bayedsolid Chapter 178 Where the Orphans Went
Chapter 178 Where the Orphans Went
As dawn broke, the black wolf and the white wolf led the remaining wolves quickly out of the forest. The village chief wiped the sweat from his face and said cheerfully, "We've chased the wolves away!"
Nan Yi and the others wanted to give chase, but the village chief stopped them, saying, "Sir, don't chase after them. There are tigers and wolves in the deep mountains. The tigers have no shortage of food, and without the wolves, the tigers might come down the mountain and wreak havoc on us any day."
Wen Yuxia said calmly, "The village chief is right, Nan Yi, don't chase after him."
Wen Yuxia took out alcohol, anti-inflammatory powder, hemostatic powder, and painkillers from her handbag and handed them to Bei Yi, instructing him to treat Nan Qi's wounds.
Bei Yi disinfected Nan Qi's hands with alcohol, saying gently, "Seventh Brother, I'll be careful and try not to hurt you."
"Thank you, big sister," Nan Qi said calmly as Bei Yi treated his wounds.
Having spent many years together, Nan Yi and the others had developed a very close relationship. On the day Nan Er and Bei Er got married, at Bei Er's suggestion, they swore an oath of brotherhood.
Bei Er looked at the bloody hole on Nan Qi's arm with heartache, and asked with red eyes, "Seventh Brother, does it hurt?" Nan Qi smiled, revealing his teeth, "No, it doesn't hurt."
Wen Yuxia patted Nan Qi on the shoulder and said, "Good job, little man." Then she turned to the village chief and said, "Could you please find someone to skin the wolves on the mountain for me? The wolf meat will be your reward."
The village chief was overjoyed. Wolf meat was coarse and fishy, and the nobles didn't like to eat it, but they didn't mind: "Boss, hurry up, take some men up the mountain to move the wolf carcass."
After counting the wolf carcasses, the village chief scurried to Wen Yuxia's courtyard to report the battle results: "Sir, there were a total of 108 wolves on the mountain, and 52 wolves halfway up the mountain. This time, a total of 160 wolves were eliminated."
The 108 wolves on the mountain have already been skinned, and at least half of the 52 dead wolves halfway up the mountain were killed by the adults..."
Wen Yuxia thought for a moment and then said, "The village chief will handle the wolf carcass halfway up the mountain; we don't need it."
The village chief repeatedly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
The village chief made a decision in his heart: he would take all fifty-two wolves, skin and all, to the city to sell, and the proceeds would be divided equally among all the villagers.
Because she was in a hurry, Wen Yuxia didn't ask the village chief and others to help process the wolf pelts. Instead, she bought several large buckets from the village carpenter, put all the wolf pelts into the buckets, and then filled them with water.
The wolf pelt, soaked in water, was stored in Wen Yuxia's spatial storage. Wen Yuxia bid farewell to the villagers of the small mountain village and led Nan Yi and the others back to the main road, continuing their journey along the road to find disaster victims in need of help.
The floodwaters flowed from Xinchuan County to Tinghui, Weishui, Wuji, and Hongchang counties. Wen Yuxia provided relief to the disaster victims along the way. When she arrived in Hongchang County, she had already taken in 120 homeless children.
Originally, the group of twelve people traveled lightly on horseback, but now, apart from Nan Qi, who had an injured arm, and the children, everyone else, including Wen Yuxia, became the coachmen.
Xia Yichen had finished distributing the disaster relief supplies. He sent people to nearby counties to purchase more supplies, and then took An Yi and An Er out of the city to the riverbank to check the water level.
An Yi, with his sharp eyes, spotted Wen Yuxia driving the carriage toward the gate of Wuji County. Before he could report to Xia Yichen, An Yi shouted, "Princess Mu Hua! Princess Mu Hua!"
Hearing the shouts, Wen Yuxia and her entourage, who were traveling back from Hongchang County, stopped their carriage and looked towards the source of the sound. Nan Yi said excitedly, "Master, we've met the Crown Prince!"
Xia Yichen also heard An Yi's shout. He turned to look at the row of carriages parked on the official road in the distance. Wen Yuxia had a spatial storage space, so she didn't need carriages to transport supplies.
Xia Yichen muttered in confusion, "How did it turn into a convoy?"
Could it be? Thinking about how he hadn't seen any homeless children after providing relief in several counties, a thought suddenly flashed through Xia Yichen's mind: the children on the carriage had lost their families in the recent floods.
"Brother," Wen Yuxia jumped off the carriage and ran towards Xia Yichen. Xia Yichen smiled and said, "Mu Hua, you've worked hard!"
Wen Yuxia smiled faintly, took out a stack of silver notes and handed them to Xia Yichen, saying softly, "It's no trouble at all. I've distributed all the supplies I had. Brother, I didn't need the silver notes you gave me."
Wen Yuxia always kept food supplies in her spatial storage. She purchased everything for disaster relief, from large items like medicine, clothing, and blankets to small items like tinderboxes.
Xia Yichen knew that the silver notes were far from enough, and he also knew that Wen Yuxia wouldn't let him pay for the disaster relief supplies in his space. That's why he gave Wen Yuxia a stack of silver notes in advance under the pretext of purchasing supplies along the way.
He chuckled and said, "Keep these silver notes; consider it compensation from your brother. Mu Hua, what good stuff is in the carriage?"
Wen Yuxia's expression was somewhat somber: "These are homeless children; we took them all in because we felt sorry for them."
Xia Yichen calmly said, "Have you thought of a way to settle them? If not, you can hand them over to me."
The royal family has two secret guard units: the Dragon Guard, commanded by the Emperor, and the Phoenix Guard, managed by the Empress, who has a son by her side.
Dragon Guards and Phoenix Guards are forbidden from marrying. Orphans who lost their parents in a disaster are the only suitable candidates for Dragon Guards and Phoenix Guards. The more than one hundred orphans taken in by Wen Yuxia are the perfect candidates to cultivate a new generation of Dragon Guards and Phoenix Guards.
Wen Yuxia handed Xia Yichen a roster and said with a faint smile, "I originally planned to send them to a farm to settle down, but since you have a better place for them, I'll entrust them to you. This is the orphan's name, age, and place of origin."
The Dragon Guards and Phoenix Guards each have the same number of members, sixty people per team. Except for the first batch of Dragon Guards and Phoenix Guards who received instructor training, afterwards it was a system of veterans mentoring new recruits, with the new recruits caring for the veterans until their deaths.
Xia Yichen glanced at the list and said with great satisfaction, "That's enough to form two teams." Actually, including Xiaoya and her brother, whom he took in earliest, there were a total of 122 orphans.
Since Nan Yi and his group had already taken Xiao Ya and her brother as apprentices, and Xiao Ya had even offered to sign a contract of servitude like Nan Yi and the others, Wen Yuxia did not include Xiao Ya and her brother in the list of orphans.
"Brother, the floodwaters have calmed down once they reached Hongchang County. I've instructed the magistrate of Hongchang County to organize people to dig ditches to divert the water to villages lacking water sources..." Wen Yuxia briefly explained the situation in Hongchang County.
Xia Yichen asked curiously, "Digging ditches to divert water?"
“Yes, Hongchang County has a lot of dry land and little paddy field. Digging ditches to divert water can turn dry land into paddy field, which is a good thing for the people.” Recalling the scene of the people of Hongchang County scrambling to sign up to dig ditches, Wen Yuxia’s lips curled up slightly.
Then she continued, "Brother, the river in Xinchuan County is quite narrow, the dikes in Weishui County are not high enough, and as you can see, the river in Wuji County is full of potholes from the flood... When reinforcing the dikes and riverbeds, we should also dig a few ditches..."