No one expected that Xu Rao would come over right after breakfast.
After receiving the letter yesterday, he led his men on horseback to this place. Yesterday afternoon, they camped by a river. After discovering something unusual, he arranged for someone to return to Liaodong to report the news, while he and the rest of his men continued their journey here. His wife and children are here. Xu Rao felt that no matter what happened, as long as his family was together, he had nothing to fear.
They traveled until midnight, and could no longer stay awake. They found an open area to set up camp, but soon after, they felt the tremors. Xu Rao became even more anxious, fearing that Chen Zhaoci and the others were in the epicenter. Xu Rao knew that place, of course; it was the place with the most mountains along the way from Ganzhou to Liaodong.
Finally, dawn broke, and Xu Rao led his men on their way.
After entering the town, Xu Rao saw that although many houses were damaged, the people's mental state was still good, so he knew that they must have taken precautions after seeing some strange phenomena.
When some members of the Xu family saw Xu Rao, they quickly led him toward Chen Zhaoci. After the couple met, even though they had been together for decades, Chen Zhaoci still felt her eyes well up with tears.
Xu Rao didn't care anymore, grabbed Chen Zhaoci's hand and said, "Luckily you're all alright."
Chen Zhaoci was also very happy and asked with a smile, "How did you get here so quickly? I thought you wouldn't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest."
Xu Rao said, "We rode horses here, so our journey was naturally fast. Are Uncle, Ayuan, and Abo all alright?"
Chen Zhaoci said somewhat sadly, "Don't worry, we're all fine. It's just that there aren't many people left in the village where the landslide happened yesterday."
Thinking of the scene in the village after the landslide, Chen Zhaoci felt as if a piece of cloth was stuck in his heart, heavy and suffocating.
Seeing that Chen Zhaoci was in a bad mood, Xu Rao quickly patted Chen Zhaoci's back gently and said, "Don't be sad, everything will be alright. We're here, and we'll be able to lead these people out of this mess and find a way to live a better life."
When Wu Muyue heard that Xu Rao had arrived, he quickly came over from outside. He saw Chen Zhaoci and Xu Rao holding hands and standing in front of the tent from afar. He couldn't help but stroke his beard and nod with a smile. These two people have always had such a good relationship since he met them. It's truly enviable.
Xu Rao had already seen Wu Muyue and quickly came over to pay his respects.
Wu Muyue said, "Come over here, let's have a good talk." He turned around and asked A Yin, who had been attending to him, to call Xu Bai and Chen Yuyuan over.
Xu Bai and Chen Yuyuan have been helping some families in the town with their affairs. The village head is very busy. He is not only busy with the town's affairs, but also with the affairs of some villages. He needs to be responsible for the disaster situation in each village. Most importantly, he needs to count the casualties. Later, not only the county will check this, but the prefecture also needs this. The imperial court relies on this to allocate disaster relief materials.
Xu Bai had already heard that Xu Rao had arrived. When A Yin went to find him, Xu Bai had already found Chen Yuyuan. After the two of them settled in and washed their hands and feet, they prepared to come and see Xu Rao. A Yin led the two of them to Wu Muyue's tent.
Breakfast was ready and laid out on the table. Wu Muyue said, "Let's eat and chat."
When Xu Bai saw Xu Rao, he immediately rushed into Xu Rao's arms and said happily, "Dad, you're here! You came so quickly, that's great! Dad, I really missed you."
Xu Rao was very happy to see his youngest son. Then, looking at Chen Yuyuan following behind Xu Bai, he smiled and said, "Yuan, I've heard from your aunt that you and Abo did a lot this time. Your uncle is very proud of you."
Chen Yuyuan's face flushed with joy, and she kept smiling at Xu Rao with her lips pursed.
Wu Muyue had always known that Xu Rao was very kind to children, not only the three children of the Xu family, but also the children of the Marquis's mansion, and he was the one who liked Xu Rao the most among his father's brothers.
After Xu Bai sat down, he took Xu Rao's hand and asked, "Father, with such a severe natural disaster happening here, will any relief supplies be sent over?"
Xu Rao pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, I have only just taken office and I am not really clear about how Liaodong Prefecture provides relief during natural disasters. However, I think this earthquake is quite serious. I will submit a memorial to the court and request that the court send us relief funds and supplies."
Xu Bai nodded, then sighed as he thought of Wangjia Village at the foot of the mountain, where only a few rooftops remained. He said, "Everything else is fine, but Wangjia Village is gone. There are hardly any people left in the village. It's practically a village now. It's no longer a suitable place to live. We have to properly resettle the survivors."
Xu Rao felt sad when she thought about the scene she saw on her way here. There is a big difference between hearing about or seeing such things and experiencing them firsthand. Whether it is a landslide or an earthquake, it is not even worth mentioning in history, but for those who have experienced it, it is a mountain that crushes them and even takes their lives.
Wu Muyue liked Xu Bai's childlike innocence very much. He listened to Xu Bai and Xu Rao talking with a smile, and saw Xu Bai frowning as he thought about how to say it properly.
Xu Bai talked for a while, and seeing that Chen Yuyuan had been sitting quietly listening beside him, he gently nudged him and said, "Yuan, don't you also have something to say?"
Chen Yuyuan smiled shyly. Xu Rao saw this and encouraged her with a smile, "Oh? Yuyuan also has something to say. Come on, let's all listen to what Yuyuan has to say."
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