This heavy snowfall caused intermittent snowstorms, with the worst impact being in the area near the capital. Jinzhou was relatively better off as people living in dangerous houses had been resettled early on, so even with the addition of some refugees pouring into the provincial capital, it did not seem chaotic.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren came back exhausted. Zhulan felt so distressed that she said, "Eat more."
I have lost a lot of weight in the past two days of arranging refugees.
Zhou Shuren was very hungry. He had breakfast in the mansion in the morning and drank some porridge at noon. His stomach was empty. He ate a few mouthfuls of rice to fill his stomach. Then he said comfortably: "The refugees in the city have been properly settled. Fortunately, we prepared in advance, otherwise the refugees would not even have a place to live."
Zhou Shuren felt that he had accumulated a lot of good deeds. If it weren't for him, who knows how many people would have frozen to death. After the heavy snow stopped, the temperature dropped sharply. He was freezing even though he was wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket and a cloak. What about the poor people? It was good enough to have winter clothes. They didn't know how many years they would have to wait for the cotton-padded jackets to be hard and not warm enough.
Zhulan served Zhou Shuren chicken soup and put the bowl down before saying, "I heard that some kindhearted people have set up porridge shops these past two days. Do you think we should also set up a porridge shop?"
There was a lot of food at home, and her hoarding hoarding hoarding influenced the entire family, so the Zhou family had plenty of all kinds of supplies.
Zhou Shuren felt his stomach warm after drinking the ginseng chicken soup, and he was very satisfied. "There is no need to set up porridge shops. Starting tomorrow, no one will selfishly set up porridge shops. I have sent people to notify every household. No one is allowed to set up porridge shops privately. All food and cotton clothes should be donated to the government office, and the government office will distribute them uniformly, so that refugees will not be difficult to manage everywhere, and the materials can be reasonably allocated and used to the greatest extent."
Zhu Lan paused, "Some people are truly kind and generous, some do it to gain fame, and not everyone likes to donate to the government for unified allocation."
Zhou Shuren, "So I prepared a donation list, with details of who donated how much and how the donated items were distributed, and posted it outside the government office."
Zhulan chuckled, "This is a good idea. Since we are donating to the government office, as you are the prefect of Jinzhou, our government must also donate a thousand kilograms of food and the quilts and cotton clothes that we have prepared long ago. What do you think?"
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "It's pretty good, not too much, not too little."
Zhulan had considered this number carefully. She consulted several people from the Tao family and then picked a middle ground so as not to offend anyone and also to donate the most supplies.
Zhou Shuren was full and satisfied, "It's still more comfortable at home."
Zhulan, "I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some dried meat tomorrow, and you can take it with you."
Zhou Shuren waved his hand, "No need."
Zhou Shuren got angry when he talked about it. He really didn't think he had to share weal and woe with the people, but other officials insisted on doing so. Since there were so many people doing it, he felt embarrassed to ask for special treatment. God knows it would be better to do more practical work than to starve.
Zhu Lan sighed, "The situation in Jinzhou is pretty good, but I wonder how the other places in the capital are doing?"
Zhou Shuren leaned back in his chair and drank tea. "The capital will be a bit chaotic. The refugees nearby want to go to the capital the most. The capital has the most refugees. Even if we are prepared, we can't settle them in a short time."
Especially in the capital, where every inch of land is valuable and the population is dense, there are not many vacant houses, making resettlement more difficult.
The next day, the front of the Jinzhou government office was filled with carriages that came to donate grain. Zhou Shuren went out for a walk and said to Wang Ju, "Make sure to write down the details. Yes, write it in large characters."
Wang Ju said excitedly, "Yes, sir."
Zhou Shuren patted Wang Ju's shoulder. Mr. Wang had been a little excited these days. "Calm down."
Wang Ju couldn't remain calm. He had experienced several snowstorms at his age. When the dynasty was established, the people were really miserable when snowstorms occurred. The court had no money and not enough food. The people were poor and many people died in one disaster.
The situation got better in the later period. There had been a snowstorm a few years ago, and he was in Jinzhou at that time, but the situation was still not handled well. There was a shortage of everything, and many elderly people and children died.
He is the most relaxed and confident about this year's snow disaster. He really admires Lord Zhou. He does not ask to eat meat with Lord Zhou, but just drink more soup. Oh, no one died in this year's snow disaster, and there was no unrest at all. This is a political achievement!
After Zhou Shuren arrived in Jinzhou, he subtly cultivated the efficiency of the officials in the yamen. Every donation was recorded without any confusion. Zhou Shuren was very satisfied with this.
In the capital, the prince stood in a makeshift porridge shop and said quietly, "Even though we have made preparations, many refugees still have nowhere to stay. The weather is colder than in previous years, and we have run out of cotton-padded clothes to keep warm."
Ning Xu held his hands in front of his chest, "Your Highness has done very well."
Prince, "It's not that I did a good job, but that Lord Zhou's method was good."
Ning Xu had heard Lord Zhou more than once. He turned his head to look at the undisguised admiration in the prince's eyes and smiled, "It's getting late. The emperor is still waiting for the prince."
The prince looked at his uncle speechlessly. To be honest, this guy was really blatant. He knew that no one would guess that it was Ning Sanlang, but he actually followed him out. The corners of his mouth twitched, "Okay."
On the way back to the city, Ning Xu sat by the car window. He followed out for the prince's safety. He didn't trust anyone. The prince was too important to the Ning family. The Ning family had paid for several generations, and what they wanted was the prosperity of future generations. No matter who was in trouble, the prince must not be in trouble.
Ning Xu looked at some soup kitchens on the street and frowned, "It's better to keep the refugees in one place. It's a bit chaotic here."
The prince looked at the soldiers patrolling everywhere and was about to reply, but he was stunned for a moment. When he looked again, the people were gone.
Ning Xu asked, "What's wrong?"
"fine."
Just now he saw a man who looked like his father in front of the porridge shop, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye. The prince lowered his head. The current Lao Wu was fake, was it true? He had guessed various possibilities, but he was more certain in his heart that the real Lao Wu was dead. He must have seen it wrong just now, so Lao Wu must be dead. Judging from himself, he would not leave any handle.
In Jinzhou City, Zhulan listened to what Mrs. Song said and said, "Deng Li is really tenacious. She comes every day even when I don't see her."
"She won't give up easily if you don't see her."
Zhulan sighed, "Forget it, just bring her in."
Soon, Deng Li came in. It was the first time Zhulan saw Deng Li. The girl looked very similar to Deng Yun, but their personalities were different. There was ambition in this girl's eyes.
Deng Li's excitement was instantly turned cold by the eyes of the mistress of the Zhou family. He hurriedly bowed his head and saluted, "Deng Li greets the lady, thank you for saving my life."
Zhulan had no opinion on Deng Li. Different environments meant different personalities and pursuits. The little girl knew much more than Deng Yunda. Deng Xiucai's cheap brother-in-law was fine. The little girl had seen the prosperity and it was normal for her to have pursuits in her heart, but she was not suitable for the Zhou Mansion. "Now that you are well and the road to the capital is open, I will send you home in two days."