With the Lunar New Year just around the corner and several snowfalls, even more villages are coming to the county to borrow grain.
They even dragged in the elderly former village chiefs as lobbyists; these village chiefs were usually among the most influential figures in the village. Now, they were crying their eyes out in front of the county magistrate.
Despite the county's warning, most people were still unprepared. The weather was terrible; they couldn't find anything to eat even on the mountain. They heard that wild animals in search of food had come down from the mountain and attacked farmhouses, nearly injuring people!
This winter has been exceptionally difficult.
The county magistrate had grain reserves; he had many people to support, including government-run tofu workshops, government-run brick kilns, and several villages that made cotton-padded clothes. The county's snow-clearing teams were also provided with meals. Although they ate coarse grains, the grain was distributed very quickly each day.
So many people came to borrow grain that the county magistrate was in a difficult position. He said, "Borrow one thousand catties of grain from each village."
The village chiefs of several villages were all in tears at this moment. Although a thousand catties of grain sounds like a lot, each village has at least a hundred households and at most two hundred households. If each household only gets ten or eight catties, what can that possibly do?
The New Year is just around the corner, and next year will be spring. This year's snow will surely bring a bumper harvest next year, but every household is short of rice to cook, and they are afraid that they will not live to see the harvest next year.
Seeing them crying, Constable Zhu said, "What are you crying about? The county magistrate has already given us a special favor. The county is also short of grain; this is all saved from our own mouths!"
Officer Zhu is sending people out to check outposts every day, and he's heard that more people are coming this way. The arrival of those disaster victims will keep him busy for a while. Since the snowstorm started, he hasn't had a few days off; he's lost all patience.
Several village chiefs said, "We know the county is facing difficulties!" They forced back their tears.
Officer Zhu then left, leaving only a few village chiefs inside who were still discussing solutions.
"Why don't we buy some grain?" No matter how important money is, it's not as important as life. They brought money with them before they came.
The other village chiefs frowned and said, "Are you crazy? Coarse grains in the county are twenty copper coins a pound. And each person can only buy ten pounds." They had heard that supplies were often out of stock, controlled by the county magistrate, and those merchants were practically selling them for fifty copper coins a pound!
There aren't many ways to make money in the village, unlike in the county where conditions are better. In the countryside, many people don't even earn a tael of silver a year.
This is a difficult matter no matter how you look at it. The county magistrate lent them a thousand catties, so we can only go back and deal with it for now.
We'll talk about the future later.
"Why don't we ask the deputy constable? The old mayor said he's a promising young man."
Upon hearing this from the village chiefs, everyone's eyes lit up: "That's right!"
Most of the village chiefs had received favors from the former town chief.
The old town mayor has helped many young people over the years, but very few have actually received the title of "young and promising" from him.
Having heard that he also came from the countryside, he could better understand the hardships of rural life. So he went to find He Zifeng.
The constables said, "Alright, I'll look for it for you." He Zifeng was a restless man; he was usually out checking things out. Lately, he'd been frequenting the clinic. He'd heard they were running low on medicinal herbs, and since he had some connections with the escort agency, he might be able to find a solution.
Sure enough, when the young yamen runner went to look for him, He Zifeng was helping to grind medicine.
Upon seeing this, the young constable quickly took over He Zifeng's task, saying, "Deputy Constable, what are you doing here?"
He Zifeng said, "We don't even have enough frostbite ointment to make here." The doctors are seeing patients, and the young apprentices are caring for them while also preparing the medicine. The young apprentices are overwhelmed. He Zifeng noticed that the young apprentices were only slightly older than his own son. Feeling sorry for their hard work, he helped out for a while. Having been used to doing manual labor in the countryside, he did it efficiently.
With He Zifeng's help, the task of pounding herbs became half as easy. He didn't get up until the yamen runner came to find him.
The junior constable then recounted the story of the village chiefs crying and pleading for him, and He Zifeng said, "Understood." He then told the constable to leave first. He returned to his home in the courtyard, went down to the cellar, and checked how much grain was left. They had been using grain continuously during this period. The grain that had flowed out of the soup kitchen was being used!
He still had 20,000 jin of surplus grain.
Food can spoil, so it's not true that the more you hoard, the better.
If not stored properly, grain will become infested with insects and mold. Over time, even the best-preserved grain will develop a musty smell.
However, He Zifeng had only collected the best quality grains, and such high-quality grains would sell out in a day.
He Zifeng left the cellar and then returned to the county.
As soon as he arrived, the village chiefs approached him, pleading with him to come up with a solution.
"We really can't survive without food."
Please.
After he finished speaking, an elderly man was about to kneel down, but He Zifeng quickly grabbed him and stopped him from kneeling down, otherwise he would have his lifespan shortened.
He Zifeng asked, "How much grain do you still need?"
There were people from five villages present, and they wanted to ask for 10,000 jin (5,000 kg). However, they were afraid of being accused of overcharging. It would be terrible if they were perceived as greedy!
They looked at each other and tentatively said, "It would be great if we could have another two thousand catties." That was the minimum.
He Zifeng asked, "Can you accept buying grain?"
Everyone knows how scarce food is right now. Even selling it can't meet the demand; who would give it to him for free?
One of the village chiefs said, "We're willing, it's not like we didn't take the money! Those merchants wouldn't sell even if they had the money."
A bystander said, "But we should still try to make it as cheap as possible." Most villagers couldn't afford the exorbitant price of 20 coins per pound for grain.
He Zifeng said, "I'm going to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone else. If word gets out, I'll settle accounts with you all one by one!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was still wondering what he was going to say, but then a sudden inspiration struck them: "Don't worry, we're the most discreet."
"I guarantee not a single word will be uttered."
"right!"
He Zifeng said, "I have a friend who has grain that costs five coins a pound. If you are willing, I can sell you up to three thousand pounds each. Come back in ten days to collect the grain." He Zifeng calculated that fifteen thousand pounds should be enough.
This is life-saving grain. He kept some in advance to prevent it from being bought up by grain dealers, and it was safer to keep it with him. Now it can be used.
He Zifeng did not seek fame or fortune, but only spoke of his friends.
Many of these former village chiefs were of He Zifeng's grandfather's generation. Coming all the way to this distant county town in this freezing weather, they must have had no other choice.
When everyone heard that it cost five coins a pound, their breathing became heavy.
The price is no longer available. He said, "If it's five copper coins, do you have any more? Our village can afford ten thousand catties."
"Yes, take as much as you want!" But it's not that simple; they said three thousand catties per person and it was all gone.
He Zifeng said, "Alright, you only want two thousand catties, it's already good enough that you've given us an extra thousand catties."
Thank you.
"You are a great benefactor to our village."
"That's great." With food, we can get through this winter.
Author's Note: Dear readers, there's only one chapter left. To make up for it, I'll be giving away 100 red envelopes in the comments section of this chapter. Double chapters tomorrow!
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