Zhao Hanzhang sprinted to the outskirts of West City. Naturally, she wasn’t alone; she also brought along four horse handlers.
Gazing at the endless wilderness overgrown with weeds, Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand and said, "This will be our horse ranch in the future."
The horse handlers stared with mouths agape.
"Of course, it can’t be called a horse ranch," she added, "In the absence of imperial permission, no one in the civilian sector can privately raise horses legally. We can’t openly label it a horse ranch, or we’d simply be inviting the authorities to come and confiscate it."
Thus, Zhao Hanzhang declared, "We’ll call it a pasture!"
The horse handler swallowed and asked, "Just grazing like this?"
He looked down at the wild grass by his feet, touched it, then shook his head and said, "Many of these grasses aren’t suitable for horses to eat, but they’re good for raising cattle."
Zhao Hanzhang looked down at the verdant grass, feeling a pang of sorrow, "Unfortunately, we have too few cattle, and so much grass will be wasted."
Wei Matou thought to himself: ... they’re just weeds; there’s no need to be so distressed. There isn’t much else on the land, but there’s enough grass for the cattle.
Having raised horses for many years, Wei Matou was knowledgeable. He examined the soil underfoot, rode his horse around the vicinity, and after a long time, returned. Dismounting, he said to Zhao Hanzhang, "Ma’am, all this land here could be cultivated to grow beans. Horses thrive on beans, and that patch over there is largely untouched land. We can remove some wild grass and plant pasture grass. Each year we can intersperse some, and in a few years, the amount of grazing grass will be sufficient to sustain three to five hundred horses."
Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes brightened, "Good, we’ll do as you say. Where do you think we should build the horse shelters?"
Wei Matou pointed in a direction and said, "That spot is best, it’s also close to the water source, making it easier for us to access water."
Zhao Hanzhang went up with them to take a look and nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, once the autumn harvest is over, I’ll have people come to build horse shelters for you, clear the land, and remove the wild grass altogether, hoping to have the pasture ready before the spring of next year."
Wei Matou then asked, "When will the colts arrive?"
Zhao Hanzhang said, "Soon. You prepare first."
Ji Yuan contacted three horse merchants through Wei Matou and County Magistrate Chai, ordering a total of one hundred and twenty-eight horses, including thirty colts. However, just a deposit was made, and the horses would be delivered later.
Ji Yuan said that this was the limit of the three horse merchants; they couldn’t provide more.
They still hadn’t contacted Liu Kun at the moment.
Zhao Hanzhang rode her horse back to the county city, and before she reached the county government, she saw Fu Tinghan standing at a street corner, guarding a bun stall. In front were about twenty children, and he was continuously taking buns from the steamer for them to eat.
Zhao Hanzhang dismounted and handed her horse to Ting He, joining curiously, "Ting Han, is this...?"
After looking him up and down, she asked, "Did you buy these?"
"No," Fu Tinghan took a large bun for a child, gesturing to the next in line, as he continued distributing, "I took grain from the county government and gave it to the store owner to make these. This relief point is just responsible for giving children something to eat. The store owner can earn ten pounds of grain in payment each day."
Seems pretty good so far.
Zhao Hanzhang leaned against the side, watching him distribute, "Do you come here every afternoon to distribute food?"
"No, the officer responsible for this area has a stomach ache, so I’m temporarily covering for him." Fu Tinghan finished distributing one steamer and was about to move to the next when Zhao Hanzhang impulsively grabbed the empty one, placed it aside, and lifted the three on top, signaling Fu Tinghan to pull out the bottommost steamer.
Fu Tinghan paused, took it out and placed it on top, grabbed a bun, and put it in a child’s bowl, then turned to Zhao Hanzhang and said, "From now on, let me handle this kind of labor."
"No problem, it’s just a small task for me." Zhao Hanzhang continued leaning against the doorboard, watching Professor Fu distribute buns.
As she watched, her gaze followed his motions onto those children lined up in front of him. They were dressed in rags; some not only had black dirt under their fingernails, but their faces were filthy too.
When they got a bun, instead of immediately stuffing it into their mouths, they first broke it in half, kept one half, and eagerly stuffed the other into their mouths to eat.
Zhao Hanzhang reached out and pulled aside a child who was about to leave after receiving a bun, asking, "It’s already evening; isn’t it time for dinner? Who are you saving this half for?"
The child timidly glanced at her and softly replied, "For breakfast tomorrow."
Fu Tinghan explained beside her, "They only get one meal a day, and one bun per meal."
He paused and added, "There isn’t enough grain in the county government’s warehouse, we have to ration it."
Currently, the whole county is using work-for-relief, where one can get grain by working. Fu Tinghan has set the workload corresponding to food provisions; an adult can earn enough grain daily to sustain themselves and two children.
But... there’s still a multitude of orphans in the county city, with neither father nor mother, and many solitary elderly people left. Hence, Fu Tinghan has to set up a separate relief point.
But ensuring they’re full isn’t possible; he can merely prevent them from starving to death.
Zhao Hanzhang asked the child, "Where do you live?"
The child pointed to a lane, "Inside."
Zhao Hanzhang simply followed him in to look and saw that he pointed to a place where a corner of the yard had collapsed, with bloody stains inside, and blood-red drag marks on the ground. Zhao Hanzhang asked, "Is this your family’s house?"
"Yes," the child said matter-of-factly, "My father and mother are both buried, it’s mine now, but they say soon it won’t be."
He lifted his head and looked seriously at Zhao Hanzhang, "Ma’am, can the authorities not take my home away?"
According to the rules, without male adults, a household can’t stand independently, so with a child this young, the authorities temporarily manage the family’s assets until they reach adulthood to return them.
But given the chaotic times, once these things are handed out, they largely never return.
Of course, if they aren’t handed out, the child may not be able to keep them either.
Zhao Hanzhang reached out to stroke his head and said, "No, authorities will temporarily safeguard them for you. Living here, you might not be able to keep the house, but under the county’s care, I promise you, as long as I remain the one governing Xiping County, it will only be holding these possessions in trust."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "I will establish a Yushan Hall where you and other children who’ve lost parents can live. I’ll also hire someone to teach you to read and write, and when you turn sixteen or graduate from school, able to earn a living, the authorities will return your family’s property intact."
The child asked blankly, "Even commoners like me can learn to read?"
"Of course," Zhao Hanzhang smiled, "Everyone under heaven has the right to learn to read and write, as long as you want to."
Zhao Hanzhang took his hand, "Let’s go, let’s find you your first teacher."
Fu Tinghan saw her returning with a child, smiled sheepishly, and raised his eyebrows to ask, "What are you planning to do now?"
Zhao Hanzhang shook the child’s hand and said, "I want to build a Yushan Hall and a school. These children need proper arrangements, plus aren’t we lacking talent? We need to develop secretly and can’t widely issue a Recruitment Order, so we can only cultivate ourselves; I think this source is quite good."

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