The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 572 - 561: Beggar

Chapter 572: Chapter 561: Beggar

Zhou SiLang took the food back to the kitchen, poured it into the pot, and scraped out the hot ashes and some remaining charcoal pieces from the stove before placing the pot on top to keep the food warm and prevent it from getting cold right away.

After doing all this, he then carried the basin of food out of the house.

He left the alley and walked along the main street to the busiest part, where there were often little beggar kids or old beggars begging.

During his time in Yizhou City, Zhou SiLang didn’t dare say he’d been everywhere, but he had become quite familiar with their neighborhood and a few nearby streets.

When he first wandered around, he often got lost and had to ask people for directions, but he would encounter those who didn’t really want to help, those who intentionally gave wrong directions, or those who, despite not knowing themselves, insisted on giving directions.

After being duped several times, Zhou SiLang learned that asking the beggars by the roadside for directions was actually more reliable.

Plus, some of the restaurants on the main streets liked to have clean-looking loafers running errands for them, delivering food and collecting utensils every day.

They were called loafers, but in reality, they were beggars too.

The restaurants would give them some food, and in return, they would run errands for the restaurants.

Zhou SiLang had encountered them several times and had gotten to know them well through repeat interactions.

Because today was Tomb-Sweeping Day, the restaurants at the entrance of the alley were closed, and the beggars were nowhere to be seen.

Zhou SiLang then headed towards the bustling part of the street and, seeing a restaurant that was wide open, he turned into an alley which was the back entrance of the restaurant.

Indeed, as he walked in, he saw a group of ragged people rummaging through a wooden barrel.

Zhou SiLang squinted and, after identifying a familiar face, he cleared his throat and called out, "San’er?"

An eight or nine-year-old boy turned around and, seeing Zhou SiLang, approached lazily, "Fourth Brother Zhou, did you find us some work?"

"You’ve been in touch with all the restaurants on the street, what work could I find for you? Here, I brought you a basin of food."

Upon hearing this, San’er immediately grabbed his bowl and rushed up, and seeing the vegetables and meat inside, he was joyfully surprised, "Fourth Brother Zhou, did you strike it rich?"

"No, I didn’t. It’s just Tomb-Sweeping Day, so I’m treating you to something good. There are only veggies, no rice."

San’er waved his hand, and the other little beggars also rushed up, all saying, "It’s fine, we have some."

They had hidden away some naan bread and buns, which, although not whole and a few days old, still tasted very good with such dishes and meat, especially since the food was still warm.

Zhou SiLang handed over the dish to San’er and let him distribute it. They were thrilled to find the food was warm and were overjoyed.

Zhou SiLang took back the empty basin and, seeing them eating with relish, waved his hand and said, "Well, I’m off then. Enjoy your meal."

They enthusiactically said goodbye to Zhou SiLang, "Fourth Brother Zhou, take it easy."

"Fourth Brother Zhou, have a good one."

When Zhou SiLang reached the mouth of the alley, he saw Manbao and the others standing there with their purchases, staring at him in shock. He immediately cheered up when he saw what was in their baskets, "Did you finish shopping? That was quick!"

Manbao nodded, "There weren’t many people in the restaurants today, so it was quick."

She glanced at the empty basin in Zhou SiLang’s hand and asked with a frown, "Fourth Brother, the dish you just took..."

"Oh, they’re friends I met outside, I’ll tell you about it when we get back." Zhou SiLang was feeling hungry and took their baskets eagerly, hastening them along, "Come on, let’s get back and eat."

Manbao and the others had only bought vegetables; the rice was from their own home. Daji brought the rice out from the kitchen, and that’s when Zhou SiLang explained, "It would’ve been a waste to throw those dishes away, so I sent them off."

Manbao asked, "Then why didn’t you send rice with it?"

"... There was only so much rice, just enough for us to eat."

"We could have cooked more," Bai Shanbao said. "If you’re going to do a good deed, why not do it thoroughly?"

Zhou SiLang scratched his head and said, "I wasn’t intending to do a good deed. It’s just that it would’ve been wasteful to dump the food. We can do without the vegetables, but we need to eat the rice, right?"

Bai Erlang commented, "You’re just stingy."

Zhou SiLang didn’t take that well, "It’s not being stingy. It’s the things you want to do that I couldn’t care less about. Our family doesn’t own gold or silver mines, how could we just cook rice and dishes to give away? If you give today, what about tomorrow?"

Daji looked at them and said, "Let’s eat, it’s well past lunchtime. Don’t get too hungry."

As Manbao served the rice, she inquired, "Fourth Brother, why don’t they go home?"

"Because they have no home," Zhou SiLang said. "Who would leave if they had a home? San’er and the others have been wandering for more than two years. Most are out because of the flood three years ago, and the others, well, there are all sorts of reasons. Why should I ask so carefully for no reason?"

Manbao frowned, "I remember in Luojiang County we didn’t have so many beggars. With so many people around, why doesn’t County Magistrate Tang resettle the displaced like County Magistrate Yang does and give them land?"

Bai Shanbao thought for a moment and said, "Yizhou is prosperous; maybe he doesn’t have that much land?"

"Then what about the land they originally had?" Manbao said. "If they used to have homes, it’s clear their parents, or even grandparents, had land. Even if they’re down on their luck, the home property would still be there. If the government provided some seeds and tools and waived a few years of taxes, they would naturally settle down."

The reason Manbao said this was because this was Yang Heshu’s method of settling refugees.

Sometime after taking office, he started arranging for strong refugees to settle down, and after noticing the high grain prices in Yizhou during the autumn harvest, he began to plan for other refugees.

He dispersed the refugees still remaining in the county and assigned them to various villages or directly found a piece of wasteland for them, allowing them to form a village.

He loaned them some grain, provided them with seeds and farming tools, and took the initiative to waive their taxes for the next year on the grounds of developing wasteland.

For some particularly poor or difficult-to-cultivate wastelands, he would even issue orders for conscripted labor to help clear the land.

Two years later, not only had the refugees lingering in Luojiang County been settled, but refugees from other counties had also flocked in, with Yang Heshu managing to accommodate most of them.

Therefore, Luojiang County’s population had grown very rapidly in the past two years, with new refugees accounting for a significant part of this growth.

Population is one of the key indicators for a county magistrate’s performance evaluation. Apart from other achievements, Heshu’s handling of the refugees was considered excellent.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao also knew that because of this, Yang Heshu was sued by two neighboring counties, accused of poaching their populations.

And Yang Heshu had mentioned to them that the majority of these refugees came from Yizhou. Otherwise, if their ancestors had been from Luojiang, he wouldn’t have had to go through such trouble—he could have just provided them with some grain and seeds and tools instead.

So there’s a big difference between resettling landless refugees and those with land.