Chapter 128: Natural Disaster
After Teacher Wang left, Su Yaoguang said to Zhou Wangshu, “I’m going home to check. Don’t run around here; I’ll be back soon.”
During this time, the rain would stop at times and then continue endlessly. At this moment, even the most elegant literati and guests could no longer appreciate the gentle breeze and drizzle; they wished it would disappear quickly and not appear for months.
Today was another rainy day.
In her previous life, it had been too long ago, so Su Yaoguang only vaguely remembered that something like this had happened, but she did not remember it lasting this long. Perhaps the experiences in her previous life were different, and it had not left a deep memory.
Fortunately, she had made preparations in advance, so at least she did not have to worry about running out of grain or medicine.
Zhou Wangshu stood in the doorway watching Su Yaoguang leave. He put on a cloak, wrapping himself up tightly, and left the academy through the dog hole that Su Yaoguang had mentioned.
His body had improved a lot, and he finally had the energy to check on Zhong Chushan, Chen Buyu, and the others. Most importantly, he did not know how the little followers he had placed with Zhong Chushan were doing.
Last time Su Yaoguang had him stock up on grain, the amount he brought back was ten times what Su Yaoguang had said. After giving some to Zhong Chushan and Chen Buyu, he gave half of the rest to Su Yaoguang and kept half for himself.
When the illness had just started spreading, Chen Buyu and Zhong Chushan had stayed home to recuperate. They had never been keen on studying anyway—fishing for three days and drying nets for two—so their families were used to it, and the teachers at the academy did not care either. Because of this, they had not been trapped in the academy.
“Wangshu, you’re alright?” Chen Buyu returned from outside, looking utterly exhausted, but he was overjoyed to see him. “I knew you boy weren’t that weak; sure enough, you’re full of life. You don’t know how exhausted I’ve been these days. Fortunately, we stockpiled a large amount of grain and medicinal herbs following you, and used the prescriptions you copied to make medicine, so the people in our dance hall are fine.”
“If everything’s fine, how did you end up this exhausted?” Zhou Wangshu noticed the dark circles under his eyes.
“Don’t mention it. The whole city is out of grain now. Some bastard said our dance hall has grain, so people keep coming to steal at night these past few days. Last night, someone even sneaked into my mother and sister’s room, scaring them badly. Our dance hall shop assistants usually only handle things inside the dance hall, and there seem to be plenty of them, but now scattered out, they can’t hold off those thieves with ill intentions at all.”
“Then hire more people. You have grain, and in this situation, recruiting workers doesn’t require wages—just provide three meals a day. Once this matter is over, let those people leave.”
“You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that?” Chen Buyu slapped his forehead. “This brain doesn’t work at crucial moments; it’s just there to make up the numbers.”
“If even here is starting to get chaotic, won’t Peach Blossom Workshop have people eyeing it too?”
“Don’t worry about that. Everywhere else might have problems, but not Peach Blossom Workshop. Do you know Peach Blossom Workshop has been donating medicinal herbs and grain? The government office is specially guarding Peach Blossom Workshop. It’s said that now in the city, porridge is being distributed every day. The biggest merchants each set up a porridge stall, and Peach Blossom Workshop set up one too, but theirs is guarded by government people—no one dares to cause trouble.”
“Not only that, the prescription from the female doctor at Peach Blossom Workshop is already being tested, and results should come out in the next few days. If it really works, the government office will definitely protect and care for it even more diligently.”
Hearing Chen Buyu’s words, Zhou Wangshu felt much relieved.
He had come out this time for a purpose too.
“I need manpower. This is the perfect time to recruit, so help me keep an eye out. If you find any good prospects, hold them for me.”
Chen Buyu looked at Zhou Wangshu. “Brother Wangshu, Miss Su and her family treat you very well. You don’t need to start from scratch. What do you need so many people for?”
“Am I really going to live off soft rice my whole life?” Zhou Wangshu lowered his eyes.
“You’re right! A big man, if he can achieve a career on his own, doesn’t want to rely on women. So what are you recruiting so many people for?”
“I have my uses for them.”
His maternal family still had mines there, unknown to anyone, and he needed a group of people to handle things there.
He had earned a sum of money now, more than enough to support these people. But he needed more money to recruit even more manpower; he needed to control greater power.
He was going to fight his way back to the capital city.
……
As soon as Su Yaoguang entered the door, Zhang Pandi shouted loudly, “Yaoguang is back.”
The shop door of Peach Blossom Workshop was wide open, unlike other shops that were closed. There were quite a few female customers in the shop now; these were all previous regular patrons, but this time they were not there to buy products, but to seek treatment from Jiang Jing.
“Boss Su, I’m one of your shop’s first regular customers. This time, you have to see me first! I’ve been sick for ten days, and it’s getting worse. I can’t delay any longer. Cough cough…”
“Boss Su, I’ve bought several hundred taels of silver worth of goods from your shop. You have to see me first…”
Su Yaoguang was surrounded by a group of sickly female customers. Zhang Zhaodi and the others came out from inside and quickly rescued her.
“Everyone, trust our Doctor Jiang Jing. We’ll definitely prioritize seeing you all. Line up properly, don’t crowd! Everyone’s bodies are quite weak now; we can’t have any more collisions.”
“Our Yaoguang hasn’t been in the shop these days. Tell us about the shop matters. You can see how tired she looks from taking care of patients.” Zhang Yingdi explained gently.
Su Yaoguang was rescued from the encirclement by the Zhang sisters and went to the backyard, away from the chaotic situation.
“Jing’er…” Su Yaoguang watched as Jiang Jing was surrounded by patients.
“Don’t worry. Jing’er faces this many patients every day now and can handle it without batting an eye. She’s a doctor; if those people want her to treat them, they’ll have to be polite to her.”
“What’s the situation?” Su Yaoguang asked.
“You gave medicinal herbs to the people at the academy, and they handed them to the county office. The County Magistrate personally came to see Jing’er and took a large quantity of medicinal herbs from her, saying he’d try them on the severely ill. Although there’s no conclusion yet, many people who heard the news have come to Jing’er for treatment. Jing’er’s attitude is that since they trust her, she’ll treat them—anyway, it won’t get worse than now.”
“How’s everything at home lately?”
“Rest assured, it’s great. We have food and clothing, everything in abundance; no matter how heavy the rain, it won’t affect us. The only downside is that business is gone.”
“Who knows how long this rain will last. If it continues like this, I’m worried there’ll be even greater chaos ahead.” She could no longer rely on her previous life’s experience to handle problems; things had long diverged from her previous life. “I just came back from the academy and saw many homeless refugees on the street. Strangely enough, we didn’t have this many beggars here before. Where did these people come from?”
