Chapter 2555 - 2529: Corvée Labor

Most of the labor draft workers brought in had never seen Manbao, the village leader, though some happened to see her at the market that day.

Many people paused their work and secretly raised their heads to look at her.

Manbao glanced at the progress with satisfaction and then went to check the food. Zhou Wulang said, "The staple food includes buns and flatbread, three meals a day, each meal has a bit of meat."

The meat wasn’t much, just enough to ensure they had some sustenance. Zhou Wulang, who had always sourced ingredients for his family restaurant, managed to buy a lot of meatless bones daily, which, once stewed into soup with some vegetables, tasted quite good.

The key was that he was willing to use salt.

With salt comes strength, and given that there’s meat, any dissatisfaction the labor draft workers felt quickly dissipated. Moreover, they realized working for the village leader wasn’t so bad. This stint would last ten days, and after the autumn harvest, they’d have another ten days; this year’s labor service time would be complete.

Working for the County Governmental Office doesn’t offer such good food.

Having seen the setup, Manbao was very pleased and told Zhou Wulang, "If the funds are insufficient, ask Lijun for more; we could use a bit more meat."

Zhou Wulang nodded in agreement.

Only then did Manbao approach to see the labor workers repairing the roads. Seeing them pause their actions, she nodded slightly and said, "I know spring plowing is imminent, and many of you have concerns about working during this time. That’s why I specifically coordinated with County Magistrate Xun to select three hundred households’ labor workers. We will only handle this section of road, dividing the work between the upper, middle, and lower parts. Ten days will suffice to finish it."

She said, "Once the road is repaired, eggs, vegetables, fish, and shrimp caught from the river can be delivered to New City in the quickest time. These items might not sell at the market, potentially only being exchanged for low-valued goods, but in New City, you can sell them for higher prices."

"Not to mention, once the road is repaired, more scholars and merchants will travel between the capital and Yongzhou. Even setting up a stand by the roadside to sell buns and steam buns can earn money."

The labor draft workers were surprised, and one couldn’t help but ask, "Village leader, setting up a stand by the roadside, who would buy these things?"

"Yes, wouldn’t they buy them in Yongzhou and the capital?"

Manbao looked up at a forty-five degree angle and said pensively, "There are always people who, for various reasons, get up late and miss the breakfast time..."

Bai Shan, standing nearby, suppressed his laughter and directly suggested waking up late as the reason.

The workers listened attentively. Though the statement was complicated, some clever workers already started considering that once the road was repaired and spring plowing was done, they’d try selling buns.

If they couldn’t sell, they could keep them for their own consumption.

After Manbao finished her speech, everyone’s enthusiasm increased by another level, and they worked with more vigor.

The village leader’s words made sense; she seldom traveled this road, but they did frequently, and this road was constructed for their benefit.

Manbao nodded with satisfaction, mounted her horse, and headed to the next road section. After a short run, she encountered another hundred people. There, the foreman had long noticed the commotion from the other side. As soon as Zhou Man arrived, he quickly approached and saluted, "Greetings, village leader."

Manbao dismounted and smiled, "Rise. How is the road construction going here?"

Having been a foreman for many years, it was his first time seeing a village leader inspecting road quality. But he had experience and immediately led her to the section they’d finished, showing Manbao, "The bottom layer is covered with stones, and yellow mud is piled on top. We rolled the stone rollers back and forth twice, compacting the road tightly. You can test it by stomping."

Manbao didn’t stomp; she led her horse across the road surface, noting that little dust was stirred up. She nodded approvingly; it was adequate. The earth was not too loose, likely lasting for several years.

Typically, official roads require repair every few years.

Bai Shan nudged the road surface with his toe and also nodded. He and Manbao went forward to see the stone and yellow earth placement.

After checking it out, Manbao asked, "Where did you source the earth?"

The foreman replied, "Half was dug from the expanded road area, and the other half was carried from the ditch as instructed by the Chief."

This way, they could clear the ditch as well.

Manbao nodded with satisfaction and asked, "How many years has it been since the nearby village ditches were cleared?"

"Three or four years," the foreman replied, "There’s major irrigation, plus the royal estates need labor annually, so the irrigation ditches around here don’t get prioritized."

Manbao was taken aback, "Does the royal estate also request labor drafts from the county?"

"Yes," the foreman replied with a flattering smile, "It’s the emperor, the majesty orders labor, how could the county official refuse?"

The emperor couldn’t care less about such matters.

Manbao thought she should talk to Mingda about not competing for workers.

Passing by the royal estate last time, there weren’t many people inside. But what about spring plowing?

Mingda was also worried about staffing. When Zhou Man and County Magistrate Xun’s people mobilized, Mingda realized her estate was understaffed.

Forget spring plowing, she couldn’t even gather labor for this road repair.

She couldn’t help asking the estate steward, who looked troubled, "How do you get manpower for spring plowing and autumn harvesting in past years?"

"The estate slaves and tenant farmers start first, then the county assigns some people to help," the steward replied.

Mingda asked, "Is it counted as labor draft?"

"Yes, it’s counted as labor draft."

Mingda couldn’t help asking, "But the labor draft should avoid spring plowing and autumn harvesting, shouldn’t it?"

"Oh, my princess, when we recruit labor drafts, it’s specifically for spring plowing and autumn harvesting. If we avoided that, what need is there for recruiting labor?" The steward said, "Being able to work for the Imperial Family is fortune cultivated over several generations; they’re grateful for it."

Bai Erlang, standing nearby, looked at him and asked, "Do you pay these labor drafts?"

Otherwise, why would they be grateful?

"No," the estate steward said gloomily, "Prince Consort, I’ve never heard of paying labor drafts."

Then why are they grateful? "Is it because your food provisions are excellent?"

"They bring their own food."

Well, Bai Erlang was shocked; even the County Governmental Office’s labor draft was better.

Bai Erlang became interested, stroking his chin. So were they genuinely grateful or was it imaginary; or maybe it was just the steward’s assumption?

Mingda was curious too and asked, "Is the royal estate always short of manpower, requiring labor drafts?"

"Yes, it’s been like this for generations," the steward seemed to realize something, hastily explained, "Princess, our emperor is generous, not directly absorbing them into the royal estate, merely assigning labor drafts. If it were the previous dynasty, the Emperor of Sadness could have taken a fancy to any piece of land and directly encircled it, converting the people and the land into the royal estate."

"But being able to eat royal provisions is their fortune."

Bai Erlang: ...

Even Mingda, part of the Imperial Family, found this statement absurd; who would prefer servitude over being a good citizen, thinking it fortunate?