The Story of a Spoiled Daughter Raising a Husband

Hearing him say that, Tong Qian felt it was actually better than she had imagined, and smiled with relief. "Brother Xiuping, you see, you still understand these things. You just didn't want to think about it too much before. Now that you think about it, don't you feel that your previous situation was particularly unworthy?"

Seeing that Ji Xiuping wanted to explain, I didn't give him the chance. "Alright, let's not talk about the past. Now let's just consider what we should do."

“What you said is indeed correct, and it goes a little deeper than I thought. But besides changing their impression of us, there are other things we can do. What do you think the villagers need more now, or what they lack?”

Ji Xiuping immediately thought of food and silver, but he didn't have any of those things at home. How could he do what Tong Qian wanted to do? He couldn't help but frown.

He said incredulously, "Qian'er, do you mean you want to distribute silver to the villagers? Although the idea is good, there are so many people in the village, and we don't have enough silver right now."

Tong Qian chuckled softly as she heard Ji Xiuping's voice getting softer and softer. She then leaned close to Ji Xiuping's ear and whispered, "Brother Xiuping, you're so cute."

Having said that, she quickly jumped back, coughed lightly to cover up her emotions, and then said softly, "Brother Xiuping, don't worry, I certainly won't take the money to distribute to everyone. Even if I did distribute it now, many problems would arise."

"Think about it, if you really do this now, when someone comes to investigate, they will definitely be suspicious of this inexplicable situation, which will have a worse impact on you. Think about it, what else is there besides money?"

When Tong Qian made that sudden move, Ji Xiuping was a little dazed. And when he heard her question in that moment, he replied without thinking, "Grain."

Upon hearing this answer, Tong Qian finally felt relieved. "Brother Xiuping is right. Food is the most important thing for people. And here, compared to money, the villagers care more about having enough to eat and wear."

"Although they have daily work now, which can ensure that there won't be any unfounded problems with food, there will still be unpredictable disasters. When that happens, won't they need more supplies? But the people here are all under the same sky."

“The land here is all the same, and there is no other way to help them. If they go to other places to buy it with silver, they won’t even have enough food. What will they use to exchange for silver? Without silver, who will sell to them?”

"If we can provide them with corresponding conveniences in terms of food, wouldn't they have a different status in their hearts? Every villager is actually simple and honest. If you treat them well, they will naturally appreciate your kindness, and they will have different opportunities when you need them."

As Tong Qian said this, she wasn't really sure herself. She only had an initial idea for this matter, and if she were to elaborate, she really didn't know how to implement it. But as she spoke, she thought of a more suitable solution, and her eyes shone with a different kind of charm.

Hearing Tong Qian's considerations, Ji Xiuping was even more surprised. She was not only trying to solve the current predicament, which was not yet a real predicament, but was considering the problem from a larger perspective.

However, if we follow her suggestion, this method does indeed solve the predicament she envisioned, but providing them with food is no easier than giving them money directly. Even if we buy food from elsewhere, it won't solve their immediate problem in the short term.

"Qian'er, this consideration is indeed more appropriate. After all, even if someone investigates these matters later, it will only show that the problem was solved for the villagers, and nothing else was done that shouldn't have happened. No one can use these things to make a fuss."

"But the most pressing problem right now is that we can't buy that much grain right now, and even if we did, we wouldn't have anywhere to store it. But if we wait until then to buy it, it will be too late."

Tong Qian nodded thoughtfully as she listened to him point out her problems. It seemed that he could see things more practically in these matters and had grasped the fleeting thoughts she had had before. The issues related to subsidies had suddenly become clear.

Previously, I only thought that providing food and teaching the skills they needed would help them. I thought that doing something beneficial for the villagers and changing their current reputation would be a good thing. I never thought that there would be such a problem. However, no matter how many problems there are, they can't stump me, a person from the future.

“Brother Xiuping, how about we think about it differently? It’s better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. What do you think? If we could hire someone to teach them how to improve the quality of the soil, how to effectively increase yields, and how to better avoid natural disasters, wouldn’t that be better than just giving them food directly?”

"Similarly, through their own efforts, they can obtain suitable planting methods in the long term, which will benefit them for life, so that what they gain is not just food."

“When the harvest is plentiful, you can exchange grain for silver, and you can also keep some in the village for emergencies in addition to daily needs. Isn’t this a win-win situation? Moreover, I think this method is more acceptable to more people than giving it directly.”

Ji Xiuping had only thought that Tong Qian would probably use the money she received from the teahouse owner to help change her current situation by providing food relief, but he never expected that she would come up with such a method.

"Qian'er, you are so clever. You were able to come up with such a method so that the villagers can have their own understanding of planting methods, so that their harvest can be abundant and become the pillar to support their families. It not only solves our problem, but also, on a deeper level, gives them a steady stream of money."

“Giving them food can only solve their immediate problem, and giving them silver can only sustain them for a short time. But by doing this, you end up giving them both food and silver.”