Chapter 237 A New Department

"This guy...has some abilities."

After listening to Wei Wushuang's report, Xia Fan raised his eyebrows in surprise. He originally thought that the officials transferred to Jinxia from the Ministry of Civil Affairs were mainly for inquiring about the situation. To put it mildly, they were cannon fodder. Therefore, his idea was very straightforward. Find something for the other party to do. If there were any mistakes, he would be kicked out. Enable it again, leaving no one with anything to say.

But within a week, Hong Siqi not only met the basic requirements for accepting refugees, but also organized a group of manpower to deal with the next wave of refugees. This is very surprising.

The first batch of civil servants are still being trained, and the Secretariat needs people everywhere. Being able to save manpower for him and solve the resettlement problem on his own is undoubtedly an unexpected surprise for Jinxia City, which is operating at full capacity.

According to Xia Fan's original plan, when the number of refugees from Leizhou reached a peak, the princess's army would be used to maintain order.

"The prefect is indeed very capable," Wei Wushuang agreed. "He has almost become a regular visitor to the Secretariat. He comes every day to ask where a large number of laborers are needed. And as far as I know, he is not only in contact with affairs The bureau, as well as the foreign merchants in the dock area, even had ideas about the elves. "

"Oh? Let's talk about it in detail later?" Xia Fan suddenly became interested. Although the external claims of "overseas people" and "exotic customs" have weakened the concept of monsters in elves, the long pointed ears are still a symbol of alienation in the eyes of most people, so that city residents will not treat elves They yelled and killed, but they kept a certain social distance. The only people who were willing to deal with them were some fishermen outside the east city wall.

Unexpectedly, the new governor had already accepted the existence of elves and tried to expand overseas channels less than half a month after arriving?

"He has been observing tree boats for a while and believes that fishing, killing fish, drying fish, and transporting fish all require a lot of manpower, and at the same time they do not require too much craftsmanship." Wei Wushuang smiled, "It's a pity that there are not many people who can communicate with elves. However, he couldn’t find a way out of Master Mo, so he had to give up.”

Xia Fan also laughed.

Apparently Mr. Hong traveled around the city a lot in order to get this seat. Compared with the officials he had seen who sat high in the lobby and never left the door, Hong Siqi was undoubtedly a man of action. His ability to adapt to local conditions alone was enough to prove that he was a man of action.

So the question is, how did such an official with a good foundation and a serious Jinshi background get thrown into Jinxia City?

Judging from the enthusiasm with which he expressed his service to the princess on the spot, he didn't seem like a rigid and stubborn person.

"But that 10% of the money...Brother Xia, what do you think?" Wei Wushuang asked after hesitation.

As an "insider" inserted among the guides, he almost participated in the entire process, and naturally he also saw Hong Siqi privately collecting introduction fees.

Xia Fan did not answer immediately, but asked, "What do you think?"

"Uh..." Wei Wushuang touched his head honestly, "If it were in the past, I would only think that there is such a good thing, and only charge 10% of the intermediary fee. At that time, when dealing with the government, big bowls of grain shops had to prepare in advance I'm so filial to Yin. But after following Brother Xia for so long, I feel that... some of the things that were agreed upon in the past are not necessarily right."

Xia Fan raised his lips in relief. He didn't care what others thought, but Wei Wushuang was an old friend who had been following him since the Qingshan Town Shikao. Being able to gradually reverse his thoughts among deep-rooted secular concepts proves that what he did in Jinxia City has begun to have a different impact, just like a pebble thrown into a pool. Although the ripples are small, they will continue to spread out.

"Yes, this is not the right thing to do."

"Do I need to remind him?"

"That's not necessary, let him do it first." Xia Fan chuckled, "He is not an official trained by the Secretariat, and he may not necessarily stand on the princess's side in the future. As long as it does not cause any real problems Damage, I can turn a blind eye temporarily - provided that he can successfully complete the tasks assigned to him by the Secretariat as he does now. "

He could feel that the other party was actually testing him.

He only received 10% of the money, and later spent more than half of it on organizing a refugee reception team, probably to find out the attitude between him and the princess.

Hong Siqi can be cautious and won't stretch his hand too far in a short period of time.

In the final analysis, Jinxia City's management talents are really lacking.

"I understand." Wei Wushuang nodded.

"By the way, I recently want to set up a new branch to manage the transactions and reserves of staple grains." Xia Fan changed the topic, "The number of refugees is still growing, and relying on Gaoshan County alone for food supply is too risky. Before winter, I plan to purchase a batch of grain from other places in Qiguo. The price is not an issue, the larger the quantity, the better.”

"This requires channels and connections to get things done." Wei Wushuang pondered for a moment, "There is no news of a bad harvest in Daqi this year. There must be a surplus of food among the people, but I'm afraid it will be too late to find farmers to harvest it."

"I think so too." Xia Fan looked at his old friend with interest, "How about calling your father?"

Wei Wushuang didn't react for a moment, "What?"

"I mean, let your father come to the new branch to carry out unified procurement for other states."

"Brother Xia, this... I'm afraid it's inappropriate." Wei Wushuang's first reaction was to refuse, "To be honest, although my father is a grain merchant, he has the habits of a businessman. I am afraid of being harmed by becoming an official. he."

"Are you worried that he will go to jail?"

Wei Wushuang smiled bitterly, "I'm really afraid of that."

"Don't worry, I don't plan to let him be in charge of the grain department." Xia Fan said indifferently, "In fact, I want you to be the minister."

The other party was stunned.

"Although the affairs bureau cannot be awarded an official title in the court, the treatment and salary of the minister will be on par with the fifth-rank official, which is also a big improvement for you."

"Isn't this... letting my father work under me?" Wei Wushuang was stunned.

"What's wrong with it? Didn't he 'drive you out of the house' before?" Xia Fan shrugged, "Besides, I will ask for opinions from others, but not from you." He said seriously, "Brother Wei, I need you to stabilize the grain bags of the people in Jinxia City - only if you can check it, I can be assured enough."

Wei Wushuang was silent for a moment and nodded slowly, "Since Brother Xia trusts me, I will do it."

After finalizing the grain department, Xia Fan left the Privy Council and rode to the North City Machinery Bureau.

If refugees are simply placed outside the city, they will always be refugees and will not become permanent residents of Jinxia City one day.

They must be allowed to live in the city and have a stable income so that they can truly belong here.

This requires a large number of houses and many jobs.

Both of these happen to be related to the Machinery Bureau.

Mo Yun had mentioned the manpower needs to him a long time ago - to set up a large-scale production plant, it is not only necessary to have air sensers, but also a large number of auxiliary workers and miscellaneous staff.

Now her request can be met.