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Chapter 379: Human Heart (Part )

The hungry people kowtowed and cried for a while, then wiped their tears with their sleeves and waited happily to receive the new plows and oxen.

Sharing a plow and raising oxen together were common things for them. In the past, in Yan County, only one or two out of ten households had oxen. Now, four households could get a strong ox, which was a pleasant surprise.

All the specific trivial matters were handled by County Magistrate Gao and Ma Yaozong and others. Jiang Shaohua just stood aside with a smile, watching quietly.

The hungry people would glance at the beautiful, majestic and generous princess from time to time, and they would feel at ease and relieved.

People's hearts condense bit by bit, like drops of water gathering into a river.

In half a day, all the new plows and oxen were distributed. Tang Youyin made a new account book and presented it to the princess: "Princess, this is the new account book I made today, which records the distribution of the new plows and oxen."

Jiang Shaohua hummed, opened it and took a closer look, and couldn't help but smile: "Tang Sili did a very careful job of keeping the account book."

Each household was clearly written down and stamped with fingerprints. In addition, two copies were made, one was kept in the county government of Wuyin County, and the other was naturally filed and stored in the palace.

No wonder Feng Changshi appreciated and valued Tang Youyin so much. Even Jiang Shaohua, who had been in contact with Tang Youyin for a few months, felt that he was thorough, careful and steady.

Tang Youyin was very happy to receive the praise from the princess, but he remained calm and said, "I am learning from Feng Changshi's behavior."

"Feng Changshi is good at accounting and is very organized." Jiang Shaohua said with a smile, "You can learn Feng Changshi's abilities and skills, which will be of great benefit to you in the future."

Tang Youyin said modestly: "I am still far behind Feng Changshi. I will certainly learn from him in the future with an open mind."

Jiang Shaohua smiled slightly and continued to look through the account books.

Nearing evening, everyone left the hungry village and set off back to the county government.

When they reached a certain place, Jiang Shaohua glanced at it and suddenly uttered a soft "eh". Chen Jinyu, who was standing by, reacted very quickly: "Princess, that is the Children's Tower that was filled up that day."

More than three years later, Jiang Shaohua still remembers the scene of that day clearly.

"There are no Luo skirts in the school, and no baby boys in the baby tower." Jiang Shaohua whispered: "Nowadays, there is Ye County Academy in Nanyang County, with many girls studying. The daughter tower in Wuyin County has also been demolished long ago."

Chen Jinyu said: "This is all due to the county lord's rule."

Ma Yaozong, Tang Youyin, and even County Magistrate Gao were not in a position to interrupt at this time. There were differences between men and women, and there were some things that only Chen Sheren could empathize with the princess. Therefore, Chen Sheren could firmly occupy the position of the princess's most trusted confidant, and no one could compete with him.

Jiang Shaohua withdrew his gaze and looked at the village not far away.

County Magistrate Gao was suddenly inspired: "I remember that the princess bought a baby girl. It has been more than three years. Would you like to take a look at her?"

Jiang Shaohua did remember the weak baby girl from that day, and he wanted to go take a look. He nodded slightly.

County Magistrate Gao immediately led the way.

Cai, the magistrate of Li County, was busy outside the county government office all day long, and this style of doing things while on duty gradually spread. If the magistrates in Nanyang County were not familiar with the situation of the people under their jurisdiction, they would be too embarrassed to speak when they went to the palace to report on their work at the end of the year.

Jiang Shaohua is happy to see this trend prevail and has been promoting it quietly.

After an incense stick of time, everyone entered the village.

The common people worked from sunrise to sunset and rested from sunset to sunrise. At this time, they were coming back from the fields in groups of two or three. Seeing this scene from afar, they were all excited. "Look, the person in the front is our county magistrate."

"The princess is here too! Let's go and kowtow to her."

For the common people, being able to see the beloved princess in person and kowtow to her are both happy events worth talking about.

The brave ones would come closer, while the timid ones would kneel down and kowtow from a distance.

Jiang Shaohua didn't have time to stop them one by one, so he had to let them go.

The most excited family was naturally the one being inspected by the princess.

The whole family knelt down and kowtowed in unison.

The old woman in the front still looked mean and difficult, and the middle-aged man had white hair on his head. The daughter-in-law who was about to be taken away after giving birth to a baby girl was well-nourished and looked healthy. The children in this family had also grown up. The oldest one was about fourteen or fifteen years old.

After Jiang Shaohua looked at them one by one, his eyes fell on the youngest girl: "Are you Xiaoliu?"

The three-year-old girl was innocent and naive, and didn't know what a princess was or what a noble was. She raised her little face and answered loudly, "Yes, my name is Xiaoliu, and grandma calls me Liu Yatou."

The old woman became visibly nervous, fearing that her granddaughter would say something she shouldn't, and she secretly glared at Xiaoliu.

Jiang Shaohua glanced at the old woman.

Chen Jinyu was so smart that she immediately said, "My princess, please meet Xiaoliu. Xiaoliu's mother should stay as well. Everyone else, please leave."

The old woman had no choice but to lead her children and grandchildren out.

"I never thought that the princess still remembered our Xiaoliu." The old woman looked annoyed and whispered to her son, "I don't know what the princess will ask. Xiaoliu is still young. If he talks nonsense, will the princess be angry and put us all in jail?"

The middle-aged man sighed, "When the princess bought Xiaoliu, she asked the county government to send food every month. This was all for Xiaoliu's mother to eat. But you just kept half of it. If the princess knew about this, she would be furious!"

The old woman regretted it so much that she wanted to stamp her feet in pain: "At that time, there was a shortage of food at home, and the children were all starving. I was worried about my grandchildren, so I wanted to save some food from Xiaoliu's mother so that the children could eat more."

She couldn't bear to eat a single bite herself, and ate it all after the children.

The middle-aged man sighed and said nothing more. He thought to himself that if the county lord got angry, he would take the blame. He couldn't let his mother go to jail.

"In the past few years, did the county government deliver grain on time every month?" Jiang Shaohua asked Xiaoliu's mother.

Xiaoliu's mother nodded repeatedly, but there was some fear in her eyes.

Jiang Shaohua understood: "Did all the food end up in your mouth?"

Xiaoliu's mother wanted to answer yes, but when she looked up and saw the princess' eyes, her heart suddenly trembled, and she blurted out the truth: "Princess, I ate half of the food, and gave the other half to the children."

"My family is in a very difficult situation. My children are starving and I am the only one who can eat enough. As a mother, I can't bear it."

"It's all my fault for deceiving the princess. Please have mercy on me, princess!"

When the young Xiaoliu saw his mother kneeling down, he also knelt down and kowtowed, saying in a baby voice: "Please, Princess, have mercy!"