Traveling through the farm, I just want to earn money by farming

Chapter 137 What magic was cast?

"Is cousin Chen Ming at home?" Qing Ning called out into the yard from outside the fence.

An old woman came out upon hearing the noise, saw Qing Ning and said with a smile, "Ning girl, come in quickly, your cousin Ming is here." Then she turned around and called into the house, "Da Lang, come out, Ning girl is looking for you."

Qing Ning entered the yard and greeted the old woman: "Hello, Auntie."

"Okay, this child is really adorable. Just sit here and your aunt will bring you some candy." After saying this, she went into the house, and soon she had a handful of malt sugar in her hand.

"There are too many pieces of auntie's food. I'll just take one piece and leave the rest for my cousins." Qing Ning said she didn't want anything and only took one piece.

"Cousin Ning, Chun'er wants to eat too." The boy from Chen Ming's family came out from nowhere, staring at the candy in Qing Ning's hand with greed.

Xia scolded her with a smile, "You little greedy bastard, is yours missing from the house? That belongs to Cousin Ning, and Grandma still has some."

As he said that, he took out two pieces of candy and gave them to him. Chen Chun couldn't wait to put them into his mouth.

Seeing that Chen Ming still didn't come out, Xia called out a few more times before she saw Chen Ming running out from behind the house with his pants pulled up.

"Oh my grandma, I'm just going to the bathroom." After saying that, seeing Qingning felt a little embarrassed, she quickly tidied up her clothes and went to get some water to wash her hands before coming over.

"What does Qing Ning want from me?"

"Cousin Ming, I have a list here that requires you to go to the town. On the way, go find Manager Xu and give him this letter to pass it on to Young Master Xu." As he said this, he handed the thing to Chen Ming.

Chen Ming took it and said, "Okay, I'll go now. Do you have any other instructions?"

Qing Ning thought for a moment and said, "The roads might be a little unsafe these days. Find a few more people to go with you. Oh, and the ox carts are gone in the village. Go to town and buy a good ox."

"Okay, I got it." After saying that, he took the purse and went out.

Qing Ning finished her work and left. Passing by the village threshing ground, she saw a bustling scene. The rain had stopped, and the wheat she had harvested needed to be dried quickly. Fortunately, the Chen family had made careful arrangements over the past month, so the wheat wouldn't mold or rot.

When the villagers saw Qingning coming, they greeted her warmly, and Qingning responded one by one.

Entering the yard, I saw Shi Shuanghu chopping firewood. His legs had already healed. "Uncle, you need to take care of your injury. There's no rush to work."

Hearing Qing Ning's concern, Shi Shuanghu looked up and smiled at her, "My leg is almost healed. Look how nimble I am now." As he spoke, he kicked it a few times to show it off.

"As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. It's better to take good care of it to avoid any sequelae."

Shi Shuanghu was moved after hearing this: "Okay, I'll rest if I'm tired. There won't be any aftereffects."

Qing Ning knew what he was thinking and stopped talking. Seeing that no one was home, she asked, "Uncle, where did everyone go?"

"While it's still early, your mother has gone back to her parents' home with your father and aunt. I wonder how your mother-in-law's family is doing with the flood. My eldest brother and his wife have also gone back to Li Baocai's family home to check on the situation."

Seeing that everyone in the family had gone to their maternal home, Qing Ning didn't care anymore and went out to find Grandpa Yu.

Old Master Yu listened to his subordinates' report, his face as heavy as ink: "Is this true?"

"Yes"

Old Master Yu was furious, slamming his right hand on the table. "It's no wonder Qingyun County's prefect is so incompetent that the disaster is so severe. Over half the county's population has been killed or injured. Instead of thinking about how to provide relief, he's only thinking about collecting benefits and giving back to his superiors."

There was a strong murderous intent in Mr. Yu's voice, and his eyes were slightly narrowed.

The subordinate continued, "Not only that, this Wu Mingfu was recommended by the Wen family, and he has been collecting benefits every day. As a result, since he took office, Qingyun County has become a mess, and the people have no place to complain. Some victims were captured by his men before they even left the county, and few of them came out alive."

The more Mr. Yu listened, the darker his expression grew. “Then how was his performance evaluated over the past few years?”

"This Wu Mingfu is ruthless. Some victims dare not resist him and just swallow their bitter fruit, hiding the truth. Others don't even have a chance to complain and are simply silenced. Since ancient times, people have never fought against officials. Seeing his behavior, the people are frightened and no one dares to report him. Whenever the higher-ups come to inspect, he always pretends to be ruthless, so no one can find out. If it weren't for the disaster that Qingyun County suffered this time, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to find out about this."

"Hmph~ What a great Wu family! You need to sort out these crimes and find these victimized people. I will go there myself." Old Master Yu's voice was cold, without a trace of warmth.

"Yes," he said and walked out.

When Qing Ning came, he met this person and then went into the house.

"Grandpa Yu, is it convenient for Qing Ning to come in?"

Hearing the voice, Mr. Yu said: "Come in"

Mr. Yu calmed down a bit and looked at Qing Ning with a smile: "What do you want from me?"

Qing Ning said, "Grandpa Yu, I came here to ask for your advice."

"You said."

"Five villages in our county were destroyed by this disaster, resulting in numerous casualties. I believe it will be difficult for the county government to come up with so much money and grain at once. Furthermore, an epidemic has broken out in the affected villages, and there is a shortage of doctors and medicinal materials. I'm thinking of joining forces with the Xu family and the Xue Ming Mansion to stage a show."

At this point, the old man became interested: "A show?"

Qing Ning nodded. "Yes, it's just a show. Not to mention Ruyi County, the entire Funan Prefecture has been severely damaged by this disaster. If we wait for the higher-ups to come and treat us, who knows how long we'll have to wait. Right now, we're short of people, food, and medicine. If we can solve these three problems ourselves, wouldn't we be able to get through this crisis faster and more effectively?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"There are many wealthy gentry in Ruyi County. If every household contributed a thousand taels, there would be no need to worry about the disaster being unsolved."

After hearing this, Old Master Yu smiled and said, "You know, although these wealthy gentry have no official titles, they are not easy to get along with, and their relationships, both overt and covert, are complicated. If they are in collusion, it would be difficult to touch them without revealing that the prefect is the prefect."

Old Master Yu felt that this little girl was still too young and had rarely seen the world, so she thought things were too simple.

Qing Ning looked at Mr. Yu with a sly look: "That's why I said I wanted to put on a show!"

Qing Ning didn't hold back and said directly, "It's not really a show. It's hard to get these wealthy gentry to pay for disaster relief. What if we could promise them even greater benefits? What if we could get them to climb aboard the Xu family's ship? What if we could get the government to grant them a public inspection or a permit?"

The Xu family's background as a royal merchant was naturally unusual, and their ability to transport goods was unique throughout the Xia Dynasty. Furthermore, the Xia Dynasty prioritized agriculture over commerce, imposing harsh conditions on merchants. Official approvals were also rigorous. What if they had issued one or two more official certificates?

Only after hearing this did Old Man Yu realize what she was planning. This girl was so cunning and ruthless that the Xu family was already being targeted.

"Will the Xu family agree?"

Qing Ning patted his chest and said, "I definitely agree."

Seeing her so confident, Old Master Yu became curious, "What kind of magic did this girl cast on the Xu family?"