After Tongbao Street's concrete road was built, half of the city's vendors rushed to set up stalls there, and in the morning, folks from outside the city also came.
Straw mats were spread out, piles of fresh vegetables still glistening with dew were stacked one after another, and loud cries of hawking rose and fell in waves.
Captain Liu Hucheng, with a sabre slung over his shoulder, walked from one end of the street to the other, counting three to four hundred people.
"These past few days, quite a few folks have been squabbling over stalls, and some have even come to blows. You must keep your eyes peeled and step in the moment you spot trouble."
The yamen runners he'd cautioned nodded quickly. "Rest assured, Boss. We're patrolling non-stop now, afraid someone might start a fight."
Another yamen runner nearby couldn't help but grumble.
"If you ask me, the prefect should start charging stall fees. That would thin out the crowd and bring in some extra revenue for the yamen."
Liu Hucheng stopped in his tracks and glared at him.
"Since when does the prefect need you to tell him how to do his job?"
"Half of these people are from outside the city. They earn just a few coppers selling vegetables all morning. You want to charge them what?"
The runner was left speechless.
Liu Hucheng rolled his eyes and scolded, "Once the concrete roads at the East and West Gates are finished, they'll spread out there. It'll only take a few days."
As the sun crept higher, many who hadn't managed to sell their goods began packing up and heading out.
"Recruiting workers at the cement plant and coal plant outside the city."
"Coal miners, porters, stokers—men and women welcome, ages eighteen to fifty-five, strong and healthy preferred..."
The moment they heard the word "recruiting," young and old, men and women with bamboo baskets on their backs or carrying shoulder poles, rushed forward like mad.
By the time they spotted the recruits, two tables already had queues stretching over ten meters.
People stood on tiptoe, craning their necks forward, desperate for their turn.
Many dashed over and grabbed passersby at random, asking, "Hey lad, what kind of work is this?"
"Where's the job? How much is the pay? Do they provide meals?"
Others squeezed to the front to read the notice pasted on the wall, but they couldn't understand it—only noticed the numbers thirty and twenty.
The bolder ones turned to the supervisor sitting behind the table and asked, "Sir overseer, is the daily wage thirty coppers?"
The supervisor glanced up quickly.
"For the day shift, men earn thirty coppers a day, women twenty coppers. Work starts at the beginning of the chen hour and ends at the end of the shen hour, with one meal provided at noon."
"For the night shift, men earn thirty-five coppers a day, women twenty-five coppers. Work starts at the beginning of the xu hour and ends at the end of the yin hour, also with one meal provided."
The man's eyes lit up. "Is it permanent or temporary work?"
The supervisor: "Permanent. Wages are paid monthly."
Word spread like wildfire. Soon, the South Gate was packed with people queuing up, some registering for their elders and brothers.
The line grew longer and longer until, by midday, it nearly reached the outer city gate.
Song Jinzhao stood on the city wall with a telescope, watching as more people kept streaming in at the end of the line.
"Bring twenty more tables, or we'll be stuck here till dark and still not finish."
Lanxi turned and hurried downstairs.
The sea of people was so dense it seemed the whole of Suining City had showed up. Qingshuang hesitated before speaking.
"County Princess, we can't hire this many people."
According to the original plan, the cement plant and coal plant were to recruit 1,500 workers in total. It seemed they'd already filled that up in just one morning.
But Song Jinzhao had already made up her mind.
"Double the size of both plants, and assign twice as many people to keep watch."
Qingshuang nodded in acknowledgment. "I'll see to it right away, Miss."
After finishing his official duties, Song Qiming came over to watch the excitement.
As he looked at the common people lining up one by one to register for jobs, his eyes were filled with joy, and his heart was overjoyed.
During the slack farming season, it wasn't that the people didn't want to work; they simply couldn't find any work.
Now that the cement factory and the coal factory were hiring, the people would have income and their lives would improve.
No one was more eager than Song Qiming to see the people of Suining City become prosperous.
