With livestock at home, meat and eggs are readily available, and grain is readily available at the Shuiqing Market, so there's no need to worry. If all else fails, there are always potatoes, so feeding the whole family is not a problem.
Previously, he had saved several hundred taels of silver from selling rice wine, calligraphy brushes, and he shou wu. In addition, he received a wooden box of gold leaves from Bai Manshan and Li Huyu, which was enough to cover his expenses.
There are also medicinal herbs on the back mountain.
It's not a problem for our own family.
But the families in the village are in a different situation. If taxes are not reduced or exempted and there is no food for disaster relief, they may not be able to make a living.
"The imperial court will allocate relief grain, but it's unknown how much will actually reach the disaster victims." Ding Heli never spoke a word about the imperial court to anyone else, but he did speak to Fan Jin.
Fan Jin immediately understood.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Does Uncle Ding mean there will be corruption? But this is life-saving grain. If it isn't distributed, many people will starve to death and the population will decrease. Aren't you afraid the Emperor will find out?"
Moreover, starvation would cause unrest; wouldn't those officials be afraid of the emperor's wrath and losing their lives and fortunes?
Ding Heli shook his head and clicked his tongue.
"Officials protect each other, and the fat is distributed layer by layer, so that everyone's hands are greasy."
Leaving aside other places, just in Guangning Prefecture alone, how many officials and yamen runners are there? If they aren't fed enough, who will do the work?
But they also have family and friends, and their family and friends have their own families. Food should be given to their own family first.
Deceiving superiors and forming cliques for mutual support is what officials excel at. The emperor may be a good person, but that doesn't necessarily make him a good emperor.
The emperor was kind-hearted, but kindness is not the way to command an army, and righteousness is not the way to manage finances. The good-natured emperor was completely controlled by his subordinates. Even severe punishments could not deter those corrupt officials, let alone those who were lifted up high and then let down lightly.
The officials below were not afraid; no matter how much money and grain were allocated, it was useless.
It never reaches the actual victims.
Fan Jin looked at Uncle Ding and felt that his knowledge and ideas were not those of an ordinary herb gatherer in the mountains.
However, Uncle Ding trusted him, which is why he spoke his mind, so he shouldn't ask too many questions.
The two spoke in hushed tones, while the excited crowd gradually calmed down. People still held hope for the imperial court, but after regaining their composure, they dared not place too much hope in it.
After all, family members need to eat, and if disaster relief food cannot reach them, the whole family can't go hungry.
Years of experience have taught them that the imperial court cannot be relied upon, and that under no circumstances should they have to rely on themselves first!
"Old village chief, do you have any extra potatoes? Can I trade them with you some cornmeal? I'm planning to plant a few more acres in August or September."
"Could you exchange some for me? I want to plant a few more acres!"
"I'll change too!"
People in the distance heard this, pulled their legs out of the mud and ran towards the main road, also shouting that they wanted to change.
In an instant, everyone rushed towards the old village chief and his group on the main road.
They were filled with regret, regretting that they hadn't planted potatoes in the previous batch.
If we planted potatoes, we wouldn't have to worry about feeding the whole family right now.
However, if we miss the last season, we absolutely cannot delay the next season, otherwise the whole family will really have to eat tree bark!
The old village chief looked at the crowd scrambling forward and reached out to press them down, signaling for quiet.
On the other side, Sun Jinhua gestured to Fan Qian, and the two quietly left.
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