Chapter 89 Disaster Relief
The two met at the county government office, and Lu Chenyang quickly said, "Why did Lord Deng come here in person? Quick, serve tea."
Deng Mingbo waved his hand and said, "Brother Lu, I won't exchange pleasantries with you. This is urgent. I'm here to borrow some grain."
Lu Chenyang looked surprised: "You are still short of food in Sanyang County?"
Sanyang County is the only wealthy county in the entire Lingnan region where the people can have enough food to eat on their own.
Deng Mingbo smiled bitterly and said, "I'm not here for myself, I'm here for Jiufang and Zhangtai counties. They've been hit hardest by the disaster, but you know the situation in these two counties. There's no relief supplies at all. The people are still living in houses that have collapsed under the weight of the snow. How can they endure such cold weather? I'm afraid some people will freeze to death again. Although our Sanyang County is a little better off, there's only so much we can do. I know you guys in Yanquan County are having a hard time too, and I shouldn't have the audacity to ask. But I really can't bear it..."
Lu Chenyang understood that they hoped he could donate food.
Lu Chenyang thought for a moment and asked, "Then why is Brother Deng here? Where are the magistrates of those two counties?"
Deng Mingbo's expression changed slightly, and he sighed softly, "They don't know you, so it's not right to ask for help."
Lu Chenyang didn't care about this. What was there to be embarrassed about for the sake of the people?
But those who need to be saved must be saved.
Lu Chenyang immediately agreed and helped to provide a batch of supplies, including food, cotton clothes, etc.
Deng Mingbo didn't expect Lu Chenyang to agree so readily, and he was very moved.
"I would like to thank Lord Lu on behalf of the people!" Deng Mingbo said with a moved face.
Lu Chenyang helped him up. "Lord Deng, for the sake of the people, is willing to come to me for help. I am deeply moved by your kindness. I have someone prepare some things immediately and send them to the two counties. However, Lord Deng, I have pity on the people, so I will send people to deliver these things to the people."
"Of course!" Deng Mingbo agreed immediately.
Lu Chenyang thought about it and named two people, one was Li Dajun, the chief constable of the county government, and the other was Wang Jinghao.
No one knew him. He was a student at the county school and came from a farming family. However, he was very talented and had done well in his studies after only a year or so at school.
The teacher at the county school said that he was very talented and had the best chance of passing the imperial examination.
Lu Chenyang also thinks highly of him. God knows how difficult it is for Yanquan County to produce a promising student.
This is getting off topic. The reason Lu Chenyang asked him to go this time was because he could read and keep accounts, and he also hoped that he could get involved in official business.
Wang Jinghao was very excited when he received the news. He felt that this meant that Lord Lu trusted him, so he immediately packed up and left.
Li Dajun was extremely envious and thought to himself that this must be because he couldn't read, otherwise he could go alone.
The two of them checked their belongings and were about to set off when Lu Chenyang stopped Li Dajun and whispered, "See how the people there are living. If the county magistrate doesn't do anything, you know what to do, right?"
Li Dajun blinked. "I understand. Since the local magistrate is ineffective, I naturally want to seek refuge with a more capable magistrate. A tree that moves will die, but a person who moves will live. How can we stay in one place forever?"
Lu Chenyang gave Li Dajun a thumbs up. This was why he chose Li Dajun.
He is smart, eloquent, efficient, perceptive, and capable. Lu Chenyang is very optimistic about him.
Li Dajun left with the task of recruiting people assigned to him by Lu Chenyang, feeling proud.
He likes his current life very much. Although the workload is several times more than before, he works with enthusiasm and is very happy every day.
So Li Dajun took supplies to provide disaster relief.
Lu Chenyang was not idle either. He checked the situation in the county again. Except for two collapsed houses, no one was injured. Lu Chenyang could finally feel at ease.
"It is said that auspicious snow means a good harvest. With such heavy snow this year, we will definitely have a good harvest next year," Xu Zhenghui said with a frown.
This was his beautiful expectation, but in fact he was not very optimistic, because Yanquan County had never experienced such heavy snow.
Fortunately, the snow finally stopped.
Lu Chenyang immediately organized the people to start clearing the snow.
The water conservancy project he had built long ago was useful. The accumulated snow was transported to the dam for storage, so that water could be obtained in case of drought.
The entire Yanquan County was busy again.
A month later, Li Dajun came back, but he didn't come back alone. He was followed by a large group of people.
Xu Zhenghui was already used to it and quickly sent people to resettle these people.
This time, Li Dajun brought back nearly 3,000 villagers from two villages.
Xu Zhenghui glared at Li Dajun. "You were supposed to deliver disaster relief supplies, so why did you bring people back? How did you cause trouble for me?"
Li Dajun said: "It was the adults who asked me to do this."
Xu Zhenghui: “…” He almost forgot that one of his parents’ hobbies is picking up people.
Li Dajun said indignantly: "You don't know, their lives are too hard."
Li Dajun first arrived at Jiufang County. The roads were blocked by heavy snow, making the journey difficult. When he arrived, he found that most of the houses in the village had collapsed.
The bodies of those who were crushed to death were not collected in time and were placed in a dilapidated house.
In order to keep warm, the living people in the village temporarily took refuge in the ancestral hall.
They burned the wood from the collapsed houses to keep warm, and there was no one to treat the injured people.
"That county magistrate is just there to eat and do nothing. He lets the people fend for themselves." Li Dajun said indignantly.
Someone murmured, "Isn't this what a normal official would do?"
Li Dajun was suddenly choked. After following Lu Chenyang for so long, he almost forgot that inaction was the most normal attitude for Lingnan officials.
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