The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 227 - 216: Enlightenment (Extra update for 215,000 votes from Yunqi)

Chapter 227: Chapter 216: Enlightenment (Extra update for 215,000 votes from Yunqi)

Old Master Bai invited everyone to sit in the front hall, and the servants quickly served tea, while the steward went to arrange lunch.

It’s said that visiting to drink water is, of course, not so simple—it naturally involves having a meal and a chat.

County Magistrate Fu was accustomed to this, as every time he visited the countryside, he was hosted by either the Chief or the local gentry landlords—he obviously couldn’t dine at the home with the worst conditions, could he?

Old Master Bai also had ample experience in hosting officials from the countryside, first inquiring about the situation in other places and the current arrangements in the county, before expressing that he would definitely cooperate with the county’s policies and ensure the work of summer and autumn harvests was well managed.

Speaking of the harvest made County Magistrate Fu’s head ache, and he turned to ask the Chief and the village head about the situation in the fields and in the village.

The Chief sighed and let the village head speak.

It is possible to fake household possessions, but the crops in the field are visibly there; even if he wanted to say the situation was optimistic, County Magistrate Fu would have to believe it.

As soon as he walked into the fields, he would see everything for himself.

And of the two areas in Qili Village most severely affected by the disaster, one was right beside the river, and they had just walked from the other side of the river to this side. County Magistrate Fu surely had seen it.

The village head saw the Chief sigh and, without changing his expression, glanced at Manbao before he also sighed and began to lament their poverty.

Old Zhou had no idea about the scheming of the village head’s nephew; he felt that whatever the village head said was correct, so he just sat there, nodding repeatedly.

In fact, the situation in Qili Village was better than that of the other villages and towns that County Magistrate Fu had previously visited.

Because of this, the more extensive the scope of the disaster, the more he worried.

After thinking it over, he looked towards Old Master Bai and sighed, "The provincial government has ordered each county to collect displaced disaster victims. Although Luojiang County is remote, a considerable number of refugees have poured in. They are all from Yizhou, with many seeking out relatives and friends to take refuge with, so now the city and its districts are sheltering quite a few refugees."

Old Master Bai nodded to show his understanding.

"Some refugees brought their household assets and can temporarily cope with daily expenses, but many more escaped empty-handed. Floods, unlike other natural disasters, come quickly and fiercely, and many families were unable to evacuate their possessions in time. Therefore, the city has been cooking relief porridge, but this is not a long-term solution."

After the rain stopped, Old Master Bai sent two loads of grain to the County Governmental Office, and other landlords did the same, offering their support.

Although these donations added up, they were still akin to a drop in the bucket for the refugees in Luojiang County.

So County Magistrate Fu implied that the county’s granary was also nearly depleted, and the next step in disaster relief would be to apply to open the county’s granary.

Each county has a granary for use in dealing with natural disasters, but opening it to distribute grain must be applied for at Shangzhou.

If the recipients were local peasants, it might be fine, but the current need for relief was for the refugees from outside, which might cause discontent amongst the local residents.

Therefore, County Magistrate Fu wanted them to be mindful of the villagers’ words and attitudes, and it would be best to persuade them that charity knows no bounds.

Of course, he wasn’t only taking care of the refugees and neglecting the local citizens. This time, those whose houses were destroyed by the flooding would receive some subsidy from the County Governmental Office.

He had also seen the moldy rice and wheat earlier; essentially, the situation was the same elsewhere. Wherever houses collapsed, the grain had mostly become damp and moldy.

Although theoretically, this type of grain wouldn’t kill a person if consumed, it’s not good to eat too much of it.

Given the current capacity of the County Governmental Office, support could only be provided to those whose houses had collapsed. To expand the scope of aid would likely require the help of people like Old Master Bai.

Old Master Bai realized that he was hinting at another donation from landlords like himself, this time primarily aimed at the local citizens.

After pondering for a moment, he realized that this arrangement also had benefits for the landlords. For example, as a person from Qili Village, the grain he donated would mostly be given to villagers from Qili Village. This would not only help his neighbors but would also add to his and the Bai Family’s reputation for generosity.

Anyway, he had already planned to donate another batch, so it would obviously be better if the donation could go to his fellow villagers. Thus, Old Master Bai nodded and agreed, assuring that he would definitely cooperate with the county’s policies.

With the conversation opened, Old Master Bai relaxed somewhat and, after a moment of silent consideration, couldn’t help but bring up the issue of the autumn tax.

Though the Bai Family’s wealth was substantial, the disaster had hit them hard as well.

Old Master Bai’s properties were not limited to Qili Village; he owned fields in White Horse Pass town, other villages and towns in Luojiang County, and even in Baxi Prefecture and Yizhou regions. Therefore, the distribution of damage he suffered was uneven, and the affected area was vast.

Okay, even though his family was small, he had many servants to feed, and serfs had taxes to pay too. With such severe damages, would the imperial court really not consider reducing or forgiving the autumn tax?

County Magistrate Fu paused. He had intended to discuss this topic privately with Old Master Bai, but after catching a signal from the steward, he pondered and understood.

Talking privately with Old Master Bai would keep it secret, but addressing it here was semi-public. Both had advantages, and the latter’s benefit was that it could build some goodwill and prestige for him among the locals.

"The areas in Yizhou that were directly damaged will definitely be exempt from taxes," he said, knowing that even if imperial decrees hadn’t been issued, the exemption was certain, not only because of the severity of the disaster but also because the disaster relief was headed by Wei Zhi.

Wei Zhi, the Supervisor of the Secretariat, was famously fair and incorruptible in the imperial court.

"But for other areas where the damage wasn’t so severe, like our Luojiang County, if the provincial government doesn’t report it, wishing for a reduction in taxes is too difficult."

Compared to Yizhou, Baxi Prefecture wasn’t as severely affected by the disaster. At a time when public sentiment was unsettled, County Magistrate Fu suspected that Governor Wang wouldn’t reduce the autumn tax for appearances’ sake.

This suspicion was based on County Magistrate Fu’s interpretation of the intentions from the top during two meetings he attended in Baxi.

One could say that in terms of performance demands, County Magistrate Fu’s desires were exactly opposite to those of Governor Wang.

And unfortunately, Governor Wang was County Magistrate Fu’s superior.

Hearing the possibility of an exemption from taxes invigorated even Old Zhou, who had been hanging his head low. He looked eagerly at County Magistrate Fu.

If taxes could be exempt this year, he was unsure about other families, but his, the Zhou Family, would definitely survive. Life wouldn’t be too difficult.

But hearing that Governor Wang was not keen on reporting it, Old Zhou and the village head showed disappointment again.

The Chief glanced at the two men whose feelings were written all over their faces but did not speak.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao also listened with interest. She now knew a bit about human relations and understood that County Magistrate Fu couldn’t possibly report this matter by bypassing Governor Wang.

So she too let out a sigh.

Bai Shanbao also sighed.

The sighs of the two children were not small, and County Magistrate Fu, finding it amusing, asked, "What are you sighing for?"

Manbao said, "If only we could have a new Governor, one who, like you, wants to reduce taxes."

Old Zhou was frightened and swiftly moved to cover her mouth, repeatedly asking for forgiveness, "Please excuse us, sir. The child doesn’t understand the gravity of her words and speaks nonsense..."

County Magistrate Fu was startled too, but didn’t really mind, and he laughed, "The words of children needn’t be taken to heart."

Bai Shan also admonished her, "Changing a Governor is so difficult. Instead of hoping for a new Governor, it would be better to hope for a higher official to come to our area. Then we can directly discuss it with him as the lesser official listens to the greater."

Manbao shook off her father’s hand, nodding vigorously, "Yes, yes, a Count is lesser than a Governor, so the former must listen to the latter. If a higher official comes, that would be great, as the lesser must obey the greater."

County Magistrate Fu and Old Master Bai started to reflect on this thought.

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