Chapter 329: Red Face and Troubled Water
(The fourth more is delivered, this is 165 votes plus more, there are five more today, and there will be 180 votes in a while!) THANK YOU FOR THE MONTHLY TICKET SUPPORT OF BURNINGSKY, THE KING OF THE WORLD, AND THE CHOP YOUR COCK. )
Dengzhou's cash-for-work campaign was in full swing, and Dengzhou and the four counties below distributed some food to the displaced people who had gathered outside the city, allowing them to return to their villages. Subsequently, some projects in various counties and townships started one after another, and those young and strong people went to register for labor. Of course, if the family has food and money, they can also not participate in the cash-for-work program. However, the government also stipulates that if there are young and strong men in the family who have not participated in the work-for-labor service, then they cannot receive relief food.
Cash-for-work is still very good, the young and strong have one liter of rice a day, and the old and young have half a liter of rice a day, and young and strong men and women can also get 600 or 10 catties of rice every month when they participate in labor.
These projects carried out by the government are not arbitrary, they are all studied by the state and county, and Li Jing can only carry out them with the final consent. The projects are basically basic construction, such as water conservancy projects, road and bridge construction, city repair, and so on.
On the other hand, Li Jing also encouraged those landlords and merchants to recruit displaced people to work. At the same time, however, Li Jing issued an official document with detailed requirements for those who were recruited to work as displaced people, such as the minimum income standard for daily work, and this standard was still calculated according to food. Unlike the government's disaster relief, the government only distributes one liter of rice and 20 wen a day. But for other hired homeless workers, the minimum standard is 60 wen a day, or 3 liters of rice.
And in order to prevent those unscrupulous landlords and powerful people from taking advantage of the disaster year to swallow the people's fields and property, Li Jing also gave a special order. The debt of all the people. Suspension of collection for one year. And within the year. It is also forbidden to charge high interest rates, which can only be calculated at the lowest interest rate. Those who dare to borrow usury in disaster years will be fined 10 times the amount of the loan shark once they are investigated and punished.
Moreover, for the grain stores in Dengzhou, the maximum price is set, and if the price is exceeded, the store will be directly closed and the grain will be confiscated. It is also forbidden to sell grain. Unless the grain is sold out, it is forbidden to close it, otherwise it will be confiscated directly. In addition, a special provision was issued that no grain from Dengzhou should be transported out of Dengzhou unless a special order was obtained.
All this is to stabilize food prices, after all, there are more than 300,000 people in Dengzhou, and not all of them have run out of food and have to receive relief.
In the immediate aftermath of these orders, many others did not follow them. Some have taken advantage of the opportunity to raise food prices sharply. There are also some people who openly open up to usury, and there are also some shop landlords. Take advantage of the opportunity to take good slaves.
Li Jing is naturally not soft on these people who dare to openly challenge his majesty. There is Gongsun Lan's Plum Blossom Gate and Li Wei's Flying Eagle Battalion dispatched together, but there was a bit of turmoil below, and Li Jing immediately knew the way. On the second day after the disaster relief began, Li Xigou took the gendarmerie battalion out, and groups of black-clad gendarmes armed with guns and knives arrested more than 30 shops, more than a dozen landlords, and seven or eight loan sharks who had openly disobeyed Li Jing's orders.
For these people, Li Jing had the intention to make an example of the chickens and monkeys, and directly built a high platform on the outskirts of the city on the original site where the robbers were tried before, and then tried these people publicly. Severe punishment was imposed on those who offered usury and sold grain at high prices, as well as those who took advantage of the opportunity to force good people into slavery. Not only did they impose extremely high fines and confiscate food according to the regulations, but they also distributed all of them to work on the construction site for three months.
Several of the offenders were still distant relatives of the Cui family, and they asked someone to find Cui Youcheng, the commander of Cui's Huangxian County in Dengzhou. However, for Cui Youcheng, who was in love, Li Jing not only did not give favors, but reprimanded him. Cui Youcheng hit a nail, and he also knew Li Jing's determination, so he didn't do it right away. Those who were originally on the sidelines saw that even the Cui family couldn't get through this road, and they all died at the moment.
"Li Jing, what do you mean, aunt and grandmother, you dare to move!"
Li Jingzheng read a copy of the invitation on the construction site, and made some corrections, although these work-for-work projects do not require labor money, but material money is still needed. This money is not much, it is said that it is a lot less, but the key thing is that there is no money in the Dengzhou treasury. The original little money was all taken away by Song Wen when he left. And Li Jing said that he would suspend chasing the people's past arrears, and this year's two taxes will be exempted. The treasury is empty, and it has to be pulled from the side of the Zhendong Army.
Hearing this pungent voice, Li Jing didn't need to look up to know who was coming from. Needless to say, it must be the county lord of Xihe who is here. Moreover, Li Jing also knew very well that he would come, and he had been waiting for her for a long time.
"Sit!" Li Jing didn't raise his head and continued to give instructions on the official document.
"Li Jing, do you know what I'm looking for you to do. I am kind enough to help you, but not only do you not appreciate it, but you want to send someone to fine me, what do you mean? Seeing that Li Jing ignored her, Li Huier directly snatched Li Jing's official document and threw it aside.
Li Jing looked up and saw Li Hui'er's eyes wide, staring at him like a wolf.
These days, Li Jing issued an official document encouraging merchants who recruited displaced people, and announced that using hungry people to work would obtain certain tax incentives. After the introduction of this official document, many merchants and workshops recruited displaced people.
The county lord's quilt workshop also recruited a group of homeless people, and the number of recruits was large. Due to the strong support of Li Jing in the quilt workshop, and because it has been contracting the order of military uniforms, shoes and socks of the Zhendong Army, the workshop contracted by the county lord and Yu Youniang, Wang Yueying and Xiao Yulou is now very prosperous. Today, there are not only more than 3,000 workers, but also several workshops such as weaving mills, dyeing mills, garment mills, shoes and socks mills. Not only the production of military uniforms, shoes and socks, but also the production of ready-to-wear, dyeing cloth, business expansion is great.
This time, the county lord responded to Li Jing's call and recruited 1,000 female workers at one time. However, because the quilt workshop has long implemented assembly line operations, piecework wages, more work, more pay. So this new batch of female workers is the same. Since it is a new recruit, it will take a month of training, and during the one-month training period, there will only be a consistent minimum salary for one month. Originally, all this was normal, and it was said that it was good before recruitment.
However, several of the people Li Jing dealt with this time were lower than the minimum wage of at least 1,800 wen per month announced by Li Jing, and after they were punished, they reported to the state government the county owner's workshop, saying that their workers were also below this standard.
After reporting this matter below, Li Jing didn't know that there must be many people watching his reaction. He also knew that there was nothing wrong with the county lords of Ludao doing this, but it was indeed inconsistent with the new regulations. After thinking about it, Li Jing finally sent people to the county lord's workshop and forced them to raise the salary of the newly recruited workers to at least 1,800 yuan per month. In addition, a hefty fine of 1,000 kan was imposed on the workshop.
Li Jing did this because he didn't want those people to exploit the loopholes in the regulations. Anyway, the county lord and they are also their own people, and when outsiders saw that Li Jing even punished them, this regulation was naturally established.
The county lord also knows these things, and Xiao Yulou and others understand it even more, but Li Huier is a little angry.
"The county lord hasn't seen him for a long time, and he is much more beautiful again, and he feels a little less youthful and more mature than before!" Li Jing did not answer positively, but praised Li Hui'er. When Li Hui'er heard this, her face turned slightly red, and she said angrily: "If you want to say that I am old, just say it, I know that you married Wang Haojun, the first beauty in Liaodong, and brought two days of goblins with the color of the country, and now I am afraid that my soul will be lost to them." ”
Li Jing's wife and second wife have never been pregnant, but the three women married in Liaodong were all pregnant at once.
"The king is a country and a city, but the county lord is also a sinking fish and a wild goose." Li Jing praised with a smile.
"Don't say it's so nice, you just think we're bullying!" Li Hui'er slapped away Li Jing's big hand holding the back of her hand and glared at him, "It doesn't count if you bullied me before, but you bullied the young lady again." It's even better now, even in our workshop. ”
Li Jing laughed twice.
However, Li Hui'er is not so easy to deal with, she stared at Li Jing and asked: "By the way, what are you going to do with the young lady's affairs, now that she lives in your house, you have to give her a name, do you want her to be so innocent for the rest of her life?" ”
Li Jing had a headache and said, "What do you mean that I bullied you and bullied her?" I don't know how to deal with this matter of the young lady, she is the teacher's daughter, how dare I think anything wrong? ”
"I don't think about it, you kicked people's doors open, looked at their bodies, and kissed them?"
"That's an expedient measure. I can't die without help, can I? ”
"Anyway, the young lady is a big girl with yellow flowers, you have seen and seen, touched and touched, kissed and kissed, and now you have taken people to your house, do you still want to pay the bill?"
Li Jing couldn't cry or laugh, and there was really no reason to talk to the county lord. If she could, Li Jing wouldn't mind having an extra woman in the room, but it depended on the situation. That Yu Youniang is the daughter of the Yu family, her father and uncle are the prime minister of the three festivals, how can the daughter of such a family be a concubine for Li Jing, and being a concubine is also the sixth room. Li Jing is not the kind of person who only thinks with his lower body, some things can be done and some things can't be done. If he really accepted Yu Youniang, it is estimated that Yu's family will think that this is a great shame. In that case, not only would you lose a strong ally, but you would also add a strong enemy for nothing, which would only be done by a fool.
"Why don't you take your youngest lady to your house for a while?" Li Jing said to Li Hui'er with a smile, Yu Youniang can't live in Li's house for a long time, otherwise, she will really jump into the Yellow River and won't be able to wash it away. It's better to let her out of the house as soon as possible, otherwise it won't be good if it gets out.
"Why should I help you, you just fined me a thousand yuan!"
"The perfume workshop has newly developed more than a dozen new scented perfumes, and I will ask people to wrap each flavor for you when I go back, and give you a set!" Li Jing flattered Lu Dao.
"Ten sets!"
"What are you going to do so much?"
"I can give it away!"
Seeing that Li Hui'er finally laughed, Li Jing chuckled in her heart, women really have to coax, a sweet word, plus dozens of bottles of perfume, it's done. (To be continued......)