Nearly all of the 1,200 recruits drawn from the four county towns were able-bodied men. Upon arriving in Suining City, they were taken straight to the coal plant for training.
Seeing the coal plant’s gates about to close, some of the townsfolk who had followed behind immediately ran over and asked, “Sir, is your coal plant still hiring?”
The guard on duty looked at him, his gaze sweeping over the several dozen people standing behind him.
Their eyes were filled with urgency, as though every one of them wanted to ask the same question.
“The second round of hiring is already full,” the guard said.
That single sentence sent everyone’s hearts plunging to the bottom of an abyss.
After two consecutive days of travel, they were already starving. The breath they had been holding finally left them, and quite a few slumped down to sit or squat, disappointment plain on their faces.
“We shouldn’t have come.”
The first man to speak refused to give up. He grabbed the guard and pressed on, “When will you be hiring again?”
“Is it easier to apply for work in Suining City?”
The guard did not know how to answer. Just then, Qingshuang was drawn over by the commotion.
“What is going on?” she demanded sternly.
Her gaze passed over the crowd, her heart full of questions. They looked like ordinary commoners—what were they doing here?
As though he had spotted a savior, the guard hurriedly turned to explain.
“Steward Qing, they followed the recruitment party from Qingxia County. They want to know when we’ll be hiring again.”
Seeing that the guard treated the woman with great respect, the man hesitated briefly before stepping forward and pleading humbly.
“We’ve walked for two days. We thought Suining City would surely be hiring more people. Could you take us on? We’ll work for less pay if necessary.”
“Yes, yes! We’ll work for lower wages too. Please, Madam Steward, take us in.”
Hearing the guard address the woman as a steward, and guessing that she had the authority to decide, the others gathered around as well, clinging to hope.
After thinking for a moment, Qingshuang said, “Wait here for a while. I’ll go ask the cement plant whether they still need workers.”
Meanwhile, the cement plant had run into trouble as well.
The junior steward in charge of managing production materials hurried over to report to Lanxi.
“Manager Lan, the sand and limestone arrived two shichen late today. The foreman over there says that the deeper they dig into the riverbed, the longer it takes, and output has fallen. He wants to know whether we can hire more people.”
Lanxi’s brows drew together. The more workers they hired, the more silver they would have to spend. The cement plant had not earned a single coin yet.
Seeing that he remained silent, the junior steward said indignantly, “I heard the coal plant hired another thousand-odd laborers. They’re digging coal to fuel our cement plant—why do they need so many hands?”
“In this humble servant’s opinion, the cement plant is more important. Why not speak to the County Princess and have those people transferred here for us to use first?”
Before he had even finished, Lanxi shot him a glare.
“How dare you question the County Princess’s decision? Do your job properly. Say another word, and you needn’t work here anymore.”
Others might not know what the coal plant was doing, but Lanxi understood perfectly well.
It was Song Jinzhao’s money-maker. Once winter arrived, it would bring in a fortune. It was no less important than the cement plant.
The junior steward’s face went stiff with fright. He stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move.
Why was this different from what he had expected?
County Princess Linghui valued the coal plant more highly and had allowed it to recruit so many workers. Manager Lan should have been deeply dissatisfied—so why was he scolding him instead?
The sound of approaching hoofbeats rang out. When the cement plant’s guards saw that it was Qingshuang, they immediately opened the barred gate.
Recognizing the figure on horseback, the junior steward quietly turned and slipped away.
Speak of the devil. If he had known she was coming, he never should have brought it up just now.
