CHAPTER 263: CHAPTER 258: POLITE DECLINATION

Zhao Hanzhang paused for a while before saying, "We’ll take them in. Most of the refugees entering Xiping County now are people who have lost their land, but we have a lot of land and few people, needing many for farming. Your Upper Corner Village has done a great job in repairing the river."

"I’ve seen those able-bodied men; they are good workers. In the future, if Xiping County has such short-term work, we’ll need to ask for your help."

The village chief heard the refusal in her words and felt a bit disappointed yet somewhat relieved. Actually, unless absolutely necessary, who really wants to leave the village where their ancestors lived?

Zhao Hanzhang watched the village chief leave, her eyes full of regret.

Fu Tinghan said, "Considering the development gap between Xiping County and Shangcai County, it won’t be long before they belong to you. There’s no need to feel too regretful."

Zhao Hanzhang thought so too and pulled him along, saying, "Let’s go; let’s walk down the main street and have a look. I heard some merchants are hosting activities and preparing quite a few gifts."

The merchants’ gifts are mostly their own products, which can attract customers and clear out some inventory.

Even Treasure Pavilion joined in and held a small event.

The prize for the event was soap.

Even Zhu Chuan, a wealthy gentleman, couldn’t resist choosing soap over the familiar soapberry, showing how good it is.

Other things in Treasure Pavilion are expensive, but the price of soap is very affordable. Even ordinary families can grit their teeth and buy a piece to try out.

It’s said that this is Zhao Hanzhang’s business, with mirrors inside that can reflect one’s whole body and the frying pan that’s trending in the county recently.

Yes, after the gourmet feast, frying pans became popular. Unable to get more frying pans from Zhu Chuan, people turned their attention to Zhao Hanzhang’s Treasure Pavilion.

But frying pans in Treasure Pavilion were like rare commodities, appearing only every so often, and were bought as soon as they were put on the shelf.

Besides the great clans wanting to buy them, various restaurants and taverns also wanted them.

Zhao Hanzhang did not hide various recipes for stir-frying. Several dishes tasted quite good; some people tried to make them with pots and jars, but the taste wasn’t as good as with frying pans. Hence, frying pans became even more popular.

Now there are people constantly watching Treasure Pavilion, ready to buy as soon as a frying pan is displayed.

Occasionally, those gentlemen would come in person to see the pans, and since they came in, naturally they wouldn’t just look at the pans. Various scented soaps and glazed products and mirrors of different sizes on the shelves were there to be seen.

The initial glazed products and full-length mirrors were already saturated, so the Glazed Workshop innovated by starting to make exquisite, easily portable small mirrors. Inspired by this, craftsmen created more varieties of glazed products, giving customers the feeling of being surrounded by treasures every time they entered the shop.

Moreover, these items were not very expensive, affordable for families with some spare money, let alone the wealthy merchants and scholars visiting Treasure Pavilion.

So, they couldn’t help but buy them.

Especially the gentlemen of Great Jin, who didn’t really care much about wealth.

Today was bustling, and many ladies and young girls came out shopping and ended up at Treasure Pavilion.

Many of them were coming for the first time, and upon seeing so many exquisite items inside, they couldn’t help but exclaim softly.

Zhao Hanzhang could hear the voices chattering inside as soon as she reached the entrance.

She paused and decisively pulled Fu Tinghan to leave, but sharp-eyed people inside Treasure Pavilion had seen her and immediately called out, "Third Lady? Third Lady, come in quickly; your mother is here too."

Zhao Hanzhang could only turn back with a smile on her face, entering the shop with a clever and cute smile, "How come you ladies have time to come over?"

"With the hustle and bustle in the county, naturally, we wanted to come and have a look. Come, this is your aunt from Xinxi, and that is the matron of the Fang family from Yang’an County, also our family relative..."

All were people who heard about the lively atmosphere in Xiping County and seized the chance to buy New Year’s goods and join the fun, while also visiting relatives.

There were so many relatives that Zhao Hanzhang was dizzy recognizing them, and Fu Tinghan, staying outside all along, was listening intently. When she had recognized most of them, he brought Fu An and Qiu Wu inside, and after saluting, said, "Chief Clerk Chang has something to discuss with you."

Zhao Hanzhang immediately bid farewell to everyone, and Mrs. Wang, who hadn’t spoken much, immediately said, "Quickly go back; don’t keep Chief Clerk Chang waiting."

She laughed with the lady guests, "The child is busy, and we shouldn’t let her be in the way here. The things in Treasure Pavilion, she might not even know them as well as I do."

Everyone, hearing this, finally let Zhao Hanzhang go and started shopping in the store, "This small mirror looks really nice, the paintwork on the back is very lovely."

Zhao Hanzhang exited the shop, immediately saying, "Let’s not shop anymore, let’s quickly go back to the county government."

Who knows how many relatives there are on this street?

Fu Tinghan replied with a smile, following her back.

The merchants in Xiping County welcomed a wave of consumption, and everyone from the owners to the shopkeepers and workers was so happy as if they had found gold.

Even the poorest tenant farmers and hired workers earned quite a bit this winter by working for Zhao Hanzhang’s labor-for-relief program.

Although many families wanted to save money, after seeing products in the county that were much cheaper than in previous years, they couldn’t help but buy.

If you buy cheap needles and threads, you naturally can’t resist buying a piece of cheap cloth to make clothes for your children; much of the consumer activity happened like this, one thing leading to another.

Zhao Hanzhang saw the commerce revitalizing and smiled with satisfaction.

The economy, only when it circulates like this, can it sustain itself.

Back at the county government, the elder government official immediately handed a basket to Zhao Hanzhang, "It’s given by a little lady named Yi Gui from Yushan Hall, saying that all these things are what she won, and bringing them back to Yushan Hall serves no purpose, so she wanted to give them to the County Lord."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, "How could it be useless? Just hand it over to the kitchen to add some dishes. However, since it has been given, it’s not appropriate to return it."

Zhao Hanzhang handed the basket to Fu An, saying, "Give it to the kitchen, let them use it to cook today the things she won back."

Then she said to the elder official, "Take a string of money to Yushan Hall and give it to that little lady, tell her that I’ve accepted her good intentions, but as the County Magistrate of Xiping County, I must lead in following the rules I’ve set. If I said people from the county government cannot accept things from the people, then it cannot be accepted."

Zhao Hanzhang looked at Fu An.

Fu An then patted himself down and handed a string of money to the elder official.

The elder official accepted the money, joyfully went to Yushan Hall.

Unlike Yi Gui, Fan Ying participated in the event but couldn’t win any prizes, but never mind, she could buy them!

She played in the morning, and in the afternoon, when it was her turn to guard the booth, she spoke to the winners, "The wheat flour you just won, will you sell it?"

The other party didn’t initially want to sell, but seeing Fan Ying was quite beautiful and the price she offered wasn’t low, they sold it.

She then spent money buying some bean oil, and after closing, took these purchased items eagerly to find Zhao Hanzhang, "My lady, I bought some things that were won, let me use this wheat flour and bean oil to make some pancakes for you?"

Zhao Hanzhang found her very full of life.