Chapter 67
With Lu Shang's return, the family finally had someone who could take charge and intimidate others.
Jiang Wanning's nerves, which had been tense for the past few days, suddenly relaxed. When he touched her, her legs went limp and she relied entirely on Lu Shang's support to keep her footing.
Lu Shang's expression immediately changed: "What's going on? What happened at home? I'll go find a doctor now—"
Before he could turn around, Jiang Wanning grabbed him and gave a wry smile, "No need to call the doctor, it's nothing. I just haven't slept well in the past few days, so I'm a little tired. Now that my husband is back, I can finally rest for a couple of days."
A hint of confusion flashed across Lu Shang's face. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
Grandma Lu happened to walk over. The old lady had been living in fear for the past two months. Although she wasn't suffering as much as Jiang Wanning, she was old after all, and her energy and spirit were not as good as those of the young. Now she just waved her hand, her voice sounding more and more mature: "Wanning is right. Now that Shang'er is back, the family can finally rest assured."
"I guess the journey must have been tough for you. It's a good opportunity for you to go back to your room with Wan Ning and rest. We can talk about anything tonight."
Lu Shang was still confused, but seeing that both of them looked tired and exhausted, he didn't ask any more questions. He and Jiang Wanning sent Grandma Lu back to her room. When they entered her yard, they saw that the dozens of pots of flowers and plants in the yard had been unattended for a long time and most of them had withered.
Lu Shang asked, "Where are the servants who help at home?"
Jiang Wanning said, "I sent the two farmhands home last month, leaving only Granny Ke and Granny You. But the world is getting increasingly chaotic these days, and the two Grannies are worried about the family. I also sent them away at noon a few days ago. Now it's just Grandma and I at home."
Fortunately, she and Grandma Lu can take care of daily life. It's just a matter of going back to doing everything by themselves, so there's nothing to worry about.
Lu Shang was silent for a moment and nodded slightly.
After coming out of Grandma Lu's room, the two of them turned and went to their own yard. Jiang Wanning was originally dozing off on the table, but after walking back and forth twice, she felt much more energetic. Although she was still tired, it was just a matter of talking for a few minutes.
Jiang Wanning asked, "Husband, do you want to boil some water and clean up?"
Lu Shang shook his head: "No hurry, wait a little longer, I can boil some water myself, don't blame me, it's you and grandma..."
Jiang Wanning sighed. "Actually, to be more specific, I don't even know what happened. Half a month ago, disaster victims started appearing outside the city. The government was initially willing to provide assistance, but only seven or eight days later, the entire city was surrounded by them. Only then did the people in the city realize that the victims weren't just from Songxi County, but also from Lin County. This summer's drought has affected a wide area."
"From that day on, rice, flour, grain, oil, and other food items in the city were snapped up. I even went to the grain store to stock up on a few pounds of food, but after standing outside for less than an hour, I watched the price of food soar from seven or eight wen to over thirty wen, and finally over a hundred wen. Besides the skyrocketing prices, what was even more difficult was that the grain store was sold out within half a day of opening."
As they were talking, the two of them arrived at the door. Lu Shang pushed the door open and asked Jiang Wanning to go in first.
He couldn't help but ask, "Does the family have any extra food?"
"Yes, in addition to the remaining ten pounds or so, the Feng family also sent some rice, flour, meat and eggs, and some other students' families also donated some things here and there. Now that we have enough food stored at home, we will have no problem eating it all for half a year."
"That's good, that's good." Lu Shang breathed a sigh of relief. "Once this disaster is over, I will go to these people's homes to express my gratitude."
After talking about the remaining food at home, Lu Shang was still puzzled by the conditions of Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu.
Jiang Wanning took a sip of herbal tea and moistened her chapped lips: "This story started two months ago—"
It turned out that during the two months that Lu Shang was away from the city, the city, which had always had excellent public security, was not at peace.
Two months ago, when the drought was just beginning to show signs, the Lu family was robbed. However, there was a farmhand at home at that time. The thief who came to the house to steal things was caught by the farmhand before he could escape. After careful interrogation, it was discovered that the thief was an outsider who sneaked into the city during the chaos and came to the Lu family by accident. He didn't take anything he had before, just the hard steamed buns in the kitchen, which he used to break up and feed the chickens and ducks.
After listening to the explanation of the whole cause and effect, Jiang Wanning was silent for a long time. Finally, she asked the farmhand to let him go and rewarded him with a tray of cold steamed buns.
But with the precedent of the petty thief, although Jiang Wanning was kind-hearted, she could not ignore the safety of her own family. She had no choice but to ask the farmhands to take turns on duty day and night. In the following half a month, two more thieves were caught at home. The one who stole food was driven out, and the one who stole money was handed over to the government.
Jiang Wanning paused for a moment, a complex expression in her eyes. "The farmhands came back and said that the government has detained over a hundred thieves these days. This is one of them who was caught red-handed. Many more managed to escape, but it's an indisputable fact that the city is overrun with thieves."
The students in the private school all had relatively good family backgrounds. They received the news early and most of them were called back home. In the end, only less than half of the people were left in the entire private school, and all the female students left for safety reasons.
After hearing everyone's concerns, Jiang Wanning made a prompt decision to give the students a vacation. As for when they would return to school, it would depend on when God would stop his magic power.
After the private school was closed, Jiang Wanning went out less frequently, usually only once every two or three days, and she would not go far. Her main purpose was to find out the situation inside and outside the city, and to make some money for the family.
As time passed, the number of thieves in the city increased instead of decreased. Jiang Wanning had no choice but to go to Feng's house and ask for a craftsman to chisel through the rockery in the yard and hide the remaining food in there overnight.
The farmhands were sent home a month ago because Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu had discussed privately that there were mostly women in the family. If the two farmhands had bad intentions, they would be powerless to resist. It would be better to ask them to go back first, lock the door, and go in and out less in the future.
Jiang Wanning added, "After the farmhand left, the house was robbed twice more. Both times they were looking for food. There was food in the kitchen, not much, so they stole it, as long as they didn't hurt anyone."
Lu Weiwei had never personally experienced the situation of being repeatedly visited by thieves, but just by listening to Jiang Wanning's description, he could feel her fear.
He couldn't help but move closer to her and held her hand tightly.
Another half month passed like this. Due to the gathering of disaster victims outside the city, the county magistrate ordered the city to be closed. Although the people in the city were not allowed to spread rumors, private speculation was even more likely to cause panic. Under the guidance of ulterior motives and unscrupulous merchants, prices in the city soared, especially food prices.
Jiang Wanning sighed again: "Fortunately, the Feng family and many other families supported me. Otherwise, if you were not at home, I would have panicked too."
Lu Shang lowered his eyes and said, "Tang Town has also seen a surge in prices, but I thought the city was under the control of the imperial court, so there shouldn't be any trouble. If I had known this earlier, I would rather not have gone to the mountain farm and would have stayed with you and grandma."
Jiang Wanning smiled and said, "Of course the imperial court is in charge, but the current situation is so widespread that the victims are everywhere. It's far beyond the control of one or two imperial officials."
Half a month ago, the two maids in the family were also sent back home, leaving only Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu in the Lu family.
From then on, Jiang Wanning no longer stepped out of the house easily. Even if someone knocked on the door, as long as it was not a familiar voice, she would not only not open the door, but also would not answer it. In order to create the illusion that no one was at home, she would not light the fire in the kitchen for several days. At most, she would steam two pots of steamed buns in the middle of the night and eat them for seven or eight days.
"So you and grandma haven't had a good rest recently..."
"It's for night watch." Jiang Wanning said, "Not only night watch, but daytime is not safe now. I try to stay awake so that if there is any movement, I can react in time. Fortunately, you are back. The rest of the days-"
Having said that, Jiang Wanning's brows relaxed completely and she let out a long breath.
She usually only taught in a private school and had no one to command. In this situation, she didn't dare to recruit new people. Even people from Lu's Logistics in the city, she didn't dare to invite them into her home easily, for fear of inviting a wolf into the house.
After talking about the recent situation at home, she felt exhausted and tired because she had someone to support her.
Lu Shang turned around and was about to say something to her, but when he lowered his head, he found that the person who had just spoken had closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling, and her hands clasped together nervously.
He suddenly fell silent, lowered his head and kissed Jiang Wanning on the forehead, then put one hand around her waist and the other on her knees, and with a force of his hands, he picked her up.
Even such a big movement did not wake Jiang Wanning up. She just trembled uneasily. When she smelled a familiar scent between her nostrils, the wrinkles between her brows relaxed again. She buried her head in Lu Shang's chest and fell into a deep sleep again.
Jiang Wanning slept for a whole day and night. During this time, whether Lu Shang went out to boil water for a bath or carried dishes in and out, she was not disturbed at all. Even when someone shouted in her ear, she just turned over impatiently, but stopped moving in an instant.
Lu Shang: "..." He couldn't help but laugh, and then his heart was filled with uncontrollable sourness and heartache.
After that, he stopped bothering Jiang Wanning, and when he went to Grandma Lu's yard, the old lady's condition was similar to Jiang Wanning's.
It was not until the evening of the next day that the sound of human voices could be heard in the house.
Grandma Lu woke up first. As soon as she walked out of the yard, she saw a figure flashing in the kitchen. Her first reaction was that a thief had entered again. It was only after the figure in the kitchen showed its full form that she recognized that it was Lu Shang.
When Grandma Lu walked over, she saw Lu Shang blanching a few green leafy vegetables in boiling water, rinsing them with cold water, and then stirring them with sauce. This made a refreshing and delicious cold dish.
The weather was so hot today that he was drenched in sweat after only being busy in the kitchen for half an hour.
In previous years, the family could still buy a few basins of ice, but now, Lu Shang didn't even bother to hope for such a precious thing. He quickly put down a pot of noodles and greeted without turning his head: "Grandma, you are finally awake!"
Grandma Lu walked in and her face was covered with hot steam as soon as she entered the kitchen.
She looked at Lu Shang with some distress and said, "Shang'er, go out and cool down for a while. If you need anything else, tell grandma and she will take care of the rest."
"No need." Lu Shang refused. "There are only some noodles left. They just need to be boiled briefly. It won't take long. Grandma, please go out. It's too hot in the kitchen. Be careful not to get a heat stroke. I'm young and not afraid. You should be more careful. If something really happens, it's not a good time to go out and buy medicine."
Grandma Lu was frightened by him, but then she thought that at this time, the greatest help would be to her if she didn't cause trouble for the younger generation.
She did not dare to hesitate and quickly hid out of the kitchen, but she did not hide far away. She just stood at the kitchen door, using the eaves to avoid the sun, and looked inside from time to time, only to see that Lu Shang was fine.
"Wan Ning is still asleep?" asked Grandma Lu.
"She's still asleep." Lu Shang answered loudly, "She's slept for a whole day and night. It's time to wake up and eat something. I'll go call her later. Eat something and then go back to sleep."
Grandma Lu nodded approvingly: "That's right."
As they were talking, just when Lu Shang brought out the noodles and cold dishes, Jiang Wanning came out by herself.
She had slept well all day, and although the dark circles under her eyes had not yet disappeared, she felt much more energetic. She didn't know if she was really hungry or just happy, but she ate two big bowls of the vegetarian noodles cooked by Lu Shang with some cold dishes.
Seeing that she was still hungry, Grandma Lu wanted to serve her more, but Lu Shang was afraid that she would get indigestion after eating too much, so he quickly stopped her.
Now that Lu Shang is back, no matter what happens in the future, at least he has a backbone.
Grandma Lu was happy. After so many days, she finally remembered the flowers and plants in her yard, as well as the chickens and ducks raised in a corner. They had not been taken care of for a long time, and the originally plump birds had become skinny and looked unpalatable.
Grandma Lu looked left and right in the yard with a small shovel and a small kettle. She was heartbroken to see that the green peony she had carefully raised for half a year had completely died. Then she turned her head and saw that the golden leaves next to it had also wilted.
"Oh, what a sin..." She quickly put down the kettle and shovel, bent down and wanted to move the flower pot into the house, but then she thought again that it was even hotter in the house than outside, and it would be a waste of effort, and she was afraid it would not be of much use.
Grandma Lu looked at the scorching sun above her head. There was not a trace of wind in the scorching heat. It was as if she was in a steamer, hot all the time.
On the other side, Jiang Wanning and Lu Shang went to the study.
The two of them calculated the recent income and expenditure. There were no large expenses at home, and some daily food was given by others. The cash flow in the past two months did not exceed ten taels.
On the contrary, Lu Shang's business suffered a heavy blow. The loss of the mountain farm alone was equivalent to two or three years' profit. He had been staying in the mountains recently and went straight back home after coming down the mountain. He had never been to the logistics team and did not know the situation of Lu's Logistics.
The two of them did a rough calculation and realized that with the changes at the mountain farm, the past six months of work had been in vain.
Jiang Wanning was even more worried. "Is the logistics team still working? In this situation, staying indoors is the best option. If we're constantly out and about, we might get hurt. Besides, the drought isn't limited to Songxi County; we don't know what the situation is like in other places."
Lu Shang thought for a moment and said, "I've always emphasized that personal safety is the most important thing. If the workers see that the situation is not right, they will stop working appropriately."
"Also, the farmers responsible for supplying restaurants and bars have run out of goods since three or four months ago. Business here has been stagnant for a long time. What's left are either long-distance orders from other places or some precious goods like silk and satin. These merchants, seeing that the situation is not good, have most of them closed down early, and the delivery workers have also been idle. As for the rest... we'll just have to wait and see."
In his past life and this life combined, Lu Shang has never personally experienced a natural disaster.
In his previous life, whenever there was a drastic change, the country would be the first to provide assistance. Although the people suffered, they would be quickly resettled after the disaster. As a businessman, all Lu Shang could do was to donate money and materials to the people in the disaster area, and social order was still guaranteed.
But when they arrived in Dazhao, they were constrained by many factors. Even though the outside of the city was crowded with disaster victims, the court did not take any emergency measures. Moreover, even if Lu Shang wanted to help the people, he was not in the grain business and did not have much surplus grain. Even if he donated some money, he did not know who to donate it to.
After several years, he once again felt the limitations of this dynasty.
In the next few days, Lu Shang would go out every day at noon. He didn't walk far and would be back in about half an hour.
He saw with his own eyes that all the shops on the street were closed tightly, and people were walking around in panic. If anyone was lucky enough to grab some food from a store, they would have to escort it with their whole family, and they would regard a kilogram or two of rice and flour as more important than their life.
Lu Shang could understand their feelings, but he still felt confused and heavy.
He thought that after several years of business, his family's financial situation had improved and his life was heading in a good direction. Could it be that just a severe drought would bring him back to his original state?
As it turned out, Lu Shang's concerns were not unfounded.
Just seven days after Lu Shang returned home, the county magistrate dispatched 3,000 soldiers to guard the city gates and other strategic locations. He also ignored public opinion and opened the granaries to release grain.
This stored grain was not only for the people in the city, but a larger portion was distributed to the disaster victims outside the city.
This was only discovered by Lu Shang after he paid two taels of silver when the soldiers who were delivering food brought three pounds of flour to the Lu family.
The officers and soldiers were proud of this: "The county governor cares about the people and has ordered us to distribute food. Every household in the city will receive three pounds of food. In addition, over a thousand pounds of rice and flour will be sent to the city gate. A porridge stall will be set up and porridge will be distributed once a day at noon. All the disaster victims from other places can get a bowl of rice porridge."
"Besides that, my Lord has already gathered embroiderers in the city and purchased a large amount of linen to sew clothes for the disaster victims outside the village. He is also looking for wasteland outside the city to find a place for the disaster victims from outside the village to stay."
The officers and soldiers had to continue delivering food, so Lu Shang thanked them and closed the door.
He held the three pounds of flour and turned to look at Jiang Wanning. After a long moment, he said, "The County Magistrate... is a good official."
But a good official can only control the small piece of land where he is.
As the city government opened its warehouses and distributed porridge to relieve the disaster, the situation in the city improved greatly. The county magistrate also arrested several typical unscrupulous merchants who raised prices arbitrarily and punished them severely to serve as a warning to others.
After these measures, although the prices in the city were still higher than during the peaceful years, they would not change in the blink of an eye, and the price of grain was also controlled at around 30 wen.
In addition, the county magistrate also issued an order prohibiting private individuals from hoarding large quantities of grain. Once discovered, not only would the purchaser be severely punished, but the shop that sold the food to the buyer would also be implicated, thus avoiding the meaningless hoarding of rice and flour from the root.
Later, under the leadership of several famous wealthy businessmen, merchants in the city donated silver and grain to varying degrees. Although Lu Shang's family wealth was not as great as those of the generations of merchants, he also donated two thousand taels, which was the most money he could come up with. If he donated more, it would be a huge loss.
After half a month, the streets of the city gradually saw more and more people walking, and it was no longer difficult to walk outside the city gate. Although it was still difficult to enter and exit the city, as long as there was a reason, people could enter after passing through layers of inspection.
It was under such circumstances that Lu Qi brought people to the Lu family.
At that time, Lu Shang was accompanying Grandma Lu to take care of the flowers and plants. After Jiang Wanning opened the door and saw their faces clearly, she was very surprised for a moment. She quickly opened the door and asked them to come in, and then led them to see Lu Shang.
Dabao, Pang Liang and other children were sent back home when the private school was closed, and Jiang Wanning had not heard from them for a long time.
Now that she saw Lu Qi, she couldn't help but ask a few questions: "How is Dabao now? How is your family?"
Lu Qi nodded. "Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law. My family is used to storing about ten kilograms of grain every year. Although the harvest from the fields this year is not good, what we stored last year is enough to last us for a while. The town has been uneasy lately, but Lujia Village is not so bad. Dabao has been confined at home by Sanniang all day, and he is unhappy, but at a time like this, who cares whether he is happy or not?"
Dabao loves to play and move around, and this really fits his personality.
Jiang Wanning couldn't help but smile, and asked about the situation at the homes of several other people. Among them, the logistics team was mentioned. It was just as she and Lu Shang had thought before. Many businesses had closed, and Lu's logistics business had naturally stopped as well.
As long as they were in Tangzhen, they were all given leave and sent home. It would take some time to find out about those who were farther away.
All the way from the gate to Grandma Lu's yard, the few people still had some smiles on their faces, but when they saw Lu Shang, their faces suddenly became gloomy, and Lu Qi even said in a stern voice: "Brother Lu, something big has happened."
Lu Qi stood up and signaled him to wait with his eyes. He then said something to Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu and took them to the study.
After entering, without waiting for Lu Shang to ask, Lu Qi and the others chatted one after another, explaining the situation in their jurisdiction one by one: "Boss, I'm the manager of Gejia Village, responsible for transporting goods. Gejia Village has been particularly hard hit by the disaster this year, and the fields are cracking badly. I heard from the experienced elders in the village that this severe drought will not only affect this year's harvest, but it will probably take two to three years for the situation to recover."
"Boss, I'm in charge of the shipment from Nanxing Village to Tang Town. As far as I know, not only my logistics route, but also Shuxi Village and Pingshan Village, a total of five or six logistics routes have been disrupted. Disaster victims are blocking the road and robbing anyone they encounter. Although our logistics team is not afraid of them, the goods are inevitably damaged during the fights. We have already had three claims."
If the situation they described was still within Lu Shang's expectations, then what Lu Qi described really surprised him.
Lu Qi said, "Brother Lu, just three days ago, the magistrate of Tangzhen summoned all the merchants in the town and told them that the town's grain reserves were insufficient. He hoped that the merchants would contribute money and manpower to help the county government overcome the difficulties."
Lu Shang asked, "Is Lu's Logistics also among those being called in? I know that wealthy merchants will donate money in the event of a natural disaster. There were some cases in the prefectural capital a while ago. I donated two thousand taels in the name of Lu's Logistics. Who manages the accounts in Tang Town? Is there any money left in the accounts that can be transferred?"
Lu Qi said, "Tian Jia Dalang is in charge. Tangzhen's account can only spend about 400 taels. I called the brothers from the logistics team together, and we all chipped in and raised 500 taels to donate."
Lu Shang nodded slightly. "That's fine. I'll calculate how much silver you gave me later. When things are peaceful again, I'll give you more. Donating money to disaster relief is a must. Do you have any other questions?"
Lu Qi smiled bitterly: "Brother Lu, if it was just a donation of money, I wouldn't bother you. The problem is that the first batch of silver donated by merchants was not used for disaster relief at all!"
"What do you mean?" Lu Shang's face turned stern.
Just as he said, merchants in the provincial capital also donated money for disaster relief. At that time, three or five representatives from the merchants handed over the silver to the government office, and they didn't expect any follow-up. Unexpectedly, the next day, the county magistrate came back from outside the city, immediately summoned these representatives, and personally counted the silver and materials donated by the merchants, and exchanged them all for rice.
Three days later, the rice was replaced and the county magistrate distributed all the rice in front of them. Even the Lu family was given an extra pound of rice. After distributing the rest to the people in the city, he sent it all to the city gate. As for the government office, there was nothing left.
It was precisely because of the county magistrate's actions that Lu Shang felt that it would be okay to donate some money to help the victims.
Who knew that officials like the county magistrate were actually a minority.
Lu Qi said, "The county magistrate of Tangzhen used the first batch of silver donated by merchants, totaling 23,000 taels, and only allocated 3,000 taels for disaster relief. He also used it all to buy expensive rice, which cost over a hundred coins per pound. The food he bought was only enough to help three or two villages. As for the remaining 20,000 taels—"
"The lord only said that it was used for disaster relief elsewhere and it was inconvenient to tell us." But anyone with a discerning eye didn't know that the 20,000 taels were embezzled by the county magistrate.
Lu Shang was shocked and speechless for a moment.
Little did they know, this wasn't the most infuriating thing. Lu Qi laughed in anger, "Just yesterday, the county magistrate summoned the merchants in the town again and asked them to donate silver and grain again, and the amount must not be less than the first time."
"Oh, right. In addition to silver, people also donated over 300 kilograms of grain. The grain was transported to the county government office. As for when it was transported out, we don't know. Anyway, I never saw this batch of grain again."
Lu Shang asked hoarsely, "The county magistrate acted like this...and no one reported it to the higher-ups?"
Lu Qi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head helplessly: "No one, no one dares. The official roads around Tang Town are now guarded by people from the government. If anyone makes any unusual movements, I'm afraid they will be arrested by the county magistrate before they can even leave Tang Town."
"We were able to get out of here because the boss of the logistics team was in the capital. Now in Tang Town—"
Someone nearby responded, "You can only go in, but not out."
Another person said, "It's not just Tangzhen. From what I've heard, the situation in neighboring towns is similar to Tangzhen's. They've even started their third round of donations. Several businesses have been jailed for failing to meet the requirements."
A severe drought refreshed Lu Shang's cognition one after another.
He didn't have time to think about it and quickly asked, "So what do the other merchants say about this second donation?"
"Of course, everyone is reluctant, but merchants have always been humble, so who can really object? Tang Town's account is really empty, and this donation is even greater than last time. We have no choice but to come to Brother Lu."
Lu Shang pondered for a long time, then looked up and said, "I'll go to Tang Town with you."
With the county governor in the city, the situation has eased a lot. On the contrary, the situation in Tang Town is unclear. Lu Shang is afraid that if it is delayed any further, Lu Logistics will be accused of something and end up in jail.
And he was not the only one returning to Tang Town this time.
Lu Shang said quickly, "Go find a room in the courtyard next door and stay there first. The rooms over there are all empty. We'll leave tomorrow. I'm going to go find Aning and Grandma now, so hurry up and pack your luggage."
Lu Qi was surprised: "Brother Lu, are you going to bring my sister-in-law and the others?"
"Yes." Lu Shang responded briefly without hesitation and walked out of the study quickly.
He went straight to see Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu when he went out. Because Grandma Lu was there, he was afraid that the old lady would be nervous, so he just said that they would go to Tang Town tomorrow and asked the old lady to pack up as soon as possible and set off at dawn tomorrow. As for the reason, he did not mention a word.
He waited until he and Jiang Wanning returned to their room before he repeated the situation in Tang Town.
Lu Shang was already very emotional when he heard Lu Qiyan say that just now. Now it was his turn to speak, and he was furious as soon as he finished speaking. He slammed his hand on the table and cursed: "You dog official!"
But across from him, Jiang Wanning looked angry, but not as shocked as he was when he first heard it.
She simply asked, "What are you going to do, my husband?"
Lu Shang shook his head honestly. "I don't know. I need to go over there first to find out. Lu Qi said the county magistrate gave us three days to come up with the silver. If we don't pay the silver within the deadline, I'm afraid he'll resort to lynching. There's no one in Tang Town who can take charge right now, so I have to go there myself."
"But I'm worried about leaving you and grandma at home alone, so I decided to take you with me. You and grandma should still live in Wuming Lane. We've lived there for several years, and we're familiar with the neighbors. It's safer there, and I can come back when I'm done with my work in the evening."
This was the best arrangement he could come up with in the short term, but as soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Wanning shook her head: "Not appropriate."
"?"
Jiang Wanning said, "Even if my husband went to Tang Town, what would happen? Could he refuse the county magistrate? Even if he paid a second time, how could he be sure there wouldn't be a third and a fourth time... My husband probably doesn't know that in every natural disaster, besides the people affected, the ones who suffer the most are the wealthy merchants without connections."
"What Aning means is..." Lu Shang looked confused.
Jiang Wanning lowered her eyes. "As far as I know, the last natural disaster in Dazhao was ten years ago. I was still young then, and the affected area was far away from the capital, so I didn't get to see the tragic scene. But I do remember—"
"That year, Dad was appointed Imperial Commissioner. Besides transporting disaster relief silver and grain, his more important task was to apprehend officials who had committed dereliction of duty. Dereliction of duty didn't just mean they concealed the disaster and murdered the people, but also forced merchants to donate and profit from the national crisis."
"Back then, over a hundred officials were removed from office due to the disaster. How do you know there aren't hundreds of towns and counties affected by this year's drought? And the corrupt official is not just the magistrate of Tangzhen County."
"I--" Lu Shang was speechless.
Fortunately, Jiang Wanning's mind was still clear. She said, "If you trust me, my husband, why don't you listen to me this time?"
"Aning, please speak."
"My dear husband, please go back to Tang Town by yourself. Grandma and I will stay in the capital... Don't worry, my dear husband. Just listen to me." Jiang Wanning soothed her and continued, "From what we've seen before, the governor of Songxi County is a rare and good official. Perhaps if we place our hopes on him, we can find a glimmer of hope."
"As soon as my husband leaves tomorrow, I will send my grandmother to the Feng family and ask Mr. Feng and Mrs. Feng to help take care of her. I will wait at home for news from my husband for half a month. If he returns safely after half a month, that would be the best. If he doesn't see any results after half a month in Tang Town, then I will go to the government office and knock on the drum to report the incident and wait for the county magistrate to make a decision."
Jiang Wanning curled her lips and said, "My husband, have you forgotten? The merchants in Tang Town cannot act rashly, but I have always been in the capital. As the wife of an oppressed man, I can ask you to clear your grievances."
Although Jiang Wanning failed to enter the officialdom, the Jiang family has been officials for generations. She knows more about the ins and outs of officialdom than Lu Shang, and she reacts much faster than him when encountering lawsuits.
The merchants in Tang Town did not dare to expose the evil deeds of the county magistrate, simply because they were afraid that the news would leak out accidentally. Then not only would they be unable to punish the county magistrate, but they would also put themselves in danger.
Jiang Wanning was far away from Tangzhen, but she had evidence of the crimes of the Tangzhen County Magistrate. She could easily persuade the county magistrate to hold back and then, after she was fully prepared, she could go straight to Huanglong and capture and eliminate all the corrupt officials in the entire Songxi County.
Lu Shang still hesitated: "But I heard that anyone who beats the drum to appeal for justice, regardless of whether they are innocent or not, will first be punished with twenty strokes of the cane..."
Jiang Wanning burst out laughing: "My husband, are you stupid? You are a scholar!"
"show……"
"Scholars can meet officials without bowing, and there are special cases. As the wife of a scholar, I can certainly be exempted from the punishment of beating the drum. Besides, if all else fails, there are merchants in the prefecture who can help me. For example, Mr. Feng was among the wealthy merchants who donated that day. If I ask Mr. Feng for help, perhaps I can meet the county magistrate directly?"
In just a short time like a stick of incense, Jiang Wanning had already thought of all the escape routes.
At this point, Lu Shang could no longer utter a word of rebuttal and could only express his agreement silently.
That night, Lu Shang insisted on staying by Jiang Wanning's side despite the hot weather.
Thinking that they were about to part again, Jiang Wanning acquiesced to his behavior.
Unexpectedly, just as she was about to doze off, she heard Lu Shang speak: "An Ning, you said... do merchants deserve to be inferior to others forever?"
Jiang Wanning opened her eyes in the darkness and heard his dull voice echoing in the bedroom.
As early as in his previous life, Lu Shang made his living as a businessman. In his new life, he never thought there was anything wrong with being a businessman.
People always say that merchants are profit-driven, calculating, heartless, and ungrateful. However, "Take the recent drought in Songxi County, for example. The wealthy merchants in the prefecture donated, if not millions of taels, at least two or three hundred thousand taels, and that's without any orders from the court."
"How is it that merchants, having contributed so much, still receive no praise and are still discriminated against? Take the Ding class at Lu Lin Academy, for example. Although I'm always skipping classes, I know that the new merchants recruited to the Ding class in the past two years are not only disliked by the teachers, but even children from ordinary families can look down on them and scold them..."
It was the first time that Lu Shang clearly realized that what Mr. Feng said about the humbleness and hardships of the merchants, which were unknown to outsiders, were never just whining, nor were they about not knowing how to appreciate their blessings. They were the real lessons learned through blood and tears of generations.
"Aning, I think—" Lu Shang paused, and after a long silence, he changed his words, "Aning, I have to study."
It's not to make Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu happy, nor is it to go with the flow.
But he thought that people at the bottom of society never had a chance to change. Only by climbing to a high position in this era could they possibly resolve their own predicament and even break the huge gap between classes.
Lu Shang said so much, but Jiang Wanning only replied at the end: "Okay."
That night, Lu Shang was unable to truly sleep. His consciousness was hazy and he only remembered holding the hand of his beloved in his palm. It was this warm and soft hand that pulled his soul back when it was about to leave.
Early the next morning, Lu Shang postponed his departure and instead sent Grandma Lu to the Feng family with Jiang Wanning.
The three members of the Feng family were all there. When they heard that Lu Shang was leaving again, they tried to persuade Jiang Wanning to stay with them, but Jiang Wanning still had her own things to do and politely declined.
For some reason, Grandma Lu said yesterday that we were going together, but today all three of us separated.
She hadn't been so frightened for a long time, but she was afraid of delaying her grandson and granddaughter-in-law's important business, so she didn't even dare to ask. She could only be supported by Feng He, her eyes always lingering on the two people opposite.
Jiang Wanning saw her fear and took advantage of Lu Shang talking to Master Feng to walk over to her side and said softly, "Don't worry, Grandma. My husband is going out and it's not convenient for me to follow him. I'm also worried that I can't take good care of you, so I asked you to stay at the Feng family for a few days."
"But don't be afraid. I'm still in the capital. I'll come to see you in a couple of days when everything is settled outside."
"And my husband also said that he won't be away for more than a month this time. You can just treat it as a month of relaxation. It just so happens that Madam Feng also likes to play with flowers and plants, so you can exchange experiences with her!"
That was true, but since the two people closest to her were not around, Grandma Lu was still afraid.
But she also knew that if she expressed her unwillingness, given Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning's temperament, they would rather cause more trouble than force her to stay in the Feng family.
As her thoughts returned, Grandma Lu quickly made a decision. She nodded slowly and gave a forced smile, "Okay, I'll listen to you... Wan Ning, don't worry. I'll stay at the Feng family, so you don't have to rush to see me. Besides, the young master is here, and I'm familiar with him, so I'm not afraid of strangers."
That's right. Apart from Dabao and other children, Feng He was the one who had studied with Jiang Wanning the longest. When they were in Wuming Alley, he came to the Lu family every few days, so naturally he became familiar with Grandma Lu.
After a few final greetings, Lu Shang hurried to Tang Town, and Jiang Wanning also returned home.
However, Lu Shang was afraid that thieves would break into the house again, so he picked out two people from Tang Town who were capable of taking charge and whom they could trust. Now, asking them to stay in the Lu family in the capital city would also protect Jiang Wanning's safety.
However, half a month passed and no news came from Tangzhen.
At first, Jiang Wanning just waited at home. Later, when the streets were quiet, she went to wait at the city gate. Sometimes the officers and soldiers at the porridge stall were too busy, so she went over to help and inquire about the situation outside the city and whether there were any carriages entering the city.
As the days passed, her mood became more and more restless. Three days had passed since the half-month deadline, and there was still no news about Tang Town. Jiang Wanning finally took the step of beating the drum to complain.
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