Compared to the chaos in Wuzhou.
Zhou Jiaojiao and the others have already entered Tan County.
The appearance of a team of three or four hundred people in Tan County still attracted the attention of some people.
Zhou Jiaojiao and Chu San walked in the team and saw that there were almost no refugees on both sides of the road. There were houses collapsed by the snow, but they only saw people clearing the snow next to the houses and dragging out the belongings in the houses, perhaps they could be reused.
When you see the yamen runners appear.
Zhou Jiaojiao looked over subconsciously and found that these yamen runners did not drive away the affected people, but were holding a booklet in their hands and recording something.
Zhou Jiaojiao took Chu San's hand and motioned him to go over and take a look with Baoer in his arms.
Chu San naturally risked his life to accompany his wife.
When Zhou Jiaojiao and the other two walked over, they happened to hear the yamen runner questioning an old man.
"Old man, how much loss did you suffer in this disaster? Is your house big enough for your family to rest together? And how long can you survive with the food?" The yamen runner asked a lot of questions.
The old man was very cooperative and answered every question: "My house is relatively good this time. Only the roof of a side room collapsed. But now as long as I remember to sweep the snow every day, there will be no big problem. As for food, if I save it a little, it will be enough to eat for three months."
"Well, it's like this. The county magistrate said that if you run out of food, you will go to the orphanage. But once you go in, you have to obey the instructions and live there. This is to prevent people from cheating you out of food. The county doesn't have much food in stock, so you have to be frugal. I hope you can understand."
"Lord Su must have his reasons for doing this. How can I not cooperate? Let the county magistrate rest more and don't get tired. We still need him to preside over the matter."
"Okay, I'll tell the adults."
The two of them went back and forth. After the yamen runner finished questioning the old man, he immediately went to the next house to inquire about the situation, asking every detail, obviously trying to understand the disaster situation.
Zhou Jiaojiao was a little surprised. After exchanging a glance with Chu San, they walked up to the old man and asked, "Old man, I see you seem to be very optimistic about Mr. Su from the county?"
"You're from out of town, right? How can you come here at this hour? Are you fleeing for your life?"
"You can go to the area next to the government office. There are people there who specialize in helping refugees from other places." The old man recommended.
Zhou Jiaojiao thought to herself, it seems that the county magistrate of Tan County is really a good official, otherwise why would the people in the county support him so much that he even has a charity house and a place to provide relief to refugees.
She and Chu San asked around in the county town and visited the refugee relief center. They found that although the water was just porridge, it was at least warm and there were houses to live in. Although they were a bit shabby, having a shelter at this time could save a life. Compared with Wuzhou, it was two extremes.
The two quickly returned to the inn.
Li Hezhen and his group were sitting at the dining table on the first floor eating. They cooked their own food in the inn's kitchen.
"Third brother, Jiaojiao, come over and have something to eat." Mother Chu pulled Zhou Jiaojiao to sit down at the dining table.
Several bowls of hot porridge and fish soup specially made for Zhou Jiaojiao had already been prepared on the table.
Zhou Jiaojiao felt a little warm, thanked Chu's mother, quickly finished her lunch, and then walked to where Li Hezhen was next door and said, "Brother Li, my husband and I took a look around and found that County Magistrate Su is indeed a good official."
The reason why the decision was made to put grain in Tan County to help refugees was because of this person recommended by Li Hezhen. He said that County Magistrate Su was also a second-class Jinshi with great literary talent. However, after entering the officialdom, he offended people and was demoted several times. Now he is fifty years old and is serving as the county magistrate in Tan County. He is still down and out, but he has a heart that loves the people.
Zhou Jiaojiao had maintained a neutral attitude before, hoping that County Magistrate Su would really do as he said to Li Hezhen, which would save her a lot of trouble. Now that it has come true, she felt a little relieved.
That afternoon, Li Hezhen and Chu San went to visit County Magistrate Su.
Zhou Jiaojiao did not go. She stayed at home with Baoer, waiting for the two to come back with news.
But she didn't have to wait long.
When Chu San came back with Li Hezhen, they were followed by an old man in his fifties and a group of yamen runners.
"Madam." Chu San waved at her.
Zhou Jiaojiao hurriedly handed Baoer to Chu's mother and stood up and walked over.
Chu San introduced her: "Madam, this is Lord Su, the Magistrate of Su County."
"Greetings, Lord Su." Zhou Jiaojiao took the initiative to greet.
Lord Su didn't pay attention to these details. He waved his hand and asked, "But you said there's some grain that can be handed over to the government as long as it's used to provide disaster relief to refugees?"
Seeing his impatience, Zhou Jiaojiao knew he wasn't the type to care about the rules between men and women, so she took the initiative to ask, "Master Su, is there no food left in the county government office?"
"What do you mean?" Although County Magistrate Su did not say it explicitly, his embarrassment could be seen from his expression, especially for a county magistrate who was holding an official position, but the clothes he wore were so old.
Zhou Jiaojiao said, "The grain we obtained is mainly used to provide disaster relief to the people of Wuzhou. I hope that after you get the grain, you can give it to the people of Wuzhou first, and then to the people of Yuzhou."
It's not discrimination, but these grains were originally taxes paid by the people of Wuzhou. If the governor of Wuzhou were not bad, no one in the entire Wuzhou would be able to resist him.
They wouldn't bring food so far to provide disaster relief.
"Why?"
"The food comes from Wuzhou," said Zhou Jiaojiao.
Magistrate Su looked at her twice more, then turned to confirm with Li Hezhen. Finally, seeing that it was really the case, he nodded and agreed, and took the initiative to write a letter of guarantee with his private seal on it.
Zhou Jiaojiao and Chu San handed the grain to County Magistrate Su with confidence.
However, after handing it over to County Magistrate Su, he still reminded him to be careful of the movements in Wuzhou.
"These grains..." County Magistrate Su was delighted after seeing the grains. "That's great! I'll arrange for people to transport the grains to the granary and keep them there. Now the refugees can be resettled..."
"Everyone, you shouldn't be in a hurry to leave, right?" While County Magistrate Su was busy arranging disaster relief and appeasing refugees and receiving refugees from Wuzhou, he took the time to find Li Hezhen and Chu San.
Li Hezhen shook his head and said, "Sorry, Magistrate Su, we have to leave and go to Youzhou."
"Originally, I wanted to keep you here to help manage the affairs of the disaster victims." Although County Magistrate Su was a little disappointed when he heard this, he did not force them. He directly issued their travel passes and arranged for yamen runners to send them off.
Chu San refused. "There's no need for County Magistrate Su to arrange for anyone. I'm afraid the county is short of manpower. You can keep it for yourself."
Li Hezhen meant the same thing.
County Magistrate Su was indeed very busy, so he didn't say anything polite when he heard this and directly arranged for someone to send them away.
Zhou Jiaojiao and her group continued to head north. They had to pass through the capital of Yuzhou first before they could leave Yuzhou and enter the territory of the Thirteen Prefectures of Youyun.
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