She is devoted to cultivating immortality

Chapter 74 Spotless
"Senior doesn't seem very happy. Isn't it said that the New Year is the happiest time?"

Xie Lian shook his head and asked.

"When you came here, you passed by the village outside. Do you know what the situation is?"

The little white fox thought for a moment and said.

"It was a mess. Many houses collapsed. I heard someone crying. What a pity! The chickens in the chicken coop all froze to death. They are no longer edible."

He licked his lips, looking very regretful.

Xie Lian nodded. This was pretty much what she thought. The heavy snow had indeed caused quite a disaster.

At this time, she heard some noise coming from next door. Zhuang Mochen was talking, and then the sound of horse hooves gradually faded away.

After a while, Zhuang Yan came over with a book in his arms.

"Your father is out?"

"Well, it is said that he will go to the village outside the city with Magistrate Lou and others to check the situation."

"I knew your father would be worried. Today is Chinese New Year, so you can have a day off. Go play with Hu Qianli. You don't have to review your lessons."

Xie Lian pondered for a moment, then turned around and went back to his room.

She was not in a very good mood.

But the little white fox was happy and rolled a snowball and threw it over.

"Xiao Zhuang, shall we have a snowball fight?"

Before Zhuang Yan could respond, the old locust tree trembled violently, and hundreds of kilograms of accumulated snowflakes fell down with a loud bang.

Just bury the little white fox.

The angry little white fox stood on end and cursed loudly.

"How dare you, old man, launch a sneak attack? I'm not done with you!"

The sound of horse hooves "clattering" could be heard out of the city gate.

There were probably dozens of people in the group.

Magistrate Lou and Zhuang Mochen were in front.

Behind him followed the county magistrate, the legal advisor, the squad leader, and a group of yamen runners.
Everyone was riding on horses, heading towards the village outside the city.

Actually, County Magistrate Lou was barely a good official, but he was not so good as to go to the countryside in the heavy snow. However, Zhuang Mochen was blocking him outside the county government office early in the morning, so he had no choice but to go out.

As soon as he left the city, County Magistrate Lou was shocked.

"How could the heavy snow that lasted one day and one night accumulate to such a thickness?"

It was almost completely icy and snowy outside. Some yamen runners walked into the fields beside the road, and the snow was almost buried up to their waists.
This is much more serious than the situation in the city.

After all, there are a lot of people in the city, and the roads are probably still passable after cleaning several times a day, but outside the city it feels like it's hard to move.

It's still okay now on the main road, but as we go further and reach the small road, the horses can no longer move forward.

In desperation, they could only let the yamen runners clear a path in front, and the people behind pulled the horses across.

There was no other way. The horse was carrying some life-saving supplies and could not be abandoned.
"Alas, if you don't come out, you won't know. Once you come out, you will be shocked. I'm afraid the people of Xiaoluo Village are in great danger."

The county magistrate sighed, his words full of pessimism.

“I have to see it with my own eyes.”

How could Zhuang Mochen not know this?
He was just a little unwilling and wanted to work harder.
In fact, in ancient times, the ability of ordinary people to fight against natural disasters was generally weak. Every snowstorm, flood, and drought involved the blood and tears of ordinary people.

"I know Mr. Zhuang cares about the people, but no matter what happens, don't be too upset about this. Xiaoning County has not experienced a snowstorm of this magnitude in a hundred years. This is God's will. What can we do?"

Magistrate Lou shook his head and said.

"At least we had some preparations before the New Year and distributed winter supplies to many villagers. But if we think about other places, I'm afraid we are helpless in the entire eastern part of Qian Country. I don't know how many families will be destroyed. I hope there won't be any refugees!"

County Magistrate Lou has already thought about what will happen after the snow disaster.

For a local official like him, the thing he worries about most is encountering refugees. If he gives them food, there will be none. If he doesn't give them food, people will die.

The large influx of refugees will also disrupt production in Xiaoning County.

If the rebellion is suppressed by force, it will easily lead to civil unrest.
The only solution is to wait for the center to deliver food and supplies.

But thinking about the current efficiency of Fengdu, Magistrate Lou became even more pessimistic. Zhuang Mochen was silent for a while before speaking.

"Let's talk about the future later. Let's first take a look at the damage done to Xiaoluo Village."

A group of people have entered the village.

But the whole village seemed very quiet and no one came out to greet them.

The county magistrate's heart sank and he said in despair.

“Did the whole village freeze to death?”

Zhuang Mochen's blood stopped for a moment, because many houses had indeed collapsed, and he could even see a lot of livestock buried in the snow.

Everyone stopped and looked at each other.

If the entire Xiaoluo Village froze to death, then there would be no need to go anywhere else, as the losses caused by this disaster would be incalculable.

But this shouldn’t happen. It’s only been a day and a night. How could this happen?

At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Isn't this Mr. Zhuang? Why are you here?"

Zhuang Mochen suddenly looked in the direction where the sound came from.

"It's you, Luo Laoqi? Are you still alive? Where are the other people in the village?"

The person who came was Luo Laoqi, who was wearing a coat and came out after hearing the noise.

He only knew Zhuang Mochen and did not know the identities of the county magistrate and others who were in plain clothes.

"Villagers? They are all here."

Luo Laoqi was stunned for a moment, but soon realized that this group of people might be from the county town coming to the countryside to provide support, so he told the whole story like a bamboo tube pouring beans.

"It snowed heavily last night and many villagers' houses collapsed, but some families were fine, like mine."

"In times of crisis, we are all villagers, so we must help. I, an old man, and other people who were not affected by the disaster have taken in many villagers, and we are hiding in the house to celebrate the New Year."

"There are more than a dozen people hiding in my house alone. Yesterday, I killed two chickens and cooked chicken soup to entertain everyone..."

This answer left everyone unbelievable.

Zhuang Mochen was even more dizzy and said in disbelief.

"No one died?"

Luo Laoqi scratched his head and said.

"No one died. Most of the livestock survived. The ones that froze to death were because we didn't have time to move them to my yard, or because the yard was full and there was no room for them."

Magistrate Lou widened his eyes.

"Is your house built of stone? Why is it that yours is fine while other houses have collapsed?"

"How would I know? Come and see if you don't believe me."

Luo Laoqi led the way and indeed led everyone to the entrance of the yard.

It was just a very ordinary small courtyard. One room could barely be considered a tiled house, and the others were thatched structures. The livestock shed was packed with livestock, and the makeshift chicken coop in the yard was also filled with chickens and ducks. It was obvious that multiple families lived together.

Hearing the noise outside, more than a dozen people rushed out of the room.

As expected, they were all villagers seeking refuge.

Seeing this scene, everyone in the county government was stunned.

How could this be the result?
While Zhuang Mochen breathed a sigh of relief, he also had strong doubts.

Why is this happening?

He glanced around and saw Luo Laoqi's dilapidated courtyard gate.

The Spring Festival couplets written by Xie Lian were nailed on it in perfect condition, and it looked as if someone was constantly wiping them, and there was not a speck of dust on it.

Perhaps sensing Zhuang Mochen's gaze, the banner with the words "Peace in All Seasons" hanging on the door beam swayed slowly.

(End of this chapter)