Chapter 239: Chapter 239: Enough to Boast About for Years

It’s impossible to become fat in one bite, just like building a school.

Although Yi Meng’s blueprints were beautiful, it was impossible to build everything at once.

Firstly, there wasn’t enough time, and secondly, the silver that could be used on the surface was also limited.

Qi Quanjin brought craftsmen to study it, and they finally decided to fence the yard first.

After all, the construction was on the mountain, and no one could guarantee that wild animals wouldn’t rush down from the mountains to harm people.

Moreover, the building materials for the school needed to be transported up the mountain for storage. Although there were no other homes near Yongping Village, who could guarantee that outsiders wouldn’t scout the area and steal materials when no one was watching?

Everything was bought with silver, and losing even just one tile would cause heartache.

Building the wall was something the craftsmen could do, and the villagers could do as well.

For tasks without much technical content, craftsmen were happy to have help.

The wall was made of mud bricks.

Straw was added to the yellow mud, so the villagers basically knew how to make these mud bricks.

With the recent good weather, many could be sun-dried in a day.

Qi Quanjin bought three acres of mountain land specifically for building the school, but only about half an acre had been cleared.

A group of people was busy on the mountain, and some people in the village were busy as well.

The wall in the village also needed to be built, and it required manpower.

But there weren’t enough people in the village, so Qi Quanjin and Yi Meng discussed hiring outsiders to work.

Yongping Village was far from the city and not close to other villages.

If they really wanted to hire people to work, there had to be a place for them to stay.

The two couldn’t come up with a plan, so Qi Quanjin went to town to ask Liu Qinghe for help.

As a government official, Liu Qinghe was far more familiar with the area around Concord City than Qi Quanjin or Yi Meng.

When he heard Qi Quanjin’s purpose, he immediately said, “That’s easy. Just tell me the number of people you need. Also, have you set the wages? If so, let me know as well, and I’ll find someone for you later.”

Qi Quanjin quickly replied, “There’s no specific number requirement for the workers. The more people, the faster the work, as long as they are quick and don’t have any ill intentions.”

“As for the wages, we’ve agreed in the village: fifteen coins a day per person, including three meals. The accommodations are a bit lacking; there are only straw huts right now.”

Qi Quanjin quickly provided the agreed standard.

He quietly added, “Brother Liu, this will not be for nothing. I’ll treat you to a drink later.”

“Sure! Leave this to me. I’ll give you a definite answer within three days.”

Liu Qinghe didn’t think of asking for any benefits.

In fact, he had already received a lot of benefits from Yongping Village.

In winter, the county magistrate had to spend silver to buy fresh vegetables, but his family did not.

Although the Qi Family didn’t send vegetables to the city every day, whenever they sent vegetables, they would definitely send a basket to his home.

Not much, just a pound or two.

Especially during the period before the New Year, in addition to vegetables, they also sent frozen fish, which enriched their family’s New Year’s Eve dinner table considerably.

Liu Qinghe was not a greedy person, otherwise he wouldn’t have led the Qi Family through the cold winter or helped them analyze the fertility of the land.

He just didn’t expect that a kind gesture he made back then would result in such a return from the Qi Family.

This time, Qi Quanjin took the initiative to seek him out, and Liu Qinghe just wanted to maintain a good relationship.

After Qi Quanjin returned to the village, he changed into his usual old work clothes and busied himself on the construction site with everyone.

On the morning of the third day, Liu Qinghe came riding on horseback.

“Brother Quanjin, I found you a hundred and twenty people. Is that too many?”

Liu Qinghe dismounted and wiped his sweat while delivering his news.

Qi Quanjin was overjoyed, hurriedly saying, “Brother Liu, you’ve done our village a great service this time. Please come in and have a cup of tea to cool off.”

Liu Qinghe didn’t refuse.

The Qi Family’s hall had doors at both the front and back.

The threshold was a bit high to prevent mice from sneaking in when the doors were open.

At this moment, both the front and back doors were open, allowing a gentle breeze to flow through, making it much cooler than outside.

Since the start of summer, Yin Cheng and Qin Minglang had prepared cold tea.

Every household was given some to drink, helping clear heat and relieve summer heat.

The tea was hung in the well to chill. Regardless of the cold tea’s effects, just the cool temperature could dispel much of the summer heat.

Liu Qinghe drank a large bowl of cold tea in one go and then said, “These one hundred and twenty people can arrive in the afternoon. However, they aren’t all coming from one place, so they might have to arrive in several batches.”

“All right! The straw huts are ready. Let them rest for one night, and they can start work tomorrow morning.”

Qi Quanjin also drank a bowl of cold tea and said, “However, today’s wages shouldn’t be counted. Brother Liu, is that okay?”

“No problem. They haven’t worked today, so they shouldn’t receive any wages.”

Liu Qinghe took another sip of tea and then said, “I’ve already taken a leave from the government office, so I’ll stay at your place tonight.”

“All right! I’ll have someone prepare a guest room for you right away.”

Qi Quanjin was delighted.

He was initially worried about not being able to manage the workers, but now with Liu Qinghe present, that concern was alleviated.

Liu Qinghe intended the same and directly stated, “With me here, they won’t cause trouble. However, I can’t stay here every day, so you still need to be careful. Many of those people are locals from Concord City. Even if it’s not their village, they would restrain themselves to some extent. But when it comes to work, doing a bit more or less, no one can watch over them constantly.”

“True,” Qi Quanjin nodded. “But it’s nothing to worry about. How does that saying go? ’If soldiers come, send generals to block; if water invades, build dams.’ There’s always a solution.”

After a pause, Qi Quanjin probed, “If they really don’t listen, we won’t use them. Brother Liu, what do you think?”

“Naturally, who can afford to pay someone for nothing? No one’s silver coins are blown by the wind!”

Liu Qinghe wiped his sweat, “But don’t worry! I’ve already told them that your village is a place awarded by the Emperor and is recognized in the Capital City.”

“Moreover, the plaque awarded by the Emperor is already up. Unless they’re complete fools, they won’t dare to go too far.”

Just thinking about the plaque engraved with gold letters filled Liu Qinghe with emotion.

In all his years at the county government, it was his first time seeing something bestowed by the Emperor.

The most important thing was that he had been involved throughout the entire process.

My goodness, this experience alone would be enough to brag about for years.

Qi Quanjin laughed in agreement.

There’s no denying that with the Emperor’s plaque in place, there’s no need to fear ordinary petty criminals.

After chatting for a while, Liu Qinghe asked, “Brother Quanjin, do you have any work clothes that I can borrow? I want to stretch my muscles a bit too.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep