Seeing this, Li Dahai just smiled and said, "It shouldn't rain tonight, so everyone doesn't need to crowd into the thatched hut."
Yesterday the rain was quite heavy, and more than 500 people on the mountain were crammed into those three small thatched huts.
It was supposed to be a place to avoid the rain, but it was completely useless. It was drafty, and the rain would blow in as soon as the wind blew.
Fortunately, the rain stopped in the latter half of the night, and they managed to start a fire with some firewood, which prevented everyone from catching a cold.
If it rains heavily again in the next few days, at least most of these people, if not all of them, will likely catch a cold.
If it doesn't get better, then it might really be a matter of waiting to die.
Shanzi had clearly thought of these things as well, and after hesitating for a while, he said to Li Dahai, "The government officials said that they are already building shacks, and once they are finished, they will let us all go down the mountain to live together."
Li Dahai was taken aback, and after a long while, he said, "We'll talk about it later."
He feared that those people were just talking, and that in the end only they would take it seriously.
*
Chen Tongzhi lay on his horse, feeling excruciating pain all over his body, especially from the yellow mud covering him, which made him feel nauseous.
It was all done by those despicable civilians. How dare they lay a hand on him! He will never let them get away with it.
And then there are these people who stood by and did nothing to help him.
He wants them all to die.
Just as she was thinking bitterly, she heard Lu Cijian's cold voice, "Is Magistrate Chen tired?"
Prefect Chen was startled, but quickly regained his composure, straightened up, and said obsequiously, "Your Excellency, you are too kind. I was just angry at those scoundrels."
My lord, you saw it today, those unruly people even dared to beat up officials. Such unruly people are not worth your efforts.
I think you don't need to go to other villages, sir. Those unruly people are so outrageous. This time they only hit me, but if they offend you and Miss Jiang next time, wouldn't that be terrible?
"Both you, sir, and Miss Jiang are of noble birth and precious status; how could you allow yourselves to suffer such humiliation? Those unruly commoners are not worth the risk your lord takes."
He beat the people of Baiyun Village to this state; if he goes to other villages, they'll be beaten to death!
If he had known this would happen, he should have brought more men today, so that those unruly people wouldn't dare to make any rash moves.
Lu Cijian glanced at him and said indifferently, "What Chen Tongzhi said is right. Mianmian and I still have a lot of things to deal with. You and Zhang Duyun will take over the next village."
Chen Tongzhi was taken aback and was about to refuse when he heard Zhang Duyun say, "Yes, sir, I will definitely work with Chen Tongzhi to find out the number of disaster victims outside the city."
Lu Cijian nodded, his gaze falling on Chen Tongzhi, as if he had just remembered, "By the way, I just heard those people talking about what happened to the moldy grain. Doesn't Chen Tongzhi intend to explain it to me?"
The disaster relief funds issued by the imperial court in the previous two years were definitely sufficient; there was no question of withholding funds.
The fact that the disaster-stricken people were still forced to eat moldy grain shows that Zhou Shiwen and those people in the Ministry of Works had indeed embezzled a lot.
Chen Tongzhi was startled and immediately dismounted, kneeling on the ground and crying, "Your Excellency, you do not know, but we, Lord Zhou and I, are wholeheartedly for the people. How could we possibly give moldy grain to those disaster victims? It's just that those disaster victims are too much and have been going against the government all along."
Even so, Lord Zhou distributed plenty of grain to them, but those people didn't collect it in time. After a rain, the grain got damp and easily got moldy.
Your Excellency, Heaven and Earth bear witness that both I and Lord Zhou are wholeheartedly devoted to the people.
"Your Excellency witnessed firsthand how outrageous those troublemakers were; I was nearly beaten to death!"
He was furious at the thought of the terrible scene he had just witnessed.
He was still covered in yellow mud, and now that it had dried, he felt like he couldn't even open his eyes. He felt like he had gained ten pounds, and it was difficult for him to even stand up straight.
And this bastard still had to come and interrogate me; these guys in the capital really know how to torture people.
Upon hearing this, Lu Cijian simply said, "In that case, Lord Chen should be the one to deliver supplies to other villages this time. I can tell you are very capable, and I will certainly not let the grain get damp this time."
"Alright, hurry up and lead the way. Before we return to the yamen today, I need to know how many disaster victims there are."
Having said that, he rode his horse toward the city gate.
Chen Tongzhi was so angry that his face twisted in anger, but Zhang Duyun beside him was still impatiently urging, "Lord Chen, hurry up and get on your horse. There are still many things to do today. If you delay me and I don't finish what you asked me to do, I will definitely expose you and say that it was because you didn't lead the way properly."
Don't even think about slacking off under his nose; no one knows better than him how to slack off.
Chen Tongzhi's lips twitched, and he cursed inwardly before saying, "Don't worry, Supervisor Zhang, I know what I'm doing."
Having said that, he mounted his horse and led the way.
That shameless bastard! If that scoundrel hadn't rowed the raft away, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state. He'll make sure that guy tastes the pain of being beaten up later.
After parting ways with Zhang Duyun and his group, Jiang Yimian asked Lu Cijian, "You knew that Chen Tongzhi wouldn't be able to work with peace of mind, so why did you let him go with Zhang Duyun? What if Zhang Duyun gets betrayed by him?"
Chen Tongzhi never tells the truth and only shirks responsibility. Zhang Duyun may seem timid, but he's not a bad person at heart.
She was afraid that Zhang Duyun would be no match for Chen Tongzhi, and that the two of them would start arguing first, thus neglecting to deliver supplies to the villagers.
Lu Cijian just smiled and said, "Mianmian, you underestimate Zhang Duyun. That guy is not the kind of person who would let himself suffer in silence."
Don't worry, it's still uncertain who's ripping whom off.
"Didn't you see how quickly Zhang Duyun reacted? He rowed the raft away right away."
Although Zhang Duyun held a low-ranking position in the Censorate and was essentially a menial worker, his deeds within the Censorate were known to everyone.
He strived to do the least amount of work, be the laziest, and receive the same salary in the Censorate.
Jiang Yimian was taken aback, and recalling the scene just now, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
If Zhang Duyun hadn't been quick-witted and rowed the raft away, he might have really suffered the same fate as Chen Tongzhi.
This guy usually seems cowardly and afraid of death, but he reacted quickly when faced with something like this.
This morning, Liu'er and Lin Yan'an were both injured, but this guy was completely unharmed, his clothes weren't even dirty, and I don't know where he's hiding.
He certainly has a knack for saving his life.
Apart from being bumped by that woman yesterday, I'm fine.
Thinking of that woman, she quickly said, "We met a woman on our way here yesterday. She seemed to be a villager from the area. I wonder how many people live there. I'll go look for her; maybe I can find out something from her."
The villagers of Baiyun Village were too wary of them and rarely told them about their past.
To deal with Zhou Shiwen and completely change the situation of annual floods in Qingnan, they must at least know the source of everything.
For example, why did Qingnan, which used to be prosperous, become what it is today, and what caused the floods three years ago?
Lu Cijian nodded. "I'll go with you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
