In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 669 Observations (7)

As for where the cleaners' wages come from...

That would naturally be shared by the businesses on Chencun Avenue, since most of the household waste on the street is generated by them, and they have every reason to pay a cleaning fee.

Most merchants are willing to bear this cost, since it is nothing compared to the profits they make from opening shops in Chenjia Village.

Moreover, they had no right to resist Chen Dao and could only obediently hand over the sanitation fee on time every month.

It was thanks to these sanitation workers that Li Mingyuan and his two companions saw a clean road with almost no litter when they stepped onto Chencun Avenue.

"girl."

Just then, a voice came from beside Zheng Qiuyan. An elderly cleaner appeared beside her, staring at the bones at her feet, and said, "Excuse me, I need to sweep up this trash."

Zheng Qiuyan subconsciously took a step back, and the old man immediately swept several bones into a dustpan with a broom before leaving.

At this moment, Zheng Qiuyan asked curiously, "Grandpa, are you a worker from Chenjia Village?"

"Of course, I am a cleaner in Chenjia Village."

The old man smiled and nodded, seemingly quite proud of his identity as a worker from Chenjia Village.

"A cleaner?"

Zheng Qiuyan tilted her head and said, "Are they street cleaners?"

"That's right!"

The old man smiled and replied, "We are mainly responsible for cleaning up the garbage on this street, and we can earn 500 coins a month."

"500 coins? That's a good income!"

Li Mingyuan couldn't help but remark that the old man looked to be over fifty years old. In an agricultural country like Xia, a person over fifty is considered a burden on a family. Let alone making money, it would be good enough if he didn't add to the burden on his family.

In the Xia Kingdom, there was a custom called "going up the mountain," which refers to the practice of elderly people choosing to go up the mountain alone so as not to burden their families, and then dying in the mountain unattended.

This may seem exceptionally cruel, but it is the most realistic reality for the common people at the bottom of the Xia Kingdom. The elderly, having lost their ability to work, can only become a burden on their families. In order not to delay the future generations of their families, and in order to save on food exports, they have no choice but to give up their right to survive...

It is easy to see from this that it was extremely rare for a man in his fifties to earn 500 coins a month in the Xia Kingdom.

"Yes."

Speaking of his income, a glint of light flashed in the old man's eyes. "I have to thank Chenjia Village and Mr. Chen for this. If they hadn't taken in this useless old man, I don't know where I would have starved to death!"

The old man couldn't help but recall his life before joining Chenjia Village. He had no children and when he was young, things were alright; he could earn a living by selling his labor. But as he got older, he could no longer work and could only rely on the help of the villagers. However, the villagers were not wealthy, and their help to him was quite limited. Therefore, he often went hungry, sometimes even having to fill his stomach with water.

At that time, he was like a candle flickering in the wind, and could starve to death at any moment.

Good thing...

Just when he was about to give up, news spread from other villagers that Chenjia Village was recruiting cleaners. Upon hearing this news, he felt as if he had grasped at the last straw. With the help of the young people in the village, he went to the county town despite his weak body and met Chen He, who was in charge of recruiting workers in Chenjia Village.

The old man thought that he was too old and frail to be hired by Chenjia Village. The reason he went to the county town to participate in the recruitment was simply because he was clinging to his last hope.

But who would have thought that Chenjia Village would choose him, giving him the opportunity to support himself?

After that, the old man came to Chenjia Village and became a cleaner, earning a meager but enough wage to support himself.

From a useless old man who could only rely on his neighbors for help to a self-reliant cleaner, the old man is full of gratitude for Chenjia Village and Chendao. He even prays for Mr. Chen of Chenjia Village every night before going to sleep, hoping that such a good person as Mr. Chen can live a long and healthy life.

"Grandma, how could you starve to death? Where are your children? Don't they care about you?"

Zheng Qiuyan asked.

"Children..."

A complex look flashed in the old man's eyes, and his voice was somewhat low: "I only have one son in my life. He was conscripted by the government to join the army ten years ago, and after that... I never saw him again."

Zheng Qiuyan: "..."

Li Mingyuan: "..."

Li Qiao: "..."

The three sensed a hint of sorrow in the old man's words.

Conscription was a hardship that almost all ordinary people in the Xia Kingdom had to face, as both corvée labor and the army required a large number of able-bodied men.

It is obvious that ordinary people are unwilling to join the army or perform corvée labor, so the government often forcibly conscripts men, and those who are conscripted...

If you are serving in corvée labor, the chances of returning are relatively high, but if you join the army... the chances of returning are slim.

Even if conscripted soldiers don't die on the battlefield, their garrison might not be in their hometown, and very few will be able to see their relatives again.

"I'm sorry, sir, I brought up something that saddened you."

Zheng Qiuyan quickly apologized.

"fine."

The old man waved his hand magnanimously: "It's been so long since that happened, I've long since let it go! Things are pretty good now, I work in Chenjia Village, I can earn money with my own hands, and life is not bad."

Although the old man appeared quite magnanimous, Zheng Qiuyan and the other two could still sense the sadness in his heart.

There are three types of unfilial piety, the greatest of which is not having offspring.

In this country that places great importance on offspring, no one can calmly accept the pain of not having children.

However, Zheng Qiuyan and the other two did not dwell on the matter. Instead, Li Mingyuan asked, "Old man, I see that the cleaners in Chenjia Village are all about your age. Doesn't Chenjia Village hire young people for cleaning jobs?"

This is what puzzled Li Mingyuan the most. Although cleaning is a job with light physical labor, young people are definitely better than old people when it comes to physical labor. From the perspective of efficiency, recruiting young people is undoubtedly a better choice.

As for Chenjia Village not being able to recruit young people... Li Mingyuan thought it was unlikely. With a monthly wage of 500 coins, they could probably recruit children, let alone young people.

"They really don't hire young people."

The old man nodded and said, "I don't know what Chenjia Village is thinking. Maybe Mr. Chen of Chenjia Village wants to give us old people a way to make a living, or maybe he pities us. So the cleaners are all elderly people living alone and women. Only when there is a shortage of manpower will some young people be recruited."