Chapter 471: Cultural Invasion

The people of Hancheng were holding the comic books and discussing animatedly.Comic books told stories through pictures; the pictures vividly displayed every aspect of Gaojia Village, without readers needing to imagine the scenes in their minds, they could see the rows of tall houses, the bustling Gaojia Business Circle, and various kinds of delicious food.

They could also see that it wasn’t hard to gain all this; they just needed to work hard to get fair rewards.

“I kind of want to visit Gaojia Village; after all, here in Hancheng, I’m just a useless failure.”

“At least I’m better than the hero in ‘Gao Piao’; he didn’t know anything at all.”

“I can bake Hancheng sesame pancakes; if I go to the Gaojia Business Circle and open a sesame pancake shop there, maybe I’ll strike it rich.”

“There’s divine protection there too, Dao Xuan Deity!”

“I don’t care about deities; as long as I work hard to earn money and no one robs me, even without gods, I can still get rich.”

Discussions like this grew livelier day by day.

Hancheng was a very poor place; Wang Zuogua had attacked it twice, looting all the nearby villages clean, and many refugees who fled to Hancheng were already displaced from their hometowns.

Since they had already left home, why not go even farther away?

Just as they were pondering this…

The grain convoy from Heyang County arrived again.

Along with the large amount of grain being brought in, a man dressed like a merchant stood in the middle of Hancheng market and shouted loudly: “I’m Tan Liwen, from the management committee of Gaojia Village. Currently, Gaojia Village is recruiting heavily; available positions are as follows: blacksmiths, no limit; carpenters, no limit; woodcarvers, five; lamp makers, two; dyers, twenty… ordinary manual laborers, no limit.”

He rattled off a long list of positions, leaving the people of Hancheng gaping in surprise; they thought: Gaojia Village hiring was this impressive? They were practically taking anyone.

I could qualify too!

After realizing this, a crowd suddenly rushed to surround Tan Liwen, all clamoring at once: “How much do blacksmiths get paid?”

“I can make lamps; how much is the exact wage?”

“What about ordinary manual labor?”

The group was wildly excited, more anxious than when a man waits outside the delivery room for the birth of his son.

Tan Liwen didn’t list them one by one; instead, he pulled out a huge sheet of paper and slapped it onto the wall beside him.

In modern times, city officials would have arrested this poster-paster on the spot, but back then, there was no issue; posters could go up freely.

A large crowd gathered around the poster and examined it closely…

The ad wasn’t text-based but pictorial.

At the top, a blacksmith was shown hammering something, with three silver ingots behind him.

Everyone understood at a glance—the wage was three taels of silver!

Next, a carpenter sawing wood was drawn, also with three silver ingots behind.

Finally, a man bent under carrying loads, clearly doing hard labor, was drawn, with three small piles of flour behind; this meant three jin of flour.

From top to bottom of the chart, they scanned the entire row.

Everyone grasped a truth: Master a specialized skill and earn big money; if your skills aren’t good enough, do manual work and earn small money—as long as you’re a person, you could earn a living.

Tan Liwen loudly declared, “After unloading the grain, our grain carts will return to Gaojia Village. Anyone who wants to work there can come with us.”

This statement held the real punch!

For honest, simple folk who had never traveled far from home, the hardest thing about leaving for a distant place was “their fear of the unknown.” But if someone was willing to lead them there, it was much easier for them to muster their courage.

“I’m going!”

“I’m going with you.”

“Me too.”

For a moment, the crowd surged passionately.

A faint smile tugged at Tan Liwen’s lips. Indeed, the Deity was right. Convincing a group of people who knew nothing about Gaojia Village to agree to work there was hard. But using “Gao Piao” to lay the groundwork first, letting them learn about the village’s environment, made persuading them afterward work like a charm.

The Deity called this “cultural invasion”!

Tan Liwen hadn’t understood it at first, but now he did. By culturally capturing the people of Hancheng outright, all it took afterward were a few words for them to willingly follow him.

This was truly subduing the enemy without fighting.

Early in the morning the next day, the grain convoy began its return journey.

Porters from Gaojia Village pushed the now-empty grain carts southward.

Large groups of refugees from Hancheng also shouldered small bundles containing all their worldly possessions, Dragging Children Along as they followed the grain convoy towards an uncertain future.

They walked for a long, long time, finally leaving Hancheng County and entering Heyang County territory.

As soon as they crossed the border, they noticed the difference. Here, everything was surprisingly green. Crops were planted everywhere, seemingly untouched by the drought.

The sound of farmers singing could be heard in the fields. Beside the official road, a few elderly farmers sat chatting, smiling as they watched the massive “immigrant procession” pass by.

Tan Liwen actually struck up a conversation with the old farmers: “Villagers, how are this year’s crops coming along?”

The old farmers chuckled, “Thanks to your Gaojia Village! You provided us with celestial fertilizer and sent Mr. Zhao to teach us how to use it. Last year, relying on the celestial fertilizer, we had quite a harvest. This year, we’re even more confident. Look, I’ve already memorized the mixing method for the celestial fertilizer by heart, hahaha! Come to think of it, it’s been a while since we last saw Mr. Zhao. How is he now?”

Tan Liwen replied with a smile, “Mr. Zhao has gone to Shanxi, to help the people over there.”

The old farmers sighed deeply, “Mr. Zhao is truly a good man. After helping Heyang, he’s off to help Shanxi. Ah, we really hope such a good man gets his due reward and overcomes his wheezing illness quickly.”

“Gulp, gulp!” Zhao Sheng, who was supervising the construction of the dock town at the ancient ferry dock, drank a large bowl of “Wheez-Relieving Decoction” prepared by his attendant. He found it unbearably bitter and looked at the attendant pitifully, “Couldn’t you add more sugar when you were decocting this medicine?”

A Cloth Doll Deity sat up on the attendant’s shoulder and snorted, “Too much sugar is bad. It makes you fat. Being fat increases the burden on your respiratory system and aggravates your asthma. By my divine decree, you cannot have too much sugar.”

Zhao Sheng wailed, “Ah, ah, ah! Deity! While this unworthy mortal is deeply moved by your care, I simply can’t bear such a ‘thick favor’! Please let me add more sugar to this medicine!”

The Cloth Doll Deity, unmoved by his whining, just snorted softly before slumping back down limply.