Chapter 38: The People's Hearts Come So Easily

"Have you seen the divine doctor, sir?" The old man spoke, and Chen Xie almost lost his balance, quickly reaching out to support the old man who was about to kneel, saying, "This will shorten my life." Looking back, Chen Xie was a bit taken aback. There were probably seventy to eighty households in the village, half of them surnamed Zhang, more or less related to the Zhang family. If Zhang Yao could rally a hundred people, Chen Xie believed it, but as for himself, it was hard to say.

But the reality was right there in front of him. People were pushing wheelbarrows, driving ox carts, and carrying poles, with old and young from every household coming from all directions.

"Old man, what's going on? Why are there so many children?" Chen Xie couldn't describe his shock at the scene. The old man, however, was very calm and said without turning his head, "Seven- or eight-year-old kids aren't small. In a few years, they can get married and help with the work in the fields."

Chen Xie really wanted to say that it wasn't easy to calculate wages for them. The old man continued, "We heard that a school is going to be built in the village, and the children can learn to read. The divine doctor has also reduced the rent for everyone. Everyone is grateful. There's also this hospital in the village. A few days ago, my wife had diarrhea, and it was the divine doctor's female disciple who gave her medicine. She got better in less than an hour. In the past month, which household in the village hasn't received medicine from the divine doctor's female disciple? Tell me, old man, is any of this a lie?"

"Right, what Old Ge said is true!" The hundred or so villagers gathered behind him shouted together. Their voices were loud, making Chen Xie's ears ring.

"Old man, fellow villagers, I just want to hire some people to move some things. I won't let you work for nothing. But the children are too young, so they shouldn't go. I..."

Before Chen Xie could finish, the old man already shouted excitedly, "Divine doctor, sir, you're underestimating us villagers. You've done so much for everyone, have you ever asked for anything in return? Nowadays, who in the village doesn't say you're a living bodhisattva? Who would have the nerve to ask for wages for working for you? I'll break the legs of anyone who does."

More and more people gathered, with about five or six hundred people of all ages, each holding whatever tools they could find.

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Chen Xie quickly said to Mr. Liu, the shopkeeper, "You caused the trouble, you solve it."

Chen Xie stepped back, thinking that if Mr. Liu couldn't handle it, he would slip out through the hospital gate. The villagers were too enthusiastic, blocking the entrance and insisting on helping. Chen Xie couldn't stop them.

Mr. Liu indeed had a solution. He stepped forward and shouted, "What's all the noise about? Shut up and listen to me."

The crowd indeed listened and fell silent. Mr. Liu continued, "We don't need so many people to work. The place is only so big, and going there would just cause chaos. All the strong men should go. Old Ge is almost sixty, what are you going to do? Stay here and bring some firewood back. Zhang Wangcai, you lead a group to set up a stove and a large steamer on the open ground. Yu Wan, lead the women to stay and help with the cooking. When the steamed buns are ready, send them over. Don't say you don't need to eat. Without a full stomach, you won't have the strength to work." After saying this, Mr. Liu turned to Chen Xie with a sycophantic smile, "Young Master Chen, is there anything else you need to say?"

Chen Xie's scalp tingled, and he waved his hand, "Nothing else to say. By the way, send a few people to Dengzhou to buy two slaughtered pigs. We'll have a good meal tonight. Let's go."

Without further ado, Chen Xie set off to transport the goods. The old, weak, and women left in the village, under the direction of a few respected old men, quickly began to act. The village masons started building stoves, and the older children carried bamboo baskets to collect firewood with Old Ge. Yu Wan, the head maid and temporary women's leader, led a group to the grain warehouse to fetch wheat and grind it into flour.

The entire village was in motion. Even the seven- or eight-year-old children followed the older ones to help collect firewood. As Chen Xie walked for about half an hour, he gradually began to understand something.

This was probably what was called "the people's hearts." In terms of time, Chen Xie didn't feel he had done much. Apart from saving lives, which was a doctor's instinct, everything else he did was for his own benefit. The return, however, far exceeded his expectations. Were the people of the Ming Dynasty so easy to persuade? Chen Xie didn't have an answer to this question yet.

When Mr. Liu saw the mountain of goods by the sea, his eyes widened. So much stuff, he wondered how it got ashore. It was probably because this part of the coast was sparsely populated; otherwise, it would have been looted. Another question was, why leave no one to watch over so much cargo?

Chen Xie stood by the sea, looking at the terrain, and his back was just twenty steps away. Mr. Liu quickly came up and said, "Young Master Chen, ... ." Chen Xie turned around, surprised, "Old Liu, why do you keep changing the way you address me? You're becoming more distant. Just call me Si Hua."

"Alright, Young Master Si Hua." Chen Xie... gave up on trying to instill the concept of equality in the Ming people and pointed to the sea, "See that? There's a small bay where we can drive stakes into the beach and build a pier. Extend it forward, and then build a horizontal pier at the front. That will be a temporary dock. Tell Wen Bazhen to recruit more people and build a new village behind that forest. He can come to me for the details."

Mr. Liu, being a local, was familiar with the situation. He looked at the beach and shook his head, "Young Master Si Hua, this area is not peaceful. In the past, there were many pirate raids. With Governor Yuan (Ying Tai) in charge, it was peaceful for a few years, but in the past two years, there have been reports of pirate raids on nearby villages."

Chen Xie nodded, "I know all this. Building a village here is to train troops. The current soldiers are worse than bandits. With such a large estate, we need some people to protect it to live a good life."

Mr. Liu nodded vigorously, "You're right. These days, the world is not peaceful, and merchants need some visible means. Young Master Si Hua thinks far ahead, but we can't let our supply chain break."

"Bringing so much cargo this time, isn't it enough for you to sell for a while?" Chen Xie thought it was a lot, but in fact, it was only half of the cargo he brought. The other half, which wasn't needed yet, was still in the shuttle. He had never seen what it looked like, and the virtual beauty was elusive. Chen Xie didn't know how she got the cargo ashore.

"You don't know how much business the joint merchant guild is doing. I looked, and there's about 400,000 pounds of goods. It will be sold out in two months at most. You need to hurry and urge the brothers at sea."

Although Mr. Liu had various speculations about Chen Xie's source of goods, he would never delve into it. He just mentioned urging them and carefully observed Chen Xie's reaction.

Chen Xie frowned, not because he was unhappy, but because he realized he still lacked understanding of the Ming Dynasty's market consumption. The daily necessities he brought this time were twice as much as last time, with a total value of nearly four million. Even this wasn't enough to last long, showing that his judgment was off.

Chen Xie had thought about producing in the Ming Dynasty, but it was clearly unrealistic. Without technical expertise, even simple processes were just talk. For now, he would give up on the idea of producing daily necessities in the Ming Dynasty. Things were not that simple. He would take it step by step, maybe find some people to experiment according to the instructions and cultivate some talent.

The villagers' enthusiasm for work was high, and the fifty small wheelbarrows Chen Xie brought, with their excellent "off-road" performance, played a significant role. Two people per cart, easily crossing small ditches. Soon, everyone liked the carts, and the young people competed to use the wheelbarrows to transport goods to the large carts.

Chen Xie had no chance to lead by example this time. Mr. Liu insisted that he not work, saying that if he did, the Zhang family village would be unbearable. The old and young men's saliva could drown him, so he should do whatever he wanted, even sleep, as long as he didn't work.

Chen Xie was very bored and could only continue to wander by the sea. As a time traveler, he had enhanced strength and hearing. Hearing very light footsteps behind him, he quickly drew his pistol, opened the safety, and turned around in a flash.

Facing the black gun barrel, Wang Qianian stood calmly five steps away, very relaxed. In fact, he didn't know what it was, but it looked sinister and seemed very powerful.

"It's you. Why do you walk so quietly? If you have something to say, why don't you call out? I almost shot you." Chen Xie put away his gun, and Wang Qianian looked curiously at his actions, "Sir, is this a gun?"

Chen Xie nodded, not lying to him, "Yes, this is a pistol, a weapon that the Ming Dynasty can't produce. Its effective range is about thirty steps, and it can fire multiple bullets in succession."

"Sir, although I haven't read much, I have been a soldier for many years and have beheaded two Tartars. I know what guns look like, but I've never seen one that can fire continuously." This was a bit of a challenge, and Wang Qianian stood there, and Chen Xie could sense his danger, like a wolf ready to pounce.

"Oh, you're a refugee from Liaodong?" Chen Xie asked casually, and Wang Qianian nodded, "The Tartars occupied my home, and I fled with my wife, taking a boat to Dengzhou. My wife's injuries were from encountering soldiers on the way south."

Hearing him speak so casually, Chen Xie felt a bit uneasy. The act of killing innocent people to claim credit was a common occurrence in historical records.

"Killing innocent people to claim credit?" Chen Xie blurted out, and Wang Qianian nodded heavily, his face showing grief and anger.