Chapter 208 Meeting the Refugees
Lu Chenyang continued, "There are more and more refugees now, and Anzhou is far from Ningzhou after all. Why should we let the people go to the faraway place instead of the one near them? As long as the Cui family takes the initiative, it will definitely reduce some casualties among the people, and that's the most important thing. It doesn't matter if they offend me, and it doesn't matter if they are on the same side with me. What matters is whether what they do is beneficial to the people. They are willing to spend money and work hard, so why should I be so fussy about such a small matter?"
Zhao Xi was still somewhat dissatisfied. She said, "I don't think the Cui family really wants to help the victims. I heard people whispering that the Cui family is passive in accepting the refugees because they don't want outsiders to come to Ningzhou. To put it bluntly, they are xenophobic. These nobles are so arrogant and don't know what they have to be proud of."
Lu Chenyang smiled. "What does it matter if he truly wants to gather refugees? When judging a person, we should judge by his deeds, not his heart. As long as what he does can help others and is good for others, then his purpose is not that important. So what if he seeks fame? Weighing the pros and cons is not important. What matters is the consequences of his actions."
Lord Lu is such a pragmatic person.
Zhao Xi muttered, "That's too much for them, fifty percent. Even if Master gave them a little, they should be happy. Working for Master is a blessing for them. Do they really want to take advantage of Master? Master is in such a difficult situation. If they are sensible, they should take the initiative to share Master's worries."
Lu Chenyang couldn't help but laugh. His son Zhao Xi was always so cute. He always felt that everyone in the world would be conquered by his charm and would be willing to work for him.
Lu Chenyang shook his head. "That's not the case. If the relationship between the two sides wants to be stable, the best way is to have common interests. Who wants to work for free? And 50% is not a small amount for me. If I don't have this 50%, will the Lu family army here not eat? Don't I still have to provide food? Now that Cui has agreed to continue to provide food relief, they also want to help me make money. What have I contributed? I just contributed the Lu family army. But the Lu family army originally stayed here to besiege Ningzhou. I see that Ji Ping is too idle every day, so he has the mind to stir up trouble everywhere. Finding something for him to do, I can also make money. It's like I didn't pay anything and got 50% of the profit for nothing. Even the Cui family is grateful to me, I am not at a disadvantage."
Lu Chenyang would not say this to someone else, but it was different for Zhao Xi. He had nothing to hide from her.
"What's more, Cui's thoughts were just wrong for a moment. His crime is not punishable by death and it's not a big deal. Why not give them a chance?" Lu Chenyang said with a smile.
But Zhao Xi felt that her parents were too kind and willing to give others a chance.
Zhao Xi said as a matter of course: "That's because the adults are generous, so they don't pursue it. It's because the adults are very good."
Lu Chenyang was praised, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, but he said modestly: "No, no, it's not that good."
"It's good, especially good, the best in the world." Zhao Xi flattered without hesitation.
Seeing how cute she was, Lu Chenyang couldn't help but poke her cheek again: "My Zhao Xi just likes to tell the truth."
Zhao Xi couldn't help laughing out loud again.
Lu Chenyang stayed in Ningzhou for one more day, and the next day he went to the resettlement site for refugees.
Although Ningzhou took in a small number of refugees, it did everything it should do, and because of the small number of people, it seemed more organized.
You know what, everything is pretty good.
Lu Chenyang was very satisfied, and the refugees were also very satisfied that they had finally seen the Lord Lu they had been longing for. They looked at him with starry eyes.
Zhao Xi felt that they had really good taste.
Lu Chenyang was talking to Ji Ping when someone suddenly bumped into his leg. Lu Chenyang lowered his head and saw a little girl holding a bunch of yellow flowers and looking at him timidly.
Those eyes seemed familiar, exactly the same as Zhao Xi's when he was a child.
Lu Chenyang was so in love with the little girl that he immediately picked her up.
The child's mother ran over, knelt on the ground and began to kowtow, saying awkwardly: "Sir, please forgive me, I was ignorant and offended you."
Lu Chenyang quickly had someone help her up and said with a smile, "It's okay. Children should be more lively."
He looked at the little girl in his arms tenderly and asked softly, "Little girl, how old are you? What's your name?"
The little girl looked at the handsome big brother in front of her and couldn't bear to blink.
The child's mother said, "Your Excellency, she is already seven years old and her name is Erya."
Lu Chenyang was a little surprised: "Seven years old? A little thinner."
However, considering the long journey, she must have not eaten or slept well. The fact that the little girl survived shows that her parents took good care of her.
Lu Chenyang said softly, "Life will be better in the future."
The child's mother nodded heavily and said gratefully, "Thank you, sir. Our lives are very good now. I am grateful to you from the bottom of my heart."
Lu Chenyang smiled and returned the child to his mother.
The child's mother took the child and saw Lu Chenyang's kind face. She bravely said, "Sir, this child doesn't have a name yet. It was you who allowed her to live. Please give this child a favor and give her a name."
The little girl also looked at Lu Chenyang, eagerly calling out: "Sir..."
The cute little girl made Lu Chenyang feel as if he saw Zhao Xi back then. He smiled and said, "This little girl looks like a blessed one. Let's call her Fu'an."
This name truly embodies both wealth and good fortune. The mother was a little worried: "Such a beautiful name, I'm afraid the child won't be able to handle it... We are just ordinary people, how can we give the child such a rich and noble name?"
Lu Chenyang asked, "You also fled from Huai'an, right?"
The child's mother nodded.
Lu Chenyang said seriously, "Coming here from such a long distance is not easy. Not to mention children, even adults can't stand it, but she is so lively and cute. It shows that your parents took great care of her. She is blessed to have parents like you. After going through such a change, she was able to arrive here safely. The future will only get better and better. At such a young age, she has already lived half a lifetime. Isn't this a blessing? How can she not live up to this name? Besides, children are the treasures of their parents, regardless of their family background."
The child's mother's eyes turned red after hearing this. She put the child down and pulled the child together to kowtow to Lu Chenyang.
"Thank you for giving the name, sir. I will take good care of the child." She touched her daughter's head with a grateful look on her face.
Lu Chenyang helped her up and said, "Things will get better and better in the future. The difficulties now are only temporary. Don't be afraid."
The refugees looked at the young man with a warm face. He said their future would be better, a promise they had never heard from anyone else, but they all believed that what he said would come true.
This is what Lord Lu said.
Ji Ping was worried that Lu Chenyang would be entangled by the refugees, so he quickly pulled him away.
Lu Chenyang has never been able to refuse the requests of the people. There are many children among these refugees. If they all come to Lu Chenyang to give them names, will his parents still be able to leave?
After seeing the refugees, Lu Chenyang felt relieved and turned around to get on the carriage to go back.
Lu Chenyang also asked Ji Ping, "What's the situation at that child's home?"
After the Yilin Army withdrew, Ji Ping's Lu family army spent most of their time helping refugees build houses, in addition to training.
Ji Ping knew that he would ask about it when he saw Lu Chenyang had already named the child, so he specifically asked someone about it.
Ji Ping said, "A couple had a pair of children. The children also had a younger brother, but he wasn't in good health. However, the couple worked very hard and treated both children very well, showing no favoritism."
Lu Chenyang felt a little comforted. He said, "Please have someone pay more attention. If you're short of medicine, go get it from the army. I'll have someone send some more herbs over later."
Ji Ping nodded in agreement.
Zhao Xi said happily: "What a good name you chose. It will bring good luck to this little girl."
Lu Chenyang felt a little helpless. The girl's parents had always loved her very much, and that was not because of the name he gave her.
Lu Chenyang patted her head and said, "There are many parents in this world who are worse than animals, but there are also many good parents. This is the parents' fault, not the child's."
Zhao Xi knew that Lu Chenyang was afraid that she would be sad and think of her parents again.
In fact, she didn't care. She hadn't thought about her parents for a long time. Since they didn't want her anymore, why should she care about them? She even felt that she met Lu Chenyang because of the suffering they had given her.
She had long since let go of the hurt they had caused her.
But...if this makes Lu Chenyang feel sorry for her, then there's nothing wrong with that.
Zhao Xi lowered his eyes and whispered, "Well, I know, I have adults, I'm not sad."
Lu Chenyang was indeed heartbroken and wanted to hold her in his arms to comfort her.
"How come my Zhao Xi is so kind and generous." Lu Chenyang said with relief.
Ji Ping stared at his wise and powerful master in shock. How could he lie so openly? Yesterday, he saw Zhao Xi expressionlessly break a soldier's arm. The soldier's screams echoed throughout the camp, but the girl didn't even frown.
To explain, Zhao Xi was not out to attack anyone, but the soldier was injured on the battlefield and had a broken arm. However, he did not receive good treatment, and his arm had always been weak. His superiors knew that Zhao Xi was a good doctor, so they came to her for help.
The arm had already grown, and the only way to completely heal it was to sever it and reattach it. But how and to what extent to sever it was difficult for others to judge, so Zhao Xi did it himself.
However, it is indeed heroic for a little girl to break a man's bones without batting an eyelid.
Zhao Xi didn't care what Ji Ping was thinking. She looked very happy and let Lu Chenyang pinch her cheeks, smiling foolishly.
Ji Ping: “…” Ah, some parents cannot be woken up.
Lu Chenyang noticed Ji Ping's gaze and raised his eyebrows. "What are you looking at? Pay attention to helping the Cui family open up trade routes this time. Don't dwell on the past grudges. Control your temper and don't let it interfere with the important work."
Ji Ping's expression was stern, and he immediately clasped his fists and said, "Yes! Don't worry, sir. I will not let you down."
Lu Chenyang nodded, his expression slightly relaxed. "You are the only one here in Ningzhou. The prince will follow me to fight the Yilin Army in the future. Ningzhou's affairs will all depend on you. Ji Ping, I have high hopes for you."
As we all know, if you want a donkey to grind a mill, you must hang a carrot in front of it so that it can see it but not eat it.
Lu Chenyang's move is similar to this principle. Anyway, just give him an idea first, so that his subordinates can work seriously.
Ji Ping was inspired by Lu Chenyang's few words and felt that the carrot in front of him must be big, sweet and delicious.
Ji Ping immediately agreed: "Yes, sir, don't worry, I will not let you down!"
This time, Lu Chenyang reconciled with the Cui family, gave his subordinates carrots, and named the lovely little girl. It was a perfect ending.
As for Jiang Yu's invitation, Lu Chenyang did not go. He declined his invitation on the grounds that he was in a hurry to travel. After visiting the refugees, Lu Chenyang was about to set off.
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