PNB Chapter 263 Disaster Relief [1]
Chapter 263 Disaster Relief [1]
“The disaster victims have to cross the river at the city gate to get to Pingding County… There are no disaster victims in the county town now; most of them are at the city gate of Pingyao.”
According to Dou Weiyi, Tang Guangjun did not take any action or provide any support.
After all, no one knows how things will develop, so we're still taking a wait-and-see approach.
Gao Mengli understood.
Gao Mengli stared at Dou Weiyi, her expression complicated: "My lord, Lord Tang has been working with you to develop agriculture and commerce this year. His county's harvest this year must be quite good, right?"
If he doesn't provide you with support, and you can't provide disaster relief in time, the disaster victims might not have the money to take a boat across, but they might build their own rafts to get to the other side later.
"Then it won't be your problem anymore, it will be Lord Tang's problem."
After all, the easy prey is right on the other side of the river. To survive, the disaster victims will definitely try to cross the river even if there is a risk of falling into the water.
Waiting for rescue is the same as dying, so we might as well take a gamble. If we manage to get to Pingding County, then we'll live.
The temptation is huge.
Dou Weiyi frowned slightly, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes. He naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Gao Mengli's words.
He sighed softly, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and spoke after a moment: "I didn't expect him to lend a helping hand anyway. Tang Guangjun is a man who is always good at scheming."
Although this year's harvest is good, he must be afraid that distributing grain for relief will deplete his own warehouse reserves, thus affecting his future career advancement.
If you perform well for three years, you can be promoted.
He and Tang Guangjun were ranked in the top ten, although they didn't make the top three in their performance review this year.
If they could endure for another two years, both he and Tang Guangjun would have a chance for promotion.
Everyone looks out for themselves, and Tang Guangjun did nothing wrong.
After all, officials have power, and everyone desires wealth and status...
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi looked solemn after hearing this.
Gao Mengli could only sigh. Indeed, helping is a favor, not helping is their right, and they couldn't ask too much of others.
But they were from Pingyao, and their fates were intertwined, so they had no choice but to intervene, otherwise everyone would have flooded into the village entrance.
If people freeze or starve to death in the cold and no one cleans up their bodies, it will easily spread the plague. Even if they hide in the village, they will not be able to escape it.
If external help doesn't work, then let's try internal solutions.
Gao Mengli nodded: "Okay, sure. Then I'll give you 10,000 catties of rice and sorghum first."
Thinking about how half of the rice and grains her family had just stocked up on this year had been gone in an instant, Gao Mengli felt a real pang of heartache.
"Okay, okay, I'll write you a receipt right away!"
Dou Weiyi was so excited that he immediately took out the receipt from his pocket, then took out his withered calligraphy brush, licked it in his mouth, and quickly wrote down the specific amount of grain.
Gao Mengli's lips twitched as she looked at the signature and seal that had already been written and affixed.
This is... well, they came prepared! How could they be so sure she would borrow grain?!
Lin Xi took the receipt from Dou Weiyi and, thinking about the box at home, couldn't help but look Dou Weiyi up and down.
This Lord Dou is so poor, who knows when he'll be able to pay off his debts?
But he wasn't afraid. He figured he could just let his descendants chase after the debt!
I never even considered that Dou Wei wouldn't have any children. He'll probably just give up and it'll all be for nothing.
Gao Mengli glanced at the receipt, then looked up and instructed Lin Xi, "Xi Xi, go to the village chief's house and call him over."
Lin Xi nodded, got up and walked towards the village chief's house.
A moment later, the village chief walked over with a beaming smile and bowed to Dou Weiyi and Qin Shensheng: "Lord Dou, Master Qin, what brings you to the village at this hour?!"
Lin Xi called him but didn't say what it was about. Only now did he realize that his benefactor was also there, and he couldn't help but be curious, since it was the time for the yamen to start work.
Dou Weiyi looked solemn, bowed slightly to the village chief, and said in a deep voice: "Village chief, the disaster situation is urgent. A large number of disaster victims have gathered at the gate of Pingyao City. If it is not handled properly, there may be a disaster victim riot in our entire county."
My younger brother and sister-in-law are very generous; they donated 10,000 catties of grain, hoping you could handle the arrangements.
Upon hearing this, the village chief's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of urgency. He hurriedly pulled Dou Weiyi aside and asked, "Disaster victims? Where are they now?"
Dou Weiyi nodded: "Sigh, there are hundreds of people at the city gate now, and more refugees are coming from other places..."
They'd just started enjoying their good life when this happened.
Upon hearing this, the village chief felt as if half the sky had collapsed, and the other half was held up by Dou Weiyi.
Gao Mengli patted the village chief's hand: "Village chief, don't worry too much. Quickly arrange for people to leave the village, clear the road from Wangyue to Pingyao County, transport the grain there, and then make other plans."
The village chief snapped out of his daze and nodded hurriedly: "You're right, I'll go and gather people to clear the road right away."
Fortunately, the roads in their village are all paved with red bricks, which are not only smooth but also easy to clean.
It just so happens that the bandits and the Lotus Sect stopped working due to the snow, so we can call them over to do the work.
Upon hearing this, the bandits in the mountains thought they had a job and quickly brought their bandits over to register!
After all, when bandits work, all they need to do is keep an eye on them and prevent them from escaping, and they can keep getting paid!
So all the village chief had to do was give a shout, and they got everything arranged.
A group of people came to the cellar behind the courtyard house, opened the cellar door, and began to move the grain bag by bag, transporting it to Pingyao County by horse-drawn cart.
Gao Mengli also wanted to know about the situation of the disaster victims at the city gate, so she brought Lin Xi along to the city gate to take a look.
Before long, the outline of Pingyao County gradually came into view.
As they approached the city gate, the noise grew clearer, a cacophony of shouts from the disaster victims and cries from children.
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi had not experienced famine, but they had seen disaster areas in apocalyptic videos where people had been ravaged by war, homeless, and starving.
Wounded children, desperate adults, and starving stomachs—this scene overlapped with the war zones of later generations.
For a moment, the two of them felt somewhat sorrowful.
Upon arriving at the city gate, Gao Mengli instructed Wang Gougou and the army to quickly build up the stoves.
A cartload of coal was transported; it should be enough to burn for several days.
Ten stoves were also brought over and placed in the sheds in the disaster area to keep the victims warm.
After receiving their orders, Wang Gougou and the army quickly sprang into action.
Wang Gougou deftly directed everyone to move stones and mix mud. Before long, several simple yet practical stoves were built on the open ground at the city gate.
Dajun, along with a group of people, carried the stoves back and forth, carefully placing them in various sheds in the disaster area.
Gao Mengli then looked at Lin Xi: "Xi Xi, take a few people and take the down comforters off the truck. Lay them out for the elderly, children and weak disaster victims. It's freezing cold here, don't let them get sick."
Lin Xi nodded, then turned and led Meng Ze and the others to get busy.
We can only spare five down comforters from the house, which is definitely a drop in the ocean.
However, having something is better than not having one.
Seeing the commotion in the village, Doctor Li also brought his medicine and, along with his two apprentices, busied himself among the disaster victims.
Originally, the disaster victims thought they were lucky to be surviving on thin porridge and sorghum rice for the past two days. They never expected that other aid would arrive today.
Children with fevers and the elderly with illnesses—there's hope!