After hearing this, Meng Zhao couldn't help but worry about the situation in Shenjia Village. Although the workshop had hired many people and paid wages for several months, he hadn't heard of anyone building a new house. At present, most of the houses in Shenjia Village were still old and dilapidated.
And their old house. When Meng Zhao went back to make sausages a while ago, she found that the house had aged a lot because no one had lived there for a period of time. She wondered if it could withstand such heavy snow.
As for the workshop and pig farm, Meng Zhao was not worried. Both were newly built and mainly used blue bricks, so there was unlikely to be any problems. He was just a little worried about Shun'er and Shi Tou at the pig farm.
Before the Lunar New Year, Meng Zhao sent them a lot of food, but the heavy snow blocked the roads and the pig farm was a bit far from the village, so she was worried that they would go hungry.
But the roads are still covered in snow, and the city gates are under strict security, so she really can't go out and can only worry in her heart.
After attending classes for a few days, Meng Zhao felt it was time to take a break. So on the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, she didn't schedule any classes. Instead, she took her family with brooms and shovels and went out early in the morning to clear the snow with other neighbors.
***
Since arriving in Qingshi County, Wang Xian has been constantly busy. He had just reached the end of the year and was planning to spend a few leisurely days with his wife when they happened to encounter the heaviest snowfall in recent years.
For the first day or two, he enthusiastically invited Song Wanyin to go outside and enjoy the snow scenery. However, the snow continued for two days, and bad news kept coming one after another.
First, news broke that many pedestrians had slipped and fallen and been injured. He quickly led his constables to organize a team to clean the streets.
Later, upon hearing that many clinics had closed down and patients had nowhere to seek medical treatment, he quickly gathered doctors and arranged for the clinics to reopen.
Furthermore, information transmission was hindered before the Lunar New Year, and villages only reported their disaster situation after the New Year. The damage to houses in each village was severe, resulting in serious injuries and homelessness for many people.
There were also outsiders who had fled from other counties and gathered at the city gate waiting to enter the city, but the Huimin Hospital in the city was already full of people, and there was no room for them to squeeze in.
If they are easily allowed into the county town, these people, who are hungry, cold, and penniless, are likely to commit theft and robbery. Therefore, they must be strictly checked at the city gate.
So Wang Xian could only run around everywhere, going to the countryside to provide relief to the disaster victims while arranging for people to build shelters as temporary refugees. He was never free for a moment.
Today, I was busy at the county government office until noon again. It's the Lunar New Year, and the county government office's canteen is closed, so there's nothing to eat in the office.
Immediately afterwards, a slight sound of a door opening came from the quiet room. Looking in the direction of the sound, Song Wanyin was seen standing at the door wearing a plain fox fur cloak, her hands holding a food box slightly red. Upon seeing this, Wang Xian quickly put down the official documents in his hand and hurried over to greet her.
"My lady, it's so cold outside, why did you come in person? You could have just had a servant deliver the message."
Song Wanyin smiled gently and put down the food box in her hand. "I guessed you would be hungry because I've been so busy lately, so I specially prepared two side dishes to bring to you."
He then glanced around the room, frowned slightly, and said, "Look at your room, so spacious. Why don't you light a few more charcoal braziers for warmth?"
Wang Xian sighed slightly, "Many new patients have come to Huimin Hospital and can't stand the cold, so I sent some charcoal from the county government office over there. I put this charcoal brazier closer to them, so I don't feel cold."
As Song Wanyin took the food out of the box, she said, "It's good that you care about the people, but you can't completely disregard your own safety. If you get sick, your official duties will inevitably be delayed, and wouldn't the consequences be even more serious then?"
Wang Xian stepped forward, gently embraced Song Wanyin, and said with a smile, "Okay, husband knows he was wrong. Don't worry, wife, I will definitely pay more attention to myself in the future."
On top of the food box was a fragrant braised mutton, followed by a tender and delicious stir-fried shredded vegetables dish, and at the bottom was a pork rib soup and two bowls of rice.
Looking at the sumptuous meal, Wang Xian hesitated slightly. Song Wanyin knew exactly what he was thinking, so she closed the food box, took Wang Xian's hand, and led him outside.
In the courtyard of the county government office, a carriage was parked, and Shanhu, Song Wanyin's little maid, was leading two servants to unload things from the carriage.
Song Wanyin smiled and said, "How could I not know you? You always care about your subordinates. If they don't have enough to eat, how can you eat in peace? So you specially led several servants to start preparing early this morning and made a lot, enough for everyone in the yamen to eat."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xian was deeply moved. He held Song Wanyin's hand tightly, his eyes filled with affection. "My wife, we are truly of one mind. You know exactly what I'm thinking. Having you by my side is the greatest blessing of my life."
Seeing that the people below were also eating, Wang Xian felt relieved and gently took Song Wanyin's hand to sit down and eat with her.
***
The streets were bustling with people. Meng Zhao wasn't the only one out shoveling snow; she also ran into many acquaintances. After a busy morning, she was exhausted. Meng Zhao found a quiet spot, put down her shovel, and prepared to rest. Just then, a beautifully decorated carriage slowly drove up and stopped in front of her.
The carriage curtain was gently lifted, and a graceful woman stepped out. Meng Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Wanyin, what brings you here?"
Seeing Meng Zhao, Song Wanyin was also very happy. "I just went to buy some things and happened to pass by here on my way back. I saw you sitting by the roadside. What are you doing?"
Meng Zhao straightened up, patted off the few snowflakes clinging to his body, and replied with a smile, "There's too much snow on the streets, and lying at home wastes charcoal, so my family and I thought we'd come out and help clear some of the snow."
Seeing Meng Zhao like this, Song Wanyin couldn't help but feel very gratified. "If everyone were as righteous as Sister Zhao Zhao and would take the initiative to think of others, that would be wonderful."
In recent days, he had heard a lot from Wang Xian, who said that he had opened the granaries to distribute grain to the disaster victims, but there were too many disaster victims and the reserves were still not enough, so he was thinking of going out to buy grain to replenish the stock.
Unexpectedly, many merchants took the opportunity to raise prices, completely disregarding the lives of the disaster victims. Not only did the price of grain soar, but the price of charcoal also increased several times over.
Nowadays, charcoal is more expensive than rice on the market. He often curses those merchants at home for being greedy for profit and having no conscience.
Hearing Song Wanyin's sentiments, Meng Zhao just smiled lightly, "Actually, I'm doing this for my own business. After all, my shop was originally scheduled to open on the eighth day of the lunar new year. If the streets are difficult to navigate, who will buy my products?"
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