Chapter 132 Exclusively published on Jinjiang: A Feast at Hongmen? A Suicide Sum? ...
East of the city.
Several key figures from the local gentry and wealthy merchants unexpectedly met at the entrance of their residence in Yunlu Village.
They exchanged a glance, their lips twitching as if they wanted to greet each other with a smile, but remembering what had happened yesterday... they couldn't manage a smile.
The villagers, who had just opened the gate, spotted them and greeted them with smiles, saying, "You've arrived, everyone! Please come in."
The villagers were warm and hospitable, but the two factions that had learned they had wiped out all the gambling den thugs overnight could no longer treat them as ordinary villagers, and were as reserved as newlywed brides.
When he was led to the dining room, Lu Xuan was already waiting at the table, accompanied by the village chief, Wu Cheng, Ge Yuan, Old Master Zhang, and others.
Li Tie stood up and said, "Come and sit down. The food is ready. Eat it while it's hot and try the cooking of the women in our village."
The group sat down with forced smiles.
Grandpa Chen glanced at the food on the table.
The meal included chicken, duck, fish, and meat, and the rice was fragrant white rice. They even had fruit wine on hand. The abundance was comparable to a banquet at a grand restaurant before the disaster.
Boss Wang, Landlord Liu, and the others couldn't help but swallow hard. Such a lavish meal—it really was their last meal before their execution.
When exchanging supplies for disaster victims, Liu, the landlord who was the most greedy, couldn't help but think: Is it too late to hand over all the supplies in my hands to save my life?
Seeing that they hadn't touched their chopsticks, Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"
The others automatically translated the unspoken meaning: If you don't eat, you can all go die now.
Landlord Liu was the first to pick up his chopsticks, his survival instincts kicking in as he said, “Eat! Brother Lu and the village chief have gone to such lengths; how can we waste such a kind gesture?”
Others also picked up their chopsticks one after another.
Even if I'm going to die, I'll die with a full stomach.
However, once they started eating, they discovered that the dishes tasted even better than they had expected.
Chicken and duck were fine, but they also got to eat fresh domestic pork, which they hadn't had in a long time, and beef too!
There was another type of meat that none of them recognized at first. Li Tie told them, "This is python meat we obtained from an underground cave. Old Chen should have heard about the cave from Boss Chen, right?"
"When we first encountered that python, we were all startled by its enormous size. Later, when we escaped, Ah Xuan discovered another, even larger python, and we realized that the first one was actually a small snake."
"But because it's a small snake, the meat is tender enough, making the snake soup especially delicious! This is a rare find, you should all try it."
Li Tie used serving chopsticks to put some chicken stew with mushrooms on their plates. "These mushrooms are a special variety that was found in the cave. When you stir-fry them with lard, they taste almost exactly like meat."
Besides various meat dishes, the vegetarian dishes such as braised bamboo shoots, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and candied sweet potatoes are almost all rare resources that even the two factions cannot obtain, making them both rare and delicious.
Although the people who came today were all leaders of their respective factions, they hadn't had such delicious and fresh dishes in a long time.
Fresh vegetables were basically unavailable after the earthquake, and although we could occasionally eat wild game, it was not as tender as the meat of domesticated poultry and livestock.
At first, the group was worried about whether they would be carried out sideways, but as they ate the delicious food and drank the wine, their appetites were satisfied. Li Tie and Grandpa Zhang took the initiative to liven up the atmosphere, and the group gradually forgot their fear and began to relax and truly enjoy the food. The slightly stiff atmosphere slowly warmed up.
Master Miao also took the initiative to ask about the details of their exploration of the cave after discovering it.
Wu Cheng and Ge Yuan, who had personally participated in the exploration, were more qualified to speak on this matter, so the two of them told them again about the discovery of the agate mine.
Grandpa Chen listened with a mix of emotion and regret: "It sounds like a good place. If it hadn't collapsed due to the earthquake, it would definitely have been an excellent refuge."
Li Tie picked up a piece of candied sweet potato with his chopsticks, enjoying the happiness brought by the sweetness, and shook his head and said: "It is indeed a good place during the hottest period, but when the flood comes, the ground will definitely be submerged. Even if it is not submerged, it will not be able to return to the surface until the flood recedes. We can't live without seeing the sun forever."
Wu Cheng said, "Besides, there's no guarantee that there won't be a third, or even a fourth, giant python in other unexplored areas."
They were able to deal with it because Lu Xuan was there and more and more people in the village had acquired supernatural abilities. If ordinary disaster victims encountered it, they would just become a delicious meal for the giant python.
The others, realizing this, nodded in agreement.
However, when the topic of floods came up, the group paused for a moment.
Lu Xuan, who had been focused on eating his food, finally spoke after filling his stomach a little: "In order to avoid causing too much chaos, the villagers only mentioned the flood to the people in the city. In fact, it's not just the flood; in the next five years, humanity will face a series of natural disasters."
"Cough cough cough—" Mr. Wang, who was enjoying the fruit wine, choked on the wine and coughed violently.
The others also looked surprised, and when they turned to look at Lu Xuan, they almost twisted their necks because of the large movements.
Five years—!?
"Is this really true!?"
"How does Brother Lu know about the future?"
Lu Xuan didn't rush to answer, but continued, "The gambling dens and government offices were purged because they offended us first. We didn't intend to become kings and lords in the city and fight for power. The main theme of the cataclysmic period is to try our best to survive to the end."
"We will distribute the supplies obtained from the two forces to all the disaster victims in the city according to the number of people. You can send someone to inform them in the next two days, and at the same time prepare some manpower to help distribute the supplies."
"Afterwards, I can also trade with you for a batch of supplies that you want and need. We will leave after the transaction is completed, so you'd better make plans as soon as possible."
Upon learning that Yunlu Village was preparing to leave the county town, the group's first reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief.
But they quickly realized that this wasn't the main point at all.
Old Master Chen asked anxiously, "Young Master Lu, what do you mean by 'cataclysm' and 'five years'? What exactly happened?"
Two months of high fever is already deadly enough, but God wants to torment them for another five years?
"Let me speak."
Li Tie couldn't help but recount to them the details of the disaster that Lu Xuan had told him before the earthquake.
The impending two-month-long torrential rain disaster; the extreme cold of winter, the complete opposite of the hottest season; and endless nights of darkness, storms, tsunamis, and mountains that breathe fire...
As the conversation progressed, Li Tie's emotions became increasingly heightened.
Wu Cheng Ge Yuanzhang, the old man: "..." There's no need to be so excited, it's not like it's anything good.
Didn't you see how pale Old Master Chen and the others were after being talked to?
Viewers in the live stream were showing off the delicious food while exclaiming:
[Alas, for ancient people, such a catastrophe was truly a despairing thought.]
To be honest, even on some remote planets in the Covenant where technology hasn't fully caught up, they'd be in serious trouble in the face of this kind of catastrophe.
Luckily, they met a streamer.
[Is this streamer about to become a savior?]
Lu Xuan, upon seeing the comments: ?
Just mind your own business. Who wants to be a savior?
I can only lend a hand occasionally, nothing more.
When Li Tie stopped, still not quite finished, after Wu Cheng's subtle reminder, Old Master Chen said with difficulty, "What basis do you have for saying all this? It's not that we don't want to believe it, but it just sounds too shocking. There has never been anything like this before."
Li Tie subconsciously looked at Lu Xuan, who tapped the table with his fingertip and said calmly, "It's very simple if you want evidence. There's a hailstorm scheduled for tomorrow. You can wait and see if the hail will come down."
...
Half an hour later, Old Master Chen and the others finished off the table of food and returned to their respective places with heavy hearts.
When Chen Bing and Miao An asked about what had happened, he was in no mood to explain further. He only told them to inform the disaster victims in the city as soon as possible and not to go out tomorrow morning, as there might be hail tomorrow.
Chen Bing and Miao An looked completely bewildered: ?
What do you mean by "it will hail tomorrow"? How could you possibly know what will happen tomorrow?
How come I'm so confused after having a meal with the people from Yunlu Village? Was I poisoned?
Not only were they suspicious, but the disaster victims who were notified also felt that there must be something wrong with the people in charge.
You think you're God and you can just make it hail whenever you want?
"But what if it really rains?" Some cautious disaster victims felt that the local gentry and wealthy merchants wouldn't notify people of such a thing without a reason.
"I've never heard of those local gentry having the ability to predict the weather before. They can't have suddenly developed that ability. There's no way it's that mysterious."
"Haven't there been enough bizarre things lately? Flying cars, flying planks—who would have believed people could actually fly before?"
"..." That makes sense now.
Someone with inside information whispered, "Didn't you hear about the incidents at the gambling den and the government office yesterday? Apparently, it was done by people from Yunlu Village. They were also the ones who said it would hail. They're very resourceful; they might actually know what the weather will be like tomorrow."
The disaster victims looked at each other in bewilderment: "...Should we stay home tomorrow? If it really hailed, it would be much more dangerous than rain; you could easily get hit by falling hail."
"Let's see. If the news is true, the people from Yunlu Village probably won't come out to recruit people tomorrow. If they don't come, we can't go to the north of the city, so there's really no need to go out."
"Then let's take a look."
The next day, there was actually nothing to see, because many people were woken up by the loud crashing noises before they were even fully awake.
"Oh my god! It's really hailing!"
"These hailstones are bigger than my fist. If they hit someone on the head, they'd be bleeding profusely."
The disaster victims, who had doubts about the notice the day before, were overjoyed. Luckily, they hadn't had time to go out yet, otherwise they might have all been cracked open today!
The hailstorm lasted only a short time, less than twenty minutes, but it still piled up to a height of more than a foot on the ground.
In the afternoon, without Lu Xuan needing to send anyone to call them, Old Master Chen and the others who had left yesterday came to the door on their own initiative. Their faces looked even paler than when they heard Li Tie talk about the disasters yesterday, and their eyes looked very panicked.
Because of the short time available, they were unable to determine the extent of damage suffered by everyone in the city in the hailstorm, but Lu Xuan's 'prophecy' had come true, and Old Master Chen and the others no longer dared to doubt the source of the information from Yunlu Village.
Five consecutive years of natural disasters, it seems, are true.
How could they not panic when they thought about the natural disasters they would face later, which were many times more terrifying than the heat wave?
Master Miao also remembered what Lu Xuan had told them yesterday to make plans as soon as possible.
At the time, he didn't think much of it, but when he visited again today, Master Miao had a feeling that Lu Xuan's words had something to say, so he couldn't help but ask.
"Brother Lu doesn't just mean we should stockpile as much food as possible, does he?"
Lu Xuan said, "What I mean is that you should prepare to leave the county town as soon as possible."
Others still concerned about potential future catastrophes: "???"
Grandpa Chen asked in astonishment, "Why would you leave the county town for no reason?"
Lu Xuan spoke in a calm tone, but said something terrifying: "Many buildings and roads in the city have been deformed, mostly due to ground subsidence caused by the lack of groundwater during the hottest season, which has caused the entire county to sink."
Once the rainwater in the surrounding areas accumulates enough to form a flood peak, Yangshan County will be the first to be affected, barring unforeseen circumstances. The entire county will be completely submerged, and no one will survive.
It has been raining every day for the past few days, though the duration and amount of rainfall have varied. However, in the areas of the county town where the subsidence is most severe, there is already standing water at least half a meter deep.
Over the next few days, there will be heavy to torrential rain for at least half a day each day, and the rate of flooding will only increase.
The flood peak will arrive within ten days.
They definitely need to leave before the flood peak arrives.
"Hiss—" Everyone gasped, their faces turning even paler.
Lu Xuan glanced at them and said, "There's not much time to waste now. If you want to trade supplies with me, hurry up."
Their minds were in complete chaos.
One moment he was thinking about the five-year catastrophe, the next he was worried about the floods that could come at any time. His face kept changing between shock, panic and hesitation.
Finally, thinking of the people in the city and the remaining supplies in his hands, his expression gradually became firm.
The most experienced man in life, Old Master Chen, was the first to speak up: "Young Master Lu, please take out whatever supplies you have that we can use. We'll exchange anything that can increase our chances of survival!"
Fearing being left behind, Boss Wang quickly added, "We'll change too!"
Lu Xuan didn't keep them in suspense.
After leaving the Yunlu Mountain Range, the general store is gone, but I still keep opening blind boxes every day. With all the clutter piling up, it's time for a big sale to clear out the stock.
He readily took out the items he had prepared in advance that he thought they would use, be interested in, and be able to afford.
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