Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t help but recall her own face in her mind—did she really look like a fool?

Yet the village chief frowned and sighed, “That’s true too. Once you leave, life will be hard for Dazhuang and the others.”

Zhao Hanzhang blinked. So there really were children?

Fu Tinghan asked, “Didn’t you say he was alone?”

The children weren’t Wu Erlang’s. Since he was the second son, there was naturally an elder brother.

Wu Dalang had three children. The brothers had already divided the household, and last year Wu Dalang had died protecting his family’s property from rampaging deserters who had rushed into the village, leaving behind three children.

Soon, Dazhuang arrived with his younger brother and sister standing before Zhao Hanzhang. The three children wore ragged clothes. Their faces were relatively clean, but their hands were covered in mud—before coming, they had been digging for wild roots in the fields.

The three sniffled and looked uncertainly at Wu Erlang before turning to stare at Zhao Hanzhang with innocent eyes alongside him.

Not only Zhao Hanzhang, but even Fu Tinghan on the side felt his heart soften. He couldn’t help but say in a low voice, “Why not keep them all?”

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t mind, except, “Do you know what it means to follow me?”

Wu Erlang immediately pulled his three nephews and niece to kneel before Zhao Hanzhang, saying, “To be slaves and servants, to serve as oxen and horses—we’re all willing, as long as the noble lady gives us a mouthful of food.”

The villagers who had gathered in the courtyard to watch immediately chimed in, “We’re willing too, we’re willing!”

Everyone stared intently at Zhao Hanzhang, saying one after another, “We don’t even want money for selling ourselves, just give us food and we’ll work.”

Everyone wanted to sell themselves to Zhao Hanzhang as slaves.

Although they didn’t know who she was, she had brought so many attendants, each with a horse—clearly very wealthy.

But Zhao Hanzhang showed no happiness at all; her expression was rather somber.

However, this only lasted briefly. She soon smiled, refusing most people and consoling them, “From what I know, Runan Commandery has a new commandery administrator—the county magistrate of Xiping County, Magistrate Zhao. She certainly won’t sit by and watch you suffer. Why not wait a bit longer? Perhaps there will be a turn for the better.”

She said, “It’s better to remain commoners if you can. Don’t sell yourselves lightly.”

In the end, Zhao Hanzhang only kept Wu Erlang and his three nephews and niece.

Everyone was extremely envious, all looking at Wu Erlang with jealous eyes.

Wu Erlang was also happy, but felt somewhat uneasy at heart. He had deceived Zhao Hanzhang, and she knew he had deceived her—so why did she still choose him instead of others?

He couldn’t shake the worry that after selling himself to her, she would torment him at will.

Wu Erlang’s expression shifted. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang look over, he gave her an ingratiating smile and unconsciously moved closer to Fu Tinghan. He explained his earlier behavior, “Young master, I lied before about having parents, wife, and children because I was afraid you’d think my nephews and niece weren’t close enough to me and wouldn’t give me more flatbread.”

Wu Erlang swore, “The flatbread you gave me, I gave it all to my nephews and niece. If you don’t believe me, ask them.”

Dazhuang on the side nodded repeatedly, emphasizing for his uncle, “More than half a flatbread! Second Uncle saved it all for us—he didn’t eat a single bite!”

Wu Erlang: …

Even Fu Tinghan felt embarrassed for him.

Zhao Hanzhang burst out laughing and said to Wu Erlang, “We’re only staying one night. We’ll head to the county seat tomorrow. Go back and pack your things now, and make proper arrangements for your home.”

Seeing she didn’t seem angry, Wu Erlang quietly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.

The village chief’s attitude toward her also improved somewhat because she had refused most villagers’ self-sales.

People weren’t worth much now. If you wanted slaves, you didn’t even need to pay a broker—just set up a table on the main road and you could buy plenty of people, as long as you had money and grain.

Although everyone was selling themselves to survive, selling oneself also meant one’s life and death were in another’s hands. If Zhao Hanzhang had agreed to take them all, not only the village chief but even Wu Erlang and the others who had offered to sell themselves would have become fearful.

But she had selectively refused most people. Not only could Wu Erlang follow her with peace of mind, but the village chief could also recommend others to her with confidence.

“Noble lady, actually Dazhu is quite diligent. He’s excellent at farming—you won’t lose out buying him.” He added, “Sangou is good too. He works tirelessly and is honest.”

That’s precisely why Zhao Hanzhang wouldn’t take them. Such people were best left in the fields to cultivate.

People like Wu Erlang—slippery and crafty—should be kept by her and put to use elsewhere.

After one night, Zhao Hanzhang had become quite familiar with the village chief’s family. From him, she gained a general understanding of this village, and oh, learned quite a bit about Wu Erlang’s limited life story.

After all, she was buying Wu Erlang and his three nephews and niece. To make her use them with confidence, and for Wu Erlang’s sake, the village chief took advantage of their lodging to speak many good words about Wu Erlang.

Wu Erlang was nineteen this year. No wonder Zhao Hanzhang had initially mistaken him for an old man—his appearance leaned toward mature. Because of poverty, he had never been able to marry.

Zhao Hanzhang could actually sense that the village chief didn’t much like Wu Erlang, because this young man was slippery and crafty. He himself had bean fields and rice paddies, and his elder brother’s family had also planted several acres, but when he and his three nephews and niece were hungry, rather than cutting his own green crops, he would cut from others’ fields.

But the village chief suppressed this dislike and recommended him to Zhao Hanzhang: “This lad is clever. Noble lady, feel free to send him on any errands.”

The village chief paused, then said, “And kind-hearted. Ah, as you’ve seen, he’s nineteen, but his nephew is already eight, so there’s quite an age gap between him and Wu Dalang.”

“When Wu Dalang married, he spent all the family savings. Less than two years after his wife entered the door, before Wu Erlang was even thirteen, they hastily divided the household. The brothers rarely lived together, but after Wu Dalang died, he still took in the three children.”

The village chief sighed, “From last year until now, over half a year, all three children have relied entirely on him for support.”

Magistrate Gao’s face flushed red, feeling it was bad for Zhao Hanzhang to hear such examples of brothers not getting along harmoniously. So he asked, “Was the household divided because the uncle and sister-in-law didn’t get along?”

The village chief looked at Magistrate Gao strangely. He was merely the chief of this small village, not the ward chief, so he didn’t recognize Magistrate Gao. He thought this person was no good, maliciously speculating about others without cause. “Zhou Shi was quite good. Back then, it was Zhou Shi who spoke up for the household division, and Wu Erlang got several acres of land. It was also she who mediated, so Wu Dalang looked after Wu Erlang somewhat. Otherwise, the brothers would have become enemies long ago.”

He paused and added, “Wu Erlang cares for his three nephews and niece so much—of course there’s their blood relationship, but more so, it should be to repay Zhou Shi.”

Magistrate Gao’s face turned even redder.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t think this was a problem with his governance as magistrate, but asked with interest, “What about Zhou Shi?”

“Alas, she died of illness two years ago. But even if she hadn’t died of illness, in times like these, who knows when she might have been killed by rampaging soldiers or starved to death. Dying of illness wasn’t so bad—she didn’t suffer much.”

Zhao Hanzhang felt a pang in her heart. She had to admit, this conclusion made her, as the Runan Commandery administrator, quite ashamed.

She sighed, “I wonder if the various lords at court would feel ashamed hearing such words?”

Whether they felt ashamed or not, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t know for now. But the deeper they went, the more ashamed she became. Even the usually taciturn Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but say, “The officials of the Great Jin truly are good-for-nothings.”

Zhao Hanzhang: …

Magistrate Gao: …

Magistrate Gao nearly cried.

Wu Erlang, following behind them, heard Fu Tinghan’s such straightforward words and kept stealing glances at him with starry eyes.

Seeing Fu Tinghan’s somber expression, and that among their traveling companions not a single person agreed with him, Wu Erlang finally couldn’t help but speak: “The young master is right—they’re all good-for-nothings!”

To express his indignation and contempt, he even added a “Ptui!”

Zhao Hanzhang and Magistrate Gao: …

Fu Tinghan finally reacted, turning to glance at Zhao Hanzhang. “Naturally you’re not among them.”

Wu Erlang couldn’t understand the meaning at first, until they entered Suiping County seat and headed straight for the county yamen, where Zhao Hanzhang took her seat in the main hall.

Meanwhile, Magistrate Gao, who had been following Zhao Hanzhang, turned to order the yamen runners, “Quickly summon the county administrator and registrar to pay respects to Commandery Administrator Zhao.”

The yamen runner acknowledged and trotted off to fetch them.

Wu Erlang’s mouth fell open.

Along their journey through many villages, they had gained a preliminary understanding of the people’s conditions. Reviewing Suiping County’s various account ledgers and data only deepened their understanding.

Zhao Hanzhang could sense that Suiping County’s people had reached a critical point. Currently they were just numbly waiting—they might pass through this extreme point silently as before, or like the people of Quyang County, they might instantly ignite that point and outright rebel.

Zhao Hanzhang rubbed her forehead and asked, “What’s the situation with the grain shops, wealthy households, and merchants in the county?”

Magistrate Gao considered his answer carefully: “They still have some savings, but…”

He glanced cautiously at Zhao Hanzhang and said quietly, “Surely the yamen can’t requisition their property?”

Zhao Hanzhang lifted her eyelids and glanced at him. “Who said I was going to requisition their property?”

Right now, she couldn’t even win over commoners—why would she offend these people?

As long as they obeyed the law, they were all her subjects, and she still loved them dearly.

The loving Zhao Hanzhang decided to do business with them. She wrote a letter directly and handed it to Qiu Wu, having him find someone to send it back to Xiping. “Have Mister Ji send a batch of money. Suiping County needs it.”

Magistrate Gao’s eyes brightened considerably.

Zhao Hanzhang sighed to him, “Zifan, along this journey, although Suiping’s people suffer hardship, they harbor no resentment toward you. I know you’re a good official. There’s not much I can help you with, but I hope we can work together to at least let the people survive.”

Magistrate Gao’s given name was Sheng, courtesy name Zifan. At this moment, tears welled in his eyes as he looked back at Zhao Hanzhang, moved beyond words. This youth in his twenties let tears fall freely. “I knew it—the lady has a kind heart and won’t sit by watching the people suffer. Rest assured, I’ll do my utmost to prevent Suiping from losing its people again.”

In this Great Jin where vast numbers of refugees were produced daily, this promise was quite weighty. Zhao Hanzhang looked at him with equal emotion. “Good! Let us encourage each other!”

Fu Tinghan on the side: …

He twitched his lips and looked away, only to see the dazed Wu Erlang. He simply walked over and patted his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you settled first.”

Ting He took the initiative to lead him away.

In her view, Wu Erlang and his three nephews and niece were all servants the lady had purchased, naturally the same as her.

Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t staying at the county yamen but at the hostel across the street. She brought them directly to the hostel. Seeing they were still wearing that same dirty set of clothes from before, she took out two strings of coins and gave them to him. “Go buy yourselves two sets of clothes and shoes and socks, get all your personal items in order. Wash up clean today—tomorrow you’ll need to attend to orders nearby.”

Wu Erlang finally remembered to ask, “My, my master is… the commandery administrator?”

“That’s right.”

Wu Erlang was dumbstruck. “So I’ve been looking at it wrong all along—that’s not a lady but actually a young master?”

But the voice didn’t sound like it either.

Ting He shot him a look. “Our master is a lady. What’s wrong with that?”

She said, “In our household, it’s the lady who’s in charge. Haven’t you heard before? The county magistrate of Xiping County is a lady!”

“But that’s a county magistrate…” Wu Erlang’s eyes widened. “So our lady is the county magistrate of Xiping County?”

Ting He nodded, lifting her chin slightly with pride. “Now she’s already the commandery administrator.”

Wu Erlang clutched his chest, his eyes shining brightly. “Had I known it was her, I wouldn’t have lied about those two flatbreads.”

Ting He couldn’t help but shoot him another look.

Wu Erlang came to his senses with a start, took the money, and immediately dragged his three nephews and niece out to buy clothes.

He didn’t buy expensive ones, but he didn’t buy very cheap ones either. Instead, he bought fairly presentable gray hemp clothes. The hemp was somewhat better quality than the coarse hemp they usually wore.

But he carefully selected shoes, especially his and Dazhuang’s shoes. He bought good ones. “You’re not young anymore and can run errands for the master. You need good shoes. Er’zhuang and Sangu can just wear whatever.”

Dazhuang nodded in full agreement.

Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan formally took up residence in Suiping County. Fu Tinghan organized Suiping County’s data in the household office, while Zhao Hanzhang, with Magistrate Gao’s introductions, met with the county’s wealthy households, gentry, and grain merchants.

Zhao Hanzhang directly purchased grain from them. Some were forthright and willing to sell to her, while others hesitated, reluctant to part with it. After all, the wealthy households and gentry weren’t grain merchants—in these times, they preferred to keep grain in their hands.

Zhao Hanzhang persuaded them, “The autumn harvest is imminent. Your fields will soon yield crops. What use is storing this grain now?”

She smiled. “We cultivate fields not only to obtain food but also to exchange it for other good things. All of you aren’t lacking grain—you’re already well-fed. Why not use it to exchange for other things and make life more comfortable and refined?”

Zhao Hanzhang indicated she was willing to exchange grain for paper, books, and glassware.

With this, the wealthy households and gentry didn’t hesitate and agreed.

Zhao Hanzhang’s lips curved slightly upward as she immediately confirmed the transaction quantities with them.

Each family went back to prepare grain.

Zhao Hanzhang then had Magistrate Gao notify the ward chiefs to come to the county yamen for a meeting. “Once they arrive, we’ll determine the relief grain for each ward. It may not be very much, but it should help them get through this difficult time.”

Magistrate Gao was deeply moved. “This official represents the people of Suiping County in thanking the commandery administrator.”