“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 stab in her heart. She had to say, this conclusion made her, as Runan Commandery administrator, deeply 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 as they went deeper, she became more ashamed. Even the usually taciturn Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but say, “The officials of the Great Jin truly are wine sacks and rice bags.”
Zhao Hanzhang: …
Magistrate Gao: …
Magistrate Gao nearly cried.
Wu Erlang, who had been following behind them, heard Fu Tinghan’s such straightforward words and couldn’t stop staring at him with starry eyes.
Seeing Fu Tinghan’s somber expression, and that among all the people traveling with them not a single one agreed with him, Wu Erlang finally couldn’t help but speak up: “The young master is right—they’re all wine sacks and rice bags!”
To express his indignation and contempt, he even spat “Ptui!”
Zhao Hanzhang and Magistrate Gao: …
Fu Tinghan finally reacted, turning his head to glance at Zhao Hanzhang. “Naturally you’re not among them.”
Wu Erlang didn’t understand the meaning for a moment, not until they entered Suiping County seat and headed straight for the county yamen, where Zhao Hanzhang sat in the main hall.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Gao, who had been following behind Zhao Hanzhang all along, 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.
They had passed through many villages along this journey, gaining a preliminary understanding of the people’s conditions. Then reviewing the various account ledgers and data from Suiping County deepened their understanding further.
Zhao Hanzhang could sense that the people of Suiping County had reached a critical point. Currently they were just numbly waiting—they might silently pass through this extreme point as before, or like the people of Quyang County, they might instantly ignite that point and simply 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 the 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. It’s needed in Suiping County.”
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, his eyes brimmed with tears as he looked back at Zhao Hanzhang, deeply moved. This youth in his twenties let tears fall like they cost nothing. “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 already 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 stood dumbfounded. “So I’ve been mistaken 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 glare. “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? 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 glare.
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. 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 new 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.”