Chapter 76 Stealing

Cen Yan felt he should say something, but looking at Zhuang Dongqing's smiling face, he couldn't say anything for a moment.

“I like the first half of the sentence,” Cen Yan finally said.

It refers to the phrase "family".

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Dongqing leaned against his horse and smiled at him.

Slowly, a smile appeared on Cen Yan's face, and he shook his head helplessly.

"Do you still want water? Others might not know, but you'll definitely be careful not to drink polluted water. We brought a lot of water bags with us when we came, and they're all full," Zhuang Dongqing asked Cen Yan.

Cen Yan walked closer and stood beside him. "Is there any more?"

"Yes." He patted the storage bag on the side of the horse; it was bulging.

Leaning against the horse shoulder to shoulder with Zhuang Dongqing, Cen Yan then unscrewed the water pouch again and drank in small sips.

He asked Zhuang Dongqing, "Are you getting used to riding horses?"

Zhuang Dongqing's horsemanship was personally taught by Cen Yan, and if one were to evaluate it, it would be that he could keep up with the horse without being thrown off.

"It's very good. It's very docile. No wonder Commander Hao carefully selected it for me."

Zhuang Dongqing stroked the horse's neck, as if in approval, and the horse snorted in response.

"You traveled by land?"

"Yes, the ports have been closed one after another, and we don't know if it will rain again, so we dare not take a boat."

"Are you tired?" Cen Yan turned his head and looked at Zhuang Dongqing.

Zhuang Dongqing thought for a moment, "I shouldn't be as tired as you."

Cen Yan smiled.

A sly answer.

But they didn't pursue the matter further, and instead asked about little Cen An'an.

There's a lot to say about Zhuang Dongqing.

"She's so lively, she asks about everything she sees on the street..."

"To keep him from getting bored, we usually keep him at home, watching the flowers, chasing the birds, and chasing the dogs. If all else fails, he can help Grandma with some games. But once he's in the carriage, all we can do is keep moving. We tell him not to eat too much indigestible food, and to eat something easy to digest, like steamed buns. We stuff a big one into his arms for him to gnaw on and play with. We spoil him."

Cen An'an's steamed buns were specially made; her grandmother kneaded the dough herself before she left.

To make their journey easier and to carry more supplies, they all ate dry rations.

Even if you want to touch the steamed bun, you need the little rascal's permission.

"But he's actually quite obedient. He wasn't restricted at home and could play around in the mud all day long. But once he's outside, you can't let him rummage around on the ground anymore. Even if you tell him a few times, he won't crawl under the trees anymore."

"She's so engrossed in listening to stories; I've already told the same story over and over again, in countless variations..."

"I told him to stay at the inn and not to go out before he came. I hope he brought enough toys."

“If that’s not enough, let Grandma take him to the small kitchen. Anyway, the small kitchen only cooks their food and it’s separated. Let him go and pick vegetable leaves for Uncle Zhu to play with.”

They were all trivial matters of daily life, but Cen Yan listened with great interest.

Cen Yan: "Did you scare him on the way here?"

There aren't enough people here, and we can't even take care of the people who live a little further away. As far as Cen Yan knows, many people have already left to seek refuge with relatives. The closer we get to the riverbank, the more refugees there should be on the road.

Zhuang Dongqing pinched her ear. "It's alright. After that, I stopped him from peeking through the car window. I played some games with him or told him stories or something. He was able to sit still for more than a day."

Cen Yan: "What did you mean when you said he 'missed me strangely'?"

"Oh, he's hoping you'll come back for his birthday. He's been sitting at the gate of the yard every day like a little dumpling, so eye-catching."

Zhuang Dongqing looked at Cen Yan and said gently, "I was just thinking that since you probably can't come back easily, why not bring him over? After we finish things here, we can go to Hangzhou together, so the whole family can be together."

After carefully considering the last sentence, Cen Yan smiled slightly and nodded.

*

There was also the work of supervision. Zhuang Dongqing had spoken with the other father of the little boy about his recent situation, and then the two of them turned back.

After Cen Yan had drunk his fill of water, Zhuang Dongqing left enough for the two of them to drink before distributing the excess.

When Li Yang received the water bag, her eyes lit up.

From afar, Li Yang looked haggard, his whole body dull and wrinkled. Up close, he was even worse off. His dark circles were comparable to Hao San's, and his eyes were bloodshot. It was hard to tell what kind of life he had been living lately. He didn't look like a prince at all, and he even looked more weathered than some of the refugees Zhuang Dongqing had seen on the road.

It's as if work has drained me dry.

The dredging continued for another half hour before they were told to rest. Zhuang Dongqing asked Cen Yan, Li Yang, and a local official to confirm that none of them had eaten. He then sent someone back to the government office to report. After resting for a while, the Prince's Palace's food was delivered.

In addition to the gifts for Cen Yan and the Prince's personal guards, an extra gift was also given to Li Yang and the officials.

For a moment, the heads of the people sitting and squatting to eat formed a beautiful scene, much like the hardworking masses on a modern construction site.

"Wow, it's delicious."

"Thankfully, the people from the Prince's Mansion arrived just in time."

After saying a few words, Li Yang buried his head in his food and ate fiercely.

The local officials also expressed their gratitude and then bowed their heads and ate heartily.

Cen Yan ate with his usual elegance and composure, but compared to the others wolfing down their food, Zhuang Dongqing found it somewhat amusing.

After a good meal, two more squads of newly arrived personal guards from the Prince's mansion arrived; they were men sent by Xu Si.

During the break, Zhuang Dongqing was pulled aside by Li Yang and poured out her grievances for a long time.

In short, it's probably going to be a miserable and exhausting experience here.

"Didn't the imperial court send an imperial envoy? Who is it? I haven't seen him along the way." Zhuang Dongqing asked, remembering something.

Cen Yan smiled, a mocking laugh, and pointed at Li Yang, saying, "Ask him."

Li Yang covered her head and said, "Your Highness, please don't scold me. I know, I know, I promise I won't do it again!"

Cen Yan: "Whatever. You might not even be working with me next time."

Li Yang looked miserable and devastated.

Zhuang Dongqing then realized that the person who came was an acquaintance, the Third Prince Li Zhuo. However, on his first day, he tricked Li Yang into going to the surrounding areas to borrow grain and people, and under this pretext, he took away many of his people.

Zhuang Dongqing: "..."

Zhuang Dongqing: "Then... does that mean he's not coming back?"

"No, I guess they came for some other reason. They don't care about making any achievements. They just ignore everything. When asked, they say they had a hard time procuring grain and that they know we're short-handed, so they're helping us borrow people from neighboring counties," Cen Yan explained.

Oh, Zhuang Dongqing understands now. Just like the mutiny at the hunting grounds, Li Zhuo has gone into hiding.

Zhuang Dongqing remained silent for a while, then muttered softly, "Even if he's so good at it, he might not be able to handle anything if he actually gets on the train!"

He understood Zhuang Dongqing's veiled sarcasm.

Li Yang immediately started coughing.

Cen Yan didn't care and even smiled and agreed, "Qingqing is right."

Li Yang: "..."

Forget it, let's just pretend nothing happened.

After all, it was his third brother who abandoned him first.

After taking care of everyone's drinking water and food, and having the guards register who still needed water, Master Zhao had already checked on all the gathered patients and invited Zhuang Dongqing over. After speaking with Cen Yan and receiving a few words of advice, Zhuang Dongqing rode off to the epidemic area.

Fortunately, they arrived in time. Most of the infected people are now vomiting and having diarrhea, with persistent abdominal pain, which seems to be just a simple gastrointestinal infection caused by water pollution.

Before arriving, they had discussed the plan repeatedly, and Zhuang Dongqing and Cen Yan had reached an agreement. Upon arrival, they first gathered the local refugees together, and those who did not leave or had nowhere to live were housed in sheds.

Those who were sick or had symptoms of physical discomfort were all assigned to the ward and treated by the doctors they brought.

The cartload of grain they brought that afternoon came in handy. Simple shelters were set up, large pots were placed around them, and porridge was cooked and distributed to the refugees.

Those who were already sick were further divided into zones according to the severity of their illness. Regardless of anything else, the water source had to be controlled first. So, at one end of the ward, in addition to the large pot for cooking porridge, another pot was set up to continuously boil hot water to ensure a clean water supply.

Of course, there needs to be a sufficient water source to keep boiling water. In ancient times, without electricity, firewood became a problem.

After discussion, it was decided that the patients' relatives would collect firewood every day and use it to obtain food and drinking water. For those who were sick and had no relatives, the government would provide free shelter for the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant. For those who recovered and were able to work, their medicine and food would be converted into working hours or firewood and owed to them until they recovered.

There are many and varied tasks, and it's clear that it can't be finished in one day.

After a busy day, Zhuang Dongqing only gave a general briefing. The shelter and ward were set up, the patients were simply divided into sections, and then he explained some disinfection knowledge and infection prevention measures for contact with patients. Then it got dark.

Zhuang Dongqing: "Everything else is fine. For those who have been in contact with patients for a long time, our staff must change their outer clothing every day, wash their hands and faces frequently, and wipe exposed skin with strong liquor when entering and leaving to disinfect it before engaging in other activities."

There are too many things to do. If Master Zhao is not leaving today, he should stay overnight at the government office. Before mounting his horse and returning to the inn, Zhuang Dongqing gave him these instructions again.

Master Zhao: "I understand, young master. Don't worry, go back and have a good meal and rest. There's still a lot to do later!"

Zhuang Dongqing nodded and mounted his horse.

Cen Yan and Xu Si were already waiting for him.

Everyone returned to the inn together. They were starving. Those who had helped were allowed to come inside the inn to eat, while those who had been in contact with the patients and did not want to change clothes were settled in the courtyard. They would come inside the inn to clean up after they had eaten.

Zhuang Dongqing had been in contact with the patients, and he was the one who gave the order. He knew that this was to prevent infectious diseases, so he gave the instructions and then squatted in the yard to eat his meal.

After a busy afternoon, I was really hungry. I thought Li Yang and the others were wolfing down their food at noon, but Zhuang Dongqing was just as hungry now.

Snap.

Suddenly, a plate of food was placed in front of him. Zhuang Dongqing turned his head and saw that Cen Yan had brought out some more food and placed it next to him. He was holding a bowl and squatting down next to him.

"?" Zhuang Dongqing said, "Go inside and eat. There are tables and chairs inside."

"Why don't you go in?" Cen Yan asked him.

Zhuang Dongqing: "I came into contact with the patients..."

"Mm." Cen Yan nodded and ate his own food.

"..."

"Fine," Zhuang Dongqing said helplessly, "We can't eat well outside."

"So what? We've been getting by these past few days."

Zhuang Dongqing: "Aren't you afraid I'll infect you?"

Cen Yan remained calm: "I see the patients and refugees every morning. If you really want to talk about it, I have come into contact with them, but I just don't have the time to settle them. They are all living outside now. If we don't repair the river embankment as soon as possible, another heavy rain will probably make the situation even worse."

Cen Yan chuckled and said, "You didn't look down on me either, so what would I look down on you for?"

Okay.

Knowing that Cen Yan wouldn't leave, she felt a mix of distress and joy.

It's hard to explain, but I have a feeling that I'm not the only one busy.

It's a feeling of having support.

"Okay, eat up." Zhuang Dongqing put two pieces of meat on Cen Yan's plate.

Cen Yan also put a piece of food on his plate, and the two of them ate in silence.

After finishing their meal, someone came to clean up. Zhuang Dongqing and Cen Yan returned to their room to wash up. Liu Fu and Liu Qi were clean, and they also had to take care of Cen An'an, so it wasn't appropriate to ask them to serve them. Except for the hot water which was brought in by the servants, Zhuang Dongqing and Cen Yan did everything else themselves.

Of course, Cen Yan moved into Zhuang Dongqing's room, and the remaining empty room was temporarily used as a washroom.

After washing up and changing into clean clothes, they wiped their hands and faces with alcohol, and then washed off the smell of alcohol after they were completely dry. The two of them were finally ready to meet Cen An'an.

But we don't have any contact with them.

On her first day in the disaster area, Zhuang Dongqing was unsure whether there were any infectious diseases, so this was the only way she could do it.

They simply opened the door, and two people stood outside. Grandma was holding Cen An'an, and they said a few words to her.

Cen An'an was already exhausted, but she was trying her best to stay awake in order to wait to see them.

The little face rested on Grandma's shoulder, half of the flesh on the face and half squeezed onto Grandma's shoulder.

"Daddy, An'an misses you so much~" the little boy murmured, his words slurred with sleep.

Cen Yan's heart softened beyond belief, and he resisted the urge to take the little one and hug him, saying only, "Daddy also wants to see An'an."

"Has An'an been behaving well lately?"

"good!"

"So what did An'an do today?"

"nest……"

This back-and-forth questioning made Cen An'an yawn loudly. Finally, as her head drooped lower and lower, and the fat on her face almost spilled onto her grandmother's shoulder, Cen Yan said goodnight to Cen An'an.

Cen An'an: "Go, Daddy!"

Cen Yan smiled and coaxed, "Sleep well, An'an. We'll celebrate your birthday when it's time."

"Okay~ Ha~ Yay~~"

Zhuang Dongqing offered a few simple compliments, thus concluding their meeting for the day. After returning to her room, Cen Yan kissed Zhuang Dongqing, not out of lust, but simply to release her emotions.

"Thank you for bringing An'an to me, Qingqing," Cen Yanmo said softly.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, Zhuang Dongqing was incredibly sleepy, muttering, "You were the one who gave him to me, it's not like I did it all by myself."

After she finished speaking, Cen Yan kissed her eyelid lightly and gently.

Sensing something, Zhuang Dongqing hugged Cen Yan back. Both were exhausted, and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

*

Life afterwards seemed to be on fast-forward. The situation at the ward was more complicated than Zhuang Dongqing had imagined. By the time things were starting to take shape, the visiting rules and the distribution of medicine were explained, and the first group of people with the mildest symptoms showed some improvement, three days had already passed.

Xu Si is now in charge of sheltering refugees, Hao San does odd jobs for everyone, and Cen Yan and Li Yang are focused on repairing the river embankment.

Aside from seeing Cen Yan and Cen An'an once before going to sleep, Zhuang Dongqing devoted all her time to managing the ward.

That day, he was bandaging the wounds of a child who had been injured while collecting firewood.

When he reached out to ask the young apprentice for gauze, a hand with distinct knuckles handed him the item.

After the wound was bandaged, Zhuang Dongqing realized something, looked up, and saw Cen Yan squatting next to him with a smile.

After letting the children rest, Zhuang Dongqing quickly washed her hands and face, and asked in a moment of leisure, "Why did you come over? Did you have some free time?"

Cen Yan: "I'm fine, but I didn't see you at lunchtime. I heard from Master Zhao that you're working very hard here."

"A little." Zhuang Dongqing didn't hide anything and spoke the truth. "Many procedures are not standardized and have to be explained again and again. In another two days, when everyone gets the hang of it, it should be better."

Cen Yan suddenly said, "The third brother delivered a truckload of supplies back today. It was a bit slow, but at least it wasn't considered dereliction of duty."

Zhuang Dongqing: "Really? What are they?"

"There's a lot of stuff there, and we can basically use it all. They even gave us some extra things."

"?" Zhuang Dongqing asked curiously.

Cen Yan didn't speak, but led Zhuang Dongqing to a secluded place. When they arrived, the two of them didn't stand on ceremony and found a clean step to sit down. Cen Yan said to Zhuang Dongqing, "Close your eyes."

"?"

Thinking that Cen Yan was going to do something funny, Zhuang Dongqing closed her eyes as instructed.

After a while, without calling him, something suddenly pressed against his lips. Zhuang Dongqing took a bite, and it was sweet and refreshing.

Startled, she opened her eyes and saw that Cen Yan was holding a small bunch of grapes in his hand.

"Are there still grapes available now?"

"It's grape season now."

"No, I mean..."

Cen Yan: "I know, you want to ask where the third brother got these because of the floods and the destruction of crops everywhere. I don't know, but Li Yang and I are the only ones who have them. I guess he knows we've had a hard time and came here to appease us. Come on, eat them. They look fresh."

"Is it tasty?"

Zhuang Dongqing nodded, and in the blink of an eye, Cen Yan peeled another one and stuffed it into his mouth.

Feeling a little embarrassed by being fed, Zhuang Dongqing said, "How about I do it instead..."

Cen Yan didn't even look up, his hands moving swiftly. "I know it's inconvenient for you here."

Zhuang Dongqing is not allowed to eat anything with his hands when he is in contact with patients, especially since his hands had not been wiped with strong liquor.

Cen Yan: "Shh!"

"I managed to sneak this small skewer here, so don't let anyone see it. Eat it quickly."

Going back to clean it now was unrealistic, so Zhuang Dongqing accepted Cen Yan's feeding with a clear conscience.

Each grape, refreshing and thirst-quenching, brought Zhuang Dongqing a sense of relief to his hoarse voice.

Another fruit was handed to Zhuang Dongqing, its bright green flesh still dripping with juice, and it was rolled into her lips and teeth.

Watching him chew, Cen Yan suddenly asked him softly, "Is it sweet?"

"sweet!"

Cen Yan laughed, "I'm glad the young master likes it."