Chapter 256 Cooperation
In fact, County Magistrate Yang had already sent an official document to the imperial court, but the grain requested for relief had probably not been received yet.
In recent years, the imperial court has also been in turmoil.
The Hu people in the north have invaded the border one after another. Now, most of Bohai County has fallen into the hands of rebels who are colluding with the Hu people.
News came out from Bohai County that bandits had rebelled in two cities in the south. Even the Nanzhao Kingdom, which had been quiet for decades, showed signs of rebellion.
Heavy rains have hit many inland locations, and several grain-producing areas have suffered flooding to varying degrees.
The situation in Zhongzhou County was not actually the most serious. It was just that Zhongzhou County had frequent floods all year round, which caused the people in Zhongzhou County to react the fastest and run away the most promptly.
Although Ping'an County was not large in area, it suffered much less disasters than other places. Naturally, it became the first choice for people fleeing famine from all over the country.
The imperial court had to exempt the disaster-stricken areas from taxes and grain, and also allocate grain to provide relief to the victims.
County Magistrate Yang's petition for relief grain must have been drowned out by the numerous petitions for help and assistance that were flying like snowflakes to the imperial court. It would take an unknown amount of time for the imperial court to approve it!
Wang planned to send a message to the Wang family as soon as she returned, asking her parents' home to send a batch of grain over.
But it will take some time to transport this batch of grain, so I'm afraid we can't rely on it for emergency relief.
She had her own dowry farm in the suburbs of Jixiang County, and also some land she bought later.
But firstly, the food production on the farm is limited, and it may not be enough to last for a few days.
Secondly, the food cannot all come from one’s own farm.
After all, she didn't want to be known as someone who bought people's hearts. Such a reputation would not be good for Magistrate Yang, or for the Wang and Yang families.
So, she had to arrange for merchants to donate food.
Alternatively, he could buy grain from a grain store and then take the account book to report to the court.
However, the women of the grain store in front of me were so unanimous in their words, and they didn't even take County Magistrate Yang and me seriously...
Wang was a little annoyed, but remembering what she had promised Yang Lang, she could only bear it and think of other ways.
She finished the banquet as usual, but afterwards, her expression remained indifferent, no longer as enthusiastic as before.
The women from several grain shops were all feeling nervous and on pins and needles.
After the banquet was finally over, they said goodbye one after another and hurried home to discuss advice with the host.
Xia Daohua stayed and did not leave.
She had food, and an inexhaustible supply of it, but she was not sure whether Wang was really trying to provide relief to the victims, or was trying to fish in troubled waters by using the name of relief to force merchants to make concessions and make a fortune for herself.
She would have to wait and see.
Wang saw that Xia Daohua stayed and didn't leave. She knew that she had something to say, but she didn't know whether it was to ask her to do something or something else. She was in a bad mood, but she still had the demeanor of a noble lady. Although she was impatient in her heart, she didn't show it on her face.
I only invited Xia Daohua to drink tea and chat for a while. After about half a quarter of an hour, I finally got down to business:
"Madam Xia, is there anything difficult for you? Do you need my help?"
Xia Daohua smiled and said:
"No, I just want to ask Madam, if we get the food, are there any rules for providing relief to the disaster victims?
Regarding the relief work for the disaster victims, are you confident that everything is ready and all you need is a favorable wind, or are you at a loss as to the beginning of the matter and have not even started yet? "
Upon hearing this, Wang's eyebrows relaxed immediately:
"This... What if everything is ready? What if everything is difficult at the beginning?"
Xia Daohua smiled and said:
"If everything is ready, I would naturally want to do my best to help my wife. If everything is difficult at the beginning, I would also like to help my wife and alleviate some of the troubles."
Wang and Xia Daohua smiled at each other.
As the saying goes, listen to the tone of the words. Wang guessed from Xia Daohua's tentative words that she had food, or that she had a way to buy food. The "Daohuaxiang" store sold candy and snacks, so it must have a way to sell food.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt confident. Wang smiled and said:
“We have done this kind of relief work in other places, and I think the procedures are similar.
What we lack now is only food and trustworthy manpower.
As for manpower, the slaves in our house are well-trained and can read and write, so one or two of them in each place would be enough.
So, the only thing we owe is food.”
The two had a very pleasant conversation, and afterwards, Wang sent her own carriage to take Xia Daohua back home.
Xia Daohua finally decided to trust Wang's sincerity in disaster relief.
Anyway, if Wang dared to lie to her, she would empty the county magistrate's house again.
In this matter, if you do it well, you won't make any profit, and if you do it badly, you won't lose anything.
She simply couldn't bear to see the refugees starving, but she had food in her hands but it was inconvenient for her to take it out.
He just borrowed the name of Wang, the wife of the county magistrate, and let her take the lead.
If Wang really wasn't worthy of her trust, it would be a simple matter for her to settle the score.
Of course, food cannot be taken directly from space.
There still has to be a transfer process.
Xia Daohua made up her mind and went to the Fuwei Escort Agency.
This was not the first time she had asked this escort agency to help her deliver messages or things. After dealing with them a few times, she knew that the charges were reasonable and they were reliable.
After ordering some carriages from the Fuwei Escort Agency, finding a team of escorts, paying a deposit, and giving a bunch of instructions, Xia Daohua got up and left, going to another escort agency.
After renting a warehouse on the dock, Xia Daohua changed two locks on the warehouse, stayed in for a while, and then left feeling satisfied.
That day, the escorts drove the carriage from Jixiang County, took a detour to Kyoto, returned from Kyoto, walked to the warehouse at the dock, and then delivered a message to Xia Daohua.
Xia Daohua took the county magistrate's wife, Mrs. Wang, and went to the warehouse to check on the grain.
After opening the lock of the warehouse, the trusted steward sent by Wang was stunned to see the warehouse filled with sacks of grain.
This Miss Xia's abilities are truly extraordinary!
I actually thought of buying food from Kyoto!
Most people only think of going to Kyoto to sell grain, but who would think of buying grain from Kyoto!
The most important thing is, I asked her to buy it!
The steward left a trusted person here to guard the place, and went to Wang to report happily, filled with shock.
After Wang learned about this, she also sighed:
"I knew it. This kid can run a store like this by himself, and no one has bothered him. She must have some connections in Beijing. It seems that she is just a front-stage figure. There must be someone behind the scenes who is very skilled at this!"
However, the person behind the scenes can find any agent he wants, so why would he have to cultivate a little girl like her who has no money, no power, and no family support?
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(End of this chapter)
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