Union

Chapter 122.121 Preparations
Yunying couldn't help but take two steps forward. She had just stood still when the Second Master reined in his horse and stopped it on the road.

Liu Songyun spoke with the Second Master about the hurricane with a serious expression. The Second Master seemed to already know about it. As he dismounted, he told Liu Songyun to stop the road repairs first, and that he would take care of everything else.

Seeing that the Second Master's expression was calm, Liu Songyun's restless mind calmed down. He hurriedly bowed to the Second Master and went to attend to his own business.

Yunying took a few steps forward, "Second Master."

The second master's expression softened slightly. "Why did you run away?"

Yunying's expression was solemn. "I've heard about the hurricane."

"Don't worry, I'll arrange it right away. You go back to the backyard first, keep the people in the mansion under control, and also clear out any unused courtyards."

"Second Master is thinking..."

Seeing that Yunying understood his meaning, the Second Master nodded slightly. "Most of the people's houses are thatched huts, which are absolutely no match for the ravages of a hurricane. I intend to call on those in the city and county who are able to lend out their houses to help the people get through these few days."

"Alright, go and make the arrangements."

Yunying thought that Second Master was being a bit delusional. In the county town, those who could afford to lend out their courtyards were all wealthy households. If wealthy households had the means, they would only donate a few coins. But if they brought these poor people to their homes, who knew if these people were carrying lice or insects? Would they steal their things as soon as they entered the courtyard? And wouldn't it be easy to invite a god but hard to send him away? Once the hurricane was over, these people would be impossible to get rid of.

But the Second Master was in a hurry to attend to other matters, and Yunying didn't want to dampen his spirits at this time, so she readily agreed and returned to the backyard with two maids.

In the afternoon, Yunying prepared everything she could think of, and as dusk approached, the county government office was indeed crammed with many people.

These people were brought in by Suiyun and handed over to her, leaving them to her discretion.

These people were all dressed in tattered clothes, carrying a bundle and a few broken bowls. Some were better off, carrying an old cotton quilt, while others came in with their arms outstretched and heads held high.

When these people entered the county government office and saw Yunying, they were all so frightened that they dared not breathe. They shrank back and hung their heads, as if they were going to the execution ground.

Yunying sighed inwardly and methodically made arrangements for these people.

Considering that more people might be squeezed into the county government office later, Yunying arranged the people very compactly, basically arranging more than ten people in one room.

And she was right; in the following two days, a steady stream of people were brought in.

In just two days, the county government office had already been filled with five or six hundred people.

With so many people, there were only five or six empty courtyards. Later on, each room was so small that people could barely sit down, and there was nowhere to lie down.

There were too many people, and they were too diverse, including quite a few adult men.

Yunying was worried that the maids in the backyard would be taken advantage of, so she brought them all to her courtyard.

But the walls of her courtyard weren't high, and someone managed to sneak in at night.

Although the scoundrel who dared to do evil in the county government didn't get away with it, Yunying was still quite frightened.

When the Second Master learned of this, the man, who had been busy for two days without rest, suddenly flew into a rage.

The man who had attempted to commit evil was dragged out by the Second Master and given forty strokes of the cane, leaving him with torn skin and several broken bones. The Second Master made an example of him, deterring those who still harbored other ulterior motives.

Even so, the Second Master was still worried about letting Yunying continue living in the backyard.

He immediately called to Yunying, "Come with me to my courtyard."

Yunying hesitated for a moment, then said, "Isn't that unnecessary?"

"After this incident, can you still live in this yard? Can you still sleep at night? Come on, stay in my yard. You can clear out this yard and we'll arrange for some more people to come over later."

Yunying knew that now was not the time to argue with the Second Master, and besides, the Second Master's arrangements did make her feel at ease, so she took a few maids and moved into the Second Master's courtyard.

Second Master's courtyard is in the front yard.

After moving in here, Yunying became more well-informed.

Therefore, she knew that not only were many people housed in the county government, but many wealthy families in Yungui County also accepted the tasks assigned by the county government and took in many people into their homes.

Among them, the Shang family and the Qi family are the most prominent.

The Shang family is now in charge of the young man who sought justice for the family.

I heard that the kid has changed back to his original surname and now lives in the Shang family's old house.

He set up a business in Yungui County, specializing in buying mountain products. He wanted everything, from mushrooms and chestnuts to other aged medicinal herbs.

This kid learned a lot of skills from his adoptive father and ran the shop very well, I heard he made quite a bit of money.

Then there's Qi Jia.

The Qi family had previously bribed Ruizhu, who then sent a considerable amount of seafood to the Qi household. Ruizhu even used these goods as local specialties to send to the capital, helping the Qi family expand their market and elevate their social standing.

However, Ruizhu's actions gave Magistrate Fan the opportunity to murder the Second Master, resulting in the Second Master almost being poisoned on his birthday. As a result, Ruizhu was sent back to the capital for punishment, and the Qi family was also severely punished.

However, afterwards, the Second Master remembered that the Qi family were still people under his jurisdiction, and that if the Qi family's business prospered, they could pay more taxes to the county government. So, he gave the Qi family a way to send their seafood to the Northwest.

So far, the Qi family has delivered goods to the Northwest three times. Except for the second shipment, which was robbed by bandits and resulted in the injury of one of their brothers, they have been able to sell their goods smoothly each time, making a fortune.

Both families had received favors from the Second Master, and now that the Second Master needed people, both the Shang and Qi families stepped forward.

They all settled many people in their own homes. With them taking the lead, other wealthy merchants, regardless of their reasons or even if they were just putting on a show, also took some people home to live with them.

As a result, the people that Yunying originally thought would be difficult to settle were settled in just two or three days.

However, the people in the county seat are only a small part; the people in the townships and villages are the majority.

Whether in towns or villages, very few families can afford to build brick and tile houses. Most families live in thatched huts, so the personal safety of the people remains a major issue.

I heard that some people have already fled to caves with their families, but there are still a large number of people who have no caves to hide in, nor can they rely on local gentry or wealthy households. They can only try their best to reinforce their thatched huts and pray to survive this natural disaster.

The sky outside grew even darker, and the wind began to pick up.

The weather, which had been hot for a long time, suddenly turned cool. Everyone should have been happy, but whether it was Yunying or the other people in Yungui County, they felt apprehensive as they watched the sky gradually darken. It was as if a heavy stone was pressing on their chests, making it hard for them to breathe.

Yunying sat by the window, quietly watching the dark clouds sink little by little.

Suddenly, she remembered that the Second Master hadn't returned yet, so she quickly pushed open the door and went out.

Just then, Yu ran in from outside. Yunying hurriedly asked him, "Where's Second Master? Isn't he done yet?" "Finished? Just wait. He won't be finished until this hurricane passes."

"We can't let Second Master stay outside all the time. If this hurricane makes landfall, its destructive power is too strong, and it could easily take people's lives."

Sui Yu wiped the sweat from his face.

When the sand and stones were flying, everyone else felt a refreshing coolness, but he alone was still covered in sweat.

"There's nothing we can do about it, Second Master has too many things to do." He's already arranged everything that can be done on a large scale, including road construction, pearl farming, terraced fields, and gold mines.

Second Master has already arranged everything he could.

But Second Master always had to go through everything in the county—agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production, and fisheries—before he was willing to return.

When people are uncertain, they tend to keep busy trying to patch up their own problems, as if doing more will reduce their losses.

However, no one can say for sure how useful it will be.

Thinking of the people's miserable state and then of the Second Master who was still out there working hard, Sui Yu suddenly wiped her face. "Never mind, I'm in a hurry to take a raincoat to the Second Master. I'm leaving everything in the manor to you. Be vigilant. If anyone dares to cause trouble at this time, just drag them out and throw them out. I've already instructed the guards at the county office to follow your orders. Take good care of the manor and don't let the Second Master worry."

"okay, I get it."

After seeing Sui Yu off, a drop of water suddenly fell on my head.

Before Yunying could react, Liu'er exclaimed, "Oh dear, it's raining!"

Sui'er pushed Yunying back inside, saying, "Miss, hurry inside, the rain is about to get heavier."

As if to confirm Sui'er's words, the rain grew heavier and heavier, and in a short while, it turned into a downpour.

Heavy rain was accompanied by strong winds, which howled back and forth, making things in the yard rattle and clang.

The darkness was as if the end of the world had come.

It's afternoon, which should be the time when the sun is at its most brilliant and brightest, but right now it's pitch black.

The maids all huddled together in Yunying's room, shivering.

Sui'er muttered softly, "It's raining so hard and it's so dark, it's terrifying."

Liu'er trembled and said, "Haven't you seen this before?"

"I've seen it, of course I've seen it! It used to come once or twice a year. Every time a hurricane came, the villagers would run to the mountains to hide." Those were the tougher times.

What she remembers most vividly is that once, a strong wind accompanied by thunder and lightning struck and set a large tree near the cave where they were hiding on fire.

That tree was quite old, probably over a hundred years old. Coupled with the previous drought, the fire, ignited by lightning, suddenly intensified and quickly became a raging inferno.

The rain from the sky not only failed to extinguish the fire, but instead fueled its flames.

How desperate they were at that time.

If they escaped from the cave, they would have nowhere to hide, and by the time the hurricane passed, they would be either dead or seriously injured. But if they stayed in the cave, the raging fire burned their cheeks, and they were even more afraid that if the fire grew larger, it would set all the trees in front of the cave ablaze, and then they would have no way to escape.

Moving forward meant certain death, and hiding also meant certain death. The last part of the villagers fled, while her family remained because her mother had just given birth to her younger sister, and both were still in their postpartum period. With no other option, they had to endure the hardship in the cave.

Fortunately, they survived the ordeal. Some of those who escaped the cave were washed away by the rain, while others were irritated by the rain and developed a fever that damaged their brains, turning them into idiots.

But these weren't the worst of it. The worst part was that it was during the early rice harvest that year, and after the hurricane, the entire crop failed. Many people starved to death and died of disease afterward; it was truly a heartbreaking tragedy.

Sui'er didn't dare to say these things, for fear of frightening Yunying, and even more so the other younger maids.

But even if Sui'er didn't say it, how could Yunying not understand?
Modern typhoons can easily capsize a giant ship, blow off windows from high-rise buildings, and destroy things like corrugated steel roofs on factories and even sculptures in front of buildings. These things, which may weigh thousands of pounds, are as useless as plastic toys in the face of a typhoon.

This is true even in modern times, let alone in ancient times.

Think of the rice seedlings growing strong in the fields, the pearl crabs being raised in the river, and the miners' quarters that are only half-finished and already under construction...

Yunying couldn't help but think to herself, "It's no wonder that Lingnan Prefecture is poor; it's just that God is too unkind to this land."

Typhoons pass through once or twice a year, or even two or three times. Even the best foundation can't withstand such devastation. Moreover, Lingnan Prefecture's foundation was not strong to begin with, and with such repeated ravages, it would be unreasonable for Lingnan Prefecture not to be poor.

However, this has caused great suffering for the local people.

And then there's Second Master, who just had a good start, but now he has to start all over again.

Just as Yunying was thinking about the Second Master, she suddenly heard a commotion coming from the courtyard.

Looking through the glass window, she saw Second Master, wearing a straw raincoat, leading Suiyun and the others into the courtyard.

The sky was still dark, with only a sliver of light showing through.

The torrential rain, like a curtain, obscured Yunying's vision, preventing her from seeing the Second Master's expression. But she knew he must be feeling very heavy-hearted.

The second master seemed to have seen her in the room as well, and he turned his head to look at her.

The world suddenly became excessively quiet, and even Yunying's breathing became silent.

The second master lifted his straw hat and waved to her.

Yunying thought she was seeing things, but when she rubbed her eyes and looked again, she saw that the Second Master was still standing there looking at her.

He waved to her again.

Just then, a fierce wind howled in, whipping the rain towards him. A clap of thunder struck, illuminating his features.

His eyebrows were prominent and sharp, his features sharply defined. He had a straight nose, thin lips pressed tightly together, and a deep, dark look in his eyes.

His lips seemed to tremble slightly, as if calling to her, "Come here."

Yunying didn't know if she was hallucinating, but she probably was, given how far away they were, how loud the thunder was, and how noisy the rain was.

But she just believed that he really said those two words.

He was calling to her; she walked toward him.

(End of this chapter)