198: Chapter 199 A Trivial Matter

The middle-aged man, who had been certain all along the way that Flower City would drag people off to be forced laborers, opened his mouth and stood there, unable to close it for a long time.

He wanted to say something, but looking at the firelight and the steam quickly rising from the pots, he suddenly couldn't utter a single word.

Because the logic he had accumulated after witnessing four changes of flags seemed to have been gently bent out of shape at this moment.

Just as the fire-element mages set up the copper pots, the area by the long tables became a bit chaotic again.

It wasn't that Flower City hadn't prepared; it was just that there were too many people.

They came out of the Hongdao Array in team after team—the elderly, children, the sick and injured, lost luggage, incomplete records, misreported family members—every kind of situation imaginable.

The Flower City minor officials had all been trained and knew what to ask first and what to record later, but when hundreds of families were actually crowding in front of them, their pens would still falter, their throats would still go hoarse, and just as they finished recording one family, the next would already have their children held up to the table.

A minor official ran to Wan'er's side, sweat covering his forehead. "director-general, we don't have enough manpower. Registration in the East District 2 is backed up, and the Medical Tent is also pressing for the rosters."

Yet, Wan'er's gaze did not waver. She flipped a page in the roster in her hand and tapped her pen tip on the blank space. "Send a team out to recruit temporary minor officials."

The minor official was stunned. "Now?" "Now," Wan'er said. "If we lack officials to take in people, recruit those who are literate. Anyone who can write names, recognize numbers, and follow instructions to ask about family members will do. The daily wage is two taels of Spirit Rice, paid on the spot. We'll use them for half a day; keep those who are capable, and pay off those who aren't and send them on their way."

The minor official opened his mouth, immediately realized the plan, turned, and ran out.

Before long, someone struck a copper gong at the edge of the open field. "Recruiting temporary registration officials!" "Those who are literate may come!" "Preference given to those who can write names, record family members, and recognize numbers!" "Daily wage of two taels of Spirit Rice, paid on the spot!"

When the first few calls rang out, the crowd did not react. It wasn't that they didn't hear. It was that no one dared to believe it. Two taels of Spirit Rice. One tael of Spirit Rice was worth one silver coin. The entire life savings that many people had hidden away while fleeing from Liang City amounted to just one silver coin!

Old Man Cui had hidden that silver coin in his little grandson's waistband, touching it over and over along the way, terrified it would be discovered. But now, Flower City was saying that just knowing a few characters and helping to record rosters for half a day would earn them two taels of Spirit Rice! A day! That was just a single day's wages!

A dead silence fell over the crowd. A down-and-out scholar stood at the back of the crowd, his clothes washed to a pale white, the cuffs frayed. He looked at the copper gong, his face initially blank, then, as if shoved hard by something, he stumbled forward two steps. "I... I understand."

The Flower City official in charge of recruitment immediately looked at him. "Can you write names?" "Yes." "Can you record numbers?" "Yes." "Family members, injuries, past records—can you ask according to the instructions and write them down?" The scholar swallowed, his voice dry. "I can do that too."

"Come." There was no extra interrogation, nor was there any waiting for some high-ranking official to nod. The official took him directly to an empty table nearby, handed him a brush and a sample roster, then poured out two taels of Spirit Rice from a cloth bag, packed it into a small paper parcel, and pushed it in front of him.

"The daily wage is paid in advance. Write clearly and don't rush the questions. If you make a mistake, cross it out and rewrite it; do not fabricate information. Also, remember, you must be patient and speak kindly. You cannot treat people poorly."

But the scholar didn't take much of that in; he just stared fixedly at that paper parcel, his fingers stiff for a long time. "This... is it given now?" "Paid on the spot." The official had already pressed the next roster to his hand. "Don't just stand there; there are people waiting behind you."

When the scholar lifted the paper parcel, the eyes of everyone around him went wide. It wasn't much Spirit Rice. But it was Spirit Rice! It was the thing they hid in their bosoms as if it were their lifeline. And yet, a scholar—someone who couldn't carry things on his shoulders or do manual labor, someone who was always the first to be discarded as useless during famine years—had just entered Flower City, hadn't even had time to get settled, and had already received two taels?!

The crowd was as if scorched by a spark, suddenly becoming restless. "I'm literate too!" "I can do accounting!" "I've kept books for a shop; I can read ledgers!" "I can too, I can too!" ... Several Flower City soldiers maintaining order immediately stepped forward. "Please form a line." "Do not crowd." "One by one for verification."

The voice wasn't loud, but with that armor standing forward, the surge of people that was about to erupt was pressed back behind the line. They could control their feet, but not their eyes. Many people's eyes turned red, staring fixedly at that temporary recruitment table, watching as one literate person after another was brought over, verified, received their paper parcel, and sat down to write.

Someone said sourly in a low voice, "What's the big deal? Even if it's two taels of Spirit Rice a day, it's only for these two or three days. Once they finish taking in this batch of people, won't they just kick them out?" No one beside him responded. Because everyone knew in their hearts. Even if it was only for two or three days, that was still four or six taels of Spirit Rice. Many of them hadn't saved that much in half a lifetime.

After a moment of silence, someone suddenly sighed. "If I had known, I should have gone to study..." A few people around him glanced at him. No one laughed. Because everyone was thinking more or less the same thing.

Yet in Liang City, what use was studying? There were only two types of people who could study. One was those from wealthy families who didn't need to work in the fields. The other was those who were physically weak, unable to do heavy labor, and could only learn a few characters from some tattered teacher, hoping to one day copy ledgers for a shop to earn a living. Most scholars were the latter. Previously, such people were a burden. But upon arriving in Flower City, they had suddenly become treasures.

Just as this thought emerged, someone on the other side shouted again. "Recruiting helpers to boil water!" "One hundred people needed who can tend fires, carry water, and are quick on their feet!" "Daily wage of one tael of Spirit Rice, paid on the spot!"

At this, the crowd was truly bewildered. For being literate, they could barely justify it by saying scholars were rare. But boiling water? Who didn't know how to boil water? A daily wage of one tael of Spirit Rice? After a brief silence, nearly half the line scrambled to raise their hands. "I can!" "I've tended stoves!" "I have strength, I can carry water!" "I can too!"

The soldier stepped forward again. "Line up." "One hundred spots, first verify physical capability, then receive a token." "Those who push will not be accepted." As soon as these words fell, the chaotic crowd abruptly stopped. But this time, what stopped them wasn't panic. It was anticipation. The fear that had been brought all the way from Liang City, pressing on their hearts like cold water, had been largely scattered by these two recruitment calls.

Many people suddenly realized that Flower City wasn't just treating them as mouths to be fed, nor was it just treating them as potential troublemakers. Flower City needed people. It needed people who could write. It needed people who could boil water. Did that mean it needed other things too?

A man carrying a carpenter's toolbox stood in the crowd, his fingers turning white from gripping the box strap. He hesitated for a long time, finally unable to help himself, and asked the person next to him in a low voice, "Do you think Flower City will need carpenters?"

The person next to him was still green with envy over the water-boiling spots and said sourly upon hearing this, "Don't even think about carpenters. They might need scholars, but carpenters? Woodwork is everywhere; why would they care about you?" The carpenter's face flushed, and he stiffened his neck, saying, "What if they do?"

After he said this, he felt that his words lacked confidence. But that lack of confidence was quickly hooked by the Spirit Rice paper parcels being handed out at the front. He gritted his teeth, bowed to the young soldier responsible for maintaining order nearby, and asked ingratiatingly, "Sir, will Flower City... recruit carpenters?"

The young soldier looked at him and smiled slightly. "I'm not sure. But with so many people arriving all at once, building sheds, repairing carts, making wooden signs, patching doors and windows—which of these doesn't require a carpenter? They probably will." The carpenter's eyes lit up instantly. He immediately turned to look at the person who had just mocked him, his back straightening a bit. "Did you hear that? I told you, what if!"

The smile on the young soldier's face vanished. "Quiet." The carpenter immediately shut his mouth. The people around also quieted down. But this time, the feeling beneath the silence was different. It wasn't the dead silence of being driven along the road. It was that everyone had pricked up their ears, waiting for the next strike of the gong, waiting for Flower City to call out what else was needed.

Someone else hurried over and said in a low voice, "There are many people at the Professional registration tent—a few carpenters, two blacksmiths, and three literate old accountants. The people from the Tiangong Department are asking if they can take them away first for verification."

"Do not take them away," Wan'er said. "The people cannot leave the team today. Register them first, issue temporary tokens, and after they are settled, the Tiangong Department can go to them for verification. Tell Minister Tie, no matter how urgent, they must wait until tomorrow." The minor official was stunned for a moment, then immediately nodded.

Wan'er lowered her head and added another entry to the roster. She didn't speak quickly, and her voice wasn't heavy, but every word that fell allowed the people around her to know where to go. The chaotic crowd arrived before her, only to be broken down into individual families, individual items, and individual tasks that could be handled.

When Old Man Cui reached the table, his fingers had turned white from gripping his wooden staff. The family ahead of him had just left. The young minor official behind the table flipped the previous page of the roster, looked up at him, and smiled. "Old man, your name."

Old Man Cui was stunned by being called "Old man." In Liang City, people in the government offices usually called him "Old thing." At best, it was just "Old man." "Cui... Cui Fu." "Which city are you from?" "Liang City." "How many in your family?"

Old Man Cui subconsciously looked back. His son was carrying his wife on his back, his daughter-in-law was holding the little grandson, all standing in the queue. The little grandson was still secretly looking at the treehouses, his eyes wide with wonder. "Four," Old Man Cui said. "One sick, one child."

The minor official lowered his head to record it, then asked, "What skills do you have?" Old Man Cui was taken aback. "Skills?" "Farming, blacksmithing, carpentry, accounting, literacy, or if you've served as a city runner—all can be recorded. If you don't have any, that's fine too."

Old Man Cui's lips moved. "I've farmed. When I was young, I also repaired plows for people." The minor official nodded and added two words next to the roster entry. "East District 5, Tent 37. Since you have a sick person, go to the Medical Tent first. After being seen at the Medical Tent, someone will take you to your tent. Today, collect your rations and bedding first; we will issue the household token tomorrow. Keep this wooden tag safe." As he spoke, he handed over a wooden tag.

Old Man Cui didn't take it. He looked at the wooden tag as if it were a piece of red-hot iron. The minor official waited a moment, seemingly understanding his thoughts, and softened his tone. "This is your tent number; it doesn't cost money."

It didn't cost money. Only then did Old Man Cui slowly reach out and take the wooden tag. The wooden tag was very light. But when it landed in his palm, his hand trembled.

...

Things were slower on Lady Sun's side. After arriving in Flower City, the child had actually started to run a fever, their little face flushed red, and they kept crying out of thirst. By the time it was her turn at the table, Lady Sun was so panicked she couldn't speak clearly. "Sun... Lady Sun. Liang City. Four people. My mother-in-law has bad legs. The child... the child seems to have a fever."

The female official behind the table listened, then reached out to touch the child's forehead first. Lady Sun stiffened. The female official didn't frown, only turned her head and called out, "Minor case, infant fever."

A young priest in a plain robe immediately walked over from the Medical Tent. The vast majority of Flower City's Professionals had gone out with the army, but a few garrison teams remained in the city, and the Medical Tent specifically kept priests and Healers here to screen out minor cases like headaches, fevers, fright, and exhaustion, so that patients with truly serious injuries wouldn't be blocked behind them.

Lady Sun hugged the child and shrank back. "How... how much?" The priest didn't answer, only raised his hand, and a layer of faint white light fell from his palm.

As soon as the light touched the child's forehead, the child shivered, then let out a long breath. The little face, which had been frighteningly hot, lost its redness at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the little hand that had been tightly clutching Lady Sun's lapel slowly relaxed. Lady Sun was stunned. She even forgot to reach for her money.

The child opened their eyes, their throat still a bit hoarse, but they were no longer confused, only whispering, "Mother." Lady Sun's eyes instantly turned a bit red.

Only then did the priest speak. "Shock combined with the journey, nothing serious. When you get porridge later, don't let them eat too much at once." Lady Sun's lips trembled several times before she finally squeezed out, "But this... how much is the medical fee? If it's too much... I... I can't afford it."

The priest was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected her to say that. Then, he waved his hand. "It's a simple matter; why pay medical fees?"

The female official had already picked up her pen again and added a note to the roster. "Minor case treated. Your mother-in-law has trouble walking, take the slow lane; someone will take her to the Medical Tent for a detailed check. You take the child to East District 5 first."

"Then my things..." "The luggage will be delivered to East District 5 along with the household token. It won't get lost."

Lady Sun opened her mouth, but in the end, didn't say anything, just hugged the child and walked forward. After a few steps, she couldn't help but look back, seeing that the priest had already turned to the next spot, and the female official had also lowered her head to receive the next family. No seeking credit. No patronizing comfort. And no saying flowery words while she was at her most terrified.

The stone that had been hanging in Lady Sun's heart didn't fall to the ground; instead, it swayed even more violently. In this world, baseless evil was everywhere, but there could absolutely never be baseless kindness. If there was, it meant there was something being sought, some ulterior motive! And what could Flower City possibly be plotting against her? I'm afraid, it could only be her life...