Chapter 328: Separation
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling pursed her lips in disagreement and asked, “Does Magistrate Fang really think that the current situation is caused by the profiting of the merchants?”
Magistrate Fang saw the mockery in Mu Yangling’s eyes and said, “There’s bound to be some connection.”
Mu Yangling said calmly, “Poor businessmen. They took the blame for you guys for no reason.”
Magistrate Fang looked a little embarrassed. Mu Yangling was just short of saying that it was all because of them that the commoners were in such a state.
He touched his nose and stopped talking. However, Mu Yangling said, “Magistrate Fang, I made my money from selling sheep, I saved a lot of people, right?”
Magistrate Fang was even more embarrassed. He nodded repeatedly and said, “Yes, those words weren’t aimed at Miss Mu.”
Only then was Mu Yangling satisfied.
Although there were many people, they finished distributing all the wages by noon.
Mu Yangling looked at the crowd that had yet to disperse and nodded at Xiuhong. Xiuhong raised her voice and said, “All children under the age of 12, stand in line to receive your winter clothes.”
The crowd was in an uproar, but because this news had already spread a few days ago, although everyone was excited, chaos did not ensue.
The children ran over screaming as they lined up again.
Xiuhong said loudly, “Including children who have reached the age of 12. We have a list here. You’re not to claim more than what you’re allowed. The older ones give way to the younger ones. Don’t squeeze out other people.”
When the surrounding youths heard that even those who were 12 years old were included, they shouted and rushed over excitedly. The remaining youths looked at them enviously, but no one said anything sour.
The elderly, who were usually cunning, didn’t say anything. They just looked at the children with a quiet smile. Magistrate Fang stroked his beard and said sincerely, “I thank Miss Mu on behalf of the children.”
“If Magistrate Fang wants to thank me, please support the cattle farm in the future.”
Magistrate Fang faked a smile. “Of course, of course.”
The 20 old women who were distributing the clothes were the ones in charge of cooking. They only needed to take a look at the children to know what clothes to distribute to them, so the queue moved along very quickly.
A set of cotton clothes, including a cotton jacket and cotton pants, was stuffed with good-quality cotton. When Mu Yangling had instructed her workers to make the clothes a little bigger. Therefore, other than a few people who received perfectly-fitting clothes, everyone else’s was a tad longer. Everyone was even more grateful to Mu Yangling.
This excess length could allow them to wear it for two more years before passing it down to their younger siblings.
At this moment, it was already past the winter solstice. When the wind blew, it was as if ice sand was blowing on their faces. Although these children had put on several layers of clothes, those thin and tattered clothes could not keep them warm at all. Now that they had obtained the cotton clothes, some children directly put them on. Some felt that the clothes on their bodies were too dirty and wanted to go back to shower and wash their clothes before putting on the brand new cotton clothes.
Mu Yangling took another booklet from Xiuhong and brought a chair over. She stood on it and Zhang Wu struck the gong and drum, signaling for everyone to be quiet.
The crowd gradually quietened down. Mu Yangling took out the name list and said, “Those who are orphans, stand on the left.”
The children looked at Mu Yangling in confusion.
Seeing the confusion in the children’s eyes, Mu Yangling softened her voice. “Before Little General left, he handed all the orphans to me to manage. Because you’re still young and can’t survive alone, the military camp has arranged another place for you. I have a list here, but because there are too many people, I don’t want to read the names one by one. Those who are orphans, please take the initiative to move to the left.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the children all ran to the right.
Although they had been getting along quite well during this period of time, everyone was still mostly afraid of the military camp. Now that they heard that orphans had somewhere else to go, not only those children, but even the adults and elders had an unsavory speculation.
The news of Mu Yangling building a nursery did not spread. Even the soldiers in the military camp did not know much. They only followed orders to build rows of houses in the farmstead and did not ask about their use.
Because confidentiality was the most important thing in the military camp, no one asked what shouldn’t be asked.
Mu Yangling saw that there were only more than 20 very young children standing there in a daze. The others had all run to the right. Many of the children were dragged away by their parents. If not for the bailiffs and soldiers surrounding them, they would perhaps have run away.
Mu Yangling took out the name list and said, “Since everyone is unaware of their status, I’ll read out the names.”
Many children’s eyes turned red. One of them, who was about seven or eight years old, hesitated for a moment before pulling his two-year-old sister to the left. When he stood still, he couldn’t help but burst into tears.
With the first kid taking the lead, the kids on the right started going over in spite of their reluctance. The younger ones started crying, and the older ones looked at Mu Yangling with hatred.
Mu Yangling didn’t explain and just continued to look to the right. Only when people stopped moving over, Mu Yangling asked someone to count the number of people. When she realized that there were 25 missing people, she looked to the right and opened the name list. “If you don’t move over, I’ll take attendance one by one. In the end, you’ll still be found, but you’ll delay lunch for everyone. If you stand out now, we can enter the house for lunch.”
Mu Yangling looked at them quietly. After about two minutes, a youth stood out, followed by a youth holding a five or six-year-old boy…
When everyone was present, Mu Yangling looked to the right and said, “Children with parents should return to their parents.”
The children scattered and ran into the crowd to find their mothers or grandparents.
Mu Yangling’s gaze searched the crowd until she confirmed that there were no replacements. Then, she waved her hand and said, “Alright, everyone, disperse.”
Mu Yangling jumped off the stool and nodded at the magistrate. “Magistrate Fang, you’d better count the number of people on your side and bring them over tomorrow.” As she spoke, she smiled. “Don’t spread the news about the nursery first.”
Magistrate Fang knew Mu Yangling’s concerns. If word got out about the nursery, many parents would abandon their children and make them “orphans”. After all, not only would Mu Yangling’s nursery provide the orphans with food, shelter, and clothes, but they would also hire someone to teach them literacy and life skills.
Magistrate Fang nodded and left with the more than 6,000 ordinary civilians. In an instant, there were only 700-odd orphans left in the cattle farm.
Everyone looked at Mu Yangling quietly. Some of the children’s eyes were still red and swollen, and some were even burping. It was obvious how badly they had cried just now.
Mu Yangling stood back on her chair and said, “I know what you’re thinking, but since the Little General brought you back, he won’t abandon you, let alone harm you. Now that you belong to a military household and the 5th Division, you’ll be protected by General Qi and the Little General.”
Mu Yangling slowed down her tone and tried her best to let everyone understand her words. “The land under your name has been rented to me now. When you turn 14 years old, you can be independent. At that time, you can take back your land and farm it at will. Before that, you have to live in the nursery together. I will be in charge of your food and clothes. If you fall sick, I will take care of that. Little General even asked me to hire teachers for you. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, you have to enter the classroom to learn how to read. The older ones also have to learn some skills while learning how to read…”