Chapter 308 The Resettlement of Refugees
After seeing off the village leaders, Cheng Wanwan's mood did not relax much.
Magistrate Shen has always loved his people like his own children, so it's impossible that he would just stand by and watch the villages in his jurisdiction lack medicine. That can only mean that the city is also lacking medicine.
If the plague in the city cannot be controlled, Dahe Village will never be free.
She was about to go talk to the village head about this.
The village head was the first to speak, saying, "I reckon the county town is also short of Scutellaria baicalensis. Aunt Dashan, how much do you have left?"
"I'm afraid there's not a single one left." There was a hint of complaint in Doctor Zheng's voice. "I've been using it sparingly every day. I'd cut a piece of Scutellaria baicalensis into ten pieces to use. Although the situation is better now, no one knows if there will be any more patients. It would have been better to keep some for myself. Why did I give it all away..."
"Cough cough!" Cheng Wanwan said dryly, "There's still a lot of Scutellaria baicalensis left in the warehouse, don't worry."
Doctor Zheng was stunned: "How come there's still so much left? We just gave out at least thirty-four catties, and there's still quite a bit left. Did Er Gou and the others buy this much before?"
The village head also stared with wide, bewildered eyes.
"Actually, it's like this. A merchant from the north came to order soap and brought Scutellaria baicalensis with him. He said he couldn't sell it and it was stuck with him. I thought Scutellaria baicalensis could clear heat and detoxify, and it could also help with pregnancy. He was selling it cheaply, so I bought it all. I was afraid of being laughed at for being a sucker, so I kept quiet." Cheng Wanwan quickly found an excuse. "Now that it can come in handy, it's really a blessing from heaven."
The village head exclaimed, "Grandma Dashan, your luck is truly amazing!"
Zheng Langzhong quickly said, "No matter how much you have left, Dahe Village must keep ten catties for themselves, just in case."
“Okay, then keep ten jin and send the rest to Ping’an County.” Cheng Wanwan made a quick decision. “It’s not a free gift; I have to earn back what I’ve invested.”
She bought it for 41 kilograms at the mall, so she must have made a profit no matter what.
After finally being quarantined for three days, Zhao Ergou was allowed to enter the village, only to be given a sacred responsibility—to deliver medicine to Ping'an County.
He drove along the road. In the past, there were many wandering refugees everywhere, but in the past few days, the refugees had all been driven to repair the river embankments and irrigation canals, and the road was very peaceful.
The carriage stopped at the city gate. As soon as Zhao Ergou jumped off, Shen Zheng came over: "What brings you here, kid? How's the situation in Dahe Village?"
Zhao Ergou could hardly bear to look at Shen Zheng's appearance.
I don't know how many days it's been since I last washed up. My silk clothes have long lost their original color, and my face mask has turned from white and blue to grayish-brown due to the dust. I have dark circles under my eyes, and I haven't even washed off my eye boogers.
Zhao Ergou coughed and said, "I've come to deliver Scutellaria baicalensis."
Shen Zheng looked on in disbelief. He lifted the carriage curtain, and sure enough, the two large sacks were full of Scutellaria baicalensis.
The city ran out of this medicinal herb the day before yesterday, so the three-times-a-day medication was changed to once a day, and some people with minor illnesses were not allowed to get the medicine.
His father could write ten letters a day to the prefect over this matter, but it was clear that the prefect could not transfer so many Scutellaria baicalensis in a short time.
"How can there be so many? Where did they come from?"
Zhao Ergou said with pride, "Of course it's all thanks to my mother. Half a month ago, she bought a whole cartload of Scutellaria baicalensis. My mother has always been very capable. If it weren't for her foresight..."
"Alright, I know your mother is ruthless!" Shen Zheng said irritably. "There are many patients in the city, so don't go in. Wait for me outside for a quarter of an hour."
He ordered two constables to each carry a bag of Scutellaria baicalensis into the city.
Magistrate Shen was indeed troubled by this medicine, so much so that he couldn't eat or sleep well, and he looked even more disheveled than Shen Zheng.
When he saw the two sacks of Scutellaria baicalensis being lifted up, he suddenly stood up, his face full of disbelief.
"Father, this is Scutellaria baicalensis sent by Aunt Zhao." Shen Zheng snorted. "I told you long ago that Aunt Zhao is very capable and that you should spend more time with her. But you are always engrossed in politics and can only see Aunt Zhao once every ten days or half a month. There's no way she would agree to marry you."
“Ping’an County is in dire straits right now, so let’s not talk about personal matters.” Magistrate Shen suppressed his excitement. “Ping’an County alone can’t use all of these Scutellaria baicalensis. Keep half of them and distribute the other half equally among the other counties.”
Shen Zheng disagreed somewhat: "Those county magistrates from Fenghuang County and Baiyun County always gave Father a hard time before, why should we help them?"
“I’m not helping them, I just can’t bear to watch the people die.” Magistrate Shen stroked his beard. “They used to look down on me, so now I’ll rip them off. Five hundred coins a catty isn’t too much, is it? Settle the bill for Madam Sui at that price. Clerk Yuan, go and get the money.”
After the merchants generously donated last time, the county government suddenly became wealthy, and Master Yuan didn't care about the money.
The two sacks contained over two hundred catties of Scutellaria baicalensis, and Zhao Ergou was paid over one hundred taels of silver.
After the Scutellaria baicalensis herb arrived, the city resumed administering medicine three times a day.
Two days later, the number of patients teetering on the brink of death in Ping'an County decreased significantly, and the number of patients with mild high fever and cough also gradually decreased. The overall situation in Ping'an County quickly stabilized, and the control of the city gates was also slightly relaxed.
At this point, the magistrates of several nearby counties were finally able to meet and discuss important matters.
Eight or nine people sat in the main hall of Ping'an County. Since the plague was temporarily under control, the main topic of discussion was the resettlement of displaced people.
Magistrate Bai sighed: "The Prefect said that the refugees should be resettled locally, but what exactly does that mean?"
Magistrate Zheng said, "Our county has a poor harvest, and the local farmers are short of food themselves. How can we afford to support so many refugees?"
Magistrate Shen frowned and said, "If these refugees are not settled in time, they will continue to migrate north. If they migrate to the capital, then things will be very bad. Your Excellency's actions are the will of the court and the Emperor. We cannot be negligent."
“We have nearly two hundred refugees in Baiyun County. It’s really too difficult to resettle so many people. We need food, houses, and land…” Magistrate Bai said tearfully. “Hekou County is wealthy and Ping’an County is stable. They are certainly capable of receiving refugees… I am willing to give up the achievements that originally belonged to Baiyun County to Brother Shen and Brother Fu.”
That year, Baiyun Town was at the bottom of the list and hadn't achieved any political achievements. Since that was the case, they might as well just give up and let things fall apart.
The other county magistrates echoed this sentiment, since they had no hope of being promoted in the next assessment and could only slack off.
After the merchants in Ping'an County were ripped off, they couldn't follow suit, because the merchants all claimed to be sick, giving them no chance at all...
"We are incompetent and unable to resettle the refugees. We beg Brother Shen and Brother Fu to lend a helping hand."
"Our county can only provide one meal a day. Whoever is willing to take in the refugees will receive all the remaining 300 catties of grain in the county."
“We still have two hundred jin left in our county’s granary, so we’ll take it all out…”
Magistrate Shen's eyes twitched.
If anyone is willing to help resettle the more than 300 refugees in Ping'an County, he is also willing to give away the remaining 10,000 catties of grain from the county government.
"I have important matters to attend to at the county government office, so I must take my leave now."
"I will deliver the food and the refugees before dark. Farewell."
"I'm leaving now too..."
All the county magistrates left, leaving only the deputy county magistrate of Hekou County and Magistrate Shen looking at each other in bewilderment.
As soon as Magistrate Fu stood up, Magistrate Shen grabbed his sleeve: "Old Fu, your Hekou County has a large wharf, with merchants coming and going. It's the richest county in the vicinity. You can't just abandon your post..."
“There are over three thousand refugees in this area, which is no small number,” Magistrate Fu said. “How about we each resettle half of them, given that our two counties each have their own?”
Magistrate Fu's performance has consistently ranked among the top in Huzhou every year, so he naturally wouldn't allow his career to be tarnished. He immediately began to discuss the matter in detail with Magistrate Shen.
Although refugees are a big problem, if they are handled properly, they will surely be promoted in the future.
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