Chapter 4: The degree of flattery must be carefully measured.

In Yunhe County, a goddess was distributing porridge at the county government office.

The news spread like wildfire, reaching Tianshui County to the east of Yunhe County, Qingyang County to the south, Baoshan County to the west, and Songhua County to the north. Countless people, upon hearing the news, brought their families, crossed mountains and rivers, and escaped the soldiers, bandits, and rebel armies along the way, before arriving in Yunhe County.

They didn't have high expectations. They thought that even if the goddess was rich, how many people could she feed for how long?

Unfortunately, they couldn't find any food and simply couldn't survive.

We're going to starve to death anyway, but what if, just what if we could find a way to survive in Yunhe County?

They were not disappointed.

This goddess in Yunhe County can actually give out unlimited porridge!

She really is a goddess!

An elderly man in his sixties, along with his entire family, knelt respectfully on the ground to thank the goddess for bestowing porridge upon them.

A dark-skinned woman lovingly fed a thin, bony girl in her arms hot porridge.

A young couple who had just arrived couldn't help but burst into tears as they looked at the countless people drinking porridge.

...

"Everyone, everyone!"

A middle-aged man dressed in coarse cloth carried a gong and a hammer, and struck it three times. "The goddess is kind and bestows porridge. It is available twice a day, at noon and 5 pm. Anyone who comes to the county government office to queue up can receive it."

"but!"

The middle-aged man raised his voice, looking at the crowd staring at him, and said, "We cannot accept the goddess's kindness without repaying it!"

"The people of Yunhe County are repairing the dwelling for the goddess, and we hope everyone will come and help."

"Those with strength should exert their strength, and those with material should contribute material."

"Those who are capable should come over here and register with our old scholar Cheng."

The repair of their dwellings began the day after the goddess bestowed porridge. The people who had enjoyed hot porridge and pickled vegetables on the first day felt they should do something to thank the goddess for saving their lives.

But they didn't have anything good to offer.

Not to mention gold and silver jewelry, they were powerless even to offer fresh fruits and vegetables as tribute.

The goddess herself didn't seem to care about material possessions. When asked about her title and the promise to build a statue and temple for her, she refused.

When asked if she needed a few clever people to serve her, she refused.

The goddess may not care, but the people cannot afford to be indifferent.

Then someone suggested renovating the backyard of the county government office and turning it directly into the goddess's residence, since the people from the county government office had all disappeared.

Damaged doors and windows need to be removed and replaced with new ones, pillars need to be repainted, and new tiles need to be laid on the ground.

The furniture needs to be remade.

The three-piece bedding set needs to be sewn separately, and the bed curtain and the sachet hanging on it need to be made new.

...

Fortunately, there were many people.

Those who make tiles, bricks, build houses, make furniture, weave cloth, embroider, tailor, and so on, are all highly skilled people with a good reputation in the surrounding villages.

The renovation project of the goddess's residence then began in a grand manner.

People from not only the towns and villages of this county, but also those from surrounding counties came upon hearing the news.

The people of Yunhe County originally felt that since the goddess distributed porridge equally and did not reduce their share, it didn't matter to them no matter how many people came.

But the old scholar stepped forward.

Yes, during the renovation project, the old scholar Cheng Hui became the temporary leader due to his outstanding knowledge, excellent eloquence, years of accumulated reputation, and outstanding organizational skills.

Cheng Hui's face was serious. "Fellow villagers, our Yunhe County has suffered all kinds of disasters. Even the county magistrate abandoned us. If it weren't for the kind-hearted goddess coming to Yunhe County, many of us would probably have starved to death long ago, wouldn't we?"

Immediately someone shouted, "Yes!"

Cheng Hui said, "Now more and more people have heard that a goddess is bestowing porridge in our Yunhe County, and they are flocking to Yunhe County with their families. Among them, there will inevitably be those with malicious intentions, so we must be prepared and not let evil people disturb the goddess's peace!"

"What if the goddess gets angry with us because of the wicked people and goes to other places to distribute porridge? Then we'll lose the peaceful days we've finally achieved!"

Cheng Hui explained the pros and cons to the people and called on people from other counties to actively join their renovation project.

When his own interests were involved, the people were naturally persuaded by him.

In the first few days, Cheng Hui did not pay attention to "public opinion".

But one day, several women came to him, and the one in the lead was a woman in her forties named Gu Lanying.

“Since ancient times, it has been said that a small favor is appreciated, but a large one is resented,” Gu Lanying said solemnly. “We have already heard some people complaining about the goddess in private.”

What are you complaining about?

They complained that the goddess came too late; if she had come earlier, their grandparents, father, mother, brothers, sisters, and children would not have starved to death.

He complained that the goddess only ever gave him one bowl of porridge each time she offered it;

They complained that the goddess only stayed at the Yunhe County government office, making their round trips too arduous;

The complaining goddess...

The women beside Gu Lanying chimed in, “We are grateful for the goddess’s kindness, but some heartless people don’t know how to be grateful or how to repay her.”

"How dare you complain about the porridge bestowed by the goddess! If it weren't for the goddess, he would only be eating tree bark, grass roots, and clay!"

"Heh, we can't even get tree bark and grass roots to eat! Let alone plain rice porridge! And pickled vegetables with oil and salt!"

"We are only alive now thanks to the goddess; otherwise, we would have died somewhere long ago."

"Yes, yes, if the goddess heard this, wouldn't it be an insult to her ears!"

"If there are too many people like this, we'll get annoyed listening to them."

"The goddess is kind-hearted; we must not let these heartless fellows anger us and abandon us."

"That's right, it's thanks to the good fortune we accumulated in our past lives that the goddess has descended today. We can't let her get away!"

When Cheng Hui met with the leaders of the repair team at the next meeting, he assigned Gu Lanying to be in charge of "publicity".

They may not understand what "public opinion" is, but they understand the power of public opinion and the power of numbers overpowering the few.

Gu Lanying and her sisters developed the first "propaganda team" to spread the virtues of the goddess among the people, condemn those ungrateful wretches who did not know how to repay kindness, and use strong public opinion pressure to suppress some whiny people who dared not openly complain about the goddess.

Meanwhile, this "propaganda team" played a role countless times in the days that followed.

At the same time, the group of young men who had previously formed a guard team in Yunhe County also stepped forward, selected new members to form a larger guard team, and gathered usable equipment in the city as weapons.

They not only maintained order at the place where the goddess bestowed porridge, but also patrolled the entire Yunhe County.

Those who caused trouble were all identified and dealt with.

The public security in Yunhe County has improved a lot, and it looks like a peaceful world.

He Qinglan strolled leisurely down the street.

I saw some people repairing roads, some sweeping streets, some moving things, some collecting tiles, some nailing windows...

They were extremely busy.

Unlike the day she first arrived, the people here now look much better and have smiles on their faces.

He looks exceptionally energetic.

Every person who saw He Qinglan, whether an elderly person or a young child, greeted her warmly and respectfully.

"Greetings, Goddess!"

"Good afternoon, Goddess."

"May the goddess be well."

"Are you out shopping? It's a pity there's not much to see in our county town now. In the past, when it was peaceful, everyone would go to the market, and it was really lively!"

You look radiant as always!

"Thank you, Goddess, for the porridge."

“My son was previously sick and weak, but these days he has been eating his fill of porridge thanks to you. He is much stronger now.”

"My sister is too, my sister is too, she can run all over the street now."

"Thanks to the goddess! We are all very grateful to you!"

"Where do you plan to go? There are no good sights to be seen, either inside or outside the city."

"Yes, yes, there are no flowers, no grass, no trees, and no water."

"How about I embroider a flower for you? What kind of flower do you like?"

"If the goddess wishes to see, Master Li of the North City paints some excellent landscapes."

This was the result of Cheng Hui and others discussing for most of the day.

If the goddess were to go for a walk and the people encountered her, they should neither be too eager for her, lest she become annoyed, nor should they be indifferent, lest they appear ungrateful.

He Qinglan nodded slightly to each of the people.

She responded.

Clearly, everyone had a good grasp of how to please her.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

He Qinglan took a stroll around.

The fields were so dry that no grass could grow, and the hillsides were barren in patches.

The river was full of gray stones, and a bucket placed in the well could not be emptied of a single drop of water.

In this kind of weather, will the vegetable seeds that Cen Ying gave us be able to sprout?

Even if a seed is incredibly resilient and struggles to sprout, it will likely be scorched to death.

She glanced at the people beside her who were grinning at her with rotten teeth, noticing his messy hair, his dirty clothes, and his feet that were barely recognizable as flesh-colored.

Thinking about how many lice, fleas, and bacteria he might have, I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine and said, "It's time for some rain."

The system within her mind strongly agreed: "Yes, those people look filthy; they really need a good wash."

[But I'm just a canteen system; I don't have the watering function that comes with a farming system.]

The young woman comforted her, saying, "It's alright, I can pray to God."

Her voice sounded very sincere: "I believe that if I pray sincerely, God will grant mortals bathwater."

The system was silent for a moment, then emitted a puzzled sound: 【Huh?】

It couldn't help but ask, "Host, are you into feudal superstition? Aren't you a college student from a modern world? Why are you doing all that praying to gods and Buddhas?"

He Qinglan answered casually, "Of course not."

I am a believer in feudal superstition.

On her way back to the county government office, He Qinglan thought about finding a few people knowledgeable in agriculture to ask what crops were suitable for planting in this area, and to see which of the seeds Cen Ying had given her were usable.

Let's also see what kind of cash crops the local area can use to achieve poverty alleviation.

She suddenly stopped in her tracks, then frowned slightly.

He turned and walked towards the south of the city amidst the system's surprised question.

A note from the author:

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