After broadcasting the ancient times live, I handed the system over to the state.

Zhu Qinggu was still able to distinguish between these Tang Dynasty people and people from later generations.

The eyes of these Tang Dynasty people still shone, but later generations had become accustomed to it.

In the past, civil engineering work would have been called forced labor.

Zhu Qinggu: "..." Sorry for the offense, Civil Engineering guy!

Civil engineering work that is paid and provided with food is no longer called forced labor, but rather civil engineering work!

Seeing her curiosity, Assistant Chen explained, "At first, we recruited disaster victims who were on the verge of starvation. Everyone was emaciated. Look at Old He over there. He was just a skeleton at first. After eating, he signed up to work. He could only do light labor. He even took food from the canteen back to feed his mother, wife, and children. Now he has some weight to his name."

"There's a canteen here?" Zhu Qinggu only knew that there was a canteen in the compound, but he didn't know there was one here too.

"Of course there are. Those who do manual labor need to eat greasy food to be able to endure the hardship. It's cheap, plentiful, and filling. Going to the compound is too far, and they don't dare to go there." Assistant Chen was also a bit helpless, especially when they saw how clean and tidy the canteen was in the compound. They looked at themselves and hesitated to go in. So they could only arrange a simple canteen here as well.

"Can we go take a look?" Zhu Qinggu asked.

"They should be cooking now, let's go." Assistant Chen led them over there and found that the canteen was just a few tin shacks. As soon as they entered, there was a slight breeze, and it was very stuffy. Waves of the aroma of food wafted out.

"Currently, most of the electricity here is supplied by solar power. There's no other way; the power plant isn't ready yet. We're getting a lot of power from the future through an upgraded time portal. The electricity we get is primarily used for industrial equipment and the textile factory. Forget about air conditioners for now; we can still use small fans..."

Assistant Chen explained.

Zhu Qinggu didn't feel anything at first, but then she realized that it seemed that only her place had air conditioning, which could be considered a kind of special treatment.

Assistant Chen said that at night they would sleep with a huge winter melon weighing dozens of kilograms, which would make them feel especially cool when it got hot!

They went to the kitchen, where seven or eight people were busy cooking. It was the classic big-pot stir-fry, but with plenty of salt and oil.

Even though it was cooked in a large pot, and not as exquisite as the food they had seen in later generations, many people still drooled.

(There's rice, vegetables, and meat! My mouth is watering. Miss Zhu, can I go there to do manual labor?)

(Is this forced labor? This is work! Miss Zhu, can we go? We can do these jobs too!)

(It looks so tempting, I want to eat it too!)

……

Many people under the canopy were quite hungry when they saw these things.

Zhu Qinggu glanced at the comments and laughed, "There will be opportunities in the future, but please don't complain then."

(I'll beat up anyone who dislikes me!)

(You're lucky you can even eat your fill, and you're still being picky. If Grandpa finds out, he'll never forgive you!)

(Who's going to take the job? Then step down and let someone more capable take it. If you can't handle this job, I can!)

A lot of people eagerly signed up, and Zhu Qinggu even saw many familiar nicknames among them, especially some that were synonymous with thinness. Zhu Qinggu estimated that if they were to come, they would be like butterflies flapping their wings, shaking like leaves even when carrying a bucket.

"Some workers use the canteen's food, some bring their own bowls, and some even save some food to take home. We also help some elderly people by giving them some chores and food."

In general, they don't let them be idle. Even the children are sent to nearby schools to learn to read or do some handicrafts to earn some pocket money.

It's certainly not appropriate to use the Law on the Protection of Minors here, but people certainly wouldn't exploit children so excessively. They would just give them some opportunities to earn pocket money and then exchange it for food or cloth.

I will never give too much charity, because giving too much charity will only breed a bunch of lazybones.

"A school? Is it the night school nearby?" Zhu Qinggu asked.

She came and went in a hurry each time, so she didn't know much. However, she knew quite a bit about night school, because some jobs require a certain amount of knowledge. The promotion methods are fair, but you still need to be able to reach them.

Last time, she went to the school for a stroll and saw Li Tai studying there. She even gave a speech.

Through the canopy, they also realized how important literacy was, so some people chose to attend night school.

"That's right, it's a night school, but it's also open during the day. Some children go to class during the day to learn some basic knowledge, and they are also given some handicrafts to do at home."

They gradually left the kitchen. Assistant Chen led Zhu Qinggu to another exit of the industrial park construction site. This side was a bit further away, and there were tin shacks there, which they had arranged for these people to stay temporarily.

A family of several people living in a tin-roofed house is considered quite fortunate to have a place to stay.

Zhu Qinggu walked a few steps and saw an old woman, thin as a skeleton, sitting in the sun in front of a tin shack, twisting thread in her hand, while a woman with a weathered and sallow face was stringing beads next to her.

They are doing handicrafts.

Upon seeing them arrive, the middle-aged woman immediately became flustered. "Ms. Zhu, Assistant Chen!"

The old woman immediately pointed to the sky, but she spoke in slang.

The middle-aged woman said shyly in broken Mandarin, "This is Grandma. She's too old to speak Mandarin properly. She's just greeting Miss Zhu!"

Zhu Qinggu was also a little embarrassed, wondering why an elder was asking her to greet her.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just came to see how you're doing." Zhu Qinggu quickly invited the old lady back to sit down.

The wooden chair still has a fresh color, so it must have been made not too long ago.

"Good, good, all good. I can eat my fill every day, something I never dared to dream of before! There's even meat! And the children can go to school and learn to read!" The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up as she spoke, and even her sallow face gained a lot of radiance.

She talked on and on, including how her husband worked during the day and brought back meals, how the children ate at school, and how the handicrafts they brought back could be exchanged for some money.

After Grandma recovered a bit, she went to the textile factory to ask if they were still hiring.

Fangniang from the next room can draw flower patterns and does them very quickly. She is now a group leader, managing several people under her!

I heard that the flower patterns she draws can be protected by intellectual property rights, and she also gets some dividends...

The middle-aged woman's words were tinged with envy.