Chapter 306 Work for cash
"Whether I'm talking nonsense, mother knows in her own heart. I'm a little tired of running back and forth today. Let's talk about tomorrow if I have anything to do."
Wei Ruo walked out without looking back after finishing speaking, not giving Yun Shi a chance to get angry with him.
Yun Shi was a little annoyed: "I really don't take my mother seriously!"
Cuiping comforted from the side: "Madam, don't be angry, maybe the eldest lady heard some rumors, and she knew that Madam, you agreed to come to Xu's house to talk about matchmaking, and she was angry."
"Even if I know, there is nothing to make her angry. Since ancient times, marriages have been ordered by parents and matchmakers. This marriage is already as good as it could be. What reason does she have to be angry with me?"
"The madam also knows the temperament of the eldest lady. She has no bad intentions, but she is more straightforward and disobedient."
Cuiping's words reminded Yun of her husband's advice, so she sighed and waved her hand: "That's all, let her go."
###
Early in the morning of the second day, Yun Shi and Wei Ruo went to the Zhifu Mansion together.
The two of them didn't say a word along the way. Wei Ruo looked down at the book, which was the grotesque that Mr. Wang Caiwei gave her recently.
It's just that she's been very busy recently, and spends all her free time looking at the account books. It just so happens that she and Yun are going to ride in the same car today, so Wei Ruo took it out to have a look.
In addition to some idle books, Mr. Wang sometimes brings her some novelties. For Wei Ruo, she is not only a good teacher but also a good friend.
After a cup of tea, the carriage from the Colonel's Mansion arrived at the Prefect's Mansion. When Yun got off the car, he saw Mrs. Yuan's personal maid, Qing Yi, who was waiting at the door. She greeted Yun very politely, and then sent His eyes turned to Wei Ruo.
"Miss, Madam asked the slaves to wait for you here."
Qingyi is polite and courteous to Yun Shi, but shows a little more respect to Wei Ruo.
"Miss Lao Qingyi is waiting here." Wei Ruo said.
"Miss and madam, please follow me." Qing Yi led Wei Ruo and Yun Shi into the mansion.
Have been here many times, Yun and Wei Ruo are already familiar with the prefect.
The meeting place today is the flower hall in the backyard. When Yun Shi and Wei Ruo arrived, there were already many people sitting in the flower hall, all of whom were wives of famous families in Taizhou Prefecture.
Besides, there was another person that Yun didn't expect to participate—Nurse Qin.
Nurse Qin is a member of the Seventh Prince and also an old nanny in the palace. She is an old man who can speak well in front of the imperial concubine.
Such a nanny is much more valuable than the head wife of an ordinary family, and everyone looks at her with respect.
Madam Yuan also reserved the first seat on the right for Nanny Qin. And the first place on the left was given to Mrs. Xu.
The positions of the rest of the wives are also arranged according to the status of their husbands.
After everyone arrived, Mrs. Yuan asked Wei Ruo to explain why she came here today.
Wei Ruo stood up, came to Madam Yuan's side, and said to the ladies in front of her: "I think all the ladies are familiar with the recent events, and you know that there are many refugees in the city, which not only affects the stability of the city, but also brings other problems. question."
All the ladies nodded.
Wei Ruo continued: "For the sake of the stability of Taizhou Prefecture and to help more disaster victims, today I specially invite all the ladies to come here for consultation, and hope that all the ladies can help."
After speaking, all the ladies showed embarrassed expressions.
In front of Mrs. Yuan, it is not good for everyone to directly refute Wei Ruo's proposal.
After several people looked at each other, it was Madam Xu who said to Wei Ruo, "Miss, I'm afraid this matter will be a bit embarrassing."
Mrs. Xu wanted to tell Wei Ruo that it is not something that can be done in a few words to get all the dignitaries in Taizhou Prefecture to pay for their food, and this matter should not be taken too simply.
Others also expressed their opinions:
"I'm afraid the eldest daughter of the Wei family doesn't know that everyone is having a hard time at this age, and there is no place of wealth to help the victims."
"Yes, what's more, there are so many victims, and we don't know how long the disaster will last. This disaster relief can only save for a while, not a long-term solution."
"It's a good thing that Miss Wei is interested in disaster relief, but I think this matter should be left to the imperial court. I heard that the imperial court has sent people down to provide disaster relief. I think they will come to Taizhou in the near future."
"..."
Listening to everyone's words, Yun's brows could not help but frown.
The eldest daughter's speech today is a bit too taken for granted. When Wanwan raised this point during the discussion at home that day, it was rejected. Why did she still make such an immature suggestion to the wives?
Wei Ruo was not surprised by everyone's reaction.
She said calmly: "I understand what you ladies mean, so I don't plan to directly send food relief. Sending food relief can only be a temporary solution, not a long-term solution."
Hearing Wei Ruo's words, all the ladies showed doubts.
Wei Ruo went on to say: "The way I think of is to use work as relief."
"What is cash for work?"
The person who asked the question was Mrs. Xu, and she also felt that it was impossible for Wei Ruo to directly ask them to fund the disaster relief so superficially.
Wei Ruo began to explain: "As we all know, Taizhou has a lot of wasteland: saline-alkali land, sandy land, and hardened barren land. If the victims of the disaster are organized to reclaim and improve these lands, and if crops are successfully grown on these lands, not only will the victims be resettled, It can also solve the problem of food shortage.”
"Before, we had already practiced similar things in Xingshan County. By improving the saline-alkali land and digging holes, we successfully planted wheat on the land that could not be used to grow crops, and the wheat yield was very considerable. Now these lands are still growing Rice is being planted, and the growth is good, and it is expected that there will be another bumper rice harvest in autumn."
Many of you here have heard about the incident in Xingshan County, and it cannot be faked.
Someone nodded, saying that they had heard about the reclamation of wasteland in Xingshan County, and some people praised that work well done.
People who didn't know about it at first understood it after other people's explanation.
There have been successful cases, which shows that it is feasible to turn wasteland into cultivated land.
Mrs. Xu asked Wei Ruo: "Miss Wei, you mean that you want to follow the same pattern and use this method of organizing disaster victims to dig wasteland in the entire Taizhou Prefecture to realize the resettlement of disaster victims?"
Wei Ruo nodded: "It is true, but it is different from the previous one."
Ms. Xu asked: "Where is the difference?"
(end of this chapter)