He Tiantian was woken up by the noise in the village last night, but she was worried about leaving her two children alone at home, so she didn't go to investigate.
He Tiantian prepared breakfast for her two children in the morning and watched them eat it with satisfaction. With some time before work, He Tiantian decided to go and ask the village what had happened last night.
Just as I stepped out of my house, I ran into Zhao Tingzhang walking towards me.
"Chief, what brings you here? Is there something you need?" He Tiantian was somewhat surprised, and a bad feeling crept into her heart.
Zhao Tingzhang looked exhausted. He sighed heavily, "Wanzi's mother..." Zhao Tingzhang recounted the events of last night in great detail, and He Tiantian's brows furrowed deeper as she listened.
“Now dozens of households in the village have nowhere to live. What are they going to do in the dead of winter? If this matter isn’t resolved today, people will freeze to death tonight.” After saying this, Zhao Tingzhang squatted down to the side, frowning and puffing on his pipe.
“The village is in trouble, surely the county magistrate won’t stand idly by?” He Tiantian suggested.
However, Chief Zhao must have already anticipated this; he had planned to go to town before dawn to report it to Magistrate Liu. But the heavy snow had blocked the mountain passes, and the oxcart couldn't get out at all.
Changfeng Village can only save itself now; there is no other way.
"Chief, I'd better go check on the situation first." He Tiantian felt a pang of sadness; if there was anything she could do to help, she would definitely do it without hesitation.
Zhao, the pavilion chief, walked ahead, remaining silent the entire way.
From afar, He Tiantian could see that the people sitting in the snow were women and children, their faces filled with despair. Some of the younger children, even though they were being held in the arms of the women, had faces red from the cold.
This can't go on; children with weak constitutions are prone to illness. In this day and age, even a common cold can be fatal.
The men were all cleaning up the collapsed thatched huts, trying to find the food their families had painstakingly saved up underneath. They had lost their home; if they didn't have any food, they truly wouldn't survive.
After looking through it once, He Tiantian frowned. "Chief... could you temporarily take in a few villagers from each of the mud-brick houses in our village?"
There are three or four hundred households in the village if you're willing. If you're willing to squeeze in and get through the winter safely, that's certainly possible.
"This..." Zhao Tingzhang thought for a moment, and it seemed that there was no good solution at the moment. He nodded firmly, "Alright, I will convene a general meeting of the whole village to settle this matter."
Village meetings are always held under an old locust tree at the village entrance, with a large gong hanging on it. When it's struck a few times, the whole village can hear it.
Upon hearing the gong, all the villagers rushed over with their families.
He Tiantian stood at the very edge of the crowd. She already had a bad reputation in the eyes of these people, and she didn't want to make a fool of herself by squeezing in.
Zhao Hai, the eldest son of Zhao Tingzhang, moved a long bench under the old locust tree and helped Zhao Tingzhang, who was trembling, to step onto the bench.
"Quiet down, everyone, and listen to me." Zhao Tingzhang's voice was full of energy as his gaze swept across the faces of the villagers below.
"I'm sure everyone has heard about what happened in our Changfeng Village last night. This time, the disaster affected dozens of households in the village who lived in thatched huts and were in dire need of shelter. In the heavy snow, the elderly, women, and children could only stay in the snow without any place to shelter from the wind and snow. So, for those households in our village that live in mud houses and are in better condition, we will take in two people from each household to help them get through this year's snow disaster first."
No sooner had Zhao Tingzhang finished speaking than the crowd erupted.
"What? My family of four lives in two rooms. If two more come, where will they sleep? On the floor?" a woman said with great dissatisfaction.
"Yes, Chief, our house isn't very big either; it's cramped even for our own family..."
"Who isn't like that? These days, some families are so poor they can't afford to build houses. My three sons and daughters-in-law are all pregnant, and we still haven't divided the family property..."
The people below were all talking at once, spreading nothing but negativity.
He Tiantian stood at the very back, her heart heavy...
She finally understood why people in Changfeng Village were so cold-hearted. Poverty was only part of the reason; another part was that some villagers were selfish and self-serving.
They not only lack kindness themselves, but they also lead the kind-hearted villagers astray.
Anyone who shows kindness will immediately be ostracized. Over time, everyone becomes indifferent and no longer notices anything unusual.
“Chief, our house is quite big. We’ve already made ginger soup, so let’s let all the children go in and have a bowl to warm them up. But they might need to bring their own bowls…” He Tiantian stood at the back of the crowd, trying to drown out the complaints of the other villagers with her loudest voice.
When she returned, she took a break and went home to give Zhao Denglong a bag of ginger and a large pot that she had secretly bought from the mall, instructing the two children to make ginger soup at home.
Although she wasn't wealthy, she felt that the thirty coins she spent could save dozens of lives, which was well worth it!
Looking at He Tiantian standing at the back of the crowd, Zhao Tingzhang was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. He never expected that the first person to support him would be He, the poorest woman in the village.
A woman who was kicked out of her home by her mother-in-law, with two children and pregnant.
“We don’t have a single bowl at home… but we have plenty of ginger soup,” He Tiantian added. Usually, she and her two children eat directly from the pot to save themselves the trouble of washing dishes.
“Okay…” Zhao Tingzhang murmured excitedly, “Dahai, go and call the affected villagers to bring their children over first.”
Zhao Dahai responded and ran off.
“Wanzi’s mother lives in a dilapidated temple at the edge of the village with her two children. The villagers must know her situation. Who among you is not better off than them? As the village head, I will set an example. Dahai’s mother, go and tidy up the west room in your house and make it available for the disaster-stricken villagers.”
Liu responded and quietly wiped away a tear. She slowly squeezed out of the crowd, muttering as she walked, "These days, no one has it easy. Doing more good deeds is like accumulating blessings and virtues for future generations."
"Wanzi's mother, you are such a good person! These villagers will be eternally grateful to you." Liu walked up to He Tiantian again, held her hand, and said excitedly.
Perhaps influenced by the words of Zhao Tingzhang, Liu Shi, and He Tiantian, some people in the crowd began to slowly step forward.
"Chief, we can also spare a room in our house. It's no problem for five or six people to live here." A man shouted from the crowd. His wife tried to stop him but couldn't.
“We can squeeze in at home. My son studies in town and doesn’t come home often.” The speaker was Zhao Neng. His wife, Zhao, had just borrowed a fishing net from He Tiantian, so of course she wanted to join He Tiantian’s team.
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