Zhenfubao waved his hand and the warehouse was full of grain, and the whole family regretted it

Bai Wanwan said lightly:

"I am the head of a county and hold this seal. If I don't have a practical solution, why would I risk my reputation?

What’s more, I am the eldest princess.”

She paused, her voice deeper:

“You only know that the sons of merchants are not allowed to enter the government, but you don’t know that the law also has an old rule regarding inheritance by a person of different nationality.

In the early years, there was a salt merchant in the north who asked a distant uncle in the family who had no children to come forward and adopt his son.

Once the adoption document is stamped by the government and the child is registered as a farmer or craftsman in a branch of the family, he or she is no longer considered a child of the merchant family.

She glanced at the crowd:

"You are the same. There are always poor and childless branches in your clan. Pick a child with good character, go through the formal adoption process, and change the household registration.

When he enters the county school and takes the imperial examination, only his registered birthplace will be considered. Who would care whether his biological father is a grain merchant or a cloth merchant?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell silent. An elderly wealthy businessman suddenly looked up and said, "This... this method really works? Will the government recognize it?"

Bai Wanwan raised her eyebrows:

"Why don't you recognize it? Adoption is a major clan event. As long as the documents are in compliance and the procedures are complete, the county government's household registration office will have to change the register.

I can approve it here. You donate grain and cloth to relieve the disaster, and I will help you follow the legal path.

It neither violates the law nor resolves your worries. This is not just empty talk, but a real path.

Whether you leave or not is your business."

A wealthy businessman gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, saying, "Donate! There's no room for ambiguity on this matter!"

I will donate two hundred dan of brown rice and five thousand taels of silver. If it's not enough, I'll add more!"

The fat shopkeeper, who had been putting on airs, could no longer sit still. He stood up and said, "Boss Li, you're so generous! I'll donate 10,000 taels of silver, and have the accountant free up another 5,000 taels of cash to help the county government with its operations!"

Mr. Wang, who was in the silk business, followed up with, "I'll donate all the fifty rolls of cotton and twenty rolls of linen in my warehouse, plus another three thousand taels!"

Everyone looked back and saw that it was Mr. Zhou, who was in the grain transport business. He usually lived at the dock, but he had come today.

Boss Zhou glanced at the donation book on the table and, without waiting for anyone else to speak, said in a deep voice, "I will donate 10,000 taels of silver, plus 500 dan of refined rice and 300 dan of rough rice."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Before everyone could recover from the shock, someone in the corner suddenly sneered.

It was Mr. Zhao, who ran a grain warehouse business. He always loved to compete with Mr. Zhou: "Brother Zhou is very generous, but in this disaster year, it's an emergency, so a little more is better."

He paused, and his voice suddenly rose:

"I donated twelve thousand taels of silver, six hundred dan of refined rice, and four hundred dan of unpolished rice.

Besides, I have twenty carts of dried vegetables in my warehouse, let's take them to the refugee shelters!"

Even Bai Wanwan raised an eyebrow at this. Boss Zhou's face flushed red, and he clenched his fists and said, "I'll add another two hundred stone of beans!"

Boss Zhao immediately responded: "I'll add another 300 dan of beans."

The two of them started to compete with each other, and the amount of donation they reported was higher and higher.

The other wealthy businessmen looked at this scene, some were shocked, and some secretly raised the amount they reported.

After the last boss finished reporting his number, Zhiwei bent over the desk, fiddling with the abacus. After a long while, she said:

"Miss, the seventy-three bosses have a total of 11,800 dan of grain, including 2,100 dan of refined rice, 6,500 dan of rough rice, 2,200 dan of corn, and 900 dan of wheat kernels.

We also collected 1,200 dan of beans, 30 carts of dried vegetables, and 50 dan of coarse flour and cornmeal combined!"

She swallowed and continued:

"Three hundred and eighty bolts of cotton, two hundred and twenty bolts of linen, and seventeen bolts of winter flannel.

The total amount of silver was 83,000 taels, and someone also donated 20 carts of charcoal and 10 loads of medicinal herbs!"

Bai Wanwan nodded, tapping the edge of the table with her fingertips. "This is a timely help. It's enough to last us a full month. With this one month's buffer, we can do a lot of things."

She raised her eyes to the county official who was waiting beside her, and said in a crisp but clear voice:

"It's autumn now, the weather is cool but not too dry, it's a good time to plant.

Immediately go and count the county's public fields, wasteland, and the damaged yards that haven't collapsed, and note down all the places that can be planted."

She counted on her hands:

“The vegetables need to be planted first, such as radish, cabbage, and spinach, which are fast-growing.

The tender leaves can be harvested half a month after sowing the seeds, which is enough for the people to mix with porridge and eat to alleviate hunger.

The work of repairing sheds and filling granaries cannot be stopped. During the day, the men are assigned to repair the sheds, and in the evening, the women and children are organized to plow the land and sow seeds. The land does not rest even when the men rest.

She paused and continued:

"This month we are racing against time to harvest, so we have to plant the vegetables and autumn crops we have in hand first.

"We'll get through this period, and then we can slowly figure out what's next. We can always help the people get through this year of disaster."

This is also a last resort. These wealthy businessmen are willing to contribute money and effort now because it is profitable, but it will be extremely difficult to ask them for food later.

Bai Wanwan asked someone to help the children of these wealthy families change their household registration, and also promised to recommend these children of wealthy businessmen to famous colleges in Bianjing City.

There is not much difference between ancient times and modern times. People all hope that their sons will become successful and their daughters will become outstanding.

However, the resources in the hands of these wealthy businessmen are still quite terrifying.

After those wealthy businessmen returned, they naturally made some careful plans, but early the next morning, Bai Wanwan received bad news.

Her food was intercepted by Qin Biao's men.

Those wealthy businessmen came before dawn:

"Master, our food supplies are ready, but we are surrounded by soldiers.

Then they ordered us to deliver the food to their army, and there was nothing we could do!"

Some wealthy businessmen were furious: "These soldiers are simply lawless. This is clearly not their territory. What should we do now?"

"I've taken out all the food I can from my house. Hey, County Magistrate, what do you think we should do?"

Bai Wanwan smiled faintly and said:

"This Qin Biao is really powerful. He actually dared to rob my food. I like people like him. If there is nothing else, you can go back first!

And if you pay the money, everything I promised you will be honored."

The wealthy merchants then left, whispering to each other. Tao Yao, holding her sword, said, "I'm going to stab that Qin guy to death. What on earth does he want to do? He doesn't intend to leave us any chance of survival, does he?"

Miao He's eyes were red with anger. "Isn't that right? This is too much. Let's break into the military camp at night and kill that bastard."

Bai Wanwan looked at them helplessly and said:

"Why are you two so excited? Isn't it a good thing to stay calm when encountering things?

Have you forgotten what we are professionally doing?"

Zhiwei smiled shyly and said, "What we're best at is robbery. Who can beat us in this business?"

Bai Wanwan smiled faintly and said:

“My original idea was, if no one offends me, I won’t offend anyone.

But if someone insists on coming forward, I won’t be polite either.”