Several days later, the Xia Family Village trading caravan returned to the Panhua County Seat, bringing back over a hundred scholars, including Zhao Henian.
Upon receiving the news, Xia Huai'an went personally outside the city gates to welcome them. This time, the caravan returned not only with silver taels, but also with several hundred carts of grain. These supplies—consisting of a mix of sweet potatoes, coarse grains, and straw mushrooms—would be enough to provide ten days of rations for the one hundred thousand disaster victims.
Because the scholars had brought back grain, the victims no longer looked upon them with hostility. Some even knelt to kowtow in gratitude to Zhao Henian and the others, deeply moving the scholar-led group.
Chapter 108