Chapter 636 Two Hundred Thousand Jin of Lifesaving Grain
The flood situation in Nanyang City is gradually improving.
But more and more victims gathered at the city gate.
Prefect Lü of Nanyang set up a soup kitchen at the city gate, providing two meals of thin porridge a day, and also arranged for doctors to treat the people.
Everything seems to be in order.
But Lord Lü was so anxious that his mouth was full of blisters; he probably hadn't slept for three to five days.
People below came to report.
"Sir, there are only two thousand kilograms of grain left in the Nanyang granary. It can only last for three more days at most!"
"My lord, the city's medicinal herbs are all sold out. Many people have prescriptions but can't get the medicine..."
"Sir, the people who went to Qing'an County to look for Lady Sui have returned, but they still can't find any trace of Lady Sui..."
"Sir, what should we do next..."
Lord Lü was in a great hurry.
The situation in Nanyang had been reported to the imperial court, but it would take at least ten days to travel from the imperial court to Nanyang and back. Even if the imperial court sent relief food without hesitation, it would take half a month. Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire...
The governors of several nearby cities all claimed that there was not much grain left in the granaries, so they only sent a thousand kilograms as a token of their gratitude, which was of no use at all.
There's not enough food, the medicine is gone, and there's still no news from Lady Sui...
"Over ten thousand disaster victims, two thousand kilograms of grain..." Lord Lu sighed, "In three days, the food in the city will be gone. If these disaster victims become refugees and flee everywhere, my tenure as prefect will be over..."
The master offered a suggestion: "How about this, sprinkle some sand in the porridge. People who are not particularly hungry will not come to drink the porridge. Wouldn't this save some food..."
"Even if this method is feasible, how much can it save?" Lord Lü shook his head. "Prepare pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. I will write another letter to the governor, requesting that he order the nearby cities to open their granaries and distribute grain... Also, we must send more people to search for Lady Sui's whereabouts..."
Sui Gongren was the first female court official of the Dayu Dynasty and made countless contributions to the Dayu Dynasty. If she were to die in his Nanyang City, he would be guilty of a thousand deaths.
Just then, a constable rushed in to report: "Sir, five large ships have suddenly arrived at the Nanyang City dock, coming from Huzhou..."
Lord Lü suddenly stood up: "Go and take a look right away."
Huzhou and Nanyang City are separated by a long canal, and a round trip takes at least a day and a night. Moreover, Huzhou and Nanyang do not belong to the same province, so he did not ask Huzhou for help.
But now, five large ships have arrived in Huzhou.
At this critical juncture, when everyone wants to escape, so many ships in Huzhou must be loaded with food.
Lord Lü, filled with excitement, led his men out of the city gate and rushed to the Nanyang City dock.
At the dock, five large ships stood majestically, their flags bearing the name "Cao," signifying that these were merchant ships belonging to the Cao family of Hekou County.
Zhao Ergou was standing at the bow. When he saw Lord Lu approaching, he immediately disembarked and said, "I, Zhao Jingcheng, greet the prefect."
Lord Lu hurriedly helped him up: "Zhao Jingcheng...are you the son of Lady Sui Gongren?"
Zhao Ergou nodded: "Three days ago, my mother arrived in Nanyang City looking for my elder brother's whereabouts. I remembered my mother's orders and returned to Huzhou to requisition grain. Two of the ships were donated by the prefect of Huzhou, and the other three ships were requisitioned and purchased in the name of my mother, Lady Sui. A total of 200,000 catties of grain and 10,000 catties of related medicinal herbs have arrived. I wonder if my mother..."
"Honoka, she..."
Prefect Lü was filled with shame.
He didn't expect that before looking for her son, Sui Gongren actually arranged for another son to requisition food.
Two hundred thousand catties of grain is no small amount. With grain and medicine, these disaster victims can be saved...
However, he didn't even know the whereabouts of Kyouren Sui.
"Three days ago, Lady Sui led eight yamen runners to Huaihua Village in Qing'an County. Her whereabouts remain unknown... But rest assured, Master Zhao, I will do my utmost to find Lady Sui, even if it means she's dead..."
"You're talking nonsense!" Zhao Ergou's eyes were bloodshot. "My mother can't be in trouble. I want to go find her. Please, sir, please arrange for someone to lead the way!"
Lord Lü hurriedly said, "Young Master Zhao, I will go with you."
Now that the problems of food and medicine have been solved, the most important thing at the moment is to find the whereabouts of Lady Sui.
The group set off for Huaihua Village in Qing'an County in a medium-sized boat.
The city of Nanyang was abuzz with excitement at the arrival of the grain.
"I heard from the people at the dock that Huzhou has sent 200,000 jin of grain! My God, 200,000 jin!"
"The Huzhou prefect is so generous! We refugees are saved."
"It's not that the Huzhou prefect was generous. It's said that Lady Sui bought it herself."
"Didn't Kaho Kyoujin go to Huaihua Village in Qing'an County and drown in the flood?"
In the past few days, the prefect has arranged several groups of people to go to Qing'an County to look for the whereabouts of Lady Sui. The common people in the city and the victims outside the city all know that something has happened to Lady Sui.
"Lady Sui went to Huaihua Village despite the danger in order to find her eldest son, the cotton-managing official Zhao. Who could have imagined..."
"Even at this critical time, the people of Suigong have not forgotten us ordinary people. They actually requisitioned 200,000 catties of grain. They are truly living bodhisattvas who save people from suffering!"
"He's no longer a living Bodhisattva. He's drowned in the flood. How could a healthy person just disappear like that? I guess Sui Gongren's eldest son is also... all because of our Nanyang City."
"After Nanyang overcomes this difficulty, I must erect a longevity tablet for Lady Sui..."
"..."
When these voices reached Zhao Ergou's ears, his face suddenly turned dark.
Mother promised him that nothing would happen!
Not only will Mother be safe and sound, but my eldest brother will also be safe and sound. The whole family must be together!
About half an hour after the group walked out of Nanyang City, they saw the flood. The water level was very calm. At this rate, it would recede completely in three days at most.
The medium-sized boat had difficulty moving forward in shallow water. It took a long time to finally reach deep water, at which time the forward speed increased a lot.
Before long, we arrived at Qing'an County.
This wasn't Lord Lü's first visit, but like every time before, it was an endless expanse of yellow floodwaters, giving people boundless despair.
He said in a hoarse voice, "A little further ahead is Huaihua Village."
The boat continued forward, the surrounding scenery unchanged... muddy yellow water, treetops peeking out from under the water, and occasional floating corpses...
There is no life here.
Everything seemed to have died in the flood.
Zhao Ergou clenched his fists tightly, staring ahead, his lips pressed into a straight line.
Soon, the boat entered Huaihua Village.
There was water all around... and no other living things.
In the water, the body of a woman in light-colored clothes floated by. Zhao Ergou's eyes flashed, and he immediately asked someone to fish the body out.
When that face appeared before his eyes, his clenched heart suddenly relaxed... Wasn't he sure that his mother was fine? Why did he think it was her corpse?
If he came here searching for his elder brother's whereabouts, what would he do upon seeing this vast ocean?
Zhao Ergou put himself in Cheng Wanwan's shoes and thought about things using Cheng Wanwan's way of thinking...
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