Chapter 52 Settling Down Hey, weren't you dead? How are you still alive...?

The disaster victims were taken back to Anling County and handed over to Mo Jingchun and her colleagues.

Mo Jingchun and others quickly collected the identity information of the disaster victims, registered their households, and placed their household registration in Taoxi County, which is near Anling County.

Mo Jingchun: "Taoxi County is inhabited by people who, like you, migrated from elsewhere. We should all get along well."

Most of the original inhabitants of Taoxi County moved to the county seat. When Mo Jingchun saw the remaining population of the county, he simply decided to designate it as a county for migrant population.

This decision received the support of everyone in the Executive Council.

They communicated with the residents still living in Taoxi County, and a large portion of the population voluntarily moved into the county seat. Therefore, the county now has very few true locals; it's almost entirely populated by outsiders.

Mo Jingchun smiled and said gently, "Families with children should send their children to Longyuan Academy to register first, and then come to the entrance of the administrative hall to collect clean clothes and daily necessities. An hour later, administrative staff from Taoxi County will come to pick you up and take you to Taoxi County, where they will allocate housing according to the number of people in your family."

Zhang Liuquan looked at the young woman standing on the steps, confidently arranging affairs, and mustered his courage to ask loudly, "Young lady, may I ask who the giant who saved us is?"

His question prompted whispers among the others, with some even calling out to inquire about the identity of their savior.

Despite their objections, the giant forcefully led them to Anling County.

As soon as they landed, they saw a group of people who claimed to be staff members of the Civil Affairs Department of Anneung County Administrative Office. These people were there to make arrangements for them.

The giant never showed his face again, and no one knew where he had gone.

giant?

Mo Jingchun was taken aback, but she maintained her confident and generous smile. "The one who saved you is a goddess."

Her tone became respectful, "The goddess not only saved you, but also all the people of Anling County! All who believe in the goddess will receive her protection and the food she provides three meals a day!"

Recalling the food the giants gave him and the taste of the bananas, Zhang Liuquan could hardly believe his ears: Did this mean that the giants would continue to feed them in the future?

Is there really such a good thing?

What were the giants after? What were their goals?

However, some people were unwilling to be raised by the goddess. They had their own families and were now forced to separate from them, which made them very dissatisfied. They shouted that they wanted to go back to their hometowns.

Mo Jingchun smiled kindly, “You should have drowned in the water, but the goddess saved you. You should repay this life-saving grace with all your might. You must work under the goddess’s rule for three years to repay her kindness. After three years, you may leave on your own.”

Everyone: "..."

Hearing Mo Jingchun's words, some people hesitated, while others still clamored to go home immediately.

Seeing this, Zhang Liuquan's eyes darted around, and he stepped forward, saying, "Everyone!"

The middle-aged man stepped forward, raised his hands to signal everyone to be quiet, and shouted, "If it weren't for the goddess, we, our families, would have drowned in the flood! This kindness is greater than heaven, and we cannot forget it!"

"You refuse to repay the goddess's kindness and insist on going back. Where are you going to go? Back to drown in the water?"

"The giants only asked us to work for them for three years. Such a huge debt of gratitude for saving our lives is only for three years of work. After three years, we can all go home! You're not even willing to do that? Do you want to be ungrateful?"

Most ordinary people cannot bring themselves to say they would not repay kindness, especially since they have family members around them; very few are truly alone.

Therefore, Zhang Liuquan stood up and called on everyone to repay the kindness, which received a lot of support. The minority obeyed the majority, and those who strongly opposed him were shut down by the sentence, "You can ask the giant to send you back into the water."

Mo Jingchun didn't even lift an eyelid as he looked at the dissenting disaster victims.

These people are now clamoring to go back, but once they settle in, they'll get used to life here soon enough.

They no longer want to go back to their hometown; instead, they want to bring their families from their hometown to live with them in Anling.

She's used to it.

But she gave Zhang Liuquan an affirming look and asked him to temporarily serve as the village chief of his village.

"After a while, when everyone gets to know each other better, we'll hold a vote to elect a new village chief."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liuquan's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Yes, sir! I will work hard and won't let you down!"

This Anling County is really great! Women can become officials, and even a poor man like him, without family or money, has a chance to rise above his circumstances!

That's fantastic!

He will strive to climb the ranks and get promoted from the village to the county as soon as possible. Zhang Liuquan was in high spirits.

Taoxi County.

After changing into clean clothes, the disaster victims, carrying their daily necessities, arrived in Taoxi County in groups, where staff from the county government allocated them houses.

“Your family of four lives in this five-room house, with a central main room, two rooms on each side, and a kitchen.”

"There are seven people in your family, so you can live in this building. It has a main house and side rooms."

"You're alone? Then stay in this five-room building, but there are no pigsties in this one."

...

The people of Taoxi County already knew that new people had arrived, and those who love to watch the excitement came to the county government office, peeking and craning their necks to see the group of strangers.

Where did they come from?

"I heard it's in some eastern province?"

"What happened over there? Was their city also massacred?"

"It's a flood! A flood!"

"Floods???"

"It's so hot, and it's been so long since it rained. How can there still be floods?"

"Uh... Just because it's not raining here doesn't mean it's not raining elsewhere!"

The man struggled to push through the crowd and ran forward, shouting as he ran, "Brother Wen!"

Wen Ge heard the sound, turned around in confusion, and saw a familiar person running towards him. He showed a horrified expression: "Oh my god, weren't you dead? How are you still alive!"

An acquaintance grabbed Wen Ge's arms, "Wen Ge, you were also saved by the goddess!"

Wen Ge raised his hand in shock, grabbed the familiar man's shoulder, and shook him violently a few times. "Cong Di?! Cong Di, you're still alive?!"

His face was beaming with joy as he looked the familiar face up and down, excitedly asking, "Brother Cong! I heard that your county was massacred by villains, and I thought you were also... But I never expected to be here... You're still alive!"

The acquaintance laughed and explained, "The goddess saved us before the villains could swing their knives at us!"

Brother Wen asked in confusion, "Goddess?"

An acquaintance said, "Weren't you also saved by a goddess?"

It's quite common to see acquaintances like this.

The flood victims who had just arrived from the flood-stricken area were horrified to discover that their old friends, who had died in the massacre, were actually alive and well in Taoxi County!

Moreover, he looked very healthy and robust, which meant he was eating well.

They excitedly greeted their old friends, asked each other what had happened, and learned that they had all been saved by the goddess during the disaster and brought to this place.

An old friend said, "That's great! I don't know anyone here, but now I have relatives to visit! Let's keep in touch!"

The old friend said, "You can stay here in peace. The goddess will give us fresh food every day, so you will never have to worry about not having enough to eat again."

An old friend said, "Work? We didn't do anything else but repair the official roads from various county towns to Anling Prefecture!"

The victims exclaimed, "My God! Your family member thought you had all died in the massacre and cried for a long time. Who would have thought that you would be rescued here by a goddess!"

The disaster victims said, "It's all good, as long as we're alive, we'll meet again someday."

The disaster victims exclaimed, "Is the goddess really that kind? Not only did she save our lives, but she also gives us food every day???"

Disaster victims: "Is it enough to just repair the roads?"

The staff members of the Taoxi County Administrative Office looked at each other, and some of them laughed.

They continued to distribute housing to the disaster victims.

Someone brought an acquaintance to apply for a place near their home. The staff consulted the acquaintance and granted the request.

Anling County.

"My Lady Goddess."

Qiu Tang looked up at He Qinglan, her eyes full of confusion, "Why didn't you bring their families with you to Anling County as well?"

He Qinglan looked at Qiu Tang and smiled faintly, "Then this will never end."

A question mark appeared above Qiu Tang's head.

He Qinglan said, “Family includes parents and children, parents-in-law, husband’s siblings, and mother’s siblings. If I bring the man’s parents and brothers, should I also bring the man’s married sisters? And if I bring the man’s parents and brothers, should I also bring the woman’s parents, brothers, and sisters?”

Qiu Tang: "..."

She thought about it for a moment, following He Qinglan's words, and wow, there were so many people.

“But…” Qiu Tang tilted her head, “You made them work here for three years. In three years, separated family members might have remarried. When they see each other again…”

She remembered the storybooks she had read in the library, about husbands who went missing, and when they met again, the husbands had lost their memories and remarried, and she, the legal wife, was left with nothing but memories and so on.

He Qinglan said softly, "That's fate."

No matter how long you are separated from your loved ones, they will always be family when you meet again. As for lovers, if you are destined to be apart, it is fate.

She bent her index and middle fingers and tapped Qiu Tang's head. "In this era, it's good enough to just survive. Don't think about so many romantic things."

"Read fewer novels and study harder!"

Qiu Tang raised her hands to cover her head, her expression turning pitiful.

He Qinglan: "I don't want to go to your parent-teacher conference and get criticized by your teacher."

Qiu Tang's expression immediately changed, and she solemnly promised, "I will definitely get a high score and won't let you down!"

My grades are pretty good!

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Author's note: It's been raining for three days straight, so refreshing!