Even the people of Xindu didn't feel too anxious, because they were under the emperor's nose, so if something happened there, they wouldn't be in trouble.
In years of famine, at most the well at home would dry up, and then we would go to the neighbor's house to fetch water.
The neighbor's well has dried up too, so let's go to the communal deep well at the end of the street...
The impending refugee crisis will likely be like a heavy stick, waking everyone up in Xindu!
We can no longer indulge in the illusion of a prosperous and peaceful world!
Mr. Wen originally went out to chat with some colleagues, hoping to hear if there was anything interesting happening recently.
When he returned, he noticed that Li Lao Er's expression was off, so he went over and asked him a few questions.
Upon hearing this, his first words were, "Perhaps this is a good thing! If things get chaotic, that person won't have the mind to think about what's happening in the north!"
Li Lao Er nodded and replied, "It's just that Broken Gold Beach is troublesome. It's already conspicuous, and if someone with bad intentions leads it, the refugees will become a good tool for demolishing houses!"
"Fortunately, our family received the news first, so we quickly made arrangements," Mr. Wen instructed. "For matters at home, it's best to have the Princess handle it. She's more thoughtful!"
Li Lao Er easily found the eunuch who had delivered the message earlier.
When Jiayin saw the little eunuch with a bitter face again, she quickly recognized him and asked with a smile, "Little eunuch, has my second uncle asked you to deliver a message again?"
The young eunuch blushed upon hearing this, after all, it was too unfair to accept someone's gift so unwillingly.
He quickly took the note from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.
Jiayin unfolded the scroll, glanced at it, and immediately stopped smiling, saying, "Please wait a moment, young eunuch. I'll need to trouble you to make a trip to the palace gate."
Without waiting for the eunuch to speak, she went to find paper and pen, and wrote a full page of words, which she then folded and gave to the eunuch.
After listening to the instructions, Xiao Tai quickly slipped away along the wall.
Just then, the old lady came out from the inner hall and, seeing this, asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiayin didn't tell the truth, forcing a smile as she replied, "It's alright, Grandma. Second Uncle was worried about you and sent someone to ask."
Grandma Li was happy that her son was filial, but she said, "He's worrying unnecessarily. With you by my side and the princess taking care of me, nothing will happen."
Jiayin quickly changed the subject, occasionally glancing at the blazing sun outside, her eyes filled with gloom...
When it was finally time to leave the palace, Jiayin helped her grandmother into their own carriage. Li Lao Er, Mr. Wen, and Jia'an had been waiting for a while.
Old Mrs. Li picked up a palm-leaf fan and fanned herself a few times, saying softly, "It's only a few steps from Kunning Palace to the gate, but I'm already covered in sweat. I'm getting old and useless."
Li Lao Er quickly took the fan and fanned his mother, coaxing her, "Mother isn't old at all, she's in great health. So many people have been carried out these past few days, and Mother is still so energetic!"
"That's all thanks to the Third Princess and the Crown Prince. They really took good care of me," Old Lady Li couldn't help but sigh. "The Crown Prince is fine, after all, he grew up in our Broken Gold Beach. But the Princess may seem to have a fierce temper, but she's actually kind and thoughtful. She's a rare good child."
By this time, the carriage had started moving, and Jiayin poured some cool tea from the teapot for everyone.
The old lady looked around and saw that her son, grandson, and Mr. Wen were all there. She then came to her senses and asked, "Why are you all crammed into one carriage?"
Helpless, Li Lao Er said in a low voice, "Mother, with the continuous natural disasters, the refugees from the south have arrived outside Xindu. Our area is too conspicuous, so we should probably go back together to think of a solution."
Seeing her grandmother's expression change, Jiayin quickly said, "Grandma, I've already made the arrangements. Let's talk about it when we get home, and discuss anything that's not quite right."
"Okay, okay!" Grandma Li grabbed her granddaughter's hand, her expression complicated.
The Li family originated from famine refugees, so they know all too well what it's like to be a famine refugee.
After more than a decade of good times, we never imagined that we would now face the prospect of fleeing famine again.
However, this time it was others fleeing famine, while they had to protect their own territory from being implicated and harmed...
The carriage arrived quickly outside the Earl's mansion, and Chunxiu came out to greet it upon hearing the news.
Wan'er left in a hurry with the child in her arms, taking Wanqiu with her to serve her. Chunxiu stayed behind to guard the Earl's mansion, and she did her job dutifully.
As soon as everyone entered the house, warm water for washing up and snacks to tide them over were served.
The village chief, who couldn't stay idle, had gone to the Earl's mansion's small garden to check on the planted vegetables, and now he's back.
Everyone sat in a circle and started talking about the arrangements.
Jiayin said, "Although I've only seen a dozen or so refugees so far, the drought is severe, and I expect a large number of refugees will gather soon. With more people, there will be more conflict, and refugees will not hesitate to steal and rob to survive. So, I sent messages to the Liu family, the Jia family, and the Xing family beforehand."
"And then there's the academy. There are hardly any people in the town now, and the academy is empty. It wouldn't be good if it were seized by refugees, damaging the books and frightening the teachers and their families."
"Second Uncle, please deliver the letter to Dean Zhou. If the Dean deems it necessary, he can also request manpower from Uncle Dayong to help protect the academy."
"I also sent a message to Uncle Dayong. He's already selecting men. More than a thousand wounded soldiers from the Northern Expeditionary Army have been sent back. It's easy to pick out two or three hundred who are usable."
"Regardless of whether the academy needs it or not, we at Suijintan need to add manpower to strengthen our defenses. I'd like to trouble Grandpa Village Chief to arrange food and lodging for these people."
The village chief quickly replied, "Princess, don't worry. Many people have left the village, freeing up a lot of accommodations. As for food, I'm planning to start communal meals soon! It'll be easier to arrange things if anything happens when everyone eats together."
Li Lao Er replied, "I'll write a letter in a bit and have Zheng He make the trip."
Mr. Wen frowned, took a sip of tea, and said, "These are all easy to deal with, it's just the Broken Gold Beach..."
Everyone understood that he was referring to the mountains full of fruit, and the fields full of green vegetables and crops were too eye-catching.
If refugees come, they will not be let go.
Grandma Li was very reluctant, but she still said, "Let's get rid of them all. Sell what we can. Donate what we can't to the disaster victims. It's our family's way of doing our part for this natural disaster."
"Think back to when we were fleeing for our lives, how wonderful it would have been if someone could have helped us."
Put yourself in their shoes; let those who are suffering help those who are suffering!
Li Lao Er quickly said, "Mother, don't worry, we will definitely help if we can. We are just trying to prevent anyone with a bad conscience from inciting the refugees to harm our family."
The village chief nodded in agreement, saying, "I was worried about that too, so I came here to ask for advice. Everyone is doing well these days, and we'd all be willing to lend a hand if we could. The problem is that some people are ungrateful and take our help for granted. They might even take advantage of our position to cause trouble at Broken Gold Beach, and then we'll be taken advantage of for our good intentions."
Seeing that the conversation had gone astray, Jiayin spoke up to correct it.
"The peaches on the mountain should be about 80% ripe. Pick them and send them to the city to sell. The shops can't open, but the shopkeepers know a lot of purchasing managers, so they can share the profits, and the rest can be given as gifts."
"As for the unripe fruit, we can juice it, add honey, and freeze it into popsicles, or simply sell the juice or make jam. We can sell as much as we can."
"We will harvest the crops in the fields as much as possible, keep enough vegetables for ourselves, send some to the military camp at the dock, and use the rest to help the disaster victims as needed."
"Is this arrangement acceptable?"
Today's update is here!
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