A change of approach

"My lord, how did you become the lady's sworn sister and the young master's godmother after just one visit?"

They were almost at Song Grain Shop when Peng Shulan was still a little taken aback by Zuo Xiaoyu and Xu Yue addressed Yin Yunze.

"It's none of your business."

Glancing at Peng Shulan, Yin Yunze naturally had no interest in explaining further and turned to walk into Song Grain Shop.

Inside Song Grain Shop, everything was exactly the same as yesterday, except that the two guards were not the same as yesterday.

That's true; such an easy but lucrative job must be rotated among employees.

Upon seeing Yin Yunze approach, Song Zhao and Song Ran, who were chatting behind the counter, came over.

He gestured for the two to follow him, and after entering the inner hall, Yin Yunze instructed the three, "I need to leave for a while. During this time, Wan'er will be in the care of the three of you."

"Wan'er, you stay here obediently and don't run around."

After giving the three of them a brief instruction and telling Zhao Wan not to wander off, Yin Yunze returned to the real world.

After dealing with matters at the hotel, Yin Yunze went to the warehouse where pig feed was stored.

Upon returning and transferring to Zhao Wan, Yin Yunze saw Peng Shulan and the other two chatting in the backyard.

"You all come with me."

At his command, Peng Shulan and the other two stopped smiling and obediently followed Yin Yunze back to the warehouse.

With a flick of Yin Yunze's hand, about two thousand bags of pig feed appeared in the previously empty warehouse.

"Sir, aren't you with the county magistrate—"

Seeing this, Peng Shulan was stunned for a moment, and then asked a question.

"Yes, the talks broke down, so this famine relief grain—no, it's not famine relief grain! This food was bestowed upon us by me, and from now on, it will be called Fox Rice! This Fox Rice has absolutely nothing to do with the government."

After casually giving the pig feed a memorable name that strongly connected it to himself, Yin Yunze looked at Song Zhao and said, "Song Zhao, you will be in charge of this Fox Rice from now on. I require that you take two hundred catties of grain to the city gate every day to cook porridge in my name for disaster relief."

If there aren't enough people, I'll allow you to take fifty catties of Fox Rice each day as you please. Also, I have two lines of doggerel here; when you distribute the porridge, make sure those people remember them too! As long as you handle this matter well, I promise you won't be treated unfairly!

The first of the two doggerel poems is. "The starving people are less valued than officials, even offered Fox Rice they refuse. Where can they find food to survive? At the abode of the fox spirit, there is food to be found." The second is. " In Qingqiu dwells a fairy fox, with nine white tails. Temporarily residing in Clear Creek Village, it cultivates the wonders of creation."

Two hundred catties of pig feed isn't a huge amount, but it's not a small amount either. If cooked into a porridge, it can barely feed several hundred people a day. It's enough to keep the starving people at the city gates from starving to death.

Of course, distributing porridge is merely a means, not an end.

Besides genuinely wanting to help the disaster victims at the city gate, Yin Yunze also intended to use this method to make people aware of his existence. Giving someone food when they have nothing to eat is something most people will remember for a lifetime.

Looking back now, Yin Yunze realizes that he had fallen into habitual thinking.

In response to such a widespread disaster, the first reaction is to seek assistance from official authorities.

However, they overlooked the fact that even the official imperial court in ancient times might not have been qualified to cooperate with Yin Yunze.

It can only be said that Yin Yunze is living too well, ignoring the fact that even in the real world, the gap between different government agencies can be greater than the difference between a dog and a person!

The fact that this matter ended without resolution is perhaps a good thing. At least it prevented the recurring disgusting incidents of those in power extorting money and exploiting the people.

To put it another way, why should Yin Yunze personally handle matters like providing relief to disaster victims?

If the mountain won't come to me, can't I just walk towards it?

Yin Yunze was focused on how to distribute the grain more effectively, but he forgot that he could also get the disaster victims to come to him on their own!

If the other party actively seeks out food, then the amount of work required is undoubtedly much less.

Qingling County Clear Creek Village not small, but even the most remote villages can be reached in about a day's walk.

If they're unwilling to walk even this short distance, Yin Yunze truly believes they deserve to starve to death.

As for places further away, Yin Yunze has no control over them, nor does he want to.

Besides being the source of the information, this soup kitchen could also become a tool for Yin Yunze to sow discord Xu Hanxian and others.

Two hundred catties of Fox Rice are produced each day, which is enough to feed a few hundred people.

As the news spreads, more and more people will come to collect the porridge, which means more and more people will be unable to get any.

When the time comes, with a bunch of starving disaster victims blocking the city gate, Yin Yunze would actually believe that Xu Hanxian be unable to sleep at night!

"Yes!"

Hearing Yin Yunze's order, Song Zhao didn't quite understand the implications, but he thought it was a good thing and agreed without hesitation.

After instructing Song Zhao, Yin Yunze turned to Peng Shulan and said, "Peng Shulan, while Song Zhao is distributing porridge, I order you to assist in maintaining order and prevent anyone from disrupting the proceedings. Most importantly, keep a close eye on that county magistrate and don't let him ruin things."

Song Zhao had no connections in the city, and he probably couldn't possibly support the soup kitchen that offended both the county magistrate and the grain merchants on his own. Therefore, Peng Shulan's position as the head constable was extremely important.

"My lord, this—forgive my incompetence, I'm afraid—"

Upon hearing Yin Yunze's order, Peng Shulan felt a slight bitterness in her mouth.

If it weren't for those two lines of doggerel, the soup kitchen would have been set up and that was that; Peng Shulan could have tried to persuade Xu Hanxian not to take it to heart from a moral standpoint. After all, no matter what, it at least alleviated the pressure on the government on the surface.

Yin Yunze was only distributing porridge in his own name and didn't use Xu Hanxian's name to his advantage. If you really want to find fault, Xu Hanxian has no grounds for complaint.

But the very first doggerel was the death knell; it was a slap in the face for Xu Hanxian!

Others might not think much of it at first glance, but as an observer, how could Peng Shulan not know what was going on?

Seeing Peng Shulan's state, Yin Yunze didn't make things difficult for him and offered a helping hand. "If you can't stop him, I allow you to ask Madam Zuo for help in persuading him, in my name. Of course, that's only for this matter."

"Is that so—" Hearing Yin Yunze say this, Peng Shulan finally felt a little more confident. "This subordinate will certainly do his best—"

"Not just try my best, but give it my all." Shaking his head slightly, Yin Yunze said firmly, "Even if you lose this constable position, you can work for me. Besides, I happen to have a suitable job for you."

This wasn't just empty promises from Yin Yunze; after this trip, he really had this plan.

One advantage of being Land God is that Yin Yunze can easily discern the degree of faith his followers have in him. And the depth of their faith, to some extent, represents their loyalty.

Yin Yunze naturally wouldn't mind that he had only known Peng Shulan for a day or two, since Peng Shulan was already a devout believer.

Since they were already prepared to fall out with Xu Hanxian, there was little point in keeping Peng Shulan, the head constable, in the county town. It would be better to transfer him to his side. Yin Yunze was currently short-handed and could do some things that Sun Qin was not suitable for.

Anyway, with connections, as long as money paves the way, even if he's not in the city, how could the constables in the city not acknowledge Peng Shulan as their leader!

There's really no need for Peng Shulan to continue keeping him on as a mere errand to monitor Xu Hanxian's movements.

Peng Shulan was taken aback upon hearing this, then overjoyed.

If it were any other wild deity, and they told Peng Shulan not to become their constable and work as their assistant, Peng Shulan would definitely slap them across the face without saying a word.

But after a day and a night, Peng Shulan truly witnessed Yin Yunze's generosity. Compared to that, the constable was nothing!

Especially under these circumstances, Yu Zhuo might not receive his salary as a constable any day, so it would be better for him to work under Yin Yunze.

At least with their generosity in distributing thousands of kilograms of grain to make porridge without batting an eye, they certainly wouldn't have to suffer the fate of starving soldiers.

Just as Peng Shulan was thinking this, he heard Yin Yunze say, "In that case, you can also take fifty catties of Fox Rice from this every day. As long as things go smoothly, I don't care where you use it!"

Yin Yunze certainly understood the principle that you have to feed a horse if you want it to run fast. Once you've eliminated your worries, you naturally have to feed your ancestors too, so they'll be more willing to do things for you.

A job paid well may not necessarily be done well, but a job paid poorly is very likely to be done poorly!

In any case, pig feed wasn't worth much to Yin Yunze, so he made the promise very easily.

However, this promise meant a different story to Peng Shulan and Song Zhao.