CH 110

In the following period of time, it was the most enjoyable, smooth, and happy days that Lin Wen had experienced since becoming the sheriff.

All the affairs in the county were taken care of by the Dragon and Phoenix Nest. There were also core members such as Fang Dashan, Huang Mingxiao, and Lei Tiantong assisting him. He didn't have to worry about anything and could just work hard at the construction site every day.

Now, the daily good fortune in Changshan County had reached its peak. He could earn 10-15 points without doing anything, and occasionally even 20 points. In addition to the work at the construction site, he could earn nearly 30 points in a day.

This was simply explosive.

You should know that when he was working hard on the embankment using spells, he didn't earn this much. Now, just by digging and moving bricks, without even using spells, he could earn this much.

Furthermore, with the upcoming huge good fortune, wouldn't his second divine ability be fulfilled soon?

As long as Lin Wen thought about this, he could smile all day long. His smile also infected the people at the construction site. Whenever Sheriff Lin came, everyone would be immersed in a joyful atmosphere. The laborious work of moving bricks and digging soil became enjoyable.

The entire construction site was more than just lively.

Huang Mingxiao's progress was advancing rapidly every day. The planning team had to work overtime every day, otherwise the work would exceed the plan.

At the current pace, the first phase would be completed in less than two months.

This speed could be considered a miracle.

Of course, it was only a miracle within the empire. In a country obsessed with infrastructure construction, it could only be considered barely satisfactory.

However, there were hardly any modern equipment on the entire construction site, and the main force was still people. The Seventh Construction Corps was only responsible for some difficult tasks.

By the way, the laborers of the construction corps had already integrated into the large family of disaster victims. They not only ate and lived together with the victims, worked together, and laughed together, but also cursed the imperial bureaucrats and praised Sheriff Lin together. They even taught them how to use machinery.

In the past, their treatment was extremely poor. Although they were skilled workers, their wages were pitiful. After a work period, they would only earn a few hundred yuan. It was considered lucky if they could save a thousand yuan in a year. Most of the earnings were taken by the foremen and the corps leader. Sometimes, when there was not much work, they would be exploited by the corps leader and foremen.

The only benefit was that they were provided with food and shelter, but even that was pitiful. They usually ate sweet potato buns and porridge.

Unlike other construction corps, the Seventh Construction Corps was the last to be formed and had the fewest resources, the worst treatment, and the most exploitation. They recruited only laborers and didn't have a single skilled worker.

But it was the only place where people were recruited.

Many old workers who had been working for more than ten years, skilled veterans, were forced to come here to make a living.

At that time, the corps leader's words were very straightforward: "If you don't work, then get lost. There are plenty of people outside. The empire is not lacking in people."

It was the kindness of the lord that gave you food. With or without you, it was the same. You were just a laborer, not even as good as a dog.

Even so, they could only endure it, otherwise they wouldn't even have food to eat.

But everything changed when they came to Lin Wen.

First, their wages doubled, and they no longer had to pay the exploitative fees. After a work period, they would earn at least two thousand yuan, which was much more than before. For them, this was a huge sum of money!

They also ate much better. They could have two and a half bowls of porridge, half a bun, 50-100 grams of vegetables, and sometimes even a quarter of an egg or 5-10 grams of meat in a day.

This was because the supply of vegetables from the Democratic Party had stopped. Otherwise, they could have 150 grams of good vegetables in a day, which would be even better.

And there were no foremen scolding and urging them. Whenever Sheriff Lin came, everyone could smile. They had never been so happy and relaxed at work before. Their efficiency was also much higher than when they were oppressed and driven to work.

In short, their lives and income had undergone earth-shaking changes.

As for the foremen who used to be high and mighty, they were now being pressed by soldiers to dig soil every day, doing the laborious work that they used to avoid, and they didn't even earn a penny.

They did try to resist, but when three foremen were easily beaten by an imperial soldier and lost their teeth, they gave up.

This contrast made the laborers feel like they were living in a dream. The high and mighty lords were covered in dust and doing hard labor at the construction site, while the laborers were happily receiving high wages. The world seemed to have turned upside down.

But as the work period approached, the laborers also began to feel anxious. They started discussing whether they should join the reconstruction team of Changshan County and never go back to the corps.

Of course, this decision couldn't be made in a moment. Although the corps leader was said to be dead, they still didn't dare to offend the imperial departments at will.

For Lin Wen, there was no doubt that they were also part of the good fortune.

But their numbers were small and they were not the main force behind the surge in good fortune.

The main force came from Shangxi Town.Since that day, the population of Shangxi Town had gradually increased to over forty thousand. Apart from the three thousand members of the Democratic Party, the rest were all farmers from Qingcheng and its vicinity.

The task of settling over forty thousand people was not something that just anyone could handle. Fortunately, Chen Xingtai and Yun Qingshui were discharged from the hospital soon. Although they were not fully recovered, they returned to Shangxi Town ahead of schedule.

The day Chen Xingtai returned to Shangxi Town was the day Lin Wen's good fortune skyrocketed.

Every day thereafter, Lin Wen's good fortune remained at its peak, occasionally even seeing large jumps. Although these were only 5 to 6 points, they were automatically acquired.

Even the smallest freebies were delightful.

Clearly, Chen Xingtai was the core of the Democratic Party, the most crucial leader. The others were a group of brainless wanderers, with Yun Qingshui somewhere in between, possibly with room for growth. Liu Henshi, the rock, also held some hope.

Unfortunately, he had already been designated as the mayor of Shangxi Town by magic, and also held the identity of a Democratic Party leader, making him unsuitable to take over the work of the sleeping dragon.

Moreover, more and more people were going to Shangxi Town. In addition to the Democratic Party brothers who returned from all over the place, there were also a large number of farmers, individual investors, and individual craftsmen from the surrounding areas, all of whom required his personal attention.

This brought about another problem. The capacity of Shangxi Town had an upper limit. Although it was located in a remote area, to the west of Huai Town and below Changle Town, surrounded by uninhabited areas with large tracts of vacant land, it could only accommodate 50,000 to 60,000 people.

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Any more, and not only would there not be enough houses in the town, requiring new ones to be built, but there would also not be enough farmland.

One hundred thousand hectares may sound like a lot, but it's not much when averaged out.

Further reclamation would be of low cost-effectiveness, and the land would also be barren. Clearly, one hundred thousand was a precise number.

Regarding this issue, Chen Xingtai came up with a clever solution. Since Shangxi Town was located in the southern, lower, and Huai Town-oriented part of Changshan County, it was closer to the southern Taixu Mountain Range.

Therefore, living off the mountain was a must.

In addition to calling on skilled hunters to form teams to hunt in the mountains, Chen Xingtai also organized people to cut down a large number of trees and transport the timber back to Shangxi Town. This could be used not only for building and repairing houses but also for heating.

The weather turned cold quickly this year. Even during the sunny autumn days, a chill descended.

It was barely tolerable during the day, but as soon as the sun set, the temperature dropped rapidly. At night, as soon as a window was opened, the cold air would pour straight into the house, making it extremely cold.

Old Xie had already rushed to purchase cold protection supplies. The funds on the financial department's books were rapidly shrinking. Fortunately, the Qingcheng day trip plus zero-dollar purchase brought in a large income, otherwise, life would have been really hard.

Despite this, the Empire had completely cut off all funding allocations to Changshan County, even stopping many normal items unrelated to disaster relief. Various taxes, however, were relentless, even intensifying.

Although the Governor's Mansion had stopped some land taxes, national taxes were inevitable.

This meant that all of Changshan County's current expenses had to rely on the little money in the financial department's account.

In addition to the huge consumption of home reconstruction, most of the current material consumption in Shangxi Town was supported by the county, with a small part being solved by themselves or relying on the accumulation of the Democratic Party. However, the Democratic Party had been looted and was now penniless.

Adding to this the daily consumption, the expenses of various villages and towns, and many civilians who had suffered some losses due to the flood and whose homes were still in need of assistance.

All these expenses added up, even a mountain of gold and silver would be consumed.

But Lin Wen was not worried about this at all, only telling him to spend freely and boldly, everything was within the plan.