CHAPTER 232: CHAPTER 227: BRIBERY

Jiao Dalang followed behind the village chief to help out. The village chief had just been reprimanded by Zhao Hanzhang, so he didn’t look too pleased, and he was even more displeased with Jiao Dalang, the culprit.

With a cold expression, he said, "Why don’t you hurry up and boil water to mix the batter?"

The batter is a new way of eating that recently spread from the county seat. It’s made by mixing ground wheat flour, wheat bran, and bean flour with water. After the water boils, a spoonful at a time is put in to cook, with a little salt added. It tastes pretty good.

It’s much better than wheat porridge.

Unfortunately, this takes effort. Not to mention, just grinding the flour is difficult for most people. Who has the time to grind wheat and beans into powder?

It’s only when working for the county government that there’s something like this to eat.

The steward in charge of meals only agreed to take out the mixed flour after repeatedly confirming it was an order from the County Lord.

The cooked batter was poured into buckets. Jiao Dalang and the villagers each carried two buckets over, the scent of food wafting with their movement.

The people surrounding Zhao Hanzhang and talking smelled the aroma. Their stomachs rumbled, and their attention began to drift, frequently looking towards the fields, no longer listening to what Zhao Hanzhang was saying.

Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly, stood up, and said, "It seems the batter is ready. Everyone can have some food first. Did you bring bowls and chopsticks?"

"Brought them, brought them." The villagers from Upper Corner Village immediately took out bowls and chopsticks from their bundles they carried with them.

This is something necessary to bring when going out. Initially, Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan were not used to it, but they found that every time they went out, if they didn’t bring their own bowls, others would have to endure hunger and give their bowls to them first.

So Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan also developed the habit of carrying bowls and chopsticks with them when they went out.

The local villagers were even more accustomed to this. They took out their bowls and chopsticks, and seeing Jiao Dalang and his group carrying steaming wooden buckets over, they immediately went to meet them.

Jiao Dalang feared they would start fighting over it and ruin his impression in front of Zhao Hanzhang, so he shouted from afar, "Form a line, form a line, no one is allowed to make a mess."

Qian Jin barely regained his senses and, unable to grab, directly pulled the people squeezing forward, making them form a line.

Zhao Hanzhang never tests people’s nature at such times, so he glanced at Qiu Wu and nodded slightly.

Qiu Wu immediately led the guards forward and shouted loudly, "Form a line, form a line..."

Someone relied on their strong physique to push forward, but was pulled out by Qiu Wu and thrown to the ground, even getting a kick, "What are you squeezing for? Didn’t hear them say to form a line? Go to the back."

Qiu Wu’s action scared the villagers, who finally regained their senses, barely overcoming their hunger, and looked at Zhao Hanzhang with suspicion.

With a gentle smile, Zhao Hanzhang watched them, and when they looked over, she nodded and said warmly, "No need to rush, there’s enough for everyone. Let’s start once everyone is lined up."

Some expressed gratitude and joyfully agreed, but others, more sensitive, shivered involuntarily, standing in line with pale faces.

They felt that Miss Zhao wasn’t as gentle as she appeared on the surface. Didn’t she frown when she saw the guards kicking and hitting people?

Qiu Wu’s action made the line orderly, and no one dared to push forward.

Jiao Dalang quietly breathed a sigh of relief. In this cold winter, he was sweating from anxiety.

Once everyone was lined up, he took the wooden ladle and served the batter to everyone. This was the first time the villagers of Upper Corner Village had seen this, but without much hesitation, they immediately stepped aside to eat upon receiving it.

As soon as it entered their mouths, they gulped it down. When they finished eating, they realized they hadn’t chewed much, as it was very smooth and had a fragrant wheaty taste.

The villagers regretfully licked their clean bowls again. Over there, Jiao Dalang had already served another round, and seeing those who had eaten squatting and licking their bowls, he stealthily glanced at Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "For those not full yet, line up again for a serving. Don’t worry, we have enough food. However, you’ve been hungry for a long time, so don’t overeat. Start with two bowls each."

Hearing this, the villagers immediately moved forward, but this time they didn’t dare to squeeze. They obediently stood one behind another.

With the second serving, they finally ate a bit slower and tasted the flavor of the batter.

A young boy’s eyes sparkled, "This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten."

The older ones had tears in their eyes, "I’ve never eaten anything so delicious. Is this batter made with white flour?"

But looking at the color, it isn’t so white.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "This is mixed flour. Besides wheat flour, there is some wheat bran and bean flour."

Zhao Hanzhang asked, "Does your family still have beans?"

"Yes, aside from wheat porridge, we occasionally eat bean porridge."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Bean porridge isn’t tasty. If you grind it into powder, you can make bean cakes or mix it with wheat flour to make buns. Besides being a staple, it can also be used for dishes. Anyway, it has many uses. How many acres of beans do you plan to plant next year?"

"We’ll plant on all the dry fields."

Zhao Hanzhang asked, "How many acres do you have and how many people are there in your family?"

When she heard they planned to work through the entire winter here and return home to plant in the spring, Zhao Hanzhang expressed approval, "You still have to farm, otherwise, where will the food come from?"

She asked, "Can you irrigate well over there?"

"No, similar to Lower Corner Village, there’s just a small river. Every year, it’s either flood or drought, it’s hard to get by."

"Exactly, that’s why I want to build a canal in Lower Corner Village and clear the river. The aim is to prevent fields from being flooded during heavy rain next year and to irrigate when there’s less rain, saving some effort."

The villagers from Upper Corner Village were envious, wishing they could become residents of Lower Corner Village.

Why isn’t their County Lord Miss Zhao?

Zhao Hanzhang understood and called the village chief over, "How many vacant houses are there in the village?"

The village chief looked bewildered, "Huh?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Let them temporarily stay in the vacant houses. I will send some bedding over. Starting today, they will work together with the people of Lower Corner Village."

The village chief whispered, "County Lord, although digging a canal isn’t easy, if our village continues to dig for another month, we’ll pretty much be done."

Zhao Hanzhang glared at him and said, "They will clear the river. You better hurry up. If anyone is lazy, I won’t let it slide."

Zhao Hanzhang instructed the village chief to settle the Upper Corner Village people, then called Jiao Dalang over, "In your area, besides the village chief, who else commands respect?"

Jiao Dalang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Uncle Chen, he’s honest, and everyone is willing to listen to him."

"Also named Chen?" Zhao Hanzhang asked, "What’s his relation to the village chief?"

"He’s the village chief’s cousin."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Have him come see me."

Jiao Dalang was puzzled but still responded and went to find Chen Fang.

Chen Fang was a middle-aged man with a worried expression. Zhao Hanzhang looked at his hands, noticed they were large and the fingers were cracked, revealing blackness in the cracks, and then relaxed, smiling warmly as she asked, "Are you called Chen Fang?"

Chen Fang nervously bowed his head and responded, "Yes, I’m Chen Fang."