Chapter 251 No School, No Rice

In the evening, everyone ate together in the public hall.

There was meat, eggs, and especially rice to their fill, creating a spectacular scene.

Meixiang and over a dozen women were busy preparing meals.

Gu Qingcheng told Meixiang that after this meal, the public hall would no longer hold communal dinners. From now on, they only needed to leave three people to prepare the dishes for guests as instructed.

Meixiang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Young Master Gu, this is the right way. There's no reason to provide free food and drink for so many people."

Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Doing so at the beginning was just a temporary measure because everyone was starving and needed nourishment. After this period of recovery, everyone's condition has improved, so there's no need for that.

Continuing this way would indeed breed laziness in some.

As the number of villagers increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to cook for so many people simultaneously. From now on, instead of communal meals, each person will receive an additional 5 jin of rice and half a jin of cured meat per month."

Gu Qingcheng announced this decision to the villagers, and since they would receive more grain, no one raised any objections.

Although the public hall's provision of food and drink was well-intentioned, it could not foster a mindset of idleness where people expected to be fed without working.

Moreover, regardless of how it was framed, villagers would lack a sense of security if they had no surplus grain. By working, they could obtain sufficient food and grain reserves, which would create a psychological sense of security and foster a greater sense of belonging to Phoenix Village.

Initially, the public hall's provision of food and drink was met with gratitude, but if the public hall were willing to distribute grain directly to them for their own use, they would be even more pleased.

The next day, Mr. Jiang from Zhanchun Town arrived at Phoenix Village with over 100 craftsmen.

These craftsmen included masons, paper makers, weavers, blacksmiths, charcoal burners, and so on.

Mr. Jiang's agreement with Gu Qingcheng was to receive ten wen for each person he recruited, and an additional one wen for each person who came up the mountain, totaling eleven wen per person. Since Gu Qingcheng did not limit the types of craftsmen, he managed to gather many who seemed "ornamental."

For instance, Mr. Jiang wasn't immediately sure of the purpose of weavers and charcoal burners in Phoenix Village.

However, many of these artisans were currently unemployed and relatively easy to recruit, so he boldly brought them along.

Mr. Jiang was somewhat worried that Young Master Gu might deem these craftsmen "useless."

But he had no idea that in Gu Qingcheng's eyes, all artisans were sparks of future crafts in their respective fields. She wanted to recruit as many as possible, even if it meant supporting them during their idle period.

Because of the impending natural disasters, countless lives would be lost. If artisans in certain fields were wiped out, their crafts would be lost to history.

What Gu Qingcheng was doing was essentially preserving the civilization and technology of this era.

After they introduced their respective skills, Mr. Jiang was pleasantly surprised to find that Gu Qingcheng not only did not blame him for bringing along seemingly less useful craftsmen but also praised them highly, keeping all of them, a total of 105 people. Gu Qingcheng also asked Mr. Jiang to continue recruiting, bringing along anyone willing to ascend the mountain.

Gu Qingcheng assessed the loyalty of these craftsmen and found that most of them were not qualified. After all, they were locals who would simply take their wages and return home, lacking a sense of belonging to the village.

Gu Qingcheng was not worried. When their homes were gone, they would be grateful to have a place in Phoenix Village.

One day, their loyalty would "skyrocket" until they were completely loyal.

As for those who remained unqualified then, they would simply not be hired.

After completing the handover, Mr. Jiang had the leisure to appreciate the current scenery of Phoenix Village.

After a brief look, Mr. Jiang could not help but praise:

"Young Master Gu, I remember coming up this mountain to gather firewood when I was a child. The area was dense with trees and tall grass. Although the terrain was relatively flat, it was a barren hillside.

I never expected you to transform it into such a lively, prosperous, and well-ordered place, ensuring the villagers are well-fed and clothed. If I didn't have to make a living down the mountain, I would want to move my family here."

"Heh heh, Mr. Jiang, if you have the opportunity, bring more skilled individuals up here. I will not treat you unfairly."

Gu Qingcheng efficiently settled the intermediary fees. For 102 people, she paid Mr. Jiang 1122 wen, and an additional 200 wen as a reward for his efforts.

Indeed, acting as an intermediary tested comprehensive skills. Without keen observation, connections, and diligence, recruiting so many skilled individuals to the mountain would be extremely difficult.

Gu Qingcheng stated that Mr. Jiang's recruits were of good quality and encouraged him to continue his efforts, offering an additional 5 wen per craftsman recruited, bringing the total to 16 wen per person.

Recruiting people was essentially a matter of persuasion, akin to a risk-free venture. Upon hearing Gu Qingcheng's generosity, Mr. Jiang was overjoyed and said:

"Young Master Gu, I will not fail in my mission. I will bring many more people up."

For the local craftsmen, their willingness to come to Phoenix Village stemmed not only from their trust in Mr. Jiang but also from the high wages offered. They could earn nearly two taels of silver per month, receive free meals and drinks, and lodging.

In terms of food, they were served pure grain meals three times a day, with a stewed meat dish every other day.

Although the lodging was communal dormitories, the bedding consisted of new cotton quilts, soft and clean. After a few days in Phoenix Village, the craftsmen were quite satisfied with everything.

Even though these were local craftsmen who might not stay in Phoenix Village long-term, Gu Qingcheng had Huang Wenming register their names, origins, and specialties.

On their way back after the registration, Huang Wenming asked Gu Qingcheng:

"Young Master Gu, they won't be staying here permanently; they'll leave after their work is done. Why are we registering them?"

Huang Wenming felt it was a waste of effort. It wasn't that he was unwilling to work; his mindset was to use resources effectively, ensuring that work was meaningful.

Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "We must register them clearly. They will eventually become villagers of Phoenix Village. If we want to attract talent, we need to understand them."

"Alright. Our village does have the means for that."

Huang Wenming felt that apart from the climb up the mountain and inconvenient transportation, Phoenix Village had no other significant disadvantages.

Currently, recruiting disaster victims was simple: providing food and drink was enough. However, recruiting craftsmen was more challenging, and getting them to stay was even more so.

Craftsmen, being skilled individuals, were welcomed everywhere and could generally survive, so their mobility was actually greater than that of ordinary disaster victims.

Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Mr. Huang, the school in the village is almost ready, with only the desks and chairs still being made. Is it not time for you to start recruiting schoolchildren from the village?"

"Good. I'll be responsible for recruiting boys, and Gui Xiang will recruit girls. Is that right?"

"Yes. We must get every child into school. Those of school age who are not attending will have 5 jin of rice deducted from their families."

Gu Qingcheng declared imperiously.