Chapter 216 Disaster Relief
Soon, it was early August. Zi Tong, who was born on the second day of May, was now three months old.
"It's really hot this year. I remember it wasn't this hot around the Mid-Autumn Festival in previous years." Zhang Yufang looked at the scorching sun outside, sighed, and looked at the little Zi Tong with embarrassment.
Although Zitong is only three months old, she knows a lot. She doesn't like to stay in the house and likes to play outside.
The weather has been getting hotter these days. Lin Qian was afraid that the sun would be too strong and would burn Zitong's delicate skin, so she decided not to take Zitong out to play, which made Zitong a little noisy.
Lin Qian didn't care much. How could an adult be threatened by a baby who was only three months old? She said to Zhang Yufang, "Yes, the sun is too strong outside. If you go out for a while, you'll probably get a sunburn."
Zhang Yufang also knew that Lin Qian was right, but looking at the crying little Zitong, she felt a little sorry for her granddaughter.
"Mom, the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. Have you asked someone to buy the things we need?" Lin Qian changed the subject and asked Zhang Yufang something random.
Zhang Yufang originally planned to hand over the housekeeping matters to Lin Qian, but she had no interest in housekeeping. It would be better to let her read two medical books than to let her read the account books.
Sometimes Lin Qian has to go out to help people treat illnesses, and she would be busy for several days. In the end, Zhang Yufang is still in charge of the housekeeping affairs.
When Zhang Yufang heard this, she immediately remembered that this matter had not been handled yet, so she called the managers over and arranged it one by one.
The servants had just left after receiving the order when Wei Xiaoran, who had attended the court, came back. He looked as if he had been washed in water, with layer upon layer of his official uniform soaked with sweat, which showed how hot the weather outside was.
"Hurry up and drink a bowl of iced sour plum soup to cool down. Why did you come back so late today?" Lin Qian walked to Wei Xiaoran while holding Zi Tong and asked.
Wei Xiaoran drank a bowl of sour plum soup before saying, "Alas, there was an earthquake in Shu. I heard it was quite large, with many casualties. The Emperor is trying to find a solution, so he asked us ministers to stay and discuss countermeasures."
Shu? Isn't that Sichuan? Lin Qian immediately thought of the Wenchuan earthquake. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, she frowned and asked, "Was the earthquake widespread? Do you know how many people were killed or injured?"
Wei Xiaoran said, "The earthquake must have spread over a thousand miles. The number of casualties is too great to be counted immediately. There have only been two or three recorded earthquakes of this magnitude in history."
When Lin Qian heard this, her heart clenched tightly. In modern times, houses are built with cement mixed with steel bars, and there are so many casualties when an earthquake occurs.
Ancient houses were all made of wood. Lin Qian couldn't even imagine what the scene in the disaster area was like.
"Did the emperor say what to do?" Lin Qian asked Wei Xiaoran.
Wei Xiaoran's expression brightened slightly as he said, "Other matters haven't been finalized yet, but the disaster relief supplies and money are ready. A total of 20 million taels of silver, as well as a large amount of food, medicine, clothing, and other things. We're ready to go at any time."
The emperor lacked everything except money, so the moment he received the news of the earthquake, he immediately ordered people to prepare disaster relief supplies.
"Who did the emperor send to provide disaster relief?" Lin Qian asked.
"Shuo Shuo said that he is willing to lead troops to Shu to provide disaster relief and escort supplies. The emperor agreed." Wei Xiaoran said.
Lin Qian tightened her arms around Zi Tong, hesitated for a moment, and finally said to Wei Xiaoran, "I want to go to this disaster relief effort, too."
Zhang Yufang was the first to object. She exclaimed in shock, "No way! How can you go there when it's so dangerous? And Zitong is still so young. What will happen to her if you go?"
Although Wei Xiaoran didn't say anything, judging from his facial expression, he seemed to agree with Zhang Yufang.
Lin Qian shook her head and said, "It's because of the danger that I want to go. Earthquakes are often followed by plagues. If a plague occurs, who knows how many people will be killed or injured.
I am a doctor and I cannot just stand by and watch.”
The most important thing is that she has cold spring water. The current cold spring water is very effective. If she goes there, she can save more people.
Zhang Yufang wanted to persuade her again, but this time it was Wei Xiaoran who stopped her. Wei Xiaoran looked at Lin Qian and sighed, "Ah, I knew you would make this decision after hearing this news."
Lin Qian looked at Wei Xiaoran seriously, still holding her daughter in her arms. She said, "So, please support me."
Wei Xiaoran nodded and said, "Of course I will support you." After that, he looked at Zhang Yufang again and said to her, "Mother, the emperor has given me full responsibility for the disaster relief this time, so I will go to Shu with Shuoshuo. I will take good care of Qianqian, and Zitong will be left to you."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade the two, Zhang Yufang stamped her feet in anxiety, but did not say anything to stop them. She knew very well the personalities of Lin Qian and Wei Xiaoran. Once they made up their minds, they would not change them easily.
Finally, she could only sigh and nodded: "In that case, then you can go without worry, I will take good care of Zitong."
The couple looked at each other, walked over and expressed their gratitude to their mother.
At night, Lin Qian and Wei Xiaoran stayed awake all night. They both kept staring at their sleeping daughter until dawn.
In the morning, the two men handed their daughter to Zhang Yufang and left without looking back.
In addition to bringing supplies for the disaster relief, Lin Shuo also requested 50,000 soldiers. A long and powerful team marched out of the city gate, galloping towards Shu.
Lin Qian went to Shu as a military doctor this time, so she walked with the military doctors, but she had a separate carriage.
Lin Qian hadn't slept the whole night before, and now she wanted to take advantage of the boredom of the journey to catch up on some sleep. However, as soon as she closed her eyes, she felt the carriage shake, and then the curtain was lifted.
It was Lin Shuo who came in. Seeing him come in, Lin Qian raised her eyebrows and asked, "Why are you here? Do you have something to talk to me about?"
Lin Shuo nodded and said directly, "Sister, let's get the cement out! Shu is too prone to earthquakes, and wooden houses can't withstand it at all. If we replace them with concrete houses, they will definitely be safer."
"Cement? This is a good idea, but making cement is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and I don't know if it can be mass-produced." Lin Qian said after thinking carefully.
The main raw materials of cement are limestone, clay, iron ore and coal. These things are not difficult to find, but the difficult part is calcination. Lin Qian does not understand this, and does not know whether the ancient calcination technology and temperature can achieve the effect they want.
"Let's try it first. After we develop the cement, we'll show it to the emperor. He will take care of the rest." Lin Shuo said.
"Okay, after we return from disaster relief, we'll try to make some cement." Lin Qian nodded in agreement.
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