Chapter 212: My dear, didn’t you see that the noble man cherished his talent?
The Qian family provided rice porridge twice a day for three days. Finally, the officials from Taiping County brought the first batch of emergency relief food!
After receiving orders from their superiors, the officers quickly set up several porridge stalls, including one outside the gate of Jingxi Town and other stalls on major traffic arteries where people gathered. The victims who were crowded in one place were quickly dispersed to several places.
There were also clerks who were responsible for household registration. They summoned the village heads from all over the country and asked them to count the population, land, and house damage of each village and household, and divide the households into three levels: extremely poor households, second-poor households, and non-poor households.
Once the damage is calculated, it will be reported to the imperial court. The court will then appoint special envoys to verify the situation in the affected areas to prevent local officials from making false or concealed reports. Only after verifying the damage will the court issue decrees to allocate funds and grain for disaster relief.
The southwest is remote, and with this set of procedures, it's unclear how long the wait will take. Even under ideal circumstances, it could take two or three months, and if things are slow, it could take up to half a year. Until relief money and food arrive, the severely affected people can only rely on the rice porridge provided twice a day by the porridge bureau.
Sweetwater Village.
Thanks to the help of his capable grandson, the village head was able to calculate the losses of each household smoothly, but he only encountered a few unreasonable villagers occasionally.
For example, Lin Datian’s family.
Zhang Lamei pestered the village head, asking questions non-stop, "Old man, my family has suffered such heavy losses. Can we be classified as an extremely poor household?"
The village head had initially avoided the topic, but, annoyed by her pestering, he finally said, "You have a lot of land. I've been to the fields and seen them. If you take good care of them, you can get 20% of the rice from the paddy fields next month, and you can also save some taro from the dry fields. I won't count too much, just 20%. Compared to other families in the village, yours is already doing well, so I've classified you as a second-poor household."
"What? A second-rate poor family? No, old man, look at how badly our thatched house has collapsed. The tables and chairs have all been smashed to pieces by the falling beams. Not a single one of those water jars, pottery bowls, or dishes is left. Now we have to eat on a broken table! What good is the little harvest from the fields? How can we become a second-rate poor family? We must be an extremely poor family!"
The villagers are not stupid. They all know that the worse the family situation is, the more relief will be distributed to each household. At this time, no one cares about face. If they are rated as an extremely poor household, they can get more rice, so they all want to be an extremely poor household.
The village head said unhappily, "If your family is also rated as extremely poor, then those families with only two or three mu of land, should I also be rated as extremely poor?"
Seeing that he was angry, Lin Datian pulled his wife aside and apologized with a simple smile, "The stupid woman is ignorant. Please ignore her and let it go."
Zhang Lamei was dissatisfied. She thought of something and her eyes swirled. She stopped talking about her own family and mentioned others. "Old Head, I was wrong just now. I know you're the most fair. But if my family can only be classified as a second-poor household in this situation, then Lin Dashan's family, Zhao Laosan's family, and Liao Laohan's family are so well off. They can't be classified as second-poor, right? Last time, a villager passed by the end of the village and said he saw huge bowls of brown rice on their table, and even meat!"
The village head said, "What kind of meat is that? Those are loaches that people caught from the fields. If your family wants to eat that kind of meat, go catch it yourself!"
Zhang Lamei continued unwillingly, "But they have plenty of money! Everyone knows that Lin Shu and Zhou Ye got a generous dowry when they got married. Just her silver jewelry and that silver-gilt phoenix hairpin could be exchanged for a lot of grain! Village head, they can afford to buy their own grain, so they're not considered poor. And then there's Zhao Laosan's family, they make a lot of money selling ice jelly in town..."
When leaving Lin Dashan's house, the village head frowned.
Zhao Laosan's family was easier to deal with. They had only been making ice jelly for a short time, but the floods cut off their business. Plus, they only had two acres of land, so they could be considered a second-rate poor household.
However, the village head was a little confused about whether Lin Dashan's family should be classified as a poor household or not.
Although what Zhang said was harsh, it was true. But could Zhou Ye be like an ordinary man? He eats a lot. Asking him to eat less would be like starving him.
Furthermore, if it weren't for Lin Shu and Zhou Ye, how could their Tianshui Village have saved so much food? The village head appreciated their kindness.
Zhang Zongyao said, "If Grandpa can't make an assessment, just report it truthfully."
When the village head heard this, he suddenly realized that this was the truth!
Therefore, the final assessment result of Lin Dashan's family was that they were a second-poor household, but the reason was additionally noted at the end: Lin Dashan's son-in-law Zhou Ye was strong enough to lift a tripod, had hunted a black bear, and had a huge appetite. Although the family had savings and surplus food, it was not enough to survive the famine, so they were rated as a second-poor household.
Farmers like them who make a living from the land rarely can be considered as non-poor households. Those who can be considered as non-poor households are all wealthy people in the town.
If the village head had not been worried that Zhang Lamei, the troublemaker, would really report him to the police, he would not have had to specifically note the reason.
Lin Shu didn't know that such a little episode had happened behind her back. Even if the head of the village really rated their family as not a poor household and they couldn't receive relief in the future, she and A Ye could still help the whole family get through this famine safely.
The village heads in each place reported the disaster situation to the police. After all the towns and villages affected by the disaster in Taiping County were counted and compiled into a book, special police officers would rush the books to the capital via the post stations along the way. Then there would be a long wait.
The people in Tianshui Village were so eager that their necks stretched out.
"It's been a month, and there's still no news?"
"How can it be so fast? You have to wait."
"Oh, right, I heard that grain prices in other places have risen to two hundred coins per dou! In Jingxi Town, it's still one hundred and forty coins per dou. People from other towns have all come here to buy grain. It's a good thing the grain shops in town require registered household registration before buying, otherwise the grain shops in Jingxi Town would have been sold out by people from other towns!"
"What? The price has actually risen to two hundred coins per bushel in other places? If the grain store won't sell them, then wouldn't their entire trip be in vain?"
"They said they were selling it, but they only gave two liters per person. They wouldn't sell more than that. The grain shop owner is a conscientious owner. It's said that the leading grain shop belongs to the Qian family, the same Qian family that first gave out porridge!"
"Speaking of rice porridge, the rice porridge made by the government porridge shop is not as thick as the one made by the Qian family. It seems to have become thinner these days. Sigh."
"Be content. Our village is relatively well off. We receive two bowls of rice porridge every morning and evening. If it's not enough, we can use the surplus food at home to cook more. Other villages can only eat wild vegetables and fruits to fill their stomachs if they can't fill their stomachs. Our village can only keep the food stored at home thanks to Aye and Ashu!"
"Last time I smelled the aroma of meat from Lin Laoer's house again. I don't know what delicious food he was secretly eating."
"What's wrong with eating meat? Didn't your family take your chickens and ducklings with them when the flood hit? If you want to eat meat, just kill one!"
"That's right, stop being jealous of other people's families, they deserve it. Thanks to Ah Shu, I learned how to cook loach with her method without any fishy smell. Hehe, my kids love to eat it, and we can be considered as people who can have some meat every now and then."
"Ashu's fish pond has been repaired and now has several big fish in it. Two bowls of rice can be exchanged for a fish!"
"Ashu's bamboo house is so beautiful. If I had known earlier, I would have built a bamboo house like them..."
The villagers were all delighted. This famine had been far more bearable than they'd imagined. Not only were they receiving two meals of thin rice porridge daily, but they could also fill their stomachs with wild vegetables and loaches. Every household had built a new thatched hut. Although the fields had been flooded, 20% to 30% of the taro and rice had survived. They'd harvested the rice a few days earlier, giving them an extra supply of food. The higher-ups had already said they wouldn't have to pay the autumn tax this year, so all the food was their own.
If we wait a little longer, the taro that survived in the field can be harvested, and then we will have more food.
These grains are enough for them to wait until relief from the government arrives!
The villagers were chatting when they suddenly saw strangers coming into the village, a master and a servant, and the head of the village received them personally.
Just by looking at the respectful look of the village headman towards the man, the villagers knew that the visitor was either rich or noble.
In fact, the village head was also extremely shocked at this moment. The burly middle-aged man in front of him was none other than the special envoy sent by the higher authorities to verify the disaster situation!
Although he was a civil official, he came from a powerful military family. He heard that there was a strong man in Tianshui Village, Jingxi Town who had hunted black bears and was strong enough to lift a tripod. On a whim, he went to Tianshui Village in person to check it out.
The special envoy was very approachable. He wore ordinary cloth and did not even take a carriage. He just hired an ox cart and brought a subordinate with him.
If the other party had not revealed his identity on his own initiative, the village head would not have known about his background.
"Sir, please come this way. The last house at the end of the village belongs to our villager Lin Lao Er. Zhou Ye is his son-in-law, a tall and strong man. He was the one who went hunting the black bear in the mountains alone..."
After Lin Shu arrived in Tianshui Village, the most senior officials she encountered were the village head, and then the two runners who maintained market order at the Caoshi Market in Jingxi Town. But before coming to Tianshui Village, she lived in the capital.
There are countless noble people in the capital.
So when the village head brought a middle-aged man over, Lin Shu could tell at a glance that this man was a high-ranking official.
"...Aye is away. He's in the fields. After the flood, all the summer beans in the dry land died. We've sown autumn beans in the fields, and the taro hasn't been harvested yet, so there's still work to do in the fields."
The village head quickly winked at her and said, "Why are you still farming? Go and call Ah Ye back!"
It's such an honor to be personally invited by such a high official! I'll have something to brag about it later.
Lin Shu said to Lin Xiaopu, who was doing homework in the room, "Xiaopu, there are distinguished guests at home. Go call our father and your brother-in-law back."
Lin Xiaopu secretly glanced at the nobleman, said "oh" twice, and ran out.
He Guixiang, who was boiling water at the stove, looked nervous.
The only time the head of the village valued him so much and treated him so humbly was when someone came to the Marquis's Mansion.
What kind of noble person has come this time?
Because there was no man in the house, the special envoy did not speak, but just looked around the residence of Lin Laoer inside and out.
The bamboo house rebuilt after the disaster looks very beautiful from the outside. It occupies a large area and has a separate kitchen, granary and firewood room.
The bamboo fence surrounding the courtyard is dense and high. On the side of the fence facing the path, a row of staggered pottery jars with gaps are hung with straw ropes. The jars are filled with soil and are blooming with colorful wild flowers, which add a few bright colors to the monotonous courtyard.
There was a stone slab at the entrance to the courtyard, where the thick mud on straw sandals could be scraped onto it on rainy days. Inside the courtyard's threshold, a cobblestone path led directly to the bamboo house.
The special envoy walked along the cobblestone path into the courtyard.
The yard is very large, with a chicken coop. The old hens are clucking, and a few half-grown roosters are pacing proudly.
When he came in, the hostess of the house was lighting a fire and boiling water at the stove, and the sound of a little girl reading could be heard from the main room. She would occasionally pause in the middle of reading, and then a soft and patient female voice sounded, as if explaining something to the little girl.
The special envoy has come to Taiping County in the past few days to verify the disaster situation and has visited many places. The people in most villages and towns have dull eyes and look listless, but the villagers in Tianshui Village are particularly different.
He was surprised to learn that no one in Tianshui Village had been killed or injured. He was even more surprised when he arrived and saw the people were full of energy. And now, when he arrived at Lin Laoer's house, he found that every corner of this small farmyard was full of life, which lifted his gloom.
Lin Shu invited the special envoy and the village head to sit in the main hall together, took some herbal tea she made and put it in a clean ceramic bowl, and brewed two bowls of tea with the boiling water that He Guixiang had just boiled.
"My Lord, try this homemade wild herbal tea. It's not as good as the fine tea you get in teahouses, but it has a unique flavor."
…
This special envoy who traveled incognito came and left quickly, and left after staying at Lin Laoer's house for a short time.
The villagers didn’t know what had happened. They only knew that a noble person had come to their Tianshui Village and had specially visited Lin Laoer’s house.
Afterwards, some curious villagers asked the village head about it, but the village head just said that a nobleman heard that Zhou Ye had hunted a black bear and was curious, so he wanted to meet him in person. After hearing this, the villagers stopped asking.
The envoy hadn't come all this way to Tianshui Village for this reason. He simply felt that Tianshui Village had suffered the least damage and suspected a cover-up, so he made the trip himself. Of course, he also had a desire to meet the man who was said to possess supernatural powers and had even hunted black bears.
After some discussion, it turned out that what the village head said was true.
It's such a pity that such a martial arts genius with extraordinary powers is actually farming in a remote mountain village.
However, after sitting for a while, he realized that the boy and his wife were in love, and the love he had for his talent disappeared.
Whatever, whether he was a farmer digging for food in the fields or a hunter, what he thought was a hard life might be honey in the eyes of others. Why should he try to be a self-righteous Bole?
After the nobleman left, Lin Shu looked at the clueless Zhou Ye with a smile in her eyes and tutted, "Fool, don't you see that the nobleman cherishes talent? Look at the moves he used when sparring with you. They must have been taught by a military family with a long history. If you can get close to him, not only will you have a good life in the future, but you can also learn skills from him and no longer have to stay in this small mountain village as a rough country boy."
If that noble man had not neglected training and some of his moves were weak and powerless, A Ye's wild style might not have had the upper hand.
Zhou Ye remained calm after hearing this. He looked at her calmly and said, "Ah Shu, this is fine now."
It's not that he didn't see the clues. But so what?
The life of eating and drinking delicious food that Ah Shu described was not what he longed for.
He likes the mountains and the life in Tianshui Village, and wants to live in such a small mountain village with Ashu for the rest of his life.
Lin Shu secretly poked the back of his hand with her fingertips, muttered "idiot", but the corners of her mouth secretly curled up.
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The author has something to say: *The disaster relief process comes from the Internet.
There is no capital city or court in the main text, it is just the daily farming, eating and stockpiling of goods in Tianshui Village, so this special envoy only appears briefly.
Ps: The main text is not far from completion.
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