"Patriarch Zhao, this matter is actually quite complicated. I'd better leave now." Xu Rurong left with a determined expression.

Although County Magistrate Chen and Luo Yong caught up in time, they were both completely confused.

Isn't the magistrate trying to swindle money from the Zhao family head? Why did he turn around and leave so suddenly, and we couldn't even stop him?

Seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of the people, Xu Rurong did not explain. When they arrived at the bustling street, he ordered several constables to beat drums and gongs again and go from street to street to spread the word.

Whenever someone came by, he would have someone explain what was inside those boxes.

"Did you see that? This was all sent by the heads of the Ma and Wang families. They voluntarily donated more than four thousand taels of silver and one hundred shi of grain for the development of our wasteland county!"

"You heard right, it's the heads of the Ma and Wang families! The magistrate is very pleased and plans to use this money to build houses for homeless orphans and the elderly, and also to build roads for our desolate county!"

"No, no, no, please don't misunderstand. We're not recruiting you for free. Everyone who comes to help will receive ten coins a day! And we'll provide three meals a day!"

"Both men and women can come and register. The magistrate has said that there is work for everyone, regardless of gender!"

With this kind of publicity, the entire wasteland county was in an uproar, and all the people along the way were expressing their gratitude to the two grain merchants.

The heads of the Ma and Wang families were overjoyed upon hearing this. Who wouldn't want a good reputation? Especially one that's ranked first on the merit monument!

Since it's all bribes given to this magistrate anyway, let him do whatever he wants! The previous magistrate only took a few thousand taels of silver and did a few favors; why did he make such a big fuss for them?

However, after hearing the news, the Zhao family patriarch was not in a good mood. The entire desolate county was praising the other two families, and no one mentioned the Zhao family.

The Zhao family was originally the leader of the three families. In terms of both wealth and power, they were more powerful than the other two families. How could they be suppressed by these two families?

This new magistrate is so inconsiderate; he didn't even remind him in time!

Damn the Wang and Ma families! What's wrong with those two old bastards? A bunch of brainless idiots! They've probably been fooled by that county magistrate again!

The head of the Zhao family was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He quickly sent someone to fetch 3,000 taels of silver from the small warehouse and also had 100 shi of grain carried over.

Although it hurt him terribly, nothing else mattered for the sake of his own reputation and the Zhao family's reputation.

The Zhao family absolutely cannot let the other two families be inferior to them! Otherwise, how can Zhao Liu continue to live in the desolate county?

The other two families all gave money; doesn't the Zhao family have any face?

…

After some boasting, the people of the whole street knew about it, and they rushed home to tell their relatives and friends that the magistrate was recruiting workers.

That's ten coins! And it includes three meals a day. You wouldn't even get this kind of treatment working as a farmhand! Besides, this is being handled personally by the county magistrate. He's a true official in charge of the people's livelihood. How could we deceive them?

Absolutely not!

Therefore, Xu Rurong was very popular along the way, and people everywhere she went expressed their gratitude.

Luo Yong looked at him, but hesitated, saying, "Magistrate, we're praising these two families so much, but they're not good people. If it weren't for them controlling grain prices all these years, the people wouldn't be living in such hardship. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to praise them like this?"

Xu Rurong glanced at him, but shook her head: "Luo Yong, it's obvious that you're not very knowledgeable about this kind of thing."

"Have you seen what those people have said? They get ten coins a day and enough to eat, so they don't care about any of this."

"In this world, whoever can feed them is the true provider. What do superficial reputations matter? Can they be eaten?"

Moreover, this was a last resort. Xu Rurong felt a sense of urgency, thinking that there might be other disasters to come.

Is the lives of ordinary people more important, or is that little bit of resentment more important?

He no longer has time to slowly develop the barren county. He must quickly build those large courtyards with fire dragons before the cold winter arrives, and store a batch of emergency food so that large numbers of people will not starve to death!

Luo Yong seemed to be deep in thought; he realized that he was indeed being stubborn.

They can certainly hate those grain merchants and spread rumors about their behavior, but what good will that do? It will only make the people more resentful.

However, by doing this, the magistrate could raise several thousand taels of silver for the government, alleviating the county office's urgent needs, and could also save the lives of those people at a critical moment.

The answer to which is more important will become clear after careful consideration.

Just as they arrived at another busy street, intending to make a big fuss and announce their arrival again, the head of the Zhao family had already sent his servants over with a large box of silver and a pile of grain.

These Zhao family servants were quite clever; they shouted at the top of their lungs from a distance.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, our Zhao family has delivered 3,000 taels of silver and 100 shi of grain. Please take a look!"

Luo Yong turned his head instantly, his eyes wide.

The Zhao family actually jumped into this pit on their own initiative?

Chen, the county magistrate who had been explaining to the people, also twitched at the corner of his mouth.

Wang Qing blinked, her face full of excitement.

"Good, good, good! I knew the Zhao family head was a great philanthropist in our Huang County!" Xu Rurong's eyes lit up, and she ordered the constables to step forward and carry the boxes over.

Yu Luo, who was staring at the desolate county, was also at a loss for words. This county magistrate was indeed quite something!

I wonder what Xu Rurong would do if he knew he was actually a fake magistrate?

They probably won't run away halfway, right?