Celestial Master： I Have an Otherworld-Chapter 161 - 63: Three Blood_3

"To pay a donation."

Officer Qi pursed his lips, lowered his voice, and said:

"This year's drought affected four prefectures and thirteen counties, almost leaving no grain produced; now it's a harsh winter, and many refugees have flooded into the county town."

"If we don't open the warehouses to distribute food, they might not survive the year."

"Ah!" Mr. Han sighed:

"Young Master Fang is not an outsider, so I'll speak frankly; the granary has long been empty of grain, with more rats inside than rice."

"Money,"

"Naturally must come from people like us."

"Indeed." Chief Luo nodded, his face full of helplessness:

"As far as I know, the Ren Family has already contacted the grain merchants in the Prefecture City, and the price has been negotiated. As soon as the silver arrives, the grain will be sent."

The Ren Family?

Fang Zheng squinted.

The Ren Family is the largest landowner and grain merchant in Gu'an County; there's even a saying that they own half the city, with rumors of grain piled as high as mountains.

And yet they are buying grain from the Prefecture City?

Several months ago, the Ren Family began stockpiling grain, causing market prices to skyrocket, now doubled compared to previous years.

Natural disasters,

are disasters for ordinary people.

But for them,

it's an excellent opportunity to amass wealth and expand lands.

Just like…

"Mr. Han, I heard you recently bought a lot of land?"

"Haha…" Mr. Han lightly stroked his beard:

"Thanks to Young Master Fang, I managed to save some extra money; a few days ago, the price of fertile land near the ancestral home dropped to five taels of silver per acre."

"I was tempted and bought twenty acres."

Five taels?

In previous years, fertile land was priced between ten to twenty taels per acre; the fact that someone is selling at five means they urgently need money.

"Almost." Officer Qi nodded:

"I also bought a few acres; such a rare opportunity, but twenty acres is a hundred taels—Elder Han, you are truly willing."

"So I must thank Young Master Fang." Elder Han commented with a smile:

"Otherwise, how would I have such confidence; unfortunately, I have no spare funds now and don't know how to handle the donation required by the lord."

"At most, it's only a few months' wages." Chief Luo waved his hand:

"Having fertile land is the true foundation for a family."

"Precisely!"

"Absolutely."

"…"

Fang Zheng smiled silently.

In the early Dynasty, after the initial chaos settled, every citizen had acres of land.

This realm also had a Zhou Dynasty, and during its era, every newborn male received a hundred acres upon reaching adulthood.

At that time, the land was vast and the population sparse, naturally posing no issue. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

However, as the population grew later, the land allocated diminished, eventually leading to the abolishment of the system.

With any natural or man-made disasters, ordinary people, lacking resistance, were often forced to sell their land for temporary peace.

Thus,

although temporarily escaping disaster, they lost their vital land, becoming tenant farmers for others.

At that time,

the majority of the crop yield would go to the landowner, with only enough for personal sustenance.

This continued for generations, with no possibility of change, and in facing another disaster, they'd have no escape.

Wealthy families occupy more land, while the poor lose more, leaving only their lives; ultimately…

it naturally leads to great turmoil.

This is a cycle!

From this point, it should be said that the rise and fall of society is the responsibility of every person.

'The Wei Dynasty has seen seventeen emperors over six hundred years, surpassing the three-hundred-year limit seen throughout modern history.'

'Nowadays, it likely is the late Dynasty period.'

'Even those like Chief Luo will buy quality land at low prices; the city's wealthy families will most certainly do the same.'

'And in reality, there's very little land remaining in the hands of the common people!'

"Lord Yan has arrived!"

"Mr. Ren Sr. is here too."

"Patriarch Linghu…"

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, standing to salute the few individuals arriving from outside.

"Everyone, please sit."

Lord Yan, draped in sable fur and wearing leopard-skin soft boots with a White Jade Belt at his waist, with just this attire, costs a thousand taels of silver.

He ascended to the second floor, gently lowered his hand, displaying a concerned expression for the people and nation:

"This year, Jizhou experiences severe drought, and four prefectures plus thirteen counties suffered a complete crop failure. Now, with winter here, the common people flock to the county seeking the Imperial Court's relief."

"As the local parent official, I cannot ignore their plight."

The room fell silent.

The guests weren't entirely aware of Lord Yan's intentions for the gathering, apart from a few well-informed individuals.

"Ah!"

Lord Yan sighed:

"I intend to open the granaries and provide relief to the populace."

"The lord is benevolent." Someone praised:

"If there's anything needed, we are willing to offer a token of our effort."

Hmm?

Is this a setup?

Fang Zheng glanced towards the sound, pondering; others seemed to understand, their expressions subtly shifting.

"Well said!"

Lord Yan smiled, clapping his hands:

"Seeing the people starving and homeless, I cannot bear it, willing to contribute a year's salary for distributing porridge and emergency relief."

"Unfortunately!"

"Alas, my strength alone is limited."

He lowered his head, sighing softly with a regretful expression.

"My Lord." Linghu An bowed:

"Linghu Family wishes to contribute two thousand taels of silver to help the people through this crisis."

"I share this intention." Mr. Ren Sr. nodded slowly:

"The Ren Family will also contribute two thousand taels."

Two thousand taels!

The expressions of most people downstairs turned rigid.

Donations aren't unheard of; practically every year, the Government Office comes asking, ostensibly for the people, but truly for their own pockets.

There's a tacit understanding of the proportions.

The Linghu and Ren Families are the two major powerful families in the county, others naturally cannot compare, with affluent merchants contributing a fifth to a tenth of theirs.