Chapter 15 Natural and Man-Made Disasters
The rain continued for nine days.
Nine days is a disaster for a field of ripe wheat.
For the villagers in the southern wilderness, it was almost a disaster.
All the grain they had had had been used to make dry food. They couldn't harvest the wheat, so how would they survive until the autumn harvest? They had no money and no food in reserve, and the thought of it was terrifying.
On the third day of the rain, the young and strong laborers in the village could no longer stay and went up the mountain in the rain to cut the wet wheat, carry it back, and roast it over the fire. Zhao Yancheng and Qian Fu did this. They could not wait for the rain to stop, nor could they afford to wait.
An old woman like Grandma Liu has no young and strong laborers around her. Her neighbors are already busy taking care of themselves, so naturally they cannot take care of her wheat fields.
Granny Liu braved the rain and went up the hill, carrying a cloth bag on her back. She used a pair of scissors to cut the wheat ears and put them into the cloth bag. She filled the front pocket and then exchanged it with the empty bag on the back. After both pockets were full, she slowly carried them back home.
After running three times like this, it was rainy and the road was slippery. On her way home, Granny Liu accidentally fell and the scissors pierced her left arm. She struggled to get home, bleeding all the way. It was Mrs. Li next door who saw Granny Liu when she was waiting for her husband at the door.
He immediately ran out and ran to help Grandma Liu back. He tried to tie the bleeding with a cloth, but the bleeding would not stop. Grandma Liu's lips had turned pale, and she lay weakly on the bed, tears streaming down her face.
"Madam Li, please help me invite General Wang to come. I don't want to die yet, and my children also need to live well..."
Granny Liu was so moved by what she said that tears welled up in her eyes. Lady Li also started crying and said quickly, "Granny Liu, don't worry too much. You'll be fine. Just lie down first. I'll go call Master Wang Jun."
After saying this, Madam Li ran out without even bothering to go home. She shouted into the house through the half-person-high earthen wall, asking Tiezhu to take good care of her sister. She ran towards the east with a sack on her head.
Madam Liu on the other side heard it and hurriedly took Lingxiu to Madam Li's house to look after the three children.
The men all went up the mountain to grab wheat and were basically not at home. Even Wang Hu had to run several times a day to grab the wheat back.
When Madam Li ran to the east end, she met Madam Gu in the shop.
"Master, if this rain continues, the villagers' wheat will be ruined. Then everyone won't even have food to eat. Do you really have no solution?"
Gu Xiyue had not had a good time in the past two days. Every day she just ate and slept. Gradually, seeing the incessant rain, she began to feel uneasy. She was worried about the villagers' wheat. If it continued to rain, the wheat could not be harvested, and what would the villagers eat in the future?
There are more than eighty families in Nanhuang, with nearly three hundred people, and eating is a big problem.
On the third day, she couldn't sit still any longer, so she found a sack and put it on her head and went to Jun Ye for help.
We all have miserable lives, and they helped her like that before. If there is any way, she is willing to do her best to help.
A few days ago, when she was collecting salt with Meixiang, she said that if the time was right, she might be able to lead everyone to live a good life.
How beautiful it seemed then, how cruel it is now.
The worry in her heart was as heavy as the sky covered with dark clouds.
Generally speaking, when encountering such natural disasters, the imperial court would provide food subsidies or disaster relief funds. If the emperor wants the family members of Nanhuang who remain in the court to serve with peace of mind, he should not ignore the villagers of Nanhuang. At least he should let them live.
If we ignore it and the rain continues to fall, the villagers might starve to death.
After hearing this, Mr. Xu Jun just shook his head woodenly.
"The court doesn't care?" Gu Xiyue didn't give up and continued to ask.
Master Xu sighed, "Miss Gu, I know you're worried. My other two brothers and I are also worried about the villagers, but there's really nothing we can do. A few days ago, an official document came down from above saying that the court will no longer even provide the oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar we sell. They told you to find a solution on your own. If you have any ideas, then go ahead and do it."
"What?" Gu Xiyue's eyes widened. "You mean, once the things in the store are sold out, you won't sell them anymore? In other words, even if I bring money to buy rice, I won't buy it."
Xu Junye explained: "It's not that we don't want to sell it anymore, it's that the higher-ups don't supply it, so there's nothing to sell."
Gu Xiyue was shocked. This approach was equivalent to blocking the last way of survival in the Southern Wilderness.
"Madam Li, what are you doing here?"
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard what Mr. Xu said. He turned around and saw that Madam Li was standing at the door with a sack on her head. She was still a little out of breath because she had run over.
"Master Xu, where's Master Wang? Granny Liu is injured and bleeding profusely. Hurry! Let Master Wang go over and take a look."
"Oh!" Master Xu clapped his hands. "Brother Wang just went out. He has something to do in Xifeng Town. It's getting late, so he probably won't be back until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Madam Li looked desperate. "What about Granny Liu? If the bleeding doesn't stop, she..."
When Madam Li spoke of her anxiety, her voice trembled.
Gu Xiyue raised her eyebrows, turned to Xu Junye and said, "Do you have any hemostatic medicine?"
Mr. Xu Jun was stunned and nodded repeatedly.
"Give it to me quickly, I'll go and take a look!" Gu Xiyue said anxiously.
Xu Junye quickly rummaged through Wang Junye's medicine box next to him and pulled out three small red, white and blue porcelain bottles. He stuffed them into Gu Xiyue's hands and said, "The white one is for internal use, one pill. The red one is for disinfection, and the blue one is for stopping bleeding."
While memorizing the effects of the three bottles of medicine, Gu Xiyue took the bottle and put it in her arms.
"White clothes dissolve red and blue stop bleeding."
Muttering to himself, he pulled Madam Li, who was standing blankly at the door, and ran out.
She didn't have time to think about the fact that the store was out of stock just now. She was only thinking about going to see Granny Liu first.
The two of them quickly arrived at Grandma Liu's house. Grandma Liu had already fallen asleep, and the wound on her left arm was still bleeding slowly. The thin mattress on the bed was stained red, which looked shocking.
Gu Xiyue ran straight to the bedside and saw that there were no extra rags around, so he simply tore off a strip of cloth from the cloth bag on the ground and immediately tied up the arm above the wound. After tying it tightly, the bleeding was significantly reduced.
Gu Xiyue took out three bottles from his arms and was a little dazed for a moment.
“Which one is sterilized?”
She closed her eyes and muttered to herself, remembering the effects that Mr. Xu had just mentioned when he gave it to her.
"...red...blue...white...red eliminates blue and stops bleeding!"
Gu Xiyue remembered and quickly poured out a black pill from the red porcelain bottle and asked Madam Li to pour water. The patient was now unconscious and might not be able to swallow the pill.
"Bring another spoon!" Gu Xiyue shouted at Madam Li.
Madam Li poured the water over. Gu Xiyue put the black pill in a spoon, poured in a little water, and gently mixed it. The pill dissolved in his hand, turning pitch black. The smell was bitter.
Without thinking too much, Gu Xiyue lifted Granny Liu's neck with her left hand, asked Madam Li to pinch Granny Liu's mouth open, poured the medicine in, and then asked Madam Li to cover Granny Liu's mouth. She reached out and gently pressed on Granny Liu's neck.
Granny Liu subconsciously exerted force and swallowed all the medicine, and the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Xiyue began to disinfect and apply medicine to Grandma Liu's wound, and finally tore off a piece of clean cloth from his shirt and bandaged the wound.
The bleeding had stopped. Gu Xiyue saw that Grandma Liu's brows were slightly furrowed and she seemed to be in pain, so she fed her a few more sips of water, which she swallowed by herself.
After a while, Granny Liu slowly woke up. She saw Gu Xiyue and Madam Li gathered beside her. She moved her lips and said weakly, "You saved me? I thought I was going to ascend to heaven, but I didn't expect..."
Madam Li said happily, "It's Miss Gu. General Wang is not here. He went out. I happened to meet Miss Gu. She heard that you were injured, so she came with me to see you."
Granny Liu looked at Gu Xiyue, with more disappointment in her eyes.
If I die, I will be truly liberated, but if I die, what will happen to my children in the capital?
It’s really tiring to struggle to live.
If I had died from that fall, it wouldn't be a big deal. The only thing I'm afraid of is lying there half-dead.
"Grandma Liu, your wound can't come into contact with water. Don't go out for the next few days. Be careful of infection."
Granny Liu stared at Gu Xiyue without saying a word.
Gu Xiyue saw her dilemma and knew that it was impossible for her to stay at home. Everyone in the family took care of her, and she had to cook for herself, so she said, "I will ask Meixiang by my side to bring you your meals these days. Just rest assured and recuperate. Get well first."
Granny Liu's eyes were filled with tears as she shook her head repeatedly. "I don't want to burden you. We can't even harvest the wheat. Even if I live a few more days, what good will it do? I'll still starve to death by then."
Madam Li next to her was also worried. She had heard what General Xu had just said. The wheat was doomed this time, but even if they had silver, they could not buy food. Everyone would probably starve to death.
Although Granny Liu didn't know the news yet, Madam Li didn't know how to comfort her.
Gu Xiyue thought for a moment and said, "Grandma Liu, do you believe me?"
Granny Liu nodded.
"Then just listen to me. Believe me, I will definitely find a way."
Gu Xiyue grabbed Granny Liu's hand and said with a firm look on her face.
Granny Liu looked at Gu Xiyue with an embarrassed look on her face, "Miss Gu, I'm sorry to bother you. When I get better, I will serve you like a cow or a horse."
Gu Xiyue quickly persuaded her and comforted her for a while. He left only after seeing that her emotions had stabilized.
Granny Liu knew that she had troubled Gu Xiyue and Madam Li. After Gu Xiyue left, she asked Madam Li to go back quickly as well. The child was still waiting at home, and she had almost recovered her spirits now.
After Gu Xiyue handed the three bottles of medicine to Xu Junye, he confirmed again the attitude of his superiors towards Nanhuang. The more he listened, the colder his heart became. When he took the shortcut to go home by the sea, he kept thinking about this matter.
As soon as he entered the yard, he smelled the aroma of scallion oil, and Gu Xiyue's mood finally improved a little.
Xiao Heng made stewed noodles for dinner and poured some heated scallion oil into it.
It is called stewed noodles, but it is basically just soup and the noodles are watery.
Seeing Gu Xiyue coming back, he glanced at her face and asked calmly, "What happened?"
Gu Xiyue told the story of Granny Liu, and then asked Meixiang to serve a bowl of noodles to Granny Liu.
Meixiang did as she was told, and Xiao Heng asked Wei Lin to follow her to shelter Meixiang from the rain.
After the two left, only Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng were left in the middle room. Gu Xiyue then carefully told Xiao Heng what Mr. Xu had said.
Since the imperial court no longer wants to care about the Southern Wilderness and lets it fend for itself, it means that the imperial court has also given up on Xiao Heng. She should tell him. Even if she doesn't say it now, he will know it sooner or later.
After hearing this, Xiao Heng laughed at himself twice, looked up at the gray sky outside, and said helplessly, "This is his handiwork, and he's targeting me."
Gu Xiyue: “…”
This man wants to kill Xiao Heng. Does that mean he wants all the people in the Southern Wilderness to be buried with him?
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