When I got home, I told my father and Mr. Wu about the price increase at the grain store.
Mr. Wu stroked his beard and said, "I have already mentioned this matter to the local county magistrate last time, but it seems that he did not take any action."
Not only did he not care, he seemed to be aiding and abetting the evil.
Mr. Wu shook his head and sighed in his heart.
I'm not bragging, but how many officials in this dynasty can serve the people as wholeheartedly as my own son
When an official first becomes an official, he may be able to stick to his original intention, but as time goes by, he is influenced by those around him and becomes obsessed with making money. Who will still care about the people
Jiang Sanlang connected this matter with the dream his little girl had, and his brows furrowed.
He is now eager to return home.
Never sell your own food. If something happens in the future, you won’t be able to buy food even if you have money.
But what you fear will come true. The next day, Jiang Quan and Jiang Cheng came running over.
"Uncle San, it's bad. There's a flood where we live, and several villages have been flooded!" Jiang Quan originally wanted to go back to his hometown to pick fruits, but he was blocked by the flood halfway and had to turn back to the county town.
Jiang Sanlang was anxious: "What? Flooded?" What the little girl said came true.
Last year, my daughter told them that there would be a flood this year, and it really happened.
No wonder the river water in the county town has risen to the shore and water has accumulated in the low-lying areas. It turns out that several townships downstream have been flooded.
"What should we do?" Before Jiang Sanlang took his son to the provincial capital, he also told his wife, parents and brothers that there had been a lot of rain this year and there might be a flood like in the past.
My parents and brothers also agreed and said they would definitely pay attention, and the disease really broke out.
Jiang Quan said, "Uncle San, that area is all water. I saw that only the roofs of the villages in the lower areas were left. On the way, I met many villagers heading to the county town."
Jiang Sanlang was stunned for a moment, then immediately rushed out of the house and ran to the grain store.
We didn't store much food in the county town, and it would probably be gone in five or six days. If we didn't buy some rice, the whole family would starve.
Jiang Cheng also ran out with his uncle and came to the grain store.
At this time, the grain shop was crowded with people. The price of grain had risen from 60 wen a dou yesterday to 70 wen, and the price of brown rice had also risen from 100 wen a dou to 120 wen, almost catching up with the price of pork.
Jiang Sanlang wanted to buy two dan of rice without hesitation, but the waiter told him that the maximum amount a person could buy was five dou.
"Five dou is five dou!" Jiang Sanlang and his nephew each bought five dou of rice.
When he got home, Jiang Sanlang immediately pulled his little girl aside and asked quietly, "Bao'er, tell me what you dreamed about?"
Yingbao had no choice but to tell her dream that day again.
Finally, he comforted his father: "Dad, we are still far away from the Jurchens, and our small place is not a major transportation route, so the thieves will not look down on us."
This is true. The county is remote and half of it is low-lying, making it particularly prone to flooding.
However, due to the existence of rivers, the flood water quickly flowed away along the rivers. As long as the people were alert, there would not be many casualties. However, the people’s property could not be guaranteed.
Jiang Sanlang couldn't feel at ease, and said worriedly: "Bao'er, even if the Jurchens can't attack us, the bandits don't care about that. They will kill wherever they go. As long as they can get money and food, they will rummage through every corner."
Yingbao was silent.
Two days later, the rain was still falling, and more and more villagers brought their families into the county town.
Soon several grain stores sold out of food and were forced to close.
During this period, Yingbao went to the hospital to visit her master Zhou Wuchang, but both her master and the eldest senior brother were not there, and no one knew where they had gone.
Two days later, the rain finally stopped.
Jiang Sanlang couldn't wait to get home, so he secretly drove the carriage out of the city with his second nephew. However, they couldn't go any further before they could get through.
There was a vast expanse of water in front of me, even the official road was flooded and it was impossible to pass through.
There was no choice but for the two to drive the carriage back to the city.
Along the way into the city, there were many people seeking refuge in the county town.
They had nowhere to go, so they sat on the roadside, eating and drinking muddy rain water from the river.
Jiang Quan also saw that these people urinated and defecated everywhere, polluting the streets beyond recognition.
When he got home, Jiang Sanlang felt a little depressed.
He was very worried about his family's situation, but he couldn't go back.
Yingbao didn't know that her father had been out of the city and came back to ask about the price of food outside.
Jiang Sanlang shook his head: "It's still high." He went out to buy five dou of rice every day, so the family was not short of food at the moment.
Of course, there is no shortage of vegetables. My little girl can buy a basket of fresh vegetables every day, as well as some fresh fruits and melons.
A few days later, a large-scale disease suddenly broke out in the county, and many people suffered from vomiting, diarrhea, and high fever.
Yingbao realized something was wrong as soon as she went out, so she hurried home, called everyone, and told them not to go out recently.
"There is an epidemic outside, you must not take it lightly, and don't go out easily in the future." Yingbao said, then went back to the house, took out some pills and distributed them to everyone: "If you have a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, take one immediately."
Mr. Wu also looked solemn and could not help cursing, "This county magistrate really deserves to die."
Once an epidemic breaks out in a county town, it would be no small matter and tens of thousands of people could lose their lives.
At this time, the water outside had not receded yet, so it was impossible to get some medicine to treat it.
Yingbao was also very conflicted. Although there were some medicines in her cave, there were not many, barely enough for her family's use.
But it was so scary outside, many people just fell to the ground, and no one knew whether they were alive or dead.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Someone was banging on the gate.
Jiang Quan ran out and opened the door, and saw his aunt Jiang Yunniang standing outside. "Aunt, why are you here?"
Jiang Yunniang asked anxiously, "Erquan, where is Yingbao?"
"She's in the room, come in." Jiang Quan let his aunt in.
Yingbao walked out of the room and asked, "Aunt, what's wrong?"
Jiang Yunniang grabbed Yingbao and started crying: "Yingbao, go check on Yuying quickly. He and Xiaolang are vomiting and having diarrhea. They are almost dying."
Yingbao said without thinking: "Wait, I'll go get the medicine box."
She hurried back to the house and carried the medicine box. Jiang Sanlang and Jiang Quan wanted to go together, but she refused: "Dad, don't walk around. I have a few baskets of vegetables and fruits in my room. You can eat those and don't go out to buy vegetables."
Jiang Sanlang looked at his daughter worriedly: "Bao'er, just give the medicine to your aunt, why do you have to make a trip?"
Yingbao didn't want to run away either, but Yuying and Xiaolang were both sick, and there was a chance that her aunt might be infected as well. There was also Hongxiao and her eldest cousin's family of three. It would be inappropriate if she didn't go.
Jiang Yunniang said to her third brother apologetically, "It's all my fault. I didn't notice Yuying and Xiaolang went out to fish, and they got sick that night."
They cooked a pot of fish soup in the evening. Although they were very careful to cook the fish thoroughly, they still got infected and sick.
"Let's go." Yingbao put on a homemade mask and was the first to leave the yard.
She and her aunt walked all the way to the shop, encountering several groups of homeless people lying on the ground, and she almost stepped on their excrement several times.
When he returned to the shop, he found that the door was closed. Dahei was squatting helplessly at the door. He saw Yingbao from a distance and rushed over, barking.