118 Win-Win-Win
◎ "Even if it's the wheel, it should be our turn!"◎
She was carrying the pig liver and a bag and pushed open the gate.
Although he had been away for seven or eight days, the yard was cleaned very cleanly. There were fluffy little hens in the chicken coop in the corner. Ye Yunzhao then realized that he had treated this place as his home without knowing when.
She put the pig liver and bones into the wooden barrel, sank it into the well, and turned to go into the room.
Thinking that Xue Niang did not come in to clean without permission, there was some dust on the tables and chairs in the room. Ye Yunzhao opened the window to ventilate, and looking at the bed, fatigue surged in his heart, and he wished he could lie down and have a good sleep immediately.
But she was covered in dust, and if she didn't take a shower, she would not be able to lie down. Besides, Liu Mazi had gone to Xixiang to call for help, so he had no time.
Ye Yunzhao had no choice but to put down his bag, without even having time to wipe it. He sat on a wooden stool, bent over the table, and soon fell asleep.
This was the situation Liu Mazi saw when he came in to look for her. The darkness under her eyes was clearly visible, and he thought she must have suffered a lot for the people of Lingnan County. He looked distressed and retreated silently.
When Ye Yunzhao woke up, it was already dark. She stood up suddenly and walked out quickly, muttering: "Where is this Liu Yayi? Didn't they say to call someone over quickly..."
As she stepped out of the courtyard, she was greeted by a huge crowd of people. The village head, Aunt Wang, and others were all there. When they saw her come out, someone in the crowd's eyes lit up: "County Magistrate Ye, have you had a good rest?"
She glanced around and landed on Liu Mazi. She walked closer and lowered her voice and asked, "When did they come?"
Liu Mazi answered honestly, "Three quarters past three in the afternoon."
Ye Yunzhao's eyes went dark. It was already 2:45 PM. Her face was cold, and her tone was filled with blame that could not be ignored: "Why didn't you call me? You made them wait for an hour!"
"I……"
"County Magistrate Ye, please don't be angry with him." Aunt Wang immediately spoke up. "We just found out you fell asleep from exhaustion. It was all of us who persuaded him not to wake you. You've traveled through mountains and rivers for eight or nine days for us. It's really hard work. Now, waiting for us for an hour is nothing, don't you think?"
“That’s right…”
"It wasn't Liu the yamen runner who made the decision on his own..."
They all chimed in, and Ye Yunzhao's expression shifted slightly as he continued to warn him, "I was wrong about you this time, but you can't do this again next time."
Then she turned around and took a few steps towards the crowd. Seeing the anticipation on everyone's faces, she said in a deep voice, "While I'm away for the time being, have you smoked and dried the braided mushrooms in each household?"
At this point, Aunt Wang immediately stood up and pulled out a bunch of dried baili mushrooms from a wooden basket. "County Magistrate Ye, do you think this is okay? I've visited every household that grows baili mushrooms, and most of the smoked and roasted ones are pretty much the same as this."
Ye Yunzhao's eyes lit up. Seeing is believing. She carefully examined it, pinched it, and smelled it. Perhaps because of the heavy rain for several days, the skewers had a more smoky and roasted flavor than the ones she had made before. She praised, "Not bad, this is already up to standard. Aunt Wang, thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Aunt Wang had never heard anyone say such a thing before. Her face flushed and she waved her hands repeatedly: "It's not hard, not hard."
Someone in the audience couldn't wait any longer: "County Magistrate Ye, can these qualified dried woven mushrooms be sold?"
Ye Yunzhao knew they were anxious, so he didn't keep them in suspense and quickly said, "Yes, after deducting the expenses that cannot be saved, the total cost for everyone is about one penny for two dried mushrooms."
She had been planning this matter in her mind all the way, and after much deliberation she decided on this amount, thinking that no one would object.
As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd immediately became noisy:
"What did County Magistrate Ye say? Two sticks for one cent! Then all my family's weaving mushrooms... count for it... Oh my God! Oh my God!"
"Look at what I said a few days ago. We should be happy to have such a good county magistrate. You didn't believe me at first..."
"Oh my god, my wife insisted on planting it, but I disagreed. Luckily I couldn't persuade her, otherwise there would be no such good thing!"
…
But there was only one person who was different from the others who were overjoyed. He sat in a corner with a sad face, watching others getting more and more excited as they talked. He wanted to drive them all away. This person was the Dongxiang Village Chief.
While everyone was whispering, he quickly stood up, stepped forward, and said with red eyes: "County Magistrate Ye, you can't be partial to one and discriminate against the other. Isn't Dongxiang part of Lingnan County? Why are you treating them..."
The Dongxiang village chief became increasingly upset as he spoke, almost ready to burst into tears. Just as Ye Yunzhao was about to speak, he added, "County Magistrate Ye, let the Dongxiang people also grow the weaving mushrooms. Two can be sold for a penny. It's no different from picking up money."
Seeing that he had finally finished speaking, Ye Yunzhao found an opportunity to comfort him: "Don't worry, don't worry. As for Dongxiang, I know what's going on. After they leave, please stay for a while. I have something important to discuss with you."
Upon hearing this, the sad expression on his face immediately changed, the corners of his mouth couldn't stop rising, he nodded hurriedly, and sat back to his original seat quite obediently.
"Alright, alright." Ye Yunzhao stood in front of the crowd, his hands pressed down, and raised his voice, "I know everyone is happy, and I'm happy too. Do you want to make this money?"
"think!"
"Of course I want to make money!"
She nodded slightly and raised her voice again: "If you want to make this money, you have to listen to me..."
Before he could finish his words, there were "OK" sounds one after another from the audience.
Ye Yunzhao deliberately put on a serious expression and tried to deceive people in various ways: "You must remember that our woven mushrooms are a valuable commodity that can be sold in the capital. What kind of place is the capital? Merchants from all over the country gather here, not to mention the people of Da Qi, even those curly-haired, yellow-eyed Hu people are here!"
"Wow——" everyone exclaimed.
She continued, "If our braided mushrooms sell well in the capital, guess what the result will be?"
"What's the result?" everyone asked hurriedly.
"Of course, more merchants will come to buy. Then there's no need to worry about not being able to sell. I'm just afraid that what you've grown won't be enough to sell!"
"Wow——" everyone exclaimed.
"So..." Ye Yunzhao paused, "Our woven mushrooms are the face of Lingnan County, and we have strict requirements for their size and quality."
Just now, some people had evil thoughts and wanted to harvest all the immature baize mushrooms in their mushroom shed to make a lot of money. But after listening to Ye Yunzhao's analysis, all the bad thoughts disappeared.
"The woven mushrooms must be two to two and a half inches in size. No smaller, no larger." If the woven mushrooms are too small, the quality will be poor. If they are too large, they will be old and the taste will be bad. In order to ensure that this business can continue for a long time, Ye Yunzhao must set strict requirements from the beginning. "Twenty woven mushrooms constitute one portion..."
She paused, her mind racing. It would be best if she could spread the word about Lingnan County's woven mushrooms... After a moment's thought, a good idea came to her mind: "Wrap each portion of woven mushrooms in bamboo leaves and send them to the county government office. Only those that pass the random inspection will be paid."
This operation sounds really troublesome, but no one is unwilling to do it. The bamboo leaves are everywhere in the mountains, and everyone has dried a lot of them to use for wrapping things. Besides, this is not as troublesome as farming, and it is not too tiring. You can make a lot of money. Who would be stupid enough to give up such a good thing?
Someone asked, "County Magistrate Ye, what is a random inspection?"
"Yes, and how should it be packed? Are there any requirements?"
Everyone was talking, and Ye Yunzhao was getting a headache from all the noise. She signaled for everyone to be quiet and changed her mind. "How about this, to make it easier for everyone, when the time comes, you can select the mushrooms to weave, and pair every twenty with two pieces of bamboo leaves. You don't need to wrap them, just bring them directly to the county government office."
She said it was for everyone's convenience, but she had other thoughts in mind. She suddenly remembered that there were still dozens of extremely poor families in the East and West Townships. Why not let them come to the county government to weave mushrooms? First, it would help them find a job to make money, and second, it would prevent growers from stealing and selling inferior products as good ones, and random inspections would not guarantee they would be caught.
This way, it's a win-win-win situation for all parties.
Everyone was even more pleased with this new statement and responded one after another.
"Go back tonight and carefully select the weaving mushrooms. Tomorrow morning—" Ye Yunzhao said with a smile, "I'll calculate the payment for everyone!"
Aunt Wang was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She followed the group home. When she arrived at the butcher's shop, she stopped, cut off three taels of pork belly, and went home happily.
Seeing that most of the people from Xixiang had left, Dongxiang Lizheng hurried forward, gave Ye Yunzhao a thumbs-up, and said flatteringly, "County Magistrate Ye is truly amazing, a true heroine. I wonder if there are any other ways for you to make money? I can guarantee it! Dongxiang will absolutely obey your arrangements!"
"I told you you're a promising talent!" Ye Yunzhao patted his shoulder appreciatively, thinking in his heart, "Right now, I really have something important for you to do, but..."
She changed the subject: "It's hard! It's tiring! I don't know if you're willing. Of course, if you're not willing, I'll look for another one..."
"Of course I am!" Dongxiang Lizheng was delighted and said quickly, "I will naturally follow your lead and will not be afraid of hardship or fatigue. County Magistrate, please rest assured and leave it to me!"
"Very good, very good seedlings," she said. "There are many rivers in Dongxiang. There have been heavy rains in the past few days. I'm afraid the embankments have been damaged. Before the rainy season arrives, find a few strong men tomorrow to carefully inspect all the rivers. If there are any gaps, fill them in immediately. When you're done, come to the county government office and let me know."
Dongxiang Lizheng nodded like a chick pecking at rice, his eyes full of expectation: "County Magistrate Ye, if there is anything else important to tell you, just arrange it."
"there is none left."
"No...what!?" He was stunned, his face full of disbelief, confirming each word, "Nothing else? Just this?!!"
Ye Yunzhao nodded: "It's just this matter right now, thank you for your hard work."
After saying that, she slipped away.
He had waited and expected for so long, and had been jealous of those farmers for so long, so how could he be willing to let her go?
He took a big step forward and stretched out his arms to block it. This action was a bit abrupt, but he didn't care about it and said rather aggrievedly:
"County Magistrate Ye, I beg you to find a way for the people of Dongxiang to make money. When you first arrived in Lingnan County, you went to solve the difficulties of Xixiang. It's been seven months now. If it's your turn, it's time for us to get our turn!"
As he spoke, he felt aggrieved, Dongxiang aggrieved, and naturally lost his previous fawning and flattering attitude. His tone was filled with three or four parts of sadness and six or seven parts of complaints:
"You can't just ignore us just because we live better than Xixiang!"
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