Chapter 1185: Picking and Choosing

When brother units get busy, borrowing a few people to help out is a common occurrence.

But like this Company Commander Yang, opening his mouth to borrow dozens of people, and for a duration measured in months, that really hasn't happened.

And it's for a unit as foul-reputed as the Imperial Prison.

Chen Guanlou waved his hand, signaling the other party to get lost quickly; how could he have the nerve to ask for such a thing?

Company Commander Yang was unwilling to give up. "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, you might as well ask the prison guards below. In case they are willing to earn this money, we shouldn't block their desire to get ahead."

Chen Guanlou laughed upon hearing this. "Money is sweet, but that place, the Imperial Prison, don't tell me it's a good place. I have to look out for the people below; I can't let you ruin them."

"That won't happen! As long as the brothers from the Heavenly Prison are willing to help, I guarantee I will treat them like treasures. The dirty and tiring work won't fall to them."

Chen Guanlou didn't believe a single word.

Borrowing people and not having them do dirty or tiring work—who would believe that?

Since they are borrowed people, even if they aren't worked to death, they will be treated the same as everyone else. Whatever the local prison guards do, the borrowed Heavenly Prison guards will have to learn to do as well. Special treatment is absolutely impossible!

"Company Commander Yang, we are both thousand-year-old foxes, so stop spouting nonsense with me. Your side had an incident, you can't scrape together enough people for the time being, and you ran to me to borrow people—that I can fully understand. But looking at you, you aren't brewing anything good."

Chen Guanlou didn't stand on ceremony, directly poking through the window paper; he couldn't be bothered to act out a roundabout drama with the other party.

Company Commander Yang gave an awkward laugh, accompanying it with a smile. "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, you've misunderstood. What bad intentions could I have? I'm just being driven to distraction by my duties, and I have no choice but to beg you for help. If you could just make an exception and let the idle prison guards below make their own decisions. If they are willing to come, don't stop them, and I guarantee I'll pay enough. If they aren't willing, I won't force them! What do you say?"

Chen Guanlou let out a scoff. "How much do you intend to pay per person?"

So it was negotiable!

Company Commander Yang was instantly overjoyed and said excitedly, "Five taels of silver per person, how about that? Three taels for the Heavenly Prison, and two taels for the prison guard. This is the highest amount I can apply for; I'm really not bragging. I wouldn't dare spout nonsense in front of you."

Chen Guanlou began to ponder.

It wasn't about the money; the key was that he couldn't block their path to making a fortune.

Cutting off someone's wealth is like killing their parents.

He could certainly refuse Company Commander Yang flatly, but the matter of the Imperial Prison borrowing people definitely couldn't be kept hidden; it would spread sooner or later. By then, if some prison guards felt resentful and blamed him for cutting off their chance to make a fortune, he would truly be failing on both sides.

"Is it really that hard to recruit people for your Imperial Prison?" Chen Guanlou changed the subject and asked curiously.

Company Commander Yang gave a bitter laugh upon hearing this. "It was hard before, but this time it's the hardest. Over a hundred people just died, and this couldn't be hidden. Word spread from ten to a hundred, and everyone knows. When people see that so many died in the Imperial Prison—hundreds at a time—they feel it's not worth risking their lives for a bit of silver. That's why, in desperation, I can only come to the Heavenly Prison to borrow people. I hope Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen will make things convenient."

"I told you before, you still need to establish rules and properly discipline the prison guards below. Look, an incident happened, people died."

Chen Guanlou felt a bit of schadenfreude.

Company Commander Yang was also embarrassed and gave an awkward laugh. "They're all a bunch of thorns, hard to discipline. If you discipline them strictly, they slack off one by one, and the serious work gets delayed."

Chen Guanlou scoffed. "When it comes down to it, the methods you use to treat prisoners in the Imperial Prison dictate that the prison guards must bear double the work and double the pressure. No wonder they're all hard to discipline. When the pressure is high and they face the dark side so much, even a normal person would need to find something to vent. Being a thorn can be considered a way of venting."

If they couldn't 'do whatever they wanted' within the prescribed scope, who would be willing to be an Imperial Prison guard? It's bitter, tiring, bloody, and dark. Facing the darkness and cruelty of human nature directly. And working in such a filthy environment. It's a test of the human heart!

"Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen is right. Sigh, I've reflected on it too, but it's useless! The Imperial Prison is not like the Heavenly Prison; the pressure in the Imperial Prison is high, the tasks are heavy, and blood must be seen."

Chen Guanlou couldn't be bothered to argue with the other party; he was just full of excuses.

He told Company Commander Yang to go back and wait for news.

As long as the Heavenly Prison guards were willing to go to the Imperial Prison to work, he would absolutely not stop them.

He instructed Mu Qingshan to post a notice, right on the bulletin board, in the largest font, so that everyone passing by could see it.

And he arranged for the prison clerks to publicize it thoroughly, ensuring every prison guard knew about the Imperial Prison borrowing people.

Those willing to go could sign up at the registration room; two taels of silver a month, without delaying their Heavenly Prison salary. If there was extra income from the Imperial Prison side, they didn't need to hand it over; they could keep it themselves.

Once the news came out, the prison guards discussed it heatedly.

Prison guards with proper duties didn't care for two taels of silver. They held onto their posts, and their monthly bonuses could also reach two taels, sometimes more. And that place, the Imperial Prison—as a neighboring unit, even if they hadn't gone in to see it with their own eyes, they had heard all sorts of rumors. In the dead of night, they could even hear the movements next door with their own ears; it was bloody!

The prison guards who sat on the bench and only took their basic salary were clearly tempted.

The Heavenly Prison being overstaffed had always been a problem, but no one had ever thought about laying off personnel.

Chen Guanlou didn't have such thoughts either.

In this day and age, finding a proper job and eating from the public pot was very difficult. For an ordinary person to find a rice bowl, even if they sat on the bench every day, it was still a hundred times better than going to the docks to carry heavy loads.

Carrying heavy loads meant eating only on the days you worked. If you were delayed by something or were in poor health, you wouldn't have food and would have to go hungry.

Sitting on the bench in the Heavenly Prison was much better than doing hard labor at the docks; at least it was a steady income regardless of drought or flood, three meals were guaranteed, and they could support their families. If there were temporary assignments, and they were lucky, they could even get rewards. Even if the status wasn't prestigious, the life was decent! That was enough!

Two taels of silver a month was still a huge temptation.

By the time they got off work that day, twenty or thirty people had already signed up.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and a total of ninety-six people signed up, willing to go to the Imperial Prison to work.

Company Commander Yang was all smiles, like a treacherous fox.

Gathering the ninety-six people, he picked and chose, selecting seventy.

Chen Guanlou scoffed. "You're even picking and choosing! On one hand, you say you're short of people, but on the other, you're picking and choosing. What's the matter? Do you despise the Heavenly Prison guards so much that they aren't as capable as Imperial Prison guards?"

Company Commander Yang became anxious upon hearing this and hurriedly explained, "Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, I absolutely have no such intention. My picking and choosing is also for the sake of the Heavenly Prison brothers.

You also know that the Imperial Prison has a lot of work and high pressure; it's much more tiring than here at the Heavenly Prison. I certainly have to choose the young and sturdy ones who can handle the bitterness of the Imperial Prison. As for those left behind, they are all thin and weak; I'm worried that if they go to the Imperial Prison, it'll be bad enough if they don't do the job well, but if they get sick, it would be a sin!" ===== CHAPTER 1186 =====