It was already dark, and the county magistrate had already left office. There was no one to make decisions at the county government office, so we had to wait until tomorrow. But what should we do with so many people tonight?
"Didn't we all bring mats and quilts? We can just spend the night outside the yamen. We can wait here for the magistrate to take office." Zhu Qiuyu felt that their mission was complete, and how to settle the people of Dujia Village was none of their business.
On the way to the county government office, we passed an inn. Zhu Lin and the others had already booked rooms there. Zhu Qiuyu, as the senior brother, responsibly completed the escort mission, which was to take the villagers to the entrance of the county government office.
Tie Qingfeng and Song Jiao also entered the inn first. They only sent ten guards to accompany the villagers to the county government. Neither group wanted to cause trouble for themselves. They were thinking about finding accommodation for more than two hundred people, which would be difficult to arrange.
Two nights ago, an earthquake struck, and the villagers were still sleeping in the open along the main road. They can manage to spend the night crammed together in front of the county government office. The county magistrate will find a way to accommodate them tomorrow.
After the guard returned and reported back, Tie Qingfeng thought for a moment and then ordered someone to prepare dinner. "Those villagers can sleep in front of the county government office, but they can't cook dinner there. They've been traveling all day and are cold, tired, and hungry. We'll prepare dinner for the people of Dujia Village."
The guard leader acknowledged and respectfully withdrew. He then went directly to the shopkeeper and asked him to prepare food for more than two hundred people.
"Sir, we still have customers to serve in the shop, and there are also customers coming in to eat downstairs. We don't have time to cook for more than two hundred people. I think you should find a tavern or something to solve this problem," the shopkeeper suggested helplessly.
There were too many people, and it wouldn't be good to make things difficult for them, so the guards asked the innkeeper where there were any taverns or small restaurants nearby. After finding out, they left.
"I didn't realize that Young Master Tie was so kind-hearted. He always seemed so aloof and pretentious. He didn't even care when that scholar who stayed at the inn died last time. Why is he suddenly getting involved this time?" Zhou Erfu looked at the guards who hurriedly left the inn and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“The last matter required investigation and couldn’t be resolved in a short time, so we simply let the local government handle it. This time, he can help out and gain a good reputation in return. Why not?” Zhou Sanfu analyzed.
Zhou Dafu, who was usually mild-mannered, spoke up at this moment, "Now that you say so, shouldn't we do something too? If we pass the imperial examination in the future, this good reputation will also help us."
Zhou Sanfu shook his head. "Young Master Tie has already sent someone to deliver food, so let's not go and compete for work. Yesterday we helped people dig for things in Dujia Village, which can be considered a good deed. But even if we did a good deed, we didn't leave our names, and those villagers don't know who we are. Good reputations aren't so easy to maintain."
"I was just mentioning it casually, I didn't take it seriously. We didn't actually do anything. If anyone deserves credit, it's Young Master Tie and Young Master Zhu. They really put in the effort." Zhou Dafu chuckled. Those refugees were driven away by the guards of the Tie family and several masters. He and his brothers really didn't do much.
Zhu Lin and several senior brothers and sisters, along with Brother Fu, ate their meal slowly in the lobby downstairs. It took them half an hour to finish, but they didn't leave immediately. Instead, they sat at the table chatting.
Just then, the guards from the Iron Manor who had gone out on business returned, with a few snowflakes still on their shoulders, so it seemed that it had started snowing again.
"Brother Guard, you're back so soon after delivering the food?" Zhou Erfu greeted the other person warmly, as if he were one of them.
The lead guard paused, somewhat exasperated by Zhou Erfu's overly familiar manner. He secretly twitched his lips, determined not to embarrass him, and stepped forward to say succinctly, "We had three hundred steamed buns made and three hundred flatbreads pasted on the table. They'll be sent over tonight and tomorrow morning's meals."
After hesitating for a moment, he pulled out an oil paper package from his pocket, which contained a bulging bag of flatbreads. He asked Zhou Erfu and the others if they wanted some, saying that they had just been made and were still hot.
"You guys keep it for yourselves, we've just finished eating," Zhou Erfu said with a grin.
"Alright, I'll go upstairs now." He still needed to reply to Tie Qingfeng.
After everyone went upstairs, Zhou Erfu muttered to himself, "This guard is the one we met on the mountain before. We even wanted to learn kung fu from him back then. We thought he was incredibly skilled, but now we think he's just so-so."
“Even if he’s just so-so, you still can’t beat him now, and you still have the nerve to make fun of others.” Zhou Sanfu didn’t hold back at all and exposed his second brother.
"Third brother, why are you siding with outsiders? You're always arguing with me. I might not be able to beat the Iron Mansion guards, but I can beat you. Do you want to taste how hard your second brother's fist is?" Zhou Erfu asked, raising his fist.
Zhou Sanfu clicked his tongue. "I just wanted to remind you to be more humble and not to speak carelessly. You're getting carried away now because you have someone backing you up. If you get used to this kind of arrogance, you'll be the one who suffers."
Zhou Erfu revealed a pained expression, rubbing his ears in discomfort. "I hate it when people lecture me. Do you really think your second brother is stupid? I know how to speak according to the occasion. I know what to say in front of different people. Don't worry about me."
That's just worrying unnecessarily; this guy knows what he's doing.
That night, Tie Qingfeng wrote a letter and sent it to the capital by fast horse. He told his father the truth about the snow disaster in Dujia Village, Pingchuan County, so that he could share the emperor's worries if someone mentioned it in court.
Yu Ri, Zhu Lin and the others did not leave the inn. It started snowing heavily again outside, and they had to wait for the snow to stop before they could leave. Tie Qingfeng was busy meeting with the magistrate of Pingchuan County to finalize the resettlement of the affected villagers.
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