Chapter 214 New Year, New Schemes
After seeing off Vice Minister Yin and his wife, Yin Caiwei got busy. She took her dowry servants to the neighboring Prefectural Governor's residence to sort through the old items sent by the servants of various households.
Lin Canjun's wife, Ye Lanzhi, had been keeping an eye on Yin Caiwei's movements. The day after Yin Caiwei was sorting through her old belongings, Ye Lanzhi brought two of her own male servants to help.
When Wang Sima's wife heard the news, she also brought two maids to help out.
Upon seeing this, the wives of the remaining five military advisors all brought their servants to the house, and while they were at it, they searched the house again and sent over all the odds and ends left by the previous owner.
After observing for two days, Yin Caiwei found that only Lin Canjun's wife Ye Lanzhi, Sima's wife Huang Meng, and Sicang Canjun's wife Guo Yunxia remained. The remaining four were either uninterested in matters outside the mansion or disliked dealing with old things and poor households. Such people would leave sooner or later anyway, so it was better to send them away early to avoid future misunderstandings.
On the tenth day of the first month, Du Min received an official document concerning the disposal of the land and houses under the names of corrupt officials that had been confiscated the previous year. The land was to be redistributed, and the houses were to be sold by the government and the proceeds to be deposited into the local treasury.
Upon learning this, Yin Caiwei approached Du Min and proposed that the government provide her charity with a private residence for her, Madam Ye, and others to use as their daily office and to store the old items they had collected.
Du Min thought for a moment and said, "I'll vacate a room for you in the governor's mansion, where you can take turns on duty. As for the warehouse, isn't the wife of the warehouse clerk helping you? Go ask her to vacate an empty warehouse for you to use temporarily. However, I don't think you need a warehouse. If you need to store old items, it means you're slacking off. Find out in advance which families need assistance, have a list in hand, and once you receive old items, just walk around in your hands and send them out. They'll stay for at most one night. During that night, you can borrow a warehouse from the warehouse clerk for temporary storage, or just leave them in someone's front yard. It won't make a difference."
Yin Caiwei was delighted to have a government-owned house in the governor's mansion, and she wasn't angry about his subsequent criticisms. As long as she treated him as her superior, she couldn't get angry, and besides, what he said made sense.
“You’re right, I’ll listen to you.” Yin Caiwei nodded. “Tomorrow I’m going to Wild Donkey Village with Madam Ye to check on the situation of the beneficiaries. Do you want to come with me?”
Du Min slammed his fist on the table impatiently. "I told you you were going to cause me trouble, didn't I?"
“I’m also trying to help you and improve people’s lives,” Yin Caiwei emphasized. “If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. I’ll bring a few more servants.”
After saying that, she casually mentioned, "Wherever Second Sister-in-law wants to go, Second Brother will personally accompany her if he has time."
Du Min glanced at her lightly.
"Don't you want to see what happens after the lambs are rented out? Will the village head, township head, and village chief cause trouble in the distribution of the lambs? Are there any problems with the lambs that the poor families received?" Yin Caiwei offered her foolproof method.
“Okay, I’ll go to the countryside with you.” Du Min was tempted.
Yin Caiwei chuckled twice, then teased with a hint of disappointment, "My husband, your affection for me is as light as a feather."
"My second sister-in-law brought me a thousand strings of cash this morning, and she gave it all to your maid." Du Min turned to look at her. "Is that enough of a token of her affection?"
Yin Caiwei remained silent.
"At home, you act for personal reasons and feelings; when you go out, you act for public good and profit. Don't confuse your identities," Du Min explained to her.
"Okay, I'll remember this. There won't be a next time." Yin Caiwei learned her lesson.
Du Min opened the official document in his hand and asked, "You're leaving tomorrow, right?"
“Yes, I’ll leave at the beginning of Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow morning,” Yin Caiwei replied. “You’re busy, I’ll go back to the backyard to see Ximei.”
Du Min nodded. After the footsteps faded away, he looked up. He envied his second brother and sister-in-law's relationship. He had once vowed to marry a girl who loved him, but now he understood that a good relationship required constant sacrifice and giving, and constant tolerance of the other person. This went against his nature; he couldn't do it. Clearly, Yin Caiwei wasn't stupid; she couldn't do it either. Now, their marital relationship seemed to have evolved to this point not so bad. Public and private matters were clearly separated, making the relationship simpler. He no longer needed to pretend to be true to himself; it was incredibly easy.
*
The next day, Du Min went out with Yin Caiwei as promised, followed by a maid and servants driving an oxcart carrying forty sets of old winter clothes and thirty-three old mattresses.
Madam Ye and Military Advisor Lin waited at the city gate in their carriages. The two carriages met and headed together towards Wild Donkey Village.
Yin Caiwei and Du Min went out for four days to visit people. They cleared out all the old items that had accumulated in the governor's mansion, but the couple still insisted on going out every day. One of them went to check on the situation of the recipients' homes, and the other went to check on the sheep farming situation in the countryside.
Lin Canjun once joked with his wife that the couple would instantly transform into thieves the moment they stepped into a farmer's house, one rushing straight to the main room and the other heading straight for the sheepfold.
These days ended on the nineteenth day of the first lunar month. The magistrates of Wen County, Wuzhi County, and other counties arrived one after another. Du Min was busy with his grand plan, so the task of visiting people fell to Wang Sima, who took over the task of going to the countryside with his wife to investigate the situation.
Yin Caiwei originally planned to go along, but Meng Qing stopped her, as she needed to start preparing food and other necessities.
"Second Sister-in-law, how do you plan to mobilize the local gentry and wealthy merchants to donate grain? Will you visit them door-to-door?" Yin Caiwei was very curious. This grain collection task involved five counties in Huai Prefecture, and the gentry and wealthy merchants from other counties might not necessarily give her face.
Meng Qing shook his head smugly, "Visiting people door-to-door would leave you indebted, and I'm not willing to be burdened with so many favors. You've been leaving early and returning late every day these days, so you probably haven't heard the news. Ten days ago, I announced that Qingniao Academy would be holding a literary gathering at the prefectural school on January 20th, inviting the Prefect of Huai Prefecture, the Military Advisor, the magistrates of the five counties, the county school doctors and teachers of Huai Prefecture, as well as great scholars and literati to attend. The gathering was to encourage everyone to express their opinions and develop a set of books beneficial to the imperial examinations for the students of Huai Prefecture. Most of the scholars and literati from the various counties have now gathered in Hanoi County, the county school doctors and teachers have also checked into the post station, and the magistrates of the five counties have all arrived. This literary gathering is bound to be a grand event."
"Are you planning to raise funds from the scholars at the literary gathering?" Yin Caiwei asked thoughtfully.
"No, I'm asking them to return to their hometowns and procure grain for me. In Huai Prefecture, which has suffered from disasters for years, families that can support scholars must be wealthy. These families must be prominent in the villages, and learned scholars are respected in the surrounding areas. Local landlords and wealthy merchants are willing to give them face. As for the teachers and county school officials, these people have even greater prestige and status, and their words carry more weight," Meng Qing explained. "What do you think? Isn't my method brilliant?"
"Brilliant!" Yin Caiwei exclaimed in admiration. She was far inferior to Meng Qing, no wonder Du Min insisted on asking his second sister-in-law to go out and procure food for him. She was glad he had refused her; if this task had fallen to her, she would have been in a real bind.
"Once we receive news from the third brother, and he has settled things with the magistrates of the five counties, the literary gathering can proceed smoothly," Meng Qing said.
*
The governor's residence.
Du Min moved into the public housing that had once belonged to Cui Jin. He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and said, "I've had a lot of idle talk, and my mouth is dry. It's time to get down to business. The reason I invited you all here today is to discuss the repair of the water conservancy project. In the past five years, Wen County has experienced two changes in the course of the Yellow River. The old course of the Yellow River has dried up, and the dikes have been abandoned and need to be rebuilt. If we only use the time of conscription to build the dikes, it will probably take eight to ten years, which is too long for the local people to afford. In order to prevent the more than 10,000 households in Wen County from becoming refugees, I plan to use the resources of the entire prefecture to repair the Yellow River dikes in Wen County. This plan needs the strong support of everyone present."
As soon as he finished speaking, apart from the magistrate of Wen County, the other four looked as if they had lost their parents, their faces increasingly grim.
"On behalf of the people of Wen County, I, Guo, thank you all for your kindness. We will always remember the efforts that the people of each county have made for us." Magistrate Guo bowed and expressed his gratitude to each of you.
"No." The magistrate of Wuzhi County refused to accept it. He turned to Du Min and asked, "Lord Du, the Yellow River in our Wuzhi County is also severely silted up. The Yellow River channel dredging relies on laborers on duty to dig out the silt. If you transfer all the laborers from our county, what will happen to our county's river channel?"
“Year after year of dredging, the river becomes clogged again. This shows that this superficial approach is ineffective and it’s time to make a change.” Du Min said calmly, “The five counties of Huaizhou are all like my own sons. I will not show favoritism. I will devote all my energy to managing each county. Wenxian is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Huaizhou, so it must be given priority. You will give Wenxian your full support today, and Wenxian will give you its full support another day.”
"Our county is not affected by the Yellow River," said the magistrate of Xiuwu County.
"Do you sell the grain produced in your county?" Du Min asked, pointing to Magistrate Guo. He said, "Most of the fields in Wen County are used to grow hemp, and the local people have to buy their food from other places."
“Starting this year, only grain merchants from Xiuwu County can trade in Wen County,” Magistrate Guo stated.
“The northern part of Xiuwu County is mountainous, which is suitable for growing fruit trees. You take care of the fruit tree planting, and I will find the sales channels,” Du Min said.
The magistrate of Xiuwu County remained silent.
“Huaizhou is one big family. Why are you making such a big deal about what’s yours and mine? You’re not going to be working in this county for the rest of your lives. Can’t you achieve good results and get promoted quickly?” Du Min reminded them inwardly, as their performance evaluation was still in his hands.
Upon hearing this, no one objected anymore.
"The work dates are set for February to May and August to November. During this period, everyone except those who are performing corvée labor will receive wages of eight coins per day, plus three meals a day. There are no gender restrictions, and the age must be between fifteen and sixty years old," Du Min instructed. "Magistrate Guo, you go back and make arrangements, ordering the people in the county to vacate their spare houses so that everyone can squeeze in and make room for the villagers from other counties. If there is not enough space, makeshift shelters."
"Yes," Magistrate Guo replied.
Du Min then looked at the other four county magistrates and said, "I've given you my instructions. You must get this done properly. Call for stricter regulations and bring all the available manpower from the county to me."
The remaining four nodded reluctantly.
"There's one more thing. Have you received the invitation from Lord Meng?" Du Min asked again.
Mentioning this matter, all five county magistrates perked up. The magistrate of Xiuwu County asked, "Sir, I wonder if the Prefect has any intention of opening a school in Xiuwu County as well? The people of our county live in peace and stability, and there is a strong tradition of valuing learning. However, we suffer from a lack of books, which makes it difficult for students to enter officialdom."
“Our Wude County also lacks libraries. If Your Highness is willing, we can prepare a library ourselves and send people to copy books, as long as Your Highness agrees to donate the books,” said the magistrate of Wude County.
Seeing that the other two county magistrates were about to speak, Du Min raised his hand to stop them. "There is one academy per prefecture. Students with a thirst for knowledge can go to Hanoi County to stay. In two months, three guesthouses for students will be built three miles west of the academy. The room rate is only four coins per night, and it will be even cheaper for long-term rentals. I will also instruct that the prefectural academy will hold a lecture and literary gathering every ten days, where students can go to ask questions and listen to lectures. Once I have sorted out the matter of building the dike and have some free time, I will start inviting great scholars from this prefecture and other places to give lectures at the prefectural academy."
When Magistrate Cu of Hanoi heard this, he was overjoyed. This was an achievement he had gained for free!
"Your Excellency, how about entrusting me with the responsibility of arranging the venue and maintaining order for each lecture?" Magistrate Gu asked.
“Alright.” Du Min nodded. “At tomorrow’s literary gathering, I ask everyone to fully cooperate with Lord Meng’s actions and select comprehensive books for the students to refer to. In the future, most of the content for answering questions at the lectures and literary gatherings of the prefectural school will come from these books.”
"We will certainly not fail in our mission," Magistrate Gu declared first.
The remaining four all agreed, praising Lord Meng as a man of great virtue.
Du Min smiled upon seeing this.
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Author's Note: There will be another update at 12 o'clock.
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