Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 503 Dressed Beast
A group of villagers squatted in the cave, holding bowls and drinking wolf meat soup. The hot soup warmed their stomachs and dispelled the chill from their bodies.

They took shelter from the rain on the mountain, and they were eating very sparingly, consuming only dry rations. They had never eaten a meal of pure meat rice like this before.

The little kids were eating with their mouths full of oil, their big eyes occasionally glancing at the earthenware pot still on the fire.

Qingwan smiled and said, "There's plenty of meat soup, don't burn yourself."

Just then, several figures slowly approached through the heavy rain outside.

Several figures approached; they were the villagers who had gone out to gather herbs earlier.

When the villagers in the cave saw the group return, they didn't even put down their bowls and rushed to greet them.

The returning villagers, smelling the rich aroma of meat, subconsciously swallowed, still not understanding what was going on.

They went out for a while, and now everyone's started eating meat?

Wang Fu then gave a brief explanation to the group of people who had returned.

Upon hearing this, the old man hurriedly bowed and thanked Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng reached out to help the old man up and smiled, "No need for that, old man. Take off this raincoat and have a bowl of meat soup to warm yourself up."

Seeing that the villagers were soaking wet, Lu Zheng flicked his finger, and the moisture disappeared from their bodies.

The group immediately felt a refreshing sensation throughout their bodies.

Villagers brought over bowls, and several people put down their baskets, took off their raincoats, and enjoyed the meat soup.

Lu Zheng saw the fresh herbs in the baskets and reached out to rummage through them. "Are you planning to make medicine?"

The old man who had just returned said, "Yes, the elderly and children in the village have all caught a cold. We'll go into the mountains to find some medicine..."

A villager nearby whispered, "Uncle, this young master is really capable. He just casually moved his hand, and all of us were cured of our illnesses. We're all feeling much better now!"

Upon hearing this, the old man said, "Young master, you are a very kind person. We will remember this kindness for the rest of our lives. We cannot owe them more. We must keep these herbs; we can use them later..."

The old man was very clear-headed. Lu Zheng could help them for a while, but not for a lifetime. In the future, they would have to rely on themselves.

Hearing the old man say this, Lu Zheng thought to himself that this old man must have experienced a lot to be able to think so clearly.

Lu Zheng laid out all the herbs in his basket. "Every medicine has some degree of toxicity. Some of the herbs you've gathered are actually unusable..."

Lu Zheng calmly and slowly explained some medical knowledge to the people and gave them a few simple prescriptions for typhoid fever and wind-heat syndrome.

The villagers listened attentively, and even those who couldn't quite understand tried their best to write it down.

"These remedies aren't a cure-all. If you really have a serious health problem, you still need to see a doctor. You can't delay..."

"These herbs are all medicinal, so don't eat them indiscriminately..."

Lu Zheng also gave a few more instructions to prevent the villagers from drinking the herbs as water after hearing his prescription.

After saying that, Lu Zheng looked at the torrential rain outside again, the dark sky remained unchanged.

Lu Zhengdao said, "This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon, so we need to hurry on our way to the county town. You can stay here for now; the government should be taking action soon. There aren't any wild animals in the nearby mountains, so you don't need to worry..."

Lu Zheng raised his hand and took out a scroll, from which a white crane flew out.

Lu Zheng led Qing Wan and the other person onto the white crane and bowed to the villagers.

The white crane flapped its wings and transformed into a streak of white light, flying swiftly into the distance.

Before the villagers could react, they saw Lu Zheng and his two companions disappear into the sky.

"What a remarkable person! Even our county magistrate doesn't have this kind of pomp and circumstance."

One villager muttered to himself that he had met the county magistrate in the city before, and that magistrate always traveled by sedan chair, not by such a large white bird.

……

The entire town of Dafeng was shrouded in rain.

There were few pedestrians on the streets, and many shops were closed due to the heavy rain.

In the north of the city, inside an elegant mansion.

A middle-aged man dressed in a light blue casual shirt stood under the eaves, leisurely stretching his body and practicing Tai Chi.

"Practice until your figure resembles that of a crane..."

Middle-aged people exude an elegant and refined air in every gesture.

"call……"

After finishing a set of boxing techniques, the middle-aged man exhaled a long breath and stared blankly at the rain curtain strung like pearls along the eaves.

"If this rain doesn't stop, the fish in the garden pond will all swim here..."

The thought of such a scene actually made the middle-aged man feel amused, and he couldn't help but smile.

Outside the courtyard, someone came wading through the water; the person was the steward of the mansion.

The manager respectfully said to the middle-aged man, "Sir, Lü Liang from the Lü Family Shop said he has brought you a spiritual ginseng."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu's eyes lit up. "Really? Have him come to my study! Have someone brew a pot of good tea!"

As a cultivator who had entered the path of cultivation, Zhang Yu was most fond of alchemy. Mainly because he lacked the aptitude, he wanted to use elixirs to improve his cultivation, or at the very least, prolong his life.

However, alchemy is a complex art that requires a lot of spiritual resources, and his family's wealth was simply not enough to squander.

If someone is willing to send you a miraculous medicine, you are naturally happy to accept it.

Having received his instructions, the steward hurriedly left, ignoring the rain soaking his trousers.

Zhang Yu chuckled and turned back into the house. He sat down at the desk, picked up a copy of the Zhuangzi, and began to read, waiting for his guests to arrive.

First, a servant from the mansion brought hot tea.

Soon another portly man dressed in brocade robes came along.

Lu Liang bowed politely to Zhang Yu and said, "Lu Liang greets Your Excellency, the County Magistrate!"

Zhang Yu said with a smile, "Sit down, sit down. We're old acquaintances, no need to be so formal."

Lü Liang did not sit down, but instead took out a jade box from his robes and presented it to Zhang Yu. "A relative visited today and gave me a ginseng root. I know that Lord Zhang is very fond of this, so I delivered it without delay. Please accept it..."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "You're very thoughtful."

Zhang Yu reached out and took the jade box, opened it, and looked inside.

Inside the jade box was a foot-long ginseng root, faintly emitting a unique fragrance.

Zhang Yu's eyes lit up, and his smile deepened. "Good, good, good, it's a good thing."

Zhang Yu didn't stand on ceremony at all. He first put away the ginseng, then said, "It's raining so hard, and Boss Lü still came all this way. Come on, have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up."

Lü Liang responded and then sat down in the guest seat next to him, taking a few sips of tea.

Lu Liang put down his teacup and said quietly, "My lord, this year's rain has turned into a disaster!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu replied calmly, "If it's going to rain, or if a mother wants to remarry, there's nothing I can do! If the heavens send down a flood, I can't just beg them to leave!"

Lü Liang couldn't help but say, "Heaven is not forgiving, but could you, sir, be a little more lenient?"

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean? Has someone from your Lü family gotten into trouble again? Who's been arrested?"

The Lü family was a prominent merchant family in the county, with many members. Inevitably, some of them took advantage of their family background to commit crimes.

In the past, members of the Lü family had often committed crimes, and Zhang Yu thought that someone else had committed a crime, and this person had come to demand someone's return.

Lü Liang quickly waved his hand and said, "No, my children are all honest and upright people!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu suppressed a laugh and asked, "Then what do you mean?"

Lu Liang said with a worried look, "With such heavy rain, all the fields at home have been flooded. I'm afraid there won't be any harvest this year. Could you please be lenient and reduce some taxes? Otherwise, we won't have any food to cook..."

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes. "Your Lü family is a major grain merchant in this area. Why are you telling him this?"

Furthermore, it's not like the Lü family is the only one in the county who has suffered from the disaster. Others haven't even come here to play the victim yet, but a grain merchant is already crying.

If even the Lü family can't afford to eat, wouldn't all the other families have starved to death long ago?
Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, then said quietly, "Whether or not taxes are reduced is not up to me to decide..."

Lu Liang's expression shifted slightly as he muttered to himself, "Some of the taxes in Dafeng County were added up by this guy, and now they can't be reduced?"
Furthermore, given the severity of the disaster, it is appropriate to reduce taxes for the people and provide disaster relief.

He came here to check things out, but it seems this master isn't letting go at all.

If the Lu family doesn't reduce the tax-exempt land holdings at all, they'll suffer huge losses.

"Sir, is it really impossible for you to make an exception?" Lü Liang couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Yu said unhurriedly, "I have already reported the disaster situation in Dafeng County. There should be no problem with reducing some taxes, and we might even have to distribute some disaster relief grain. However, we will have to wait until the rain stops and the higher-ups come to inspect the situation to make a decision."

Upon hearing this, Lü Liang asked, "Really?"

Zhang Yu said solemnly, "Dafeng County has suffered a disaster. How can I sit idly by and do nothing?"

With such a major disaster, how could he, as the magistrate of a local county, not try to secure some relief?
"Good, good, good. With your words, sir, I'm relieved," Lü Liang said.

Zhang Yu said leisurely, "It's been raining for so many days, there must be a lot of people affected by the disaster. I estimate that the relief grain from above should amount to tens of thousands of shi..."

"Unfortunately, the grain cannot be approved in the short term. The people are suffering from the disaster, and I cannot ignore it."

"Boss Lü, could you advance me 10,000 shi of grain first? I'll sell it to the people at this price..."

Zhang Yu raised his hand and gestured, then said quietly, "Grain prices can't be set too high. In a year of great disaster, we still need to give the people a way to survive!"

Lu Liang's expression froze. Good heavens, the amount of disaster relief grain from above was not even certain yet, and Zhang Yu actually asked him to pay for the grain first.

Moreover, the grain was not distributed as free disaster relief, but rather sold to the disaster victims...

Based on the two numbers Zhang Yu just gestured, grain prices have increased several times over compared to normal days. These merchants have never been this ruthless in inflating grain prices before...

Of course, things are different now. With grain prices so high, it's estimated that many people will still grit their teeth and buy it.

I wonder how many families have had to sell their children because they are short of money.

Lü Liang felt that as a businessman, he was already ruthless enough.

But compared to this county magistrate, he is still far inferior.

(End of this chapter)