During my escape from famine, I survived by eavesdropping on the whispers of food.

Qin Shuangshuang noticed that several very richly dressed men had suddenly appeared beside her. She didn't understand why these people had suddenly approached her.

I had a feeling that these people were looking for me with ulterior motives.

However, at that moment, Jin Danian noticed something was wrong and leaned close to her ear, saying, "These people don't seem like good people. You should be careful."

Qin Shuangshuang became more curious and said to him, "I haven't heard much about the Chamber of Commerce. Perhaps you could explain it to me."

Immediately, another man in a green robe, unable to contain his excitement, spoke with great anticipation and pride, "Speaking of chambers of commerce, simply put, it's a group of people with various positions of power. The higher the position, the greater the authority. They are commonly referred to as the president of the chamber of commerce."

Whoever becomes the president of the chamber of commerce will be subject to his orders and serve him, thus driving the economic development of the entire county.

Upon hearing this, Qin Shuangshuang realized that this meant that one family was leading several other smaller families to develop together.

Qin Shuangshuang became interested. If she could become a member of them, she could use their channels to get rich in the future.

However, the reminder Jin Danian had just given her made her more cautious. Relying on the kind of approach that modern older women often use on people, Qin Shuangshuang tentatively asked, "I don't think I need to pay any money, do I? With my current abilities, I probably can't afford to give you any fees."

The wealthy man in the red robe stood before her. She quickly shook her head and said tactfully, "No need, no need. Just come over then, and we can get together and discuss our future development plans."

The county town is now in a dilapidated state. We need to pay more attention to how we can become wealthy and help it recover as soon as possible.

Qin Shuangshuang thought about it and realized that their thoughts coincided with hers. After watching them leave, Qin Shuangshuang turned to Jin Danian in front of her and asked, "Official Jin, do you know them?"

Jin Danian shook his head and said, "I don't know them, but judging from the way they looked at you, this matter is probably not so simple. You should be careful."

Qin Shuangshuang didn't think too much about it. What they wanted to do was not important to her. The important thing now was to make sure the people had enough to eat. Nothing else mattered.

Then Qin Shuangshuang watched as bowls of mushroom soup were taken away by everyone, and she felt very gratified. After everyone had a bowl of hot soup, Qin Shuangshuang was exhausted and sweating profusely, and she unconsciously put the spoon in the pot.

Lin Zheng came over at this moment, "Miss Qin, you've worked hard today. If I were you, none of us would even have a bowl of hot soup. Look how grateful we are to you now."

Seeing the repeated expressions of gratitude, Qin Shuangshuang smiled faintly at them, appearing much more mature and composed now.

That evening, Qin Shuangshuang sat alone in the kitchen, calculating how many more pots of mushrooms she had stored up could be stewed.

Just then, someone entered through the door. Qin Shuangshuang looked around and saw that it was Jin Danian who had come in.

Jin Danian entered, his tone revealing his distress, "Today's crisis is resolved, but what will we do tomorrow?"

Qin Shuangshuang was also thinking that the two of them hadn't been together for long when Lin Zheng came in.

Lin Zheng watched Qin Shuangshuang counting mushrooms. Looking at the mushrooms in front of her, he asked with some concern, "Miss Qin, you're counting mushrooms in the middle of the night. Is it because we won't have enough for tomorrow? What should we do if we don't?"

Lin Zheng's words made Qin Shuangshuang hesitate for a moment, and she said to him, "There are still some mushrooms left, but this can't go on forever. After all, there are tens of thousands of people who need to be fed, and it's not sustainable to keep drinking soup."

Lin Zheng nodded, sighed, and said, "That's true. If there weren't so many people, we wouldn't need to worry so much. We could manage just the few thousand people in our own county."

"But there's no other way. So many people are crammed into our county town. If I don't give them something to eat, I'll feel terrible about it later. After all, these are human lives, and as the local official, how can I bear to see people starve to death?"

Qin Shuangshuang nodded and said to him in affirmation, "Since so many people are in our county, it wouldn't be good if we didn't save them. We will do our best, and you should report this news to the imperial court as soon as possible so that the court can send someone to resolve this properly."

By the way, I have an idea I'd like to discuss with you.

Their eyes immediately fell on her face.

Qin Shuangshuang said, "My new goal now is to run into those businessmen today. They probably make a lot of money off the people in this county. I think we can use that to our advantage and get them to contribute some money to help these poor people. What do you think?"

Jin Danian shook his head and said, "It won't work. They won't agree. I asked them before. When I went to them to borrow money to buy military pay, they were always unwilling. Later I realized that businessmen only care about profit. At this time, those people are only concerned with putting the money in their own pockets. They don't care about the lives of others."

Qin Shuangshuang suddenly realized that she had almost gone to work for others to make money. She guessed that those old foxes were thinking of using her to make more money for themselves.

Qin Shuangshuang felt comforted, thinking that it was good that she hadn't agreed earlier. But when she thought about how much money they had was all from exploiting the people, she realized that if they could squeeze a little out of them, it would probably last them for a while.

Jin Danian and Lin Zheng discussed the matter for a while. They couldn't just try to force those wealthy people to buy or sell things because of these commoners.

If this gets back to the imperial court, my reputation and my career will be ruined in an instant.

This is a serious crime under the laws of the imperial court.

Jin Danian shook his head and said to Qin Shuangshuang, "This method is not advisable. If we really want to squeeze something out of them, we need to plan carefully first. Let's go and negotiate tonight. At least we need to exchange information to find out what they are thinking."

Qin Shuangshuang agreed.

It's unclear whether those wealthy men were simply hoping to fill their own bags more, or if they were genuinely willing to do good deeds.

Lin Zheng thought for a moment and decided to help Qin Shuangshuang. "Now I will hold a chamber of commerce meeting in my own name. I will have someone announce it soon. You can go tonight. I will have someone protect you in secret. You know the purpose. We want them to take out money to help the people."

This was a task assigned by the county magistrate, and she had to obey. Besides, there were pros and cons involved. If the other party agreed, she could join the Chamber of Commerce and make good use of other people's channels to develop her future entrepreneurial path. If the other party did not agree, she could see through their true colors as soon as possible and avoid those people taking the opportunity to sell her out.

She agreed, "Then I'll do as you say. Don't worry, I'll complete this task as soon as possible and try my best to persuade those wealthy men to give some money to help the refugees."

Everyone nodded in agreement. That evening, Qin Shuangshuang arrived at the only relatively well-restored inn in the vicinity, as promised. As soon as she entered, she noticed the innkeeper's evasive gaze.