Spring arrived, and with it came the melting of ice and snow, ushering in a mini ice age. Each year grew colder. However, the impact of this mini ice age was far greater on the north than on the south. The north faced either snow disasters or droughts. While the south also experienced floods, at least it could still cultivate grain. The north was different. Its grain output had plummeted, and furthermore, the Central Plains were in chaos, making food production incredibly difficult.
At this time, people from the north began to flee south, and Yuzhou was a good choice.
Discerning individuals also noticed that Yuzhou had suffered very little damage during the doomsday. Moreover, the price of grain here had always been stable. Even if Yuzhou was threatened, people wouldn't starve. Consequently, many people from the north fled towards Yuzhou, unwilling to remain in the north.
Yuzhou could not prevent these people from entering. However, ordinary people wishing to enter Yuzhou had to cross the Daba Mountains. The elderly or the weak were simply unable to traverse the mountain range. Those who reached Yuzhou were strong and robust, capable of providing much labor for Yuzhou.
Shen Feng, having nothing to do that day, was constantly urged by Chang Jianyi to write a self-criticism. Thus, when Shen Feng had free time, he would sneak out, as long as he could avoid Chang Jianyi. Writing a million-character self-criticism was no easy task. Even writing ten thousand characters a day would require a hundred days, let alone for Shen Feng, who had barely put pen to paper. Suddenly being tasked with such a thing was undoubtedly immense torture.
Shen Feng also found it pointless to go out alone, as there was no one to look after the children at home. So, he decided to take the children out for fun. Shen Yishi had just been weaned and was too young to be taken out conveniently. Therefore, Shen Feng took Xiao Long and Xiao Hu out every day, quickly experiencing anything fun they encountered.
Xiao Long had not seen his mother for a long time. He gradually got used to it, only occasionally thinking of his mother. He would then ask Shen Feng, "Is Mom coming back?"
Shen Feng had no choice but to reply repeatedly, "Yes, Mom will be back soon. Be patient."
Fortunately, Xiao Long's inquiries became less frequent. Shen Feng estimated that in a few more years, Xiao Long would completely forget. Shen Feng had also pondered how to save Du Xinshi, but he had no solution and could only drag out time day by day.
One day, Shen Feng, dressed in disguise, took his two elder children out, preparing to go fishing by the Yangtze River. If they caught fish, great; if not, it didn't matter. The father and sons could enjoy the scenery and have a few bowls of noodles on their way back.
Shen Feng carried Xiao Long on his back and Xiao Hu in his arms. When they flew to the Yangtze River, he discovered that the riverbank was already crowded with fishermen. There was no chance to fish, nor even a place to stand. There were no fishing spots near Yuzhou, but Shen Feng always had a way. Yuzhou had no places left for fishing, but the Yangtze River was long, and there were always places downstream.
So, Shen Feng flew downstream and found a small city downstream. Although there were fishermen there, they were significantly fewer than in Yuzhou.
Shen Feng found a spot near a pavilion and saw people inside. He placed the two children on the grass nearby, spread out some newspapers on the ground, and instructed them, "Fish here, and don't run around. Do you understand?"
Next, Shen Feng gave the children two wooden sticks with lines tied to them, but no hooks. How could Xiao Long and Xiao Hu understand their father's intentions? They had no prior fishing experience and sat down with the sticks and lines. Shen Feng brought some snacks and opened them for the children when they got hungry.
"Dad, why are you always successful at fishing, but we aren't?" Xiao Long finally noticed something was wrong. He saw that his father had caught many fish, but there was no activity on his side. Could it be that the fish were biased and didn't bite their hooks?
Xiao Long naturally didn't understand this, as there were no fish hooks on his fishing line. How could fishing be successful? The bait tied to the fishing line was merely for the fish in the water to feast on. He still thought his father was more skilled at fishing.
Shen Feng said earnestly to Xiao Long, "Just fish quietly. Only by patiently waiting for the fish to bite can you succeed. Look at your brother; he's been so quiet. Isn't that good?"
Xiao Long looked at Xiao Hu on Shen Feng's other side. Xiao Hu had already fallen asleep on the ground, still holding the stick, leaning almost entirely on Shen Feng.
"I will definitely learn to fish. I'll keep trying," Xiao Long continued.
Afterward, the riverbank finally became quiet, and Shen Feng's ears were much clearer. While noisy children might not seem like a big deal, for Shen Feng, having three children crying and making noise at home was overwhelming and utterly exasperating. It was good to have some peace while fishing.
At this moment, a group of people also arrived at the riverbank in the distance. However, these people were not here to fish but to barbecue outdoors.
"We'll be busy in a few days, so let's enjoy this free time to the fullest. What do you all say?" The leader of this group was a胖子 (fat man), with the others following him. Upon hearing his words, they all chimed in agreement.
The group then began their barbecue. They had driven there, unloaded the barbecue grill from their car, lit the charcoal, and set up the wire mesh. Then, they divided into small groups and started barbecuing. The smell of barbecue drifted towards Shen Feng.
Xiao Long had a sudden idea, pulled back his fishing rod, found a piece of beef jerky, tied it to the fishing line, and muttered, "The fish here must not like earthworms. Now that I've changed to beef jerky, the fish will definitely come."
Seeing Xiao Long like this, Shen Feng shook his head helplessly, thinking, "You might as well put two pounds of grain ration on it and let the fish buy it themselves. But it doesn't matter; I wasn't expecting you to succeed at fishing anyway."
The group in the distance was barbecuing and discussing. From their conversation, it seemed they were all in the real estate agency business, and some were factory owners.
The leader, Old Yu, was still imparting his wealth-generating wisdom to some newcomers. "You young ones, listen to me. I, Old Yu, have become someone of influence here because I have ability. Today, I'm in a good mood, so I'll tell you the secrets of our agency business. If you want to get rich, listen carefully."
The young men eagerly asked for advice, "Boss Yu, please impart your wisdom."
Boss Yu smiled proudly and said, "In our line of work, the most important thing is to be ruthless. If you can't be ruthless, you won't make money in this business. Because, to put it bluntly, being an agent means controlling various channels and then exploiting people. With refugees from other provinces arriving in a few days, we can make a fortune."
Shen Feng was fishing not far away and couldn't help but overhear their conversation. He also wanted to know the content of their discussion.
Under the persistent questioning of the newcomers, Boss Yu continued, "The first way to make money is to monopolize other channels, preferably those related to food, clothing, housing, and transportation, especially housing. Don't think that all houses in Yuzhou are rented out and belong to the City Lord's Mansion. As long as we have connections, we can control all rental properties and then rent them out at higher prices as agents."
The young men nodded in agreement, having learned ways to make money.
Next, Boss Yu continued in an old-fashioned manner, "Secondly, there are other aspects, such as finding jobs. Outsiders generally don't know how to find jobs. They don't know that the City Lord's Mansion assigns tasks or where to find recruitment. At this time, we can take over the jobs and then exploit the labor of these people, taking a kickback from the price offered by the City Lord's Mansion. Don't you see, the money-making methods are here?"
Everyone nodded. Some of the older employees quietly walked away because they knew such actions were immoral.
"Besides these, there are more ways to make money, but I'm afraid you haven't learned them. You also need to learn to beat people. You must beat those subordinates who dare to resist, otherwise, they won't know their limits. This is especially important. When those newcomers learn how to find better jobs or jobs with higher salaries, they will leave. You will then need to use your fists to bring them back to their senses." Boss Yu said proudly.
The young men were somewhat stunned because they hadn't expected their future work to involve violence.
Boss Yu continued, "In the future, when you encounter those who dare to resist, you must beat them to death. If they still resist, then threaten their families. For example, if they have children or wives, capture their families. Within a couple of days, they will submit."
One young man couldn't help but ask, "If we do something like this and the City Lord's Mansion finds out later, won't we be in serious trouble?"
"You're so stupid. After making money, won't you grease the wheels of influence?" Boss Yu immediately began to scold. "Ultimately, why can we monopolize various channels? Isn't it because we have connections? And how do connections come about? Money!"
The young men dared not ask further and could only nod in agreement, but they now understood that they seemed to have stepped onto a path of no return.
Seeing that the young men were still not enlightened, Boss Yu continued, "Don't be troubled by so-called conscience. Such things are useless. What time is it now? It's the apocalypse! Making money and enjoying life, that's what's important. I once encountered a mother and daughter who owed me rent. I kicked them out and then spread the word. In reality, after I got the rental properties from the City Lord's Mansion, I rented them out at double the price. That mother and daughter were quite pitiful. The daughter was disabled and blind, and the mother had high blood pressure. They couldn't earn much money, but I still kicked them out."
The young men felt suffocated because they felt they couldn't do such a thing. Kicking out a mother and daughter with no means of livelihood during the apocalypse for owing rent seemed too cruel. However, some curious young men couldn't help but ask, "What happened later?"
"Later? Later, I publicized this event widely, and then the people renting from me immediately stopped daring to owe rent. As for that mother and daughter, the mother went to work in a brothel, and the daughter endured hunger and cold in a shack. Then, last winter, the daughter froze to death. The mother then went mad. She's still at the city gate, smiling foolishly, and happily wanting to hug other people's children. In short, after you do something like this, no one will dare to oppose you anymore," Boss Yu said earnestly.
Shen Feng listened silently from the side. His smile had vanished from his face because he hadn't expected such a thing to happen in his territory.
"A mother and daughter with no means of livelihood, simply because they rented a house from a black agent, were eventually exploited and froze to death in the middle of winter. Is Yuzhou, where such things happen, truly a place where people can live?" Shen Feng thought to himself.
At this moment, Shen Feng began to doubt his own abilities. Had he made a mistake?