Chapter 134 Exclusively Published on Jinjiang Literature City: Yunlu Village Gains Population
The day after the deal was completed, the two factions revealed the impending flood.
With the recent hailstorm as evidence, no one dared to disregard the flood forecast this time.
But because they believed the news was true, the disaster victims panicked even more. Those with poor mental resilience couldn't help but cry and wail, cursing God for not leaving them a way to survive. Some even had the impulsive thought of simply dying.
Fortunately, before they could actually take action, the two forces announced to the entire city that all disaster victims, whether locals or outsiders, should come to the south of the city to collect supplies seized from the gambling dens and government offices.
News of the destruction of gambling dens and government power spread far and wide.
The collapse of the two forces and the distribution of supplies to everyone immediately diverted everyone's attention. The disaster victims went to the designated location to collect the supplies with some skepticism.
There are currently several thousand disaster victims in the county. Each person has been given nearly fifty catties of various coarse grains, three catties of salt, one bolt each of cotton and linen cloth, and enough ready-made medicine pills for colds and fevers to last for three to five times.
The supplies distributed this time were all necessities, such as antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gold and silver jewelry, and even the thunderbolts. Lu Xuan did not take them out, and the local gentry and wealthy merchants tacitly pretended that these things never existed in the first place.
They wiped out two forces with their strength, so it's only right that they take some spoils of war.
Having received so many supplies for nothing, the pessimistic disaster victims were starting to lose hope.
Who would choose to die if they could live?
With these supplies, plus what we found in the north of the city a few days ago, and the remaining food rations we've accumulated over the past two months, we don't have to worry about starving for at least the next six months.
The two factions then seized the opportunity to announce their plans to move to the mountains to the east, adding that they had prepared many boats in advance and that the flood was not entirely unstoppable.
The disaster victims had no time to think about anything else.
Pack your bags quickly and confirm your departure time so you don't get left behind!
After a series of swift moves, the anticipated chaos was quelled before it even occurred, and the entire city unconsciously began preparing for an evacuation.
·
East of the city.
"Ah Yue, come on, eat more." Miao Jinfeng enthusiastically served food to Li Yue, who had almost fully recovered.
"That's enough, Mom, I'll get it myself." Li Yue held the bowl piled high with rice, looking at the more lavish meal on the table than ever before during Chinese New Year with a complicated expression.
Even though two days had passed since she reunited with her family, she still found it hard to adjust to the family's wealth.
It wasn't a holiday worth celebrating, but it was just an ordinary meal that included four dishes and a soup, a mix of meat and vegetables. The meat dishes were large pieces of stir-fried cured pork and braised wolf meat, and even the soup was an extremely delicious fish soup. It was so extravagant that it made one's heart ache.
This meal, even without considering spoilage, would be enough for her to eat for ten days or so during the hottest period.
The more Li Yue learned about life in the village during the first three months, the more she regretted not listening to the advice to stay with her child.
On the day Lu Xuan led the villagers to deal with the gambling den, Zhou Chenghai's parents and brothers captured him, crippled one of his arms and one of his legs, beat him until he was barely alive, and then threw him out to fend for himself.
Compared to killing someone outright, leaving someone half-dead or crippled during a catastrophe obviously incurs far more suffering, which is the greatest retribution against Zhou Chenghai.
Having witnessed Zhou Chenghai suffer retribution, most of the hatred in Li Yue's heart dissipated, leaving only guilt and self-blame for her daughter's untimely death.
Fortunately, more than two months have passed since the incident, and with the support of her family, she is no longer contemplating suicide.
Even though her daughter is gone, at least she still has family with her.
Li Yue savored the delicious food she hadn't dared to dream of in the past three months while listening to her family chat.
Li Tuo asked curiously, "It seems that Grandpa Chen and the others only mentioned the flood to the disaster victims in the city, concealing the fact that there would be a flood for five years. Why didn't they tell the disaster victims so that they could prepare in advance?"
Li Tie took a bite of the stir-fried cave mushrooms slowly and shook his head, saying, "A flood is already overwhelming people. I've already told you, how can the disaster victims in the city withstand it?"
It's said to be preparation in advance, but what can disaster victims prepare given their limited resources?
It's already good enough to make some preparations for flood prevention in the shortest possible time. There's no rush to worry about the rest when the rainy season is almost over. Everything should be done step by step to avoid making too big a move and causing serious problems.
Not every faction has someone as capable as Lu Xuan.
The fact that their village could produce a Lu Xuan is a testament to the great virtue accumulated by their ancestors.
Li Jingdao said, "There are quite a few disaster victims in the county town. Without the county government and gambling dens, Old Master Chen and the others can gather a lot of manpower. With many people, there is great strength. If everyone works together and there are supplies that Lu Xuan has given them, it shouldn't be difficult for them to get through the flood smoothly."
"Many hands make light work...that makes sense." Li Tie nodded, his expression shifting slightly.
"Village Chief." As he spoke, a knock came from outside the door.
Li Tuo, his mouth greasy from eating, wiped it and went to open the door. "Oh? Aunt Qian, Brother Dayong, what brings you here?"
Li Tuo noticed an unfamiliar girl following behind Aunt Qian and looked on with curiosity.
Who is this?
Those inside the room also saw the unfamiliar Miss X, and their hearts stirred.
Could it be that after Wu Yang, Wei Dayong also rescued someone?
Aunt Qian was a little embarrassed to see that they were still eating. "Oh dear, look at me, I came at the wrong time."
Miao Jinfeng hurriedly said, "Don't mention it, come in quickly." As she spoke, she told Wu Yinyin and Li Yue to move the dining table to the side, took another clean table from her space and placed it in front of her husband, and then poured tea.
The rest of the Li family members sat on the other side, leaving the seats for Aunt Qian and her two companions.
Li Tie asked, "What brings you here?"
After sitting down, Aunt Qian drank some hot tea to warm herself up, and then quickly recounted what had happened.
Finally, a little nervously, he asked, "Village chief, do you think this will work?"
Li Tie glanced at the woman who had her head down and was nervously clutching the hem of her clothes. Some thoughts popped into his mind, but he didn't immediately reply to Aunt Qian.
"Please sit down first, I'm going out for a bit."
With that, he asked Miao Jinfeng to greet them, and then went out and turned into Lu Xuan's room.
...
“…That’s how it is.” Li Tie looked at Lu Xuan. “Da Yong’s ex-wife died during childbirth along with her unborn child, and he has been living alone ever since. This time, he happened to see the girl being forced by his father, and he couldn’t stand it, so he rescued her.”
Li Tie sighed, “Including you, there are more than forty able-bodied men in our village now. If we exclude your Uncle Wu, Uncle Ge, Uncle Zhang and others of my generation, there are about thirty young men, at least half of whom are not yet married.”
Including his youngest son, Li Tuo.
"Of course, there are still unmarried young women in the village, but those young men and women who are compatible are already engaged. Those who aren't yet married simply don't like each other. If the disaster hadn't happened, each family could have sent a matchmaker to other nearby villages to find suitable families, but now..."
They may not be able to live a stable life for the next few years. For five whole years, a girl who is fourteen or fifteen years old and in the prime of her life will be turned into an old maid.
Li Tie said, "I was thinking that since there are many people in the county town and we are in relatively good condition, before we leave, could we ask someone in the village to look for a suitable candidate? If they don't have any troubles or burdens and their character is acceptable, we can bring them back to strengthen our village."
After hearing the village chief's plan, the viewers in the live stream couldn't help but praise him: "Increasing the population and strengthening our forces is indeed a good idea. This way, the streamer can save some trouble and take us out more often."
The disaster victims in the county all know that the people of Yunlu Village are wealthy. If they were to announce that they were hiring, their doorsteps would probably be overwhelmed with visitors.
Actually, I think we could try to win over Boss Chen's caravan.
[Mr. Chen's roots are all in the county town, and his second uncle is one of the key figures in the local gentry. As his nephew, he certainly wouldn't have much influence, so it's unlikely he would drift around with the streamers.]
Lu Xuan nodded and said, "That's a good idea. Besides finding partners for the single young men in the village, we can also look for people with special skills, but we must make sure they have good character."
Li Tie said seriously, "That's for sure. I don't want to bring in a bunch of troublemakers to worry about every day."
At this point, Li Tie glanced at Lu Xuan again, "Speaking of which, aren't you planning to take this opportunity to find yourself a wife? You're not getting any younger."
Lu Xuan shook his head without hesitation and said, "I don't need to, the immortals won't allow it."
Viewer in the live stream: ? ? ? A scapegoat?
Li Tie hadn't expected the immortals to care about even this, but then he thought that perhaps it was because Lu Xuan would eventually become an immortal and go to the immortal realm, and the immortals felt that ordinary mortal women were not good enough for him and could not leave with him.
It's indeed not good to just marry any woman you'll eventually part ways with.
After realizing the reason, Li Tie stopped trying to persuade him.
With a consensus reached on increasing the population, the first thing to address was naturally the woman Wei Dayong had rescued.
Lu Xuan gave the village chief a suggestion: "When you go back, tell Aunt Qian this... It's not a big deal to bring a wife back, but I'm afraid her father will also come along and cause trouble for the village."
Li Tie didn't want to be saddled with a scoundrel, so he said solemnly, "I know how to talk to your Aunt Qian, don't worry!"
...
After hearing Li Tie relay Lu Xuan's words, Qian Erniang turned to her son Wei Dayong and said, "If Ke Yatou can make up her mind, I will accept her as my wife. Otherwise, let's send her away. We can help her once, but we can't help her for a lifetime."
Wei Dayong naturally had no objection, "Okay, we'll do it your way, Mother."
Soon, Qian Erniang had a heart-to-heart talk with Ke Wei alone.
“Ke girl, your aunt won’t lie to you. I think you’re pretty and clever, and I’d like to find you to be my son’s wife. But your father isn’t a good man. He just received a lot of grain and he wants to sell you. Our village can accept you, but we can’t keep your father along with you.”
My aunt's idea is that we'll provide you with some grain, and you can sever all ties with your father and make peace with him.
Though emaciated from the catastrophe, Ke Wei, whose delicate features were still visible, bit her lip: "But he's my father, I have to be filial to him..."
Qian Erniang interrupted her, "Filial piety depends on the person! You were born after your mother carried you for ten months, so you should be most filial to your mother. What has your father done? He just took off his pants and had some fun. He didn't contribute much, but he knows how to use filial piety as an excuse to torment you at will."
“People can’t even survive now, are you going to hang yourself on the rope of blind filial piety for the rest of your life? You shouldn’t have asked for help when my son was passing by in the first place.”
Qian Erniang said firmly, "If people don't save themselves, even Heaven can't protect them. Girl, your life is your own, and you have to choose which path to take."
“If you really can’t make up your mind, your aunt won’t force you. We can take you to see the influential people in the local gentry so they can help you. Your father won’t dare to sell you again.”
She noticed a resolute look in the girl's eyes, and that she knew to seek help when in trouble, showing that she hadn't been tormented into numbness by her father, which is why she was willing to lend a hand.
If Ke Wei herself cannot stand up for herself, she does not want to bring back a weak daughter-in-law for her son during this special holiday.
Qian Erniang had no idea how profoundly impactful her words were to Ke Wei.
From childhood to adulthood, Ke Wei watched how her father berated her mother for being unproductive, called her a money-loser, and frequently beat and kicked her and her mother.
Whenever they tried to resist, the man would use grand principles like "husband is heaven" and "filial piety" to suppress them. Even the neighbors would advise them to obey, saying that her father gave birth to her and raised her, and she should be filial to him.
No one thought her father's actions were wrong.
But a voice inside Kewei kept saying, "This is wrong! Her and her mother's lives shouldn't be like this!"
Especially when her mother fell ill during the heatwave, and her father, upon learning of the impending floods, considered selling her to landlord Liu in exchange for more food, she constantly wavered and struggled between accepting her fate and fighting back.
Finally, someone loudly told her: You're not wrong, your father is wrong! You can resist, and you should resist.
At this moment, Ke Wei's heart, which had been trapped, finally felt enlightened.
Without much hesitation, she shouted, "I'll go with you!"
Ke Wei said firmly, "Auntie doesn't need to give him any food. Our family isn't from the county town; we're from a nearby village. Before my mother died, all the land in our house was farmed by my mother and me. He never earned a single penny. I was raised by my mother; I don't owe him anything!"
Even if he was partly responsible for my birth, I've already paid back all the money I owed him after all these years of being beaten and verbally abused.
Ke Wei looked up at Wei Dayong, who had been listening silently, and said, "Brother Wei, could you please come with me again to settle things with my father? He's a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. If we beat him into submission, he won't dare to come back to me."
Wei Dayong looked at Ke Wei and nodded: "Okay."
Qian Erniang laughed happily, "Good, good, that's how it should be!"
She didn't really care whether or not to provide food; given the current market conditions, there was no need to take too much.
Most importantly, it was confirmed that Ke Wei was not a pushover who only knew how to swallow her anger, and since she did not object to his suggestion that she become Dayong's wife, she obviously acquiesced.
How could Qian Erniang not be happy!
As long as Ke Wei lives a good life with Dayong in the future, she will definitely not skimp on the bride price she is supposed to give to her daughter-in-law.
The process of dealing with Ke's father afterwards went smoothly.
Just as Ke Wei said, Ke's father is a coward who only knows how to bully the weak and fear the strong.
At first, when Ke Wei returned, he was cursing and swearing, spewing vulgarities like "worthless trash" and "slut." But when Wei Dayong pinned him to the ground and beat him up, he was quicker than anyone else to admit defeat and beg for mercy.
What's somewhat surprising is that Covey didn't just remain a bystander.
Not long after Wei Dayong made his move, Ke Wei rushed up with a stick she had picked up at some point and started hitting her father wildly, venting all the grievances, anger, and resentment she had kept buried in her heart for years.
Ke's father was beaten so badly that he cried and begged Wei Dayong to take the insane Ke Wei away. He didn't dare to mention the grain compensation for selling himself into servitude.
Wei Dayong did not believe his empty words. He took out the pre-prepared letter of severance and made Wei Dayong put his fingerprint on it before letting him go.
Lu Xuan secretly let the audience watch the whole thing, which made them cheer with great excitement.
Revenge is the best revenge, and every grudge must be settled – so satisfying!
After watching the excitement, Lu Xuan prepared to head home. Before leaving, he noticed a young brother and sister in a corner secretly watching Wei Dayong and Ke Wei. The older sister seemed to be deep in thought, as if she was considering something.
Lu Xuan didn't take it to heart, glanced at it, and then turned and left.
·
Adding to the population is a big deal, so Li Tie quickly gathered the other villagers to talk about Ke Wei and the decision he had discussed with Lu Xuan.
Families with single men or eligible daughters all perked up.
Looking for a city wife/husband? Is that even possible?
Thinking about it carefully, it seems that nothing is truly impossible.
They have grain in their hands. If they just take out a hundred or two hundred catties of grain, why would they worry about not finding someone willing to marry into their family or become a live-in son-in-law?
If you're willing to offer a little more meat, to put it dramatically, you could pick any unmarried man or woman in the city!
Amid the villagers' jubilation, Li Tie sternly warned, "Let me make this clear: if anyone dares to bring back a bunch of people with questionable character who cause chaos in the village, don't blame me for kicking you all out!"
Aunt Chen was the first to respond: "Village chief, don't worry! We're not stupid, we certainly wouldn't do something that harms others and doesn't benefit ourselves."
Being driven out of the village was a huge deal in the past, let alone now, during a time of catastrophe.
Leaving Yunlu Village, a place teeming with Pokémon, is tantamount to suicide.
No matter how important it is to find a wife/son-in-law for their child, they would never risk their entire family's lives. They understand the difference between what is important and what is not.
Families in need quickly began discussing what conditions to look for, where to look, and what conditions to offer to persuade someone to agree to the marriage.
Li Tie and Li Jing went to the west of the city to ask Old Master Chen to help them post a message recruiting skilled craftsmen.
...
As soon as the job posting was released, many people flocked to the event that afternoon, eagerly recommending their skills.
However, Li Tie, Wu Cheng, Ge Yuan, and the others in charge of the interviews quickly discovered that most of these people were just there to take advantage of the situation and see if they could make any money off them.
Occasionally, a few capable individuals become too greedy and demand hundreds or even thousands of kilograms of grain as a settlement fee.
Li Tie and his group: ? ? ? How many dishes did they have to get them so drunk?
What a load of rubbish about resettlement allowance!
Joining Yunlu Village means enjoying the same benefits as the villagers and having the opportunity to exchange for all sorts of good things from Lu Xuan, which is already a huge advantage.
They're already being lenient by not charging a move-in fee, and now they want a resettlement allowance? Seriously?!
Fortunately, not everyone is greedy or incapable, only wanting to take advantage of others.
The village's job posting unexpectedly attracted an acquaintance of Lu Xuan's.
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