CHAPTER 453: CHAPTER 447: PRIVATE VISIT IN DISGUISE

Zhao Hanzhang stepped on the snow, her breath turning into white mist, blurring her vision. She looked into the distance, seeing nothing but white, with only a line of poetry remaining in her mind: Northern scenery, thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow drifting.

She turned to Yin Sheng and asked, "Are all these lands lost?"

Yin Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "Yes."

This vast expanse of farmland was just outside the eastern outskirts of the city, not far beyond the city gates.

The terrain of Nanyang Country is flat, and this area in Lu Yang is mostly plains with few hills, and the roads here are flanked mostly by pastures that were once farmland.

Zhao Hanzhang walked to a patch of land, lifted her foot to brush away the snow on top, underneath lay germinated wheat about a finger’s length.

Seeing the wheat, she couldn’t help but smile, "With two consecutive snowfalls, next year should be a good harvest year, right?"

"Yes," Yin Sheng also couldn’t help but smile, "Many people say that the coming year’s harvest should be decent."

Zhao Hanzhang then went to look at other fields. After scraping away the snow, there was only wild grass underneath.

Moreover, according to Yin Sheng, starting from here outward, it’s mostly abandoned land; people have fled, and the land has been left desolate for two or three years now.

There are so many lost lands even in the outskirts, let alone in other places.

Zhao Hanzhang thought of the population estimate Fu Tinghan had made this morning, and couldn’t help but sigh deeply, "Let’s choose this area, let’s build Yushan Hall here. Let all this lost land be under Yushan Hall’s name, and the agricultural output will support Yushan Hall’s expenses."

"Yes." Yin Sheng also breathed a long sigh of relief. He’d been the one in charge of those refugees these days, to be honest, he was under great pressure.

Providing food and drink for so many people wasn’t a big deal for a day or two, could be endured for three or four days, but over time, it would inevitably be a strain. So as soon as Zhao Hanzhang indicated she wanted to settle the refugees, he immediately agreed.

Even though the plot of land she chose had been eyed by several people and was about to be traded.

But... when compared to Zhao Hanzhang, even a fool knows what to choose.

Once Zhao Hanzhang decided on the location, the Prefectural Governor was about to issue labor conscription, but Zhao Hanzhang stopped him, "It’s almost the new year, and people haven’t had an easy time. Let’s not conscript labor, just hire people directly."

The Prefectural Governor felt a bit bitter inside, "Hire, hire people?"

Zhao Hanzhang gave him a half-smile and said, "It’s perfect for a work-for-relief scheme, right? Surely, Nanyang Country can afford this?"

It could, but the entire prefecture’s finances couldn’t be spent just here, especially with spring coming soon, and many places needing funds.

But such a trivial matter, the Prefectural Governor wouldn’t disgrace Zhao Hanzhang, so he agreed.

As long as he didn’t have to foot the bill.

Once back at the Governor Mansion, Zhao Hanzhang issued the order for work-for-relief, beginning to hire workers to construct houses.

In fact, winter was not suitable for construction; the ground was frozen, making it difficult to dig foundations.

Unsuitability just increased the difficulty, not impossibility. They had to settle the refugees before spring, so they could begin normal life after spring.

"In Yushan Hall, the majority will be children and women, with some elderly and disabled people; it’s best to manage them separately. So, I decided to designate areas at the outset," Zhao Hanzhang said, unrolling the blueprint and saying to everyone, "This is the sketch Mr. Fu drew. Is there anything you think needs to be added or modified?"

Everyone expressed that the planning was excellent; they had nothing to add or amend.

Zhao Hanzhang gave them a glance, pointed to the sketch, and said, "Then let’s build according to this."

She also wanted to see the capabilities of the officials in the Nanyang Country Governor Mansion. Zhao Hanzhang directly handed this task to Yin Sheng and others, while she and Fan Ying occasionally offered suggestions from the sidelines.

Tasks like recruiting workers naturally couldn’t be handled by someone of the Prefectural Governor’s rank; orders were passed down layer by layer to the clerks.

Although they held low positions, they also recognized Zhao Hanzhang. She was so conspicuous when she entered the city, and in the past few days, whenever she went out, the Prefectural Governor and others would follow, so the government officials and clerks merely had to stand on the street for a while to see her.

Zhao Hanzhang was so conspicuous, once you saw her, you’d never forget.

So when Zhao Hanzhang, her eyes sore from reviewing documents, wanted to make a discreet visit to observe the recruitment, as soon as she got close, she was recognized, and the clerks kneeled en masse at the recruitment site.

Zhao Hanzhang could only wave her hand to let them rise, then roughly understood the recruitment process and left, knowing she couldn’t linger; their stuttering would bring the recruitment site to a standstill if she stayed.

The plan for a discreet visit being foiled left Zhao Hanzhang a bit frustrated.

Ting He popped up from nowhere and said to Zhao Hanzhang, "Miss, they’re all saying you visited in disguise some time ago, and the guards at the city gate saw you."

Referring to the time she had posed as a female relative of the Fifth Room.

Zhao Hanzhang clicked her tongue, "They have a good memory."

She sighed, "I originally wanted to closely observe their ability to organize things, but never thought I’d fail because I’m too famous."

Fu Tinghan walked past her, stopped at her words, tilted his head, and said, "If you really want to go, just disguise yourself."

Zhao Hanzhang dismissed the idea, "I just wanted to use fragmented time to observe, which would relax my eyes and mind and collect some information, do I really have to go out of my way to put on makeup?"

Observe for half an hour, spend an hour on makeup?

That would be too counterproductive.

Fu Tinghan said, "You’re overestimating the facial recognition capabilities of ordinary clerks in this era."

"Hmm?"

Fu Tinghan led her to change clothes, the two of them wearing patched coarse hemp clothing, the cold wind blowing in, even Zhao Hanzhang, healthy as she was, couldn’t help but huddle up.

Let alone Fu Tinghan, he clutched his clothing, huddled up and said softly, "Let’s go."

Zhao Hanzhang followed in a daze, and when they were both standing in line with their heads down, she still didn’t quite understand. She poked Fu Tinghan’s lower back, "It makes sense for me to come, but why are you here?"

She was an Inspector, able to discreetly investigate public sentiment and official matters. Why was he tagging along?

Fu Tinghan was trying to use sleep to ward off the cold, he opened his blurry eyes and said, "Didn’t you reject my budget proposal? Someone mocked me for being unrealistic, so I came to get some real-world experience."

Zhao Hanzhang asked, "Who was so audacious to mock you?"

Fu Tinghan glanced at her but didn’t say who, instead he said, "Since we want to make Nanyang Country a template, we must strive for perfection and solve as many problems as possible, so other counties have a reference."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Alright, then we’ll conduct some discreet inspections for a few days."

They’d handle administrative matters when they returned at night.

The two huddled up, waiting in line, but while Fu Tinghan was patiently queuing, Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t stay put, and was constantly turning her head to look around.

While looking around, she noticed someone approaching. She turned her head to find a young man standing next to them. As she was wondering, the queue moved, Fu Tinghan slowly lifted his foot to move along with the person in front, and just as Fu Tinghan lifted his foot, the boy beside them did the same. She hesitated for just a moment, and in that instant, he slotted himself between her and Fu Tinghan, seamlessly, as if he had always been queued there.

What a skilled move!

Zhao Hanzhang was amazed, but not upset. She lifted her foot to follow, then reached out and tapped the boy’s shoulder, "Hey, brother, you cut in line."