Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

"Moreover, locusts don't all appear at once; they accumulate year by year. The year before last, there were fewer locusts, which laid eggs. Last year, there were more, and with the warm winter, this year they have reached a certain number."

The drought has been going on for a long time, and it certainly isn't just affecting Liangzhou, so..."

He fears it will be another series of massive disasters!

Sang Ning had to admit that Huo Baohong knew more about the locust plague than she did.

Perhaps things are more serious than she imagined.

The village chief and the villagers turned pale.

Those who had just been determined not to harvest were now all wavering.

"Locust plague, locust plague is terrible!"

Before I knew it, Old Man Liu had arrived.

"You people from Liangzhou have only heard of them, but never seen them. You don't know how terrible locusts are. If a person stands in the fields, they can be buried alive, and the sky will be dark..."

Old Man Liu knew this much better than Huo Baohong.

Huo Baohong had only seen the tragic scenes after the locust plague, but he had never seen what the locusts looked like when they arrived.

In short, combining the two accounts, and with the villagers who returned to report that the Xu, Shi, and Lu families... had all begun harvesting their crops, it became clear that...

Without further hesitation, the village chief and a group of villagers went home, grabbed their sickles, and went to harvest.

Not only did the villagers accept it, but they also told their relatives.

Some people believed it, some didn't, and some went to the county government and the prefectural governor's office to inquire.

Bai Yi and Rong Kun ran to the fields and saw that quite a few people had started harvesting grain.

"The Huo family is really bold, actually inciting the people. What are they trying to do?"

Rong Kun thought to himself, "Could it be that he really can turn things around, so he's fearless?"

This is the first time in our dynasty that someone could be exonerated for treason!

No, there are some.

However, that was a complete overthrow, an outright rebellion.

With only women and crippled children left in the Huo family, they had no means to rebel!

Bai Yi approached Xu Wudetian with a sullen face.

"Xu Wude, how could you bear to lose so much grain during the harvest?"

Normally, they treat collecting grain like it's their life, but now they're being so generous!

Xu Wude's heart was already numb with pain.

People come and go, and they all ask this question. They either laugh at me or just keep asking. It's so annoying!

However, he still dared not be careless in answering Bai Yi's questions.

"When the locusts come, we won't be able to get anything. We have to give them up, even if we don't want to."

"You actually believed what Madam Sang said. How did she incite you all?"

Xu Wude frowned.

“Your Excellency, you can’t say that. What do you mean by encouraging or inciting? I’m a businessman. I made my own judgment after being reminded. Even if I lose money, I’ll accept it.”

"Heh, you'll admit it yourself, but if you lead so many people to harvest as well, what will happen when they have no food to eat? Will they have to admit it themselves?"

"I'm warning you, if they starve to death due to lack of food, you'll be held responsible!"

Xu Wude was furious.

This cold-hearted, black-faced prefect, isn't this the same prefect who asked him to donate money and goods back then?

"Then may I ask, sir, if the locusts really come and all the people who didn't harvest their crops have nothing to show for it, should the blame be placed on you, sir? After all, Madam Sang did warn you!"

"Xu Wude!" Bai Yi warned sternly.

Xu Wude lowered his head, ultimately not daring to stand his ground.

But it also made its position clear.

"Your Excellency has your own difficulties. I am just a businessman, and I don't even have a son now. I've long since come to terms with some things. Losing or winning a little isn't that important. If the people I exploit really can't survive, I'll give them all my wealth to help them!"

Bai Yi was stunned.

These are the words spoken by Xu Wude.

People who would follow you around begging even if you just wanted to borrow a porcelain bowl.

Should I give away all my wealth to help the people?

What a hell.

Bai Yi found it unbelievable, yet a sense of shame welled up from the bottom of his heart.

Even a profit-driven merchant has this kind of awareness; how could a prefect of a city, for the sake of his own future...

But... will the locusts really come?

This never happened in Liangzhou.

Bai Yi looked somewhat bewildered, staring blankly at the crops in the field.

Startled, the Xu family steward whispered, "Master... are you really going to give away all your wealth to those poor people..."

"Nonsense! Those who are exploiting us are our tenants. We'll just reduce the rent later. Why bother with all that?"

If Bai Yi forces us, we'll just run off to Tianjin. We've already bought property there..."

"Yes, yes, yes," the butler breathed a sigh of relief.

A fair-skinned, slender girl with bright eyes appeared beside Bai Yi at some point.

"Sang? I was just looking for you." Bai Yi immediately straightened his expression and spoke seriously.

But after saying it, I felt I didn't want to say what I originally wanted to say.

"Sir, I'm looking for you too."

Bai Yi seized the opportunity to reply: "What do you want from me? Are you talking about locusts again? Many people have already started harvesting. That's enough, don't let things get out of hand."

"There's something I've thought about a lot, and I still have to say it." Sang Ning ignored Bai Yi's somewhat irritated tone.

She only says one thing: she can't sleep if she doesn't say it.

How he does it is his business.

“My second uncle said that this year’s locusts are very similar to the locusts that plagued the Jingjiang River basin nineteen years ago.”

Nineteen years ago.

Jingjiang River Basin...

I have heard that it was a very serious disaster.

However, Bai Yi was young and only had a superficial understanding of this, so he didn't feel it very deeply.

Xu Wude was different.

When the locust plague struck Jingzhou, he was already fifteen years old and had long been traveling with his father as a merchant. At that time, his family only ran a cloth shop, and most of the cloth was transported from the south.

After the disaster in Jingzhou, the supply of goods was cut off, so he and his father went there in person.

That place is like hell on earth, it's awful.

Selling children, corpses by the roadside, everywhere you look.

The cloth shop simply couldn't produce that much stock, and his business declined day by day, so he switched to selling porcelain.

Upon hearing what Sang Ning said, Xu Wude let out a loud "Aww".

"Hurry up and collect it! Finish collecting it within three days, and I'll give each of you a liter of millet! No, two liters!"

He kicked the steward: "Go to the manor right now and find everyone, men and women, as long as they're breathing, and collect the grain!"

"Has Xu Wude gone mad?"

The merchants, both large and small, who were sitting on the ridge drinking tea and watching the commotion, burst out laughing at the way Xu Wude jumped up and down.

"Sigh, Xu Wude is really not what he used to be. He's clearly going downhill. He even believes what a female prisoner says."

At this moment, Xu Wude shouted again: "All the tenants of the Xu family who follow me to collect grain will have their rent waived this year!"

This immediately sparked a wave of calls.

The Xu family tenants who were still undecided all went home to get their sickles.

"They've gone mad, they've gone mad, they've really gone mad!"

"Was he... was he sacrificing himself for righteousness?"

"What kind of drug did that female prisoner give him? Could it be that he's taken a liking to her?"

Then, cheers also came from the Shi family's field.

Lu family...

These companies have always stuck together, but unexpectedly, they've joined Xu Wude in his madness at this time.

Even Bai Yi was shocked.

No, this is a bit beyond his expectations. He needs to go back quickly and discuss with someone what to do.

Sang Ning now truly admires Xu Wude.

There's a reason why he became the richest man.

Judging from this attitude, he may be stingy when he needs to, but he's absolutely decisive when it's time to act.

"Fatty, you're so generous! This is a truly righteous act. Heaven blesses the kind-hearted! I'll give you a big, fat son next year!"

"Really? Then I'll take it seriously!" Xu Wude perked up as soon as he heard about his son.

"However, you are the truly kind one. I wish you, Madam Sang, that you will have eight sons in your lifetime!"

Sanning: "..."

Damn it, why are you cursing people?!