Chen Xian suggested that Uncle Fu find Magistrate Su and ask him to keep an eye on this matter.

When Uncle Fu found Magistrate Su and saw the details on the paper, he was slightly surprised.

[First, there are more and more disaster victims coming from the southern prefecture. It is recommended that the government directly purchase large quantities of Chinese medicinal herbs for treating colds and fevers, such as honeysuckle, scutellaria baicalensis, forsythia, kudzu root, isatis root, dandelion, bitter violet, and processed ephedra.]

Second, try to buy from the prefectural city, as large cities have more stock. If a large number of refugees really flood in, and if things are not going well, close the city gates and set up tents outside the city to brew medicine and cook it.

Third, once a large number of refugees appear, the price of grain will inevitably rise. Similar to the solution for handling Chinese medicinal herbs, the government will purchase them in large quantities from the prefectural city.

Fourth, since ancient times, the gathering of displaced people has inevitably led to serious illnesses. Therefore, they were divided into zones, disinfected with quicklime, wore masks to cover their noses, and disinfected with boiling water… corpses were buried deep…

Fifth, the above represents only my personal opinion and is pure nonsense. If the above events actually occur, I will have absolutely no responsibility. — Mountain Hermit

Everyone was slightly taken aback, and Magistrate Su chuckled: "Mr. Chen is still as witty as ever."

Master Li stood to the side, pondering, "Sir, Mr. Chen's idea is for the government to directly purchase medicinal herbs and grains. This is to prevent some unscrupulous merchants from profiting from the national crisis?"

Magistrate Su nodded: "Yes. Since ancient times, there have always been merchants who take risks to amass wealth!"

Li, the clerk, whispered, "I'm afraid Mr. Chen means that we should go to the prefectural city to buy supplies. This is not only because the prefectural city is indeed rich in resources and has more than we can use, but there is another meaning that I haven't figured out yet."

Magistrate Su suddenly whispered, "Could it be? Uncle Fu, go and inquire about the recent prices of medicinal herbs..."

"yes."

Magistrate Su: "Could it be that he thinks that if something happens, the prefectural city won't care about the refugees and will just close the city gates, so that we definitely won't run out of medicine and food?"

A chilling shiver ran down my spine...

Master Li shook his head bitterly, "If that's the case, all the pressure will definitely be on the county below. Hopefully, Uncle Fu will bring back good news."

Uncle Fu rushed back.

"Sir, recently the price of medicinal herbs such as ephedra in the city has indeed been quietly rising, by about one or two coins."

Magistrate Su immediately said calmly, "We can't wait any longer. Since ancient times, when refugees gather, epidemics will soon follow. This is a rule summarized by our ancestors."

“I’d rather we go through this trouble than let the people be without medicine and let unscrupulous merchants drive up prices. My clerk, you should quickly take people to the prefectural city to buy large quantities of grain and medicine. If anyone tries to obstruct us, take my letter to the prefect to coordinate. It’s not like we’re not going to pay.”

"yes."

"Uncle Fu, quickly bring your men back to the young master. There is a shortage of medicine and doctors in the countryside."

Uncle Fu shook his head: "Sir, there are fewer people in the countryside. Brother Chen will definitely go back to the village to take care of the children. In the event of an epidemic, the countryside is actually safer."

Magistrate Su nodded: "That's right. The countryside is full of trees, farmland, and rivers, and there are few people, so it's not easy for the plague to gather. Now that Mr. Chen has taken precautions, he is actually safer than us."

"Let's hope we're just worrying unnecessarily."

...

Chen Xian bought a truckload of quicklime.

Not entirely reassured, he also bought a cartload of coarse white gauze, a basket of thread, and a large bag of sewing needles from the shop.

They also took advantage of the fact that the price of medicinal herbs was not too outrageous.

I bought more than a dozen sacks of ephedra, honeysuckle, forsythia, etc.

Chen Xian muttered to himself, "I wonder if we can find these medicinal herbs on Mount Jiufeng?"

Then he instructed Liu Quan's wife, Old Man Zhao, to come back with him.

Uncle Fu was busy with business matters.

Chen Xian: "For now, let's not expand our business. Have the shop assistants buy more grain and medicinal herbs."

After selling all the ready-made clothes in the store, let's close the store for a break.

The cloth shops should temporarily refrain from dyeing cloth and try to sell off their stock while things are still relatively stable. Let the workers rest.

The bookstore has also sold out its inventory and will temporarily stop printing.

Once they're sold out, tell the workers to stop working.

Uncle Fu inexplicably sensed a chilling and murderous atmosphere.

"Brother, is it really possible that a plague could break out?"

Chen Xian shook his head: "Nobody knows. Fortunately, Magistrate Su has made preparations in advance. Let's be cautious. We can't earn all the money in the world. Do you want to come to the countryside with me?"

Uncle Fu: "Forget it, there are about a hundred employees in the three shops. If I run away, they won't be able to find a reliable person to help them when they encounter trouble."

Chen Xian: "Well, I need to go back and take care of the kids. Besides, I'm afraid of dying. My life is more important, so I'm leaving first."

Uncle Fu shook his head and smiled.

"Um."

"By the way, what about the girls in the shop? Will things get chaotic in the city? They are all weak women. Apart from Zhu Zhaodi who has martial arts skills, the others are also quite troublesome."

Chen Xian shook his head: "If the plague spreads in the city, there will definitely be some hooligans and thugs taking advantage of the chaos to loot and burn. It's hard to say."

Uncle Fu: "Why don't you take them back to the village? Anyway, our store's reputation has already spread, so we don't need them to be in the store introducing clothes to people every day."

Chen Xian's expression was strange; he could already imagine how the villagers would gossip about him.

"As expected, money corrupts. Da Zhu's father has only been in the city for a few months, and he's already taken ten girls as his concubines."

Wait a minute, wasn't it supposed to be a clothing store that he co-owned with other people?

Are you referring to the guys inside?

You actually believe that?

It's always troublemakers who ruin my reputation!

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!