Today, Wang Xian was dressed in a solemn and dignified dark blue official robe, an attire rarely worn for ceremonies. He was certainly dressed to the nines. Standing on the makeshift platform erected at the entrance of the Huimin Academy, he spoke earnestly:

"Fellow villagers, the recent snow disaster is the worst our county has experienced in many years. Many houses in the county have been damaged, and many people are homeless. The refugees at the town gate have left their homes and are lacking food and clothing. They are all our fellow villagers or people suffering in neighboring counties. How can we bear to turn a blind eye? We hope that all the villagers in the county can have compassion and donate generously, no matter how much, to help these suffering people."

As the head of this county, Wang Xian spoke with an extremely humble posture and sincere words. Normally, there should have been many people responding, so why was it so quiet?

Meng Zhao approached several people who were talking in hushed tones and listened carefully.

A man asked, "Brother Li, with this devastating snow disaster, how much money are you planning to donate?"

The man opposite scoffed, "Donate money? I won't donate a single penny. Snow disasters happen every year, but why are there so many people this year? It's all because our county magistrate set up soup kitchens at the city gate, which attracted many refugees to our area. Now it's even inconvenient to leave the city."

"But isn't it a good thing that the magistrate is distributing porridge? It's helping the disaster victims, giving them something to eat so they don't starve or freeze to death." The man was a little puzzled. Although it caused inconvenience, it was the New Year, and people don't usually leave the city anyway.

The man lowered his voice and said, "Good thing? We haven't even solved our own county's problems yet, and he's already doing all this fancy stuff. Do you think he's genuinely concerned for these refugees? Isn't it all for his own political achievements? Once this disaster is over, he can write a report to the court to claim credit, pat his behind, and get promoted. He doesn't care about the future of us common people."

The man then earnestly advised, "I advise you not to donate either. I've already inquired, and the wealthy families in the county didn't donate this time either. They're all resentful. Taking other people's money to boost their own political achievements—what kind of logic is that?"

The man nodded and said, "So that's how it is. I was thinking of donating some, but I won't now."

Meng Zhao overheard the entire conversation from nearby. She had initially thought that Wang Xian, being a newly appointed official, lacked authority and couldn't control the wealthy households. Now she understood that there was another reason behind it all, which explained why the fundraising hadn't gone smoothly.

Although Meng Zhao had little contact with Wang Xian, the few government policies she encountered after arriving here were all genuinely beneficial to farmers and merchants. Moreover, the original book described him as a dedicated and conscientious servant of the country and its people, yet he was angered by Shen Qing and died during his exile.

Meng Zhao felt that he didn't seem like the kind of person who only cared about political achievements. Besides, a gentleman judges by his actions, not his intentions. As long as what he did was beneficial to the people, even if he had the idea of ​​getting promoted, he would be worthy of the title of "good official".

So he called for the mule carts behind to follow, and then loudly proclaimed:

“The magistrate is absolutely right. We are currently facing a severe snow disaster, and as far as the eye can see, there are disaster victims everywhere. The tragic situation is heartbreaking. As a resident of Qingshi County, I should do my part. In this heavy snow and cold weather, I am willing to donate 1,500 catties of charcoal to the villagers in Huimin Courtyard to help them get through this cold weather.”

As soon as Meng Zhao finished speaking, Shen Qing and the others stopped several mule carts in front of them. The hay on the carts had been removed, leaving only piles of dark charcoal.

At this moment, Wang Xian was shocked. Since the donation center opened, very few people had participated in the donation. The few who did participate brought their unused bedding and cotton robes from home.

To show his approachability, he would always express his gratitude whenever people donated, and this time was no exception. He strode up to Meng Zhao, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and sincerely said:

"Thank you for your generosity, young lady. As the magistrate of this county, I will remember your kindness."

Meng Zhao shook his head slightly and raised his voice a little, "Your Excellency is too kind. I am just an ordinary merchant in this county. It is only thanks to the support of my neighbors that I have been able to earn a little wealth. Now that everyone is in trouble, how can I not lend a hand?"

After Meng Zhao finished speaking, a murmur of discussion arose from the surrounding crowd.

A middle-aged man's eyes lit up, as if he had suddenly remembered something. "This young lady seems to be from the braised meat shop on Xishui Street. Her smoked sausages are delicious. I bought several pounds of them this year for the New Year."

A woman next to him nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I remember too. Her family also has a shop on Tongfu Street. Look at the older woman standing next to her, she seems to be her mother-in-law. I've seen her before." Meng Zhao had brought Gu Shi along when she came, hoping to make herself known to others.

Someone exclaimed, "My goodness! How does she have so much charcoal? How much does that cost?"

Actually, these charcoal pieces wouldn't be worth much in a warmer year, but this year, due to the cold weather, the price of charcoal has skyrocketed, and it's now over twenty yuan per kilogram.

Even at over twenty coins per catty, 1,500 catties of charcoal would only amount to thirty or forty taels of silver. Many people present could afford it, but they wouldn't carefully calculate its value. They only knew that charcoal was expensive and hard to find, so they were shocked to see it.

If Meng Zhao brought over so much silver, it probably wouldn't attract much attention.

Wang Xian ordered the yamen runners behind him to unload the charcoal from the cart to the Huimin Hospital. Then he went to the donation table, personally wrote down Meng Zhao's donation amount, and asked Meng Zhao to sign it. Before Meng Zhao signed, he continued to speak.

“Your Excellency, in addition to these 1,500 catties of charcoal, I would like to donate another 30 taels of silver specifically for the distribution of porridge outside the city.”

"Life is unpredictable. Today's heavy snow did not collapse my house, but who can predict whether disaster will befall me someday? If that day comes and I am homeless and have to become a vagrant, I hope someone will give me a bowl of porridge so that I can have a way to survive."

As soon as Meng Zhao finished speaking, the scene fell silent. Yes, they only knew that the people outside the city were refugees, not people from this county. But none of them were refugees by choice. Faced with this natural disaster, no one was powerless and could only be forced to leave their hometown.

Wang Xian stood aside, listening to Meng Zhao's words, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart. He was not unaware of the many controversies surrounding him in the county, but he really had no way to deal with it.

These refugees had traveled through one county after another to reach this place. He could have done the same as other counties, simply closing the city gates and ignoring these refugees, and they would have moved on to other places. However, every time he passed through a county, many people would die on the road due to hunger, cold, and exhaustion. As the ruler of a county, he was ordered by the court to protect the people. How could he be so heartless?