Wu Deyong nodded, "That's no problem. I will arrange for the yamen runners to manage this place. I will make sure your village has enough water first."
Zhao Guoliang cupped his hands, "Thank you for your understanding, sir."
Wu Deyong gently waved his hand, "This is the water you worked so hard to bring down, so naturally you should use it first."
Wu Deyong looked at Zhang Hulan again and said, "Zhang Hulan, if you know of other edible things, could you teach the villagers in other villages to recognize them?"
"Isn't it possible that Pueraria root is found everywhere? Even if it is, it shouldn't be very abundant."
"A larger village has 1,000 to 2,000 people, and a smaller village has several hundred people. There is simply not enough to go around for a little bit of food."
"We don't know when the relief grain from the imperial court will arrive. Before the relief grain arrives, we have to find a way to solve the food problem ourselves."
"And then..."
Wu Deyong paused before continuing, "Even if the relief food arrives, it won't be too much. This year, the disaster-stricken areas are not limited to our Ding'an Prefecture. Several surrounding prefectures have also been affected. The disaster in some places is even more serious than Ding'an Prefecture. The court must first deal with the areas with the most disasters. This official estimates that each person can only receive a few kilograms of food at most."
Zhang Hulan said, "Sir, as the saying goes, live off the mountain. There are indeed a lot of things to eat in the mountains. I know some of them, but what I say may not be known to the villagers."
Wu Deyong said: "Well, I will send a yamen runner to you to go with you to each village to teach the villagers to identify which foods are edible."
"I will not let you work for nothing. I will give you one or two taels of silver per day. If you can find food that can fill the stomachs of the people and help them survive this period, I will give you another reward."
One tael of silver a day?
Zhao Guoliang wanted to say: Sir, do you think I can do it?
Zhang Hulan was also tempted. One tael of silver a day could buy a lot of food.
Zhang Hulan said, "Sir, you can go, but I have to say this first. Different things grow on each mountain.
For example, just because we have Pueraria root on this mountain doesn’t mean it’s available on other mountains. I can only try my best to find something edible, but I can’t guarantee that I will find it.”
"No problem." Wu Deyong said, "As long as you look for it carefully, whether you can find it or not, you will get one tael of silver a day."
Zhang Hulan thought for a moment, then said, "Sir, I have a suggestion. Would you mind listening to it?"
"you say."
Zhang Hulan said: "There are more than a hundred villages in the county. If I were to walk through all of them by myself, I wouldn't know how long it would take. It would be too slow.
I think we can find a few more people to go with me. As long as we walk up a few more mountains, they should know what is edible. Then we can spread them out, and the efficiency will be much higher. "
Wu Deyong nodded, "That's true. Then find more people. Find as many people as you think are suitable from your village. Don't let them work for nothing. Climbing the mountain is very tiring. Give each person... one hundred coins per day."
Wu Deyong stood up and said, "Pick ten people yourself. The bailiffs will come to find you tomorrow morning."
Wu Deyong walked towards the villagers digging kudzu roots and said, "I'll try digging a few too. I'll take what I dig away later. Is that okay with you guys?"
Zhao Guoliang hurriedly said, "No problem, no problem, you can take as much as you want."
Wu Deyong took the hoe from a villager, raised it high, and dug hard...
"Ouch..." Wu Deyong screamed and quickly let go of his hands. He kept shaking his hands and rubbed them on his legs a few times.
Tian Wu and Zhao Guoliang both stepped forward and asked with concern: "Sir, what's wrong with you?"
Wu Deyong shook his hands again and said, "I used too much force and my hands got shaken."
"It's okay, it's okay. I can do it."
Wu Deyong imitated the villagers, spit into his palms, rubbed his hands twice, and then swung the hoe to dig again.
Wu Deyong dug up the kudzu root with all his might before stopping. After just a few tries, he was already gasping for breath from exhaustion.
He was holding a few kudzu roots, with a smile on his face, looking very happy.
"I'll take this back to my wife. She will be very happy."
Tian Wu echoed from the side, "Yes, this was dug by the master himself. The lady will be very happy to know about this."
Zhang Hulan looked at Wu Deyong. Why did she feel that this fat county magistrate seemed a little afraid of his wife?
Wu Deyong walked around in the forest, rested for a while, and then went down the mountain. When he left, he told Zhao Guoliang to count the population of the village so that he could distribute relief food according to the actual population.
After Wu Deyong left, Zhang Hulan asked Zhao Guoliang, "Uncle Lizheng, who do you think would be suitable to go with me?"
Zhao Guoliang said: "The county magistrate asked you to choose someone, you decide."
Zhao Guoliang wanted to go very much. Not to mention replacing Zhang Hulan's one tael of silver a day, even a hundred coins a day would be good. Now brown rice in the city costs thirty or forty coins a bucket, and one day's work can buy about three buckets of brown rice.
It’s just that Wu Deyong asked Zhang Hulan to choose the person, so he didn’t dare to say it.
Zhang Hulan said, "Uncle Lizheng, you definitely can't leave. You still have to look after the village. Let Brother Zhao Cheng come with me."
A smile immediately appeared in Zhao Guoliang's eyes, "Okay!"
Zhang Hulan then added, "Shanzi is one of them."
Zhao Guoliang was surprised, "Shanzi is still a child, let him go?"
"Uncle Lizheng, he should be able to do this job. It's not something that requires heavy lifting. Children are better at climbing mountains than adults. If we don't help Shanzi's family, how will they survive?"
Zhao Guoliang sighed and nodded, "Then count him as one, but just remind him to be careful. Who else do you plan to ask to go?"
Zhang Hulan said, "You can choose the others."
"The county magistrate asked you to choose someone, so you should choose."
"Uncle Lizheng, you are more familiar with the villagers, so you can choose."
Seeing that Zhang Hulan really wanted him to choose someone, Zhao Guoliang did not refuse, "Then your eldest brother is one."
Zhang Hulan said hurriedly, "Forget about my brother."
Zhao Guoliang was surprised and asked, "You don't want your elder brother to go?"
"No. My father's legs are not in good condition, and my eldest sister-in-law is pregnant, so it's better for my eldest brother to stay at home."
"Besides, if I go to our house, I won't take up any more spots. Let others have them."
When Zhao Guoliang heard Zhang Hulan's words, he felt a little ashamed and felt that he was not as generous as a woman.
He was planning to arrange a few people who had good relationships with his family to go, but after hearing what Zhang Hulan said, he gave up the idea. In the end, Zhao Guoliang named eight people, all of whom were from poor families and were honest people. Liu Yongquan was also on the list.
Zhao Guoliang and Zhang Hulan didn't tell anyone about this now, and would talk to them alone after returning home in the evening.
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