Chapter 319: Time for a Major Undertaking
While Wen Yao and Old Madam Luo were fretting over the matter of an accountant, Wen Xiuyi and Magistrate Chen were similarly encountering a difficult problem on the other end.
After their refinements and adjustments, the plan to assign reclaimed wasteland to individual villages had finally been shaped into a method suitable for widespread implementation in the current era. Furthermore, after bringing the village chiefs of every village in Yunwu Town over for meetings over the course of several days, the pros and cons of the matter had been explained thoroughly to them.
The crucial point was that Magistrate Chen had painted a vision for them—a massive vision. For any production team established on a village basis, the yamen would distribute different industries for them to operate based on the specific conditions of each village, serving as collective assets. As for the revenue, it would naturally be distributed collectively according to a system where those who worked more received more and those who worked less received less, guaranteeing that every single household would have an income.
That way, even households in poor conditions or lacking labor could obtain certain benefits from it, achieving a setup where if money was to be made, everyone made money together.
The village chiefs were no fools. Once such a policy was implemented, it would bring nothing but benefits and zero harm to both themselves and the commoners. Thus, they expressed one after another that they would thoroughly follow Lord Chen and Lord Wen to see it through.
Yet right at this moment, Magistrate Chen faced pressure from the local prominent families. If this policy were implemented, the very first interests to be impacted would be those belonging to these prominent clans.
Yunwu Town was no tiny settlement—it encompassed a vast land area and sat beside a thriving port. Counting the local prominent and wealthy families, there were eight if not ten, alongside several moderately wealthy households. Which among them didn’t possess dozens or even hundreds of mu of land outside the city? They had only so many long-term farmhands of their own, usually relying on hiring workers from surrounding villages for daily labor.
If this production team model were truly pushed forward, who would come to work for them in the future?
Not only that, but what was the greatest bargaining chip in the hands of these people? It was their posture of standing superior to others and their extraordinary wealth. When common folk paid their taxes, the grain left over was sparse to begin with, leaving them to rely heavily on the grain held by these wealthy families.
And now? The new high-yield crops had emerged, yet instead of being given to these prominent families, they were to be distributed to the commoners, letting the commonfolk take the lead—how could that be allowed?
Annoyed to death at the county yamen, Magistrate Chen simply fled to the Wen household to hide, shifting the meeting location over to the Wen residence as well.
These grand families could exert pressure on Magistrate Chen, yet they could do nothing against Wen Xiuyi. Why? Simply because he was an official appointed directly by imperial decree from the Emperor himself, specifically tasked with overseeing the new crops! What’s more, as an official directly subordinate to the Emperor, any matter concerning him could reach the Emperor’s ears directly.
This saved Wen Xiuyi a great deal of trouble; no one dared come to their house to cause a scene, though plenty of people came to probe and gather news in a roundabout manner.
During this period, due to the opening of the oil mill and the village chiefs coming to the Wen household for meetings, news of the oil mill spread far and wide through these interactions.
As more and more news leaked out, the number of people coming to Gutong Village to press oil began to grow as well, so having a few unfamiliar faces in the village was not strange in the slightest.
However, whenever anyone tried to inquire about the affairs of the Wen family, it immediately aroused the vigilance of the villagers, who would stall the person while sending someone to report to the Wen household.
The village chief had explicitly stated that the work Lord Wen and Lord Chen were doing right now was a major undertaking that would lead the commoners to a good life. If anyone ruined it, their good days in the future would be gone.
Once those words were spoken, it was no small matter! Ruining someone’s good days was no different from killing their parents—a hatred beneath the same sky!
As the villagers discovered more and more people coming to gather information, an impromptu patrol team was organized within the village, patrolling the village every day and stepping forward to interrogate any unfamiliar face or stranger they encountered.
If the person came to press oil, they were escorted straight to the entrance of the oil mill and told to wait there obediently without running around randomly.
If the person faltered and couldn’t give a clear explanation, they were seized without exception and delivered to the Wen residence for Magistrate Chen to inspect, then hauled back to the yamen and thrown into prison to await their masters to haul them out.
Now that all the procedures were finalized, the news sent to Prince Fu by Wen Xiuyi had been dispatched for several days already. All that remained now was to await a reply.
Magistrate Chen simply stayed at the Wen residence, the two of them keeping watch over those few pigeon cages every day.
“Master, the pigeon, the pigeon!” The attendant brought by Magistrate Chen suddenly pointed at a pigeon circling above the roof of the Wen house, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Everyone looked up, and sure enough, they spotted a pigeon circling in the sky, refusing to come down.
Familiar with the routine, Xun Feng pulled out a whistle and blew a note; the pigeon immediately flew down toward him, landing on his hand.
Xun Feng quickly detached the small bamboo tube from the pigeon’s leg and handed it to Wen Xiuyi.
“How is it? How is it? Did he agree?” Magistrate Chen grew anxious beyond measure.
Wen Xiuyi opened the bamboo tube, pouring out the tiny slip of paper inside. Only a few words were written on it: His Majesty grants approval. Act boldly. The imperial decree is already on its way.
“Good, good, good! Excellent! Old Wen, we can finally carry out a major undertaking this time!” Magistrate Chen laughed loudly, slapping Wen Xiuyi on the shoulder.
Slapping his hand away, Wen Xiuyi looked at him with thorough disgust: “Are you a bandit? ‘Carry out a major undertaking’!
“Alright, hurry and inform every village and household to register their population and arable land, so the candidates previously selected by each village chief can be assigned to their posts. In addition, the people in the yamen need to get moving too—survey the land to see exactly how much wasteland we still have left undeveloped. Retain the previous data and conduct another meticulous survey!
“Let’s go, let’s go—back to the yamen first!”
Wen Xiuyi casually stuffed Prince Fu’s note into his pouch, calling out to Magistrate Chen to leave.
Old Madam Luo chased out from the kitchen: “Aren’t you eating?”
Without turning his head, Wen Xiuyi replied, “Not eating! Mother, you all go ahead and eat—don’t mind us!” Saying that, the horse carriage had already sped away, pulling the village chief along as it passed by his house.
The next day, the village chief picked up his large brass gong and began banging it, gathering the entire village for a meeting.
Walking past the entrance of the oil mill and seeing people from other villages there, he offered a kind reminder: “Put off pressing oil for now! Store your beans at the oil mill and hurry home first—this time it’s a major affair!”
Though bewildered, the people from other villages obediently stored their beans at the oil mill and rushed home, terrified of missing out on a major event.
The village chief gathered everyone at the small plaza in front of the ancestral hall, holding a megaphone-like contraption in his hand. Pushing a few tables together to form a platform, he stood atop it. Beside him stood a person dressed like a scholar, while Wen Xiuyi and the rest of the Wen family stood on the left.
The village chief glanced around the area, raising the megaphone in his hand: “Is everyone assembled?!”
Whoa!
The moment the voice sounded, never mind the village chief himself, even the villagers wore faces of utter astonishment—how could the sound produced by this small thing be so loud?
Nudging his daughter beside him with his elbow, Wen Xiuyi whispered, “This megaphone you had made is quite handy!”
Wen Yao raised an eyebrow: “Of course! Look at who made it.”
Wen Xiuyi gave her a thumbs-up.
The father and daughter whispered together, drawing a glare from Old Madam Luo beside them, causing both to shut their mouths in unison.
