I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 180 Commemorative Medal

"Fourth uncle still had a smile on his face. It looked like he didn't feel any pain when he passed away." Someone suddenly said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Fourth Uncle suffered a lot in his life, and he enjoyed three months of happiness before he passed away. I believe he will feel very at ease on his way to the underworld." Zhou Laosan, who usually didn't want to stand out, also came out and said a few words.

These words made everyone feel much better.

"Then what should we do with Fourth Uncle's body? The weather is still hot and it will stink in a few days." someone asked.

Zhou Laosan hesitated for a moment and continued, "In the past, when people were doing corvée labor, if they died, they were dead. They would just wrap them up in a straw mat and bury them somewhere. At most, they would burn their bodies and take some ashes home."

The people in Zhoujia Village discussed the matter again. This way of handling the matter made everyone feel sad, but they couldn't think of a better way.

These discussions made Zhou Abao a little annoyed, and he said loudly to everyone: "Stop talking, I'll go ask the captain what to do. Let the captain make the decision."

After Zhou Abao finished speaking, he strode away.

After a while, he and Zhou Erwa came over together.

Zhou Erwa checked on Fourth Uncle's condition, thought for a moment and said to everyone, "There are generally two options in this situation. One is that we provide a thin coffin and bury Fourth Uncle in a cemetery by the sea; the other is that we help with cremation, and then you help take the urn back for burial. I'm not sure if there will be any compensation in this situation, but I will try to get it."

Everyone discussed it again, and finally decided to bury the fourth uncle in the cemetery by the sea. After all, there was a coffin.

Zhou Erwa moved quickly and soon brought in a thin coffin. Everyone in Zhoujia Village helped carry the fourth uncle into the coffin, and then they carried the coffin towards the cemetery on the seaside.

The cemetery by the sea is not far from one end of the embankment. The scenery is very nice and you can overlook the entire salt field. More than 50 people are buried there, all of whom are workers who died in the process of building the salt field.

Although Zhu Houxuan had tried his best to provide the best logistical support, various accidents still occurred, and many workers were in poor health and died like the fourth uncle.

It was the first time for everyone to visit the cemetery. At first, everyone thought the cemetery was a mass grave. But when they arrived, they found that it was very different from what they had imagined.

The cemetery is not big and is very neatly planned. The main roads in the park are paved with gravel. However, the most eye-catching thing is that there is a two-person-high stone tablet in the center of the cemetery, on which are written ten large characters "The spirits of the martyrs of Nanbao Salt Field will live forever", which shows the solemnity.

Zhou Laosan stared at the cemetery blankly. The ancestral tombs in Zhoujiazhuang were not built so magnificently.
They hurriedly buried Fourth Uncle's coffin in an empty cemetery.

Zhou Erwa asked everyone in Zhoujia Village about the fourth uncle's name. Zhou Laosan then learned that the fourth uncle's name was Zhou Yuanzhi, and this name was now engraved on the back of the monument.

This made Zhou Laosan feel a little jealous and unbalanced - why wasn't he the one lying inside?

If he died and was buried in Zhoujia Village, there wouldn't be such a good cemetery and tombstone.
After leaving the cemetery, everyone felt much calmer and a sense of gratitude towards the Daming Royal Group rose in their hearts. After all, this is an era where the dead are the most important. No matter what, they really treat you as a human being.
Over the next few days, the entire project gradually came to a halt.

Zhou Erwa suddenly brought a bunch of round iron pieces and gave one to everyone.

Zhou Laosan took his iron sheet. The diameter of the iron sheet was as long as two fingers. It was beautifully cast and there was a pattern on the front. He recognized it as the Nanbao Salt Field at a glance because he was very familiar with the shape of the dam.
There is a half circle of text on the pattern of Nanbao Salt Field. Zhou Erwa told them that the text on it is "Nanbao Salt Field Construction Commemorative Medal, the Ninth Year of Zhengde".

There is a bent needle behind the iron sheet. Zhou Erwa told them that it is called a paper clip. This iron sheet is hung on the clothes in front of the chest.
Zhou Laosan played with the commemorative medallion with his rough hands, and he liked it very much. It was a commemoration of his three months of experience here. These three months of experience were also worth commemorating and worth recalling again and again in the future.
"Captain Zhou, didn't you say you would give us silver? Why did you give us a useless piece of iron?" someone from Zhoujia Village asked.

Zhou Erwa looked a little unhappy, but still explained: "The money will be delivered soon, don't worry."

Then Zhou Erwa awarded Zhou Abao a medal of "Advanced Individual in the Construction of Nanbao Salt Field" in front of everyone in Zhoujia Village. The medal was made of brass and shone with golden light when hung on Zhou Abao's chest. It looked very beautiful and made Zhou Abao very proud.

Zhou Erwa explained the reason why Zhou Abao won the award, expressed his admiration for Zhou Abao's spirit of striving for excellence in everything, and then left.

After Zhou Erwa left, some people couldn't stand Zhou Abao's smug look and said sarcastically, "What's the use of these iron pieces? They just look good. I think the Royal Group just wants to use these iron pieces to get rid of us. As for the money, don't even think about it. Even if some people have more iron pieces, it's useless. They are just tricking stupid boys into doing more work."

As soon as that person finished speaking, many people burst into laughter.

Zhou Abao ignored them, looked at them coldly, and walked away with his chest puffed out.
Zhou Laosan did not dare to speak for his son, but he saw the man who had just spoken carefully put away the useless piece of iron in his mouth.
The wages were paid out quickly. Zhou Laosan and Zhou Abao had not been absent from work for a single day and had not violated any discipline in the past three months, so they each received a wage of 6 silver coins.

The workers were even happier after receiving their wages, and they accepted the new currency, silver coins, very quickly.

The engineering command center suddenly set up a market filled with all kinds of goods. These goods can be purchased with silver coins, and there are certain discounts when purchasing with silver coins.

All the workers understood the purpose of the engineering command, but they still couldn't resist the desire to consume, because these goods were so good that they had never seen them anywhere else.
Zhou Laosan was no exception. He originally wanted to take all the silver coins home, but when he saw a piece of floral cloth, his psychological defenses were broken.
He thought about discussing whether to sell his eldest daughter before leaving home, and he felt guilty. He wanted to compensate his eldest daughter, and the flowered cloth was a very suitable gift.
His eldest daughter has reached the age of loving beauty, but she doesn't have a decent set of clothes.
Although the piece of floral cloth was quite expensive, Zhou Laosan still gritted his teeth and bought it.

Once this spending habit is opened, it cannot be stopped. If I buy a gift for my eldest daughter, then do other people also have to receive gifts?
His hoe broke before he left home. The tools here are of very good quality. Would he like to buy a few more?
When Zhou Laosan came to his senses, he found that he had spent four silver coins, which made him very surprised. He had never been so extravagant before. He wanted to return some things, but looking at the things he bought, he felt that there were very sufficient reasons to buy each one, so in the end he still accepted the fact that he spent 2 taels of silver a day.
(End of this chapter)