At the station construction site, a public official sat behind the table, took the case of protection, looked at Meng Xuejiao and others and said, "You are the reincarnated people who escaped in Xia Tianshi? A few days ago, ten thousand Khitan cavalry crossed the border and said they were coming to find you. Fortunately, Taiwei Zhang was staring at this place and brought the army to rescue him in an urgent manner. If it weren't for Taiwei Zhang, it would be miserable this time."

Meng Xueshou performed his rituals: "I have caused trouble for all the officials, so I will take care of you."

The official said, "You don't have to be polite. If the court accepts you, you will naturally have the courage to accept it. By the way, how many of you are going to work here? Because of the Khitan soldiers, the Secretariat's requirements for the railway construction period are stricter, and the wages are added."

Meng Xuezhao hurriedly said: "We have eight people in total. As long as we send money here, we will continue to do it."

"Okay. You are a real person, you can just pay the money." The public official said, writing his name according to the guarantee certificate and handing them over the license plate. "This license plate is in line with the name, and it is not wrong at all. From now on, you will pay the money according to the license plate every day. There is also the food and accommodation here, which is arranged according to the license plate. You can distinguish it yourself and find out that there will be no trouble."

Meng Xuezhao agreed and took the license plate. He went aside with several fellow villagers and divided the license plates. Meng Xuezhao knew how to read and often dealt with outsiders. He always took care of these things, and the people in the village also believed him.

After a while, a person from a station came and led a few people to a shack and said, "You guys live here. Remember, coal is used for heating here, and the stove can only be lit outside, and the flue can be connected to the house. Do not make fires in the house, otherwise you will be poisoned by coal."

Meng Xuezhao agreed and sent the people from the station away and took him and a few of them into the house. The shack was not big, with a broken wooden table in front, and there was a large bunk bed inside. The bunk bed was connected to the stove outside. There was no fire at this time, and the room was cold.

Wei Xin said: "It's really cold here and I can't stay there. We'd better go to bed, at least wrap it in a quilt to warm it up."

Meng Xuezhao said: "No need. I heard from the people at the station that there is a stove outside. As long as it is lit, the inside of the house will be as warm as spring. Please clean it up, I will go outside to order the stove. Today, there is nothing to do, so let's take a break."

After saying that, Meng Xuejiao went outside. He didn't know what the stove was and couldn't ignite it. He called someone who already lived here and asked, and tried to ignite it. When the fire started, he saw that the stove was full of red, so he added coal and returned to the house.

Wei Xin said: "This time my brother went out, the house became hot. It was really amazing! After living for so many years, winter has not been so hot. The things here are really amazing. Spending winter here is much better than being frozen at home."

Several people sat together and talked. After a while, the temperature became hot and they felt extremely hot, so they finally opened the door.

Yan Liulang said: "Today is so smooth and there is nothing to do. Why don't we go out and buy some wine to drink. From now on, we will take out ten or twenty cents a day to drink, and we will not delay making money."

Meng Xueshou said: "We are many of us who have left home and come here to make money, but we don't have any food or drinks. We just moved across the river and have no savings, so it's better to be frugal. After a few years, we will not be as difficult as we are now, so we can have food and drinks."

When a few men sat together, they would not sit there honestly. When they urged me, they didn't care about Meng Xuejiao, and someone would raise money to buy wine. Meng Xuejiao had no choice but to withdraw twenty cents and let someone take it out to buy wine together to drink.

After a while, Jian Xiaoyi, who bought wine, came back. He put the wine on the broken table and said, "I just went to buy wine. I saw a table outside the wine shop. There were several officials sitting behind the table, but I didn't know what to do. I went up to ask, and then I realized that it was the one who helped the military academy of Hejian Prefecture recruiting people. He said that as long as he knew literacy and could pass the exam, he could go there to school."

Wei Xin said: "I have heard of this. I heard that as long as I study in the military academy for a few years, I can become an official. Before I came, I said that scholars are rare people who can read, so it is better to take the exam. If you are lucky and get a job, you will not be as good as you are now."

Jian Xiaoyi said: "I told the officials who recruited people there that we have a Meng Xuejuan here who read the most. But the man asked us that we were converted, so he didn't say anything. I heard that the court did not recruit converted people a few years ago, so I think it was because of concerns."

Meng Xuejue said: "It is because of the tacit understanding with the Khitan that any fleeing people who are on the other side must be sent back so that they will not recruit people to rectify. I think it has changed over the years, so why did we settle down?"

Everyone nodded and said yes, even saying that their fate was good.

The Song Dynasty called Han people abroad and after they defected to the Song Dynasty. If they were not Han people, they fled from abroad to Song Dynasty, they were called Ming people. The treatment of the two was not very different, but they only showed their identity. Since the peace agreement with the Khitan, the two countries have made an appointment. If a people fled into the territory, they should be returned. This is one of the barometers of the Song Dynasty's foreign policy. Taking the Hongzhuan and Ming people means that they have a bad relationship with the other government. Sending back to the other people in time means that the two countries have a good relationship. This year, when the Khitan fought on Hedong Road, Xiongzhou accepted these fleeing people.

After drinking for a while, Wei Xin said again: "Scholars, why not try it in Hejian Prefecture. If you can win the fame and become an official, we will also feel that we have a bright face. You always say that you cannot even take the fame and fortune under the Khitan and foreign rulers, so you can read a lot of miscellaneous books in your daily life. Now, under the rule of the court, it is not appropriate for military academy to not take the poetry and books?"

Meng Xuezhai smiled and shook his head: "I am now at my age and have a wife and children to raise at home. Where can I do those things? It takes more than ten days to go to Hejian Mansion. Not to mention the travel expenses, you can calculate the salary for more than ten days. How much can the family do if it costs one or two cents of money?"

Yan Liulang drank a few glasses of wine and became more and more handsome and said to Meng Xuejue: "Scholars, although it is not easy to make money, don't take one or two cents of money too seriously. As long as you have a job, will we, those of us with all our strength, make money soon?"

Meng Xuezhao couldn't help laughing: "Liu Brother, there are so many people in this world who are full of strength, not just us! It is not just that we have no strength to make money, but that we don't have the opportunity to make money like this. Therefore, the opportunity to do work like this can only be delayed for a day, and it will be difficult to find in the future."

Others don’t think like Meng Xuezhao. They always feel that since they are paid to hire people to work here, they will continue to hire them. What should I do if the station is built? In the eyes of these people, they find it incredible that the station can be built.

Meng Xuezhao felt that there would be no work at the station in the future and that one day would not be delayed. Others thought that being an official was such a great thing, and that they really had to go. As for work, there would be more work in the future, why bother to care?

Seeing that he couldn't reach an agreement with everyone, Meng Xuejiao was too lazy to talk about it. He just drank and talked about it. What a joke? Entering a military academy is not a Jinshi, but as long as he passed, he would be an official. He had to study in the military academy for a few years before he could join the army after he had studied well, and he started as a small officer. The reputation of the imperial guards among the people is not good. If he is so troublesome, why should Meng Xuejiao delay the opportunity to make money?

Not to mention that as a converted person, he has a special status. The Song Dynasty has a bad relationship with the Khitan now, so who knows what will happen in the future?
Chapter completed!