I have lived forever since the end of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 370 Implementation of Work-for-Relief

Stopping in the drizzle, Chen Luo looked calm.

As a disaster relief plan, "relief for work" will have certain limitations due to different times, and it cannot be implemented as perfectly as in later generations, but in the final analysis, its scope of application is not narrow.

Standing in the mud on the road near the city gate, he began to discuss with Prefect Peng how to implement it.

Making suggestions only requires words, but putting them into practice requires countless efforts and even blood and sweat.

Of course, this does not mean that groundbreaking ideas are not important, but without follow-up implementation, those ideas will eventually become castles in the air and bubbles in the water, and will not turn into real and effective solutions.

At this time, Prefect Peng gently twirled his beard and said with some emotion, "Work-for-relief is a wonderful idea. In disaster years, it can reduce too much pressure on our government and give the people a mouthful of food to survive."

After a pause, he then asked: "I just don't know how Mr. Chen plans to arrange the remuneration of those people?"

This question is critical.

You must know that although work-for-work relief is effective, it is more troublesome than ordinary disaster relief.

The main reason is that it cannot be arranged and regulated at will by the authorities.

If it is ordinary disaster relief, the official distributes materials and the victims receive the materials. The status of the two parties is not equal.

Whether more or less supplies are given depends entirely on official arrangements. The victims who are only eligible to receive the supplies rarely have the idea of ​​raising different opinions. After all, the long queues every time they receive supplies are enough to consume most of their energy.

However, with the work-for-relief relief method, the victims will naturally have a sense of participation as they have to work hard.

On the one hand, this will enhance their sense of gain. On the other hand, they will start to care about the amount of supplies they have obtained and start to compare with other disaster victims.

Therefore, the distribution problem is not a simple and small problem.

Chen Luo rubbed his chin and did not answer immediately.

If the remuneration is set too low, it will undoubtedly hurt the enthusiasm of the victims to work.

You must know that they are hungry and cold, and their bodies are already relatively weak. If the rewards from participating in labor cannot offset the labor consumption, then even if they will not protest openly, they will definitely fish like crazy when doing things secretly. Ruined.

As a result, not to mention the delay in the original construction period, it will still lose a good reputation among the disaster victims.

If the remuneration is set too high, food reserves will become a problem.

Although there is a lot of grain transferred from Guanzhong, it needs to be divided equally between Nanjun, Jiangxia and other places. It does not mean that it can be distributed without any savings.

What's more, the plan they make in a short period of time will never be perfect, and there will inevitably be small officials who are trying to make money for the country.

Even if they can be held accountable afterwards, the loss of a large amount of food along the way will be irreversible.

After thinking for a long time, Chen Luo finally said: "I want to set up 'working hours' to arrange corresponding tasks. The amount of tasks will probably take two to three hours, and the standard for one working hour in exchange for supplies is three taels of corn. Fu Jun feels that how?"

According to his own assumptions, most men can complete the task of two working hours a day, that is, in exchange for six taels of corn, which is much higher than the amount of food received through simple disaster relief.

As for most women and the elderly, it is estimated that they can complete one working hour in one day.

Of course, they eat less.

The food exchanged for one working hour ensures that they will not go hungry.

Moreover, within a family, there can also be a division of labor between men and women. When a man completes a two-hour task, he basically has no free time during the day. After his wife completes a one-hour task, she can use her free time to dig bamboo shoots in the mountains to improve the situation. Meals.

Even though there are many victims, the mushrooming is no joke.

The growth rate of the bamboo shoots is even visible to the naked eye.

He dug out a bamboo shoot with his front foot. Within two hours, a new bamboo shoot might have sprouted out of its place, maybe even taller.

Hearing this, Prefect Peng nodded thoughtfully and said, "The 'working hours' Mr. Chen mentioned is very interesting. As for the remuneration, I personally don't think there is any problem.

We will divide it into several steps and implement things step by step. There should be no major problems.

Now the plan is completely feasible, we just have to wait for the actual process to slowly discover problems and make improvements.

Without delay, how about we start sending people to implement this order now, start gathering the victims, and announce the decision to provide work-for-relief? "

Those who can become an official with two thousand stones in this era cannot be mediocre in ability.

After confirming the feasibility of the plan, he immediately planned to push it forward.

"I think it's okay. If we distribute the food earlier, we can provide more help to the victims outside the city." After Chen Luo said in response, he turned his head and said, "Li Xu, follow Fu Jun's people back to the city first. Promote the implementation according to the plan I just made."

This time when he went south to provide disaster relief, he did not bring any entourage with him. Among them, the most trusted ones were Li Xu and Zhang An.

However, Zhang An's identity was not suitable to be his agent on such an occasion, so he asked Li Xu to take over the task.

"No problem." Li Xu said solemnly.

After staying with Chen Luo for half a year, he has changed a lot.

I was nervous when I went to the temple to meet the Holy Spirit. I needed to be comforted before I could suppress my inner nervousness.

Of course, when he was taking a break on weekdays, he still chattered non-stop. Every time he chatted, the topics he talked about were wild and imaginative, and he would dig into every curious question and ask endless questions. But when it comes to serious matters, his whole aura changes, and his impetuousness fades away, leaving only a steady temperament.

Seeing Li Xu and his party returning to the city, Chen Luo also said to Prefect Peng beside him: "Let's leave too."

The reason why I arranged for Li Xu to go back was because he had other business matters when he came out this time.

The preliminary matters of the work-for-relief program are not complicated and can be left to Li Xu, so there is little chance of things going wrong.

But to conduct on-the-spot inspections in surrounding villages and counties, you have to go there in person.

Without seeing the problem with your own eyes, simply reporting it will lead to distortion.

……

Two hours later.

Officers began to rush out from inside the city gate.

The victims outside were gradually gathered together.

Most of them were unaware of what was going on and looked confused.

After all, if they were distributing supplies, these officers would not be seen carrying grain trucks or holding food in their hands.

Before the details of the situation were formally announced, the victims gathered together in twos and threes and discussed in low voices.

"What is going on today? I came late and have never seen this battle. Brother, do you know?" A yellow-faced man in sackcloth asked.

Less than half of their village was washed away by flash floods. He was among the lucky ones. His house was built on a small slope and was not directly swept away by the current. However, he did not dare to stay any longer, so he left his hometown and came to the county town, planning to Go to the city to find a job, spend this difficult time first, and wait until the weather clears before returning to your hometown.

But he didn't expect that the county city would directly close the city gates and strictly restrict entry and exit. He could only squeeze in the ruined temple outside the city and rely on the dry food he had to survive.

I originally planned to find another way out, and when the light rain stopped, I would head back to my hometown to see if the water had receded.

As a result, before they left, some officers entered the ruined temple and summoned them all here.

"I don't know. I've been here for almost half a month, and this is the first time I've encountered something like this." The man replied weakly, as if he hadn't eaten for many days.

The word "cold and hungry" is very vivid. Now he was hungry and cold.

The effect of two kinds of pain superimposed is not one plus one equal to two, but multiplied.

This is a common phenomenon among disaster victims outside the city.

You must know that the flood came quickly and suddenly, leaving little time for people to react.

So when they arrived at the county town, they did not prepare enough supplies. Therefore, most of them starved for several days and did not even have the energy to curse. Now they came here mainly expecting that the government could distribute food and provide food to the people. They provide a full meal.

Even if I die, I don't want to starve to death.

"Okay." The yellow-faced man sighed helplessly, and then comforted the other party, "It should be good news. The higher-ups mobilized troops to call us here, and they won't do nothing."

Although the government refused to stay outside the city, ordinary people in the Han Dynasty still maintained an attitude of trust in the government.

"Maybe, anyway, it won't be worse than now." After answering this sentence weakly, there was no response from the other side.

When a person is so hungry, it becomes difficult to speak even one more word.

Seeing the pitiful appearance of the man next to him, the yellow-faced man touched the dry biscuit in his arms, hesitated for a moment, and finally did not take it out to share with the strangers.

If the food he brought out had been eaten and the flood had not passed, I would probably end up in the same situation as this man.

In that case, would anyone take pity on me?

The yellow-year-old man sighed.

In the face of natural disasters, ordinary people have no chance to express their anger. They are completely unable to withstand such risks.

Cast your expectant gaze on the police officer ahead.

Will the authorities do something?

They will definitely do something.

----

Work-for-work relief, referred to as work-relief, is a paid disaster relief method that allows victims to participate in project construction to obtain relief. It can not only help the victims survive the famine, but also develop production, killing two birds with one stone.

Work relief is popular in modern times, but there are also precedents in our country’s history.

After consulting various classics, "Yanzi Chunqiu" states: "At the time of Duke Jinggong of Qi, there was hunger. Yanzi asked him to send chestnuts for the people, but the Duke did not allow it. It should be used as a sleeping platform for the road. Yanzi ordered the officials to pay attention to it, and stay away from its signs, so that the day would be slow. , but not interesting. It took three years for the platform to be completed, and the people were invigorated. Therefore, it was a pleasure to travel, and the people were satisfied with food."

However, Yanzi's use of work relief was a forced move after Qi Jinggong refused to provide direct relief, and was not an initiative.

The proactive work relief clearly recorded in the history of our country can be traced back to the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. When the southern counties encountered floods, they adopted a work-for-relief approach to resettle as many people as possible and rescued countless victims. ——"The Thought and Practice of Relief for Work in Ancient Times"

(End of this chapter)