She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

"We'll agree to any conditions!" Upon hearing Shen Man's words, the disaster victims' eyes shone with hope, and they answered without hesitation.

"I won't give away or sell my grain; I can only lend it out."

Shen Man's voice was clear and firm, which made the disaster victims feel somewhat disappointed, because they knew that borrowed things had to be returned, and there was a possibility that interest would be added.

However, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "How do you intend to borrow it?"

Shen Man smiled and continued, "Go back and find your village head to sign a grain loan agreement with me. My grain will only be lent to your village, not to individuals. After all, my grain didn't come from thin air, and only in this way can I ensure that the grain I lend out won't be lost for nothing. As for how the grain is distributed in your village, that's up to you and your village head to negotiate; I won't interfere."

According to Shen Man's understanding, the situation in other villages is actually similar to that of Xiaoyao Village, with most residents being people of the same surname. Just like Dingjiagou, where everyone lives with the surname Ding, and Dahe Village, where everyone lives with the surname Zhao. The village heads are also members of their clan, so it's unlikely that they would embezzle grain.

After hearing Shen Man's words, the disaster victims all expressed their willingness to accept the terms. Although they didn't know if they would be able to repay the food in a year, at least they now had hope for survival.

So they hurriedly sent someone back to the village to find the village head and sign a grain loan agreement with Shen Man.

Li Mufeng, who had been listening to the commotion inside the house, was about to help Shen Man drive away the disaster victims when he saw the village head arrive with the villagers, so he didn't show himself.

Hearing what Shen Man said to the disaster victims, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Man'er is such a clever girl! This way, we don't have to worry about them defaulting on their debts, and we don't have to argue with so many people. It's truly ingenious!"

Li Mufeng secretly rejoiced that he hadn't acted rashly, otherwise he might have disrupted Shen Man's plans.

He watched Shen Man interacting with the disaster victims, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

He knew that to solve the problems of these disaster victims, force alone would not suffice; wisdom and strategy were essential.

Shen Man's intelligence surprised him.

"Tingxian, write down this method of borrowing grain under this agreement. If there is a famine in the future, the court may be able to promote it extensively!"

The village head also agreed with Shen Man's solution and expressed his willingness to witness for them.

He believed that this method of lending grain could not only help these disaster victims overcome their difficulties, but also ensure the stability of Xiaoyao Village, which was a win-win situation.

An hour later, the village heads of the four villages most severely affected by the disaster in Dongping Town arrived at Xiaoyao Village, led by the disaster victims.

Lanxiang invited them to her home, and then, as Shen Man had previously instructed, she discussed the matter of lending them grain, expressing her willingness to lend them grain, but on the condition that a return agreement be signed.

In the presence of the village head and several village representatives, Lanxiang and her daughter, along with village heads from several other villages, solemnly signed a grain loan agreement.

The agreement clearly stipulates that each village can borrow a certain amount of grain and repay it without interest within one year.

If the full amount cannot be repaid by the due date, it can be offset by the hours worked, or the repayment can be postponed through negotiation, but a certain amount of interest will need to be paid.

In addition, the agreement specifically states that if the borrower is unable to repay on time due to force majeure events such as natural disasters, they can apply to the lender for a partial debt waiver.

After all the grain loan agreements were signed, Shen Man finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She knew in her heart that this grain lending operation not only solved the urgent problems of the disaster victims, but also won Xiaoyao Village a good reputation and word of mouth.

Next, witnessed by the village head and villagers, Lanxiang weighed and distributed the grain she had stored at home to the village heads of the four villages according to the quantity written in the agreement.

After receiving the grain, the village leaders thanked Lanxiang sincerely and then left with the disaster victims from their village, satisfied.

As Shen Man watched the departing group, her heart finally settled down.

However, to Shen Man's surprise, her novel disaster relief method was quickly imitated and widely spread by others.

Other villages affected by the disaster also went to nearby wealthy households, attempting to borrow grain through this agreement.

To their surprise, the method actually worked, and many villages successfully borrowed grain from wealthy households, with results that were unexpectedly good.

In the past, during years of famine, some wealthy families, out of kindness and a desire to gain fame, would set up soup kitchens in front of their homes to distribute rice porridge to the victims. However, behind this act of charity lay many untold hardships.

First, organizing and operating such porridge sheds requires a lot of manpower, resources, and time. It is necessary not only to prepare enough ingredients, but also to ensure that the process of cooking and distributing porridge goes smoothly.

Secondly, while it may appear to be a charitable act, the actual benefits gained are relatively limited. Wealthy individuals may be more concerned with long-term gains and improved social standing than with simply seeking fame through short-term acts of charity.

As time went on, they gradually realized that the returns from distributing porridge were not as high as expected, and that it required a lot of effort and resources.

As a result, fewer and fewer people are willing to take on this responsibility, leading to the gradual disappearance of the porridge distribution phenomenon.

However, lending grain is completely different from distributing porridge.

They didn't need to take any risks or exert any effort, and the benefits they received were no different from those from distributing porridge before. Therefore, those shrewd wealthy people were very happy to do a favor.

Even if the disaster victims ultimately can't repay their debts, they can still use their labor to pay off the debts. After all, hiring people to do chores every year costs a considerable amount of money.

Fortunately, not many villages in Tongan County were affected by the disaster, and the villagers received timely relief through this agreement-based grain loan method, preventing large-scale deaths.

However, the situation is quite different in Qingyang County, which borders Tongan County.

Several towns in this county are located in mountainous areas with low elevations, making them vulnerable to flooding.

The torrential rain triggered flash floods, making Qingyang County one of the hardest-hit areas. Large areas of farmland were submerged, crops were severely damaged, and many villagers lost their homes and livelihoods.

The heavy snowfall a few days ago made their situation even more difficult. They had no choice but to leave their hometown and go to the county town to beg for a living.

However, the Qingyang County government took an irresponsible approach, maliciously driving away the disaster victims and sending them to several neighboring counties.