Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

The yamen runners controlled the refugees who had gathered to watch, leaving a clear space in the middle.

Lu Yunfeng stood up and spoke loudly: "This pot contains medicine for everyone. Drinking it will cure everyone's illness. After half an hour, everyone will line up in an orderly manner and come one by one to receive the medicine. Those who are not sick can also come and get a bowl to prevent the flu. Do you understand?"

As soon as this statement came out, there was an uproar below.

"The magistrate of Yunding County is so kind! Not only does he give us food and drink, he even brews medicine for us."

"I've heard that the people of Yunding County are honest and kind, and that the county magistrate has made great contributions to long-term governance, so I came here. I didn't expect it to be true."

"You don't know, I have a relative who went to the neighboring Taiyin County, but there he only gets one porridge a day, and it's all water. You can't even find a grain of rice at a glance. He got hungry right after drinking it, so he came all the way to me today."

"I also heard that the villages here have discovered a new crop. One acre of land can produce hundreds of kilograms of crops, and the harvest can be harvested in two or three months. The farmers here have never gone hungry, which makes me very envious."

"You've heard that this is why I came here. It's said that this crop was discovered by a peasant woman, and because of it, the emperor even gave her an official position."

"Oh my god, is there really such a magical food? If we plant it, we won't have to starve..."

The refugees below gathered in heaps, discussing the gossip they had heard.

There were a few men nearby who heard this. They were also refugees, and because they were strong, they each had considerable power.

Several people looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

They have been together since they started fleeing famine, and have done many great things together on the road. There is no need for extra words, just a glance to know that the other person's ideas coincide with their own.

The two large pots in front were bubbling, and the first pot of medicine was freshly brewed.

There were nearly two to three hundred refugees gathered outside the city, and the medicine needed to be boiled many times before it could be measured. The refugees near the front row each took a bowl of medicine and drank it, and immediately felt a lot better in their stomachs.

I have porridge twice a day and take medicine twice a day, before breakfast and after dinner.

Because of the large population, people had to line up to eat and drink medicine, so the several big pots outside the city were never shut down.

Lu Yunfeng did not slack off at all just because he was an official. Instead, he worked hard with everyone else.

He followed the yamen runners and handed bowls of medicine to everyone, and only then did he feel truly at ease.

When the refugees learned that he was the county magistrate in the city, but still handled these matters personally, they felt an even stronger sense of belonging to Yunding County.

the next day.

The people and refugees who took the medicine finally felt better, and many of them had their body temperatures gradually stabilized. Although they were not completely cured, their conditions were at least under control.

After hearing the good news in the early morning, County Magistrate Wang covered himself with a blanket in the hall and slept for two hours.

When it was just getting light, he got up and continued to handle government affairs. Now his condition was under control, but another problem arose.

There is very little food left in the warehouse...

He pinched his brows helplessly and called out slowly, "Master, come in."

"My lord, what do you want?"

The chief clerk quietly opened the door and stood aside respectfully.

"Take my seal and go now. Invite all the merchants, big and small, in Yunding County. Each one must send a representative. Anyone who disobeys will be arrested for provoking disturbances."

The chief clerk asked softly, "Sir, are you preparing to..."

"Yunding County is in dire straits right now. It's time for these wealthy businessmen, who exploit the people's wealth, to do something for them." He sighed softly. "Although this approach will cause public dissatisfaction, it's too late to worry about it now. After all, human lives are the most important."

After hearing this, the chief clerk did not ask any more questions and just took the order and left.

He understood that the situation in the city was now serious. All the grain in the granaries and county government warehouses had been used to help the victims. Now he could only place his hopes on these wealthy families, hoping that they would have a conscience and give some food to them.

Now the people in the city are in a panic, and the wealthy families are even more afraid of contracting the disease, so they simply stay indoors.

But they also sent many spies to the vicinity of the county government office to inquire about the county magistrate's future arrangements. If there was any unfavorable rumor, they would move their entire family to other places.

When the chief clerk arrived, they were all restless at home. When they heard that the county magistrate had invited them, they followed him to the county government office without saying a word, wanting to hear first-hand information.

At this time, the lobby of the county government office was full of people, including as many as forty or fifty businessmen.

Everyone's face was covered with a layer of white cloth... Although I didn't know what it was for, I heard that the county magistrate was also covered with this thing, so everyone followed suit.

After everyone had arrived, County Magistrate Wang slowly came out.

He sat on a high hall, looking coldly at the group of people below. Even the smallest boss in Yunding County was wearing something decent.

"Thank you all for taking the time to come to the county government office for tea."

County Magistrate Wang raised his hand and waved.

The people below could only pretend to do so and picked up the teacups beside them to start sipping the tea.

The county magistrate said nothing. The hall was completely silent, and everyone felt increasingly uneasy.

Suddenly, the county magistrate asked, "Shopkeeper Yang must have made quite a bit of money recently. Are you interested in talking to us about it?"

When Shopkeeper Yang was called, he immediately stood up in fear and trepidation. "No... I don't make much, just enough to feed my family. Your Excellency, you are really insulting me by saying that."

County Magistrate Wang snorted coldly, "Is that so? I heard that most of the ships at the docks a while ago belonged to your family. With so many ships coming and going, they must be carrying a lot of cargo. Then why is your Yang family's tax revenue similar to others'?"

Shopkeeper Yang was sweating profusely. He hadn't expected that the county magistrate knew so much about the flow of goods in his shop. Suddenly bringing it up at this critical juncture, wasn't it obvious that he wanted to help him?

"Oh, you said that the tax account book was put in the bottom of the county office. If we go to look for it, we won't be able to find it for a while..." County Magistrate Wang looked at him indifferently: "Shopkeeper Yang, how about I take some time now to ask someone to look for it and see if the tax inside matches your account book. If I accuse you of something wrong, wouldn't it be bad for you?"

Shopkeeper Yang was suddenly stunned.

This cannot be checked, especially for someone like him, how can his accounts be clean?

The Yang family's industry in Yunding County alone brings in an annual income of about five thousand taels of silver, while the annual tax is nearly one thousand taels. He has not paid the amount in the past three years, so by this calculation, the tax is three thousand taels of silver.

Oh my God, if they really find out something, he will have to go to jail.

With a few thousand taels, he could spend the rest of his life there.