sjar Chapter 60 Fundraising for Disaster Relief
Chapter 60 Fundraising for Disaster Relief
On the sixth day of August, Magistrate Zhang invited prominent figures from the political, business, and agricultural circles in Pingyang Prefecture to attend a disaster relief fundraising event.
Although Magistrate Zhang treated Chen Ruotong's family with a smile and sincere words, he was very serious and authoritative when dealing with his subordinates and those wealthy businessmen at work.
Prefect Zhang first introduced the actual situation of the drought in the south and the refugees, and then talked about the difficulties of the government, and then called on everyone to donate money for charity. Donating one cent is not too little, and donating ten thousand is not too much. Donate according to your own financial strength. Of course, the more the better. All individuals who donate will be registered on the charity list, and their names will be recorded in the history of Pingyang Prefecture, and they will be issued donation certificates. In the future, if there are students in the family who are going to take the exam for a scholar, they can use this certificate to get good reviews. This idea was proposed by Chen Ruotong to Prefect Zhang. Prefect Zhang felt that Chen Guchuan's brain was not simple, and he would get good benefits. This idea can greatly stimulate the enthusiasm of everyone to donate and increase the amount of silver.
When everyone heard that donations could benefit their descendants, they had to donate, and they had to donate more! So, everyone rushed to donate money and grain. Chen Ruotong donated 10,000 taels of silver. Everyone saw that this was not going to work. How could a young boy surpass them? They had to add more silver. So, the richest man in Pingyang Prefecture, Wan Dacai, donated 50,000 taels of silver and 30,000 catties of grain, ranking first on the charity list, while Chen Ruotong only ranked 20th. Prefect Zhang smiled secretly, thinking that this method was very good and the goal was achieved. Finally, the money and grain were counted in front of everyone, and a total of 500,000 taels of silver and 300,000 catties of grain were donated. The government set up a disaster relief team, and everyone supervised the use of money and grain together, and implemented an open and transparent system so that everyone could see that their money and grain were really used for the victims and did not go into someone's pocket. Everyone agreed with this approach and felt proud and proud that they could do something for the victims.
Chen Ruotong: This Pingyang city is full of hidden talents! There are so many rich bosses! Compared with them, I am just a small shrimp. I need to work harder and at least become a multi-millionaire!
Therefore, Prefect Zhang began to organize officers, soldiers and the people in the city to build wooden houses and tents in the flat area outside the south city, set up stoves and pots, and prepare to distribute porridge. At this time, a large number of refugees also slowly moved from Anyang Prefecture to Pingyang Prefecture.
On the eighth day of the eighth month, Zhenpin Pavilion had been open for three months, and this month's turnover was 300,000 taels, which was basically the same as last month. Chen Ruotong handed over more than 7,000 taels of tax silver and more than 20,000 taels of commission to Zhang Yishun.
Zhang Yishun was very happy and thought: I donated 500 taels to this donation activity, and I also contributed to the disaster victims. Although I am not a wealthy businessman, I am a rich man now. Following Brother Chen, I can really make a fortune!
This month, Chen Ruotong gave everyone an extra 1 tael of silver because she called on everyone to donate 500 wen each. Although the donation was small, if everyone donated, it would add up to a lot! Chen Erjiang and Chen Sanhe each donated 20 taels, and Chen Ruotong donated 100 taels each for Old Man Chen and Qiao Zien.
The actions of Zhenpin Pavilion and Huicui Building also inspired other small shops in the surrounding area to donate money, a few hundred coins, a few taels, and a dozen taels. When accumulated together, it was a considerable sum. Prefect Zhang was very moved. The people under his rule were very conscious!
After Miss Zhang received her commission, she donated 1,000 taels. As a result, the Zhang family also set off a wave of donations. As a result, the Tongpans and Tongzhis in the government office also donated money. There was no coercion or comparison, and it was voluntary.
When the common people saw that officials and businessmen had donated, they thought that we common people would not be short of a few cents, so we should donate as well! As a result, the common people in various neighborhoods also donated money, even the slums in North Street were no exception. The really poor also donated a penny. Magistrate Zhang felt that he was a good official, and he must work for the welfare of the common people and not let them down.
Therefore, the people of Pingyang City united as one, donated money for disaster relief, and those who really had no money contributed their labor, such as building tents and repairing roads outside the city. All these efforts were not in vain, as they were paid with money, which came from the disaster relief donations. When they earned money, they donated more, and it was a virtuous cycle. What disaster could they not overcome?
On the tenth day of August, disaster victims arrived at the south gate of Pingyang Prefecture one after another. Those with household registration passes and money can enter the city, seek refuge with relatives, or buy a house to settle down. The north gate was closed and no one was allowed to go north, because Prefect Zhang received a quick report from the capital and tried his best to prevent the disaster victims from entering Chaoyang Prefecture. He ordered Prefect Zhang to resettle the disaster victims on the spot, even if there were disaster victims who sought refuge with relatives in the capital. They were not allowed to enter the capital, fearing that the disaster victims would riot in Beijing, but they did not allocate funds to Pingyang Prefecture to resettle the disaster victims. Prefect Zhang was asked to find a way out himself. He was also very angry when he heard the news, but so what? This was an order from above, and it must be executed and things must be done well, otherwise not only would his official hat be lost, but he would also be punished. So it's not easy to be an official! Fortunately, he had raised funds in advance and could successfully resettle the disaster victims.
The Chen family and the Zhang family are now relatives, so if Magistrate Zhang has any new news, he will tell Chen Ruotong.
Chen Ruotong said: "Sir, our Pingyang Prefecture is the largest prefecture in Wuyang Prefecture. It has a large area of arable land and many wastelands and mountains. We can divide the victims into various counties, villages and towns, register them, count the number of people, distribute land and relief money and grain, and exempt them from taxes for three years. Let them build houses and cultivate land by themselves. If they have a place to settle down and something to do, there will be no riots. Strengthen the management of the victims, and if there are troublemakers who do not follow the rules, catch them and punish them severely and put them in jail. In this way, the victims will slowly disperse, the population of our Pingyang Prefecture will increase dramatically, and wastelands and mountains will be reclaimed. Then, grain tax revenue will increase in the future. In fact, it is also a good thing in the long run.
Besides, many of the victims are wealthy, so when they come to Pingyang Prefecture, they don’t need our help. They have to spend money on food, clothing, housing and transportation. Wouldn’t Pingyang Prefecture be better off economically? For those who are penniless, we can give them food, land and a few taels of silver as subsidies, or they can work in the city to earn money. Of course, some lawless people will sneak in, so we can take the opportunity to catch them and eliminate the harm to the people.”
Prefect Zhang laughed and said, "I think the same thing as you. Gu Chuan, you shouldn't be doing business. You are meant to be an official!"
Prefect Zhang immediately took action. He sent people to various counties and towns to summon leaders and hold meetings to distribute tasks. Population was assigned according to the area of wasteland in each town. Prefect Zhang thought that all towns were unwilling to accept disaster victims from outside, but he did not expect that everyone was scrambling to accept them. Why? Because it can increase the local labor force. Reclaiming land will increase tax revenue, increase head tax, and increase the number of people serving labor service. Only with more people can there be hope!
In this way, every time a group of disaster victims arrived, they were assigned to a township, and even the temporary wooden houses and tents built outside were not used much.
Ten days later, no more disaster victims entered Pingyang Prefecture. According to Prefect Zhang, Anyang Prefecture imitated Pingyang Prefecture and also resettled a large number of disaster victims. Therefore, Pingyang Prefecture's work of resettling disaster victims was successfully completed!