The first person to come was an old man with a white beard. He was Yin Changling, the president of the Sichuan Disaster Relief Association. His courtesy name was Zhongxi and his nickname was Yuokan. In the 14th year of Guangxu's reign, he entered the Hanlin Academy and served successively as the magistrate of Chang'an, Fengxiang, and Yan'an.
He served as the prefect of Xi'an and other positions. During the Beiyang period, he served as the dean of audit, director of internal affairs, and director of the government affairs department of the Sichuan military government.
This person's qualifications are too old and his prestige in Sichuan is very high. After hearing the adjutant's report, Liu Xiang quickly stood up and said to Zhou Hexuan: "Mr. Zhou, let's go out to greet him together."
"Okay." Zhou Hexuan followed the good advice.
Liu Xiang quickly walked out of the reception room and went to the courtyard to wait quietly. When Yin Changling appeared, he saluted and said: "Zhong Gong is here, it is too late to welcome him from afar!"
Yin Changling walked over with a strong step, leaning on a bamboo cane, waving his hands and saying: "Don't play this nonsense, business is more important, let's talk inside."
Zhou Hexuan cupped his fists and greeted: "Hello, Mr. Zhong."
"Who is this young man?" Yin Changling had some presbyopia and came closer to observe carefully.
Liu Xiang quickly introduced: "Zhong Gong, this is the great scholar Mr. Zhou Mingcheng."
"Zhou Mingcheng?" Yin Changling's body got closer and closer, almost face to face with Zhou Hexuan. He stepped back and nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, okay! Mr. Zhou is not only a good writer, but also a good person.
Schools, doing charity, improving people's livelihood, this is what a gentleman does."
"Mr. Zhong is so complimentary." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
Yin Changling held a cane in one hand and held Zhou Hexuan in with the other, saying: "I won't say bad things about Ba Lao, so don't be humble either. I have read your "The Rise of the Great Powers", and your "Dog Official" is also true.
Okay. What I admire most is that you do charity and save many people."
"Compared with Zhong Gong, the things I did are not worth mentioning." Zhou Hexuan said.
Over the years, Yin Changling was disgusted with the warlords' melee and refused to be an official anymore. Instead, he devoted himself to charity. What he did was not a fake charity to take advantage of the opportunity, but a true charity to sacrifice his family to save the people. The main source of money was from his factories, and secondly.
It is a social donation.
This old gentleman ran many factories and was considered a big local capitalist, but all the profits he made were used for charity. As a result, he had no money left to pay for the funeral after his death, so the widowed old man from Cihui Hall had to raise funds to host it. Martyr Wang Qianqing gave
He wrote a condolence poem, saying: "My family doesn't have half an acre to live in, but I have to live in a big building. I will live for twenty years and survive for hundreds of millions."
There was once an out-of-town staff member who had lived in Chengdu for a long time. Because he had no children, he simply donated more than 200 acres of his land to Yin Changling's Cihui Hall, and then lived there himself for retirement. This shows Yin Changling's personality charm.
They all believed that he would not embezzle charity funds and dared to leave all their belongings to him.
As soon as everyone sat down, the adjutant came to compatriots again: "Chairman, Director Gan is here!"
"Let him in quickly." Liu Xiang sat still this time, obviously treating the visitor differently.
Gan Jiyong was born as a soldier and was an old subordinate of Liu Xiang. His administrative ability was quite good, otherwise he would not have been entrusted with important tasks. He was previously the chief of the political affairs department of the 21st Army, the main force of Liu Xiang's direct line. After unifying Sichuan, he was appointed to the Sichuan Civil Affairs Department.
long.
Arriving at the reception room, Gan Jiyang saluted Liu Xiang with a military salute: "Commander!" Then he clasped his fists and said to Yin Changling and Zhou Hexuan, "Zhonggong, Mr. Zhou, you are polite!"
Liu Xiang's Dama Jindao sat in the main seat and said to Yin Changling: "Zhonggong, you are the president of the Sichuan Disaster Relief Association. Please tell me the specific disaster situation."
The photo of people cannibalizing people in the disaster area was submitted to Chang Kaishen by Yin Changling. He knew the disaster situation better at this time: "The drought is most serious in the counties in northwest Sichuan. From March to now, there has been no rain.
All grain harvests in Hexia and Xia have failed, and more than half of the people in Jinghua County have run out of grain!"
"Talk about other places." Liu Xiang's focus was obviously different.
Yin Changling had a helpless expression on his face, obviously dissatisfied with Liu Xiang's approach, but he still said: "There are more than 140 counties in eastern Sichuan, southern Sichuan, and western Sichuan suffering from drought. The longest drought has lasted for three months, and the mildest drought has lasted for two months.
Yue. There will definitely be a famine in winter and spring. The provincial government should make preparations early and keep food prices down!"
Liu Xiang asked again: "Zhonggong, when do you think the drought will last in Sichuan?"
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 severe drought in Sichuan will last until next year."
"How is that possible?" Yin Changling and Gan Jiyong exclaimed at the same time.
Zhou Hexuan put on a show and said with a wry smile: "It's true. This is the prediction of meteorological experts."
Gan Jiyong obviously didn't believe it: "Where did this meteorological expert come from? I'm afraid he's just telling lies."
Zhou Hexuan did not explain. He only said: "I have urgently purchased 500,000 tons of disaster relief grain from the United States. It may take two and a half months for the first batch to arrive in Chongqing."
500,000 tons of grain?
Liu Xiang, Yin Changling and Gan Jiyong looked at each other, frightened by this number. How much would it cost?
Regardless of whether the drought in Sichuan will worsen, at least Zhou Hexuan's approach is admirable. Yin Changling stood up and worshiped: "My sincere heart is for the people. I am here to say thank you on behalf of all the elders in Sichuan!"
Liu Xiang also said: "Mr. Zhou, you are a real person. I, Liu Mangzi, am convinced!"
"Mr. Fu, I need help from the provincial government." Zhou Hexuan said.
"You tell me." Liu Xiang said quickly.
"First, I need Mr. Lu Zuofu's full assistance," Zhou Hexuan explained carefully. "It is easy to transport 500,000 tons of grain from the United States to Shanghai, but it is difficult to transport it from Shanghai to Sichuan. Minsheng Shipping Company must mobilize enough
Vessels must cooperate. Especially in the next two months, the water levels in various sections of the Yangtze River may not be enough to pass large ships, and many small boats must be relied on for transshipment."
Liu Xiang immediately agreed. He also had shares in Minsheng Company and said: "I guarantee that Lu Zuofu will fully cooperate and the freight rate will only be cost."
Zhou Hexuan added: "Second, I need Duke Zhong's assistance regarding the distribution of relief food."
Yin Changling immediately slapped his chest: "Hold on to me, if anyone dares to embezzle relief food, you can use my head as a ball to kick."
"Third, the Civil Affairs Department also needs help," Zhou Hexuan said. "I hope the provincial government will follow the American approach and provide work-for-relief. The victims cannot be raised, so they have to find work for them. Build roads, build bridges, etc.
Repairing factories and mines... we can take advantage of the opportunity to build up Sichuan, but we can't feed the victims to waste."
"This is a good idea." Yin Changling said with a smile. Many of his factories have recruited many poor people and orphans. It is better to teach people to fish than to teach them how to fish.
Liu Xiang was also very happy that the construction of the place could consolidate his rule, and he immediately shouted: "Gan Mazi!"
"The humble duty is here!" Gan Jiyong jumped up and stood up straight.
Liu Xiang ordered: "Your Civil Affairs Department must do its best to provide work-for-relief work."
Gan Jiyang saluted the military and said: "I dare to issue a military order despite my humble position!"
"Very good," Liu Xiang nodded and asked Zhou Hexuan, "Does Mr. Zhou have any other requests?"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "I want to buy wasteland, a lot of wasteland."
"What are you buying wasteland for?" Liu Xiang was a little confused.
"Build factories and houses," Zhou Hexuan took out a map of Sichuan, "Chongqing, Banan, Bishan, Jiangjin, Yongchuan, Luzhou, Longchang, Neijiang, Yibin... I want to buy wasteland in these places and build many houses and factories.
.”
Liu Xiang scratched his head and said, "The stall is so big!"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Fu, what I want to buy is all wasteland. I won't occupy farmland, and I won't offend the local gentry."
Why did Zhou Hexuan buy land and build a house?
Of course, it was to prepare for the Anti-Japanese War. Countless war-torn people moved inland to Sichuan. Many people did not even have houses and had to build temporary shacks. Zhou Hexuan built a house in advance and became a tenant. Not only could he make money, but he could also provide convenience to the war-torn people.
, and he can set the rent very low.
There is also the establishment of various people's livelihood enterprises. The war-torn people gathered in Sichuan, resulting in a shortage of many materials in Sichuan, and the prices rose extremely horribly. Zhou Hexuan did not worry about sales at all when he opened the factory. He made a fortune, and it could also alleviate the shortage of civilian supplies during the war.
Moreover, using Sichuan disaster victims to build houses and factories not only reduces costs, but also saves countless lives. Why not?
Sometimes, helping others is also helping yourself.