Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

Around the campfire.

After everyone wrote down the five names given by each person, they took them to the yard for verification and identified the five people with the highest repetition rate as the bandit leaders.

They also told each other which people were deceived by Kuang without knowing it and who had not committed any robbery along the way.

After registration, you can stay in Qinjia Village temporarily.

At this time, the time for the medicine in the pot to be boiled had come. Everyone held a bowl of black medicine juice and drank it with their heads tilted back.

The village chief came out with a stack of papers and signaled everyone to be quiet.

Many refugees whispered among themselves. After all, those who had done bad things felt guilty and knew that they were in trouble this time.

The five people with the highest repetition rate on the list were picked out separately, tied up by the patrol team and locked up in the pigsty of Yun Zhenzhen's house. These people have committed many evil deeds, and they will be handed over to the county magistrate for punishment after dawn.

Those on the list who had not done anything bad were taken to a spacious place and temporarily kept under custody, awaiting further processing.

As for those who have committed petty thefts, their cases will be dealt with according to the circumstances. They will not be handed over to the county magistrate, but supervision over them will not be relaxed either. Whether they stay or leave will also be subject to assessment.

The village chief looked at the group of people who were cowering in front of him and said loudly, "Everyone, listen carefully. I am the village chief of Qinjia Village. Every mouthful of porridge and every bowl of medicine I just gave you is the last free gift from Qinjia Village..."

When they heard this, everyone became excited and started talking about it.

"What do you mean? Are you going to starve us to death and not give us food or water?"

"No way, we didn't know they were here to rob us. We thought they were a group begging for food. We haven't done anything bad in our daily lives. Can you please let us go this time?"

"I don't know. Let's all ask the village chief to see if he can give Hua Luo a lighter sentence."

"Village chief, we didn't mean to rob you. Please let us go."

"..."

"Quiet!"

The village chief raised his hand and signaled everyone to be quiet.

"You have made a mistake after all. It would be too easy to let you go. This bowl of porridge today is the greatest obligation our village has fulfilled. If you want to eat again in the future, you must earn it through your own labor. Everyone in our village feeds themselves with their own hands, and we don't have extra food to feed idlers."

"So you can work in the village in exchange for food. For example, if someone's family is short of firewood, you can go to the mountains to collect firewood and then take it to their house to exchange for food. You can also help plow the land, weed, and plant crops in exchange for food. You can choose the method yourself and discuss it with the villagers..."

Hearing this, the group of people below were stunned.

When they were outside the city, they didn't have to do anything every day and could get two bowls of porridge and a black flour steamed bun for free. Although the porridge was thin, they would not starve to death. But now they have to rely on their own labor to eat.

I was really cheated by those people.

"Don't even think about running back and continuing to eat for free. After all, you are criminals. If anyone is found running away, I will report you to the county magistrate and have him send runners to arrest you and put you in jail!"

The village chief looked at them, his tone growing colder: "You are all adults now. You need to pay the price for your mistakes. This will teach you a lesson and prevent you from making the same mistakes again."

After the village chief finished speaking, he didn't say any more to them and walked aside to discuss the rest of the matters.

Next, it was Yun Zhenzhen's turn to comfort everyone: "Don't be discouraged, everyone. It's very cold in winter. Although you can get free porridge outside the city, the living quarters are too poor after all. You might get sick at any time. Now our village can set aside a piece of land for you to build houses. Five people can live in one room. The village will also collectively provide you with some straw and bedding, so you can have a proper place to live."

Hearing this, the refugees became eager to try again.

The worst thing about the accommodation outside the city was the living conditions. They could only huddle together in the woods to keep warm, or find a dilapidated place to shelter from the wind. Nothing was warmer than a built house.

They fled from autumn to deep winter without wearing thick clothes. After a few days of snow, not only would they not have enough food, they would be frozen to death in one night.

I didn't expect that the village would set aside an area for them to build houses and give them such precious things as quilts. They are truly kind-hearted.

"Thank...thank you Ruyi'anren."

"Thank you, village chief, and thank you to the other elder brothers and sisters in the village. We will definitely find a way to repay you for your kindness to us today."

"We know we were wrong. We will earn money with our own hands in the future and will never eat for free."

"..."

As the group of refugees spoke, they half-knelt on the ground and kowtowed to them.

Fortunately, Qinjia Village had a lot of wasteland rewarded from the higher authorities, covering a large area, so it didn't matter if they just marked out a few pieces of land for them.

This group of refugees was confined in front of the village entrance, where there was an open space. They would not go too deep into the village, so if there was any unexpected situation, they could be stopped in time.

With the help of hundreds of people working overnight, more than a dozen thatched huts were built, divided into many small pieces. The ground was covered with dry straw, and together with straw quilts contributed by every household, it could accommodate several people sleeping at the same time.

Two people are assigned to look after these people every night to prevent accidents.

As soon as the house was built, before I lay down to sleep, it was already dawn outside.

They could only get up again and prepare to see what work there was to do.

The village chief made it very clear last night that if they didn’t work, they wouldn’t have any food to eat, and they didn’t want to experience that feeling of hunger again.

The village patrol team was now in Qin Zheng's hands. He looked at the group and said loudly, "There's not much work in the village right now. There are only a few odd jobs here and there. One is helping the villagers to chop firewood in the mountains, and the other is helping to plow the land and loosen the soil in preparation for next year's spring plowing."

"That's all for now. Those who need your help will come over later to pick someone. Just follow them when you find someone suitable. We'll call you again if there's anything big we need help with in the future."

Yun Zhenzhen looked at dozens of refugees standing near the village entrance, wearing thin clothes and shivering in the cold wind.

Although she felt very sympathetic towards these people, she also remembered that they were planning to steal food yesterday. It would be better to wait for a while to see their true character before making any decision.

As for the use of these people, in addition to doing odd jobs in the village, she has other plans, which can be planned first.