Jiao Dalang followed behind the village head to help. The village head had just been scolded by Zhao Hanzhang, so his expression was rather unpleasant, and he was even more displeased with Jiao Dalang, the culprit.

He said coldly, “Hurry up and boil water to stir the flour.”

Wheat porridge was a way of eating that had recently spread from the county town. Ground wheat flour, wheat bran, and bean flour were mixed with water and stirred. After the water boiled, it was added spoonful by spoonful to cook, with a little salt added—the taste was quite good.

Much better than wheat gruel.

Unfortunately, it was labor-intensive. Not to mention anything else, just grinding the flour stumped most people—who had that much time to grind wheat and beans into flour?

Only when working for the county office could they eat such things.

The steward in charge of meals confirmed repeatedly that it was the County Magistrate’s order before agreeing to take out three portions of mixed flour to stir.

The cooked wheat porridge was poured into buckets. Jiao Dalang and the villagers each carried two buckets over, and the fragrance of food drifted along with their movement.

The people gathered around Zhao Hanzhang talking caught the smell, their stomachs rumbling, and they began to lose focus, frequently looking toward the field ridge, no longer listening to what Zhao Hanzhang was saying.

Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly, stood up, and said, “The porridge seems to be ready. Everyone eat something first. Did you bring bowls and chopsticks?”

“We did, we did.” The villagers from Shangjiao Village immediately pulled bowls and chopsticks from the bundles they carried with them.

These were essential items when going out. At first, Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan weren’t used to it, but they discovered that every time they went out, if they didn’t bring their own rice bowls, others would have to endure hunger first and give up their bowls to them.

So Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan had also developed the habit of carrying bowls and chopsticks when going out.

The local villagers were even more accustomed to this. They pulled out their bowls and chopsticks, and seeing Jiao Dalang and the others carrying steaming wooden buckets over, they immediately went to meet them.

Jiao Dalang, afraid they would fight over it and ruin the impression before Zhao Hanzhang, shouted from far away, “Line up, line up, no one is allowed to cause disorder.”

Qian Jin barely regained his rationality. Unable to bear fighting for it, he directly grabbed people pushing forward and made them queue up.

Zhao Hanzhang never tested human nature at times like this, so she glanced at Qiuwu and nodded slightly at him.

Qiuwu immediately stepped forward with the guards, shouting loudly, “Line up, line up…”

Someone, relying on his strong build, pushed people aside and squeezed forward, but was grabbed by Qiuwu, thrown to the ground, and kicked. “What are you squeezing for? Didn’t you hear the order to line up? Get to the back.”

This action from Qiuwu frightened the villagers. Only then did their rationality return, barely overcoming the feeling of hunger. They looked at Zhao Hanzhang with suspicion and alarm.

Zhao Hanzhang watched with a smile. Seeing them look over, she even nodded, saying warmly, “No rush, everyone will get some. Please line up properly before we begin.”

Some people were grateful and happily agreed, but others were more sensitive, shivering and turning pale as they stood in line.

They felt that this Lady Zhao wasn’t as gentle as she appeared on the surface. Hadn’t they noticed she didn’t even furrow her brow when the guard kicked and struck people?

This action from Qiuwu directly made the line orderly—no one dared to push forward anymore.

Jiao Dalang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In the dead of winter, he had broken out in a sweat on his forehead from anxiety.

Once everyone was lined up, he took a wooden ladle and served the wheat porridge to everyone. The villagers from Shangjiao Village were seeing this thing for the first time, but they didn’t hesitate much. After receiving their portion, they immediately walked aside and began eating.

As soon as it entered their mouths, they slurped it down into their bellies. After finishing, they finally savored it—they hadn’t chewed much earlier, but it seemed very smooth and had the fresh fragrance of flour.

The villagers regretfully licked their clean bowls again. Over there, Jiao Dalang had finished serving the first round. Seeing those who had eaten squatting on the ground licking their bowls, he quietly glanced at Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Those who haven’t eaten their fill, continue lining up for more. Rest assured, we have grain. However, you’ve been hungry for a long time and can’t eat too much. Let’s have everyone eat two bowls first.”

Hearing this, the villagers immediately surged forward, though this time they didn’t dare squeeze—they honestly stood one behind another.

After getting a second bowl, they finally ate more slowly, tasting the flavor of the wheat porridge.

A young boy’s eyes brightened. “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

The older ones had tears in their eyes. “Never have I eaten something this delicious. This is called wheat porridge? Is it made from white flour?”

But looking at the color of the porridge, it wasn’t that white.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “This is three-grain flour—besides wheat flour, there’s also some wheat bran and bean flour.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Do you still have beans at home?”

“Yes, besides wheat gruel, we occasionally eat some bean gruel too.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Bean gruel isn’t tasty. Ground into flour, it can be made into bean cakes, or combined with wheat flour to make steamed buns. Besides staple foods, it can also be made into dishes. Anyway, it has quite a few uses. How many acres of beans are you planning to plant next year?”

“Basically all the dry land will be planted.”

Zhao Hanzhang then asked, “How many acres of land does your family have, and how many people?”

Hearing that they wanted to work here through the entire winter and return to plant crops when spring came next year, Zhao Hanzhang expressed approval. “You should still plant crops—otherwise where will the grain come from?”

She asked, “Is irrigation easy in your area?”

“Not easy at all. It’s about the same as Xiajiao Village—just one small river. Every year it’s either flooding or drought. Life is hard.”

“Exactly, which is why I want to build irrigation channels in Xiajiao Village and clear the waterway, so that next year when there’s heavy rain, the fields won’t be flooded, and when there’s little rain, they can be irrigated, saving effort.”

The villagers from Shangjiao Village were extremely envious, wishing they could also become Xiajiao Village people.

Why wasn’t their county magistrate Lady Zhao?

Having probed to the bottom of things, Zhao Hanzhang called over the village head. “How many vacant houses are there in the village?”

The village head looked confused. “Huh?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Have them temporarily stay in the vacant houses. I’ll have people send some bedding. Starting today, they’ll work together with the Xiajiao Village people.”

The village head said quietly, “County Magistrate, although the irrigation channel is difficult to dig, if our village people dig for another month, it should be about done.”

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him and said, “They’ll go clear the riverway. You’d better speed up. If anyone slacks off, I won’t let it slide lightly.”

Zhao Hanzhang had the village head lead people to arrange lodging for the Shangjiao Village people, then called over Jiao Dalang. “In your li, besides your village head, who else has some prestige?”

Jiao Dalang was stunned for a moment, then said, “Uncle Chen Da. He’s upright, and everyone is willing to listen to him.”

“His surname is also Chen?” Zhao Hanzhang asked. “What’s his relationship to the village head?”

“He’s the village head’s paternal cousin.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Have him come see me.”

Jiao Dalang was puzzled but still agreed and ran off to find Chen Fang.

Chen Fang was a middle-aged man with a somewhat troubled expression on his face. Zhao Hanzhang looked at his hands and saw they were rough and large, with cracked fingers, the cracks visibly blackened. Her expression softened as she asked with a smile, “You’re called Chen Fang?”

Chen Fang replied anxiously with lowered head, “Yes, this humble one is Chen Fang.”

—