An enemy from the past
However, Su Wan lived on only one motto and that was as long as ' I don't feel embarrassed no one can make me lower my head,' thus she very calmly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and then smiled at the sub-divisional officer before motioning him to follow her,
" I apologize for disturbing you when the weather is so cold, Officer——" she trailed off while waiting for the old man to introduce himself.
" Yun Zhao, there is no need for madam to be so formal with me. You can just call me, Old Yun or Grandpa Yun," Yun Zhao was already aware of Su Wan's identity.
Though he still could not understand why his majesty sent a woman to this place, he was still polite towards Su Wan since she was sent to the great ocean city by the Emperor as for how capable she was, Yun Zhao did not have any hopes from her as she was nothing but a young woman.
Su Wan smiled at the old gentleman, she could see the little thoughts which were going on inside of his head but she didn't bother to address them.
Since she was here already it was better to show her work rather than bickering with others to make them realise that she was not here for fun.
" Old Master Yun," Su Wan greeted Yun Zhao as she turned to her maid who came to bring her some heating pads and asked her to bring some tea and snacks before turning her head and looking at Yun Zhao.
Taking the heating pads, Su Wan placed them on her abdomen which was hurting slightly and then started speaking, " I am a straightforward person, old master Yun which is why I will not waste your time nor will I waste my own"
Once she started speaking, Su Wan no longer looked like the little girl from next door but instead, she suddenly became imposing and magnificent.
Even Yun Zhao who was questioning her ability couldn't help but be a little stunned when he saw the sudden sharpness in Su Wan's eyes.
Instinctively he sat up straight while paying attention to everything that Su Wan was saying.
" I came here with a simple purpose and that is to make sure that the life of the people of this place change for the better which is why I would like it if you could give me an overview of the situation of this town," Su Wan stated firmly as she pinched the small strand of fabric which was sticking out of her fur jacket and threw it aside before raising her head and continuing,
" We have read all about the great ocean city but it will be better to hear about the condition on the ground from someone who has an idea about what is really going on, Don't you think so, Grandpa Yun?"
Yun Zhao was taken aback. Was this really a commoner woman who married into another family and came from the countryside?
She did not seem as naive as the women of his town.
Maybe this time their city had a chance for revival.
The flame of hope which had been doused long ago once again ignited inside Yun Zhao's heart as he explained the situation of Great ocean city to Su Wan.
Though the books indeed captured most of the essence of this place, they ended up ignoring a few aspects. Like how a few fishermen who went to the ocean returned with injuries because they were caught up in a storm.
Because of those injuries, the fishermen could no longer go to the sea but even so, the magistrates asked them to pay taxes which led to the aggravating situation of the fishermen and their families.
Currently, they were all living a life which was worse than a beggar as they relied on the help of others to even get a single meal.
The butchers who worked in the market had long left the great ocean city as they could not sell the fish which were caught by the fishermen.
Since the fish caught by the fishermen did not taste good when they were cooked, boiled or even grilled because of the fishy smell, they couldn't be sold and in a mountainous region like this one catching a game was not easy as the rocky trails were dangerous to climb.
Thus, instead of staying here and dying they chose to leave.
The remaining people of the town only relied on buying and selling seaweed which can still be stomached by others, while the merchants unscrupulously tried to make momentary gains every once and now.
" Most of the residents work for the landowners," stated Yun Zhao with a sigh. " They are asked to work from day to night and yet the pay is not enough. But because they have no other choice, they are willing to work for the landowners."
" What kind of work do the landowners ask them to do?" Su Wan asked since she did not hear that there were any farms in this place.
Though farming was not as easy near the ocean, it could still be done if one was capable enough.
Yan Zhao hesitated before he answered, "It's not anything good, though the landowners owe large plots of land, they don't know the basic of farming. Their family has been rich since their ancestors were alive which was why they never paid any attention to farming. They even left for capital a few years ago but…"
" But then they returned and started leaving in this city again, no one knows why they came back but ever since then they have been trying to cultivate the lands which were left behind by their ancestors but …"
" After being left behind without getting turned over, it had become barren," Lin Rui finished for Yun Zhao who nodded with a sigh.
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