Chapter 487: A Family of Dandies Killed All the Civil and Military Officials in the Court (40)

That makes sense.

When Zhang Shixu was at the Jin family, he would only talk about the past and never talk about government affairs.

Even if he wanted to talk about some official affairs, he would stay in the study with County Magistrate Jin to discuss.

Even County Magistrate Jin rarely interfered in her business affairs, let alone Zhang Shixu.

He probably saw the situation clearly, but it was not easy to remind her directly, so he helped him convey it through the mouths of the brother and sister.

"Mom, the Wu family in our county has a blood relationship with the mother of the current prince. Haven't they always been eyeing our shop?

In this case, you should take this opportunity to sell it to the Wu family at a high price, collect all the money and take it to the south to buy rice and noodles, set up granaries, and hire soldiers to guard it.

Time cannot wait, mother."

Mrs. Jin's silence was the best answer.

Jin Shouan nodded with satisfaction, completed the task and immediately went to report to Jin Shu.

A few days later.

"Ah Shu, as you expected, our mother is already preparing to sell the shop!

Fortunately, our shop is in a good location and there is no problem selling it. The man surnamed Wu rushed over as soon as he heard the news and bought all the shops on the street east of our house!

Now our mother probably has tens of thousands of taels in her hands!"

Jin Shu nodded.

At this time, Jin Shouan noticed that there was a piece of cloth with green ointment covering her eyes.

"What is this?"

"Medicinal fumigation, good for the eyes."

"It smells so good, who did you ask to make the fumigation? I'll make some too. It won't irritate the eyes, but it will smell good in the house."

"I made it myself. If you want it, I have it in my drawer. Go get it yourself."

Jin Shouan looked at the drawer full of fumigation ointment in surprise, and turned his head to look at Jin Shu.

"Is there anything else you can't do? If you didn't remember everything you did when you were a child, I really wouldn't believe that you were my former sister Jin Shu."

Jin Shu did not hide her personality, and she was completely different from the previous Jin Shu.

But so what?

They suspected but could not find any evidence. Besides, everything they did was going in a good direction. Everything they did was for the Jin family and the people of He'an County.

Then they had nothing to say.

That night, the little sister of the Jin family started to make trouble again.

The scolding by Jin Shu in the past few days has been somewhat effective. At least she can sit in the study room honestly for an hour.

But because Jin Chuyao did not appear again in the past few days, Jin Qi thought about her day and night, and finally started to make trouble in the middle of the night.

If a six or seven-year-old child becomes dependent on someone or something, it will take some effort to quit.

Jin Shu did not punish her by not eating as before. After all, this method only treats the symptoms and not the root cause.

So she directly instructed Jin Shouan.

"Next time you give away porridge, take Jin Qi with you and let her help with the work."

"What can a little girl do?"

"She's only sixteen years old, strong and healthy. Let her carry the rice bags. If she doesn't, she'll be beaten."

Although Jin Shouan felt sorry for her, he was obedient to Jin Shu now. As long as she said something, he basically wouldn't ask any more questions and would just do it.

Now, the refugees in He'an County have been separated by a separate street by County Magistrate Jin to accommodate them.

There are nearly five thousand refugees in the county now. If it weren't for the recent proper control, the number would only be three or four times more than it is now.

Because they have no land, no livelihood, and no housing, these people can only survive on the county government's twice-daily porridge.

At first, County Magistrate Jin gave all the thick porridge made from pure white rice, and the quality of the two meals a day was even better than that of ordinary people.

Later, it was Zhang Shixu who suggested that he change the thick porridge to a slightly thinner porridge, and add a little mud and sand to the daily porridge.

County Magistrate Jin couldn't bear it, and Zhang Shixu shut him up with just a few words.

"Food is limited, and the number of refugees has increased sharply. The limited food should be used for those who really need porridge to survive."

Afterwards, County Magistrate Jin sent people to check and found that among the people who came to get porridge every day, three out of ten were people who had land and houses nearby!

They were not in such a difficult situation that they needed a bowl of porridge from the county government to survive, but they still came to get it every day, and even brought their families to grab the only food source for refugees.

So in the next few days, County Magistrate Jin gradually changed the thick porridge to a slightly thinner rice porridge, and added mud and sand that affected the taste little by little.

These mud and sand will not cause any problem when eaten into the stomach, but it makes this bowl of porridge more difficult to eat. It is difficult for anyone who is not really hungry to drink this bowl of porridge.

In this way, the daily consumption of rice and flour is indeed much less, and the team coming to get porridge seems to be a little less.

Although this trick worked, facing the increasing number of refugees, even if rice was mixed into the sand, the grain stored in the He'an County Office, plus the Jin family's own granary, was not enough to provide all refugees with a life-saving meal.

Because of this matter, County Magistrate Jin was so worried that he couldn't sleep at night. He had to light a lamp and get up in the middle of the night to check the grain inventory.

Fortunately, Zhang Shixu was assigned by the emperor to come to He'an County for disaster relief, but the relief grain was only enough to last for half a month.

For today's family dinner, Mrs. Jin arranged the meal in the porridge tent.

The meal was only a bowl of white porridge per person, with side dishes pickled by their own chef in front of them.

Jin Shouan, who had long been accustomed to delicacies from mountains and seas, had no habit of eating them and had long wanted to leave, but when he saw Jin Shu sitting next to him and eating without saying a word, he suddenly felt that the meal was not completely uneatable.

Jin County Magistrate put down his chopsticks, only ate half a bowl of porridge, and frowned.

"I sent someone to count yesterday. There are 4,000 refugees in the county, and nearly 9,000 people are wandering outside the city.

If everyone is really let in, the people of He'an County will suffer."

These refugees are so hungry that robbing and stealing are nothing. What's more terrible is that they may kill people for food.

"The court only has 30 carts of disaster relief grain, which can't last long."

"So many refugees, only 30 carts of grain?"

Zhang Shixu looked grim.

"Your Majesty is critically ill, the prince's party and the third prince's party are fighting fiercely, and the refugee problem is nothing to them. Now the most important thing for them is the selection of the new emperor."

This is why Zhang Shixu didn't want to stay in the court.

He has tried to remain neutral, but he can't help being swept away by the flood, so he can only choose the more benevolent third prince.

At least the disaster relief grain was arranged by the third prince.

"If a dispute over the throne arises at this time, the people will not be able to survive. The throne... ah..."

Jin County Magistrate dared not say more after saying this.

If all the people in the world die, does it matter who becomes the emperor?