, before dawn, a large group of people gathered at Zhu’an Town’s outskirts.

Although the weather was no longer as cold as winter, the morning wind was still colder than at noon. Wearing tattered, thin clothes, the refugees huddled together for warmth.

At 6 o’clock in the morning, Xue Ya’er arrived, followed by Steward Han and a group of guards. Besides them, the Xue family’s elders were also present.

When the refugees saw the General’s mansion’s horse carriage, they quickly knelt down and said in unison, "Greetings, Madam."

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Xue Ya’er waved her hand and said, "Everyone, no need for formalities. The ground is cold, get up quickly."

"Thank you, Madam."

Only after they kowtowed to her did they stand up. Even so, they didn’t dare to straighten their backs and stood with hunched backs. They also lowered their heads and avoided looking at her directly.

Seeing their frostbitten fingers, Xue Ya’er glanced at her personal maids. Dong Mei nodded and went to arrange the guards to unload several big pots. They set up a simple stall and distributed ginger soup to everyone.

After the refugees drank a bowl of ginger soup, they felt warmer and heaved a sigh of relief.

30 minutes later, Steward Han cleared his throat and said, "I believe that everyone already knows your tasks now that you have agreed to take this job."

Then, he gestured to an old man and said, "This is Old Master Lou. He will be the one responsible for overseeing the construction."

Old Master Lou nodded at him and took a step forward. He first greeted everyone before he said, "Today, we will build the dormitory first. These are my disciples, and they will be leading teams of 50 people. Each team will have its own task, so all of you only need to follow them."

The refugees looked at the group of young and middle-aged men. They nodded and replied in unison, "Understood."

Without wasting more time, they divided the refugees into teams. They thought that they would start working after forming teams. Unexpectedly, they received a set of new clothes and a pair of straw shoes given by the General’s mansion.

Although the clothes’ materials were made of ramie, the inner layer was covered with low-quality silk. So, even though the outer layer was rough, the inner layer was soft and comfortable.

Everyone was grateful for the General’s wife’s kindness and bowed to Xue Ya’er again. "Thank you, Madam."

Xue Ya’er nodded and said, "Work hard."

"We will."

After she led the praying ceremony, Xue Ya’er returned to the General’s mansion while Old Master Lou and his disciples started working.

They first measured the land and used a thin rope to mark the area. In less than 3 hours, the area where the foundation was built had been marked.

While everyone was working hard, Xue Ya’er received a letter from Zhao Xian. When she finished reading the letter, she turned to the Xue family’s elders and said, "Magistrate Zhao agreed to give us permission to build a workshop in Wei County."

Hearing this, the Second Elder slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That’s great! As long as we follow the design and borrow the recipe from Young Master Lei, our Xue family will get another source of income."

"But will Young Master Lei be willing to lend the recipe to us?" the Third Elder said with uncertainty.

"Third Elder, you don’t have to worry about this matter. I will discuss it with Young Master Lei. As long as the benefits are enough, I’m sure he will agree to our request," Xue Ya’er said with a smile.

After he considered the pros and cons for a whole night, the Third Elder was no longer as adamant as yesterday. Now, after hearing Xue Ya’er’s words, he nodded and dropped the topic.