Although what Hu Ma said was strange and increasingly terrifying, Old Master Zhao exchanged glances with those around him and, with a bit of resolve, agreed.
The longer they delayed, the more they feared the village would truly face a massive famine if the drought continued.
Not only did they agree, but they also noticed that Hu Ma, unlike the previous Masters who just went through the motions, had genuinely spent an entire day searching. This subtly gave them some confidence in him. They gritted their teeth and accepted. The five hundred taels mentioned by Zhou Datong was, of course, impossible—they couldn't afford it. But if the matter succeeded, they would provide the initial two hundred taels donation gathered by several villages and sent out by merchants to spread the news.
If that's the case, then I am willing to invest... Hu Ma thought. He then returned to the village to carefully instruct the villagers on what they should do.
