Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 431 Happy Bachelors

"The Western Regions have more than just raisins."

"The beauties there are everywhere."

"These bachelors are really getting a good deal."

With a beaming smile, Lin Dao brought over the migration documents sent by various prefectures and counties.

Each county has corresponding statistics, especially on single men.

Those who volunteered went first.

Then came the quota for forced relocation.

Finally, those who absolutely refused were sent directly to work in the mines.

If you refuse to eat even when I force-feed you, what else is there to say?

"Those who volunteer can go first."

Lin Dao flipped through the statistical data of various counties.

"However, we should also distribute the benefits evenly."

“We need to select a group of bachelors from all over the country, and not concentrate them too much, so as to maintain genetic diversity.”

“There are 371 volunteers from Panyu (Guangzhou), take them all.”

“There are 883 volunteers from Xuzhou. Take them all with you.”

"One hundred and twenty-eight from Shaozhou (Shaoguan)~"

"Two hundred and forty-nine from Wenzhou~"

"From Huai'an, 551~"

"From Haizhou (Lianyungang), 422 in total."

"One thousand one hundred and seventy-three from Suzhou. With so many bachelors here, this place must be quite wealthy, right?"

"From Huizhou, there are 459."

"From Chaozhou, there are 337~"

"Nine hundred and twenty-eight from Chengdu~ It's all the fault of the last emperor of Later Shu, who concentrated all the beauties in the palace, resulting in so many bachelors in the countryside."

"From Hangzhou~"

"From Luoyang~"

"From Yuezhou (Shaoxing)~"

"It's definitely true~"

"From Jinyang~"

"."

Lin Dao spent time selecting nearly 100,000 people from the single men who volunteered to migrate!
Their job is to fill the gaps from the five states of Lingxia all the way to the entire Western Regions.

The forestry bureau will allocate them vast areas of land, including fields, forests, pastures, and lakes.

They would also be given farm tools, livestock, seeds, weapons, and so on.

As for the local girls, it depends on how much money the bachelors have and their own abilities.

However, in an era of low productivity, women who lost the support of men would inevitably seek help from bachelors.

After that, bachelors had to work tirelessly in the fields like oxen.

How much one can cultivate depends entirely on their individual skills.

Lin Dao even considered whether he should provide them with additional drug sponsorship.

After all, a mere 100,000 bachelors scattered across such a vast land is far too few.

It wasn't that Lin Dao didn't want to bring more troops, but rather that if the army were too large, it would have a significant impact on everything from command to logistics.

After the message was sent out, prefectures and counties across the country began to take action.

The constables went door to door, delivering certificates of enlistment to the single men who volunteered to participate in the migration.

They were also told with envy that once they arrived in the new land, they would receive at least several hundred acres of land!

In addition, there are many beautiful women in the area.

These words made the bachelors' hearts itch with longing, wishing they could fly to the side of the beauties immediately.

Those single men who didn't volunteer to sign up were filled with envy and jealousy upon learning this, and their eyes even welled up with tears.

They were all single, and they usually spent their time honing their skills.

Why should you go to the beauty salon while we have to stay at home and practice our skills?
They set aside their previous wariness and fear and took the initiative to sign up to participate.

"All spots are filled."

The constables waved their hands repeatedly, saying, "We've advised you so many times before to sign up voluntarily. Those who sign up voluntarily will be the first to migrate and will definitely benefit the most."

“You just wouldn’t listen, and you even said they were trying to trick you into selling them, or even turning them into vegetables.”

"What kind of time is this?!"

"How could such a thing happen when the Holy Emperor is on the throne?"

"Now look what's happened! We can only watch others enjoy their lives while we stay at home and wait!"

"Wait for the second batch."

"However, we don't know exactly where they will migrate to."

People migrating from the same place but in different batches cannot, of course, be grouped together.

Even those migrating in the same batch were scattered and resettled.

After some preparation.

Under the envious gazes of the single men who hadn't volunteered, and amidst the tearful farewells of their parents and relatives.

The single men conscripted from various places, carrying their meager belongings, embarked on journeys thousands of miles away.

Although there are many benefits, including wealth and beauty.

But it's too far from my hometown.

Before the train officially opened, this farewell was essentially a permanent goodbye to his hometown.

The sorrow of parting spread and permeated the air.

Although it was sad, I had no choice but to leave.

It wasn't from Lin Dao's forceful order, but because the family simply couldn't hold on any longer.

Despite decades of war and bloodshed, the world still has at least 30 to 40 million people.

It was already difficult enough to feed so many people on the land that had been reclaimed in the Central Plains.

As for individual households, even if Lin Dao fought against the powerful and distributed land, for those people with many sons, it was still just enough to make ends meet.

With peace and tranquility returning to various places, the price of betrothal gifts has skyrocketed, and the sale of land is prohibited, making marriage and having children merely a pipe dream.

Now the emperor has allocated them vast tracts of land, and even free girls—oops!—it's an opportunity to marry without any dowry, so naturally they can't miss it. Escorted by government officials, groups of bachelors began to gather towards Bianjing City.

Those from Hedong, Sichuan, Guanzhong, and other places gathered in Chang'an.

In Lin Dao's eyes, these were the seeds of the land that the Central Plains would reclaim and that would be permanently established.

These precious seeds should not be easily lost.

Along the way, there were not only government officials escorting them, but also free meals and accommodations.

It was even mandated that clinics in various locations must provide medical assistance to single men passing through the area.

If they refuse, their medical licenses will be revoked.

This is tantamount to throwing away one's livelihood; no one dares to disobey.

Meanwhile, local garrisons also received orders to do everything in their power to eliminate bandits and outlaws along the way, ensuring the safety of the lone travelers.

If an attack on a bachelor were to occur, the entire local community would suffer.

With such treatment, comparable to that of Ming and Qing dynasty scholars going to the capital for the imperial examinations, nearly 100,000 bachelors, except for a very few who had bad luck, all successfully arrived at the assembly point.

Most of the bachelors gathered in Bianjing City.

Having long heard of the prosperity of Bianjing, the crowd wanted to go and explore the city.

But Lin Dao had already made arrangements, letting them stay in the military camp outside the city, where they would be looked after by the soldiers.

They weren't just sitting idly in the military; they were there to introduce basic military training.

"Everyone, line up!"

The veterans, walking around casually, called out to the single men entering the camp to line up, pointing to the bathroom and saying, "Go in in teams to shower, fifty people at a time."

Under Lin Dao's command, the treatment in the army was naturally excellent.

The bathrooms in the military camp were large and beautiful, and they were equipped with all kinds of toiletries.

"This is soap! They sell it in our county town, but one bar costs a full 180 coins!"

Before entering the bathhouse, each bachelor was given a bar of sulfur soap.

Although a lot of forest road was transported, it was mainly used in the army, and not much flowed out.

This is why the price is so high.

For bachelors who usually only use soap, this is undoubtedly a good thing.

"What is this?"

The impeccably clean bachelors turned the small plastic bags in their hands over and over again.

"This is for washing hair." The veteran who came in to look explained with a smile, "There's a slit on the side. Tear it open, squeeze out the contents, and apply it to your hair. Just rub it in."

"I don't know what the logistics manager is thinking. You guys are going to have your heads shaved soon, what's the point of giving out this stuff?"

"Shave...shave your hair?"

The bachelors were somewhat apprehensive, thinking about their own bodies and skin.

The veteran took off his hat, revealing his short hair. "Your hair is full of lice and bedbugs. Are you keeping it for the next nest?"

"I don't know about other places."

"But once you join the army, you will definitely have to shave your head."

"His Majesty said it was to avoid infectious diseases or something."

"Brother Dashan~" The young man from Panyu asked his companion with some fear, "Weren't we going to distribute land and fields? How did we end up joining the army?"

The veterans overheard their words and burst into laughter.

"Dream on with your dreams."

"Want to join the army? It's not that easy!"

"His Majesty's decree stipulates that from the moment you enter the military camp until you are assigned to various regions, you will be considered temporary recruits."

"Or rather, were they civilian laborers accompanying the army?"

Being a laborer accompanying the army was not a good job. During the warlord conflicts, many laborers were actually just preparing food supplies.

"okay."

The veteran waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and wash yourself clean, you have something to do later."

Each bachelor received a set of toiletries.

One towel, one bath towel, one bar of sulfur soap, and one bar of shampoo.

There used to be razors, but they were discontinued.

They were worried that single men wouldn't know how to use it and might hurt themselves.

After washing up, everyone received a new set of clothes when they came out.

This includes a full set of underwear and a camouflage training uniform.

As for their old clothes, they were all burned.

The clothes in the fire pit crackled and popped as they burned.

That was the sound of various parasites being burned and bursting.

The barber in the army skillfully shaved the heads of bachelors.

The fallen hair was swept up, collected, and thrown into the fire pit to be burned.

Each time I flip my hair, the crackling sound becomes more frequent.

After finishing these tasks, the bachelors regrouped and moved into the barracks.

Here, they received another batch of equipment and supplies.

This includes rain gear, shoes, socks, hats, luggage, sleeping bags, etc.

After that, it's time for the exciting mealtimes every day.

I bought corn from the modern world, cooked it into porridge, poured in a few cans of luncheon meat, stirred it all together, and then sprinkled salt and spices on it as if it were free.

A big pot of steaming, fragrant rice is ready to be eaten.

The bachelors enjoyed their meal very much.

More importantly, there's plenty of food here.

You can eat as much as you want, as long as you can eat it.

After dinner, we returned to the dormitory where we had been assigned. There, veterans wearing masks and carrying sprayers came over and sprayed dichlorvos inside and outside the dormitory.

"Walk."

The veteran instructed, "Go to night school, and you can go to sleep when you come back after class."

"Starting tomorrow, you will undergo military training alongside the new recruits!"

(End of this chapter)