"Lord Liu, Lord Liu, the coal price has now skyrocketed to ten taels per load."

As County Magistrate Liu was pondering ways to solve the coal issue, a government official dashed in to inform him of the latest market news.

County Magistrate Liu’s eyes widened.

Ten taels per load.

Heavens, how is this different from robbery?

No, there’s a difference; at the very least, they give you a load of coal.

Who can afford ten taels of silver for a load of coal?

Due to the sudden drop in temperature, the county government also suffered from coal shortages, using it sparingly every day, with the entire county government burning just one basin of coal. A single basin couldn’t keep out the cold, and the entire county government felt not a bit of warmth, yet still, County Magistrate Liu broke out in a cold sweat.

He was already envisioning the scene of refugees storming the county government.

Failing to allocate more coal and failing to control coal prices was his incompetence.

He initially thought about sourcing coal from Ning City, but Ning City could hardly protect itself now.

Not just Ning City, the entire northern region of Dasheng was struggling to allocate coal.

In winter, combined with extreme cold weather, who would have surplus coal to send to Pingchuan?

Just when County Magistrate Liu was at his wit’s end, Tong Huaqiong sought an audience outside the county government.

County Magistrate Liu initially didn’t want to see her; he didn’t believe Tong Huaqiong could solve any problems at this time.

But still, Tong Huaqiong is a county lady, and had deep ties with his mother, so he gestured to have her invited in.

Tong Huaqiong walked in and didn’t beat around the bush, saying directly, "Lord Liu, you’ve been worrying about the coal issue, haven’t you? I’ve come precisely for this matter."

Upon hearing the word ’coal,’ County Magistrate Liu became excited.

Aunt Tong’s timing was impeccable.

But he quickly calmed down, wondering how much coal Aunt Tong could possibly have.

"Aunt Tong, do you have coal? How much?" County Magistrate Liu asked.

Tong Huaqiong said, "I have two hundred thousand pounds."

To dispel County Magistrate Liu’s suspicion of malicious coal hoarding, she explained, "I had some idle money and didn’t know what to do with it. Just then, in the summer, I encountered a coal merchant selling off coal, claiming that warm winters in recent years had caused coal prices to plummet, so he was changing trades. I thought the coal wouldn’t spoil, so I stockpiled it..."

At this moment, County Magistrate Liu didn’t associate Tong Huaqiong with malicious coal hoarding at all.

He just felt Tong Huaqiong was a guardian deity of his official career.

Two hundred thousand pounds of coal!

Where could he possibly source two hundred thousand pounds of coal at this time?

This two hundred thousand pounds of coal would be enough to save the citizens of Ning City from the cold.

County Magistrate Liu felt Tong Huaqiong’s two hundred thousand pounds of coal was indeed delivering coal in snowy weather to the people of Pingchuan.

Such righteousness truly matched Aunt Tong’s style.

County Magistrate Liu said, "This is wonderful, wonderful. Aunt Tong not only saved this official but also a city’s citizens."

County Magistrate Liu showered Tong Huaqiong with praises.

Tong Huaqiong, eyeing County Magistrate Liu’s enthusiastic gaze, discussed the distribution of coal, suggesting that these two hundred thousand pounds shouldn’t only be allocated to Pingchuan County, but also to various townships.

Moreover, townships needed coal more than the county.

Because those living in Pingchuan County, while not necessarily affluent, certainly lived better than villagers.

Many county citizens had already bought coal at the onset of winter; now, the panic mostly came from villagers who couldn’t buy coal in townships and tried their luck in the county. Moreover, a significant portion of people were swayed by rumors that the extreme cold would last until May the following year, wishing to stockpile more coal.

"Lord Liu, the entire city is now spreading rumors that the cold will last until May next year. I believe someone is deliberately spreading these rumors to provoke panic and sell coal at high prices," Tong Huaqiong said to County Magistrate Liu, "This winter is indeed colder than previous years but I think no matter how cold, it won’t defy the seasons; this cold snap will at most last until early spring. To quell the panic, we should spread the word, informing everyone that anyone spreading these rumors is nothing but unscrupulous merchants profiteering amid chaos."

County Magistrate Liu agreed wholeheartedly with Tong Huaqiong’s opinion.

In this situation, rumors were deadlier than the cold itself.

For instance, someone might believe the rumors of cold lasting until May, thus scrambling outdoors to purchase coal, which could lead to hypothermia and death amid the cold.

If rumors persisted long enough, they’d become truth, and the entire city would fall into panic.

County Magistrate Liu wasn’t oblivious to someone deliberately spreading rumors; he was just too overwhelmed by the frigid air to contemplate its intricacies.

Now with Tong Huaqiong proposing solutions, County Magistrate Liu’s intelligence came online, immediately ordering an investigation into who’s spreading the rumors.

...

Tong Huaqiong left the county government and immediately headed to Jufu Supermarket.

Jufu Supermarket released some of the coal.

Once the news of coal sales spread, it would surely draw in citizens from all over the city; fortunately, Tong Huaqiong had anticipated this day and set the sales protocol in advance.

Gu Baishuang and the shopkeeper were ready at Jufu Supermarket, merely waiting for Tong Huaqiong’s order to commence sales.

To prevent disorder during the coal purchase, Tong Huaqiong specifically borrowed government officials from County Magistrate Liu to maintain order.

Since the Zheng Family had raised the coal prices to ten taels of silver per load, citizens throughout the city were furious.

Many citizens flocked to the county government, demanding an explanation from County Magistrate Liu and urged him to control coal prices, as well as bring the high-priced coal merchants to justice.

Facing his greatest fear, County Magistrate Liu calmly stepped out, first soothing everyone, then informing them that Jufu Supermarket’s owner had brought in coal from various places.

Before his words were finished, the crowd swarmed towards Jufu Supermarket.

Alarmed, County Magistrate Liu promptly dispatched additional security teams to Jufu Supermarket.

Jufu Supermarket was selling coal, and each load was priced at thirty-five wen, only five wen more than last year.

The news spread quickly, with people flocking to Jufu Supermarket.

The crowd was even larger than at Jufu Supermarket’s opening.

With so many people buying coal, Tong Huaqiong feared a stampede.

She decisively enlisted Lian Hengruo’s help, distributing coal to the Lian Family’s shop and Taohua Dessert branches in the county to divert the crowd.

Otherwise, with so many people crammed at Jufu Supermarket’s entrance waiting to buy coal, how long would it take to queue up?

Fearing that by the time coal was purchased, people waiting at the door would have frozen into popsicles.

Not only did Pingchuan County adopt this diversion strategy, Yan Guan Town did as well.

Tong Huaqiong allocated coal to Taohua Dessert and Huang Yuanwai’s shop in Yan Guan Town.

With Tong Huaqiong’s two hundred thousand pounds easing County Magistrate Liu’s anxiety, the local magistrate began to methodically organize disaster mitigation efforts.

County Magistrate Liu was thorough in his planning, urgently instructing the construction of shelters at coal-selling locations like Jufu Supermarket to block the wind, and having ginger tea and other hot drinks prepared and delivered, so those waiting for coal wouldn’t suffer as much under the protection of shelter and hot drinks.

Aside from this, County Magistrate Liu also gathered affluent citizens from the county to donate coal to those who couldn’t afford it, while setting up porridge tents to prevent the homeless from freezing and starving.

Tong Huaqiong felt that County Magistrate Liu had done as much as he could, a rather commendable official.