bayedsolid Chapter 1535 Post-Disaster Relief
Chapter 1535 Post-Disaster Relief
Sun Shan inquired about the injured man's condition from the doctor and learned that it was not serious, which put him at ease.
Death is not scary; what is scary is being maimed.
In this day and age, being disabled is worse than death; not only can one not support one's family, but one is also a burden on the family.
He then looked at the four corpses and instructed, "Keep the funeral simple and bury them in the ground for peace."
Fortunately, the chances of an epidemic are greatly reduced in winter; if it were the middle of summer, they would be buried immediately.
He instructed, "Inspector Liang, assist the disaster victims in packing up their belongings. Take everything they can. After packing, scatter some limestone in the collapsed houses and where the bodies are, to prevent the spread of disease."
Inspector Liang asked, puzzled, "Sir, can spreading limestone really prevent an epidemic?"
Sun Shan shrugged and said helplessly, "This is the most effective and cheapest way."
Since Sun Shan said so, Inspector Liang naturally followed suit.
He then went to the disaster victims, offered them some kind words of comfort, and then hurriedly ran back to the government office.
When the disaster victims saw Sun Shan leave, they felt abandoned by their official and anxiously cried out, "Sir, where will we stay?"
Sun Shan reassured everyone, "Please be patient, everyone. Someone will lead you to your accommodations soon. What we need to do now is to organize your belongings and move them together."
Thinking of the belongings inside the house, which were only a few meager possessions, but still essential for survival, the disaster victim disregarded his grief and rushed inside to tidy up.
Sun Shan instructed, "Inspector Liang, arrange for someone to keep watch here to prevent thieves from taking advantage of the situation."
Inspector Liang immediately accepted the order: "Yes, sir, I will do it right away."
Back at the yamen, Zhang, the clerk, greeted him: "Sir, why not settle the disaster victims in the City God Temple? Firstly, it's a large enough place; secondly, it has accommodated villagers who stayed overnight before; and thirdly, there's nowhere else to put them in the city right now, so we can't just leave them in an inn."
After much deliberation, Master Zhang concluded that the City God Temple was the best option.
Simply put, it's a ready-made house, costing no money.
Sun Shan agreed, saying, "Okay, let's relocate all the disaster victims to the City God Temple."
Then he summoned Constable Yang: "Constable Yang, arrange for men to work with Inspector Liang to lead the disaster victims to the City God Temple. Note that each household should be squeezed in as much as possible, because more disaster victims will be moving in one after another."
Officer Yang asked, puzzled, "Sir, why are there still disaster victims staying here?"
The number of disaster victims was not large, so the arrangements were made with ease.
But Sun Shan also said that there were more and more disaster victims, so wouldn't the work be fraught with difficulties?
Sun Shan described the area in the southern part of the city, saying that many houses looked like they were about to collapse and probably wouldn't last until the second snowfall.
They all need to be transferred to the City God Temple to avoid casualties.
Officer Yang was shocked: "Sir, there are dozens of households in that area. Do we have to move them all? This is going to be very difficult."
Sun Shan said helplessly, "We have no choice but to move. There will definitely be trouble if it snows heavily. We have to be prepared and take precautions."
Officer Yang raised his most difficult question: "Sir, even if you ask them to move, they may not be willing to. They are reluctant to leave their homeland, and even if they know there is danger, they are unwilling to leave."
Without hesitation, Sun Shan replied, "You're not moving? Then we'll just put them in jail. Anyway, there are plenty of empty jails these days, so it's good to lock them up."
In the prisons of Yuanlu County, apart from high-ranking prisoners, some minor offenders can be released on bail by paying a ransom.
The prison cells are now empty; even troublesome civilians could find a place to stay.
Sun Shan refused to believe that anyone would dare to resist in the face of violence.
Officer Yang: .....
I knew how ruthless Lord Sun was from the last trial of the itinerant murderer.
This once again proves that beneath Lord Sun's short stature lies a heart more ruthless than anyone else's.
Officer Yang had no choice but to comply.
Sun Shan continued, "Officer Yang, you will lead a team to inspect the villages in each township. First, to count the casualties from this snow disaster; second, to supervise the people to repair their houses as soon as possible to avoid damage from a second heavy snowfall; and third, to make arrangements for those who are homeless, with the village head and neighborhood chief, and find ways to provide shelter for the affected villagers."
Sun Shan issued the task yesterday.
Plans can't keep up with changes; the snow disaster struck first, and now all we can do is try to salvage the situation.
In fact, rural areas are easier to manage than cities. Those who live in a village are usually locals and have more experience in helping the weak.
The city was inhabited by people from all over the country, essentially a group of people from different regions. Their neighbors were not of the same surname or clan, so there was a lack of mutual benefit and they relied on the government for everything.
Yang, the head constable, accepted the order: "Yes, sir, I will go right away."
Sun Shan then summoned County Magistrate Wang, Chief Clerk Wu, and the six other officials (excluding the workshop staff) to the council hall for a meeting.
Sun Shan cut to the chase and asked, "Gentlemen, in this snow disaster, four people died in the city alone, and there may be casualties in the villages below as well. Natural disasters are unavoidable, but man-made disasters can be dealt with. What we need to do most right now is post-disaster recovery."
Magistrate Wang asked, looking completely bewildered, "Sir, what else needs to be done?"
Arrange doctors for the injured, funeral arrangements for the deceased, and accommodation for the disaster victims.
The government has done what it needs to do. What else is needed?
Wu, the clerk, shared the same idea as Wang, the county magistrate.
Sunshan's snow disaster response process, while not perfect, was above average. Everything that needed to be done was done; what more could be done?
He asked in confusion, "Sir, we've already made arrangements for the disaster victims, what else needs to be done?"
The clerks of the Six Offices also thought so.
They all said, "Sir, our usual disaster response methods are exactly the same as yours. Sir, we just need to be more vigilant in the future."
Sun Shan knew that this could be the end of it, but he was a different kind of local official.
Post-disaster reconstruction is underway.
He spoke frankly: "Everyone, the disaster victims' houses are gone and need to be rebuilt. They can't keep living in the City God Temple forever."
County Magistrate Wang wondered what was going on.
The answer was taken for granted: "Sir, the reconstruction of houses depends on the disaster victims. There's not much we government can do. We can't build houses for them. Natural disasters happen unexpectedly. If a house collapses, it's just bad luck."
Wu, the magistrate, echoed, "It's both bad luck and bad luck. The houses are dilapidated and need to be repaired in advance. Alas, the people are ignorant and haven't done it for a long time. Who's to blame?"
Moreover, the first snow this year came so late, giving us plenty of time, yet we still didn't reinforce our houses. Sigh, while it's a natural disaster, there's also human error at play; the people are so ignorant.
Wu Zhubu's words were unanimously approved by everyone.
The heavy snow collapsed the roof. Who can be blamed? Besides God, the disaster victims can only be blamed.
If people don't even try to reinforce and repair such a dilapidated place, they have no respect for death, and the government is powerless to help them.
Sun Shan: ...
There is some truth to what he said.
This runs counter to Sun Shan's idea of "universal harmony".
The government bears responsibility for this building collapse.
If there is no responsibility, why have the government, and why pay taxes to support parasites?
The common people might as well just eliminate the government and fend for themselves.