Chapter 20: The Goddess Receives Everyone Who Came to Seek Help

Cheng Hui, Mo Jingchun, Gu Lanying, and others received a group of refugees who had fled from Pingshan County, which was next to Anling County, at the entrance of the county town.

Before these people even arrived in Yunhe County, villagers spotted them and promptly reported it to the administrative office.

Cheng Hui immediately reported to the goddess, and He Qinglan nodded in agreement. Cheng Hui then led his men to the city gate to prepare for the welcoming ceremony and successfully received more than 700 people.

The refugees were warmly welcomed by the locals as soon as they arrived in Yunhe County. Each of them was given a bowl of steaming millet porridge, and they were quickly calmed down.

They wolfed down their porridge while listening to Cheng Hui speak:

"The goddess already knows you are coming. The goddess is willing to bless you. From this day forward, you are the goddess's people!"

“The goddess bestows food three times a day, and you will enjoy it just like the people of the five counties of Yunhe.”

“We will also provide you with accommodation and land in the future, so that you can settle down here with peace of mind.”

"Therefore, we hope that you can do a good job of registering your name, where you are from, who your family members are, and what you are good at."

Cheng Hui raised his voice:

"The people of the five counties in Yunhe are all working hard to build a better life for us in the future. We welcome your arrival and hope that you can participate in the construction and contribute your strength to the future of the five counties in Yunhe!"

After being appeased (mainly by receiving food), the refugees lined up in a long queue as instructed by Cheng Hui and others, and one by one went to Mo Jingchun and several people in charge of documents to register.

Mo Jingchun looked at the men, women, and children in front of the table. They were travel-worn and haggard. Some looked numb, some were timid, and some were bewildered, just like the people of Yunhe County before they met the goddess.

She sighed inwardly and asked them gently.

On the other hand, Gu Lanying and others actively communicated with the refugees.

"Uncle, where did you come from?"

Looking at the gentle and kind woman, the old man replied, "We fled from the border area between Pingshan County and Anling County. There were bandits sweeping through our area."

The old woman looked distressed. "Our family originally wanted to head north, but when we heard someone in Anling County say that a goddess was bestowing porridge in Yunhe County, we came here with everyone."

The old man sighed deeply, "Some people died on our way here."

The elderly couple's daughter-in-law said, "We also met some people who came with us after hearing that we were coming to Yunhe." She guessed, "Is it because there were many of us? They felt less dangerous with more people around."

"Hey, sister, was that old...old man asking us to do some work too?" a middle-aged man with dirty and tattered clothes asked the women in the propaganda team.

The woman patiently replied, "Yes, everyone has to work."

"What are you doing?"

Someone nearby added, "As long as I can have a bite to eat every day, I'll do anything! I'll even go to war!"

The woman explained with a smile, "There's a lot of work to do. It depends on what you're good at. Carpenters can go to the lumber mill, stonemasons to the stone mill, blacksmiths to the blacksmith mill, and there are also paper mills, firearms mills, embroidery mills, and so on. We also raise poultry and livestock. If you don't have any particular skills, you can also farm or help repair the road connecting the five counties of Yunhe. Oh, and if you're physically strong, you can also sign up for the city guard or the army!"

Following a recent meeting at the Executive Council, the city guard and military camps were separated. The city guard is now responsible for maintaining order and apprehending troublemakers.

“And another thing,” a young woman interjected, “the goddess has bestowed a special blessing upon all children, who must be sent to the academy to study!” She raised her voice and said proudly, “regardless of gender!”

Wow!

This sentence was like an ice cube falling into a pot of boiling oil, attracting the attention of the displaced people.

Those with children at home asked eagerly, "Really? Can the children be sent to the academy?"

Do you charge money?

"Can our child go even if he/she can't read a single word?"

"Girls can go to school too?!"

The young woman nodded repeatedly, "Yes, boys and girls, regardless of whether they have learned to read or write before, can be sent to the academy without any fees."

Another woman chimed in, "That's right, this is all thanks to the goddess for pitying us who don't have the opportunity to study, and it's a special blessing she's given us."

"Your children can all be sent to Qinglan Academy!"

"Do you know what Qinglan Academy means? It means that the student surpasses the teacher, and that the student will be better than the teacher!"

"However, our academy requires that once children are sent in, they are not allowed to be called out every few days, so as not to affect the teachers' teaching."

The two women introduced the academy in a back-and-forth manner, leaving the surrounding refugees bewildered.

“I suddenly remembered,” a middle-aged woman next to me said, “the goddess once mentioned to Dean Qian that in the future, when we have more scholars and more manpower available, we should strengthen the training of adults.”

"ah?"

What does that mean?

"Training... adults?"

"Oh dear, it's to teach us adults who haven't had much schooling to read and write!"

"Do adults also need to read and write???"

Why?

"We're so old, what should we study?"

"Hmph, the goddess said that one should never stop learning. People who can read can do their jobs better and faster, which is more conducive to the development of our five counties in Yunhe!"

The newly arrived migrants quickly settled down in the area.

They had a place to stay, washed up, and changed into clean clothes.

They were assigned jobs and joined the people of the five counties in Yunhe in the construction.

Their children were able to attend school and learn to read and write for free.

The goddess took care of their three meals a day, and they were able to eat noodles and meat every day. They went from being pale and thin to being healthy and strong, and their complexions became much rosier.

These people quickly integrated into the local community.

At the latest work meeting of the administrative office, Cheng Hui happily reported this matter to everyone: "Now that the world is in chaos and there are many refugees, more and more people may know that there is food bestowed by the goddess here, and they will come to seek refuge with their families in groups. We must learn from this incident so that we can better handle such emergencies in the future."

“That’s right,” someone volunteered. “There weren’t many people this time, and we learned about it in advance and reported it to the goddess. The goddess provided food in time, which allowed us to successfully appease these people.”

Another person nodded quickly, "If several thousand or tens of thousands of people came and the goddess didn't provide food, they might resort to more aggressive measures."

"We also need to prevent any of the refugees from stirring up trouble and inciting them to attack us," Fang Qin suggested.

Those present nodded thoughtfully.

"So what we need to do is..."

"Do a good job of patrolling," said the head of the city guard team. "Of course, it would be best to leverage the power of the people and have everyone work together to keep watch."

"Speaking of this, I thought of something, namely the spread of information," Gu Lanying said.

Mo Jingchun, who was taking notes, looked up at Gu Lanying, who continued, "If the news can't be sent back in time, then even if the incident is discovered in advance, it's useless."

Zhu Youchuan almost blurted out "beacon tower," but he put aside the "beacon fire to amuse the feudal lords" idea in his mind and suggested, "Let's train carrier pigeons; that's the fastest way right now."

Ning Huai'an thought for a moment, "There's also the fast horse relay. The city guard can send people to be stationed in every village. If the people discover an incident, they can report it to the city guard. If the city guard thinks it's necessary, they can immediately send a fast horse back to Yunhe."

Zhu Youchuan insisted, "Carrier pigeons are fine too."

Cheng Hui nodded.

He added, "It would be best to take preventative measures beforehand, but in reality, it's impossible to consider every aspect. Some problems may only be addressed after they occur. Don't worry about it, just do your best."

Unbeknownst to those in the administrative meeting, at that moment, several young people among the refugees gathered together.

"This place is indeed wonderful. The goddess is indeed giving food to everyone for free, just as rumored?"

"White steamed buns and sweet soy milk—I really hope the people in our village can eat these too!"

"There's meat too! The roasted chicken legs are so delicious, I've never had them before!"

"Moreover, the goddess will bring rain, so the people here don't lack water."

"We're all human, but they live so well, while the people on our side..."

"so……"

The group exchanged glances, reached a consensus, and nodded to each other.

"Let's go back as soon as possible and tell the others what's going on here!" the leader decided immediately.

A group of people secretly left Yunhe and headed straight for their hometown.

More than half a month later, several thousand people traveled over mountains and valleys to this place and stopped outside Songhua County.

They sent some people to the outskirts of Yunhe County.

This incident startled Cheng Hui and the others, who quickly called for the others, and most of the staff in the administrative office went out to meet them.

Separated by a group of city guards, the two sides looked at each other.

Cheng Hui frowned. Their information feedback mechanism was not yet properly established, which led to such a major oversight, causing thousands of people to arrive outside Songhua County!

Are they here to seize Yunhe?

Did someone incite them to come and provoke trouble?

If they decide to take action, what should we do?

Unexpectedly, the other party stared at them in silence.

Then a man in his fifties came out and bowed respectfully, saying, "On behalf of the more than four thousand people of Hulin County, I humbly request an audience with the Goddess!"

Yunhe and the others: Huh?

They looked at each other, utterly puzzled.

Cheng Hui stepped forward and loudly asked the other party why they wanted to see the goddess.

The middle-aged man spoke with utmost sincerity, "We are willing to offer the entire Hulin County to the Goddess! We only ask that the Goddess accept all the people of Hulin County!"

Yunhe and the others: "!!!"

ha?

The middle-aged man said, “The officials of Hulin County have long abandoned the people of the county and fled with their families. The people of Hulin County have no food and are suffering from a severe drought. They are on the verge of not surviving! We have heard that the goddess has come to Yunhe and saved the people of the five counties in Yunhe. The people of Hulin County wish to serve the goddess just like the people of the five counties in Yunhe. We beg the goddess to grant us permission to be accepted!”

Zhu Youchuan suddenly smiled, "Now that people are already coming to rely on the Goddess, how far away can talented people be?"

Xiang Yuesheng said, "With over four thousand people, even if the proportion is low, surely we can find dozens of educated people?"

“What you’re saying is ridiculous! Even if the goddess agrees to bless them, it’s not because any of them are literate, but simply because the goddess pities the poor people!” Guo Qian said righteously.

Xue Guizhi nodded, "That's right! Before the goddess, all beings are equal!"

"Are you so sure the goddess will accept these people?" Li Yan asked.

Qin Dongkui smiled gently, "Why not?"

Will the goddess agree?

He Qinglan had no objections, of course. She knew that these people really couldn't survive, so they discussed offering the entire county to her in order to seek her protection.

Why wouldn't she agree? After all, she could provide food to everyone with a single click.

This was true in five counties, and it was true in ten counties as well.

Cheng Hui received an affirmative answer from He Qinglan and bowed deeply.

He Qinglan said, "I have accepted the surrender of Hulin County. In the future, other people may come to surrender with their entire townships or counties. I don't mind, but it will increase your workload."

Cheng Hui's expression was solemn. "We are doing this to build our own homeland; it is all only right."

He Qinglan nodded and said, "Hulin County and the five counties of Yunhe do not border each other, so there is no need to force them to integrate. They can remain in their homeland, but they must follow your instructions and develop Hulin County as well."

When expanding territory, how can you only recruit people and not land?

Cheng Hui said, "I will obey the goddess's command."

"There's something else..."

Cheng Hui looked up.

He Qinglan couldn't help but smile. "Perfect timing. Today I can provide you with white rice and three dishes and a soup."

Cheng Hui: "!!!"

[System: It wasn't easy! We've finally unlocked all the dishes and can now offer three dishes and a soup!]

[System: Ahhhhhh, I'm so touched!]

[System: Thank you for your hard work these past few days!]

[He Qinglan: ...] You've worked hard? Didn't I unlock it by trying and failing over and over again?

A note from the author:

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10000/20000

I'll take a break after updating three more chapters. I have classes in the morning, afternoon, and evening, from 7:00 AM to 9:30 PM. After class, I still have homework, so I can't find the time to write. [crying emoji]