Chapter 97 [VIP]

Laizhou Prefectural School.

Today is a day off each month, and Liang An was waiting for the three of them outside the prefectural school early in the morning in his carriage.

Seeing them come out carrying book boxes, he quickly waved his hand, "Young masters, this way!"

Chen Qinghuai and Chen Qingsong ran over happily, while Chen Qingyan walked over step by step with a solemn expression.

Ever since he learned that his family had been flooded, he had been constantly worried. In order not to make his younger brothers worry as well, he did not tell them about it.

After getting in the car, the two chattered excitedly about what to eat on their way back.

"At least I don't have to eat fish anymore. I'm so sick of eating fish lately."

Chen Qinghuai nodded vigorously, "Let's eat □□ tonight, I know a place that makes really delicious beggar's chicken!"

Liang An said, "Young Master Huai is referring to Fourth Aunt's beggar's chicken, isn't he?"

"Yes, yes, Uncle An, will you take us there?"

"No need to go, the master has already bought them for you, you can eat them as soon as you get home."

Chen Qinghuai and Chen Qingsong clapped their hands with joy, wishing they could fly home immediately to taste it.

Only Chen Qingyan remained expressionless, staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing this, Chen Qingsong leaned closer to him and whispered, "Brother, is something on your mind?"

"Huh? No, nothing, what were you talking about?"

"The teacher bought us beggar's chicken."

"Oh." Chen Qingyan forced a smile. "Then you'll have to try it when you get back."

After traveling for about fifteen minutes, the carriage arrived at the Liang family's gate. Everyone got off the carriage one by one and saw another carriage parked outside the gate, indicating that someone had come to visit.

Upon entering the courtyard, they indeed saw Liang Boqing talking to someone. Just then, the person got up, cupped his hands in greeting, and left.

Liang Boqing beckoned the three of them into the house, "You're back."

"Greetings, Master."

"Go take a bath and change your clothes first. I'll test you on how well you've studied at the academy these past few days."

"Alright." The three bowed respectfully and withdrew.

As they reached the door, Old Liang suddenly spoke up, "Qingyan, wait a moment, I need to talk to you about something."

Chen Qingyan turned back, and Liang Boqing's expression became somewhat solemn. "Come and sit down. I have something to tell you, but don't get agitated."

Chen Qingyan already guessed what he was going to say, took a deep breath and said, "Master, please speak."

"An urgent message arrived from Jizhou, saying that the continuous heavy rains in recent days caused the Yellow River to breach its banks, and thirteen counties in Jizhou were severely affected, including Longquan County..."

Although Chen Qingyan already knew the news, hearing it from his master still shocked him, and he couldn't help but tear up.

If the Yellow River bursts its banks... wouldn't our homes be completely washed away, leaving nothing behind?

"Don't worry, I've already written to my old friend in Jizhou. Magistrate Wang has people under his command who hope to help check on him. If he's alright, he can be taken to Jizhou for resettlement. If... if..."

Old Liang couldn't continue speaking, so he turned his head away and covered his eyes with his sleeve.

How could something like this happen?

God is blind!

Wang Ying is such a good child, and her little grandson Yuanbao is such a clever and mischievous little darling, yet he still hasn't had enough of him...

Having spent so much time together, Liang Boqing had come to regard them all as family. The more the old man thought about it, the sadder he became, and he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Chen Qingyan quickly comforted him, "Master, don't be sad, everything will be alright at home."

"How could nothing have happened? With such a huge flood, even the prefect of Jizhou was demoted. I heard that the officials in charge of the water management drowned, otherwise they would have been executed along with their families!"

"Although this flood was a natural disaster, it was also a man-made disaster. The Yellow River dikes had not been reinforced for four years. The government allocated funds, but they were all embezzled by corrupt officials, and not a single penny was used to build the dikes!"

The poor innocent people suffered because of this; I heard that in the nearest counties, nine out of ten households were wiped out…

Chen Qingyan swallowed hard. "I understand. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

"Aren't you planning to go back and visit?"

Chen Qingyan shook his head, "No, going back now won't change the outcome. Right now, I can only focus on my studies. Only when I pass the imperial examination and become an official will I have the ability to change all of this."

Liang Boqing hadn't expected him to say such a thing, and after a long while, he sighed, "When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first tests their will and strengthens their body. Good boy, go on your way..."

*

That being said...

After the group that was banging on the door was scared away by Wang Ying, everyone remained vigilant. Uncle Chen and Dunzi quickly found something to reinforce the door to prevent the group from coming back.

Apart from a few children, no one else dared to close their eyes that night.

It wasn't until the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) the next day, before it was even fully light, that Dunzi drove his mule cart back to the village.

He went back not only to have everyone come and collect the seeds, but also to find a few people to help guard the yard, so that they wouldn't encounter the same situation as yesterday.

As soon as Dunzi left, Uncle Chen quickly locked the gate tightly again. He kept a close eye on the outside through the small window of the side door, and he was so nervous that he was sweating profusely when he saw one or two passersby.

Wang Ying's outburst last night must have scared them quite a bit, because no one dared to come over all morning.

As noon approached, Aunt Chen started a fire to cook as usual, but just as the food was cooked, the door was banged on again.

A few people outside were shouting, "That's right, it's this restaurant that made the food! I can smell the corn!"

"Damn it, no wonder they wouldn't open the door last night, they must have hidden grain inside. They broke down the door and stole it!"

Chen Bo shuddered in fright and quickly grabbed a stick from the side, saying, "You bastards, this is the home of Chen Jing, the governor of Shanzhou. If you dare to rob it, you'll be dead before you know it!"

The silence outside lasted for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, "What kind of bullshit governor is he? People are starving, who cares who you are? Smash it!"

Having learned from yesterday's experience, this group of people didn't use their bodies to ram the door today. Instead, they found a thick log and several of them worked together to ram it against the door.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" The violent impact seemed to strike the hearts of the people.

Wang Ying pulled Li Shi and Chen Rong and said, "Mother, you and Third Aunt take your younger siblings and Yuanbao and hide in the woodshed at the back. If the front door breaks, crawl out through the drainage hole!"

"No, we can't leave you here alone, Ah Ying..."

Wang Ying whispered a few words to Li Shi, who nodded hurriedly after hearing them, picked up Yuanbao, and pulled the others to run away.

While Uncle Chen was still struggling to hold on, Wang Ying walked over with a kitchen knife in her hand, her hands sweating nervously. She whispered to Uncle Chen, "If they break down the door, you just run out and don't worry about anything."

"My lord, you..."

"Don't worry about me, I have my own way of hiding."

Uncle Chen stamped his foot, "Hey!"

As the wooden door was gradually smashed apart, "Bang!" the wood pushed a large hole through the door.

Someone peered through the hole and happened to make eye contact with Wang Ying.

"Wow, what a handsome young man! He's mine when we go inside, you can take the rest!"

As those people spoke filthy and vulgar words, Wang Ying's face grew increasingly grim. She could only hope to delay them for as long as possible so that Dunzi and the others could return sooner.

Just as the gate was about to fall apart, the clatter of a mule cart finally came from outside, and Dunzi cracked his whip and shouted, "Who dares to be so insolent in front of the master's gate!"

Before the mule cart had even come to a complete stop, seven or eight men jumped off, wielding sticks and shovels, and chased after the group of people!

The opposing team, relying on their roughly equal numbers, didn't run away and were eager to test their skills.

However, they underestimated the physical strength of the farmers. In addition, the flood destroyed their fields and houses, and everyone was holding a grudge. Now that they had someone to vent their anger on, they were not about to let it go.

In less than a quarter of an hour, they had the opponent beaten to a pulp and sent them scattering in all directions.

Wang Ying called out to the people who were about to continue chasing, "Stop chasing, come back!"

Chen Dashun spat and rubbed his neck, only now realizing the pain after being hit with a stick. "Boss, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, why are there only a few people here?"

"There's more to come. Brother Dunzi said someone was banging on the door at the landlord's place, so a few of us came by car first. The rest of us are slower and won't arrive until the afternoon."

Having not slept all night and exhausted himself, Wang Ying looked rather pale. Once the danger was over, he quickly went to the backyard to call out his mother-in-law and the others.

The others weren't much better off than him, especially Li, who used to be a pampered woman. Now she wore drab old clothes and her hair was messy and casually wrapped in a cloth, completely losing her former radiance.

When they saw the people from the village arrive, everyone felt relieved.

"Aunt Chen, go cook a pot of porridge."

"Why."

Half an hour later, another group of people arrived. More than ten men ran all the way to the gate before stopping.

Seeing that others were repairing the gates, they went to help, and soon they had re-nailed both gates, making them even stronger than before.

"Da Shun, come here."

"Why."

Wang Ying led him to the woodshed in the back, where eighteen bags of millet were neatly stacked.

Chen Dashun's eyes widened, "This, this is..."

"This is the grain we stored at home before. Luckily, it wasn't washed away. Take these things back and distribute them to the people in the village so they can plant them as soon as possible."

This flood was not entirely without its benefits; the silt washed down was fertile, ensuring at least three years of good harvests for the fields in the village.

Chen Dashun was so excited that he was speechless. He knelt down and kowtowed three times to Wang Ying.

"I have no way to repay such a life-saving grace. I am willing to serve my master like a cow or a horse for the rest of my life!"

"Get up. When the porridge is cooked, you can take the food and go back first. Just leave seven or eight people behind to help tidy up the yard."

"Hey!" Chen Dashun quickly ran to call people to help move the grain.

When everyone saw the millet, their eyes welled up with tears. This was a lifesaver! With this millet, they could survive for several months and wouldn't go hungry by autumn!

Everyone hurriedly loaded the grain onto the mule cart. A total of seventeen men came to the village. Seven of them stayed behind because they had brothers, while the rest drove the cart back to the village and would return the mule cart early the next morning.

Among the seven people who remained, Wang Ying knew several of them, including Tian Daniu, the boy who had taken the initiative to scout around when they were taking refuge on the mountain.

He was quite tall and had a kind face. When he smiled, you could see his teeth but not his eyes. Because he had many brothers and his parents were still alive, he took the initiative to come over.

"Da Niu, later you take them to tidy up the side room, find a place to rest, and keep watch tonight."

"yes!"

Tian Daniu and the other six men began to tidy up the yard. They first shoveled away the silt in the main courtyard and finally saw the stone bricks on the ground.

The collapsed part of the main house can't be repaired. The interior is made of old elm wood that is more than a foot thick, which is impossible to buy now. We can only leave it as is for now and see if we can find suitable wood to rebuild it later.

Several men tidied up the side room in the front yard, repaired the roof, and then settled in.

Because of the separation between men and women, Uncle Chen nailed an extra door between the front and back yards, and these people were not allowed to go to the back yard on ordinary days.

The rural men were honest and simple. Since Uncle Chen wouldn't let them in, they didn't dare to wander around. The seven men split into two groups: one group cleaned the house and yard during the day, while the other group kept watch at night to prevent any bad guys from coming in.

This continued until the morning of the fifth day, when suddenly there was another knock on the door.

A note from the author: