Chapter 25 Orders Jiang to Find Someone
Where did Brother Lianghan go?
Xie Lingjiang hadn't seen Ouyang Rong for several days.
After settling down at the Su family's house, she went to the county government office several times in the past few days to look for Ouyang Rong, but she didn't see him or see him coming to see her.
The last time they met was three days ago. Zhen sent someone to invite her to lunch at Meilu Garden. Halfway through the meal, Xie Lingjiang was still dealing with Zhen's conversation when she saw the young magistrate hurriedly put down his bowl and leave the table. She thought he had gone to the toilet, but he never came back.
On a sunny afternoon, after having lunch with her uncle's family at the Su residence, Xie Lingjiang practiced long-range shooting in the back garden for a while. She estimated that the county government's lunch break was about to end, so she declined her aunt Su's invitation for afternoon tea and went to the county government ahead of time.
Xie Lingjiang waited for a long time, but all the officials in the yamen were on duty and there was still no sign of Ouyang Rong. She asked one of the yamen runners, but he didn't know either.
Where are they?
She rushed to the Deer Park and found Madam Zhen.
"Does Auntie know where Brother Lianghan has gone?"
"Is your husband not at the county office?"
"He's not here; I haven't seen him for several days."
"So you miss him?"
"..." Xie Lingjiang said with a straight face, "No. I am his advisor. Why didn't you call me when there was something going on?"
"It's alright. When he comes back tonight, your aunt will teach him a lesson for you."
Madam Zhen smiled, but she also knew that this noble lady Xie was not to be teased too much. The woman in the silk skirt thought for a moment and then said:
“These past few days I’ve noticed that Tanlang has been in a hurry, walking with a brisk pace, and coming home late every day. I don’t know what he’s been up to, but he always comes back covered in dirt. Once he even came back covered in mud… Yesterday morning Yan Liulang came to pick him up, and I overheard them talking about something about a campsite in the suburbs. Wanwan could go and look for it in the suburbs.”
"Thank you, Auntie."
Without a word, Xie Lingjiang turned and left Luming Street. After asking for directions, she headed towards the outskirts of the city. However, the sights she encountered along the way surprised her:
She still remembered that some time ago, when she and Ouyang Rong went down the mountain to send her father to the ferry, they saw a large number of refugees with their families everywhere, whether in the bustling streets of Longcheng County or on the official road outside the city.
But as Xie Lingjiang walked along the street today, she noticed that while not all the refugees had disappeared, there were not many left. Most of them were women, children, the elderly, and some children running around. Although they still looked pale, their faces no longer showed the bewilderment and ashen complexion they had displayed a few days ago when they were starving and staggering on the ground.
In addition, perhaps because there were fewer young and middle-aged people among them, the security situation along the way was much better.
The young and middle-aged refugees she occasionally encountered were either carrying bricks and tiles, or carrying loads of water, hurrying past her, or busy on the ruins of dilapidated houses by the roadside.
Xie Lingjiang looked surprised, but when she arrived at the outskirts of the city...
She finally knew where most of the refugees had gone.
Xie Lingjiang stood on a small hill with a local earth god temple, gazing into the distance.
In the suburbs between Longcheng County and Dagushan Mountain, where Donglin Temple is located, lies a vast expanse of fields after the floodwaters have receded. The golden sunlight shines like a spoonful of boiling oil poured onto crispy, golden-brown pancakes.
The large groups of refugees, some gathered together and others scattered in twos and threes, busily working, along with the newly erected sheds and thatched huts, were like drops of hot oil on a freshly fried pancake, dancing actively before the eyes of this noblewoman Xie. A vibrant life force, completely different from "grass and trees growing and spring mountains in sight," was bursting forth on the land ahead.
Xie Lingjiang felt that this was not like the melancholy spring day, but rather like the hardworking golden autumn she had seen when her father took her to the family manor in autumn when she was a child.
This vibrant life that changes the seasons in the mountains and fields made her silently jump down the hill and spontaneously move closer.
Xie Lingjiang entered the disaster relief camp that was under construction in full swing. She saw women and children delivering water and picking fruit, men driving piles and erecting sheds, and cooks boiling water. She looked around as she went, and when she encountered some officials in blue robes directing and maintaining order, she did not forget to inquire about Ouyang Rong.
"Miss, you asked about the magistrate? I met him and Constable Yan eating on the ridge of the field at noon. It seems they went to the newly built Shuangjiang Camp in the afternoon. The Shuangjiang Camp just started construction yesterday. The magistrate is very strict about the location of the latrines in each disaster relief camp and does not allow people to use the toilet anywhere. He personally supervises the construction of each camp."
"Frost Camp?" Xie Lingjiang asked curiously.
"Walk south from Shuangjiang Camp, and the relief camp under your feet is called Guyu (Grain Rain), and the one next to it is called Lixia (Start of Summer). These were all names given by the county magistrate. He said he wanted to build twenty-four relief camps in the suburbs, and the names would be perfect for each solar term. The county magistrate is really cultured..."
Xie Lingjiang chuckled, bid farewell to the young official in blue, and continued her search for the person southward...
Xie Lingjiang found Ouyang Rong in the evening.
When she first arrived at the southernmost Shuangjiang Camp, which had just begun construction, the "Radish Magistrate" that the refugees were talking about was not there.
According to the clerk who stayed behind at the camp, not long before she arrived, news came that some able-bodied men in the Qingming camp to the north had suffered bone injuries, so the county magistrate rushed to find a doctor.
Thus, the two senior and junior disciples missed each other perfectly.
So after circling around for a long time in the afternoon, and just before sunset, Xie Lingjiang finally found someone resting on a muddy ridge in a field where the water had just receded.
The latter didn't seem too surprised to see her. He wiped his hands on the hem of his clothes, which was already covered in dirt and mud, smiled, and took the clean water bag that she silently handed him.
"you……"
Xie Lingjiang was initially a little annoyed, wondering why this guy was running around everywhere and making her search all afternoon. But seeing him tilting his head back and gulping down water like a thirsty man, she changed her mind and asked softly:
Why do they call you "Radish Magistrate"?
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong sighed with emotion: "I thought the pickled radishes from Donglin Temple were already delicious enough, but I didn't expect the pickled radishes brought by the aunties and grandmas to be even better. I couldn't help but eat more over the past few meals. Brother Jiang, it seems that the real masters are among the common people."
Among the several attendants and officials who were resting exhausted on the ridge of the field, one of them couldn't help but interject:
“These days, Magistrate Ming has been taking us to eat porridge with the disaster victims in the suburbs every day. When Lord Yan couldn’t bear to see this, he went to find some pickled radishes. Magistrate Ming eats them with every meal. The term ‘Radish Magistrate’ is a respectful way of addressing the people, and it has spread both inside and outside the city.”
Xie Lingjiang was somewhat amused and exasperated. It felt like you were treating this pickled radish as a reward.
She said directly to Ouyang Rong, "Then I'll have to try it when we have dinner tonight."
Ouyang Rong nodded helplessly. Seeing the sun setting in the west, he carefully instructed the officials and attendants behind him about the disaster relief camp after a busy day. The group then took their orders and left.
As the setting sun cast its slanting rays upon the ridges of the fields, only the two disciples from the White Deer Cave Academy remained, along with their two long, slanted shadows.
Xie Lingjiang ignored the dirt and sat down next to Ouyang Rong.
She held her sword across her lap, her starry eyes fixed on the red sun hiding behind Dagushan Mountain. From this angle, the ancient temple on the mountain, belonging to the Southern Lotus Sect, was pitch black, only outlined by golden light.
"Have you been busy with all this these days? Did you organize all of this? Is this what you called... work relief?" the noble lady from the Xie family asked.
"Twelve thousand nine hundred and eighty-one people," the young magistrate suddenly said, without replying.
"What?" she asked, puzzled.
"In the fourth month of the first year of the Great Zhou Shengli era, the Yunmeng Marsh was flooded, and Longcheng was submerged. As of noon today, it has caused 12,981 disaster victims, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the county's population."
"Among them, there are 4,373 people who are orphans, the elderly, the sick, or the weak and unable to support themselves."
"Approximately 1,100 people are missing. Among them, those who fled to other counties are unknown; those who are dead are unknown."
Xie Lingjiang fell silent, then turned to look at him as he continued counting:
"As of yesterday, the granary held 9,817 shi of grain..."
"It is planned to build 24 disaster relief camps, 18 of which have been roughly constructed. Thirty-three food distribution points and soup kitchens have been set up, stipulating that each person receives one liter of relief food per day, and children receive half a liter."
"To prevent trampling, men and women will receive their rations separately, for two days' worth at a time... No one may leave the relief camp without a valid reason, otherwise no rations will be issued..."
"To date, through the work-for-relief program, a total of 2,700 able-bodied men have been recruited, requiring 3,600 laborers, who are paid with millet."
"Another 800 able-bodied men were sent to build dilapidated houses for 90 wealthy households inside and outside the city who still had surplus wealth. The work took 930 days, and the wealthy households paid for it themselves..."
Ouyang Rong recited these numbers, which he had already calculated countless times in his mind, then let out a long breath and turned to his junior sister, who was staring at him blankly, and said seriously:
"This operation has been basically revitalized. We will proceed according to the rules and regulations established in recent days, ensuring that women, children, and the elderly have enough to eat, and that the able-bodied are not left idle. They should work to provide relief, harvest surplus grain, and rebuild their homes after the disaster ends..."
"Right now, we are just waiting for more disaster relief grain from the imperial court and Jiangzhou to arrive before we begin to rebuild new flood control structures."
In the last rays of the setting sun, Xie Lingjiang saw the young county magistrate rise somewhat excitedly, point to the people working diligently in the fields, and ask with a hint of doubt:
"So why should we beg those local tyrants and benevolent gentlemen to give us thin porridge? Why should we be treated like livestock and fed with charity? What these people need is not a little bit of food that is exploited and then given back to them. What these hardworking and capable people need is a piece of land that they can cultivate, a small home where they can build their own houses, and a job where they can use their hard work and sweat. They don't need anyone's charity."
Then, Xie Lingjiang, who was growing hotter and hotter from the cold wind and even hugging her sword tightly, saw her senior brother, who had transformed into a dark figure along with the mountains and ancient temples, calmly say:
"To hell with that great philanthropist."
She saw "qi" again.
(End of this chapter)
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