275: The problem of displaced people

Inside the tent, Situ Jun walked to the desk and sat down.

The candlelight on the desk had not yet burned out, its flickering glow reflecting on the cover of the dossier. The ink-brushed words "Recent Progress in Refugee Resettlement for East Lin City" felt heavy, exuding a suffocating weight.

He flipped open the dossier, his eyes sharp as lightning as he quickly scanned the small, regular script inside.

Lines of handwriting came into view, every stroke filled with urgency and hardship:

The porridge shed in the south of the city consumed three hundred dan of grain daily. The iron pots had been bubbling since dawn, and the aroma of rice porridge drifted for miles, yet it still couldn't fill the stomachs of the starving people.

Furthermore, nearly a thousand refugees remained curled up on the wasteland outside the temporary settlement because the porridge shed lacked the capacity to accommodate them.

A cold rain fell last night, and more children caught a chill. Their fragile cries, mingled with the sound of wind and rain, were particularly piercing in the dark night.

The temporary shelter in the east of the city was constructed from dilapidated wooden planks, already crude and shabby. After several days of continuous rain, many parts of the roof began to leak, with raindrops trickling down through the gaps in the planks, soaking the refugees' bedding and quilts.

Three people had already contracted severe chills and were suffering from persistent high fevers. They remained unconscious, their breathing so weak it seemed it might cease at any moment.

The temporary shacks in Qingshui Town were already overloaded. An area originally built for five hundred people now squeezed in nearly eight hundred, making it difficult even to turn over at night.

Even more troublesome was that there was still a thirty percent shortage of cotton clothes for the winter. The Embroiderers in the needlework workshop worked day and night, their fingers riddled with bloody holes from needle pricks, yet progress still couldn't keep up with demand.

If the cold wave arrived early, these thin clothes would be unable to withstand the biting wind, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Most detestable was that grain merchants from surrounding villages and towns were taking advantage of the crisis, secretly hoarding grain and colluding to drive up prices.

With the meager savings the refugees had, they couldn't even buy half a dou of coarse rice now.

Yesterday, in front of a grain shop in the west of the city, refugees had already clashed with the grain merchants' Guards over food. In the ensuing scuffle, some were beaten until their heads bled, and their wails reached the heavens... Situ Jun's fingertips paused heavily on the words "Grain Merchants Hoarding," his brow suddenly twitching as a flash of severity crossed his eyes.

He casually took a sound transmission talisman from his Storage Pouch, condensed his Divine Thought at his fingertips, and quickly imprinted instructions onto the talisman. Every word carried an unquestionable authority:

"Order the Regional Commander of East Lin City, Yang Feng, to immediately lead men to investigate grain merchants hoarding food in surrounding villages and towns. After registering them, forcibly requisition the grain at official prices, prioritizing the supply for refugee resettlement points. Anyone who dares to disobey or hide grain shall be punished for disrupting the people's livelihood; their grain shops will be sealed, and they will be thrown into prison! Also, send a message to the Quartermaster Department of Qingshui Town to immediately inventory the cotton clothing stock and prioritize the allocation of the missing thirty percent to the refugee resettlement points. It must be in place within three days. Any delay will be handled according to military law!"

Once the Divine Thought imprint was finished, he lightly flicked the sound transmission talisman, and a black handprint instantly appeared, firmly stamped in the center of the talisman.

The sound transmission talisman seemed to be imbued with life, instantly transforming into a streak of light that flew through the vent at the top of the tent, heading straight toward East Lin City.

The light pierced through the morning mist and vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye, leaving only a faint trail of spiritual energy that soon dissipated into the air.

Having handled the matters of food and clothing, Situ Jun did not relax. He raised his hand to rub his aching shoulders and picked up another dossier regarding the refugees' injuries and illnesses.

The cloth on the dossier's cover was already somewhat worn, with frayed edges, clearly indicating it had been repeatedly leafed through.

As soon as he opened the first page, the words "Chills patients increasing daily, medicinal herb stock insufficient" pierced his eyes, followed by a string of numbers:

Thirty-two new chill patients were added yesterday, most of whom were the elderly and children. The existing medicinal herbs were only enough to last for three days. Stocks of cold-dispelling herbs like Bupleurum and Licorice were nearly exhausted, and even common ginger was in short supply.

Situ Jun's brow furrowed again, his forehead knotting into a deep frown.

His fingertips tapped lightly on the desk, making a rhythmic "thump-thump" sound. Each tap seemed to be weighing a countermeasure.

After a moment of thought, he took out another blank sound transmission talisman to add instructions, his tone carrying a hint of urgency:

"Dispatch two senior medical officers from the East Lin City Lord's Mansion Medical Bureau to immediately go to the refugee resettlement points to provide consultations. Divide specialized consultation and isolation areas to avoid the spread of disease. Additionally, allocate three hundred catties of Licorice, two hundred catties of Bupleurum, and one hundred catties of ginger from the City Lord's Mansion's medicine storehouse. Send a specialized escort to ensure they arrive at the resettlement points before noon today. Hand them over to the medical officers for coordination to brew two large pots of cold-dispelling decoction daily, to be supplied at scheduled intervals for free consumption by the refugees. Ensure everyone can drink it, without fail!"

After sending out this sound transmission talisman as well, Situ Jun finally let out a long sigh of relief. He leaned back against the chair and raised his hand to rub his throbbing temples.

Handling affairs continuously had brought a hint of fatigue to his eyes, but the determination deep within his gaze did not diminish in the slightest.

The morning mist outside had gradually cleared at some point, and golden sunlight shone through the gaps in the tent curtains, casting mottled shadows on the dossier.

Yet this warm sunlight could not dispel the gravity between Situ Jun's brows—these current measures were merely temporary fixes that addressed the symptoms rather than the root cause.

The number of refugees was still increasing, and East Lin City's reserves would eventually be exhausted. How to guide them back to the newly stabilized Southern Border, how to allocate land for them, arrange livelihoods, and rebuild their homes so they could truly settle down and no longer be displaced—that was the most difficult and fundamental problem.

While he was pondering, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't checked the System rewards from last night yet.

After taking Jing Ya as his Dao Companion last night, he had temporarily set aside the idea of checking the rewards because it was too late. Now that he had a bit of free time, he finally remembered.

With a thought, the familiar mechanical notification sound immediately rang in his mind, clear and loud:

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a Nascent Soul Stage Dao Companion. Rewarding the Host with 50 years of Cultivation. The Host's Cultivation has been promoted to the Half-Step Soul Transformation Realm!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a Nascent Soul Stage Dao Companion for the first time. The System additionally rewards 10 million Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, which have been deposited into the System storage space and can be accessed at any time!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host. Dao Companion Jing Ya's favorability has broken through 80. Rewarding the Host with 3,000 heavenly luck value!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host. The Wood Spiritual Root has been upgraded to the Perfection Realm. Wood-attribute spiritual power control has been greatly enhanced, and abilities such as healing and plant growth acceleration have been significantly improved!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host. The Chaos Divine Body has absorbed the Origin power of the Netherworld Hundred Charms Physique. The Divine Body's power has been greatly enhanced, and both physical defense and spiritual power capacity have been strengthened!]

As the series of notifications ended, the fatigue in Situ Jun's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a genuine smile.

The smile spread from his eyes to the corners of his mouth, softening his originally stern expression considerably.

Just as he had expected, after taking Jing Ya as his Dao Companion, not only did his Cultivation smoothly enter the Half-Step Soul Transformation Realm, but his Spiritual Root and Divine Body were also greatly strengthened.

With this strength, he would have a few more certainties in the upcoming opening of Daoist Ming Ya's Immortal Cave to compete for that spatial pearl capable of housing living people...