Zhao, the village head, nodded. "Alright, alright! Xiaohe, take some stones and write them down on the board. Make a list of families willing to take in disaster victims. We'll make arrangements later."

Zhao Xiaohe is the youngest son of Zhao Tingzhang, and he is also the most learned person in the entire Changfeng Village besides Zhao Yan, as he can read a few characters.

Some villagers who were unwilling to take in the disaster victims quietly slipped away, fearing that if they were any slower, the same misfortune would befall them.

When He Tiantian returned home, she saw that her small, dilapidated temple was crowded with women, children, and teenagers, totaling twenty or thirty people.

However, no matter how crowded it was, none of these people sat down where they were supposed to sleep. Some even stood outside the door, sipping ginger soup.

These people all brought their own bowls, and Zhao Denglong was serving them bowl by bowl with a spoon. If someone finished their drink, he would offer them another bowl.

"Wanzi's mother, you are such a kind person!" Sister-in-law Wang held a bowl of ginger soup and looked at He Tiantian excitedly.

"Wanzi's mother, you saved our whole family's lives. We don't know how to thank you enough." An old woman made a move to kneel down before He Tiantian.

He Tiantian quickly stepped forward and helped her up.

"Everyone, please stay here comfortably tonight. My place may be simple, but it will provide some shelter from the wind and snow. The village head is making arrangements and will come to inform you later."

To make the room warmer, He Tiantian added a few more pieces of firewood to the stove.

The women and children had been up all night, and everyone was exhausted. Most of the children were asleep, but the adults still couldn't sleep.

Although the head of the pavilion said he would make arrangements, they were still very anxious and fearful until the matter was finally confirmed.

Several women surrounded He Tiantian. Wang Dasao said in a low voice, "Sigh... Our family fled from the south twenty years ago. Those were truly hard times. In recent years, we've finally started to have a better life, but God doesn't leave us any way to survive."

These people had all fled famine twenty years ago, and Wang Dasao's words inevitably resonated with everyone, evoking sadness.

"Now that I've lost my home, I really don't know what the point of living is..."

"Rather than this, I'd rather have been crushed to death last night... to suffer like this."

He Tiantian listened silently to the women talking amongst themselves. She had gone to so much trouble to take them in, not so that these people would try to kill themselves here.

It seems she'll have to step in.

"My dear sisters-in-law, there's a saying that goes, 'Heaven never seals off all paths.' The hardships you're enduring now are for a sweeter future. Think of your children; they have a brighter future ahead of them."

As He Tiantian spoke, she thought back to how her teachers fed them toxic motivational speeches during her college entrance exams.

"If things don't go well, we can start over. As long as we work hard enough, we will definitely be able to live a good life. These difficulties will eventually pass." After He Tiantian's words of encouragement, she finally saw a slight change in the eyes of these women.

She added fuel to the fire, saying, "Look at me, a widow with two children, kicked out of my home while pregnant. And I'm doing just fine now, aren't I? My children are growing up healthy."

The best way to comfort someone is to portray yourself as being in even worse shape than the injured person.

Sure enough, when the women heard He Tiantian say that, they looked at her, then at Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi.

Yes, they're actually doing better than the He family. The He family is doing just fine, why can't they?

Sister-in-law Wang suddenly felt hopeful about the future. "Wanzi's mother, you're right! I want to take you as my role model!"

Hearing He Tiantian's words, Yulan's mother felt full of energy and said excitedly, "Since God has not taken me, then I must live well! I must take good care of my husband and children. To be honest, if I die, I will not be able to leave them behind."

Tiezi's mother chimed in, "I can't die either! My family still has a few acres of poor land. What if someone takes those acres if I die?"

In the crowd, everyone was saying encouraging words to each other.

He Tiantian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Good, when people are going through the most difficult times, spiritual encouragement is often the most important thing.

By noon, there wasn't enough food left at home, but He Tiantian still planned to take out the little millet she had to cook porridge for everyone.

To prevent the porridge from becoming too watery, she secretly spent another hundred coins to buy some millet at the market. All the money she spent today came from the one tael of silver Song Yun had given her for food last time.

These women had already received kindness from He Tiantian, so they felt embarrassed to eat her food again, since no one was well-off these days.

"Wanzi's mother, since this porridge is for everyone, how can you be the only one contributing? Let's all chip in a little so we don't go hungry," Sister-in-law Wang called out from the crowd, and the women all got up and went back to get their food.

After a nap and a good meal, the children were much more energetic.

They were all children of the same age, and Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi quickly became friends with them. The family's four little rabbits were also surrounded and petted by these furry kids.

In the afternoon, Zhao Tingzhang, along with his eldest son Zhao Dahai and youngest son Zhao Xiaohe, arrived at He Tiantian's home.

Zhao Xiaohe held a wooden board in his hand, on which were written the names of the villagers who were willing to take in the disaster victims.

He Tiantian glanced at the wooden board; the words on it were written crookedly. Not only were there numerous typos, but many were also replaced with circles.

"Listen to me, everyone. Currently, a total of twenty households in Changfeng Village have vacated their houses. A total of forty-five households, comprising one hundred and eighty people, have been affected by the disaster." Zhao Tingzhang looked at the expectant eyes of the women and children below.

"There are too many people, so we can't accommodate everyone. We'll prioritize women, children, and infants. Of these 180 people, there are 110 women, children, and infants. Each house will house seven people, and 15 rooms will be enough..."

The remaining five rooms were to be arranged for those rough old men, but it was obvious that five rooms wouldn't be enough to house seventy people; there would always be some who had nowhere to stay.

“Chief, there are still three or four people who can stay in my dilapidated temple,” He Tiantian suggested.

Zhao Tingzhang looked at He Tiantian with eyes full of approval, "Good, good! There aren't many people left, I'll think of other ways to make do."

The allocation list was distributed according to the record made by Zhao Xiaohe, with the children separated by gender for easier distribution.

With a place to stay, the villagers beamed with joy. They quickly hoisted their belongings onto their shoulders and headed towards their new homes.