The first to come was a white-bearded old man, he was Yin Changling, the president of the Sichuan Disaster Relief Association. In the 14th year of Guangxu, he entered the Hanlin Academy, and successively served as the prefect of Chang'an County, the prefect of Fengxiang, the prefect of Yan'an, the prefect of Xi'an, and the chief of the audit of the Sichuan Military Government, the director of internal affairs, and the director of the government department during the Beiyang period.

This person's qualifications are too old, and his prestige in Sichuan is extremely high. Hearing the adjutant's report, Liu Xiang hurriedly got up and said to Zhou Hexuan: "Mr. Zhou, let's go out together to greet him." ”

"Okay." Zhou Hexuan is as good as flowing.

Liu Xiang walked out of the reception room quickly and waited in the courtyard all the time. When Yin Changling appeared, he saluted and said, "When the middle prince arrives, he will miss the distance!" ”

Yin Changling walked with a bamboo cane, walked vigorously, waved his hand and said: "Don't play this set of false things, the business is important, let's talk inside." ”

Zhou Hexuan hugged his fists and greeted: "Zhong Gong'an is good." ”

"Who is this offspring?" Yin Changling was a little presbyopia, so he got closer and took a closer look.

Liu Xiang hurriedly introduced: "Zhonggong, this is Mr. Zhou Mingcheng, a university scholar. ”

"Zhou Mingcheng?" Yin Changling's body got closer and closer, almost touching Zhou Hexuan's face, he stepped back and smiled, "Okay, good!" Mr. Zhou not only writes well, but also does a good job as a person, running a school, doing charity, and helping people's livelihood, which is what a gentleman does. ”

"Zhong Gong praised it." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

Yin Changling walked in with a cane in one hand and Zhou Hexuan in the other, and said, "I don't say anything about being vain, and you shouldn't be modest." I have read your "The Rise of Great Powers", and your "Dog Official" is really well written. What I admire the most is that you have done charity and saved a lot of people. ”

"Compared to Zhong Gong, the little thing I did was not worth mentioning." Zhou Hexuan said.

Yin Changling has hated warlord melee over the years, and resolutely refuses to be an official again, but devotes himself to charity. What he did was not a fake charity that took the opportunity to make profits, but a real charity that sacrificed his family to save the people, and the main source of money was his factory, followed by social donations.

This old gentleman ran a number of factories and was considered a big local capitalist, but all the profits were used for charity, so that after his death, he had no money left over to handle the funeral, so he had to raise funds for the elderly from the Cihuitang. The martyr Wang Ganqing wrote a hanging poem to him, saying: "There is no half an acre of residence at home, and people have to be sheltered by a wide house." For the rest of the twenty years, hundreds of millions of people survived. ”

There was once a staff member who had lived in Chengdu for a long time, because he had no children and no daughters, so he simply donated all his more than 200 acres of land to Yin Changling's Cihui Hall, and then lived in it for the elderly. This shows Yin Changling's personality charm, everyone believes that he will not embezzle charitable funds, and dares to hand over all his belongings to him.

As soon as everyone sat down, the adjutant came to compatriot again: "Chairman, Director Gan is here!" ”

"Let him in." Liu Xiang sat still this time, and the treatment of the comers was obviously different.

Gan Jiyong was born in the military and belonged to Liu Xiang's old subordinates, and his administrative ability was still relatively good, otherwise he would not have been entrusted with important tasks - this Jun was previously the chief of political affairs of Liu Xiang's main force of the 21st Army, and was appointed as the director of the Sichuan Civil Affairs Department after the unification of Sichuan.

Coming to the reception room, Gan Jiyong saluted Liu Xiang: "Commander! Then, he hugged his fists and said to Yin Changling and Zhou Hexuan, "Zhong Gong, Mr. Zhou, be polite!" ”

Liu Xiang sat on the main seat and said to Yin Changling: "Zhonggong, you are the president of the Sichuan Disaster Relief Association, you can tell me about the specific disaster." ”

The photo of people eating people in the disaster area was handed over to Chang Kaishen by Yin Changling, who had a better understanding of the disaster situation at this time: "The most serious drought is in the counties of northwest Sichuan, from March to the present, there has not been a drop of rain, all the spring and summer grain have been harvested, and more than half of the people in Jinghua County have run out of food!" ”

"Tell me about other places." Liu Xiang's focus is clearly different.

Yin Changling's face showed a helpless expression, obviously a little dissatisfied with Liu Xiang's approach, but he still said: "There are more than 140 counties in eastern Sichuan, southern Sichuan, and western Sichuan, and there is a major drought, and the longest drought has lasted for three months, and the lightest drought has been two months. There will be a famine in winter and spring, and the provincial government should prepare for it in advance, and the price of grain must be brought down! ”

Liu Xiang asked again: "Zhong Gong, when do you think the whole Sichuan will be dry?" ”

Yin Changling thought for a while and said, "It should be relieved in autumn." ”

Liu Xiang glanced at Zhou Hexuan and said, "Mr. Zhou told me that the drought in Sichuan will last until next year. ”

"How is that possible?" Yin Changling and Gan Jiyong exclaimed at the same time.

Zhou Hexuan made a full set of plays, and said with a wry smile: "That's true, this is the forecast of meteorological experts." ”

Gan Jiyong obviously didn't believe it: "Where did the meteorological experts come from, I'm afraid they don't just say some nonsense." ”

Zhou Hexuan did not explain, but said: "I have urgently purchased 500,000 tons of relief grain from the United States, and the first batch may not arrive in Chongqing until two and a half months later." ”

500,000 tons of grain?

Liu Xiang, Yin Changling and Gan Jiyong looked at each other, all frightened by this number, how much does it cost!

Regardless of whether the drought in Sichuan will worsen, at least Zhou Hexuan's approach is admirable. Yin Changling got up and bowed: "Ming sincerely cares about the people, and the old man is here to thank the fathers and elders of the whole Sichuan!" ”

Liu Xiang also said: "Mr. Zhou, you are a real person, I, Liu Mangzi, am convinced!" ”

"Fu Gong, I need the help of the provincial government." Zhou Hexuan said.

"You speak." Liu Xiang hurriedly said.

"First, I need Mr. Lu Zuofu's full assistance," Zhou Hexuan carefully explained, "500,000 tons of grain is easy to transport from the United States to Shanghai, but it is difficult to transport it from Shanghai to Sichuan." Minsheng shipping companies must mobilize enough ships to cooperate. Especially in the next two months, the water level in various sections of the Yangtze River may not be enough for large ships, and many small boats must be relied on for transshipment. ”

Liu Xiang immediately agreed, he also has shares in Minsheng Company, and said: "I promise that Lu Zuofu will fully cooperate, and the freight rate will only charge the cost." ”

Zhou Hexuan also said: "Second, regarding the distribution of disaster relief food, I need the assistance of Zhonggong. ”

Yin Changling immediately patted his chest: "Hold on to the old decay, if someone dares to embezzle disaster relief food, you take my skull and kick it as a ball." ”

"Third, the Civil Affairs Department also needs to help," Zhou Hexuan said, "I hope that the provincial government will follow the example of the United States and provide relief through work, so that the victims of the disaster cannot be raised, so they must find work to do." Roads, bridges, factories and mines...... We can take the opportunity to build Sichuan and not raise the disaster victims. ”

"It's a great idea." Yin Changling said with a smile. Many of his factories have recruited many poor people and orphans, and it is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish.

Liu Xiang was also very happy in his heart, building a place could consolidate his rule, and immediately shouted: "Gan Mazi! ”

"Humble duty!" Gan Jiyong jumped up and stood upright.

Liu Xiang ordered: "Your Civil Affairs Department must make every effort to do a good job in the work of cash-for-work. ”

Gan Jiyong saluted the military and said: "Dare to make a military order!" ”

"Very good," Liu Xiang nodded, and asked Zhou Hexuan again, "Does Mr. Zhou have any other requirements?" ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled, "I'm going to buy wasteland, a lot of wasteland." ”

"What are you buying wasteland for?" Liu Xiang was a little puzzled.

"Build a factory, build a house," Zhou Hexuan took out a map of Sichuan, "Chongqing, Banan, Bishan, Jiangjin, Yongchuan, Luzhou, Longchang, Neijiang, Yibin...... In these places, I have to buy wasteland and build a lot of houses and factories. ”

Liu Xiang scratched his head and said, "The stall is big!" ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "Fu Gong, please rest assured, what I want to buy is wasteland, and I will not occupy farmland, nor will I offend the local gentry." ”

Why did Zhou Hexuan buy land to build a house?

Of course, it was to prepare for the Anti-Japanese War, and when countless war-torn people moved to Sichuan, many people did not even have houses, so they could only build their own temporary shacks. Zhou Hexuan built a house in advance as a charter office, not only could he make money, but also provide convenience for the people in the war, and he could set the rent very low.

There is also the establishment of various livelihood enterprises, and the war-torn people gathered in Sichuan, resulting in a shortage of many materials in Sichuan, and the price of goods has risen extremely terrifyingly. Zhou Hexuan didn't worry about sales at all, he made a fortune by himself, and he could also relieve the tension of civilian materials during the war.

Moreover, the use of Sichuan disaster victims to build houses and factories not only reduces costs on the one hand, but also can live countless people on the other hand. Why not?

Sometimes, when you help others, you are also helping yourself.