Under the admiring gazes of Xu Ning and Tang Shubai, the carriage staggered to Meishan.
As soon as he entered the Meishan area, Tang Shubai opened the curtain and looked around, finally focusing on the place where the green smoke was curling up in the distance.
He looked at the sparse houses and frowned slightly, "Boss, those houses are where the victims live? Why do I feel that this is not even a village?"
When Jiang Yifeng heard this, he immediately had the urge to beat Tang Shubai to death.
Maybe in Tang Shubai's eyes, these were just a few isolated houses, but for Jiang Yifeng and the victims, it was not easy to build these houses.
After all, these victims can only have enough to eat for a few days.
Jiang Yifeng regarded this as a construction game. He watched the houses rising from the ground and felt a sense of accomplishment. He imagined that one day this place would become a city bigger than Su City.
As a result, Tang Shubai said that this place was not even a village, which instantly made him lose his sense of accomplishment, which was really disappointing.
Just wait for me and see if I can put on small shoes for you in the future.
The carriage slowly approached the 'village'.
Because there was no time to build the road, they got off the carriage when they were still some distance from the village and entered the village on foot.
Everyone as far as the eye can see is busy, some are processing paper bark and bamboo, some are building houses, some are cooking... The only ones who are idle are the children chasing and playing.
In fact, there were not many children, only a little over a hundred in total.
As I said before, the journey from Yuzhou to Suzhou is so long that even adults may not be able to make it, let alone the elderly and children.
"The benefactor is here!"
A woman who was washing clothes by the river saw Jiang Yifeng and suddenly shouted loudly. After a while, a large number of victims came from all directions and surrounded Jiang Yifeng and the others.
"Benefactor, have you eaten?"
"Benefactor, I shot two rabbits yesterday. You can take them with you when you leave."
"benefactor……"
You and I can't stop talking about these disaster victims.
Compared with the past few days, the faces of the victims are now filled with smiles and their complexions are much rosier. Except that they have no flesh on their bodies, their spirit and spirit are no different from ordinary people.
"I have already eaten."
"I'll leave one for you, and I'll take one away!"
"..."
Jiang Yifeng tried his best to respond to every disaster victim.
The smiles on the faces of the victims who received the reply became even brighter, and some even cheered happily.
Seeing this scene, Xu Ning and Tang Shubai fell silent. They couldn't understand why these victims could be so happy despite living in such a harsh environment.
There are no roads paved with stone slabs here. If there is even a little bit of water, it will be very muddy, making walking difficult.
The so-called residences are just a few lonely mud houses, which are not enough to live in. Many people are destined to spend the night in the wild.
Of course, even the earthen house was considered rubbish in the eyes of Xu Ning and Tang Shubai. It could not be compared with the houses in Su City and could only barely provide shelter from the wind and rain.
"Brother Tang..."
Xu Ning looked at Tang Shubai who was also confused and asked in a low voice: "What do you think of this place?"
Tang Shubai hesitated for a long time and smiled bitterly, "I thought my living environment was bad enough, but I didn't expect it to be so much better compared to here."
This comparison is accurate.
Xu Ning nodded in agreement. He had seen Tang Shubai's house, which was a shabby courtyard with bare walls. If he hadn't often helped clean it up, he would have felt uninhabitable.
But even so, Tang Shubai's home is much better than here. There is no comparison between the two.
At this moment, the two heard Jiang Yifeng say to the victims: "These two are the teachers I invited from the city. They can teach the children to read and read."
"Benefactor, we children are too stupid, why are we spending this unjust money?" Some victims immediately felt heartache.
It is not cheap for them to hire a teacher. The monthly salary is twenty taels of silver. It is usually organized by the clan and the gentry, and people from the same clan and village can go to school.
Although the clan and squires received the bulk of the money for tutoring, they still had to pay some fees. Generally, they were given about one hundred kilograms of wheat per year.
But even so, few rural people are willing to send their children to school.
First, when the children go to school, the family will lack a labor force.
Secondly, the cost of going to school is not only a hundred pounds of wheat, but also the cost of buying pens, ink, paper, inkstones and books.
Thirdly, they feel that even if their children are literate, they have no chance of getting any honors, so they feel that going to school is a waste of time.
Facing the words of the victims, Jiang Yifeng smiled slightly and pointed at Xu Ning and Tang Shubai, "These two teachers don't need any money, and the paper for reading and literacy will be given out for free."
In fact, Jiang Yifeng had already guessed this outcome. The victims had not even had enough to eat for several days, so how could they have money to send their children to school?
It was for this reason that he thought of letting Xu Ning and Tang Shubai work part-time as teachers. Anyway, these two people had the ambition to build the world.
This was not something he forced the two of them to do, it was because they often talked about the world, so he had no choice but to help them realize their dreams.
As for why he insists on letting his children read and read...
He must establish his mind for heaven and earth, establish his destiny for all peoples, carry forward his unique teachings for the saints, and create peace for all generations!
Phew!
Jiang Yifeng originally wanted to say such pretentious words loudly like the male protagonists in other novels, but before he could speak, he couldn't help laughing.
To be honest, he is not that great, and he doesn't want to care about the world's affairs. He just wants to live a comfortable life.
Let’s not talk about the distance, let’s just talk about the road from Sioux City to Meishan. Damn, every time you ride in a carriage, you will knock people over. If suspension can be invented, when you ride in a carriage, the carriage will not shake as much as the car. Still awesome.
Besides that, he had a lot to complain about.
Because there is no electricity or light bulbs, you have to go to bed after dinner, and there is no nightlife at all.
Because the transportation is so backward, it takes several hours to travel thirty miles, which is a waste of life.
Because there are no seasonings such as MSG, the taste of the food is much worse. This is a disaster for Chinese foodies.
The problem is, he is a documentary director, and it is okay for him to be a little star with unspoken rules and guide others to act, but it is not possible at all to invent and manufacture these things.
So he thought about teaching others what he knew so that they could make progress based on his knowledge and invent things that could improve their lives.
but……
It was impossible for other people to allow their children to learn these strange skills, and those scholars were pedantic and could not learn what he taught, so he could only start with the victims of the Meishan disaster.
In any case, these disaster victims don't expect their children to gain fame, so it doesn't matter what they study.
"Teachers don't need money, and paper doesn't cost anything. If you use pen and ink, it costs less."
"My benefactor has already considered this for us. If we hesitate any longer, it will offend our benefactor. I am willing to let my children go to school."
"I would also like to..."
Among the victims present, those with children at home spoke in response.
Although they all felt that reading and literacy were unnecessary, since their benefactor had said so, they could not let their benefactor feel cold.
"Okay, everyone, please stop crowding around me. Those who should work should work, those who should cook should cook, and some more people should go and move the things I brought. Two gentlemen and I are taking a stroll."
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Jiang Yifeng shouted loudly to everyone.
Hearing this, the victims no longer surrounded him and quickly dispersed.
"What do you think of this place?"
Jiang Yifeng led the two of them on the muddy road. Because it was close to Meishan Mountain, the muddy water on the ground was black.
"not so good."
Xu Ning and Tang Shubai looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time.
In their imagination, the beggars in Sioux City lived more comfortably than these disaster victims.
"but……"
Tang Shubai frowned slightly and looked at Jiang Yifeng in confusion, "Boss, I don't understand. In my eyes, they have nothing to eat, nothing to wear, and not even a house. Why do they all have smiles on their faces?" , as if very happy.”
"You seem very happy?"
Jiang Yifeng chuckled, "Delete the word 'like', they would be happy."
"But they have nothing, so they have no reason to be happy!"
"No no no..."
Jiang Yifeng shook his head repeatedly and said: "To you, they have nothing, but in their eyes, they must be thinking that we actually have so many things."
"???"
Tang Shubai's face was filled with questions.
"don't know?"
"don't know!"
At this time, a little girl of seven or eight years old, dressed in rags and holding a wild fruit in her hand, walked past.
Jiang Yifeng stopped the little girl and asked with a smile: "Kid, what's your name?"
The little girl thought Jiang Yifeng was going to steal her wild fruit, so she quickly put it in her arms and said, "You can't even try to cheat me of my fruit."
"..."
Jiang Yifeng sneered, "I just want to know your name, not to steal your fruit."
"That's it!"
The little girl breathed a sigh of relief, took the fruit out of her arms, and took a big bite regardless of whether it was dirty or not.
Then, while eating, she said: "My name is Daya."
Da Ya!
Why does it sound familiar?
Jiang Yifeng gave up after thinking for a moment, and asked with a smile: "Da Ya, tell me, are you satisfied with your current life?"
Daya nodded vigorously, "Satisfied!"
"Why are you satisfied?"
"Let me think."
Da Ya tilted her head and started thinking, not forgetting to take a few bites of the fruit during this process, "I can eat enough, and I don't have to worry about others snatching my food. By the way, I have three chickens at home, and the eggs they lay are delicious. Second Uncle Tell me to give you one more tomorrow."
After saying that, Da Ya showed a happy smile.
"That's it?"
Xu Ning and Tang Shubai were stunned, almost thinking they heard wrongly.
Because even when they are the poorest, they are not happy for an egg. This requirement is too low!
Thinking of this, Tang Shubai couldn't help but said: "You like eating eggs because you have never eaten better things. Once you have eaten better things, you don't like eating eggs anymore."
"I have eaten good food." Da Ya continued: "At that time, my father and mother were still there, and my grandfather was also there. My father and second uncle were very good at work, so the family was relatively wealthy, and they could often Bring me something delicious.”
"Then why do you think eggs are delicious?"
"Because these are gone!"
Da Ya's voice was filled with sadness, "The big river suddenly flooded and flooded all the crops. The family had no choice but to flee day and night."
"It was fine at the beginning, but then when there was no food, some adults started to grab other people's food to eat. They even killed people. Our family's food was also robbed. Then grandpa, dad, and mom left the food Give it to me and grandma, they are starving to death.”
When telling this story, Da Ya did not shed any tears except for the sadness in her voice. She was so calm that it was terrifying.
"Aren't you... sad?" Tang Shubai asked later.
"It's just starting to hurt!"
Daya paused for a moment and continued: "But when a person is too hungry, he can't even cry. At that time, he can't think about anything except eating. As time goes by, he won't be so sad. ”
Although Da Ya said it easily, Tang Shubai understood how sad the process was.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for a seven or eight-year-old child to be so mature, much more mature than the children of the same age in Sioux City.
It gives people the feeling that they have seen too much life and death, but also belittle it.
"I'm sorry for reminding you of bad things." Tang Shubai felt very sorry.
Da Ya waved her hand like an adult, "You don't need to apologize. This is not a bad thing, not to mention that I miss them once a day."
After hearing this, Xu Ning and Tang Shubai fell silent. Da Ya was so mature that it made them feel distressed.
At this time, Jiang Yifeng said: "You two live in Sioux City, so you won't understand what the victims have gone through. Some things are normal to you, but they are luxury to the victims."
"What you see is that they have nothing, but for them, now they have safety, food to fill their stomachs, a home to live in, and they are very satisfied."
Daya reminded: "There are still three chickens."
Jiang Yifeng said helplessly, "Yes, there are three more chickens."
Listening to Jiang Yifeng's words, Xu Ning and Tang Shubai suddenly realized that the people living in Su City, even beggars, had so many more things than the disaster victims.
"Da Ya, go home and have dinner."
Suddenly, an old woman walked from a distance, apparently calling Da Ya to go home for dinner.
Seeing this, Jiang Yifeng knelt down and asked, "Da Ya, are you willing to go to Su City with me to eat good food?"
The eldest girl raised her eyebrows and asked, "What's delicious?"
"Apricot candy, icing sugar, pastries, roast chicken..."
Jiang Yifeng named more than a dozen dishes just like naming them.
"OK!"
Da Ya kept swallowing, her eyes were shining, and she wanted to follow Jiang Yifeng immediately.
Seeing this situation, Jiang Yifeng immediately stood up and said to the old woman: "Old lady, your granddaughter's safety awareness is very poor. I only used a small piece of candy to trick her away. You must educate her well." Take it easy, don’t get kidnapped by human traffickers.”
Daya: "..."
