Chapter 1272: Laozi Transmigrated Again?

Originally, it was very difficult for Stonemasons to earn merit; at most, they could maintain their jobs and support their families. In the future, the status of Stonemasons would only decline, their numbers would gradually decrease, and they might even be removed from the Ministry of Works entirely, becoming ordinary folk artisans no longer under government control.

This is certainly inevitable; at most, those with better techniques might be kept. Stonemasons are relatively scarce now, but they certainly won't be in the future, because things made of stone don't show much change even after you use them for hundreds of years.

In the future, Stonemasons in the Ministry of Works will surely shift from crafting practical tools to creating decorative items. What kind of merit could such a profession or job type possibly create?

This road roller originally had nothing to do with the Stonemasons; it was just that Zao happened to come up with the idea and made it. One can only say his luck was good enough. After Zao, it is estimated that for many years to come, those Stonemasons will find it hard to create any merit in their own positions, let alone rely on this to earn themselves a Marquis title or anything of the sort.

If it weren't for the fact that these Stonemasons all had merit in the founding of the nation, they wouldn't even have their current status and life; their days will only get worse in the future.

However, in order to give them motivation, confidence, and hope, after they have worked for a certain number of years, they must certainly be given some rewards, such as the title of Excellent Artisan, to encourage them.

Just like in the peaceful years a few years ago, Soldiers wanted honors and merit, but there was no merit to be earned. So every year, some award quotas for Excellent Soldiers or Training Pace-setters were given. Although they weren't as good as First, Second, or Third Class Merit, having them and not having them were two different things. If one had them, promotion would certainly be prioritized.

As for Zao's reward, Baifeng thought about it. How much labor a road roller could save for the entire Huaxia and how much benefit it could bring was indeed plain for all to see. Therefore, a Marquis title could be given, and at the same time, a surname could be granted; the surname "Lu" seemed quite good.

In the future, these Stonemasons will certainly not be able to receive such rewards again; let this reward serve as an incentive for them.

As for why surnames cannot be given to the entire population, I have discussed this before: one must distinguish between high and low status. Moreover, the domestic population growth pattern is not fixed, and everything is quite chaotic. Let's wait until everything settles down before considering this issue; this trouble can also be tossed to Changle.

In any case, surnames will differentiate and evolve on their own. If one traces the source of every surname, they actually all come from a few ancient surnames, such as Jiang, Huang, Gui, and so on. There are also some that were changed to Han surnames due to vassal states or ethnic minorities. After another few hundred years, with so many people in Huaxia, everyone will surely be able to obtain a surname of their own.

Once the control over surnames is relaxed in the future, all kinds of surnames will emerge. In ancient times, the ranking of surnames was the Hundred Family Surnames, but according to statistics, there are over ten thousand surnames in the country, with all sorts of strange ones. Some surnames are so rare that many people will never encounter one in their entire life, and some surnames will also disappear into history. If your family has no throne and no title, there is indeed not much need for an ordinary surname to be passed down.

After arranging things for the people from the Ministry of Works, and as they were about to leave, Baifeng subtly hinted to Zao that he might be rewarded with a Marquis title and a surname. Upon realizing this, Zao was trembling all over.

He himself had a title, but it was not a Marquis title. Among those who served Huaxia in the same batch as him, he indeed had no advantage and could only rely on his seniority to mingle among the various Marquises.

Being able to obtain the Marquis title and surname he had dreamed of, he felt that his life was worth it.

Watching them all leave, Baifeng then stood up, stretched his waist, and went to the small office to see Changle. Although he already roughly understood the situation, how could the information transmitted on a small slip of paper compare to what could be obtained through a face-to-face conversation?

However, as soon as Baifeng opened the door, he saw a little thing scratching his sofa. That familiar appearance made Baifeng think for a moment that he had seen wrong.

So he closed the door again and stood outside, staring with wide eyes, thinking: was he really not seeing things? It couldn't be that Laozi had transmigrated again, could it?

"Father!" Changle saw his father open the door and then suddenly close it, which made him a bit puzzled.

The servant saw his master acting like this and hurried over to ask. Because this was a family meeting, the servant tactfully did not go over and just watched from the side, but his master seemed a bit off.

Baifeng raised his hand to stop the servant's questioning, turned his head, and opened the door again, only to almost bump into Changle who was standing behind the door.

"Ouch..." Changle stepped back to dodge: "Father, what's wrong?"

Baifeng looked at Changle suspiciously and then went on his own to look for that cat. Changle understood the situation as soon as he saw it, so he scooped up Xiaobao, who had just climbed onto the leather sofa, and placed it in front of Baifeng: "Father, are you looking for it?"

Baifeng gently took it over and then held it with extreme proficiency. He put his hand under the cat's neck and scratched, and Xiaobao immediately let out a purring sound.

Changle and Ayuduo were both shocked by their father's proficient technique. They had raised it for so long and couldn't do it to this extent. It seemed their father definitely knew this little thing, and perhaps even knew how to raise it.

"Where did you guys get this little cat?" Baifeng sat in his seat holding the cat. He hadn't petted a cat for decades; usually, he could only pet dogs.

"Is it called a little cat, Father? Everyone calls it Mimi."

"Mimi?" Baifeng couldn't help but laugh. Mimi could be the name of any cat, but it couldn't be the name of a species.

"Mimi is quite descriptive, but this little thing is called a cat. I thought we didn't have cats here. I didn't expect there to be any. How did you catch it?"

When Baifeng handled it, he also carefully looked at the appearance of this little cat. The markings were very similar to a Li Hua cat, but they were not stripes; they were spotted markings. The ears were also relatively shorter and rounder, not as long as a Li Hua cat's.