Zhao Baihui and the four girls sat around the table.
“Meeting! Meeting! The second family meeting is now in session!”
The girls hurriedly applauded.
This was something Lord Zhao had said before: meetings had to be solemn and respectful, with a proper sense of ceremony.
“First item on the agenda. I’m establishing a village. From now on, this will no longer be Zhao Family Village. It will be called Taoyuan Village. Does anyone have any objections?”
“None.”
“Me neither.”
“As long as Lord Zhao is happy, I’m fine with it.”
Zhao Baihui couldn’t help feeling helpless.
Come on, big sisters.
Could you at least show a little enthusiasm?
You could’ve asked why we’re calling it Taoyuan Village when there aren’t even any peach trees here.
He had already been preparing to show off a little, recite The Peach Blossom Spring from memory, and then sigh emotionally about how this place was like a secluded paradise, cut off from the outside world in the midst of prosperity.
But they weren’t even giving him the chance.
You’re ruining the fun for your lord!
“All right. The first item is approved.”
“Second item. Now that we’re a village, we need a village chief. I propose that Jinyi take the position.”
“If Lord Zhao recommends Big Sister, then I recommend her too.”
“Lord Zhao, you should be the village chief. Why should it be me?”
“I’m a lazy bum. I can’t take the position. Besides, you’ve been doing a much better job than I have lately. You’re far more capable than me, so from now on, I’ll be working under your leadership. All right, no more discussion. It’s decided.”
“Big Sister, you’re the village chief now! Are you an official?! I feel like I’m dreaming!”
“Me too…”
Jinyi nodded.
“I didn’t expect this either.”
“All right. Let’s move on to the third item. Now that we’ve established a village, we need several offices to handle different responsibilities. For example, the village chief’s office. From now on, the four of you will go there and work every day.”
“The four of you will all be officials. Jinyi will be the village chief, while the other three will be deputy village chiefs.”
“Wow! We’re officials too? Lord Zhao, do deputy village chiefs count as officials? What rank are we?”
“Don’t interrupt me while I’m talking! A village chief doesn’t have an official rank! You’re all officials. Later, you’ll need to hire some administrative staff to handle errands.”
“We’ll also need to establish various departments within the village. They’ll be responsible for things like household registration, security…”
“Forget it. We’ll work on those little by little. For now, the most urgent things are the village committee office, the security post, and the bank.”
…
At the entrance of Taoyuan Village—in other words, at the entrance to the valley—a group of people used earth and stones to build a mound.
“One, two, three! Lift!”
More than a dozen people heaved a huge stone, roughly as tall as a person, into place.
Three characters had been carved into the smooth surface facing the outside of the village:
Taoyuan Village.
At the same time, the village committee office had also been completed.
It stood at the end of the commercial street, beside the small lake.
Zhao Baihui’s residence was directly across the lake.
The opening of the village committee office was a rather low-key affair.
They simply put up a sign and installed a bulletin board beside the entrance.
The village security post, which had also been built recently, stood right next to it.
At the entrance to the committee compound was a small corner room with windows on two sides.
From there, someone could keep an eye on the outside while also allowing villagers to come in and talk under the covered eaves.
At that moment, Jinxiu’s eldest brother, Sun Dazhu, was sitting inside the corner room, keeping a close watch on the surroundings.
Even though there wasn’t a single person around.
There was nothing to do.
He had only just taken up his post and wanted to make a good impression.
The security post had just been established, and three captains had been appointed: Jinxiu’s parents, Jinwen, and Jinyuan, respectively.
Sun Dazhu was fourteen years old.
Thanks to his connections, he had also managed to join the security post and become an honorable security officer.
For the time being, the security team had only a little over a dozen members.
Aside from a few slightly older young men, most of them were elderly grandmothers and aunts, or people with disabilities who could still walk and move around normally.
Besides handling security and sanitation in Taoyuan Village, they were also responsible for protecting the village committee office, including the bank.
The committee compound was quite similar to the Zhao residence.
At that moment, the first meeting was being held in the large meeting hall in the central courtyard.
Aside from the four girls and several members of their families, there were only two people who weren’t part of the family: Wang Changjiang, the construction team supervisor, and Manager Fang, whom they had persuaded to come over.
He had previously been in charge of the village liquor shop.
Jinyi sat solemnly in the main seat.
She glanced at the notebook in her hands before beginning to speak.
“Let’s assign responsibilities.”
“Jinxiu, you’ll be in charge of finances. From now on, you’ll also oversee the commercial street. You need to do a good job attracting merchants so we can get the street bustling as quickly as possible.”
“As for the bank, follow the plan Lord Zhao gave us. There’s no need to rush. Take it one step at a time.”
“You also need to keep a close eye on the businesses at the residence, including Immortal’s Liquor and the liquor distillery. Don’t neglect them. Even with Manager Fang helping us, there are a lot of things to handle, and they’re all different. If you can’t manage everything yourself, find some people and train them while they work.”
“Yes, Big Sister.”
“Here at the village committee, call me Village Chief.”
“Yes, Village Chief.”
“Jinwen, you’ll be in charge of the village’s construction projects. If there are any planning issues, discuss them with Lord Zhao. For construction matters, communicate more with Manager Wang. Manager Wang, you’ll have to work hard.”
“Yes, Village Chief.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I’m living a much more relaxed life than I was before.”
Jinyuan was the youngest of the four, so Jinyi had decided to put her in charge of the position that involved the most contact with ordinary people, allowing her to gain experience.
Besides, the village still didn’t have that many residents, so serious problems or major incidents were unlikely to occur.
The work itself wasn’t particularly complicated either.
And, of course, several of the adults in the family would be there to help her.
“Lastly, let’s discuss the salaries.”
“Most of the security team members are auxiliary staff. Since the work is relatively easy for now, they’ll receive five wen a day.”
Five wen a day was enough for one person to eat until they were full.
And in the case of the auxiliary staff, most of them were elderly and didn’t need to eat very much anyway.
“Someone like Sun Dazhu, however, counts as regular staff. For now, he’ll receive ten wen a day.”
At present, even those doing the hardest labor in the village’s wage system could only earn ten wen a day.
“The three uncles are captains, so they’ll be at the third salary tier. For now, fifteen wen a day.”
Sun Dazhu, Sun Tiezhu, and Jinyuan’s father all looked surprised and delighted.
Another pay raise!
How wonderful!
“Manager Wang and Manager Fang will also be at this level. Fifteen wen a day.”
The two men, however, remained calm.
When Manager Wang had handed his construction team over to Zhao Baihui, he had received ten liang of silver as compensation.
As for Manager Fang, he had previously earned roughly the same amount.
To convince him to change jobs and come here, Jinwen had also given him ten liang of silver upfront.
“As for me, as the village chief, I’ll be at the fifth salary tier: twenty-four wen a day. Jinxiu, the three of you will be at the fourth tier: nineteen wen a day.”
Jinwen and the others no longer felt particularly excited about receiving wages.
After all, Lord Zhao provided them with food and lodging.
And there wasn’t much to buy on the commercial street anyway, so they practically had nowhere to spend their money.
“These are the salary standards set by Lord Zhao. Does anyone have any objections?”
No one answered.
“If there are no objections, then let’s distribute the wages for these ten days. Jinxiu.”
Jinxiu nodded and stood up.
She pulled a small pouch from inside her clothes.
She took out a stack of papers, counted several sheets, and placed them in front of Jinyi before handing them out one by one.
The moment Manager Fang saw the papers Jinxiu had taken out, his expression suddenly changed.
“Government-issued banknotes?!”
A small clarification to help explain Manager Fang’s reaction.
During the Tang Dynasty, which is the period in which this story takes place, so-called “treasury notes” were issued and controlled by the central government.
For a village or local authority to dare to issue its own money or paper currency would have been considered an extremely audacious act—serious enough that it could potentially be viewed as an act of rebellion or insurgency against the government.
In modern terms, it would be somewhat like someone issuing their own currency within the United States and then claiming that it should be recognized and used as official money.
That is why Manager Fang is so shocked when he sees the banknotes.