The concubine escaped and cried when she met the prince again

"Yes, whoever dares to catch fish today will be making things difficult for our Xia country." The villagers of Xia country shouted without giving in.

Shen Ruolan came to the riverside and frowned after hearing what the man said. She rubbed her brows and thought for a while, then said to the villagers across the river: "Don't worry, fellow villagers across the river. We can't catch all the fish. We catch the big ones and release the small ones. It won't have any impact on the fish next year."

After hearing what Shen Ruolan said, the villagers of Xia looked at her with displeasure and said, "Who are you? We don't care whether there are fish or not, we just don't let you catch them."

Shen Ruolan was not angry after hearing what the other party said. She could understand everyone's jealousy. After all, they did have their share of the fish in this river. She was silent for a moment and said to the villagers opposite: "I know that our Beiming folks caught too many fish, which makes you feel uncomfortable."

Shen Ruolan paused for a moment and continued, "How about this? Go call your village chief and I'll teach you how to catch fish. You can also fish in the river. If you can't finish the fish you catch, you can sell them to me."

After Shen Ruolan finished speaking, she paused and added: "It's best to call all the village heads on your river bank."

After hearing what Shen Ruolan said, the villagers of Xia looked at each other and asked Shen Ruolan, "Are you serious? Can you buy as many fish as we catch?"

Shen Ruolan nodded at them with certainty and said, "Really? All the fish you catch, no matter how big or small, as long as they are edible, I will buy them at one cent per pound."

One cent per pound of fish is much more cost-effective than eating grain, and the key is that fish soup is also nutritious.

The villagers of Xia State heard that fish cost one cent per pound. They looked at the bamboo basket behind Lu Kai, which must hold at least 300 pounds. Moreover, it was only noon. If they caught fish in a day, would there be more?

The more the Xia villagers thought about it, the more excited they became. They looked at Shen Ruolan and said, "Okay, wait here. We will go and inform the village chief."

Shen Ruolan looked at them and warned, "I will only wait for one hour. I won't wait for you later."

The villagers said, "Don't worry, it will be quick."

After the villagers finished speaking, they quickly rowed towards their shore.

When Lu Kai heard Shen Ruolan wanted to buy fish from the villagers of Xia Country, he looked at her apologetically and said, "Miss Shen, it's all our fault. We made you spend money."

Shen Ruolan looked at Lu Kai in the river and said, "It's OK, but starting tomorrow, the number of people in each fishing team will be increased to 300."

If the villagers of Xia Country joined in, it would be difficult to catch fish in the future, so all she could do now was to encourage everyone to catch as much as possible.

"Yes, Miss Shen." Lu Kai replied.

After he finished speaking, he paused and continued, "Miss Shen, if the villagers of Xia Country catch too many and we can't eat them all, wouldn't it be a pity if they go bad?"

Shen Ruolan smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, no matter how many fish we take from them, none of them will be bad."

So far, there are nearly three thousand refugees, big and small. Even if all the fish in the river are caught, they can still consume all the fish without food.

Hearing that the fish would not be bad, Lu Kai continued to concentrate on fishing.

After Shen Ruolan waited on the river bank for nearly half an hour, she finally saw the villagers from Xia Kingdom coming again.

They rowed to the middle of the river, looked up at Shen Ruolan and asked, "Young man, can you really teach our villagers how to fish, and buy their fish?"

Shen Ruolan looked down at the elders in the boat and asked with a smile, "Won't you guys come ashore to talk?"

The old men looked at each other and said, "We have to pay copper coins to go ashore. If there is anything, let's just say it."

"Okay." Shen Ruolan listened to everyone's words. She didn't make things difficult for them. She repeated what she had just said to the villagers. After that, she reminded several village heads, "Village heads, my personal suggestion is that each of your villages should auction a team to catch fish, and then the money from the sale should be divided equally among the whole village. In this way, everyone will have no conflicts and can still make money."

The reason why Shen Ruolan made such a kind suggestion was simply because she didn't want to be found by the villagers from the opposite side every day.

After hearing what Shen Ruolan said, several village heads of Xia Country nodded and said, "Young man, what you said makes sense. There is no problem with us doing this. But, how are we going to sell the fish to you after we catch them?"

This is the key point. If they send it over, the people in Nanfeng Village will definitely charge them for it. It seems a bit unrealistic to ask Shen Ruolan to collect it from each village one by one.

Shen Ruolan knew the rules on both sides of the river. She thought for a moment and said to them, "How about this? I will discuss it with the head of Nanfeng Village. Each time you go ashore to sell fish, I will charge you ten cents for less than 300 catties. For more than 300 catties, I will charge you five cents for every 100 catties. How about this?"

The village leaders in the boat discussed it in a low voice and said to Shen Ruolan, "Okay."

Seeing that they had no objection, Shen Ruolan nodded and said, "Okay, go prepare some bamboo baskets and baskets now. Tomorrow morning, after the village chiefs come over to sign the contract, you can start learning how to fish."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, young man." Although several village heads were eager to earn money, they still had to go back to prepare things and discuss with the villagers. Things would indeed be better starting tomorrow.

"Well, see you tomorrow." Shen Ruolan paused and continued, "By the way, village leaders, since I want to teach you how to fish, I can't be partial. On this side of the Beiming River, as long as there are villagers who are willing to fish, I will teach them too."

Several village leaders paused for a moment and responded to Shen Ruolan: "Of course."

With that, they rowed away.

On the way back, a younger man said to several old village chiefs: "Village chiefs, why do I feel that our Xia country is at a disadvantage in this matter?"

Several old village chiefs sighed and said, "Don't worry too much. Without these refugees, we wouldn't even be able to eat a bite of the fish in the river, let alone make money from it."

Another elderly village chief, stroking his graying goatee, agreed: "Village Chief Yuan is right. We need harmony to make money. Although it seems that we have lost money now, we have learned the skill of fishing. With this skill, we can benefit our descendants."

The young man listened to the village chief's words and nodded, saying, "The village chiefs are really thoughtful."

In Nanfeng Village, Shen Ruolan found Village Chief Wu and told him what happened today and her plan. After she finished speaking, she looked at Village Chief Wu and asked, "Uncle, do you have any other ideas?"

After hearing what Shen Ruolan said, Village Chief Wu looked at her with a complicated expression. If the villagers from Xia Country had not caused trouble today, she might not have taught everyone how to fish.