"Um?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Pingkang narrowed his eyes slightly. "Could it be a villager?"
"I don't know, we need to investigate." The constable shook his head.
"Well, we're not government officials, so it's not appropriate for us to investigate this."
Liu Pingkang remained silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Never mind, since it's Doctor Yun who has her by her side, there shouldn't be any problems."
“Indeed, this is not our business.” The constable thought about it and gave up.
"Sir, the county magistrate has arrived and requests your presence," a courier said as he ran over.
"Oh, okay, my brother-in-law must have brought the grain." Upon hearing this, Liu Pingkang immediately ran over excitedly.
The magistrate had the grain put in, and from a distance of five meters, he said, "This is enough for half a month. Let me know when you've finished it."
"Wait a minute, brother-in-law, how can this be a two-week supply?"
Upon seeing this, Liu Pingkang immediately protested, "Your amount is at most two hundred jin (100 kg), which is hardly enough to feed two or three hundred people for half a month. It's more like enough for one day."
However, the magistrate coldly replied, "What are you thinking? This is for your post station. We, the government, cannot interfere with the villagers' affairs."
“What do you mean you can’t manage it? You’re not taking care of the food, and you’re not letting people out either. Are you going to let them starve to death?” Liu Pingkang argued vehemently.
“They can buy grain with money if they want it. The government can’t give them grain for free. If this sets a precedent, other villages will come asking for grain, and we won’t be able to afford it.”
The magistrate said solemnly, "The government is out of food now. We can only wait for the imperial court to provide disaster relief. Otherwise, we can only leave it to fate."
“But brother-in-law, if they weren’t trapped here, they could have escaped to other places instead of waiting to die like this!” Liu Pingkang still felt unconvinced.
"You should know that if it weren't for your pleading, they would all be dead!" the magistrate said coldly.
Having said that, it was clear there was no room for negotiation, so Liu Pingkang could only slump his shoulders and say sullenly, "I understand."
"Good that you understand. By the way, how's the smallpox vaccination going?" the magistrate asked.
"It's quite simple. The whole village has planted them, and apart from the ones that have already developed the disease, there haven't been any problems so far."
Liu Pingkang was in a bad mood because of the grain issue, and he answered the questions reluctantly.
Knowing his personality, the magistrate didn't take it to heart, but simply said, "Your sister is very worried about you. Please take good care of yourself and tell me immediately if anything happens."
"Okay, I understand."
Hearing these words of concern, Liu Pingkang's mood immediately improved, realizing that the county magistrate also had his difficulties.
Thinking of the imprisoned female official, Ms. Feng, one knows that someone was putting pressure on her from behind. It is truly remarkable that the county magistrate was able to resolutely protect the villagers.
"By the way, has that Lady Feng confessed yet?" the magistrate asked.
Liu Pingkang shook his head. "No, they're keeping their mouths shut. I suspect their families have all been detained."
"The person behind this is no ordinary individual; he's a nobleman from the palace. Be careful in your actions and don't cause me any trouble," the magistrate warned again.
"A noble lady from the palace!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Pingkang was first taken aback, then narrowed his eyes knowingly and said, "I know what to do, brother-in-law, don't worry."
After the two finished speaking, Liu Pingkang took the grain and returned to the post station.
Meanwhile, a sumptuous meal was sent to Lady Feng, but the bowls and chopsticks used were those of smallpox patients.
Ji Minxiu and Yun Zhourong were unaware that his identity had almost attracted attention. At this moment, they were cooking breakfast together outside the dormitory with Yun Zhourong.
Then, you see villagers carrying rice porridge that's almost watery, about to go into the room.
"Is this all you're eating? Hasn't the government sent any grain?" Ji Minxiu frowned.
"How could that be? The government only provided disaster relief once before we got sick, and then they stopped caring. They certainly won't care now."
After saying this, the villager looked sorrowful. "I feel that even if we survive this plague, we'll probably starve to death."
After saying that, he turned to leave.
"etc."
Seeing this, Yun Zhourong called the people out and handed them some rice, cured meat and dried vegetables. "The patient needs to eat well to recover quickly. Feed them the rice soup first, and we'll cook these for them later as a supplement."
"Thank you very much, Doctor Yun!"
Upon seeing those items, several villagers' family members' eyes reddened, and they knelt down and kowtowed to Yun Zhourong.
Their family was really on the verge of starvation; this was a lifesaver.
"Alright, hurry up and feed the patient."
Yun Zhourong helped the person up, and after the person thanked her repeatedly and left, she looked at Ji Minxiu and asked, "Do you think the government will send grain over?"
I don't think so.
Ji Minxiu lowered his eyes and calmly analyzed, "This village was originally going to be wiped out. Allowing them to stay is already an act of mercy. If we send more food, what if the disease can't be cured in the end? Wouldn't that be a waste?"
"It seems we can only rely on ourselves. Could Lady Snow Demon have bought that much grain?" Yun Zhourong asked.
“Tens of thousands of people would be a bit difficult, but two or three hundred people would be quite easy,” Ji Minxiu assured him. “Don’t worry about the food, I have enough.”
"Okay, I'm relieved to hear that." Yun Zhourong finally showed a relaxed smile.
After finishing their meal, in order to verify their guesses, Yun Zhourong and Ji Minxiu went to find Liu Pingkang to inquire about the grain.
"The grain can only be distributed among the people at the post station. Of course, we can also share Yun Yi Nu's share, but that's all we have," Liu Pingkang said apologetically.
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