Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 698 My Family 16

The following morning, as the sunlight struggled to penetrate the misty city of Meizhou, something unbelievable happened outside the gates of the Jiang family's villa and the Tang family's temporary lodging in the east of the city.

The heavy gate slowly opened, not just a crack for distinguished guests, but completely open! Bags of snow-white, plump rice and baskets of dry but filling flatbread (made overnight by Du Feiqin's men) were carried out and piled up in the open space in front of the gate, forming a small mountain symbolizing life and hope!

After a brief moment of astonishment and deathly silence, the crowd erupted into a huge commotion! Countless bewildered, eager, and timid gazes converged on them.

Du Feiqin changed into her usual smart and capable attire, her hair neatly styled, and personally walked to the makeshift platform. She didn't utter any flowery, comforting words; her voice carried an undeniable clarity and strength, striking straight to the heart:

"Fellow villagers of Meizhou, listen up! Natural disasters are merciless, how can we stand by and watch people die? I am Du from the Chang Le Prince's Mansion, and today I am opening the granaries to distribute grain! I wish to do my part and help you get through these difficult times together!"

"Everyone gets a share! No need to fight! My servants from the Jiang family and the Wang family are all here to maintain order! Help the elderly and children, and line up to receive yours!"

Her sharp gaze swept across the room, carrying the authority and decisiveness of someone seasoned in the business world. "The able-bodied and young come first! Women, children, the elderly, and the weak, go forward first! Anyone who dares to cause trouble or rob, don't blame the sword for being merciless!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the upright and solemn guards of the Prince's Mansion and the servants of the Jiang family stood in a circle with their hands on their swords, and an imposing aura instantly suppressed the signs of a disturbance.

The starving victims were initially skeptical and distrustful, but when the first frail old woman actually received a small bag of life-saving rations and was helped to the side, the scene subtly changed. The chaotic pushing and shoving turned into a relatively orderly movement!

Tang Wencheng also came out. He did not stand on the stage, but walked to the edge of the crowd and personally helped up an old farmer who had fallen due to weakness. He ordered someone to give him a small bowl of steaming porridge.

Yun Chu then moved among the lined-up children, personally handing out some prepared rice porridge, suitable for sick and weak children, to the pale-faced little ones.

Tang Yunmo completely abandoned her former arrogance, rolled up her sleeves, and loudly maintained order in her cheerful voice: "Line up! Everyone gets a turn! Take care of the elderly and children!"

Jiang Junyou directed his family and accountant to quickly register the rough information of the grain recipients and arranged for able-bodied men to help repair the collapsed and damaged houses later.

This operation was not limited to one place.

The news spread rapidly through the desperate city of Meizhou, like the first stream of water flowing into a dried-up riverbed!

This righteous act has inspired even more people to act.

Some small business owners who had previously kept their doors closed quietly opened a crack to peek in, and then gritted their teeth and brought out the old rice and grains stored in their warehouses. Although it wasn't much, they joined the distribution effort.

Furthermore, pharmacy owners, after Dufiqin purchased the medicines with real money, agreed to distribute some basic herbal decoctions for the prevention and treatment of epidemics to the disaster victims...

For several days in a row, the grain distribution point jointly set up by the Tang and Jiang families became the most orderly and warmest place in Meizhou City.

Every morning, wisps of smoke rise from makeshift stoves (where porridge and flatbread are cooked), and everything is orderly. The mountains of rice and flour piled up, along with the busy yet determined figures of those distributing the food, form an invisible dam, firmly protecting the last line of defense for the hearts and minds of this water town.

While other prefectures and counties were engulfed in turmoil and despair due to famine, Meizhou, which was ravaged by disaster, managed to quell the flames of popular uprising through this decisive act of righteousness and concerted efforts!

Despite the hardships within the city, a precious, precarious peace was maintained.

Although the soldiers patrolled the streets frequently, their tense faces seemed to breathe a little easier thanks to the orderliness of the place. The muddy ruts left by the Tang family's carriage wheels were gradually filled in by countless footsteps filled with gratitude and anticipation.

***

Tang Yunlian from Wuzhou, after passing the imperial examination and becoming a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations), naturally became Gu Ting's right-hand man.

Gu Ting lived up to expectations and became the top scholar in the autumn imperial examination of the fifty-fourth year of the Tai'an era! This news struck Meizhou like a thunderbolt and quickly spread throughout Jiangnan and even the capital. The once "hard and tough iron man" is now adorned in finery and has been entrusted with an important task by the imperial court, being sent to Qing County, Wuzhou, as the county magistrate.

When Gu Ting took office in Qing County, Tang Yunlian, his "right-hand woman," followed him there.

Although Qing County is located in the heart of Wuzhou, it is not particularly poor, but it has many complex affairs.

From the moment Gu Ting got out of the car, he displayed a completely different style of doing things—not the aloof and elegant scholar of legend, but instead he led Tang Yunlian straight into the fields, alleys, and tax records.

He personally inspected water conservancy projects, reviewed taxes and corvée labor, and investigated difficult cases.

Under the ever-burning lights in the yamen, Gu Ting could often be seen either writing official documents rapidly or frowning as he deduced the details of a case, while Tang Yunlian meticulously copied, checked, and summoned relevant personnel, or ran all over the countryside to investigate and verify information according to Gu Ting's instructions.

Gu Ting's calm and steady demeanor made him appear even more reliable in the mundane yet vital affairs of Qing County.

Tang Yunlian was influenced by him from a young age. Her originally clear but carefree nature was unconsciously restrained. Through practical experience, she quickly shed her naiveté as a scholar, became more organized in handling official business, and learned from Gu Ting's fairness and tact in dealing with people, becoming more and more capable.

The upheavals of the fifty-seventh year of Tai'an affected the entire country.

When news of the earth cracking, the sky collapsing, and torrential rains in Kangzhao Kingdom reached Qing County in Wuzhou, although the disaster there was not as devastating as in the capital or some downstream counties, refugees from the north and from areas completely destroyed by the floods poured into the county like a surging tide.

The once relatively tidy courtyard of the county government office was almost completely submerged by reports from various townships and villages regarding the displacement of disaster victims and requests for aid.

Gu Ting's expression became more serious than ever before. He quickly mobilized the entire county's resources, setting up temporary shelters, organizing officials and gentry to register and verify the identities of the disaster victims, trying to squeeze out the limited grain reserves from the county granary to cook porridge, and doing his best to maintain order and prevent looting and riots born of desperation. However, there were simply too many people coming.

The long line in front of the porridge stall meandered and twisted, and the tired, desperate faces covered in mud and water, and the eyes that longed to live, weighed heavily on Gu Ting and Tang Yunlian's hearts like a heavy stone.

One afternoon, when the Qingxian County government office was shrouded in gloom, a dusty mule cart bearing the small flag of the Tangji Trading Company stopped in front of the office.

The truck was unloaded with several heavy sacks of grain and several boxes of medicinal herbs for preventing and treating the epidemic.

This was the relief supplies that the Tang family urgently raised after receiving information about the disaster in Jiangnan. Du Feiqin and Tang Wencheng, who were well-versed in worldly affairs, made the decision to send them to Qing County to help Gu Ting and his son Tang Yunlian.

When the county magistrate excitedly led Tang, the man who was escorting the cart, in to report, Gu Ting suddenly stood up, and his tightly furrowed brows relaxed for a moment.

Tang Yunlian almost lunged forward to grab the shopkeeper's hand, her voice trembling slightly: "Did your parents and Chu'er send you to deliver this?" Upon receiving an affirmative answer and looking at the solid sacks of grain on the ground, the young man, who had been trying to maintain his composure in front of the disaster victims, suddenly had tears welling up in his eyes.

This timely help from family relieved the Qing County government's immediate crisis and provided Gu Ting with tremendous moral support. Gu Ting patted Tang Yunlian on the shoulder without saying a word, but both of their eyes conveyed the same message: They had to persevere!

Gu Ting immediately ordered that the grain be included in the disaster relief plan to be used to open more porridge stalls, and strictly ordered that the distribution must be orderly and fair.

The medicinal herbs were distributed to several clinics in the county, where they began to brew large pots of herbal decoctions to prevent the epidemic.

This batch of grain and medicine truly relieved some of Gu Ting's troubles, like a drop of sweet rain after a long drought. Although it was not enough to solve the fundamental problem, it greatly boosted morale and stabilized the wavering hearts of the people.

Under Gu Ting's iron-fisted yet compassionate governance, Qingxian County has struggled to maintain the basic order of its small community amidst the surging tide of disaster victims.