Chapter 119: Northern Drought, Southern Flood ( 3 )

Chapter 119: Northern Drought, Southern Flood ( 3 ) The moment the woman heard the shout, hope returned to her eyes. She raised her arms and shouted, "Someone, please save my child!"

She waited and waited. Every second felt like an eternity. When one of the soldiers finally reached her, she no longer had the strength to hold on.

As her vision blurred, she saw a man reaching out toward her baby. The instant the weight left her arms, she succumbed to the darkness and lost consciousness.

The soldier tried to grab her clothes, but due to the strong current, he could only catch the hem of her sleeve. As her sleeve was torn, the woman was swept away and disappeared beneath the raging water.

Seeing this, the soldier stared at the dark flood with sorrow and regret.

The soldiers on the ground quickly pulled on the rope tied around his waist. With the help of more than 10 people, they finally dragged him and the baby back to shore.

The moment his feet touched solid ground, the soldier checked the baby’s condition. He hoped, desperately, that the child could still be saved. Unfortunately, the baby was no longer breathing. He had frozen to death.

The soldier closed his eyes and shook his head. Seeing this, the others let out heavy sighs.

"Let’s go. We still need to rescue others," one soldier said.

Carrying the baby, the soldier moved on to search another area.

When the sun finally rose, the rain weakened into a drizzle, but the water level showed no signs of receding. More and more people fled their villages and went to Huang He City.

After months of flooding, a lot of people had gathered outside the city gates. Without household registration documents, they were no longer recognized as citizens but refugees.

Unless the government assigned them new settlements and issued new household registrations, they wouldn’t be able to own homes, let alone find work.

A heavy gloom hung over Huang He City.

As the flood worsened, refugees continued to pour in from all directions. The number of beggars and displaced people within the city had already exceeded 20,000.

Fearing riots, the magistrate ordered the city gates closed. Only exits were allowed; no one was permitted to enter. Desperation spread among the refugees. Without food or warm clothing, death was only a matter of time.

Under normal circumstances, news of such a disaster should have reached the imperial capital by now. Yet for unknown reasons, there was still no word of disaster relief issued by the Emperor.

While Huang He City sank deeper into crisis, news of rainfall in Lanhe City finally reached Luo City.

When the Xue family received the news, the family head immediately summoned the clan elders for a family meeting.

As soon as the clan elders arrived, Xue Leiting was already waiting for them in the main hall. After the clan elders took their seats, the maidservants entered and served hot tea.

A few minutes later, one of the clan elders finally asked, "Family Head, why did you invite us over so early? Did something happen?"

Xue Leiting took a sip of his tea and said, "Everyone, I have received information that Lanhe City finally has rainfall."

When the elders heard this, smiles appeared on their faces. After a while, the oldest elder finally said, "Family Head, it’s a good thing that it’s finally raining. Why do you look so worried?"

"That’s right. Isn’t rain a good thing? Our estates will be able to have a good harvest this year," another elder chimed in.

Xue Leiting waited until they finished speaking before he said, "It is indeed a good thing to have rain. The problem is that the southern area has been experiencing rainfall for several months after a long drought."

"Family Head, I don’t understand the relationship between prolonged rainfall and our business. Since ancient times, northern drought and southern flooding have been normal. It happens every year."

Xue Leiting nodded. "It would indeed be normal if the southern area hadn’t suffered drought for 3 years."

After a brief pause, he added, "However, in ancient texts, it is written that if the southern area experiences a prolonged drought followed by flooding, it is a sign that the Locust God is angry."

The moment he finished speaking, the clan elders were stunned.

Although they were a merchant family, they had always hoped their descendants could become officials one day. Therefore, they spent large sums of money hiring renowned scholars to teach their younger generations.

They studied not only the classics but also folk tales. One of the most common folk tales was about the Locust God.

If they had not been reminded, they might have thought what was happening in the southern area was normal. But with this reminder, how could they treat it lightly?

"Family Head, are you saying that a locust plague might occur in the near future?" the oldest clan elder asked.

Xue Leiting pondered for a moment before replying, "I cannot be certain, but I have already sent people to investigate the situation in the south. We should receive news within 10 days at the latest."

Hearing this, the elders nodded.

"Family Head, should we harvest the crops in our estates first?"

Xue Leiting shook his head. "This is only speculation, and we do not have concrete evidence yet. We will wait until we are certain about the locust plague before harvesting."

The clan elders discussed quietly among themselves for a while before saying, "Then we will follow the Family Head’s decision."

Seeing that no one objected, Xue Leiting finally let out a sigh of relief. Although there was still no concrete evidence, managers from the southern cities had already reported that the number of locusts appearing had increased recently.

After the discussion concluded, he returned to his study and wrote a letter to his daughter.

Meanwhile, in the distant village, Yao Zhi had just finished pulling out the weeds and watering the gardens. At this moment, she was harvesting the vegetables when she heard Wang Shen’s voice coming from outside.

"Yao Girl, are you home?"

Hearing this, Yao Zhi washed her hands using the well water. "Coming," she said as she walked to the gate.