Chapter 247 Don't expect him to empathize with the poor
Nanjiang City is the center of Jiangnan. If you keep going along the Donglan River, you will reach the sea. The promotion team will continue along the sea and arrive at their next destination before the end of the year – Dongyue Prefecture, also known as Minzhou Prefecture.
Dongyue Prefecture comprised one prefecture, five states, and two counties, totaling eight administrative units of the same level, hence the name "Eight Min". It governed 42 counties, making it a vast territory. Although it bordered Jiangnan, its geography, climate, and customs were completely different.
The Dongyue people regarded the snake as a totem and an idol to be worshipped. "Min" is the name of the snake god of Dongyue and Nanyue, so the Dongyue people are also called Min people.
The people along the coast of Dongyue Prefecture mostly make a living by fishing. As long as the sea doesn't dry up, they will never go hungry. However, there are always bandits who come to cause trouble. But the people of Fujian are tough and have strong fighting power. They fight against the bandits all year round. Nine times out of ten, the bandits are either captured or wiped out at sea.
The saying that "nine out of ten Fujianese are fierce, and the tenth is even more fierce" originated from the mouths of Fujianese river bandits.
The promotion team had barely entered the territory of Dongyue when they were surrounded by a group of men wielding sticks and pitchforks. At first, everyone thought they were bandits, but after inquiring, they learned that there was a village nearby and these men were the villagers.
A middle-aged man with a goatee, who looked like a village head, rushed over and began apologizing before even seeing them: "Are you gentlemen from the promotion team? Please make way! They are not river bandits or local thieves, they are promotion officers sent by the imperial court to teach us how to grow rice! Ten days ago, I received a notice from the county magistrate that you would be entering through our village!"
The villagers made way for him, and the village head rushed forward. After looking him over, he rushed straight to Li Changyi: "This must be Scholar Zhao! What a dignified bearing!"
Who wouldn't be happy to be praised for their good manners?
Li Changyi raised the corner of his mouth, about to laugh and reply no, when a villager pointed at Zhao Yunjing and said, "Village head, your eyesight is bad, the one next to him is the one with real good manners!"
The village head, surnamed Li, did have poor eyesight. Only after being reminded by the villagers did he notice Zhao Yunjing, who was half-hidden by Li Changyi. He immediately felt embarrassed and said, "Lord Zhao, I'm so sorry! Please come in, gentlemen!"
The village is called a small fishing village with a population of three or four hundred. Although it is called a small fishing village, they do not rely solely on fishing for a living. They also have fields and land, but the land here is barren and cannot grow much grain, so they spend most of their time fishing at sea.
However, going to sea is risky. The weather at sea can change in an instant. If you are not careful, you can be swept away by the waves, or if you are unlucky, you can lose your life in a battle with pirates. This is also a common occurrence.
As the group entered the village, they observed the situation along the way. They noticed that there was very little greenery in the village, and although the women and children in the village looked intimidating, they were all sallow-faced and emaciated, clearly indicating that they were living a difficult life.
The village arranged for Zhao Yunjing and Zhou Mujiao to stay in their home, in the best room, while Zhao Yunjing and his wife moved to the woodshed. That evening's meal was also very lavish—a wide variety of dishes, clearly contributed by various families.
The locals are known for their fierce and tough nature, but that's only because they're forced to make a living. Who would want to be bald if they had hair? And the expectant look on the village head's face when he looked at them during the meal made the promoters feel even more uncomfortable.
Daliang is still poor. There are still many places where people can't afford to eat. In places they can't see, countless poor people are dying of hunger!
Before going to sleep that night, Zhao Yunjing was reading by the window when Zhou Mujiao came over after taking a shower. Her hair was still wet. When Zhao Yunjing saw this, he closed his book, let her sit on the stool, and took her hair dryer to dry her hair.
During the meal, Zhao Yunjing noticed that Zhou Mujiao had glanced at Li Zheng a few times. There were many people around, so he didn't ask. Now that they were alone in the room, he asked her.
"The village head's eyes must be cataracts. He's a very good person, but this eye disease has delayed his life."
“It’s not just the village head; I think most of the villagers have eye problems.” As he spoke, Zhao Yunjing accidentally pulled a few strands of her hair. He apologized gently and returned to the topic, “If you have a way to cure the village head’s eye disease, why not take a look at the others as well? If their eyes are not healthy, it’s a big no-no at sea.”
Indeed, from the conversation between the village head and the others, they heard several times that they had been tricked by the bandits' markings and fell into a trap, suffering heavy losses. At that time, Zhou Mujiao thought that they were probably not tricked, but rather that they could not see clearly.
She had a prescription for treating the eyes, but it was too slow. She preferred surgery, but the village head and the others might not be able to accept this method and dare not try it, so she could only prescribe medicine first.
At most, she'll use the cheat code during treatment. Anyway, she's doing a good thing, so using the cheat code is perfectly justified and justifiable.
"By the way, what are your thoughts on the farming methods in small fishing villages?" Zhou Mujiao asked.
Zhao Yunjing moved even more gently, squinted his eyes before saying, "I haven't fully understood the fishing village yet, and I don't have a complete idea for the time being. But I think the first step should be to go out to sea with them and see if we can make any improvements to our fishing methods."
Zhou Mujiao had a different opinion: "There is no problem with the fishing method. As long as there is water in the sea, you can definitely catch fish. The key is the water bandits. Water bandits often appear in this area. The government organizes forces to suppress the bandits every year. Each time the efforts are quite large, but they have not been effective. On the contrary, the water bandits have become more rampant. Logically speaking, this should not be the case. There is only one possibility: collusion between the government and the bandits."
Zhao Yunjing paused, and then there was a knock on the door: "Brother Zhao, the moon is beautiful tonight, perfect for drinking and talking about the martial world. Would you be interested?"
It was pitch black, without stars or moon, so where did this pleasant moonlight come from? Li Changyi's true intentions were not what they seemed.
Zhou Mujiao looked reluctant and was about to say she wanted to go to sleep when Zhao Yunjing patted her hand and went to open the door: "Your Highness."
Regardless of how impoverished the villagers are, it is undoubtedly a pipe dream to expect someone like Li Changyi, who comes from a good family, has never lacked food or clothing since childhood, and is now a prince, to empathize with the poor.
But he shouldn't have flaunted a bottle of liquor that could provide a year's worth of food for an eight-person family.
Zhao Yunjing lowered his gaze slightly: "I won't drink the wine. Your Highness, please speak plainly if you have something to say."
"It's nothing important, I just suddenly remembered that since I became the Prince of Anding, I haven't had a chance to drink and chat with you, Brother Zhao. Of the twenty classmates who came from Peach Blossom County together, only you, me, Xiao Ran, and I remain. Feng Wei, who was closest to me, went to the Northwest. I wonder if he's adaptable, or if he'll offend the local natives and end up being skinned alive and displayed at the city gate..."
Zhao Yunjing remained silent, though he also harbored the same concern. However, no bad news had come in yet, suggesting that Feng Wei's temperament had been tempered considerably during the westward journey.
Li Changyi, holding a wine jar, made as if to open it, but then caught a glimpse of a white robe in the room and stopped. He sighed, "To tell you the truth, I've been having nightmares these past few days, dreaming about the night we were attacked on the mountain path back to the academy. I feel uneasy, as if something bad is about to happen. Brother Zhao, take care."
Li Changyi came carrying a wine jar, and left carrying the same wine jar; in the darkness of night, his figure looked rather lonely.
Zhao Yunjing pondered his words three times but couldn't discern any particular meaning. He assumed that Zhao Yunjing had indeed had such a dream and that he had come to him tonight simply to confide in him about it.
But the next morning, bad news arrived...
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