Chapter 149 Exchanging grain, impatiently...
Everyone looked rather grim.
Just as Fengxian was about to steadily advance to a new level, at this crucial moment, someone from a neighboring county inexplicably brought an epidemic over. Anyone would be unhappy in that situation.
Unlike the others whose faces were so gloomy they could drip water, Zhang Ting remained calm. She asked Liu Fang in detail about the person's physical characteristics and clothing. After listening to the other party's clear description, she breathed a sigh of relief.
He spoke up to reassure the crowd, "An epidemic has broken out in Li County, but not all the people have been infected. Lai Fengxian is probably not one of them."
"The most urgent task is to find that person and carefully question her about her purpose in coming here."
County Lieutenant Zheng Mengchang immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "This humble official will lead the sisters to find that person and bring him before you, sir."
"Okay, go ahead."
With this incident today, it's uncertain whether the housewarming banquet can proceed. The county magistrate and the county registrar followed Zhang Ting to the county government office to prepare for the trial of this matter later.
Zheng Meng strode forward and slapped Liu Fang, changing to a familiar tone, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and lead the way, let's go!"
"Oh dear, County Magistrate's wife, please be gentle, you've patted my shoulder so hard it's broken."
"You're still falling apart? You're so glib. I see you as full of energy and very solid."
The county town wasn't large, and the man from the neighboring county was found in no time. To be precise, there was no need to search; the man had been sitting there almost without moving, pale and thin, weak all over, and having just experienced extreme joy and sorrow, he was unable to walk at all.
Zheng Meng saw that although she was very thin, she did not look like she had contracted the plague, so he led his men to drag her back to the county government office.
In the courtroom, Zhang Ting sat in the main seat, with the county clerk and county assistant sitting below him.
The county clerk had no sympathy for anyone who threatened Fengxian's safety, and he said sternly, "Who are you here? What is your purpose in coming to Fengxian? Speak up now!"
The man was in extremely poor condition. He was being held in the middle by two constables, his head drooping listlessly. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Seeing how weak she was, she didn't seem capable of committing any crimes. Wasn't the kitchen preparing a housewarming banquet? Zhang Ting asked someone to bring her some food.
The man's eyes lit up when he saw the food. He grabbed it with his hands and stuffed it into his mouth, wolfing it down as if he had never eaten before. Towards the end, he was both crying and laughing. I wonder if he was starving.
How could someone behave so disrespectfully in court, in front of the county magistrate?!
County Registrar Lu Mingqiu, with a stern face, demanded, "Why are you crying and laughing, sir?"
The woman still had food in her mouth, but she couldn't swallow it. She knelt down, sobbing, "I haven't eaten rice for three months. I'm so happy to eat such delicious rice and dishes. I'm crying because I feel ashamed and unworthy to be a daughter, thinking that my parents at home are still eating tree bark while I'm eating such good food."
Lu Mingqiu felt a pang in his heart. He moved his lips but said nothing more. Instead, he turned his head and whispered to the clerk behind him: "Get some dry food from home and secretly slip it to her later."
The man seemed oblivious, prostrating himself on the ground and sobbing, when suddenly a bowl of clear water appeared before him.
"Have some water to soothe your throat. What's your name?"
She looked up in a daze and saw a tall and noble lady standing in front of her. Her face was smiling, which made people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze. She couldn't help but want to get closer. It was the one who had been sitting in the main seat.
This must be the magistrate of Fengxian County, right? She took the water bowl in a daze, thinking to herself, the magistrate of Fengxian County is really different from other officials.
"This humble citizen, Xu Xu, thanks... thanks Your Excellency the County Magistrate," Xu Xu said, trembling with fear. She had never received such courtesy from an ordinary official in her life, let alone the head of a county.
Zhang Ting inquired about her purpose in coming to Fengxian and briefly asked about the current situation of the people in Li County, which gave him a better understanding of the situation.
This person came to exchange for food.
The number of seeds brought was not large, but they were all the kinds that impatiens desperately needed, and the quality was also good. Even Lu Mingqiu couldn't help but nod in approval.
Zhang Ting waved his hand and gave her double the amount of grain, saying, "Thank you for coming all this way to deliver the seeds. The people of Fengxian will remember your kindness, and we hope that this grain will be of some benefit to your family."
She smiled gently, "Fengxian welcomes people from Li County to come and exchange seeds anytime."
Xu Xu hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help asking, "Can you tell me why Fengxian has undergone such a dramatic change?"
Zhang Ting thought for a moment and answered her earnestly, "This is all thanks to the people of Fengxian." They are hardworking, simple, and unafraid of hardship or fatigue, with their hearts full of hope for the future.
Although the materials were plentiful, the reconstruction of Fengxian was so rapid and without any problems. To be honest, Zhang Ting was somewhat surprised. After thinking it over, she attributed it all to the fact that every citizen firmly believed that Fengxian would get better and better and worked hard to put it into practice.
What kind of powerful sense of conviction is this? Zhang Ting thinks that this is probably a unique characteristic of the people of Fengxian.
Xu Xu, carrying a full load of grain, walked on the way back, the phrase "This is all thanks to the people of Fengxian" echoing in her mind. She wondered sadly if the people of Lixian were not hardworking or diligent enough.
Suddenly, a figure darted out from behind her with lightning speed. Xu Xu was terrified and clutched the bundle in her arms tightly, looking warily at the newcomer. She had to drag the grain home to save her parents, even if it meant her death!
Unexpectedly, the person didn't snatch her bag. Xu Xu breathed a sigh of relief. "Brave warrior, do you need something from me?"
The person didn't answer, but forcefully shoved the black cloth bag into her hand and turned to leave without looking back.
"Hey, brave warrior!" Xu Xu felt as if she were carrying a stone, incredibly heavy. When she lifted the black cloth, she saw that it was full of clean, round grains of rice. She was shocked, but then overjoyed. "May I ask your name, my benefactor? I will surely repay your kindness in the future!"
When I looked up again, there was no one there.
Xu Xu felt lost and had no choice but to continue her journey back. However, on the way, several strangers she had never met threw her some dry food or rice and left without leaving their names.
Holding the grain, she was deeply moved. Fengxian may not be a fairyland, but it was definitely a paradise on earth, and the people of Fengxian were a group of kind and righteous people.
But the utopia didn't form out of nowhere. In times of chaos, it's hard for ordinary people to uphold benevolence and kindness. So what is the source of all this?
A stunningly beautiful figure flashed through Xu Xu's mind for no reason, but a voice in her heart firmly told her: This person is the reason why Peach Blossom Spring exists!
She took a deep breath, turned towards Fengxian, and resolutely knelt down, bowing with the utmost devotion of her life. In chaotic times, the gods remain silent when you pray to them, but if you beg for their help, they can cut through the dead end and lead you to a path of survival.
Getting up from the ground, Xu Xu staggered home, dragging the heavy grain. Walking across the barren land, she thought about many things, and before she knew it, the numbness in her heart had vanished.
She thought that if she could survive this time, and if she could become an official in the future, she would definitely become a good official like the one who benefits all people.
...
Looking at Zhangzhou city, everything was in complete chaos.
The government office received a constant stream of bad news from various counties, one after another: how many people had drowned in which county, how many had died from an epidemic in which county, and how many had starved to death in which county due to severe food shortages...
Prefect He was originally enjoying a leisurely time at home, listening to opera without taking it seriously. But when news of the disaster broke out in clusters, she belatedly realized that she was probably in grave danger.
She first consulted with Zheng Tongzhi about how to resolve the matter, and hurriedly collected a lot of money and grain for various counties to send to them. However, Zhangzhou Prefecture had a large population and an endless demand for food. The imperial court's disaster relief grain had not yet arrived, so their amount was completely insufficient.
Prefect He was staring at the enormous number of casualties, but dared not report it to his superiors. He was so worried that he was losing hair every day. "What should we do?" he wondered anxiously, and blisters appeared on his lips.
Zheng Tongzhi was also worried. He Zhifu and she were the top two officials, and if there was any major problem in Zhangzhou Prefecture, they would definitely be implicated!
But she was equally helpless, and could only sigh all day long.
"We've tried borrowing from Tongzhou Prefecture and Huzhou Prefecture, but they're completely ignoring us. The imperial court says it's going to provide disaster relief, but it's been so long and we haven't seen a single grain! Aren't they trying to kill us?"
Prefect He was flustered and annoyed. "Why are you borrowing from Tongzhou Prefecture and Huzhou Prefecture? We've all suffered from the floods. Who's better off than whom? You should borrow from Jizhou Prefecture. That's a major grain-producing prefecture!"
Zheng Tongzhi choked for a moment, then explained in a low voice, "I was thinking that neighboring prefectures and states could help each other out and minimize the impact of this matter..." so as to save them from losing their official positions.
Prefect He has been too scared to sleep these past few days. Every time she closes her eyes, she sees the imperial court sending people to confiscate her property and execute her, while her husband He Ying is stripped of his official robes, imprisoned, and subjected to endless humiliation by his colleagues.
Hearing Zheng Tongzhi's words, he became extremely agitated. "Support my ass! Tongzhou Prefecture and Huzhou Prefecture are hoping that Zhangzhou Prefecture will cause trouble to shield them from disaster! During the drought, which prefecture in Tongzhou Prefecture and Huzhou Prefecture didn't have people die from the heat? Why is it that only Zhangzhou Prefecture was reprimanded by His Majesty? You still expect these old scoundrels to show sympathy and provide support? I'm glad they didn't skin you alive!"
Zheng Tongzhi shrank back, cautiously glancing at her, "So what should we do next?"
Prefect He thought that if Xu Pin were still alive, she would still have connections in the court, so there was no need to worry about this. But the problem was that Xu Pin had long been sent to exile, and now it was unknown whether she was dead or alive. He had completely lost contact with the court.
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?!" she roared furiously.
Zheng Tongzhi quickly shrank into a quail and dared not utter another word.
The two men sat in the government office all morning, covering their heads. At noon, the counties summarized the disaster situation and submitted their reports.
The long list of casualties gave Prefect He a splitting headache, so he sent Assistant Prefect Zheng to check on his behalf.
With each book Zheng Tongzhi flipped through, she felt an increasing chance of being executed by slow slicing. Terrified, she only dared to open one eye to look at these compiled documents, her forehead covered in cold sweat.
Upon seeing one of the documents, she paused for a long time, then opened her other eye, carefully perused it with a composed expression, and read it twice to confirm before reporting to Prefect He with a joyful face: "My lord, good news, great news!"
A joyous occasion? Prefect He felt as if he were about to hold a funeral. He was indignant, but when he saw the document that Assistant Prefect Zheng handed him, he was also shocked.
"Of the more than 20,000 people in the county, only 67 died in the flood, and there were no casualties afterward? There was no famine either? They even built new houses and dug new wells?"
This was too mysterious. Prefect He even suspected that there was something wrong with his eyes, so he called a minor official to take a look, and got the same result.
She hurriedly pulled out documents from neighboring counties to compare. The other counties had suffered casualties ranging from a thousand to six thousand, and each one was asking her for money and provisions.
Could there be some kind of supernatural power in Fengxian?
Zheng Tongzhi frowned, puzzled. "That's not right. I remember that Fengxian is a low-lying area with very low grain production. Many people can't even afford to pay their taxes. The casualties should be much more severe. How come so few people died?"
Prefect He was also very puzzled. "I sent a lot of grain to Zhang Ting, but there are many people in Fengxian. That grain could only last for about twenty days at most. Now that time has long passed, where did she get the grain to feed the people?"
As they pondered, they exchanged a glance, both seeing a glimmer of hope in each other's eyes.
Prefect He urgently summoned a constable, "Go to Fengxian and investigate! Go now!"
Before the constable could even agree, Prefect He changed his mind again, immediately getting up and rushing out impatiently, "Forget it, I'll go myself. You hurry and prepare the horses!"
Zheng Tongzhi followed behind, saying, "My lord, please wait for me! I'm going too!"
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