Alternate Dimension Game: Happiness is all that matters!
Chapter 500 - 325 Searching for Black-clothed Guard_3

Chapter 500: Chapter 325 Searching for Black-clothed Guard_3

The implementation of various policies had its difficulties and obstacles, but overall, it went smoothly.

In the streets and alleys, people held public announcements and loudly read out the newly issued policies.

"Extra, extra, Qingshi Town has a huge surplus in food crops! The average rice yield per mu is 2,000 jin, sweet potatoes average 6,000 jin per mu, and corn averages 1,500 jin per mu!"

"Turtle Mansion decrees that the Work-for-Relief Plan officially begins, recruiting ten thousand road repair workers. One person works, the whole family eats; two people work, the whole family becomes wealthy."

"Extra, extra, the five-year compulsory education plan officially begins. Children can study for free in school for five years."

"Breaking news, issued by the Turtle Spirit Dame, the establishment of Turtle Mansion Bank and the introduction of turtle coins!"

This Attendant Student was pasting announcements in the streets and alleys. Since there were not many literate people at that time, he also explained them personally.

"Sir, what are turtle coins?"

"From now on, any purchases at the Turtle Mansion Store require these turtle coins. No turtle coins, no sale!"

"Don’t you want regular Copper Coins or Silver?" People suddenly became anxious, "What if we don’t have any turtle coins?"

Turtle Mansion Store had been particularly popular recently.

It occupied an area of ten acres and was as tall as a ten-story building, quite majestic.

Whether they were high-ranking officials or common folk, all were allowed entry.

The variety of goods inside was astonishing; from mountains of rice, corn, and sweet potatoes, to pots, pans, shovels, kitchen knives, rakes, and various crop seeds, to shoes, clothes, hats, and even tricycles and bicycles, they had everything!

Any resident of Fenghua City stunned by the array of goods would find themselves overwhelmed by the wealth and prosperity.

This was the foundation of Turtle Mansion’s heritage!

No need to fear being unable to afford things!

Working at Turtle Mansion was truly a notch above the rest!

Of course, the local security conditions were not too good. To prevent villains from stealing or engaging in shady activities within the store, the Turtle Spirit Dame personally oversaw the area, with corners guarded by a hundred Turtle Soldiers and Turtle Generals.

"Did you see those Turtle Soldiers and Turtle Generals? Each one is as big as a grinding stone, very majestic! It is said that they are descendants of the Dragon Turtle!"

Among the common folk, the most bizarre rumors circulated about Dragon Turtles, Xuanwu, and such.

"I personally saw a bandit try to steal a kitchen knife, only to be breathed on by a Turtle Soldier and nearly frozen into a block of ice."

The people around were shocked, "Just from a breath, he was killed?"

"He didn’t die, but he couldn’t move and was taken to the Government Office where he was detained for a while."

"That bandit got what he deserved!"

These commoners were indignant, craving a peaceful and stable order. Without experiencing suffering, they wouldn’t realize the value of peace.

Another person asked, "Sir, how do we get these turtle coins?"

The Attendant Student smiled and said, "First, you can work for Turtle Mansion. You’ve seen the goods in the store—just the food alone is enough to feed the entire city for half a year, so no worries about affording it! If you are educated or skilled, you’ll earn more, but if not, you’ll have to do physical labor."

"Secondly, you can exchange Silver and Copper Coins for them, although there is a limit to how much each person can exchange. Turtle Mansion can’t allow landlords to buy up and hoard all the grain; they are quite anxious about this."

Everyone laughed heartily, recognizing that the main cause of famine was hoarding by landlords.

Yet with grain prices so low, landlords inevitably harbored crooked thoughts of buying up all the grain. These families, with hundreds of years of accumulations, had substantial energy; they planned to buy low and sell high.

Now, with Turtle Mansion limiting grain purchases, it was easy for people to keep fed but very difficult to hoard goods.

"I heard that Money Master’s family hoarded a huge amount of grain, hoping to profit, but now they can’t sell it and are extremely anxious! Daily cursing Turtle Mansion for keeping grain prices so low, even the tenants working his fields are thinking of running off to work elsewhere."

"Come next year, if the grain rots... he’ll have to hang himself."

"He even took out high-interest loans."

"To oppose Turtle Mansion is suicidal, especially when Turtle Mansion has the support of the ’Turtle Spirit Dame.’" The farmers relished in their misfortune, gathering in small groups to discuss, "Just the grain from Qingshi Town alone is giving them headaches."

In just a month or two, with the influx of large quantities of materials, the hearts and minds of the people in this great city were largely won over.

After all, most of the people here were poor; they merely sought a bit of stable life, even poverty was no big issue for them—merely moving bricks for a day’s work that could feed a family was a dream come true.

As for the local landlords’ worries, it hardly mattered to the common people, who were too happy celebrating their misfortune.

Just then, an old man with a white beard loudly asked, "Young man, I’m quite old, how can I work for Turtle Mansion? I can’t handle physical labor."

The Attendant Student looked at him, sensing an aura of nobility, possibly from a prominent family, and spoke, "Can you read and write?"

"This... naturally," the white-bearded old man said.

"Oh, that’s simple then. Turtle Mansion has its school that has been operating for some time, teaching children to read. If you’re struggling, you can go teach there... but if you have a bad temper or poor writing skills, forget it. It’s best if you know some mathematics too. Do you know math?"

The white-bearded old man hesitated, "Why do I need math?"

"Of course, you do. The school at Turtle Mansion is no ordinary private school."

Another person asked, "How much does it cost for my son to study?"

"As long as he studies, it’s free. If he graduates from Turtle Mansion, he’ll get more money... It takes about five years to graduate. Oh, there are also some vocational skills that can be learned for free, but according to the officials, those skills aren’t very important; they will be obsolete soon."

"You can learn if you like, it’s free anyway."