The village head’s surname was also Chen—they were from the same clan.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t intend to change clans when selecting a village head. Appointing a village head from a minor surname would simply be creating trouble for herself, because the villagers definitely wouldn’t listen to him.
So Zhao Hanzhang decided to still find a new village head from among the Chen surname.
The north wind howled. At this moment, whoever stood highest felt coldest.
Fu Tinghan stood at Zhao Hanzhang’s front side, blocking some of the wind, but standing like this was still cold. So Zhao Hanzhang pulled Fu Tinghan back down to squat in the slightly sheltered spot below the field ridge, and beckoned to Chen Fang, who was standing with his head lowered respectfully. “Come over, let’s talk.”
Chen Fang hesitated for a moment but still came forward and squatted cautiously to the side.
Zhao Hanzhang asked him, “Just now when the village head had people come back to block the Shangjiao Village people, why didn’t you come?”
Chen Fang said, “There were enough people to block them. If we all came, there’d be no one left in the fields to dig the channels.”
“Do you think the Shangjiao Village people should have been blocked?”
Chen Fang hesitated before saying, “Since my lady has already kept them, naturally they shouldn’t have been blocked.”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled and asked, “So in your heart, you actually agreed with Village Head Chen blocking the Shangjiao Village people?”
Chen Fang paused, then said, “These times are difficult. The County Magistrate is kindhearted and has given us relief before, and now provides work-for-relief. Each family can get through the winter, but no one knows what next year will be like. Naturally we want to save more money and grain. The village head’s action was also for the good of the village.”
Zhao Hanzhang looked at him with a half-smile, not speaking.
Chen Fang felt anxious in his heart and lowered his eyes, saying, “But work-for-relief is a major matter of the county office. With the County Magistrate here, naturally the County Magistrate should make the decision.”
Only then was Zhao Hanzhang somewhat satisfied, saying, “This time, over eighty people came from Shangjiao Village. Looking at their condition, they probably haven’t eaten their fill recently. Hungry, they walked over twenty li with difficulty to get here, only to be driven away with harsh words. Have you thought about how easily conflict could arise between the two sides? Once there’s conflict, how many people could be injured or killed?”
Chen Fang was shocked.
Zhao Hanzhang said, “As county office officials, everything should prioritize the people’s safety. This is even more true for village heads. One must act steadily and be a steady person. Moreover,”
She looked at him intently and said, “Don’t forget whose village head you are.”
Fu Tinghan, sitting to the side, glanced at Chen Fang. Seeing his honest face, he felt the man couldn’t grasp Zhao Hanzhang’s deeper meaning, so he added, “You’re the village head of Xiajiao Village’s villagers, and also the County Magistrate’s village head.”
Chen Fang had a look of sudden enlightenment.
Fu Tinghan: …He really didn’t understand.
He glanced at Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang: …
Never mind. She was choosing the tallest among the short. At least he knew to ask her rather than privately leading people to block like Village Head Chen did.
When evening came and they had finished their evening meal, Zhao Hanzhang summoned the heads of households from Xiajiao Village and the two nearby small villages that didn’t even have names, and directly announced the change of village head.
Village Head Chen was completely confused. Even after everyone dispersed, he still hadn’t reacted. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang leading Chen Fang to discuss matters on the side, he hurried to catch up. “County Magistrate, I don’t know what I did wrong?”
Zhao Hanzhang saw that quite a few people had stopped and were straining their ears to listen, so she asked, “If not for the person I kept running to tell me about the Shangjiao Village villagers coming to seek refuge, would you have reported it to me?”
The village head’s eyes widened as he immediately said, “Of course not. I wanted to handle it properly first before telling the County Magistrate…”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Good intention, but this matter is not small. Your two villages nearly came to blows over it. Once people start fighting, it becomes a matter of life and death. And I was right nearby. This is such a major matter—you neither had the ability to resolve it peacefully nor the thought to report it upward. Village Head Chen, did you truly regard me as the County Magistrate?”
Village Head Chen’s face turned deathly pale. “I…”
Zhao Hanzhang, seeing he couldn’t speak, turned and left, taking Chen Fang with her.
“You’ll take over the work here from now on,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “Besides the irrigation channel, you also need to clear the riverway. The excavated river mud can be composted for fertilizer. We don’t know what next year’s harvest will be like, so we must make all the preparations we can.”
Actually, an even better method would be to dig another reservoir connected to the riverway—that would have much better water storage.
But right now, the manpower and resources couldn’t keep up. Zhao Hanzhang knew that work had to be done gradually. Trying to accomplish everything at once would hurt not only others but also herself.
Chen Fang respectfully agreed.
“The Shangjiao Village villagers won’t steal your work. On the contrary, they’re here to help you. If the riverway can be cleared this winter, next year the river’s water storage capacity will be much higher, and you won’t need to worry about the irrigation channels having no water.” Zhao Hanzhang said, “If we left everything for you to do, you’d earn more wages, but it would inevitably delay next year’s farming season.”
“Everything we’re doing is to help you farm better and harvest more grain. If you only focus on the immediate small benefits, wouldn’t that be losing the forest for the trees?” she said. “I even think too few people have come. The more the better.”
Chen Fang was honest but not stupid. He immediately said, “I understand. I need to settle the Shangjiao Village people well and also reassure our village people so there won’t be greater conflicts between the two villages. If more people come to join us, that would be best—there’s no shortage of work.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Exactly. You drink from the same river, and many in the village are related to Shangjiao Village by marriage. You’re of the same blood and roots—you should help each other all the more.”
After guiding Chen Fang on the work direction, Zhao Hanzhang went back to find Fu Tinghan.
They would still stay overnight in Xiajiao Village tonight and head in another direction to inspect tomorrow, all the way to the iron mine.
The people from Shangjiao Village also settled into the village’s empty houses—seven or eight people per room. Even though night had fallen, they couldn’t help but talk.
“It seems female county magistrates are better after all—softer-hearted. We asked once and she agreed to keep us.”
“What do you think about bringing our families over to work too?”
“Right, right. We’ve eaten our fill, but our families are still going hungry.”
“Don’t rush. Work for a couple days first. Once we’ve built up some rapport, then we’ll bring this up.”
As it turned out, the next day, Zhao Hanzhang only watched them dig mud for a while before getting up and leaving Xiajiao Village.
Her Xiping County was very large, with many places requiring inspection. She couldn’t possibly stay in one place for too long.
The Shangjiao Village villagers soon experienced the hardship of dredging the riverway.
Not only was it strenuous work, but sometimes they had to step into water pits and rake up the silt from the river center. This exhausting and cold work—calling their families’ women and old folks to do it would be sending them to their deaths.
So they silently buried the matter in their hearts and stopped thinking about bringing it up.
The newly appointed village head Chen Fang seemed to know what they were thinking. When eating, he squatted together with them and said, “Stop worrying. Wages here are paid every ten days. On the tenth day, after getting your wages, you can go to the market to buy grain. I’ll give you a day off to send the grain home.”
—