Chapter 173: Will you hold my hand forever?

As the first snow fell in the south, Hensheng embarked on his journey north.

As the saying goes, a timely snowfall promises a bountiful harvest. The starving people received life-saving grain, and the rampant locust plague had been quelled. As long as they could endure the current harsh winter and sow seeds next spring, there would be hope for the future. This heavy snowfall, instead of bringing coldness, ignited a flame of hope in everyone's hearts.

During this disaster relief effort, Hensheng did not act in the name of the Crown Prince of Jiang Dynasty, because more than 20 years ago, when Crown Prince Jiang Yichun provided disaster relief, both the beneficiaries and those who were overlooked ultimately harbored resentment towards him.

At this moment, Su Zhenzhen's identity as the "High Priest" proved to be of great use.

Hensheng explained to everyone that they had traveled thousands of miles south to provide assistance under the divine decree of the High Priest.

The high priest, pitying the people of this land who were facing a winter famine, willingly exchanged his immeasurable merit for grain and seeds for spring planting from all directions. When the autumn harvest came, the people were not to forget this kindness and were required to voluntarily offer a portion of their grain to help the orphans and widows in the village, thus adding to the high priest's merit.

Everyone agreed to this arrangement. Without the food they had, they wouldn't even survive the winter. The journey north to the capital was long and arduous; who could guarantee that the road wouldn't be littered with corpses of the starving? Even if they managed to reach the capital, what then? Just think of those rebellious refugees from over twenty years ago—they all met the same end, losing their heads in the process.

On the day Hensheng set off, the people saw him off in groups. He lifted the curtain of his carriage and waved goodbye to them.

The carriage drove into the open space, and the people behind it could no longer be seen. Hensheng's smile was so real it seemed tangible.

“Zhenzhen, I did it. As the saying goes, ‘Give a man a hand in an emergency, but don’t give a man a hand in a poverty-stricken one.’ I only left them food for the winter. Next spring they will need to work on their own and be busy with their own tasks, so they won’t have any extra thoughts. That way, the turmoil of more than 20 years ago will not happen again.”

Su Zhenzhen pursed her lips, her forced smile looking far too strained. "The younger generation surpasses the older; you've done a better job than your father."

Jiang Yichun's actions were utterly suicidal. Relying on the nation's wealth, he acted like a saint, lavishly distributing grain during times of famine. Regardless of whether all the grain, after layers of exploitation, actually reached the starving people, such reckless charity, in the long run, would inevitably breed laziness among the populace, leading to neglect of agriculture and a wait-for-the-offering of relief from the court during natural disasters. A small favor may be appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment; when the national treasury is empty and the fields yield no harvest, all blame will fall on Jiang Yichun, the "culprit."

The common people are ignorant and easily swayed by others. Don't those who have actually benefited from Jiang Yichun know that he is a good person? But others around them are cursing him. Faced with the fear of famine, their strong emotions need an outlet, and Jiang Yichun is the perfect target.

The purpose of this action by the haters was to keep the people busy, so busy that they had no time to think about anything else.

Seeing that Su Zhenzhen looked unnatural, Hensheng's joy at solving the disaster immediately subsided. "Zhenzhen, what's wrong? You've looked worried these past few days."

Su Zhenzhen straightened her pursed lips and said without any emotion, "I might be sick. I don't know why, but I have no emotions right now."

Su Zhenzhen grabbed Hensheng's hand, her voice flat and even, "If I were just an ordinary person, would you still like me?"

Hensheng grasped Su Zhenzhen's hand, interlocking their fingers. "Zhenzhen, in my eyes, you're no different from any other woman. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, okay?"

The handsome man, with a sincere expression, saw through the barely perceptible fear in the girl's calm words.

Su Zhenzhen still couldn't feel the fluctuations in her own emotions. The world was separated from her by a layer of glass; she could see it clearly, but she couldn't touch it.

The girl lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the knuckles of their interlocked fingers. She tried to pull them apart, but couldn't.

Will you hold my hand like this forever?

Hensheng smiled and said, "Of course, Zhenzhen, I will never abandon you, no matter when or where."

"Okay." Su Zhenzhen uttered a single word softly, gripping Hensheng's hand even tighter.

The journey north went smoothly. Upon returning to Fenglin County, Hensheng asked Chen Wa to send a letter to Yangcheng.

The old rice that Chen Wa had saved up was certainly not enough to fill the stomachs of the disaster victims in the south.

When Hensheng set off south, he sent a message to Chunzhi, asking her to collect the surplus grain from the mountain counties and border prefectures and send people to transport it to the north of the Yangtze River.

This batch of grain has now arrived in Fenglin County.

When Chen Wa saw that Hen Sheng had indeed taken out the corresponding amount of new rice, his posture became even more respectful. "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will keep an eye on everything that is happening in the southern cities. You only need to go north to complete your great cause. If you need to mobilize troops, you can write a letter and I will immediately lead troops north."

Hensheng remained noncommittal, gave Chen Wa a few more instructions, and then prepared to return north.

Su Zhenzhen suddenly spoke up, "Magistrate Chen, do you know how to get to overseas?"

Seeing that the High Priest was personally questioning him, Chen Wa became even more cautious. Recalling how he had chosen to cooperate with the Crown Prince of Jiang Dynasty out of respect for the High Priest's power, he not only received a promise of being enfeoffed as a marquis, but also had all the old rice in the granary replaced with new grain. He felt more and more that he had made the right move.

Who would have thought that the entire border prefecture would be under the control of the Crown Prince? With the strength of this one prefecture, he could rival the imperial court. Fortunately, I didn't act arrogantly back then.

"High Priest, there are two routes from the Jiang Dynasty to overseas destinations. One is to go to the southernmost part of the Jiang Dynasty, where there are some foreign tribes on the surrounding islands. You can take their fishing boats to trade with these maritime nations. However, most of these foreign tribes are uncivilized and extremely fierce, so the people of the Jiang Dynasty rarely interact with them. The second route is to go east along the great river and sail out to sea from its mouth. There are some island nations nearby where you can trade grain. As for further destinations, we do not know at the moment."

Su Zhenzhen continued, "How do you purchase grain from overseas?"

At this point, Chen Wa no longer intended to hide anything. After all, in this situation, one may not be smart, but one must learn to follow the right people.

"High Priest, the purchase of grain overseas is also facilitated by Song Anbang. I have prepared gold and silver jewelry and handed it over to him. At the agreed time, I will lead people to wait at the dock at the estuary for the islanders to transport the grain."

How long does it take to get to the estuary port from here?

"At a fast pace, it would take about ten days. However, it's winter now, and if there's frost, the horses' speed will decrease. To be on the safe side, it should take fifteen days." Chen Wa was very clever; he answered every question without making any suggestions or volunteering.

Su Zhenzhen looked at Hensheng and said, "I want to go overseas."

“Okay.” Hensheng agreed immediately.

The carriage was much slower than the horses, so the two switched horses.

Despite the cold weather, the two, who have undergone genetic optimization, are both very resistant to the cold.

Chen Wa prepared the dry rations, which Su Zhenzhen immediately put into her storage compartment.

Seeing the things vanish into thin air, Chen Wa was convinced of Su Zhenzhen's identity as the High Priestess.