HCB Chapter 170
Chapter 170
Magistrate Su can be said to have made a good plan, but the original relief home was indeed not run well, so it is not impossible to take it over.
It would be too timid to set up two orphanages just out of kindness.
Guo Xin looked at Su Zhizhou and smiled, "I can take over this relief house, but I don't want to take it over for nothing. I wonder what benefits the prefecture can promise me?"
Su Zhizhou: "You must be aware of the current situation in the prefecture. We can't provide a lot. But land is still available. You want to build a workshop, so the land you need has not been decided yet. The last thing the government lacks is land."
The most important reason why Suining City could accommodate so many refugees was that it had no shortage of land.
The corresponding problem was a shortage of people, so during his tenure he constantly promoted good marriage policies and continuously improved the status of women and children, hoping that the people would have the money and be willing to have children.
Even so, there are still a lot of wastelands that are not cultivated. The refugees coming here now can be regarded as solving this problem.
However, it takes a year for cultivated land to be harvested. Otherwise, the government would not have to worry about providing food for the refugees.
Guo Xin: "Thank you very much."
After Guo Xin saw Su Zhizhou off, he looked at the bustling crowd downstairs and suddenly became interested in taking a look at what the orphanage was like now.
……
A fat woman in silk clothes stood by a pillar in the courtyard. She pointed at the young ladies in front of her and angrily scolded them, "You girls can't earn as much money as men. When I assign you to do some work, you either refuse like this or give this excuse."
A thin little girl knelt on the ground with tears in her eyes. She looked so thin that she would fall to the ground if there was a gust of wind. She looked at the fat woman and begged, "Please, this is all the money I have. Please let me rest for a few days. I am really not feeling well."
The fat woman looked at the copper coins in the little girl's hand and said disdainfully, "Tsk, do you think the silver in your hand can pay for your food for a few days in the orphanage? This is an orphanage, not a charity for idle people. You should have known the rules here when you came in!"
As soon as Guo Xin stepped into the yard, she was attracted by the sound of the dispute. She lowered her footsteps, hoping that no one would notice her arrival.
The young lady who was sweeping the floor seemed to be unable to bear it. She put down her broom and retorted, "Manager, you also said that this is a relief house and that we accept people with the intention of saving lives, right? How come you are now saying that this relief house is like a black kiln that exploits refugees?"
The woman in charge was speechless for a moment, but she reacted after a moment and sneered, "This relief house only provides temporary relief. You have already settled down. What? Do you also want to be like those refugees outside?"
The thin little girl stood up shakily, put away the copper coins in her hand, took the woman's hand, and said in a trembling voice: "I will go to work now, I won't rest."
After saying that, he shook his head at the lady who was sweeping the floor.
The cleaning lady opened her mouth as if to say something, but finally turned around and went back to work.
"thump"
A loud noise was heard behind her, and the lady who was sweeping the floor turned around immediately.
The thin little girl fell to the ground because she couldn't stand steadily.
The woman kicked the man on the ground in disgust, covered her nose with a silk handkerchief, and said viciously: "If you really can't get up, get out of here. The orphanage doesn't want to support idlers."
The sweeping lady, who had been holding her breath, threw the broom aside, helped the woman up, stared at her, and said, "What are you doing? She has already agreed to work. And you said that the relief house doesn't support idlers? How can she be considered an idler?"
Feeling the little girl trembling behind her, the cleaning lady turned around and said gently, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
This short sentence seemed to give the little girl unlimited strength. She supported the young lady and stood behind her, staring at the woman together.
The cleaning lady continued, "You always say that the relief house doesn't support idlers, but where are there idlers? Moreover, I believe that the nobleman behind this relief house would not want the relief house that he thought was like a paradise to become like this? You treat the refugees so harshly, aren't you afraid that we will report it to the nobleman?"
The woman seemed to have heard something funny, and laughed out loud, "You are just a refugee, how can you even find a noble? I'm afraid you can't even find the door of the government office."
Guo Xin stood not far away and observed quietly, looking around from time to time, but found that the men everywhere seemed not to hear the dispute here. Occasionally some women looked at the little girl with sympathy, but no one was willing to stand up to help.
She walked out slowly and was about to say something when she heard the young lady say, "The governor of Suining City, Su, is the most upright. If I report this to him, I'm afraid you won't end up well, right?"
"The prefect is busy with many things to do, so why would he bother with a refugee like you? You don't look like you are willing to stay in this orphanage." The woman waved her hand and said, "Come on, kick them out."
Guo Xin said at the right time: "Who dares to throw them out? What did they do wrong?"
The woman didn't even turn her head: "Isn't this strange? All of you refugees want to rebel today, right? I want to see who is the blind one..."
After saying that, he turned his head and saw Guo Xin. He knelt on his knees with a plop and said with his head on the ground: "Guo, Guo, Madam Guo..."
Guo Xin glanced around and said, "Is this relief house still a relief house? It looks more like a black mine that exploits people."
I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, how did Zhao He manage this orphanage? He had already changed a group of people, but he still managed it like a slave owner's slave garden.
Seeing this, the cleaning lady nearby thought about the rumors she heard when she first came to the city and guessed that it was Madam Guo from the orphanage. She stepped forward and told her everything that had happened in the orphanage.
"Do you have anything else to say?" Guo Xin asked the woman lying on the ground.
"This... I admit my mistake, and I only ask that you don't hand me over to the authorities." The woman lowered her head and clenched her teeth.
The Madam Guo in front of him was a person with a background, and it was very likely that she knew the real benefactor behind this orphanage. After all, she had been running the orphanage for so long and didn't know who the benefactor was. She only got to meet a manager occasionally.
As time went by, he became more and more arrogant when he saw that the manager above didn't seem to care much about this. However, the Miss Guo in front of him was definitely different.
If she were handed over to the government office or the nobleman behind her, her life would not be easy.
Guo Xin did not respond to the woman's words. He turned his head and looked at the lady who was cleaning behind him and looked at her carefully.
She was wearing a torn linen dress, but her hair was different from that of other refugees. It was combed very neatly. If you look closely, you can find some traces of the current fashion.
If you look closely at its eyes, you will see a bit of intelligence.
What he just said was extremely logical and courageous.
"Have you ever read a book?"