Chapter 358: The elder has great wisdom

“I’ll leave it to Xue Qinglian for now. His medical skills are sufficient to handle it.”

Chen Xiulan frowned. “I’m afraid that Qinglian will give up his responsibilities after you leave. He has little compassion for the patients.”

She was spot on. Liu Yusheng also forced Xue Qinglian to help with her spiritual spring water as bait. Only then did he barely manage to practice his medical arts for the poor.

Liu Yusheng laughed, “If he dares to give up his burden, Second |Aunt can beat him with a broom.”

Du Juan, “…” What kind of image did she have now in the eyes of her in-laws?

Several people snickered at Liu Yusheng’s response.

“Go ahead, I’ll keep an extra eye on Qinglian there. He would be busy during this period at most,” Grandma Liu sighed, “As soon as Axiu receives news from our side, he should respond soon. I hope he can be more timely.”

Last night, they had asked Wei Hong to pass the situation here to the capital in a secret letter.

The official side should have also reported the situation, but the speed wouldn’t be as fast as Wei Hong.

Liu Yusheng said she’d go and prepare, but when she came out again, she only had an extra cloak on her and an extra medical kit in her hand.

Seeing the petite figure of his little granddaughter, Grandpa Liu frowned, then said, “Let Yan Hong follow along, so she can help if needed.”

“Father, I’ll also follow Nannan to help. Anyway, we are idle at home, so I can also give a hand,” Liu Dalin immediately took a stand.

“Grandpa, let me go too. I do not know anything else, but I still have a handful of strength. I can always lend a helping hand,” Liu Zhiqiu also offered.

“I’ll go along, as well,” said Liu Zhixia.

The affected villages were certainly in chaos now. Nannan, a delicate little girl, ran over there, so even if someone followed her, there was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be unexpected events.

They could at least protect her by staying nearby.

The elders and the young masters of the family have taken a stand, so Liu Erlin was unwilling to show weakness. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his father gave him a reprimanding look. “What’s with all of you adding to the mess? When did this trip turn into a vegetable market? Just let Yan Hong go. Others stay. I have other things for you to do.”

Grandpa Liu rarely displayed his majesty as the head of the family, so he rendered the family speechless for a moment.

They could only watch Liu Yusheng and Wei Hong get on the carriage of the county office and left in the wind and snow.

“Father, what is it that you want us to do?” Liu Dalin asked. If he didn’t make it clear, he would butt heads with him.

What was more important than going to protect Nannan?

Back in the hall, Grandpa Liu let the family sit down and said, “Almost all the villages in the whole Xiangshan County are more or less affected by this snow disaster. Only our village was spared. This is a fortunate thing for Xinghua Village, but in the eyes of others, it isn’t the same.”

The family members mulled over the old man’s words for a while, and they came around.

Liu Zhixia said, “We’re all the same village. Others are suffering, but we are resting on our laurels. Now that there is chaos everywhere, others have not yet reacted, but when things have settled down, there will certainly be many people denouncing our village. They will say that we are indifferent and selfish. They will say that we left people to sink or swim. By then, our village will become the target of criticism.”

The human heart was like this.

People didn’t have what they had. There was no previous incident that triggered a conflict, so everyone was still able to get along.

But with this sudden snowstorm, only Xinghua Village was left unscathed, so it would probably be difficult to maintain the calm of the past.

“Father, what do you want us to do?” Liu Dalin asked the old man again.

“This is something we can’t do alone. I have to go to Jinfu to discuss the matter. The disaster in the villages near Xinghua isn’t light. Then let’s see if we can give a helping hand. One is for the village’s reputation, and the second is also for our countryside neighbors. We will feel sorry if we ignore them. Then again, if we do a bit more on this side, we can help to relieve a bit of Axiu and Nannan’s burdens.”

The family nodded their heads.

Fu Yuzheng looked at this usually boisterous and open-minded old man and felt particularly touched deep inside.

The family had an elder like a gem. It was reflected here.

Grandpa has great wisdom.

Grandma was the first to support her husband’s idea, “I’ll go to the village mothers to see if each family has old unused winter clothes and quilts. We’ll collect them and send them to the surrounding villages.”

“Mother, we will help you,” Chen Xiulan said in unison with Du Juan.

“Then let’s wait for father to discuss with the village head, then see to those affected families. Let’s make some effort to build a kitchen or something,” Liu Dalin also led the task.

The three remaining young ones were left. Liu Zhiqiu moved closer to his elder brother and asked, “Brother, what can we do? If we can’t catch up with our parents, we’ll be laughed at.”

“There is.” Liu Zhixia raised his eyebrows, “Go get some herbs to dispel wind and cold from Xue Qinglian and go boil a few big pots. We can use it when the time comes.”

“I’ll boil medicine, then what are you going to do?”

“When you’re done boiling, do you think those tonics must not be delivered? Yuzheng and I are responsible for delivering the medicine. It just so happens that there is a spare carriage at home.”

Liu Zhiqiu pursed his lips and got up to look for Xue Qinglian.

His elder brother was obviously taking the fruits of his labor to do good deeds, yet he has to hide his merit and fame behind his back.

Wily old fox.

With the discussion, the family went about their business.

Meanwhile, Liu Yusheng, Kang Shiming and his entourage spent half an hour to Duanqiao Village, which was the nearest to the north of Xinghua Village. 

The snow on the ground was so thick that the carriage took painstaking efforts to travel. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken them half an hour to cover the distance.

As soon as they entered the village, they felt the heavy atmosphere over the village.

There wasn’t even a sound of laughter on the paths through the houses. Even the sound of talking was scant.

Liu Yusheng also saw huge holes in the roofs of many houses, and the edges of the holes were covered with condensed snow and ice.

Based on this alone, the houses must be in a mess.

The carriage finally stopped at a slightly better-looking residence in the village, and several people got off.

“This is the house of the village chief of Duanqiao Village. I have been here once before,” Kang Shiming explained.

The people inside heard the sound of the carriage and rushed out to open the door. “County Magistrate, you’re here! Come in quickly!”

It was an old man with white hair, wrapped in a faded white cotton coat. The gray cotton wool could be seen faintly at his worn cuffs.

“We’ve been sitting at home waiting since we received the news that you were coming. You’ve finally arrived.”

The old man said as he looked at the four people following Kang Shiming. He was a little surprised that he was accompanied by three women but asked no further.

A commotion stirred up behind the old mind. It wasn’t until they entered the door that Liu Yusheng saw a crowd of people standing there, standing shoulder to shoulder from the hall to the outside.

Men and women, young and old; everyone’s faces were tinged with helpless bewilderment, nervous and restrained as they huddled together. It wasn’t until they looked at Kang Shiming that a glimmer shone in their dull eyes.

They obviously found out that the County Magistrate would come to help them, so they were waiting for Kang Shiming, filled with hopes.

“There’s so many people here.” Kang Shiming nodded towards the Duanqiao villagers. “Let’s all go into the house and talk.”