One day later.
The rain stopped completely, and the muddy floodwaters receded considerably, revealing vast areas of land covered in silt. The high ground had become an even larger island, surrounded by expansive marshes and puddles.
A makeshift shack was erected, at least it could block out some of the wind.
The people barely managed to survive on the food and water that Jiang Chan "accidentally" found.
Afterwards, Jiang Chan summoned Er Gou and Lao Li.
Hovercrafts are not very useful now.
She made a simple raft using a few sturdy long wooden sticks and a broken door panel, and then found two relatively handy wooden sticks in the pile of junk to use as poles.
"Let's go!" Jiang Chan gave a brief order.
The three men carefully propelled the raft away from the high ground, paddling towards the remaining embankment near the breach. The water was murky, and the bottom was covered with thick silt, making the raft move very slowly.
The surroundings were eerily silent, save for the sound of a wooden stick stirring the muddy water. Occasionally, one could see a corpse half-buried in the mud, a horrifying sight.
Approaching the ruined embankment, a strong stench of mud and decay assaulted the senses. The broken embankment looked as if it had been gnawed by a giant beast, revealing gruesome wounds. Mixed in with the collapsed mud and sand were large amounts of black, rotten wood pieces and scattered pieces of rammed earth debris.
Jiang Chan poled the raft to a relatively stable section of the dike. The three of them jumped off the raft and began their search through the slippery mud.
"Look here!" Old Li, with his sharp eyes, pointed to a gap inside the dike that had been breached by the water and shouted.
Inside, a large amount of garbage used as filler—rags, straw ropes, and pebbles—was exposed!
He angrily stabbed the stick in hard, bringing out a large clump of foul-smelling garbage.
"It's a damn garbage dump!" Er Gou cursed angrily.
Jiang Chan squatted beside another section of the embankment's fracture. She picked up a large, basin-sized piece of broken rammed earth and pried it open. Sure enough, the inside was still filled with grass clippings and gravel.
Her sharp gaze swept across the muddy ground, and she suddenly noticed a corner of a hard-covered notebook half-buried in the silt.
She hurried over and laboriously dug the object out of the cold mud. It was a hardcover ledger!
Thick silt covered most of the surface, but the word "materials" was still barely legible on the cover.
Jiang Chan's heart skipped a beat.
Is the system providing a lucky aura? How could it find this?
Ignoring the dirt, she vigorously wiped away the mud from the cover with her sleeve and carefully turned it open.
The paper inside had been soaked in water, and most of the writing was blurred and stuck together.
She examined it carefully. On one page, she could vaguely make out the words "Purchase of three hundred high-quality cedar logs," followed by a considerable sum of money.
Turning the page further, through the gaps between the glued-together papers, I could vaguely make out another line of small print, which seemed to be a note: "...to use rotten old wood as a substitute, to save money..."
Er Gou and Lao Li also came over, and seeing the blurry writing, asked in confusion, "What does it say?"
Jiang Chan read it aloud as instructed.
"They embezzled the money meant for good timber! What they used to fill the dam was rotten wood!" Er Gou was trembling with anger.
Jiang Chan carefully collected the few wet and blurry pages, but which still contained crucial information, and wrapped them in a small, relatively clean piece of rag.
She searched around again, broke off a few typical low-quality rammed earth blocks, and took out a piece of the most rotten wood core.
"Enough." Jiang Chan carefully tucked the evidence into her "army," stood up, and said coldly, "These are the knives that have pierced the sky!"
Back on the high ground, the atmosphere was electric with excitement because of the crucial evidence they had found. Er Gou and Lao Li excitedly recounted the discovery of the garbage dump and the torn account books, and the high ground erupted in a frenzy! Everyone was furious, itching to rush to the county town and settle scores with the corrupt officials.
Just then—
"Hoo! Listen up, you people up there!" A haughty shout came from the edge of the high ground.
Two small boats rowed over and stopped in the shallow water. Several men dressed in black yamen runner uniforms and with knives at their waists stood on the boats. The one in the lead, with triangular eyes and a fierce face, was none other than Wang Biao, the head constable of the county yamen.
Wang Biao stood at the bow of the boat, hands on his hips, his gaze sweeping over the ragged crowd on the high ground, his expression one of undisguised contempt. "Who's the leader here? Come out and speak!"
The survivors immediately fell silent, their eyes filled with anger and wariness. Er Gou and Lao Li instinctively stepped in front of the crowd.
Jiang Chan parted the crowd, walked to the edge of the high ground, and looked at Wang Biao through the mud and water with a calm expression. "What is it?"
Wang Biao sized Jiang Chan up and down, seemingly surprised that she was a young woman, then sneered, "What is it? By order of the county magistrate! Since you have all survived by chance, pack your things quickly and come with us to the downstream resettlement site! Those who are strong, assist the government in dredging the river and clearing the ruins!"
His tone was firm and left no room for argument.
"Assist?" someone in the crowd couldn't help but growl. "They want us to be laborers?!"
Wang Biao glared with his triangular eyes: "How dare you! The government is conscripting you because they think highly of you! You won't go? Do you want to disobey orders?!" The yamen runners behind him also gripped the hilts of their waist knives, their threat palpable.
The atmosphere on the high ground instantly became extremely tense. The enraged survivors clenched their fists, staring intently at the constables, their teeth clenched. A conflict was imminent!
Jiang Chan raised her hand, signaling everyone to calm down. She showed no fear, meeting Wang Biao's fierce gaze with a clear and icy voice.
"We're not going."
Wang Biao was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting her to refuse so decisively, then his face darkened, "What did you say?!"
“I said, we’re not going downstream,” Jiang Chan said, staring at him, each word distinct. “We’re taking these with us…”
She pointed to the piles of rotten wood and inferior soil debris she had collected at the edge of the highlands, then patted the hard ledger bag under her clothes, "And this blood-soaked ledger, to the capital."
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