As evening approached, the tsunami finally receded. Yin and Yin specially sent someone to invite the old fishermen and ask them when it would be appropriate to return home.
Qingyan sat down next to him and, seeing the old fisherman's restrained demeanor, quickly stepped forward to soothe him.
"Grandpa, we came here to ask when you can go out. Haixiao promised to take you shopping!" Qingyan said with a faint smile.
Seeing Qingyan's warm smile, the old fishermen's nervousness upon seeing the prince gradually dissipated.
“Madam, if you want to go out, it will be a few more days. The tsunami has just passed, and the streets outside are definitely not cleaned up yet. It’s best not to let the young princes and princesses see that scene.” The old fisherman gave a rough date, and Qingyan had Su Lan give him the reward money and send him off.
"As expected, we still need my sister-in-law to step in. We spoke up, but the old fisherman didn't say a word." Yin shook his head, finding the old fisherman amusing. He was stuttering and stammering, unable to utter a single sentence.
“Brother, you’re all being too serious!” Qingyan laughed. “The highest official the old fishermen have ever met is the prefect, so if you try to force it, it will probably backfire.”
The hall fell silent instantly. Both Yin and Yin knew that now that the tsunami was over, things outside were in complete chaos. The people would have to clean up and settle accounts for all the losses after they returned home.
"Fourth, should we send out the naval soldiers to help the people clean up the streets?" Qingyan pondered for a moment. If they relied on the local people to clean up, it would definitely take half a month.
"Hmm?!" Yin glanced at Qingyan. "If possible, let them go over. It would be good if they could lend a hand!"
"Fourth brother, we still need to resume training here. Letting them out now is not a good idea!" Yin felt uneasy.
"Let's release them as Qingyan suggested," Yin nodded. "Besides, consider it a form of training!"
Yin considered that such disasters would certainly not be isolated incidents in coastal areas. He needed to teach the naval soldiers how to save themselves and how to help restore production so that they could handle similar disasters if they occurred again.
“Let’s each take one of our younger brothers to the disaster relief effort. Let’s have our wives and siblings come along too. It’s a way of showing our support. Father’s decree hasn’t arrived yet, so we should at least do what we can,” Yin said directly.
"Big brother, I'll go with you." Yin looked around and decided to hand Thirteen over to Yin. "Fourth brother, I'm young, so it'll be easier for me to be managed if I go with big brother. At least thirteenth brother can lend you a hand!"
Yin laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Fourteenth, you think your elder brother can protect you, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yin felt embarrassed and reached out to touch the back of his head.
"Big brother, my abilities are too limited. It wouldn't be good if I held Fourth Brother back!" Yin nodded.
“Alright, Thirteen will come with me. The children will stay at the base for now, and Bayan, Zhang Desheng, and Suzhu will take care of them.” Yin nodded. “When do we leave?”
Yin considered for a moment: "We should try to act quickly. As the old fishermen said, it's a chaotic time outside. Once we've packed everything up, we can open the warehouse."
"Forget it, let Yuelai Inn open a porridge stall first. It will take you some time to raise the funds. Consider these porridge tents as a donation from Yuelai Inn!" Qingyan said directly.
Whenever a disaster strikes, Yuelai Inn is always the first to make donations. They act faster than the prefect, following the rules of Yuelai Inn, and providing disaster relief as soon as possible within the limits permitted by the innkeepers.
"Little darling, thank you so much this time!" Yin said gratefully.
"What are you talking about? It's always Yuelai Inn that takes the lead. Don't worry, the merchants will be able to get moving soon." Qingyan waved his hand, not caring at all.
Upon hearing this, Yin decided to follow Qingyan's suggestion.
"Fourth Prince, you and Xiao Guai stay here. The Fujin and I will go to the county town. The people here have stockpiled some grain; that should make it easier to help them!" Yin decided to go personally. Those prefects were mostly slippery, and Yin himself was stubborn, so going against them would be risky.
"Big brother, I'll control my temper. After all, Xiao Guai can manage the shops." Yin shook his head. They definitely had to go to the county town, and it would be best if Qingyan went there.
After arguing for a while, Yin and Yin decided that Yin would go to the county town.
As dawn broke, two carriages slowly drove out of the base. Qingyan leaned against Yin's shoulder, half asleep, listening to Yin constantly giving Erlu orders, instructing them to disperse a portion of the people and hide them among the common folk.
"Fourth Brother, could someone be instigating this?!" Qingyan, upon hearing this while still lucid, became curious. "Everyone is suffering from the disaster; instead of focusing on disaster relief, what else could they be instigating?"
This situation is different from the earthquake. People are busy cleaning up their houses, so how can they think about these things?
"Prevention is better than cure!" Yin waved Erlu away. "Eat plenty of breakfast first; we have a lot to do today!"
Qingyan accompanied him to the county town, which was also a test. The county magistrate was the crown prince's man, and if he said something wrong, he might hit the crown prince's weak spot.
After breakfast, Qingyan rested for a while before the carriage stopped.
"Master, we've arrived at the yamen. The prefect is paying his respects at the gate!" Su Peisheng reported to Yin from the carriage shaft.
"Get out of the car!" Yin calmly gave the order.
Qingyan, wearing a cap, followed Yin off the carriage, and the prefect knelt on the ground to greet him.
"Let's go inside first!" Yin and Qingyan went inside together. After the two sat down, the prefect stood in the main hall and talked about the disaster situation in the city.
"The yamen runners have all gone out to help the people clean up the mess," the prefect reported. "His Highness the Crown Prince gave prior orders for me to cooperate with the Fourth Prince's command!"
The Crown Prince's advance warning was a way of preparing a backup plan for himself. If the disaster relief efforts here could be completed safely, he should still have more say in front of Emperor Kangxi.
"How much grain is stored in the government granary?" Yin asked.
"It can last at least a month!" the prefect said. "Moreover, I have already submitted a memorial to the higher authorities, preparing to request grain from them!"
The prefect had acted ahead of time, and his actions pleased Yin. Although the prefect had taken sides, he was still quite good to the people.
"Alright, you will personally take charge of the disaster relief efforts. I will report to Father Emperor to recommend you for commendation!" Yin nodded in satisfaction. "After the disaster relief is over, submit the account books and the details of the losses to the base!"
"Yes!" The prefect knelt down and responded.
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