Natural disaster at the beginning: I will lead the system to build a safe zone

Although the three of them agreed to go to see the county magistrate, the county magistrate was an official and they were businessmen.

The status of merchants in this dynasty was not high. Even if they were big businessmen with a lot of money, if they wanted to meet the county magistrate, they had to hand in a visiting card first and wait for the county magistrate's reply.

The county magistrate's surname was Wu. He was assigned to be the county magistrate of Qinghe County in the fifth year of Tai'an. Due to the poverty here and his own lack of ability, he had not been promoted after five years.

But he didn't really care. After all, except that this place was a bit remote, he was like a landowner. He felt more comfortable without anyone supervising him.

At the beginning, he felt that something was wrong with the climate in recent years. After all, he was an official and had some connections. He had also heard about the huge earthquake that occurred in the capital at the beginning of last year. What's more, he now had people coming from the capital.

Until the end of last year, when he realized that Lingnan, a place with a relatively hot climate, became so cold that even he could hardly bear it, he knew that something must be wrong. From then on, he began to consciously strengthen the defense of the county, cut off supplies to other towns, and began to stockpile food.

Now, from time to time, he could still receive news from spies outside, saying that the order in a certain county had collapsed because of too many refugees. He was extremely glad that he had made the right decision at the time. It turned out that it was right not to take in those untouchables. Otherwise, how could their county have such a peaceful life.

When Chen Huairen and his party delivered the visiting card, Magistrate Wu was still flirting with his twelfth concubine. He heard his subordinates come to report that three big grain merchants in the county wanted to see him. Magistrate Wu could only feel displeased at being interrupted.

"No, no, a few businessmen want to see me." County Magistrate Wu waved his hand and asked the butler to go down.

The housekeeper accepted the benefits from Chen Huairen and the others, so he couldn't just leave like that. He continued to say, "Master, I heard that these grain merchants have closed their grain shops in the city recently due to food shortages. I guess they are looking for you this time because of this matter."

Wu County Magistrate was impatient and cursed: "It's their business if they close their shop due to lack of grain. Why are they coming to me? Are they asking me to sell them grain?"

The housekeeper didn't know how to refute the scolding, so he could only nod and agree. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Aunt Qing, whom the master had doted on recently, speak in a coquettish voice: "Master, why don't you go and have a look? Although these grain merchants are lowly, they are related to the food supply of the people in the city. If they don't sell grain, the people will come to you, which will be even more troublesome."

If Shi Anan was here, she would recognize at a glance that the woman who spoke so charmingly was actually her elder sister Shi Wanqing, who had high aspirations but low skills and a heart smaller than a needle tip!

How Wanqing became the twelfth concubine of County Magistrate Wu is a long story.

It turned out that after separating from Shi Anan and the others that day, Shi Zhengde took her, Shi Chengzhi and Earl Zhongyuan to meet the then Emperor Yongchang.

Because of the relationship with Earl Zhongyuan, although Emperor Yongchang looked down on the Shi family, he at least gave them some face and allowed them to stay.

And Earl Zhongyuan was very dedicated to their family. He not only found an imperial physician to cure Shi Chengzhi's leg, but also found palace scar removal cream for Shi Wanqing to heal her disfigured face.

Although Shi Wanqing is not as pretty as Shi Anan, she is the daughter of Shi Zhengde after all, so her appearance is not bad. Her face was disfigured before and it was not visible, but once the scar is removed, her beautiful face will be revealed.

She was immediately noticed by Emperor Yongchang and taken into the harem. The Shi family also rose in wealth, and Earl Zhongyuan naturally benefited as well.

But the good days did not last for a few days before a powerful tsunami headed towards the capital. Faced with the power of nature, even the emperor was helpless. More than half of the palace had been destroyed in the earthquake, and it could not withstand such a tsunami and was destroyed by the waves in the blink of an eye.

Otherwise, why do they say that disasters last for thousands of years? Faced with such a huge tsunami, Shi Wanqing, who was completely unprepared, was able to survive.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she found herself at the residence of the Qinghe County Magistrate. After waking up and asking, she learned that it was the tsunami that washed her all the way to the lake behind Qinghe County in Lingnan. She was lucky because she grabbed a piece of floating wood when she was conscious and struggling. Even though she fainted later, she did not let go and sank to the bottom of the lake. She just floated on the lake and was rescued by County Magistrate Wu who was out on a boat.

After rescuing her, he found that she was actually a beautiful woman, even prettier than all the concubines in his mansion combined. County Magistrate Wu immediately had evil thoughts and brought her back to his mansion.

After Shi Wan woke up, she learned that it was County Magistrate Wu who saved her. She wanted to express her gratitude, but when she saw the look in County Magistrate Wu's eyes, she knew what he was thinking.

Shi Wanqing originally hated being a concubine of Magistrate Wu, an old man older than Shi Zhengde, but she had no choice. She was a weak woman who came to a remote place in Lingnan, and she didn't know whether Shi Zhengde and the others were still alive. If she wanted to survive, she could only give herself to Magistrate Wu.

After all, although Magistrate Wu is old, he is the head of a county after all. Following him at least you don't have to worry about your livelihood.

County Master Wu was very happy to hear that the beauty was willing to be with him, and he immediately said that he didn't mind the fact that Shi Wanqing had been married before. So Shi Wanqing became his twelfth concubine.

After all, Shi Wanqing came from a noble family, was beautiful and talented, and her knowledge was beyond the reach of the women from this remote and poor village. In addition, she was humble and could please Magistrate Wu. It could be said that she was like a fish in water in the magistrate's mansion, and even Magistrate Wu's wife had to give her some face.

So when he heard her speak, County Magistrate Wu actually thought about it seriously.

He also knew that this woman came from the capital and had some experience. He also knew that he had heard about some of the capital's conditions from her. So even when she asked him to meet the three grain merchants, County Magistrate Wu hesitated.

Seeing that County Magistrate Wu still couldn't figure it out, Shi Wanqing's eyes flashed with contempt. What an idiot!

But she still put on a gentle smile and continued in a soft voice: "Master, think about it, if these grain merchants stop selling grain, how will the people in the county survive? They don't have much land to farm in the county. If people get hungry, they can do anything. If a riot breaks out, we won't be able to live in peace."

"They dare!" When County Magistrate Wu heard Shi Wanqing say that the people would riot, he was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. If he hadn't closed the county, how could they have the peaceful life they have now? They even dared to rebel. He was tired of living.

"However, what you said does make some sense. Well, I'll go meet those three people and see what they want to say." After being angry, County Magistrate Wu felt a little scared in his heart. He then followed Shi Wanqing's advice and agreed to go meet those people.

The housekeeper was very happy to hear that Magistrate Wu had changed his mind. Otherwise, it would have been too hot to handle the money!