When the dispatched people were not even halfway there, news of the disaster had already come from several counties. Since there was no prevention done beforehand, it led to 80% or more of the crops being destroyed.
The harvest was just around the corner, and those rice stalks that had started to turn yellow were now all wasted in the fields.
After everything was tallied up, across the entire Yizhou Prefecture, at least 30% of the rice was lost, along with one third of the population that would face hunger this year.
Li Prefect was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged as he had Private advisor Huang severely beaten and thrown into a roadside sewer.
Luckily, most of the counties did decently, preserving at least 70% of the grain.
But this achievement didn’t seem to be his own, rather it was the work of Song County Magistrate, Li Yao, Zheng County Magistrate and the others.
Li Prefect knew he had made a mistake this time, and quickly petitioned the capital, pleading guilty in advance. And he had his family pull strings everywhere, hoping to keep his recently obtained hat with crow feathers.
...
He Wan village.
After defeating the locust plague, the villagers rested for a day at home, before busying themselves again.
For these common people, even if it was a disastrous calamity, as long as they survived, they still had to keep living day to day.
The School also officially resumed classes, the workshops reopened, and Li Yao continued her comfortable retirement.
The day quickly ended, and as Li Yao was wondering what new thing to have for dinner, Du Xiao Hui walked into the yard from outside.
“Auntie Li, I have something to discuss with you.”
“What is it?”
“I won’t keep working at the workshop,” Du Xiao Hui said, “You should find someone else to take over.”
Li Yao was a bit surprised.
Du Xiao Hui was now the head cashier of several workshops, handling huge sums of money, and it wasn’t tiring work either, nor was the pay low. Why didn’t she want to do it anymore?
“Did something happen?”
“No,” Du Xiao Hui said, “It’s just that the more I keep doing it, the more I feel that I know too little, so I want to attend School to learn more things.”
Seeing her sincere expression, Li Yao was actually quite impressed with this lass.
She remembered that when Du Xiao Hui first arrived last year, she was still a country girl who only knew how to dig for wild vegetables and cut pig grass every day, and even picked wild fruits from the mountain to give to Wang Er.
Yet in less than a year, she knew the importance of studying and self-improvement.
“Your thinking is good, I fully approve.”
“Thank you Auntie.”
“But learning is learning, you still have to handle the workshop affairs,” Li Yao said, “Actually there isn’t much to do at the workshop every day, you can even bring books there to read.”
“But...but I'm worried that way, I'll learn very slowly.”
“You're still young, you have plenty of time, why do you need to learn so quickly?”
“I...”
Du Xiao Hui suddenly blushed, lowering her head, mumbling incoherently for a long time.
This was very strange, Li Yao didn’t remember her being like this before.
“Just say whatever you want, don't feel shy in front of me.”
“Um, I'm afraid that after Wang Er passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, I...I won't be a match for him...”
Li Yao: ...So it turns out everything is for love?
No wonder she was in such a hurry. After the autumn harvest, Wang Er would be participating in the county exam. The scholars from the capital at the School had said, seven or eight out of ten could become a successful candidate.
A successful candidate could continue taking exams, or work in the government, which was considered eating the emperor's food, and was almost like being a semi-official lord.
Whereas Du Xiao Hui was just a country girl, she was probably worried that after Wang Er succeeded and became famous, the gap between them would be too great.
Li Yao had always avoided prying too much into young people's love affairs.
But since Du Xiao Hui was willing to work so hard for Wang Er's sake, and wanted to improve herself, Li Yao decided to give her some pointers.
“I believe Wang Er is not the fickle sort.”
“I know that, but I can't drag him down either.” Du Xiao Hui said with a red face, “At least I want to be knowledgeable and worldly like the wife of the Song County Magistrate.”
“You won't be able to learn to be like her.”
The wife of the Song County Magistrate also came from a scholarly family, that temperament was cultivated from birth, it wasn't something you could pick up in a short period.
“Then what should I do?”
“Let me tell you a path, whether you want to take it or not is up to you.”
“Please tell me, Auntie.”
“Go manage the School,” Li Yao said. “Our village School is currently run by the Village Head, but he hasn't studied much either, and is too busy. You go take over managing the School, where you can study close by every day.”
“Manage the School? I'll do it!”
Du Xiao Hui's eyes lit up when she heard she could help Wang Er.
“Don't rush, hear me out first,” Li Yao continued. “It looks simple on the surface, but will actually be very troublesome. You'll have to deal with all kinds of students, all kinds of teachers, and all kinds of parents. Also, the goal I've set for you is far more than just our village's School.”
“In the future when Wang Er goes to become an official somewhere, you'll need to establish more schools in his jurisdiction, and strive to allow more people the chance to study.”
“If you can do a good job, your achievements and reputation will far surpass a local bigwig. By then you won't need to worry about dragging Wang Er down, instead he'll benefit because of you.”
Could she help Wang Er?
Du Xiao Hui's eyes shone brighter when she heard this, and quickly said, “I'm willing to go!”
“It'll be very tough and tiring, there will be many vexing affairs, you may even be envied and obstructed by many rich people and officials. Are you still willing despite all this?”
“I'm willing!” Du Xiao Hui said resolutely, “As long as it can help Wang Er, I'm willing to do anything!”
“Good, once I've found someone new, hand over the workshop matters. Then all the affairs of our village School will be handed over to you,” Li Yao said. “Don't worry, I trust that you'll work hard to do a good job.”
“Don't rush, go back and think it over for a few more days. If you don't want to do it, that's fine too. You can keep helping me manage a portion of the family assets at the workshop.”
Du Xiao Hui's face turned even redder. She knew Auntie Li was tacitly approving of her being with Wang Er.
And precisely because of this, Du Xiao Hui was even more determined to work hard at managing the School properly.
Ten days later, Du Xiao Hui officially handed over the important accounting duties at the workshop to Shen Shi, Wang San's daughter-in-law.
Then she formally took over the School's affairs, becoming the School Head.
Although the scholars who came from the capital felt it was extremely inappropriate for an illiterate girl to become School Head.
But Li Yao said that Du Xiao Hui was only managing the accounting and daily trivial matters. The actual teaching and educating was still up to the scholars themselves.
Hearing this, the scholars could not object further.
Another ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The rice grains in the fields had become heavy and plump, blanketing the entire fields in gold.
The autumn harvest time was finally imminent for He Wan village.
Early in the morning before sunrise, Li Yao went to the blacksmith workshop.
Although no new things had been researched lately, the blacksmith Xia Xian was still very busy every day, because the tasks Li Yao had previously given him still weren't completed.
It wasn't that no progress was made, just that compared to Li Yao's requirements, there was still a little lacking.
