Chapter 137 Spring

The days of Spring Festival passed quickly, and soon it was the fifth day of the New Year. Chunhetang had to start work, Manxiang Braised Food had to start setting up its stall, and Gu Yanqing had to start his class.

Everything was in order. When Shen Jinan went to Chunhetang for a consultation, he suddenly found a lot of ragged people lying at the door.

The staff of Chunhetang drove them away impatiently. Among them was a little girl with big eyes who nervously grabbed her adult's sleeve, looking scared and pitiful.

Shen Jinan met the little girl's eyes and felt sympathy. She held the waiter down and said softly, "These people haven't had an easy time either. You go in first and I'll ask them what's wrong."

The guy always admired Shen Jinan, so he didn't say anything.

Shen Jinan stepped forward and asked where these people came from and why they were so embarrassed.

A woman, clutching her child, wept bitterly, "The dam south of Yinzhou suddenly burst, flooding several villages. We had no choice but to flee to Puzhou. We have no place to stay, and we're hungry and exhausted."

Shen Jinan was shocked when he heard this. Yinzhou is the most important outlet of Mingjiang River. Once the dam breaks, the consequences will be serious and several neighboring states will be affected.

But the most important thing now is to settle these poor refugees.

Although Shen Jinan is kind-hearted, he also knows the principle that a bowl of rice is a favor and a bushel of rice is a grudge.

She first went to an empty corner, took out the buns that Aunt Bao had given her several times from the space, and then walked out and distributed them to the hungry refugees.

"There are many places to work in Puzhou. You should try to find a job first. If you are sick, you can come to Chunhe Hall to see me."

Everyone thanked Shen Jinan profusely. The little girl with bright eyes secretly stepped forward, grabbed the corner of Shen Jinan's clothes, looked up at her and asked.

"Beautiful sister, are you a fairy?"

When Shen Jinan heard the soft and sticky voice, her heart softened. This child looked even younger than Sui Sui Huanhuan.

"I'm not a fairy, I'm a doctor."

She touched the little girl's head, took out a small bag of eight-treasure candy from her sleeve and gave it to her, then turned around and went back to the clinic.

The little girl looked at Shen Jinan's back, clutching the candy tightly, and an inexplicable seed was buried in her heart.

When Shen Jinan was seeing patients, she found that there were more refugees in Puzhou City than she had imagined, and most of them were sick because they had no shelter or food.

There were quite a few refugees who came to the clinic for treatment. Shen Jinan waived any extra consultation fees and prescribed the cheapest medicinal materials for them.

However, the number of refugees is increasing, even exceeding the number of ordinary people. If this continues, Puzhou will eventually fall.

After finishing her shift at the clinic, Shen Jinan took a carriage back home. Gu Yanqing had just finished class and saw her rushing in. He thought something had happened to her and went up to her to show concern.

"Madam, why do you look unhappy? What happened?"

Gu Yanqing half-hugged her waist and asked carefully.

"There are many refugees in the town, and the number is even increasing. My husband, the dam in Yinzhou has collapsed. Will Puzhou..."

She anxiously grabbed Gu Yanqing's sleeve, and Gu Yanqing realized the seriousness of the matter.

But he still tried to appease Shen Jinan first, "It's okay. If there are no heavy rains in the spring, Puzhou should be able to survive the crisis. As for the refugees, it depends on how the government will accommodate them."

Gu Yanqing knew clearly that the governors of these states were not the kind of people who could get things done. If he had been the prime minister before, he would have been able to help resettle the refugees, but he was still a criminal and could only protect his family first.

"Okay, but we still have to take precautions. If there are too many refugees, the epidemic will spread. You and the children should not go out for the next few days."

Shen Jinan grabbed his hand worriedly, and Gu Yanqing held her in his arms to comfort her.

But what no one expected was that heavy rain suddenly hit Puzhou, and since it was in the lower reaches of the Mingjiang River, the flood soon spread to Puzhou. Not to mention the town, even several refugees came to the village to seek refuge.

The village chief gathered everyone together to raise some food and land, and managed to settle these refugees.

Shen Jinan volunteered to check the health of these refugees. Fortunately, they were all in good health, so Shen Jinan felt relieved.

As a result, when she arrived in the town, she was almost shocked. Everywhere she looked in the town were refugees in tattered clothes, complaining bitterly.

When they saw someone who was dressed well, they would surround him and beg for food, causing every household to close their doors and no one would come out.

Shen Jinan took a carriage to the gate of Chunhe Hall and found that the door of Chunhe Hall was also closed.

When she was about to return home, several refugees saw her carriage and surrounded it.

"Please, kind soul, give us some food!"

"Give us a little money! The child is starving!"

"This carriage looks quite nice. How about going up and seeing if there's anything to eat inside?"

Listening to the sound outside the window, Shen Jinan's face turned pale. Fortunately, Uncle Zhou reacted quickly and waved the whip. The carriage turned around and rushed out.

The refugees were left behind in an instant, but the carriage could not return to its previous route. While driving the carriage, Uncle Zhou told Shen Jinan about the situation in distress.

Shen Jinan was worried about where to go, but when he opened the curtain, he found that the carriage had arrived at the door of the Cui family mansion.

There were several strong guards guarding the door, and the refugees did not dare to go forward.

"Uncle Zhou, get off here. I have acquaintances at the Cui Mansion."

Shen Jinan thought of Cui Shuer, his eyes lit up, and he jumped off the carriage.

When the guards saw her coming forward, they shouted at her, and Shen Jinan immediately gave her name and begged the guards to go in and make an announcement.

The guards at the door saw that she had an extraordinary temperament and did not look like a refugee, so one of them went in to report.

When the guard came out again, he had already respectfully invited her in and also arranged for Mr. Zhou and the carriage.

After entering Cui's house, Cui Shu'er came out to greet her personally, "Doctor Shen, you're here! The refugees in this city scare me to death."

Her voice was sweet and her face was rosy, and she looked much better than when Shen Jinan took her pulse before. This was all thanks to the medicinal recipe.

"Thank you Miss Cui for helping me at this moment, otherwise I would have been surrounded by these refugees just now."

Shen Jinan breathed a sigh of relief, and Cui Shuer quickly grabbed her hand and looked her up and down.

"Are you okay, Doctor Shen? Luckily you hid quickly. I heard that many families in this town were robbed. My father hired many strong guards, so the Cui Mansion is now safe."

Seeing that she was fine, Cui Shuer sighed and continued talking.

Shen Jinan's delicate brows frowned slightly. Is the situation in the city so serious now? The refugees have begun to rob openly.

"The city is dangerous these days, and you can't go back anytime soon. Why don't you stay at Cui's house for a few days? I'm almost getting moldy here, and I have only a few close friends. You're the only woman I know in Puzhou City."

Cui Shu'er held her hand and shook it coquettishly. Shen Jin'an had no choice but to say, "But what should I do if my family is worried? I have to go back eventually, and I'm worried about them too."