Throughout the morning, Liu Chengyu followed Zhong Qingyi to several places. They didn't do anything, just walked around and looked around. Several places were porridge distribution points, but no one was living in the sheds. There were plenty of empty houses in Xifeng now, but there was a shortage of people.

The sweet potatoes and corn planted in the field for the next season were harvested two months ago. The corn was fine, but the sweet potatoes depended on how well the person managed them. Diligent people applied enough fertilizer, and their sweet potatoes were quite large. Those who did not manage them properly had sweet potatoes that were only the size of an adult's head at their largest, and only the size of a thumb at their smallest.

"However, eating too many sweet potatoes and corn can upset the stomach, so the government will distribute porridge every few days. People can just line up to get some," the acting prefect explained dutifully.

The question of whether their stomachs would feel uncomfortable was something Ye Moxun had said. The acting officials didn't quite understand. They were just grateful to have food and not starve, so why be so particular?

Liu Chengyu didn't understand either. The government should just provide porridge so that people can survive. Why should they also worry about whether people's internal organs are comfortable? Isn't that being pretentious?

Regardless, the officials in Xifeng today are truly taking good care of the people, and the people have given them much praise.

“Those in power who do not treat the people well will not have a good end. Throughout history, the demise of most dynasties began with the indiscriminate killing of the people. When the people have no way to survive, they are forced to rebel, just like a raging wave. Even the most powerful giant will be submerged.”

Song Zhuiyan concluded with an icy expression, "When you love the people like your own children, they are kind and easily satisfied. As long as they have a roof over their heads and enough to eat, they are content. Only those who win the hearts of the people can win the world."

These people are truly adept at winning over the hearts and minds of the people and gaining their support. But why did they have to say those things, as if they were deliberately speaking to him?

That's right, Song Zhuiyan was saying this to him, hoping he would understand its meaning. Of course, Liu Chengyu shouldn't be so stupid as to not understand when it's so obvious.

Just then, a minor official came running up, panting, and said to the acting prefect, "Sir, two young men have come looking for Lord Zhong and Lord Song, saying they want them to have dinner at Yueyang Tower."

Zhong Qingyi nodded to indicate that she understood, and then looked at Song Zhuiyan.

"Would you like to eat together?" Song Zhuiyan asked politely.

"I'm hungry too, let's eat together." Liu Chengyi was quite unceremonious.

The prefect also wanted to go, but he didn't dare, because Ye Moxun hadn't given the order. If he went, what would he do if he was blamed?

"Prefect, please come along too." One more person won't make a difference. The sub-prefect and the other minor officials aren't here, so it wouldn't be good to leave the acting prefect alone, would it?

Upon arriving at Yueyang Tower, the prefect did not see Ye Moxun. He and Liu Chengyu were led to a side room on the second floor, accompanied only by Zhong Qingyi and Song Zhuiyan.

The guards also ordered a table in the next private room, so there were only four people here: Zhong Qingyi, the prefect, and Liu Chengyu. They were talking about how to settle the people and develop Xifeng.

Song Zhuiyan buried herself in her food, seemingly oblivious to the world around her. She ate almost half of the dishes on the table by herself. She had spent a considerable amount of money, so she couldn't waste it; she had to make sure she got her money's worth.

Downstairs, Song Tantan muttered, "I paid for it, but I'm eating in the lobby. It's a waste of money for others. I'll have to get that Liu guy to invite me back next time."

"You really want him to treat you to dinner?" Ye Moxun scoffed.

"Say what you want to say, don't be sarcastic. Honestly, why do I smell something sour about you? Are you jealous?" Good heavens, she really felt that Ye Moxun was jealous. Could it be that he had feelings for her?

"You're overthinking it. I'm just worried about the money." Ye Moxun coughed lightly to cover up his feelings, denying it.

"So we should ask him to come back. If the prefect weren't so poor, I would have asked him to come back too, but considering his family's circumstances, I'll pass." The unfortunate acting prefect is still living in his own home, not in the prefectural government office.

The prefect was a local of Fengcheng. His family owned a two-courtyard house. Although the house was not small, there were many people in the family. He had an older brother and two younger brothers. All four brothers were married and had children.

The family consisted of nearly twenty people, and the two-courtyard house was quite crowded. The elder brother and two younger brothers had both asked him, both openly and subtly, why the family didn't move to the government office so that the house wouldn't be so cramped.

The prefect was in a difficult situation. Of course he wanted to move to the prefectural office, but he was just an acting official, and his actions were not legitimate. What could he do if Young Master Ye wouldn't budge?

Before his official appointment, his monthly salary was sixty taels of silver. After three months, it was one hundred taels. After his appointment as a sub-prefect, it was eighty taels of silver. The lower the rank, the less the monthly salary. In fact, after saving for several months, he could barely afford to buy a one-courtyard house near the government office.

But he didn't dare. He had only been in office for a short time and was only an acting one. He was afraid of being accused of embezzlement, so he decided to wait and see after the New Year.

"I've checked. In the Great Jin Dynasty, the prefects all received a monthly salary of one hundred taels of silver, which is relatively high compared to other dynasties. However, most officials were corrupt and accepted bribes. The silver they embezzled was definitely many times more than their monthly salary. Officials who didn't embezzle were naturally clean-handed and even buying a house was a problem."

Buying a house has never been easy, from ancient times to the present. Many migrant workers can't afford a house in their entire lives and can only go back to their hometowns to build villas.

The villa looks impressive, but it's located in the countryside, where the educational conditions are not as good as those in the city. Children living in the countryside are already at a disadvantage from the start, which is why many people are desperate to buy a house in the city.

It's not that the air in the city is sweeter, nor that the food in the city is better. For the sake of their children's development, migrant workers have to buy a house no matter how hard or tiring it is. Buying a house puts immense pressure on them.

Being a mortgage slave for decades means spending far more than in the countryside. Not to mention anything else, just take the property management fees. Even if you don't live there, you still have to pay on time, since the property management company also needs to get paid.

Staying in the countryside at least saves on property management fees, but people will say you're unambitious, that you'll never escape rural life no matter how hard you try, and that you'll never become a big city dweller.

We've digressed again. After Song Tantan paid the bill, he and Ye Moxun left with their men. They didn't go upstairs to say hello. Were they going to meet Liu Chengyu and the prefect while wearing disguises?

Sure enough, as soon as Liu Chengyu entered Yueyang Tower, he saw a group of young men and women from Songlin Village, but he didn't see Ye Moxun and Song Tantan. Just as he was wondering about this, he spotted two elegantly dressed young boys in the crowd.

He quickly determined that the two people were Ye Moxun and Song Tantan in disguise. He wondered what their purpose was. It turned out they were also skilled in disguise. What couldn't they do?

Liu Chengyu left Fengcheng the day before the first day of the twelfth lunar month at the end of the year. Not long ago, he revealed his identity to Zhong Qingyi and hoped that Zhong Qingyi could cooperate with him.

If he initially suspected that Zhong Qingyi and the others had designs on the dragon throne in the palace, after observing Xi Feng for more than a month, he dispelled his doubts.

Which person who wants to sit on the dragon throne would be so lazy as to delegate everything to others, including military power? Ye Moxun and Zhong Qingyi are both quite afraid of trouble and don't like to get involved.

Then there are Song Zhuiyan and Song Tantan, who are even more outrageous. All they do all day is scheme to find wives for the young men from Songlin Village and husbands for the young women.

Then they took people to the streets to treat the people. Treating people was not a shameful thing; on the contrary, it was highly praised by the people. But they insisted on changing their appearance so that people could not see their true faces. I don't know why.