“Everyone, go over there and line up to handle the procedures and collect your grain.”
Zhou Youda pointed towards the distant sheds.
The villagers immediately surged over.
“Line up properly! Anyone who cuts in line will go back to the end. Trouble-makers will have their eligibility cancelled today!”
The bodyguards maintaining order shouted through megaphones.
The chaotic crowd quickly began to line up obediently.
Inside the sheds, Zhu Linglong had already prepared everything with the bank clerks.
Those with deposit books had them stamped with steel seals. Nearby bodyguards then scooped grain from the sacks.
Great Kang had no plastic bags, so the villagers took off their outer garments and used them to carry the grain.
The amount each person could borrow was strictly regulated, with bodyguards specially assigned to weigh it.
The bank clerks, after Zhu Linglong’s training, handled this simple procedure very quickly, finishing one in just tens of seconds.
With dozens of clerks working at the same time, by mid-morning all the disaster victims in Zhou Village had received their grain.
At the same time, news that Mr Jin was willing to lend grain spread quickly.
Villagers from miles around swarmed in, only to be stopped by the bodyguards outside Zhou Village.
“Mr Jin, please lend some grain to me too. My children have not eaten for three days. They are starving to death!”
“Mr Jin, lend us some grain. I am willing to work like an ox or horse for you!”
“Mr Jin, I am willing to work for you without pay. Just give me a mouthful of food!”
Countless villagers begged desperately outside Zhou Village.
“Da Liu, go out and clearly explain the conditions and interest for borrowing grain to them, then let them in.”
Jin Feng stood on the high platform, looking at the bewildered crowd outside the village. His heart ached. “Let them in batches. Maintain order carefully. Watch out for stampedes.”
The people were so hungry they were barely holding on. If someone fell and got trampled, they might die.
“Yes!” Da Liu nodded and ran off to arrange it.
Hunger was terrifying, but even more terrifying was watching parents or children starve to death right in front of your eyes.
Even if Jin Feng had set traps in the people’s benefit loans, the villagers would not care.
They were on the verge of death. Even if it was a pit, they would jump in willingly.
This was also why so many tenant farmers submitted even when they knew the landlords were exploiting them.
Just as Jin Feng had predicted, after Da Liu explained the borrowing policy, the villagers rushed forward eagerly to enter the village.
Fortunately, Da Liu was prepared. He brought bodyguards to maintain order.
In West Sichuan City, the Ninth Princess did not dare rest much either. Like Jin Feng, she rose at first light.
Qing Mulan, afraid of disturbing her, did not come to check until mid-morning.
When she entered the room, she found the bed empty.
“Wuyang, the physician told you to stay in bed and rest for half a month. Why are you out?”
Qing Mulan found the Ninth Princess in the study and immediately tried to drag her out. “Come back with me to rest right now.”
“Sister, the disaster situation grows worse every day. Every day countless people starve or freeze to death. How can I lie down?”
The Ninth Princess shook off Qing Mulan’s grip and continued looking down at the documents on the table.
“Sir already said the disaster relief is his responsibility. He told you not to worry!”
“Outside, yes, it is his responsibility. But the bastards in the dungeon still need me to deal with them.”
The Ninth Princess said helplessly.
“Sorting them out is not difficult.”
Qing Mulan said, “They are just a bunch of cowards. Let me go. Once the torture starts, I guarantee they will confess everything obediently!”
“If you could handle it, would I have waited until now?”
The Ninth Princess said, “The fewer people involved, the better. To deal with them, this palace must do it personally. If you or Brother Xinyao act, it will give them something to use against us.”
“That… makes sense.”
Qing Mulan nodded helplessly.
The combined power behind those nobles was too great. The Qing family could not withstand it.
Only as a royal princess could the Ninth Princess suppress them.
“You are going to deal with them in the dungeon, so why come to the study?”
Qing Mulan asked again.
“Sister, when sir explained military strategy to you, he must have said it: know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. This applies to war and to ordinary matters too.”
The Ninth Princess continued reading the documents as she spoke. “I am dealing with Fat Xu and the others for their grain. Before I go, I need to know exactly how much grain each of them has, right? Otherwise, what if they deceive me?”
The documents she was reading were intelligence gathered by Qing Xinyao’s secret agents from various places, recording the grain stockpiles of local bandits.
The Ninth Princess read with extreme seriousness until noon.
After lunch, she took Qin’er and went to the dungeon.
She stayed in the dungeon for about half an hour before coming out, holding a stack of bloodstained documents.
During that half hour, the screams in the dungeon never stopped.
The nobles could not withstand Qin’er’s methods at all. They spilled everything like beans from a tipped bamboo tube.
Even Qing Xinyao’s eyes and ears, no matter how capable, could not know everything.
The amount of grain the Ninth Princess uncovered was far more than expected.
After a day of observation, Jin Feng confirmed that the bank clerks trained by Zhu Linglong were fully capable of handling business independently.
Upon learning that the Ninth Princess had already secured the nobles’ grain, Jin Feng decided to launch the disaster relief immediately.
That night, the West Sichuan city gates remained open for an exception.
One team after another left West Sichuan City, heading to surrounding counties and prefectures.
The teams consisted of bodyguards, bank clerks, and chamber of commerce staff.
They carried documents personally stamped by the Ninth Princess. Upon arrival, local officials were required to cooperate.
At the same time, teams of civilian labourers worked through the night, transporting grain from nearby locations to designated points.
…
Thirty-two li north of West Sichuan City lay Zhulian Town, famous for producing bamboo curtains. It was the largest town for miles around.
Previously, when Danzhu’s cavalry raided within a thirty-li radius, Zhulian Town’s fame had also made it a target.
Fortunately, it was farther from West Sichuan. The cavalry only looted grain and money, killed a few people to establish authority, and left without capturing the townspeople to use as human shields at Great Python Slope.
Although they had escaped with their lives under the cavalry’s hooves, the people could not escape the continuous autumn rains.
The little grain they had scraped together as seeds was all soaked and ruined.
With the cold wave arriving, several people in Zhulian Town starved or froze to death every day.
It could be said that white funeral banners hung at every door, and cries of mourning echoed in every household.
The weather was bitterly cold, and the people lacked clothing and food. They stayed indoors as much as possible to conserve energy.
But this morning, the sound of gongs rang out at their doors.
“Folks, come out! Mr Jin’s Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce has brought grain! We are saved!”
The town mayor beat the gong as he ran through the streets and alleys, shouting.
“The Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce brought grain? It must be free porridge. Husband, hurry and take the children to line up. If we are late, there might be none left!”
“Hanwa, stop chewing the table leg. You will break your teeth and still not get anything. Come with mother to get porridge!”
“Zhen Niang, the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce is giving out porridge! Hurry and carry your mother-in-law to line up!”
