"This matter started from the time when Emperor Bintian met two months ago..." the waiter of the inn started, as if he had opened up a chat box and started talking.
"Before that! Our Jiangzhou City has been experiencing heavy rain for a month. This is a disaster that has never happened in a thousand years!
At first, everyone was barely getting by, until the news of Emperor Bintian's death came. It seemed that even God was sad for our late emperor, and the rain became even more terrifying. The Gan River in Jiangzhou finally couldn't bear it anymore and burst its banks.
You must know that the Ganjiang River is a big river. This burst flooded half of the city of Jiangzhou. The low-lying areas became a vast ocean. Those who were lucky escaped and became refugees; those who were not lucky But it was directly swallowed up by the flood, and no bones were left! "
The waiter in this shop talked about the flood in Jiangzhou as if telling a legendary story. He became more and more excited as he talked about it, without any trace of sadness at all.
He even said with some pride: "Our Beipo Town has a higher terrain than Jiangzhou City. Although there are continuous heavy rains, the bursting of the Gan River's embankments has limited impact on our place. That's why our place can be preserved!"
Shi Qingxue asked: "Since Beipo Town was not flooded, why did it become a dead town again?"
At the mention of this, the showy look on the waiter's face immediately disappeared, and he began to sigh helplessly: "No matter how good our Beipo Town is, after all, it is just a subsidiary of Jiangzhou City, and it is the only way from Jiangzhou to the north. , if the refugees want to go north, they are not allowed to pass through our place? Those smog and plague diseases are coming to our area, and Beipo Town will not be immune."
"What you say makes me even more confused! When Jiangzhou flooded, it was immediately reported to the court, and the court immediately allocated disaster relief money and food relief. Why didn't the victims wait for government relief, but instead left their homes and became homeless people with no fixed abode? Woolen cloth?"
Shi Qingxue knew about this matter before coming.
The outbreak point of the Jiangzhou flood was very special. It happened to be after Mo Xiangbin was killed and before Mo Junyu ascended the throne. In order to appease the people and avoid riots, Mo Junyu made a very large request for disaster relief in Jiangzhou and provided money and food very quickly.
She previously thought that Jiangzhou's problems were caused by the plague after the flood, but now when she heard about it, she felt something was wrong.
After hearing Shi Qingxue's question, the waiter sneered: "Girl, are you joking with me? How can those fat-brained and timid guys from the government really care about disaster relief! There are so many victims, and they can't Isn’t the most common way to help one or two people willing to do so? Isn’t it to drive the victims away? If they leave their own jurisdiction, doesn’t it fall under their control?”
"But doesn't this become dereliction of duty and bullying the emperor?" Shi Qingxue shouted subconsciously.
The waiter laughed even harder, "What's new! Isn't this what the government does whenever a disaster occurs? Girl, you've never traveled far, so that's why you're making such a fuss, right?"
Shi Qingxue pursed her lips and stopped worrying about this issue. Instead, she asked: "Even so, the refugees fleeing north only pass through Beipo Town, and their impact is limited. How could Beipo Town be reduced to such a situation?"
"Hey, this is what happened..." The waiter stopped smiling, looking gloomy and sad.
"This has to talk about the plague that makes people talk about Jiangzhou City. At the beginning of last month, a plague suddenly broke out in Jiangzhou City. Doctors in the whole city were helpless and could only watch one patient after another with high fever. Not only that, he foamed at the mouth and died; and this plague spread very quickly, almost immediately after coming into contact with someone who was sick. I heard that several famous doctors in the city were infected because they went to treat people. Infection leads to death, so that no one will treat those who are infected.
In order to prevent the disease from spreading, the government teamed up with officials and squires outside the city to designate a special area and drove the patients there, leaving them to fend for themselves.
But even so, the plague still spread and affected our town. Within a month, our town also became the hardest hit area. Even the government officials ignored the people here and fled to work in safe areas in the city. Some people who were quick and agile also fled early. The remaining old, weak, sick and disabled people and those who were unwilling to leave their hometowns had no choice but to ask for more. Blessed. "
When the waiter mentioned the plague, his voice was sad and tears flashed in his eyes.
After a while, he seemed to have calmed down and realized his gaffe. He quickly wiped the corners of his eyes and forced a smile, "Fortunately, God has not given up on our Jiangzhou! The people in Jiangzhou are sick. Death from illness, escapes, and constant disappearances almost turned this place into a dead city, but a miracle happened, and the plague disappeared again.
Recently, people from the government have begun to come out to provide disaster relief again and distribute relief food to the victims who are still here. This Jiangzhou City has regained a little vitality! "
After he finished telling the whole story of the disaster, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The complicated emotions on his face were wiped away and replaced with the flattering smile from the beginning, "Okay, miss, sir, I have already learned what I know. I’ve told you all, look at this…”
As he spoke, his eyes couldn't help but look at Mo Junyang.
But he always kept in mind that Shi Qingxue said that there would be rewards for speaking well.
Shi Qingxue glanced at the waiter in a funny way, but she still gave Mo Junyang a look, signaling the latter to give the waiter another gold ingot.
Mo Junyang took out a gold ingot from his arms. When the waiter reached out to take it, he threw it upwards, avoided the waiter's hand and caught the gold ingot with his other hand.
The waiter didn't dare to rob, let alone make trouble with Mo Junyang. He just turned to look at Shi Qingxue in embarrassment, "Miss, look..."
Shi Qingxue smiled and said: "Don't worry, I will definitely give you what is due. But you still have to answer me a question."
"You asked."
"You just mentioned that after the plague broke out, some people died of the disease and some escaped. These are easy to understand, but what do you mean by missing?" Shi Qingxue still remembered that the boss of the pastry shop had made similar statements before.
The waiter said without thinking: "If you are missing, you are missing. You just disappeared out of thin air!"
Shi Qingxue: "..." Do you really think that people are like dew and can disappear over time
The waiter in the shop was given a lukewarm look by Shi Qingxue, and he immediately realized that what he just said did not satisfy the other party.
He quickly made up for it: "It's not just a lie. Those people disappeared for no apparent reason. The government searched all over the place and couldn't find anyone, so they assumed that those people couldn't stay at home any longer and they all ran away." .”
"What?" Shi Qingxue pondered the waiter's words and asked with interest, "So, do you have different opinions?"
The waiter smiled and said, "I can't hide anything from you! We ordinary people, although not very smart, are not blind! Those who disappeared basically have parents, wives, concubines and children in Jiangzhou , even if you really want to flee, you will definitely flee with your family. How can you leave your loved ones behind and run away alone
And most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled, and they can't run at all! So you think those officials in the government are perfunctory with ordinary people like us? "
Shi Qingxue: "Then why did they disappear?"
"It's hard to say! Some people say that they were infected with the plague and died suddenly in a corner, and then were dealt with by the government; some said that they were deceived; others said that they were the river gods. Grandpa's sacrifices were not enough. Those individuals were all captured by the River God and used as sacrifices...
In short, there are all kinds of strange speculations, but only God knows the truth! "
The waiter talked about various speculations nonchalantly, but Shi Qingxue keenly heard a hint of disdain in his tone.
Shi Qingxue paused for a moment, then immediately said: "Looking at you, it seems that you know the truth about the disappearance of these people?"
"This..." The waiter did not deny it, and his little eyes began to glance around again, always unable to leave the gold ingot in Mo Junyang's hand.
Shi Qingxue understood.
She took the big ingot and put it on the table, "Tell us why, and this ingot will be yours."
The waiter in the shop immediately beamed with joy, and while going to get the ingot, he said: "Girl, you asked the right person this time. All the speculations circulating in the market are all nonsense. They know nothing, and only I know the truth." !”
He stuffed the ingot into his pocket, his face suddenly became serious, and his voice was low and deep, "Those missing people were all captured by horse thieves!"
"Oh?" This was the first time Shi Qingxue heard this statement, and she couldn't help but feel a little strange.
The waiter in the shop quickly expressed his position: "What I told you is completely true. I don't dare to lie to you!"
"How did you know?"
"Young man, I've seen it before!" The waiter recalled his little experience with shock and fear.
“It was one night more than half a month ago, because we are not allowed to go out at night since the curfew here, but that night I remembered that I forgot to pick up the goods during the day, so I had to risk sneaking out.
When I passed a street corner, I saw a group of people riding horses, wearing black clothes and covering their faces, galloping down the street. There were people lying on the horses. I don’t know whether they were dead or alive. The next day, there was another news. News that someone has disappeared.
Could it be that horse thieves sneaked into the town at night and secretly kidnapped people? "
The waiter recalled that horrific experience again, with beads of sweat still on his forehead.
After finishing speaking, he told the two of them very seriously: "It was good luck that the little one was not discovered that time, so he saved his life. After that, he beat the little one to death, and the little one no longer dared to go out at night.
I am also here to advise you two, for the sake of your own lives, never go out at night, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous! "
"Okay, we understand, and we will definitely not take our own lives for granted." Shi Qingxue nodded in agreement and thanked the waiter for his kind reminder.
After the waiter told the story and got money, he left with satisfaction.
The two people in the room fell into deep thought for a long time.
After a while, Shi Qingxue looked up at Mo Junyang and asked, "What do you think of the 'story' told by the waiter?"