Chapter 101 Chapter 101 You are worthy of being called the Pure Land on Earth...
Perhaps because they had experienced too many tragedies, when the soldiers saw rows of people lying side by side on the ground, they subconsciously thought that they were the bodies of those who died in the disaster.
Watching the corpse sit up and open its eyes to look at them, it was no wonder that some timid soldiers thought it was a corpse and screamed.
Cui Cen was the first to realize that they might have misjudged him. First, there was no such thing as a corpse resurrecting, and second, the people before him clearly looked like they had just woken from sleep.
Thinking of this, his voice was slightly excited: "They are still alive!"
Hearing this, the panicked soldiers suppressed their fear and looked toward the square. Upon closer inspection, they discovered that, while these civilians were emaciated from hunger, they were still alive! They weren't just pretending to be dead; they had simply been awakened by the gatekeeper's shout and were now gradually sitting up.
Cui Cen patted his chest to calm down, then asked with lingering fear, "What's going on?"
The soldier guarding the gate was about to answer him when there was a sudden commotion in the square ahead.
After everyone woke up one after another, a child with a woman woke up and found that there was something wrong with her husband next to her. No matter how she shook him, he did not respond.
A middle-aged man, as thin as a stick and with a haggard face, opened his empty eyes and placed his hands together in front of his chest, as if he was praying for something. The chaotic sounds around him could not wake him up.
He was surrounded by a little boy who looked no more than ten years old and a middle-aged woman who seemed to be his wife.
"Dad! Wake up! We have food to eat! Wake up!"
"Husband, please don't scare me. Wake up, wuwuwu..."
The cries of the children and women made everyone's heart ache. But no matter how much they cried, the people lying there would never wake up and hug them.
Yan Zhuo walked forward quickly, bent down and checked the man's breath.
After a long time, he shook his head silently.
This person is already dead.
"Mr. County Magistrate!" Jiang Yong, the soldier who was guarding the gate before, shouted sadly and knelt in front of the middle-aged man.
His shouting made Cui Cen and the others stare in disbelief. Compared to the fat, big-eared officials before, the skinny appearance of the Jinghe County Magistrate really made it difficult to immediately associate him with the position of County Magistrate.
Although he already had a guess in his mind, Yan Zhuo still asked, "Is he Magistrate Zhou of Jinghe County?"
Judging from the disaster reports, he was deeply impressed by Magistrate Zhou of Jinghe County. While other counties submitted one disaster report a day, the contents were often exaggerated and frivolous, but Jinghe County was different. Magistrate Zhou submitted at least three reports a day, sometimes five, six, or even seven or eight, and the contents were factual and substantiated.
Petrochemical Town, with a population of 5,000, dared to ask for 50,000 dan of grain. Yan Zhuo looked around and roughly estimated that the population of Jinghe County was about 10,000, but it only asked for 15,000 dan of grain.
Jiang Yong's eyes were red as he burst into tears: "Yes, thanks to the county magistrate, we were able to survive. I didn't expect..."
More and more people came over. Seeing this scene, I don’t know who started sobbing first, and then everyone couldn’t help crying. The high and low cries mixed together, which made people feel very uncomfortable.
As they cried, they recounted the deeds of County Magistrate Zhou:
"It was the county magistrate who built a porridge stall and opened a granary here, so that everyone could have a bowl of thin porridge. That's why we didn't starve to death."
"Some of us came from the neighboring county. We were so hungry that we heard there was food here, so we fled here. It was the county magistrate who took us in and gave us food. He's like our second parents!"
The old man who used to work as a lawyer in the county government stood up and said, "The crops in Jinghe County have not been very productive in recent years. After the crops were handed over to the court, there was not much food left in the granary. Many refugees fled from the neighboring towns and villages, and the county magistrate kindly took them in. At the beginning, each household could receive half a bushel of rice, and everyone tightened their belts and ate sparingly, so they could still hold on. But who would have thought..."
Having said this, he sighed softly, as if he couldn't bear to continue.
Hearing this, Yan Zhuo frowned, vaguely sensing that there must be something else going on, so he asked, "What happened next?"
Jiang Yong's eyes were red as he angrily shouted, "It's all those corrupt officials! Some time ago, a corrupt official in the nearby county sold all the grain in his granary for money, leaving him with insufficient grain. When he heard we had grain, he sent people to rob us. We were caught off guard and they stole most of our grain."
All the soldiers present couldn't help but clench their fists. It was those bastard officers who had done this again! They began to reflect on themselves. Was it too easy for them to kill those beasts with one blow?
At this critical moment when the people of Yanzhou are in dire straits, it would be fine if they didn't help, but they even harmed them. They are worse than pigs and dogs!
Jiang Yong wiped his tears and continued, "The remaining grain was simply not enough to distribute to everyone. The county magistrate had no choice but to build this tent with everyone, and contributed his own grain. He lived and ate here with everyone, and made thin porridge out of the remaining grain to distribute to everyone. He closed the city gates because he was afraid they would come to rob again."
"Later, when there was only enough food to cook one last pot, the county magistrate suggested that everyone have a bowl of thin porridge, drink it, and sleep here to wait for rescue. Once you fall asleep, you won't feel hungry anymore."
Even Yan Zhuo couldn't help being moved after hearing this. He looked at the body of County Magistrate Zhou with admiration. Compared with those corrupt officials, this was the real breadwinner for the people!
"The county magistrate guessed that the relief team would arrive soon, so he sent me to guard the city gate so that he could open it for you as soon as possible. He was afraid that I would faint from hunger, so he specially let me drink two bowls of porridge..."
Having said that, Jiang Yong suddenly seemed to have thought of something and looked at the ground in a daze.
County Magistrate Zhou lay there, his pale lips chapped and cracked, showing he hadn't eaten in a long time. Suddenly, Jiang Yong understood something. He turned around and kowtowed violently several times towards County Magistrate Zhou's wife and children, blood gushing out.
"I'm sorry! It was me who killed County Magistrate Zhou! I..."
It turned out that the bowl of porridge that County Magistrate Zhou gave him was not extra, but County Magistrate Zhou’s own!
Just as he was about to say something, County Magistrate Zhou's wife, Yang, helped him up.
"I don't blame you. I know my husband's personality. I really don't blame you..."
As she said this, she couldn't help crying.
Yan Zhuo watched everything in front of him silently, not knowing how to comfort them.
"I'm sorry we're late. But don't worry, I will protect the people here for you."
He walked forward and gently helped County Magistrate Zhou close his eyes.
"You are a true hero."
After Yan Zhuo finished saying this, the people of the whole city knelt down spontaneously one after another and kowtowed three times deeply. This was the people's way of bidding farewell to the County Magistrate Zhou, whom they loved.
All the soldiers took off their helmets and bowed deeply to the body of County Magistrate Zhou. They also strengthened their determination and confidence to save the people of Yanzhou and save this land. They would never let County Magistrate Zhou down!
Because the porridge stall had already been set up, Cui Cen and his team quickly built a fire and cooked rice porridge. Everything went on in an orderly manner.
The refugees smelled the aroma of rice porridge and looked hungry. Cui Cen couldn't bear it, but he had to refuse them.
"Not yet. We have to wait a little longer."
Because they were worried that the refugees had not eaten for too long and their stomachs would not be able to handle something too hard all at once, they specially cooked the rice porridge to make it softer and smoother.
The refugees endured hunger without showing any dissatisfaction, and lined up obediently on the side.
Finally, everyone drank the fragrant rice porridge that melted in their mouths. They smiled at each other, expressing their joy after surviving the disaster.
Seeing their happy smiles, the soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief. This was the happiest day they had experienced in so many days. The refugees' survival was also a kind of redemption for them.
Since arriving in Yanzhou, they have witnessed too much danger and despair. Just when they were about to lose hope in the light and thought that everything around them had fallen into hell, they discovered that there was such a pure land in the world.
A hero protects the pure land with his own strength.
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