When Mr. Cui returned to the city, it was already evening. He entered the city smoothly. Along the way, he looked at the old people setting up small stalls everywhere, exhaled quietly, and lowered the curtain.
Xiao Heng was always better than he thought. Not long after he conquered Yongchang Prefecture, he had already put the law and order in order. He even recruited many people from Dali Prefecture and nearby prefectures. These people were tenants who did not have much land in those places before. Xiao Heng brought them here and promised to give them land, and they would not have to pay taxes for the first three years, and the government would distribute seeds. Originally, those people could not find jobs in the local area, and when they heard about this condition, many people signed up immediately. After one group came, there were the second and third groups.
Nowadays, many people in the city have started to build houses. After all, when you move to a new place, you need a place to live.
There was a thriving scene everywhere, and it seemed like a completely different place from what Mr. Cui saw when he first came to Yongchang Prefecture.
Mr. Cui was greatly comforted. When he arrived at the prefectural office before Yongchang Prefecture, he was originally going to see Xiao Heng, but his subordinates smiled and said to him, "Your Highness has gone to deal with the children's affairs first. I'm afraid he won't be back until the evening."
Speaking of these children, Mr. Cui also knows them.
Before, the old man from Lijiang Village used these children to maintain his own life. That was why the people from Yongchang Prefecture went around abducting children to complete their mission. Over the years, no one knew how many children had died.
Now Su Rong and his team have rescued many children, plus there are many who had not been given to the old man in time, and some who were too young to be raised in the Miao families. In total, there are actually one or two thousand such children.
Among them, a small number of them remember where their relatives are, but most of them do not know the whereabouts of their relatives.
So how to deal with these children becomes a difficult problem.
It's simpler for girls. The weaving mills that Su Yao opened in Dali Prefecture and Kunming can also be set up in Yongchang Prefecture in the same way. Yongchang Prefecture has been ruled by the Miao people for so many years that there are no rich Han people left, but the merchants will never despise this place.
The Ji family, the Yang family, and the Bai family had all sent people here in advance. When they heard about building a weaving mill, they were the first to agree.
Now that the girls have a place to go, the remaining boys are in a bit of a dilemma.
When Mr. Cui heard this, he was silent for a moment and then said, "I want to go see where His Highness is now, too."
He asked Mr. Cui Si to take the luggage in, and he took a few guards and headed straight to the west of the city.
Li Jiangzhai is so brutal that no one knows how to govern it. Yongchang Prefecture has always been poor, as can be seen from the earthen houses everywhere. As for the west of the city, it is even more desolate. Walking along the way, the knowledgeable Mr. Cui had to shake his head and sigh at the hardships of people's lives.
When he arrived at Yong'an Temple in the west of the city, he stood in front of the mountain gate and looked at it for a while before walking up.
These children were temporarily placed in the Yong'an Temple.
Mr. Cui walked along the mountain gate and saw many children gathered together, some fighting or playing. Although they looked thin, they were in good spirits. He touched his beard and felt a little comforted. When he arrived at the main hall, he saw Xiao Heng talking to the abbot in the square of the main hall.
He quickened his pace. At this time, Sanjiu who was standing next to Xiao Heng had recognized him and called him Mr. Cui.
Mr. Cui nodded, walked over and saw a child who was only about seven or eight years old, holding a pancake in his hand. At this time, Xiao Heng was talking about this child: "Don't worry about the other children. No matter how bad they are, at least they will tell you when they are hungry or thirsty. But this child... I won't stay here."
The abbot also glanced at the child and sighed, "Amitabha, Your Highness is merciful."
Mr. Cui was a little surprised at first, but when he saw the child's innocent smile, he immediately understood - this was a child with intellectual disabilities.
The child was a little anxious while eating, so Xiao Heng touched his head and whispered to him, "Eat slowly, there will be more later."
He really ate it in small bites and was very obedient.
Xiao Heng nodded to the abbot and said, "Thank you for everything, Master. We will take them away when we are done. During this period, the court will convert their expenses into silver and send them to us."
The abbot clasped his hands together with compassion and chanted: "Amitabha."
Xiao Heng finally had the chance to turn around and look at Mr. Cui: "Sir, you're back, why don't you take a rest?"
Mr. Cui smiled naturally: "I couldn't sit still. I heard that you were coming, so I wanted to come and see what was going on. These children..."
Xiao Heng told Mr. Cui about the children's situation: "Except for a small number of them who remember their parents, the others basically don't remember them. Even if we want to look for them, there are so many people that we don't know where to start. We discussed for a while and decided to put the children here for foster care for a while. After a while, when the charity hall here is repaired, we will move the children to the charity hall."
Mr. Cui also felt pity for these children. Thinking about their lost relatives, he felt even more pity. His eyes fell on the child next to Xiao Heng. He asked softly, "This child..."
Mr. Cui could tell something was wrong at first glance, and Xiao Heng said bluntly, "Yes, he only knew something was wrong after he was abducted. I guess the Miao people didn't want someone like him, so they abandoned him. I don't know how he survived, alone and as a child this young."
When Xiao Heng met him, he had fainted on the side of the road due to hunger. He lay on the ground, curled up like a poor puppy.
He touched the child. For some reason, he felt that he had a connection with the child.
Mr. Cui couldn't help but be moved when he heard this, and sighed: "After all, the ability of the charity is limited. This is not just one or two children, but nearly two thousand children. I'm afraid the charity can't do anything. Do you have any other plans in mind?"
Xiao Heng had already thought about this a lot before. When he heard Mr. Cui ask this question, he coughed and said, "I was just thinking about discussing this with you. I was thinking about selecting the most suitable people over the age of fifteen to join the army."
Let them serve in the army, at least they will get paid.
Mr. Cui pondered for a moment and said, "That's possible. After all, we originally needed to station troops in Yongchang. If they can find their relatives, it's fine. If not, joining the army is always a way to survive."
It is not only a way to survive, but also a way out.
Xiao Heng let out a breath.
He was about to return to Beijing, and he had to arrange matters for these children as soon as possible.