Chapter 602 Site Selection
"What do you know? The Marquis's mansion is a prestigious family. She's just a concubine; she has to maintain appearances. Alright, let's not worry about that now and hurry up!"
After the leader finished speaking, he directed everyone to start digging a hole, but because of the rain, the digging was not going so smoothly.
Seeing how difficult it was for those people, Gu Shuyan was practically frantic with worry. Wuyin also clenched her hands, hoping they could hurry up.
After an unknown amount of time, when the pit was finally dug, it was filled with rainwater.
"What should we do?" someone asked.
If you bury a person like that, the entire coffin will be soaked by rainwater.
"What do you mean, 'what to do'? We're only responsible for burying the people, not for what happens to the coffins!"
There's a saying in the Great Zhou Dynasty that coffins shouldn't be soaked in water, as it will bring misfortune to one's descendants. However, Niao Cui had no children, so whether this saying is true or not is irrelevant to her.
Seeing the others dawdling, the leader simply put the coffin into the puddle himself, picked up a shovel, and got to work.
Seeing the water gushing out, Gu Shuyan became even more nervous. In order to ensure air circulation inside the coffin, Gu Shuyan deliberately had two small holes left. Now, these ventilation holes made it easy for the water to flow into the coffin.
"Madam!" Wuxin looked over with concern, but his voice was drowned out by the rain.
Gu Shuyan raised her hand slightly. Even though she was just as worried, the time had already been delayed, so they could only continue to wait.
The group of people filled the coffin with soil in a half-hearted manner, with both groups eagerly awaiting its completion.
"Alright, let's go!"
Before the graves were even piled up in a row, the leader impatiently tossed the shovel to the person next to him.
Those around him knew the man's temper well, and seeing his displeasure, Dangzi didn't dare to speak. He glanced at the grave mound and quickly followed.
Only after the group disappeared into the rain did Gu Shuyan wave her hand, and Wuxin led her people to surround them.
"Go and see if those people have gone far away."
Gu Shuyan glanced at Wuxin, who had no complaints about Gu Shuyan's caution and quickly followed after her.
Because those people hadn't buried the coffin properly, the people who hadn't intended to bring it didn't take much effort to dig it out.
As soon as the coffin lid was opened, Wuxin immediately pulled Niaocui up.
After feeding Niao Cui the medicine that Gu Shuyan had instructed, Niao Cui finally opened her eyes.
Seeing the unfamiliar situation, Niao Cui only reacted for a moment before quickly climbing out of the coffin.
Seeing this scene, Gu Shuyan did not go up to greet her, but was helped back to the carriage by her maid.
On the way back to the Yun residence, Pearl couldn't help but ask, "Madam, why are you so concerned about whether Niao Cui can wake up?"
Gu Shuyan has never been one to enjoy trouble, but this time she is so concerned about Niao Cui's condition that she even went so far as to make this trip in the pouring rain, which is quite unusual.
Gu Shuyan leaned back on the carriage seat, and upon hearing this, she simply smiled without answering Pearl's question.
She was certainly not so bored as to care about Niao Cui's life or death, but Niao Cui could still help her with another important matter, so how could she just watch her die?
Just as she was given silver notes, Gu Shuyan didn't need a useless person, which is why she cared so much about her life or death.
After Gu Shuyan returned to the Marquis's residence, she finally received the first letter from Yun Yichen.
Adhering to the principle of reporting only good news and not bad news, Yun Yichen did not tell her about his true situation in Suzhou.
Even so, Gu Shuyan still managed to get information from the other side. For example, Xu Yunzhi's people sent back the most accurate information.
Upon learning of the severity of the disaster in Suzhou, Xu Yunzhi did not delay any longer. After arranging some matters, he returned to Jin to procure food for Gu Shuyan.
Meanwhile, under Yun Yichen's arrangement, the grain stored in He Biyou was slowly smuggled out of the old city of Suzhou under the cover of night.
As for their gold and silver treasures, not a single one was left; Yun Yichen took them all to fund the construction of the new city.
Thirty miles northwest of the original Suzhou city, the site was chosen as the new city location the day before, and all the residents of the abandoned city moved there along with the government officials and soldiers within a single day.
"Master, what do we do next?"
After arranging all the food supplies, Zhong Lin sneaked into Yun Yichen's tent under the cover of night.
Yun Yichen seemed to have been waiting for him all along, and handed Zhong Lin a drawing as soon as he saw him.
"Next, the Ministry of Works will begin constructing Suzhou City. Most of the refugees left behind will be conscripted. However, the government's grain reserves are clearly running low, so we will need a grain delivery team from the Ministry of Revenue. At that time, you will use my letter to intercept the grain delivered by the Ministry of Revenue, and then arrange for a few people to impersonate officials from the Ministry of Revenue to deliver the grain. Remember, each delivery should only cover three days' worth of grain."
"What about the refugees outside?"
Because Yun Yichen arranged for porridge distribution, to this day, all the surviving refugees have gone to their porridge distribution point.
"Continue to distribute porridge, but we must keep our food storage location secret. In a couple of days, I will have the Vice Minister of Works go and take a look, and help them choose a site to rebuild their homes."
Yun Yichen's actions were risky; leaving as many refugees as possible would make those who were used to being idle lazy.
Moreover, even if a lot of food was brought out from the city, such a large number of refugees would not last long.
The best way to prevent refugees from leaving their homeland in large numbers is to quickly build them their own homes. With a home and a place to live, these refugees will truly have something to rely on.
The next day, Yun Yichen summoned the Vice Minister of Works early in the morning.
"Does Lord Yun have something to discuss with me?"
Vice Minister Geng has been extremely busy lately. He has to travel around every day and carefully avoids refugee settlements with his men to avoid being noticed by He Biyou and others.
Looking at the bruises under Geng Shilang's eyes, Yun Yichen felt sorry for him, but he had no choice but to reveal his own plans.
"I have read the information that Lord Geng reported. Although the houses were severely destroyed in this disaster, the natural landscape of these areas is mostly intact. Therefore, I would like to ask you to take a closer look and see if houses can be rebuilt in these areas!"
Yun Yichen marked all the areas on the map, clearly indicating which places were dangerous and which were safe, and wrote down the situation in each place in detail.
Although the Vice Minister of Works has recently inspected many places, he has only made simple markings. He has never seen anyone as meticulous as Yun Yichen.
For a moment, Vice Minister Geng admired Yun Yichen from the bottom of his heart. He used to think that Yun Yichen was only good at making plans, but he did not expect that when it came to doing things, Yun Yichen was just as good.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
