Chapter 72
The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the academy happened to have a field holiday. After his shift, Mr. Lin went to pick up the twins and take them home. The field holiday would last for nearly a month, and Lin Qingyuan was very happy. In addition, he hadn't seen Lin Xuan for a long time, so he kept chattering on the way.
"Ah Xuan, have you not watched "Legend of the Immortals" yet? I only watched one episode, so we can go watch it together. Let me tell you, the episode I watched just ended when Wang Zijiao appeared. I didn't even see the rest of the plot before..."
"Hmm?" Lin Shuge's eyes were cold.
Lin Qingyuan fell silent immediately.
Lin Xuan observed the expressions of her two brothers and looked at Lin Qingyuan knowingly. "Ayuan, did you skip class?"
Lin Qingyuan nodded slightly and whispered to Lin Xuan. He wanted to get some comfort, but was scolded by Lin Xuan.
He pouted and whispered, "Ah Xuan, the eldest brother is gentler than you. He didn't even scold me."
Lin Xuan was so angry that she wanted to twist his ears, "Lin Qingyuan, how grown up are you?"
Lin Qingyuan was so scared that he ran away.
"Brother, have you not had enough rest recently? You look a lot thinner." Lin Xuan ignored Lin Qingyuan who was out of tune, and turned to look at Lin Shuge.
"It's okay. The weather is too hot and it's a bit summer-hard." Lin Shuge said indifferently.
He has a poor appetite in the summer, but he's gotten used to it.
The two walked to the gate of the courtyard, and Lin Shuge said, "Tomorrow the theater will be performing "Xun Xian Ji". Let A Yuan take you around. You have been working hard for several months. Let's go watch a play and relax."
Lin Xuan chuckled and nodded.
As soon as she walked into the yard, a little white cat came over with a whoosh. Lin Xuan looked at it in surprise, and the little white cat also tilted its head back to look at her.
"I was just about to catch it and show it to you, but the little thing ran away when it heard big brother's voice," Lin Qingyuan said from behind, "A Xuan, this is big brother's cat, named Xiaobai."
"Cat?" Lin Xuan squatted down, reached out and touched it. Xiaobai meowed a few times in a pinched voice, which was very cute.
Lin Xuan was really touched by it and held it in her arms, "Brother, is this a gift from Erlang?"
Before Lin Shuge could say anything, Lin Qingyuan interrupted and said, "Xiaobai was not given by Erlang, but by a foreign merchant. What Erlang gave to you was a pigeon."
Seeing that they could chat about cats and pigeons for a long time, Lin Shuge did not disturb them. He turned around to wash his hands and water the vegetables in the garden.
He took the most careful care of the peppers. They had grown luxuriant branches and leaves, and many of them had bloomed small white flowers. Lin Shuge took the watering can and watered every ridge. He touched the green leaves of the peppers and said, "You must grow well. If I want to eat spicy food in the future, I'll have to rely on you."
The twins are home for the day off today, so I have to cook a good meal. Seeing him walking towards the kitchen, Lin Xuan left Xiaobai who was eating and followed him, "Brother, I'll help you."
"No, go and have a good rest." Lin Shuge refused.
Lin Xuan had already walked straight into the kitchen, took a basket of vegetables and asked, "Brother, what are you going to cook today?"
"I'm coming too. I'm coming too." Lin Qingyuan's loud voice also rang out.
Lin Shuge had no choice but to ask the two of them to help him prepare a sumptuous dinner.
After dinner, the three siblings sat in the yard to enjoy the cool air. Lin Shuge washed a small basin of fruit and brought it out. It was given to him by several women after he finished working for the farmers.
There was a cool breeze, and the moonlight sprinkled on the pear tree in the yard. The shadows of the trees were swaying, and the chirping of cicadas could be heard far outside the house.
Lin Shuge took an apricot and put it in his mouth. The flesh was sweet and sour and delicious, and he couldn't help but eat a few more.
"Brother, when will Erlang come back?" Lin Qingyuan said vaguely, biting a wild raspberry in his mouth, thinking that the family would be reunited today, but Xie Chen was missing.
Lin Shuge shook his head. "Zhongxuan didn't say that in his letter. He probably didn't have time to come back. He only said in his letter that the Duwei Mansion was busy with farming these days, but Zhonggu Tunnel had been training soldiers."
"Training troops? But there's another war?" Lin Xuan asked.
"Not sure." Lin Shuge replied, but historically, minority invasions mostly occurred in autumn. It might be that in order to prevent the Huns from moving south in autumn, they trained troops early to resist.
"It would be great if we could drive all the barbarians out someday." Lin Xuan pounded the table and said with a fierce look on his face.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. I've already cleaned the room. You should go to bed early. Aren't we going to the theater tomorrow?" Lin Shuge said, taking the apricot from Lin Qingyuan.
Peaches and apricots are too filling, and eating too much is not good for you. Without paying attention, Lin Qingyuan had already eaten quite a few.
"Okay, brother, I'll bring you food from the theater tomorrow. I heard from Qian Ying that there's a shop selling rice dumplings here." Lin Qingyuan said while washing his hands.
Bibi is a kind of sweet food, which is made by shaped into a ring with glutinous rice and honey, and then fried in lard. It tastes sweet and delicious and is very popular.
"Then I'll be waiting." After hearing the brother and sister wash up and go back to their room to sleep, Lin Shuge blew out the candle. Tomorrow is a day off, so they can have a good sleep.
The next day, when it was bright, Lin Shuge woke up from his dream. He got up and walked around the yard, but did not see the twins. He thought they might have gone out.
He was about to go to the kitchen to make himself breakfast, but he saw that the door was ajar and there was a smell of food inside. It seemed that the two of them had left breakfast for him.
After enjoying his brother and sister-in-law's loving breakfast, Lin Shuge sat alone in his room reading a book. He had been busy all the time, and suddenly he felt a little uncomfortable when he was idle.
The morning light was dim and the sun was rising gradually. The sunlight made him a little drowsy. Just when he was about to lie down for a while, there was a loud knock on the door.
He woke up immediately and ran to open the door. It was a day off today, and there was a county runner outside the door.
The officer said anxiously, "Sir, there are disaster victims coming to Ganzhou. The county magistrate wants you to return to the county office immediately."
Lin Shuge took a deep breath. Disaster victims? Is there really a famine in Wei County?
Without having time to ask more questions, he did not dare to stop for a moment and hurried to the county government office.
As soon as I walked out of the alley, I ran into Lin Qingyuan and Lin Xuan who had just returned, holding bags in their hands.
"Ayuan, Axuan, stay at home these days and try not to go out. If you have any problems, find Xu Yu." Lin Shuge gave a few instructions and left in a hurry without waiting for the twins to reply.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Lin Qingyuan asked.
However, Lin Xuan noticed that her brother looked panicked and worried. She felt uneasy and shook her head.
Lin Shuge ran to the county government office breathlessly, "Sir, I heard that something happened in Wei County."
"Wei County hasn't had much rain this year, and the drought has hurt sales. The autumn planting hasn't started yet, and all the crops in the fields have died. At first, they could still hold on by relying on old grain. Some officials even risked being fired and imprisoned to open their warehouses to release grain and set up porridge sheds for relief. But there were too many victims, and they couldn't hold on any longer. The mountains were hollowed out by the hungry people. It is said that in some places, there were starving people everywhere, and civil unrest broke out."
Magistrate Li paused and continued, "People have begun to flee everywhere, and a group of them are almost reaching Ganzhou."
Lin Shuge asked anxiously, "Sir, is there any news from Yandu?"
Magistrate Li shook his head, "No news yet."
Lin Shuge thought for a moment and said, “Sir, if we really get to Ganzhou, we can’t just ignore it, but we can’t ignore the safety of the people of Ganzhou either.”
Famine is usually accompanied by various epidemics. If Ganzhou directly accepts refugees, the people will also be in danger.
"It would be best to set aside an area outside the city and provide them with porridge first, and have the county doctors prepare medicine just in case. Once this period is over, if they want to go back, they can be given money and food to be repatriated. If they don't want to go back, let them open up wasteland on the spot. The county's paper mills and printing houses are also short of people."
If there are too many refugees, and they gather together to cause trouble and burn things, it will cause problems for the public security in Ganzhou County.
County Magistrate Li nodded and immediately ordered County Lieutenant Wu to lead the county officials to patrol various places. Lin Shuge also prepared to gather the merchants in the county.
…
The merchants sat in the lobby of the county government office.
Several merchants were feeling rather uneasy. Something was not right in the atmosphere of the county government office today. Everyone looked at Xu Yu and Qian Wancai.
"What are you looking at me for?" Xu Yu spread his hands.
"Boss Xu, do you know why County Magistrate Lin summoned us here?" a merchant couldn't help but ask.
"Of course I don't know."
Qian Wancai also shook his head. Everyone was waiting anxiously with doubts.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting." Lin Shuge walked in.
The merchants stood up and saluted.
"Today, I asked you to come to the county government office because of an important matter. You are all the richest people in Ganzhou, and I hope you can help me."
Some people said a few polite words, but others realized that something big might have happened.
"Then I'll get straight to the point. Today, the county received news that a famine has occurred in Wei County, and the people have been displaced. A group of them are almost arriving in Ganzhou."
After hearing this, the merchants were shocked and frightened. Some smart merchants had already realized what Lin Shuge was doing today.
"Sir, is there anything you need us to do?" a merchant asked tentatively.
"Just donate money and effort, what else can it be?" Xu Yu said.
"Sir, many merchants in the county have received your kindness. Now that you are in need, it is naturally our duty to help." Xu Yu stood up and said.
"Boss Xu is a righteous man." Lin Shuge said sincerely. He looked around and saw some people with conflicted eyes, some with embarrassed faces, and some who wanted to crawl into the ground.
"Sir, I am willing too. If the victims do not receive relief and flood into the surrounding villages, it will be a disaster for Ganzhou. Moreover, it will be difficult for us businessmen to do business. Besides, the victims are desperate, and helping them is a good deed." Qian Wancai also spoke out.
When the other merchants heard what Xu Yu and Qian Wancai said, whether they were happy or not, they also said that they were willing to donate money.
"On behalf of the disaster victims, I would like to thank you all for your kind actions. Please do what you are able to do. I will report to the county magistrate and ask him to erect a monument in your memory." Lin Shuge said sincerely.
"Your Excellency is too polite. Everyone here has a prosperous business, and all of them have benefited from your kindness. Why do they hold back when it comes to repaying you?" Xu Yu said with a smile.
Others echoed a few words.
Lin Shuge gave Xu Yu a look of gratitude, and Xu Yu secretly winked at him.
After all the merchants left, Lin Shuge immediately sent people to ask the grain store for grain. If the news got out and someone wanted to take the opportunity to raise the price of grain, don't blame him for being rude.
He thought about it, strode home, and told A Yuan and A Xuan that he probably wouldn't be able to go home many times during this period, and asked them to take good care of themselves. There were also gems brought back by Zhong Xuan and dividends given by Xu Yu during this period at home, which had to be brought in to make up for the lack of money and food.
Thinking of Xie Chen's expression when he gave him the gem, Lin Shuge gritted his teeth and could only apologize to Zhong Xuan and give it to him later.
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