Zhao Yelan was so busy these days that he hardly touched the ground. First, he put up notices reminding the common people to save water, store it properly, and stop waste. He also told them not to panic, and not to drive away refugees entering the city, but to guide them to shelter.

The charity house hadn’t been used for many years, so Zhao Yelan took the officers and soldiers from the government office to clean it up. Water was specially pulled from a mountain spring to be stored away, and many people were sent to investigate the water source.

Zhao Yelan sent Xiao Gao out again: “Kuang Sheng has slow legs, so he could only check the nearby area, but further away, someone still needs to investigate the situation. Go to Quzhou and Longzhou to have a look. If you find a disastrous situation, report it to the local government immediately. While you’re there, tell them not to reject refugees, but to settle them properly.”

A day later, Kuang Sheng returned with the nearest survey team. His complexion was dark, and his legs were still shaking when he sat down with a miserable expression: “The situation is not optimistic. The crops in the nearby area are all dry, and there are no people in the remote villages and towns. I don’t know where they went.”

“They will definitely move to a source of water.” Zhao Yelan found a detailed map of Huaizhou. “Tell me, how many are there?”

“Thirteen of the fourteen counties in Huaizhou are drought-stricken,” Kuang Sheng said. “The only one left is almost dry.”

Zhao Yelan frowned. The only remaining place would probably be flooded with refugees from the surrounding area, which may give rise to disputes.

It was obviously unrealistic for all of these refugees to squeeze into Huaizhou. For one, it would be too crowded, and the distance was also too long.

Fortunately, Yan Mingting left enough manpower for him.

“We must set up disaster relief sites as soon as possible.”

Yin Pinglu also rushed back exhaustedly at this moment. As soon as she entered the room, she poured half a pot of water and reported: “People in two counties have reported about the crops, but they were not taken seriously. I have already reprimanded those two county magistrates, and they expressed their willingness to face their crimes and make meritorious service by donating all of their belongings to cooperate with the disaster relief. The other counties promised to cooperate with my lord.”

“You have worked hard.” Zhao Yelan unfolded the map. “You are more familiar with Huaizou. Let’s see where it is most appropriate to set up disaster relief sites.”

Kuang Sheng divided five districts according to the distribution of rivers. On this basis, Yin Pinglu detailed the population and finally identified six disaster relief sites.

Zhao Yelan took half of the disaster funds and sent people to transport steamed buns and water to the six places respectively. He further expanded the scope to ensure that refugees could smoothly reach other places for refuge.

At night, many refugees suddenly poured in from outside the city. Zhao Yelan stood on the city wall and said: “Take these people to the charity house first and enter them into the register. Be sure not to miss any of them.”

The people in Huaizhou were quite obedient at first, but after seeing the refugees squeeze inside the next few days, they also started to become agitated. The living resources that once belonged to them were now taken away by these people. Who knew if the next drought would include Huaizhou? Then how would they save themselves?

“My lord, it’s not good, somebody threw something into the living quarters!”

Zhao Yelan had just returned from outside, and before he could catch his breath, he rushed to the charity house without stopping.

The sounds of commotion could be heard from a long distance away. The area was full of people, most of whom had come to watch the excitement, but this invisibly fueled the flames of the perpetrators.

It was originally a matter of a thrown egg, and the people around applauded it, but it gradually turned into throwing stones. The people inside also began to shout insults, and the two sides almost came to blows. The officers and soldiers guarding the door could barely control the scene.

“All of you, stop!” Zhao Yelan shouted. The soldiers behind him rushed in, and the people on both sides separated, but the cursing didn’t stop.

Just as Zhao Yelan walked to the door, a stone flew over and hit him on the forehead. Blood flowed down his eyebrows, contrasting against his pale face.

“My lord! Are you okay?” Yin Pinglu took a panicked step forward and hurriedly sent someone to find the doctor.

The crowd fell silent in an instant.

Zhao Yelan held his forehead, looked at the blood on his fingers, and sneered at once: “Very good, you are rather capable. First excluding foreigners, and then attacking court officials. You want to meet the king of hell earlier, is that right?”

The crowd was speechless, and after a long while, someone from the masses replied: “Zhao-daren, we didn’t mean to hit you.”

“Then stoning them was also unintentional?” Zhao Yelan said sternly, “Whoever made the first move, come out!”

Everyone was silent.

“Covering for each other,?ba? Come, arrest them all!”

The crowd looked left and right in a panic, and at last someone stood forward: “A real man must bear the consequences of his own actions. I did it! Kill me or cut my flesh, it’s up to you!”

“Someone so big and strong thinks he can commit a crime.” Zhao Yelan covered his forehead with a handkerchief and stepped forward to look him up and down.

“My lord, don’t kill him,?ah. His wife passed away, and there are only a few children left in the family. How can the children live like this,?ah,” someone said.

“Yes,?ah, he was just impulsive. My lord, just let him go, we will never cause trouble again in the future.”

Everyone said one sentence after another, helping to beg for mercy.

“Did I say I was going to kill him?” Although Zhao Yelan was furious, when it was a matter of life and death, it was easy to have extreme emotions. People should not be executed lightly, so as not to arouse the negative emotions of the masses. He asked, “Would you like to join the Self-Defense Force?”

The man was taken aback: “What is the Self-Defense Force?”

Just as Zhao Yelan was about to speak, he was struck by a headache and was unable to speak while pressing the wound. Yin Pinglu stepped forward and said for him: “In the past two days, Zhao-daren has been looking for ways to help everyone, and found a relatively remote water source. But the distance is a bit long, and it takes a day’s journey to go back and forth, so it is necessary to call up some manpower to carry the water. But it is not free labor, the government will pay these people double.”

“Is there really such a good thing?” When the people around heard this, they all cheered up. This was a great opportunity to make money.

Yin Pinglu: “Yes, those who want to go must come and register with me. Those who are strong and able to endure hardships and hard work will be given the priority.”

Yin Pinglu was soon surrounded by the crowd.

The purpose of the Self-Defense Force was actually to evacuate the population pressure in the city by sending the young and middle-aged people to the outside under the guise of transporting water. If all went well, they could really bring back some much-needed water.

Zhao Yelan was escorted back to the government office first. The doctor had already arrived, and while being bandaged, he looked at Gao Tan who had just rushed back: “There is no obvious drought in Longzhou or Quzhou?”

“Yes, they are close to the Yellow River, and the crops have not been affected,” Xiao Gao reported.

Zhao Yelan breathed a sigh of relief: “The evacuation of the refugees can begin.”

But there was still one problem – the money was running out. The disaster relief funds originally sent to Huaizhou only amounted to 38,000 taels. Adding the silver stored in the warehouse, the total was about 40,000 taels.

These days, the supplies at the six disaster relief sites, including the charity house, were almost exhausted. Now that they had added an additional expenditure for the Self-Defense Force, the money could barely last until the next day.

The height of the city lake had been reduced by half. The elegant boats on the lake in the past had been replaced by buckets, and all of the teahouses had been closed. The streets were so hot that everyone mostly stayed at home without going out, and only emerged at night to feel the wind.

And in the charity house, there were even more negative feelings, as if the group was waiting for death.

The disastrous situation was terrible, but the loss of spirit was also terrible. Therefore, Zhao Yelan wanted to cheer this group of people up.

Most of the people who went to join the Self-Defense Force were natives of Huaizhou, and those refugees could only try not to bother them.

Zhao Yelan made another announcement to the people in the charity house. The next meals would only be semi-finished products, and those who were willing to help cook would receive double the wages. The embroidery workshop was not yet closed, so those who were handy could apply to join, and those without skills would be given a certain amount of subsidies if they were willing to learn.

At this time, many women and children found work. The charity house had steamed buns to eat, a floor to sleep on, and they could go to the embroidery shop to learn crafts and earn some money. The negative emotions dissipated substantially. The shelter was no longer crowded with people, and the relationship between the refugees and the locals eased by a lot.

It was just a pity for Zhao Yelan’s wallet. All the money was taken from his private treasury.

He looked at the last banknote on his body with a broken heart.

Originally, all of that shining silver was for leisure and indulgence after leaving the Xuan Dynasty, and now this good thing was scattered across thousands of families.

All this because of Yan Mingting’s sentence, “There are tens of thousands of Mengtings waiting for our Mengting to rescue them.” Was it worth it?

He smiled to himself.

At this time, a little girl’s voice sounded at the door: “Zhao-daren, Zhao-daren!”

Going out curiously, he saw the guards at the door blocking the girl who wanted to rush in. It was the girl named Mengting. “Let her in,” he said.

Mengting was dressed in rags, but her face was bright. She ran up to him, touched the loose hair on her face, and asked: “Zhao-daren, have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet, what is it?” Zhao Yelan knelt down to look at her. “What do you want from me?”

“I was just passing by and thought that you seemed to live here.” Mengting took out a steamed bun from her bosom, held it in front of him, and said with a smile, “My mother made this at the charity house. I want to give it to you to eat.”

The steamed bun carried on the little girl’s body had been smothered, and the skin was stained by the little girls’ fingerprints. Zhao Yelan accepted it and took a bite, saying: “Delicious. Your mother’s cooking skills are good, but why did you want to give it to me?”

“Because you gave us steamed buns last time! We ate your steamed buns along the way, so we didn’t starve to death.” Mengting’s skin was a little tanned, but her teeth were exceptionally white and her smile was bright. “And my mother said you are a very good person, so I didn’t want you to be hungry.”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyebrows in surprise: “I am a good person?”

“That’s right, everyone says so, they say you’re better than the original Yin....Yin whatever. My lord is much better. If it weren’t for you, the rest of us would have starved to death. I’ll go to work with my mother in the embroidery workshop later. I think embroidery is much more fun than growing crops. When I learn this in the future, I will sew you an outfit, okay?”

Zhao Yelan took another bite of the steamed bun and his eyebrows curved: “Okay,?ah.”

Mengting paused for a moment, then suddenly said: “Then when I grow up, can I marry you?”

Zhao Yelan was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed out loud: “This isn’t possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because....” Zhao Yelan thought for a moment. Regardless of whether the other party understood or not, he said, “I’m already married.”

“Ah, what a pity!” Mengting pouted.

The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth curled up, and he divided the steamed bun into halves, returning the untouched half to her: “I’m full, this is for you. Eat a little more so that you can grow up quickly. I’m waiting for your new clothes.”

“Okay!” Mengting took it and opened her mouth to take a big bite, and when she looked at him, she smiled again with squinting eyes.

Zhao Yelan sent her to the gate of the government office: “Go and find your mother.”

“En, goodbye, Zhao-daren!”

Zhao Yelan stood at the door and watched her leave. People passing by all around would automatically call: “Zhao-daren.”

“Zhao-daren, have you eaten yet?”

“Zhao-daren, will the Self-Defense Force come back? Nothing will happen to my stinky man, will it?”

“Zhao-daren seems to have lost weight, would you like to come to my house for a meal?”

The weather was hot. Zhao Yelan wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling his chest grow inexplicably warmer. Smiling, he looked at these people coming and going and thought: It’s worth it.

Inexplicably, he missed Yan Mingting very much.

He wanted to talk with him about the current situation, chat about everything that had happened these days, tell him everything in detail.

In the afternoon, Li Yucheng brought good news that his uncle was willing to provide five thousand taels for disaster relief.

“Only your uncle? What about the other merchants?”

“Just convincing my uncle has already exhausted all of my skills. I really can’t say anything to the others. After all, those people see me as a wastrel and don’t listen to my advice at all.”

“That’s reasonable.”

“.....”

“I’ll go meet with them for a while.” Zhao Yelan told him to gather all of them in the chamber of commerce.

The merchants sat in the hall and could guess with their toes what was going on. One of them couldn’t help being a little indignant: “These officials usually look down on us businessmen the most. Asking them to do anything is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, they send us straight to the bottom and then come to bleed us dry when something happens. I’ve had enough of this nonsense!”

The others were also stirred up and decided to present a united front. They would not be persuaded even in the face of death.

It was difficult for Cheng Ying to speak with them. After all, his brother-in-law was the Prime Minister, and he had already agreed to donate five thousand taels.

After a while, Zhao Yelan answered and had to make some perfunctory remarks:

“It is a pleasure to meet you at last. You are all well-known Confucian businessmen in Jiangnan and seeing you today, you really deserve your reputation.”

“Zhao-daren, there is no need for these polite words. Just tell us what you want from us,” the speaker coldly scoffed.

“All right, I will just say it straight. I hope the chamber of commerce can donate a little silver or supplies.”

“We refuse.”

Zhao Yelan smiled: “I haven’t mentioned the conditions yet.”

“What conditions could you have?” The speaker asked disdainfully.

“Everyone here is involved in many industries, and there must be embroidery workshops among them. The weaving skills in Jiangnan need not be spoken of, but it is a pity that everything is sent directly to the palace. The people in the capital can only hear of it, but never see or wear it. And the silk from the Western Regions is also unique. After business contacts were made, the common people have also come to love buying cloth from the Western Regions. On the other hand, your Jiangnan goods can only be circulated in Jiangnan and the south, which is really a pity,” Zhao Yelan said.

Li Yucheng echoed: “That’s right, think about it, how many dignitaries are there in the capital? If you sell them in Beijing, you can earn a lot.”

These words hit the weak point of this group of businessmen, and the leader said: “We also want to sell in the capital, but in order to save the face of the royal family, the Imperial court only allows us to sell to the palace, and not to the common people at all,?ah.”

This was an old rule left by the former Emperor. In order to show the superior status of the harem ladies, clothing from Jiangnan was only allowed to be sent to the palace. After Zhao Xuan ascended the throne, there were not many concubines in the palace and this omission was not noticed at all.

“Sooner or later, the whole country will know about the drought. If you all unite as one and show your kindness by helping the common people through these difficulties, I can also intercede with the Emperor on your behalf and allow you to distribute your goods in the northern market.”

“Just by opening your mouth, the Emperor will agree?”

“If the Emperor agrees, you can make a lot of profit in the future. After all, these goods were originally for the Imperial concubines, and if they are on the market, people will rush to buy them. If the Emperor does not agree, your situation will remain the same and you will not experience a loss. The donated money can be considered to be paying for your own lives. When the people are evacuated, you will be sent away first. Can you just sit back and relax? It’s better to earn a good reputation now, and have better standing and business opportunities in the future.”

Everyone exchanged glances, slightly tempted, and didn’t resist as fiercely as they did in the beginning.

Zhao Yelan gave Li Yucheng a meaningful look, and Li Yucheng immediately said: “To tell you the truth, I came to Jiangnan this time to learn from you, and I plan to start a small business after returning to the capital. Why don’t you cooperate with me, and I will send someone to Jiangnan to transport your goods, such as tea, porcelain, cloth, rice, medicinal materials and such. You won’t have to worry about losses on the road, or about slow sales. You can give me a thirty percent higher price, and the only requirement is that for three years, you can’t find someone else in the capital to work with.”

“Thirty percent higher? Then how do you plan to sell it?”

“I have my own ways,” Li Yucheng said. “After all, none of you know the capital better than me. If it sells well, I will order more. Even if it is unsalable, I will never trouble you.”

Just when everyone was weighing the pros and cons, Zhao Yelan took out the roster and said: “The Cheng family donated 4,000 taels. When I return to Beijing, I will be the first to report your kindness to the Emperor. At that time, the Emperor will allow silk to be distributed in the market, and you will be the only one allowed to do so.”

How could a family do it alone!?

This really stabbed everyone in the lungs. They would rather hurt themselves to damage the enemy, and never wanted one to come out on top. In an instant, everyone expressed their willingness to donate four thousand taels.

Cheng Ying’s eyes moved, settling on Zhao Yelan, and he suddenly understood why Zhao Yelan only said that he had donated four thousand and said: “Then I will give five thousand.”

Zhao Yelan sent him a gratified look, but the others were anxious.

“I’ll pay five thousand and five!”

“Six thousand from me!”

In the end, the leader was heartless: “I’ll pay eight thousand.”

The others: “.....” You traitor.

“I’ll also pay eight thousand!”

“Count me in!”

“I’ll go eight thousand and eight!”

“Hiss?—”

Seeing that the speculation was getting higher and higher, Zhao Yelan smiled slightly: “Let’s do this,?ba. For the sake of fairness, let’s unify at eight thousand taels, and then I will give an account of your loyalty to the Emperor and strive for your best interests.”

“Zhao-daren, please don’t slip up,?ah, everything depends on you.”

“Naturally. I wouldn’t dare say this if I wasn’t sure. Everyone go back early, I will send people to collect the silver after dark and inform the common people of your donations,” Zhao Yelan said.

Everyone was really hurting, yet at the same time saying words of gratitude.

Cheng Ying stayed when they all departed in the end, sighing to Li Yucheng: “I agreed to five thousand, but in the blink of an eye, three thousand more was taken away.”

“Uncle, calm down.” Li Yucheng squeezed his shoulder and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, I will return it to you when I earn it back.”

“You? Do you think it’s so easy to make money?”

Li Yucheng gave a secretive smile: “Don’t forget, they have already signed an agreement with me, and all the goods in the capital will be handed over to me for distribution. As soon as the Emperor agrees to Zhao Yelan’s conditions, the silk will be sold by me first, and a steady stream of money will come rushing in.”

“But will this group of people agree?”

“I can give them a small profit, but not too much. Anyway, I can already make a lot of money for them, and it is a profitable business. If they want more, there is no way, and we have a contract to prove it. And we only set it up for three years, so if they want to go to the capital to do business by themselves, that’s no problem,?ah.” Li Yucheng chuckled. “It’s just that Jiangnan silk will no longer be a rare commodity at that time.”

Cheng Ying came to a sudden realization: “Boy, you are really a schemer,?ah.”

“I’m just a little clever. The real schemer is someone else.”

“You mean....” Cheng Ying asked in a low voice, “Zhao-daren?”

“It’s all his idea, I’m at most the second shopkeeper. We will be working together in the future,” Li Yucheng said proudly. “But to be the second shopkeeper, I feel that I am very rich, and there will be many better days in the future.”

As a merchant, Cheng Ying couldn’t help but admire Zhao Yelan’s business acumen, and he suddenly realized another thing: “If the market in the capital is really opened up, then the demand will increase, and the original embroiderers may not be enough....”

“So now he pays out of his own pocket to let these troubled women and children go to the embroidery workshop to learn skills, which not only alleviates the current predicament, but also prepares for future business.” Li Yucheng gave a sincere thumbs up. “Check out this foresight....”

Dumbfounded, Cheng Ying patted him heavily on the shoulder: “Uncle has nothing to teach you. You’d better go with Zhao-daren, and there will be many better days in the future.”

In the evening, the doctor came to treat Zhao Yelan’s wound. It had scabbed over and there was no need to wrap it with gauze.

Zhao Yelan counted the 80,000 taels of relief money raised and then called Yin Pinglu, Kuang Sheng, and the head official to discuss the route to evacuate the refugees to Quzhou and Longzhou, as well as how to keep enough dry food and water on the way.

The handful of people sat around and discussed for a while, and Xiao Gao suddenly ran in excitedly: “My lord, my lord! The General is back!”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then raised their heads and looked toward the door.

“There are a lot of people here, escorting the disaster money and supplies from the court!” Xiao Gao said enthusiastically.

Everyone got up in surprise to greet them. Zhao Yelan’s footsteps were hurried, and he didn’t even have time to put down the brush in his hand. When he was approaching the gate, he thought of something and suddenly turned around and ran back into the back courtyard.

While everyone was wondering, Yan Mingting took a few steps into the gate and inspected the circle of people. After dealing with everyone’s greetings, he asked: “Where are the others?”

“My lord seems to have gone back to his room.”

Yan Mingting asked the head official to go outside and pick up the team, as well as the new magistrate of Pi county, and then walked quickly to the back courtyard.

Yin Pinglu saw that her help was not needed outside, and worriedly followed to check on the situation.

As soon as she arrived in the courtyard, she unexpectedly saw Yan Mingting knocking on the door: “I’m back, why won’t you come out to see me? Mengting, Mengting! I’ll count to three, and if you don’t come out, I’ll smash the door,?ah.”

“If you dare to smash the door, I will smash you,” said the person inside.

“Then you come out,?ah. Why don’t you want to see me? Have you broken your promise? Are you seeing another man?

His words became more outrageous the more he said. Yin Pinglu stepped forward and pulled Yan Mingting back, telling the truth in one sentence: “My lord is disfigured and doesn’t want you to see him.”