Chapter 45

After leaving Song Chaohua's courtyard, Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the matter had been settled. However, she wondered what method the child would use to protect Yinglian. She dared not ask too many questions, fearing that if she said something wrong, her aunt would cause some trouble.

Qingyun wanted to find Song Junwu, but Song Junwu was no idle person; he had to go to the military camp every day to handle government affairs. She could only wait in the main hall, looking at the pastries on the table. She glanced around, thinking that these things were placed here specifically for her to eat.

She wasn't afraid of being called unsophisticated; she picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, revealing a satisfied expression.

The good thing about coming here is that I can get a free meal.

She ate happily, and after she finished what was on her plate, Song Junwu arrived. He stepped over the threshold, looking travel-worn, and looked at Qingyun. His appearance seemed to show that he cherished Qingyun quite a bit, but Qingyun naturally didn't notice. After finishing her meal, she clapped her hands and drank the tea in her teacup in big gulps before getting down to business.

"Things aren't going well." She glanced playfully at Song Junwu, her meaning quite clear.

His originally livid face softened considerably when he saw the woman with chubby cheeks, looking like a mouse from the food.

The man had just sat down when he paused, his hand holding the cup still. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

This question was directed at Qingyun, asking if he had a good solution.

Qingyun: "Why don't we use some tougher measures?"

She was serious. People here are terrified of poverty, and ideological policies alone won't work.

"Everyone understands the principle of 'sitting and eating away one's fortune,' but when there's readily available timber delivered to one's door, it's incredibly comfortable, so who would think about these things?" Qingyun continued. The ideological work that Song Junwu had done these past few days hadn't changed anything; the trees that needed to be cut down were still being cut down, even more so than before, as if they knew that these good days would be over in a few days.

However, they were right. Qingyun wanted Song Junwu to take some tough measures, otherwise what would become of the soldiers under her command? She thought that since this place had remained unchanged for so many years, the commander should also take some responsibility.

Upon hearing this, Song Junwu asked, "What is your opinion?"

Qingyun didn't really want him to send troops to deal with unarmed civilians. After all, even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Her approach was to come from the people and go back to the people! A policy of appeasement where the people would fleece themselves!

"I'm sure you've already guessed what I'm thinking, so why ask me?"

Seeing this, the man simply smiled, sat up straight, gave a meaningful "oh," and said, "Then why don't you tell me what I can't guess?"

Qingyun: "That depends on whether Lord Song's pockets can handle it."

Song Junwu chuckled, adjusted his robe, and looked at Qingyun, signaling her to continue.

Qingyun's idea was simple: the local people should form their own inspection team to investigate those who illegally cut down trees. Of course, this method had a drawback. It might be effective at first if they relied entirely on "making money by arresting people," but in the long run, when no one was illegally cutting down trees anymore, the team would have no source of income and would soon become lax or even disband.

If a basic salary is paid daily, it's hard to guarantee that no one will embezzle it and take the money without doing anything.

Qingyun didn't offer a solution, but instead looked up and asked Song Junwu, who was sitting opposite him, what his opinion was.

Song Junwu did not rush to answer Qingyun's question. Instead, he told her a story, and after finishing, he glanced at her reaction and concluded, "The result is that some people, in order to receive the reward, even frame innocent people, raise thieves to enrich themselves, and come to collect the reward without actually doing so."

Hearing what the other party said, Qingyun hadn't thought of that. She was just worried that someone would just eat and do nothing. Then she asked the system to check what the Baojia Law that Song Junwu mentioned was.

[Simply put, it stipulates that ten households form a "bao" (保), and fifty households form a "da bao" (大保), with mutual supervision. If there is a thief, the entire bao is implicated. Conversely, if someone reports or catches a thief, there will be a reward, similar to the inspection team you mentioned. However, relying on reports for rewards will lead to many wrongful convictions, false accusations, and framing.]

Song Junwu continued, "Daily wages must be paid, but that's not all. They also need to patrol regularly, report situations, and prevent fires and thefts. Of course, we must also be fair in rewards and punishments. Those who engage in favoritism, corruption, or cover-ups will be punished."

Hearing this, Qingyun nodded, thinking to herself that this kid had the same idea as her. But then she thought, isn't this just the job of a forest ranger? This is her old profession! After going around in circles for several days, she realized that the answer was right there in herself.

Since that's the case, let's just follow the forest ranger's operating procedures. She quickly added, "No punishment!"

Song Junwu stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Not to be punished?"

Qingyun nodded and repeated, "No punishment" then continued, "They'll go straight to jail. Those who cut down trees, and those who investigate tree cutting, will all go to jail if they make a mistake."

Upon hearing this answer, Song Junwu showed a surprised expression.

Qingyun: "And we need to implement a rotation system. You understand what a rotation system is, right?"

Seeing the man nod, she continued, "This way, we can prevent a small team from becoming corrupt by relying on their 'iron rice bowl' for too long." Then, as if remembering something, she added, "And another thing, each person is in charge of a plot of land. If any trees on that land are damaged, the person in charge must write down the reason. If it's unclear, the person in charge will be held accountable."

Song Junwu was quite satisfied with this arrangement. He smiled and looked at Qingyun with new respect. Then he added, "And they have to write a report every day."

Qingyun nodded vigorously. To put it bluntly, these were all thefts, so there was no need to ask him to pay. He should just go to jail and see who would dare to commit the crime again. Just as she was admiring her own cleverness, she saw Song Junwu lean slightly towards her, his eyes smiling, and he asked her in a calm tone, "You've already planned it all out, so why are you still looking for me?"

Qingyun: "You are my top superior, aren't you? Even if we find Liu Er, he still has to consult you. We don't need your military resources, but my pockets are empty, this..." As she spoke, she put her thumb and forefinger together and rubbed them together a few times.

Seeing this, Song Junwu understood and straightened up to answer for her, "Short of money."

The woman flashed a fawning smile. Her features were beautiful and delicate, and the way she displayed this expression wasn't off-putting; rather, it was somewhat endearing.

The man chuckled, rubbing his forehead, and asked, "Am I the God of Wealth?"

Qingyun: "You are indeed my God of Wealth."

With Song Chaoyun gone, Song Junwu naturally inherited the position of God of Wealth.

Although he didn't quite understand much of what Qingyun was saying, Song Junwu could guess the general idea. He knew that this person had a lot of reasons, and if he didn't agree now, later, no, maybe in a little while, he would come up with other excuses. He even seemed to have thought of the content for Qingyun.

However, if Qingyun had originally intended to go to Liu Er, things would have been difficult for him. Liu Er had been in a standoff with him for many years, and getting past him would have been a tough task. But now that he only wanted money, things were much simpler.

Seeing that Song Junwu nodded in agreement, Qingyun didn't linger and made to leave. This really made Song Junwu laugh in exasperation. Looking at the woman who had already disappeared, he put his hands behind his back and even said with a hint of grievance in his voice, "She really treats me like a god of wealth."

If you need anything, just ask him; once he's done, you can leave him alone.

This matter was not over. Qingyun was in a hurry to leave because she still had to walk from the command post to the sand dunes, but she didn't have any free time. She asked around and found out that Mu Helian was in the thatched hut. She heard that Liu Er had something to do and called all the foremen back together.

By the time Mu Helian finished talking to the other party, Qingyun had been sitting outside for an hour. However, she would find ways to amuse herself by helping other elderly women who came to dry their crops pick through their produce and chatting with them along the way.

"So you have someone in mind?" Mu Helian was covered in sweat. She casually wiped her brow with the hem of her shirt and asked breathlessly.

"What are you doing? Aren't you in a meeting? Why are you so tired?" Qingyun asked.

If it were just a casual conversation, it wouldn't have turned out like this. Liu Er was only asking her to run errands.

Liu Er sat in the thatched hut and watched the two walk towards the sand dunes. He laughed sarcastically, took a puff of his pipe, and then said to the person next to him, "It's really rare to see the two of them get along so well."

"Mu Helian, a tomboy, it's understandable that she'd be so fond of this delicate young lady," someone chimed in.

Qingyun picked up where the other person left off. Although she had been here for some time, she had only talked to a few peasant women she remembered. She didn't know their character, so she would have to ask Mu Helian to make a judgment. After all, Mu Helian had been here for many years and would definitely know more than she did.

"I only know a few women, I'm not familiar with the others." Moreover, Qingyun had her own plans for this matter. A few days ago, she saw a mother and her two children going up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables. She had heard that the people were living a hard life, and she planned to include them in the team.

However, Mu Helian expressed doubt after hearing her choice of personnel, "Use children? Is that reliable? Children are playful and might not be able to beat tough adults." According to her logic, they should find some strong men.

Hearing this, Qingyun waved her hand, feeling it was inappropriate. "Actually, the child is quite formidable." As a modern person, she had witnessed the devilish nature of some mischievous children. "That child is older now, but his family is poor and he hasn't been able to go to school. He just stays home doing sewing and mending." After explaining the situation to Mu Helian,

She continued, "Don't worry if you can't beat them. Two kids per group, and the wages will be calculated as one head. That makes up for the possibility of them not being able to beat you. When these kids get together, they can come up with all sorts of crazy ideas."

Furthermore, she didn't intend to only hire strong men; she preferred farm women who farmed at home. Their shrewdness was no less than that of those strong men. On the contrary, the hardworking men, having never experienced the minutiae of life, weren't as clever and were somewhat dull.

If he were to find someone too shrewd and calculating, and who were to use some underhanded tactics, Qingyun feared he wouldn't be able to control them.

As she spoke, she remembered the deaf-mute child she had encountered that day and thought of finding the child. Mu Helian asked her what she wanted to do, and Qingyun only said that she wanted to find the child a job so that he would at least have something to eat and wouldn't have to steal or rob.

After listening to Qingyun's ideas and plans, Mu Helian nodded in agreement, which was considered as adopting the method. She said, "I will take care of it with confidence. I will find all the people for you tonight."

She crossed her arms, looked at Qingyun, and gave him an expression that said, "I really admire you."