Li Zheng looked at Liang Shuyan excitedly: "Auntie Dashan, it's all thanks to your brilliant idea! Listen, our irrigation canal successfully discharged the floodwaters, and our village suffered no losses!"
Inside the cave, a burst of cheers and jubilation erupted.
Zhao Heng said excitedly, "Auntie, Auntie is amazing! You came up with such a brilliant plan that saved the people in our village and successfully released the floodwaters!"
The county magistrate sat on a rock, seemingly lost in thought. Zhao Heng pulled him up: "Father, did you hear that? Auntie's irrigation canal successfully released the floodwaters, saving the entire village!"
The county magistrate then stood up and sighed softly, "It's a pity that only Daling Village in our town did this. I wonder what the losses were like in the other villages?"
The magistrate was extremely anxious. He hurriedly said to Li Zheng, "Li Zheng, although Daling Village has not suffered any losses at the moment, we don't know if the other villages have suffered any losses. I must go back to the magistrate's office to check!"
Indeed, if a large number of people in the town were to suffer from the disaster, his county magistrate would certainly be punished by the imperial court, and might even be dismissed from his post. How could he not be anxious?
Jin Erniu learned in town that his family had moved to a cave to escape the flood, and that Liang Shuyan had almost been swept away by the flood. He rushed to the cave in the Stone Mountain.
Liang Shuyan turned to look at Jin Erniu and exclaimed in surprise, "There was a flood just now, why are you running around like that? What if you get swept away by the flood?"
Jin Erniu suddenly knelt down in front of Liang Shuyan, crying, "Mother, are you trying to scare your son to death? Are you...are you alright?"
"It's alright, get up!"
Jin Erniu rubbed his eyes and said, "Mother, it seems that besides our village, several other villages have also suffered different kinds of damage from this flood. The most severely affected village is Huai Shu Village, where all the grain has been submerged!"
Zhao Heng snorted coldly: "I knew the magistrate of Huai Shu Village was a stone in a latrine. Back when we in Daling Village were busy harvesting crops, they laughed at us for harvesting before the grain was ripe. Now look what happened, they've waited until the harvest season, but there's nothing left to harvest, haha!"
Liang Shuyan glanced at the weather outside and then said, "Let's go, I want to go to Huai Shu Village to see what's going on?"
Sanwang rushed back, driving a donkey cart. When he saw Liang Shuyan, he said, "Mother, only one wall of our house collapsed. Everything else is fine. I checked, and the granary isn't flooded!"
"Sanwang, shall we go to Huai Shu Village and see what's going on?"
Sanwang responded and casually said, "Second Brother, would you like to get in and go to the martial arts school together?"
"No need, Erniu. You help tidy up the house and make arrangements before going back to the martial arts school. There's nothing much going on at the school right now. Go see your wife and spend some time with your wife and kids!"
Jin Erniu dared not disobey his mother's orders, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Sanwang's donkey cart soon arrived at Huai Shu Village, where Li Zheng was indeed very attentive and was surrounded by a group of people.
The villagers of Huai Shu Village were all shouting loudly, deeply dissatisfied with their upright official, Fatty Wang. They swarmed over as soon as they saw the county magistrate, all wanting to file a complaint.
"Your Excellency, it's all because our village magistrate is negligent. If he were like the magistrate of Daling Village, and had made the villagers harvest their grain earlier, would we be starving? Now, not only do we have no food, but our homes have also been washed away by the flood. What are we going to do?"
"That's right, Your Excellency. We demanded a change of magistrate. At a critical time, Daling Village repaired irrigation canals. What were the people in our village doing? Eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating. Now look at the villagers of Daling Village. Not only have they harvested their grain, but their houses are also in good condition!"
The county magistrate has a big head. This is not a matter of justice. It's just because there is a Liang Shuyan in Daling Village.
A woman holding her child cried out, "My husband has been swept away by the flood, and we have nothing left in the house. What are we going to do?"
Several other people were sick, huddled together, coughing incessantly.
Liang Shuyan walked towards the county magistrate and said calmly, "Sir, how is the disaster situation here?"
The county magistrate was quite surprised. Looking at Liang Shuyan, he shook his head and said, "It's not very optimistic. The problem we're facing now is that we have no food and nowhere to go!"
"Sir, there are only a few dozen households in Huai Shu Village. Why not distribute the grain to each village and have each family contribute some to help them out? Our Daling Village can contribute a little grain, not much, just two jin per family. That should help them get through this difficult time for now."
The county magistrate's eyes widened as he looked at Liang Shuyan: "You mean your village can contribute some grain? If so, the county will contribute a little more, and that should be enough. I just don't know if anyone will be willing to accept it when it's distributed among the villages?"
The people of Huai Shu Village are both stupid and lazy, as is known in the surrounding villages. If none of these village officials want him, wouldn't he, as the county magistrate, be in an awkward position?
The clerk clapped his hands: "Sir, what a great idea! Qingfeng Town and Furong Town are not far apart, so it's very convenient to do business anywhere."
Soon, the county magistrate summoned the village officials and explained his idea. Several officials quickly expressed their opinions.
Li Zheng from Hulu Village shook his head: "The people from Huai Shu Village are too lazy. If they come to our village, won't they do some petty theft and ruin our village's reputation?"
"That's right. Our village doesn't want the people from Huai Shu Village either, because our village is too small and simply can't accommodate them."
The county magistrate was furious: "You righteous people always find a reason not to accept the residents of Huai Shu Village. You can't be so selfish. Look at Da Ling Village, they are willing to give each household two catties of grain to help the disaster victims. What have you villages done? It's simply incomprehensible!"
The magistrate was furious. The village officials had no choice but to agree, and each village was allocated a dozen or so households. When it was Daling Village's turn, the magistrate said, "Since Daling Village has already received relief grain, it shouldn't be allocated more people. Let's distribute it equally!"
Liang Shuyan hadn't expected that the magistrate would resolve her worries so quickly and efficiently. She couldn't help but cast a grateful glance at him.
Yu Lizheng was someone who always consulted Liang Shuyan on everything, but now he stepped forward and said apologetically, "Please understand, everyone. We really have nowhere to go in Daling Village. The villagers are all very anxious right now, so please understand!"
"Hmph, why should Daling Village not have to take in these disaster victims just because they give you a little food?" A discordant voice came from the crowd.
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