Chapter 36: The food was good
Liu Cheng, the head of the Liu family, put down his chopsticks and stood up. He called four strong men and went to check with torches.
"Sister, is Shitou back?" Xiaohuan came over and asked Shang Wan in a low voice.
Shang Wan nodded. "Besides him, there are two other people. Judging from the footsteps, they should be men."
Lu Chengjing was surprised. He could hear the noise at the village entrance from here. Does this woman have super hearing?
The light of the torch gradually faded away. After staying for a moment not far from the village entrance, it began to move into the village, gradually approaching where everyone was.
Most of the men in the village put down their chopsticks and looked vigilantly in the direction of the torches.
"Don't panic, it's the two officers from the yamen and Brother Shitou." Liu Cheng's voice was loud and everyone could hear it clearly.
Everyone's anxiety eased a little, and someone asked in confusion, "What are the officials doing in our village so late at night?"
Someone looked around and asked, "No one in our village has committed any crime, right?"
"Don't just stand there." Old Man Luo stood up and called out, "Hurry and get two stools out."
Luo Da and Luo Er immediately stood up and gave up the benches they were sitting on.
Li Dashan also lifted Xiaoshan up and made way for the bench.
Li Xiaoshan still had meat in his mouth. He twisted his little body in protest and glared at his brother, asking him to let him go.
Liu Cheng led his men over, and with the light of the surrounding torches, everyone could clearly see the faces of the two officers.
Shang Wan took a quick look and saw that he saw an acquaintance.
The person on the left is not the guard beside Lord An. Is his name Shen Liu or Shen Qi?
Old Man Luo stepped forward tremblingly and bowed. "I wonder what brings you two officers here so late at night?"
After experiencing the earthquake in broad daylight, Shen Qi originally thought that the situation in Elm Village would be the same as that in Willow Village, with chaos in the village, many casualties, and everyone in panic.
I never thought that this group of people were having a dinner together. Look at the plates of meat on the table, they seem to be eating quite well.
Shen Qi said: "I am here to inspect the villages under the orders of Lord An, to count the casualties, and to bring this little brother back."
The little brother he was referring to was naturally the stone.
The county town was also affected by the earthquake. To avoid chaos, Lord An ordered the city gates to be temporarily blocked and all the people in the city to be gathered in an open area. After the earthquake was over, they would be checked one by one and allowed to leave the city to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.
Chen Qi was assigned a mission by Lord An to lead his men to Willow Village and Elm Village to investigate the situation and count the casualties. On the way, he met Shi Tou, who was running out of breath. Upon learning that Shi Tou was from Elm Village, he gave him a ride.
When Shitou saw that none of his family members were missing, his heart, which had been hanging in the air all the way, finally settled down. He quickly ran to his family and asked about the situation at home.
Xiaohuan whispered to him.
When Shen Qi saw Shang Wan, he didn't expect that Shi Tou was actually Shang Wan's brother. He nodded to Shang Wan as a greeting.
The villagers all looked at Shang Wan in surprise, thinking that people from the city were different. Madam Shang actually knew the police officer from the yamen.
Old Man Luo observed the expressions of Chen Qi and the other man and tactfully invited them to the table for dinner. Worried that they would not be happy to sit at the same table with them, he even asked the villagers to help set up a small table for them.
"We can just eat something together." Shen Qi waved his hand to tell the villagers not to work hard, and pulled his colleague Shan Dajun to sit in an empty seat.
There were still many people in Liushu Village who had not been rescued, and many were missing. The yamen runners all stayed to help, but the two of them came to Yushu Village first.
On the way here, they were thinking of sending a signal to ask the master to send manpower, but they never expected that the situation in Elm Village was several times better than they expected.
Aunt Zhou quickly brought two sets of clean bowls and chopsticks and filled the bowl with rice.
Chen Qi and Shan Dajun were really hungry, so they greeted the villagers and then started eating.
At first, the villagers were too hesitant to pick up their chopsticks, but when they saw that Chen Qi and his chopsticks seemed to have eyes, staring at the meat in the dish, they immediately stopped caring about anything else. Those who were not full resumed their normal eating speed, and their chopstick skills became perfect.
There was a large table full of dishes, each with generous portions, but in the end, only the stewed vegetables were left.
If the rice had not been eaten up, there would be no vegetables left and they would have been mixed with rice and eaten by others.
Aunt Zhou and Aunt Zhang served each person a bowl of fish soup. Everyone slurped the soup and sighed with satisfaction.
After eating and drinking, it’s time to get down to business.
Chen Qi and Shan Dajun asked about the disaster situation in Yushu Village. Because of the friendship they had just had when they were fighting for food, the villagers were not as restrained as they were at the beginning. The answers of several elderly people were clear and to the point.
Shen Qi and the others were really surprised to hear that everyone in Elm Village had been rescued.
Liushu Village and Yushu Village are not far from each other. Judging from the damage to the houses and the ground, the two villages should be similar. Why are the casualties so different?
"Thanks to Madam Shang." Old Man Liu sighed, "If it weren't for Madam Shang's timely help, my grandson would have died long ago."
The Liu family has only one grandson, named Liu Yang.
When the earthquake occurred, Liu Yang was feeding pigs in the pigsty. A log fell down and knocked him unconscious.
The pigpen collapsed, and all the firewood piled on top fell down, burying this side directly.
The Liu family shouted at the top of their lungs but received no response, and they thought Liu Yang had gone to another house.
If Shang Wan had not smelled the blood and dug the person out, Liu Yang, a ten-year-old child, would have died in there after losing so much blood.
After finishing their work, the villagers gathered around, listening attentively to the official's words. As soon as Old Man Liu finished speaking, the villagers couldn't wait to praise Shang Wan.
"My father was also rescued by Madam Shang."
"My daughter also has to thank Madam Shang. Without her, this girl wouldn't be able to keep her legs."
"If Madam Shang hadn't passed by and pulled me up, I would have fallen into the crack in the ground."
…
The villagers talked one after another, and were surprised to find that Shang Wan had saved so many people in the village. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was the benefactor of the entire village.
Shen Qi knew Shang Wan's abilities and was able to remain calm, but Shan Dajun couldn't help but be curious, "Where is Madam Shang? Why not invite her over to talk?"
Yuanyuan fell asleep, and Shang Wan was bored and teasing her own vase. When she heard the villagers say that the official was looking for her, she simply took Lu Chengjing over with her.
Lu Chengjing, who was once again carried like a princess by his wife: "..."
He had lost all his face during the day and had no more face to lose at night, so he remained calm.
The villagers were also forced to get used to the young couple's upside-down behavior. Knowing that Lu Chengjing had a leg injury and could not stand, they specially made room for him.
Shang Wan thanked Lu Chengjing generously and put him down. She tucked his long black hair behind his ears. When she saw his red ears, she silently pulled them back and sat down beside him.
The faint fragrance of grass and trees drifted into his nose. Lu Chengjing looked at the smile on Shang Wan's face when she was talking to others. The embarrassment of being teased in his heart actually dissipated little by little, and was replaced by an inexplicable sense of peace.
As everyone was talking, a flash of lightning suddenly streaked across the dark night sky, followed by a muffled thunder that exploded in their ears.
"boom--"
Heavy rain came down in an instant.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
