The blanket lifted slightly at one corner, and Guaizai's two big eyes peeked out. Seeing they were still looking at him, he quickly covered himself again.
Sleeping next to Guaizai was Tang Fulang. Seeing no movement from under the thin blanket, he reached over and pulled it down for him.
Guaizai had been exhausted these past few days. The moment he lay down, he was dead to the world. Now he was sleeping soundly, and quite a few people gathered around to look.
A woman gently opened his little hand. It was wrinkled from being soaked in water for so long, and there were two blisters on his palm. She burst into tears right then and there.
The prefect was good, and the young master was good too — completely different from those arrogant young masters they had seen before.
The young master was willing to do things for them common folk. He was good.
Tang Daniang brought medicine in. Everyone nodded to her respectfully and stepped aside.
After applying medicine to Guaizai, Tang Daniang went back to work.
That night they had come in a hurry and hadn't brought a change of clothes. A woman took Guaizai's wet clothes to the fire and silently dried them.
On the fifth day, the soldiers finally delivered grain.
The county's stored grain wasn't enough, so it had to be transferred from Zhuozhou. Fang Zichen's face went dark.
He asked the official in charge of escorting the grain why it had taken so long.
The official immediately knelt down.
Zhao Ger knew the situation was serious. As soon as Fang Zichen left, he immediately found someone to ride fast back to Zhuozhou.
Transferring grain from the yamen was indeed troublesome, but no matter how troublesome, it shouldn't have taken five days. Fang Zichen strongly suspected these people had been "neglecting their duties" on the road.
How would the official dare!
This grain was being transported to save lives. The whole way, they didn't even dare stop to pee — they practically had to pee while walking. But when they reached Anxi County, they encountered three landslides. The carriages couldn't get through. What else could they do? They had to shovel the dirt out of the way first.
It was understandable, there was a reason, and they couldn't be blamed. Moreover, the soldier looked like he'd been punched twice — he probably hadn't rested at all the whole way.
Fang Zichen wasn't a heartless slave driver. He patted the man's shoulder. "You've all worked hard. Go get some rest."
The soldier was overwhelmed with flattery.
Although it was late, at least no one starved to death...
Wait!
Fang Zichen remembered something. He called Guaizai over, tucked him between his legs, and began a harsh interrogation.
"Where did this rice come from?"
Guaizai started acting cute, hugging Fang Zichen's neck and kissing him first. But Fang Zichen wasn't falling for it.
"Tell the truth! Otherwise your little butt might be seeing ghosts later."
Guaizai's chrysanthemum tightened. He covered his butt first and said in a tiny voice: "Guaizai bought it on credit."
"What charm do you have? Someone gives you hundreds of catties on credit? You think you're me?" Fang Zichen didn't believe it. He poked his face: "Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and it'll be severe."
Guaizai came clean: "Guaizai went to buy oilcloth and blankets, and then, then Guaizai saw a grain shop nearby, so Guaizai wanted to buy some grain first to bring back. But Guaizai didn't have enough silver! Guaizai even showed his Ultraman token, but who knew that old grandpa didn't recognize it and told Guaizai to get lost. Guaizai said he'd write an IOU, but he wouldn't allow it either. Then, then..." He hemmed and hawed.
The grain shop owner had chased him away. Guaizai panicked. When they'd first arrived, the villagers had already gone hungry for two days and were injured — they couldn't afford to starve. And his father was there too. His father and the uncles were exhausted from digging people out. They needed to eat their fill.
"Guaizai wanted to buy grain on credit. Guaizai told him the situation and said Guaizai would pay the silver when Guaizai had time, and asked if he could be flexible. The old grandpa said no. So Guaizai cut his counter with one sword strike, and then he said yes yes, okay okay. Guaizai brought the grain back."
Guaizai clutched the hem of his clothes tightly, head hanging low: "Father, Guaizai didn't want to rob either. Guaizai knows it was wrong. Father, forgive Guaizai. Guaizai will..."
The old shopkeeper had naturally gone to the yamen to report it, but the yamen runners had no time to deal with him — they were too busy! They just said to put it on hold.
Before Guaizai could finish, Fang Zichen kissed him first and praised him for doing well.
If his son hadn't "robbed" the grain back and they'd just waited for the official grain, many people would probably be dead by now.
In the end, it was his own poor planning. He had only thought to have everyone endure for a couple of days — no big deal. But he hadn't considered unexpected situations.
A full five days! Even a normal person would be unbearably hungry, let alone those who were injured.
Guaizai got kissed on the left cheek and was instantly happy. He turned his right cheek over. Fang Zichen laughed and kissed that one too. Guaizai pointed to his forehead. Fang Zichen kissed it. Guaizai was delighted, eyes and brows curved in smiles. Then he held out the back of his hand. Fang Zichen grabbed his little butt.
This brat had just squatted in the bushes to poop and hadn't even washed his hands!
Guaizai giggled.
Toward evening, everyone had been found.
Most were injured. The two hastily built straw sheds weren't enough. Tang Daniang led twenty-some villagers to build six more.
Once the people were all dug out, the soldiers went through and dug the whole area again from start to finish, pulling out anything useful.
Pots and pans were certainly shattered, but blankets, clothes, and hoes could still be used if dug out. And most importantly, silver.
The fields had accumulated water. Fang Zichen sent people to check. Crops that could be saved were saved.
Most of these soldiers came from villages themselves. They knew far better than he did how to drain the fields. He, a layman, wasn't going to go over and blindly give orders.
Some were severely injured and had been buried too long. They ultimately didn't make it.
Anxi Village lost eleven people.
Anbei Village lost eight people.
Now the rain had stopped and the sun was out again. The weather was hot. Fang Zichen had people carry the bodies up the mountain for burial first.
After that, the villagers still needed to be settled, and the village needed to be rebuilt. They couldn't keep making do in straw sheds forever.
Fang Zichen and Guaizai busied themselves here for over half a month, then went down to inspect other places.
When the disaster first struck, the Anxi County magistrate had immediately brought people over. Later, he ordered everyone to be vigilant and take precautions. This time, aside from Anxi and Anbei, no other place had major incidents.
Fang Zichen was eager to go out and earn silver. To speed things up, he transferred another thousand soldiers from Zhuozhou.
This matter still had to be reported.
The memorials from various places were sent to the capital by eight-hundred-li express on the seventh day after the disaster. Memorials from all directions converged at the court. When Xia Jinghong saw them, he was so furious that smoke practically came out of his nostrils. He threw a huge fit in court.
The disaster did not strike Hengzhou alone—Linjiang, Xiayang, Yuanzhou, and Qinzhou had also been hit by the same calamity.
Across the five prefectures, aside from Hengzhou, nearly three hundred people had died in the other four, and the number of collapsed houses was too many to count.
The ministers frowned and exchanged uneasy glances. Some were worried, some anxious, all sighing and groaning.
What a troubled year this was!
First, the Chao Kingdom invaded, and now this. They would likely have to open the imperial treasury again for disaster relief.
Back in the eighth month, troops had just been dispatched south with military provisions. Who knew if the treasury could still bear the cost?
Everyone turned to look at the old men from the Ministry of Revenue. Lord Gu and the others… something was off about them!
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