Where has Brother Lianghan gone?
Xie Lingjiang hadn't seen Ouyang Rong for several days.
After she settled in the Su family, she went to the county government office several times to look for Ouyang Rong in the past few days, but she didn't see anyone, nor did he see him looking for her.
The last time they met was three days ago, when Mrs. Zhen sent someone to invite her to have lunch at Meiluyuan. Halfway through the meal, Xie Lingjiang was still dealing with Mrs. Zhen’s conversation when she saw the young county magistrate hurriedly put down his bowl and left the table. He thought he was going I felt anxious, but no one came back in the second half.
On a sunny afternoon, after Xie Lingjiang had a meal with Shibo's family in the Su Mansion, she practiced long-range shooting in the back garden for a while. She guessed that the county government's lunch break was almost over, so she declined the invitation of Aunt Su's family for afternoon tea. , rushed to the county government office one step ahead of schedule.
But after Xie Lingjiang waited for a long time, everyone in the yamen was on duty, and Ouyang Rong was nowhere to be seen. He asked the yamen servant, but he didn't know.
Where are people?
She rushed to Meiluyuan and found Zhen.
"Auntie, do you know where Brother Lianghan has gone?"
"Tan Lang isn't in the office?"
"No, I haven't seen anyone else for several days."
"Huanhan, are you missing him?"
"..." Xie Lingjiang said with a straight face: "No. I'm his staff, why don't you call me if you have anything."
"Huanhan, don't be resentful. When he comes back tonight, aunt will teach him a lesson for you."
Mrs. Zhen smiled, but she also knew that the noble lady Xie's serious temperament should not be teased too much. The woman in Luoqun thought for a moment and then said:
"In the past few days, I have seen that Tan Lang is in a hurry, walking with wind, coming home late every day, and he doesn't know what he is doing when he comes back. His body is dirty, and once he was covered in yellow mud... Yesterday morning, Yan Liulang came to pick him up, and I heard they seemed to be talking about a camp on the outskirts of the city, so Huanwan can go look for it on the outskirts of the city."
"Thank you, aunt."
Without saying a word, Xie Lingjiang turned around and left Luming Street. After asking for directions, she rushed towards the outskirts of the city. However, the scene along the way surprised her:
She still remembered that some time ago, when she and Ouyang Rong went down the mountain to send her father to the ferry, no matter in the busy streets of Longcheng County or on the official roads outside the city, there were a large number of refugees dragging their families with them everywhere.
But today, as Xie Lingjiang walked along the way, not only did all the refugees on the street disappear, but there were not many left, and most of them were women, old and weak, and some children running around. Although they still looked disheveled, they could There is almost no trace of the dazed and gray look on his face that he had seen a few days ago when he was stumbling around hungry on the ground.
In addition, perhaps because there are fewer young adults among them, security has improved a lot along the way.
And some of the young and middle-aged refugees she occasionally met were either carrying bricks and tiles, carrying ladles to fetch water, hurried past her, or were busy in the ruins of some damaged houses on the roadside.
Xie Lingjiang looked surprised, but when she arrived at the outskirts of the city.
She finally knew where most of the refugees had gone.
Xie Ling Jiang Fujian stood on a small hill where the Earth Temple stood, looking into the distance.
On the outskirts of the city between Longcheng County and Dagushan Mountain, where Donglin Temple is located, is a vast expanse of fields after the water receded. The golden sunshine was like a spoonful of hot oil pouring on the crispy yellow pancakes.
And the large swaths of busy working refugees who either gathered or dispersed in small groups, and the newly erected greenhouses and huts, were like the hot oil on the newly fried pancakes. The noble girl's eyes were beating actively, and a kind of vitality that was completely different from the "spring mountains with spreading grass and trees" was bursting out bravely on the land in front of her.
Xie Lingjiang felt that this was not like the sad spring now, but like the hardworking golden autumn she had seen when her father took her to the family manor in autumn when she was a child.
This vitality that changes the seasons in the mountains, rivers and fields made her silently jump down the hills and approach them spontaneously.
Xie Lingjiang entered the disaster relief camp that was being built in full swing. She saw women and children delivering water and picking up fruits, men driving piles and erecting tents, and cooks boiling water. As she looked along, she met some officials in Tsing Yi who were commanding and protecting them. , and didn’t forget to ask about Ouyang Rong.
"The girl asked the county magistrate? I met him and Captain Yan eating on the ridge at noon. They seemed to be going to the newly built Shuangjiang camp in the afternoon. The construction of Shuangjiang camp just started yesterday. The county magistrate selected the toilets in each relief camp. The site is very strict, and open toilets are not allowed. Members of each battalion must personally supervise the construction."
"Frostfall Camp?" Xie Lingjiang was curious.
"Shuangjiang Camp is walking to the far south. The disaster relief camp at the foot is called Guyu, and the one next to it is called Lixia Camp. These are the names given by the county magistrate. He said that he would build 24 disaster relief camps on the outskirts of the city, and they should be named according to each solar term. One, the county magistrate is educated..."
Xie Lingjiang laughed, said goodbye to the young official in green clothes, and continued to look for him in the south...
Xie Lingjiang found Ouyang Rong in the evening.
When she first rushed to the southernmost camp, Shuangsheng Camp, which had just started to be built, the "Magistrate Carrot County" that the refugees were talking about was not here.
I heard from the clerk who stayed at this camp that not long before she arrived, news came that a strong laborer in the Qingming Camp in the north had suffered a bone injury, so the county magistrate hurried to find the doctor.
So the two senior brothers and sisters missed it perfectly.
So we walked around a lot in the afternoon. It was almost sunset, and Xie Lingjiang found a guy taking a rest on a field ridge that was filled with yellow mud not long after the water receded.
The latter didn't seem too surprised to see her. He wiped his hands on his clothes that were already stained with dirty gray mud, smiled, and took the clean water bag she silently handed over.
"you……"
Originally, Xie Lingjiang was a little bit resentful, asking her to look for this guy all afternoon, but when she saw the thirsty look of him raising his head and pouring water directly into his stomach, she changed her words again, Asked softly:
"Why do they call you 'Carrot County Magistrate'?"
Hearing this, Ouyang Rong suddenly felt a little emotional: "I originally thought that the pickled radish from Donglin Temple was delicious enough, but I didn't expect that the pickled radish brought by the aunts was even more delicious. I couldn't help but eat more these days, which made me... Brother Jiang, it seems that the masters are all among the people."
Among the officials who were resting tiredly in the fields, one of them could not help but interrupt:
"Mingtang has been taking us to drink porridge with the victims at every meal these days in the suburbs of the city. Mr. Yan couldn't bear it, so he went to find some pickled radishes. Mingtang eats them for every meal. The radish magistrate is the honorific title of the people, and he is also in the city. It’s spread all over the world.”
Xie Lingjiang was a little dumbfounded. Why did he feel like you were treating this pickled radish as a reward?
She said directly to Ouyang Rong: "Then dinner will be served tonight, and I have to try it too."
Ouyang Rong nodded helplessly. Seeing the sun setting in the west, he had been busy all day and carefully told the officials behind him about the disaster relief camp. They all followed the order and left.
On the field ridges where the setting sun was slanting, only the two senior brothers and sisters from Bailudong Academy and their two long slanting shadows were left.
Xie Lingjiang ignored the dirt and sat down next to Ouyang Rong.
With her sword across her knees, her starry eyes stared straight at the red sun hiding behind Dagushan. From this angle, the ancient temple belonging to the Southern Lotus Sect on the mountain was dark, with only some outlines outlined by the golden light.
"Are you busy with these these days? Are they all organized by you? Is this what you call...relief for work?" asked the noble lady of the Xie family.
"Twelve thousand, nine hundred and eighty-one people." The young county magistrate suddenly said without answering.
"What?"
"In May of the first year of the Holy Calendar of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Yunmengze flood and Longcheng flooded. As of noon today, the number of victims has reached 12,981, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the county's population.
“Among them, there are 4,373 orphans, old people, sick and infirm people who are unable to support themselves.
"About 1,100 people are missing. Among them, those who fled to other counties are unknown; those who are dead are unknown."
Xie Lingjiang fell silent, turned to look at him and continued counting:
"The grain stored in the charity warehouse, as of yesterday, was 9,817 dan...
"It is estimated that 24 relief camps will be built, 18 have been roughly built, and 33 food points and porridge sheds have been established. It is stipulated that each person will receive one liter of relief food per day, and children will receive half a liter.
"To prevent being trampled, men and women receive food separately from each other, and receive two days of rations at a time... They are not allowed to leave the disaster relief camp without any reason, otherwise they will not be given food...
"As of today, a total of 2,700 young and strong people have been recruited in exchange of work for relief, and 3,600 workers have been employed, and they are paid with chestnuts.
"There are also eight hundred young men who are building collapsed houses for ninety wealthy households inside and outside the city who still have money. It costs nine hundred and thirty workers, and the wealthy households pay for it themselves..."
Ouyang Rong reported the numbers that he had calculated countless times in his mind in one breath, then took a long breath, turned to his junior sister who stared at him and said seriously:
"This stall has basically been revitalized. We will move forward according to the rules and regulations established these days, so that women, children, old and young can fill their bellies. The young and middle-aged people should not be idle, work for relief, work hard, harvest surplus food, and rebuild their homes when the disaster is over. …
"Now we are just waiting for more disaster relief food from the imperial court and Jiangzhou to start rebuilding new flood control buildings."
In the last ray of the setting sun, Xie Lingjiang saw the young county magistrate getting up excitedly, pointing at the people working hard in the fields, and asking in confusion:
"So, why do you have to beg those local tyrants, squires, and good-hearted gentlemen to reward you with gruel? Are you being treated like livestock and being raised in captivity? What these people need is not just a small amount of food that is exploited from them and then given back. They are hard-working and capable people. What they need is a field that can be cultivated, a small home that can be erected with their own hands, and a job that can use their own hard work and sweat, without anyone's charity."
Then, Xie Lingjiang, who was getting hotter and hotter due to the cold wind and even hugged his sword tightly, saw the senior brother who had turned into a dark figure along with the mountains and the ancient temple, calmed down and said:
"Fuck the good guy."
She saw Qi again.
