Chapter 306: Work for Relief l

Translator: 549690339

“Whether I’m speaking nonsense or not, my mother understands well. Today, I’ve been running errands and am quite tired now. If there’s anything else, let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

Having said that, Wei Ruo left without looking back, without giving Madam Yun a chance to vent her anger.

Madam Yun was somewhat angered, “She’s increasingly ignoring me, her own mother!”

Cuiping, standing nearby, comforted her, “Madam, don’t get upset, perhaps Miss Wei Ruo has heard the rumors and knows that you’ve accepted the proposal from the Xiu Family to arrange her marriage. She might be just upset about it.”

“Even if she knew, there’s nothing to upset her. Since ancient times, marriage has been arranged by parents, this marriage proposal is incredibly advantageous, what reasons does she have to be angry with me?”

“Madam, you’re aware of Miss Wei Ruo’s nature. She doesn’t have any malicious intentions, she’s just straightforward and a bit resistant to control.”

Cuiping’s words reminded Madam Yun of her husband’s advice, so she sighed and waved her hand, “Alright, let her go.”

###

The next morning, Madam Yun and Wei Ruo went to the prefecture’s office together.

The two didn’t say a word on the way. Wei Ruo bowed her head and read a book, it was a fantastic one that Mr. Wang Caiwei had recently given her. Wei Ruo was not interested in the orthodox books, but she liked to read these unconventional ones in her spare time.

However, she has been very busy recently and spends her free time reading account books. Today, when she had to sit in the carriage with Madam Yun, Wei Ruo took the book out to read.

Besides some recreational books, Mr. Wang would sometimes bring her some interesting items. For Wei Ruo, he was not just a good teacher but also a close friend.

After a while, the carriage from the military prefecture arrived at the prefecture’s office. As Madam Yun got off the carriage, she saw Qingyi, the personal maid of Madam Yuan who expressed her respect toward Madam Yun before swiftly shifting her gaze onto Wei Ruo.

“Miss, Madam assigned me to wait for you here.”

Qingyi was polite and courteous towards Madam Yun while there was a clear additional respect in her tone toward Wei Ruo.

“Thank you, Miss Qingyi, for waiting here.” said Wei Ruo.

“Please follow me, Miss Wei Ruo and Madam Yun.” Qingyi led Wei Ruo and Madam Yun into the prefecture’s office.

Having visited many times, both Madam Yun and Wei Ruo were quite familiar with the layout of the prefecture’s office.

The meeting location for the day was the flower hall in the backyard. When Madam Yun and Wei Ruo arrived, there were already many people seated— all of them were Madams from influential families in Taizhou prefecture.

Apart from them, there was one unexpected participant – Nurse Qin.

Nurse Qin was allied with Prince Seven and was the motherly figure in the palace, having the privilege of making conversation with the Imperial Concubine.

Such a figure held a much nobler position than ordinary ladies in charge of a household, hence there was a hint of respect in everyone’s eyes as they looked at her.

Madam Yuan reserved the first seat on the right for Nurse Qin, and the first seat on the left for Madam Xiu.

The seats for the other Madams were also arranged according to their husbands’ statuses.

Once everyone had arrived, Madam Yuan asked Wei Ruo to explain the purpose of today’s meeting.

Wei Ruo stood up, walked next to Madam Yuan, and spoke to all the Madams present, “I’m sure all of you are aware of the recent events and know that now refugees are scattered all over the city, causing disruptions and other problems.”

All Madams nodded in agreement.

Everyone was aware of this matter and had guessed beforehand that Madam Yuan called for the meeting probably due to this matter. Given the current situation, Madam Yuan would hardly have leisure time to chat about anything else, let alone enjoying the flowers and moon, or having tea and wine.

Wei Ruo continued, “For the sake of peace in Taizhou prefecture and to aid more refugees, I’ve invited all of you to discuss and hope for your assistance.”

After Wei Ruo finished her statement, all the Madams appeared hesitant.

Given Madam Yuan’s presence, they didn’t deem it polite to directly oppose Wei Ruo’s suggestion.

After exchanging glances, it was Madam Xiu who finally spoke up to Wei Ruo, “Miss Wei, this might be a difficult proposition.”

Madam Xiu wanted to tell Wei Ruo that asking the affluent class of Taizhou prefecture to donate money and resources was not as simple as uttering a few words and they shouldn’t take this matter too lightly.

The others also started sharing their thoughts:

“Miss Wei, you might not know this, but everybody is experiencing hardship this year. There are no surplus resources to donate to the refugees.”

“Yes, not to mention the refugees are countless in number and we do not know when the disaster situation will end. Offering relief is only a temporary measure and not a long-term solution.”

“Miss Wei, your intentions to aid the disaster relief is commendable, but I believe this matter should be handled by the government. I’ve heard that relief envoys have been dispatched from the court and will reach Taizhou prefecture soon.”

II II

Listening to everyone, Madam Yun couldn’t help but frown.

Her eldest daughter seemed to be wishful thinking today. Why would she propose such immature advice to these Madams when this idea was already dismissed at home on the day Wanwan suggested it?

The reactions from everyone didn’t surprise Wei Ruo at all.

She calmly said, “I understand all of your concerns. Hence, I’m not planning on directly allocating grain for relief. Providing grain relief only solves a short-term need, it’s not a long-term solution.”

Upon hearing Wei Ruo’s words, all the Madams looked puzzled.

Wei Ruo continued to explain, “What I propose is work-relief.”

“What is work-relief?”

The one inquiring was Madam Xiu. She also believed Wei Ruo wouldn’t be as naive as to directly request them to donate for disaster relief.

Wei Ruo explained, “As we all know, there are large amounts of wasteland in Taizhou prefecture: saline-alkali soil, sandy land, and infertile hardpan soil. If we organize the refugees to reclaim and improve these lands, if crops can be successfully grown on these lands, we can not only settle the refugees but also solve the problem of food shortage.”

“Previously, we practiced a similar method in Xingshan County. By improving saline-alkali land and digging trenches, we successfully managed to grow wheat on the formerly infertile land. The yield of wheat was quite substantial. Currently, rice is being cultivated on these fields. The growth situation is good and we are expecting a rich rice harvest during the autumn.”

Many of the women present had heard about the events in Xingshan County, it wasn’t fictitious.

Some nodded, indicating they had heard of land reclamation in Xingshan County, and there were others who praised the initiative. The people who were initially unaware of it understood the situation when others explained to them.

Having a successful precedent suggested that it was feasible to convert wasteland into cultivated land.

Madam Xiu asked Wei Ruo, “Miss Wei, do you mean to duplicate this method across the entirety of Taizhou prefecture, organizing refugees to dig trenches and convert wasteland to settle them?”

Wei Ruo nodded, “I do intend to do so, but there are differences compared to before.”

Madam Xiu asked, “In what aspects are they different?”