Chapter 129： Disaster

After returning, Xu Dongming and Lao Tian asked: "Are those people still making trouble?"

"It's gone! According to what the master said, I have warned them all. Unless they don't want the child's future, I don't dare to say anything to them even if I have a hundred courages! Don't worry!" Lao Tian smiled flatteringly.

Xu Dongming was still frowning, "The county examination has alarmed the academic officials. I'm afraid they will be wary. I'm afraid it will be difficult for the academy examination to repeat the same trick. You refunded the Qian family's money and just talked about it." Can’t help!”

He struggled for several days before making up his mind to refund the money.

Lao Tian's face changed suddenly, "Master! When I collected the money, I promised them that I would definitely get the questions. Now that I want to refund the money, the Qian family will definitely not do it. That family will point to Qian Wen to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar." If you say you can't get the question now, there will definitely be trouble! What if that group of people comes to kill you?"

Both the master and the servant know Qian Wen's situation, and he is just a little better than an ordinary idiot. His reputation has been blown out before. If he fails to pass the hospital examination this time, some people will definitely be suspicious. What's more important is that his replacement has escaped. , the longer it is delayed, the greater the possibility of the secret being exposed. If Qian Wen cannot end this time, the Qian family may really be in trouble.

A trace of sternness flashed in Xu Dongming's eyes, "Then let's hold off for now, and wait until before the exam to come up with some test questions to fool him. Anyway, this is how the county magistrate will operate this time, and it's not up to us to decide what happens!"

This was not the result Lao Tian wanted, but seeing the murderous intent in Xu Dongming's eyes, he did not dare to say anything else.

The retention of county examination results has finally been explained to all the candidates who took the county examination in Ping'an County. Because it is fair and just, no one has any objections. In addition, after the Wei River burst its dykes, no one mentioned the county examination again.

After Dong Ze investigated, he went to see Xie Yucheng with a solemn expression, "Twenty-two people drowned in Songshu Village, including five widows and widowers, and one family was crushed due to the collapse of the house. The family of ten only survived two children, and the remaining Those who fell were those who were swept in by the flood and drowned before they could escape in time.

More than half of the houses in the village have collapsed, and the remaining ones are crumbling and uninhabitable. The villagers are now temporarily hiding in caves on the mountains, but this is not a long-term solution. More than 60% of the crops have been destroyed, and it is probably too late to replant them.

In addition to Songshu Village, there are also Baiyang Village, Mingliu Village, and Taohua Village next to Songshu Village. The number of casualties is more than 20, and the situation is similar. In the remaining villages, either the road out of the village has been washed away by flash floods, or the fields have been washed away. , the casualties among the villagers were not serious. "

Xie Yucheng's face turned pale when he heard that the crops were destroyed.

Dong Ze thought he was worried about the autumn harvest taxes, and hurriedly comforted him: "Sir, please report the true situation, and the court will make its own decision. Today's emperor is a rare wise king, and he will definitely not embarrass the people."

"Hey! Having said that, how much of the disaster relief funds from the court will come to us? There are so many people in our county, how much will be distributed to everyone?" Xie Yucheng's eyes suddenly turned red when he thought of this. , extremely sad.

Gao Yong listened for a while and asked cautiously: "Master Dong, isn't the head of Rongshu Village here?"

Xie Yucheng, who was feeling sad, was stunned for a moment and looked at Dong Ze.

Dong Ze shook his head subconsciously, no. There was no one from Rongshu Village. "

"It's strange! I remember that Rongshu Village is next to Songshu Village, which is closer to Weijiang than Taohua Village. It doesn't make sense that the head of Taohua Village is here, but there is no one in their village. Could it be that there are still people in the outer pan Kang? Didn't you rush back?" The more Gao Yong thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

Xie Yucheng was shocked, "Oh no! What if all the men in the village are outside and only the old, weak, women and children are left behind? How can we survive in such a situation!"

The three of them subconsciously thought that something big happened in Rongshu Village. Xie Yucheng led a group of people to rush to Rongshu Village without even having time to change clothes.

The people he met along the way were all crying people, which made Xie Yucheng feel heavy. Especially when he saw some people holding the fallen seedlings in the field and crying, he felt even more sad and burst into tears.

The group of people rushed to Rongshu Village without stopping, but their way was blocked by a fallen banyan tree at the entrance of the village. Their hearts suddenly sank in half.

Xie Yucheng said anxiously with a pale face: "Quick! Come into the village and take a look!"

He said that he fell down when he dismounted and his robe was dirty, so he didn't care. The Yamen opened the way, and after a while, a trail was finally cleared.

Gao Yong led others into the village and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Is there anyone there?"

I called several times but no one answered.

By this time, Xie Yucheng's legs were so weak that he almost knelt down.

Dong Ze swallowed hard and his eyes were as wide as copper bells. "Sir, please hold still. I remember Mrs. Jiang's home is in the east of the village, and her home is halfway up the mountain. Maybe everything will be okay?"

“Yes, yes! Mrs. Jiang’s house is on a high ground, so it’s unlikely to be flooded there! And her house is solid, so it’s definitely fine!” Gao Yong shouted excitedly.

Everyone's eyes lit up and they rushed to the east of the village, stepping on the muddy yellow mud. Before they reached Jiang Ning's house, they saw the smoke rising from the foot of Qingfeng Mountain.

A group of people rushed over and ran into the workshop at once. They saw that it was full of people and everyone was so busy that Xie Yucheng and others were stunned.

The villagers who were working were also dumbfounded.

“Your Excellency, County Magistrate?” The village chief recognized Xie Yucheng first and quickly greeted the villagers to salute.

Xie Yucheng finally came to his senses, opened his mouth, and asked dryly: "How is the situation in your village?"

The village chief said bitterly: "Half of the house has collapsed, and the rest cannot be inhabited. Everyone is busy breaking down adobe bricks and burning tiles and floor tiles. We have to repair the house first, otherwise there will be no place to live. As for the crops, We took back half of it, and the rest was destroyed! Fortunately, our village is full of mountains. With the help of adults and no taxes this year, we should be able to survive by tightening our belts.”

Xie Yucheng listened for a long time without hearing the main point, and couldn't help but ask: "What are the casualties?"

“Casualties?” The village chief shook his head like a rattle, “No, no, no, all the people in our village are fine, not a single one is missing!”

"How is that possible!" Niu Yiwu shouted in surprise. After finishing speaking, he realized something was wrong. He wanted to explain but didn't know how to say it.

Others’ reactions were not much better than Niu Yiwu’s.

Dong Ze frowned and said, "Village chief, do you know the situation in Mingliu Village, Songshu Village, and Baiyang Village, Taohua Village?"

The village chief shook his head again.

Dong Ze said in a deep voice: "The number of casualties in these villages is more than twenty. Even several other villages far away from Weijiang River also suffered casualties. Your village is right on the edge of Weijiang River, but no one has had any accidents. This"

It is really illogical.

The villagers were frightened for a while after hearing this. The village chief's wife, Mrs. Liu, stood up and said: "Sir, all the men in our village are working outside. The elderly, children and women all work in this workshop when they have free time. The houses in the workshop were just built at the beginning of the year. The straw hut had just been built and was very strong. We were all hiding in the workshop at that time.

This is at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain. When the water came up, we ran up the mountain. It was only a few steps away. There were caves on the mountain where we could stay temporarily, so everyone in the village was fine. "