The county magistrate Song had convened meetings many times and was well versed in the situation of each village. However, there had been little progress on how to solve the problems at hand.
"County magistrate," the village elder of Baiyun Village said, "There are already 21 households in our village that cannot get enough to eat."
"There are also several more households in our village."
"Half of our village can't even get coarse rice now," the village elder of Banana Village was the most dejected. "Several families are preparing to flee the famine."
...
Hearing everyone's words, County Magistrate Song's eyebrows were already wrinkled into the shape of the character chuan.
The disaster was getting worse and worse, but there was still no solution. The court had said that some relief grain would be distributed, but he had already sent people to ask Yizhou Prefecture many times. Each time, he was told that the grain had not yet arrived and to wait a little longer.
If this continued, people would really starve to death!
With a long sigh in his heart, County Magistrate Song was about to speak words of comfort and encouragement to everyone. But he realized that Wang Jiafu was acting a bit strange today.
This old man was usually very talkative during meetings, but today he stood silently at the back of the crowd without saying a word.
"Wang Jiafu!" he asked, "How are things in your He Wan Village?"
Wang Jiafu was truly unable to keep things in his heart. He did not dare to lie in front of the county magistrate, so he tried his best to hide behind the crowd, hoping not to be noticed.
But he had not expected that the county magistrate would call on him as soon as he arrived. What could he do now?
"Rep...replying to County Magistrate," Wang Jiafu stammered, "Our village is still the same."
County Magistrate Song's eyebrows wrinkled. With one glance, he could see that this little old man was hiding something.
However, he did not expose it on the spot. After speaking with everyone for a few more words, he kept Wang Jiafu behind alone.
"Do you know why I kept you behind alone?"
"I don't know." Wang Jiafu's forehead was already sweating.
"Do you know that whenever something happens, it shows all over your face?" County Magistrate Song smiled. "Speak, what is the real situation in your village?"
Wang Jiafu lamented in his heart, but since it was just the county magistrate alone, he honestly recounted how Li Yao had discovered the sweet potatoes and figured out a way to distribute them to the villagers.
Upon hearing that Li Yao had found 200,000 catties of edible grains and distributed them to the villagers through a method similar to "food for work", he was stunned for a long time.
How could Heaven bless this woman so much?
"County Magistrate Song," Wang Jiafu said, "It's not that I didn't report it, but Li Yao was afraid it would attract greed, so..."
"Don't blame yourselves for this matter," County Magistrate Song knew that with the current situation, not to mention 200,000 catties of grains, even 20,000 catties would make people green with envy.
He Wan Village's grains were taken care of, but what about the other villages?
There were a total of 23 villages in Baichuan County.
Seeing his worried frown, Wang Jiafu carefully said again: "County magistrate, I actually think Li Yao is a very resourceful person. Now for all matters big or small in the village, I always discuss with her."
County Magistrate Song immediately understood the implication. This little old man meant for him to go find Li Yao and ask if she had any ideas to solve the problems.
Although it was not unreasonable, could she really come up with solutions?
After some consideration, County Magistrate Song decided to still go find Li Yao himself.
Just in case.
So he made up his mind to go take a look at He Wan Village now and try the sweet potatoes himself.
Of course, he would take his wife with him to chat with Li Yao and the like. His son Song Zhe also had a day off from school today, so he might as well bring him along to experience the common people's lives.
...
Li Yao had already returned from the market by noon. He Xiaoya was making lunch, when she heard the voice of the village elder coming from far away.
"Li Yao, hurry to my home. The county magistrate and his wife are waiting for you."
"The county magistrate?"
The few children were all stunned and looked at Li Yao simultaneously. And smelling the fragrance of the food drifting out from the kitchen, Li Yao felt a burst of irritation in her heart.
She really did not want to meet any county magistrate. Couldn't he choose another time instead of right at mealtime?
"Are there still spices left at home?"
"Mother, you picked so much last time, almost none of it has been used yet." He Xiaoya replied.
"Then...that's right, those potatoes are still outside. I have to go take a look..."
"Mother," Wang San'er said, "I just went to check them this morning, it's fine."
Li Yao: ...You foolish child.
By this time, Wang Jiafu had already arrived in the yard, along with him was Zhang the county captain.
Seeing that she could not get away, Li Yao sighed lightly in her heart.
Fine, meet it is.
But before going, she had to put on a pair of cotton trousers, lest her knees hurt from kneeling later.
Following the two men to the village elder's home, she saw a large group of people sitting in the yard from afar. The county magistrate's wife stood up first and came over with a smile.
"Sister Li Yao, we meet again."
"Greetings to the county magistrate's wife."
"Oh ho, we are all sisters, no need to be so polite," the county magistrate's wife said. "When our family's lord heard that you found some sweet potatoes, he insisted on coming to take a look."
Li Yao walked in front of County Magistrate Song and was about to bow, when County Magistrate Song said: "We're not in the court hall, so there's no need for formalities."
Li Yao blinked. So there really was no need to kneel?
In the TV shows she had watched before, whenever a county magistrate's carriage passed by on the road, the common people by the roadside would all kneel down to salute. If anyone dared to move, they would be whipped a few times by the yamen runners.
It seemed this County Magistrate Song did not have that kind of preference.
So she cupped her fist and said, "This common woman Li Yao greets County Magistrate."
This was County Magistrate Song's first time seeing Li Yao. He realized she was indeed different from ordinary people. Rather than an orthodox common woman, she was more like the lady of a wealthy household in the city.
Yet that wasn't quite right either. Compared to those ladies, Li Yao had more of a carefree temperament, somewhat resembling the female knights described in storybooks.
"My lord," the county magistrate's wife said in a low voice, seeing him stare straight at the woman, "Didn't you say you wanted to go to Li Yao's home to try the sweet potatoes?"
"Oh, ahem," County Magistrate Song came to his senses. "Yes, I did come for the sweet potatoes this time."
Since the county magistrate's wife had said so, Li Yao could not refuse either: "Then please come with me, County Magistrate and wife. But my home is poor, I hope you will not look down on it."
Poor...poor home?
County Magistrate Song twitched his mouth. Although he did not know how much money Li Yao had earned, describing it as poor was going too far.
But when they arrived at Li Yao's tattered thatched hut, only then did he know it really was too poor!
A few thatched huts that were who knows how many years old, with winds coming in from all eight directions of the walls. There were even several big holes in the roof... If he had not already known that Li Yao had built a very large new house that she just had not moved into yet, he really would have thought it was destitute.
"Xiao Hui, hurry and bring some stools."
"Oh!"
"Xiaoya, wash some sweet potatoes and steam them," Li Yao instructed. "And add a few more dishes, we have guests today."
"Got it, mother."
The county magistrate coming to their home to visit made Da Zhuang and his brothers very uneasy. They directly hid inside the room and did not come out. He Xiaoya was even more so, tightly shutting the bamboo fence door of the kitchen, bowing her head inside to cook.
On the contrary, Du Xiao Hui acted very composed, bringing over several long benches and placing them in the yard. The county magistrate couple did not fuss over the old benches, very naturally sitting down on them.
But their son Song Zhe who had come along, had already revealed an impatient expression long ago.
If it wasn't for County Magistrate Song pressing him, how could he have come to such a tattered place?
