Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 709 Grand Finale (13)

By the time he appeared in the hall, it was bustling with life. He called for a waiter, ordered breakfast, and sat quietly in a corner, listening intently to the others as they discussed the construction of the garden. He noticed there were no objections—only voices of support, most of them motivated by the prospect of a full meal.

After breakfast, he mounted his horse and sped toward the Imperial Palace. Before he even arrived, he could see the palace gates surrounded by layers of impoverished commoners, all craning their necks in eager anticipation, hoping to be selected to avoid starvation during this season of drought.

Xiu Bingxi dismounted and tried to squeeze through, but the commoners ahead, thinking he was trying to cut in line, would not let him pass. A young man, irritated by being jostled, turned and roared at him, "What are you pushing for? Can’t you see everyone is queuing? You’re not trying to cut, are you?"

This remark from the young man drew many angry glances from the surrounding crowd. Xiu Bingxi couldn’t help but laugh, lowering his head to glance at his expensive clothing, then touching his handsome face. From that point of view, he did not look like he was there to queue with them. Left with no choice, he stepped back, watched the boisterous crowd with his arms crossed, rolled his eyes, took a deep breath, and with his feet lifting off the ground, flew over their heads, landing steadily in front of the Imperial Palace gates.

The commoners at the palace entrance gaped at this sudden appearance as if seeing a ghost, and the crowd instantly exploded in shock. Xiu Bingxi watched as their faces shifted through a spectrum of colors, amused by their reactions. Adjusting his Dantian, he shouted to them, "Quiet."

Stunned by his booming voice, which was painful to their ears, the crowd quieted down and looked at him in silence, wondering if he was the person they had been waiting for.

"I am the one responsible for recruiting you. Have you all seen the announcement?"

"Yes, but I’m illiterate. It was an old scholar who told us that it’s a call for laborers, and that as long as we work, we’ll have food to eat," replied an old man in coarse clothing loudly from the front.

"Right, we also heard that there will be food, and enough to be full, which is why we came."

"Yes, yes, my wife came along, too," another chimed in.

Listening to them, it turned out that the information had spread by word of mouth, and there were very few who could actually read the notice. Xiu Bingxi pondered for a moment, then approached the announcement at the entrance of the Imperial Palace and read it aloud, verbatim. To ensure the commoners understood, he explained it again in plain language, then spent some time allowing them to think it over.

As the sun climbed higher, more and more people congregated at the palace gates. Glancing at them, he seemed pleased with the discussions, and then he called out loudly, "Those in agreement, come and queue here; those who disagree, you may leave."

The crowd quickly formed a line, with a long queue stretching out of sight. Seeing this, Xiu Bingxi couldn’t help but feel delighted, though he felt sorry for the scribes seated at the table, who had to record the names.

The first person in line, having had his name and address recorded, walked away happily. Those still queuing waited patiently, and not a single person left halfway through.

Xiu Bingxi looked up at the midday sky. They had made such little progress he couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment. Finally, he called for all the scholars from the Capital to come. Chairs were set out in front of the Palace gates, speeding up the process considerably.

It took two full days to complete the registration of the participating commoners from around the Capital, filling two large boxes with just the lists of names. According to the tallies, the number of commoners who took part exceeded ten thousand. However, for Xiu Bingxi, this number was still too small. After some thought, he decided to send those already registered to start work and then recruit more people from the nearby Prefecture Government, thereby not delaying the work and continuing the recruitment—a solution that served two purposes.