Lin Xuan Qi was pleasantly surprised by their gestures, but he frowned at them.

He was glad that they had the courage and determination to try and help him, even though it was not out of actual concern for him.

It was, after all, very normal for someone to think more about their livelihood first over someone whom they'd just met.

However, courage and determination had to be used in certain situations, and it was best if these new workers had the mind to think about that.

If they had come out of the factory earlier, they might not have helped and could have caused the opposite of what they wanted.

These new workers would be a hindrance to his guards and himself dealing with the thugs sent by the rice merchants.

Lin Xuan Qi shook his head and pointed at the brooms, hammers and tools they had in their hands and said with a stern voice, "You will have to pay for these if you break them."

"We... We are sorry, Master Lin." The workers quickly apologized and put down their arms.

"Get back into the factory, I have a lot to brief all of you." Lin Xuan Qi said and walked back towards the factory.

Lee He Song and the guards followed him with the workers closely following behind them.

When Lin Xuan Qi got into the main building of the factory, he stood in front of them and started his briefing.

First, he went through the rules of the factory.

Then, he let the workers decide among themselves who would want to be at the factory in the southern part of the city.

It didn't take long and those who didn't have anything left in this part of the city volunteered to go.

After that he went on and talked about the work to be done.

"First, this factory needs to be set up with producing equipment like barrels for storage, the stoves and huge woks that are required.

"This will be done under the supervision of the supervisors that will come tomorrow."

He had promised the workers that those who performed well would be promoted to supervisors of the new factories.

And he was going to fulfill what he had promised, so that the other workers had something to aim for and try to work for it.

"Yes, Master Lin!" The new workers nodded their heads and replied with zeal.

The briefing from Lin Xuan Qi had made them feel a long-lost comfort where there were rules, stability, and discipline.

Growl.

Their reply was followed up with their stomachs growling.

They had been starving for days, and they only had a little porridge earlier.

All of them slapped the back of their heads and gave him an awkward smile.

Lin Xuan Qi realized that he was too engrossed and had forgotten about the conditions they were in.

He glanced over to Lin and said, "Go back to the mansion with Heng and ask Auntie Sue to cook something good for them.

"Their meals have to be taken care of by her until the kitchen in the new factories is completed."

Lin nodded her head, and she left with Heng.

"Thanks so much, Master Lin." The workers were close to tears when they heard what he had said.

And it was not all, Lin Xuan Qi went on and said, "Your allowance shall be given as an advance by the end of the week.

"I do have to remind you that it would be dependent on your performance."

The workers nodded their heads to it.

They'd heard him say the same thing over and over again during the briefing.

By now they'd figured out how he worked and what he wanted from them.

Master Lin would only be kind and fair to you if you were hardworking.

They shuddered to think about what would happen to them if they slacked.

Imagery of how Lin Xuan Qi's fist struck into the body of the thug came to their minds.

After food was delivered from the mansion, they ate it and settled into the workers' quarters.

Lin Xuan Qi proceeded to leave with the other half of the workers that were going to work in the factory in the southern part of the city.

And the same thing happened in the southern factory.

By the time he was done, it was already late noon.

"Where shall we go to next?" Lee He Song asked.

Lin Xuan Qi pondered for a moment and said, "It's time I made a visit to the Governor."

"The Governor?" Lee He Song didn't know what he wanted from the Governor, but he saw that Lin Xuan Qi had that expression he always had on his face whenever he was up to no good.

He figured that it was most probably about the rich merchants, and Lee He Song was more than glad to see what Lin Xuan Qi had in store for them.

...

Governor's Residence.

The Governor was hard at work on his desk, approving and rejecting the requests sent to him by his subordinates.

It was still the usual schtick from them, playing poor and begging for funds.

That infuriated Lee Yi Hong.

None of them cared about the poor peasants.

While he was focused on one of the documents he had in front of him, his servant came in and bowed, "Governor, Master Lin Xuan Qi from the Lin Clan seeks a visit."

"Oh. Lin Xuan Qi from the Lin Clan?" The Governor lifted his head and raised an eyebrow at the servant girl.

He wasn't expecting Lin Xuan Qi out of all people.

"Send him in and wait at the guest room." The Governor got up and said.

It would be a refreshing change to see what Lin Xuan Qi was up to.

The begging for funds was really getting to his dao heart.

If it wasn't for the final objective of the Dark Lord and his, he would have been corrupted by his heart demon and gone on a killing spree by now.

"Yes, Governor." The servant girl bowed and headed towards the gates of the Governor's Residence.

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