Chapter 130: Selling Children
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Chu Qingzhi got off the horse and walked towards the little girl. “Young lady, don’t cry. Let me check your grandfather. Perhaps 1 can still save him.”
When the little girl heard this, she hurriedly knelt down in front of Chu Qingzhi. “Sister, please save my grandfather. 1 can repay you by being your servant girl.”
Chu Qingzhi was moved by the little girl’s words. “I’ll do my best.”
She reached out to take the old man’s pulse.
He was not in a serious condition. It was just a dehydration reaction.
Tang Jinghong walked over. “Qingzhi, what happened to him?”
Chu Qingzhi said, “He needs water.”
Fang Zerong walked over with a water bag. He opened the lid and slowly fed it to the old man.
Tang Jinghong looked up. There was a village nearby. At this time, smoke should be rising from the chimney, but the village was very quiet, as if it was uninhabited.
He instructed, “Tan Yibin, bring a few people to the village to scout.”
Tan Yibin cupped his fists. “Yes, General.” He turned around and waved at four soldiers. “Follow me.”
“Cough, cough, cough…” The old man woke up and slowly opened his eyes.
When the little girl saw that the old man had woken up, she pounced on him happily. “Grandpa, Grandpa…”
The old man hugged his granddaughter and regained his consciousness. “Yingying, it’s alright. Grandpa is fine.”
As he spoke, he noticed the people around him. Seeing that they were soldiers, he quickly got up and said excitedly, “Officers, are you sent by the Imperial Court to help us?”
Tang Jinghong’s eyes darkened. “Yes, tell us about the situation.”
The old man shed tears as he described the situation. “It’s good that you’re here. Our village is not close to the river. The three old wells in the village have dried up, and the crops all died. We have nothing to eat and no water to drink..”
Tang Jinghong brought Qingzhi to the side and asked softly, “Qingzhi, is there a water vein nearby?”
Chu Qingzhi nodded. “Take care of the villagers. I’ll go find the water vein.”
In fact, no matter how serious the drought, there would always be water underneath the ground.
Tang Jinghong tucked Chu Qingzhi’s sweat-drenched hair behind her ear. “Qingzhi, thank you.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled and said, “I will not hesitate to help when you need my help.”
Then, Tang Jinghong arranged for a team of soldiers to follow Chu Qingzhi to find the water vein. He brought a team to the village to check on the situation.
The village was lifeless. Other than a few big trees that were still green, the other grass, vegetables, and crops had all dried up. The leaves were so dry that they could make a crisp sound when stepped on.
The villagers sat in their houses, their faces numb, as if they were waiting for death.
However, when they saw the soldiers, they still ran out and surrounded them. Their dead eyes revealed bright hope.
“Officers, save us!”
Tan Yibin stood in front of Tang Jinghong and protected his general. He said in a loud voice, “Everyone, be quiet. We’re here to help you. Listen to what our general has to say.”
The villagers immediately quietened down, afraid that if they spoke, their last hope would be gone.
Tang Jinghong’s gaze swept across the withered faces. “Tan Yibin, bring over 100 catties of our grains and the water we have to make porridge for everyone.”
A little boy asked fearfully, “General, we haven’t drank water for five days. Can you give us some water?”
Tang Jinghong instructed, “Distribute water to the villagers first before making porridge.”
“Yes.”
The soldiers immediately took action. The water was quickly distributed to the villagers, and the porridge was cooked.
The villagers drank the water in large mouthfuls. A cool feeling slid down their throats to their stomachs. They felt like they had been reborn.
Chu Qingzhi walked over. “Jinghong, we found the water vein. Get the villagers to prepare tools. I’ll bring them to dig.”
Tang Jinghong immediately made arrangements. “Everyone, take your hoes and follow me.”
The villagers knew that he was a general, so they trusted him. After hearing his words, the strong men in the village immediately brought their hoes to Tang Jinghong.
Chu Qingzhi brought the villagers to a locust tree on the right outside the village. “Dig here. There is water two meters underneath the ground.”
When the villagers heard that there was water, they started digging without hesitation.
At first, the soil was extremely hard to dig. No matter how hard they dug, they could not reach their hoes in. After digging a meter deep, the ground was getting moist and they saw earthworms.
Two meters down, they really saw water.
“Ahhh, there’s water, there’s water!”
“There’s really water.”
“Young lady, you’re really amazing. We have water. We’re saved.”
The villagers’ cheers were filled with emotions. Tang Jinghong and Chu Qingzhi looked at each other and smiled.
After the villagers cheered, they knelt down in front of Chu Qingzhi. “Thank you, Miss. Thank you, Miss. You’re a goddess that has descended to the mortal world to save us. You’re a fairy!”
Chu Qingzhi helped the village chief up. “There’s endless water here. There’s no need to be afraid of running out of water. Now, we still have to go to places with more severe droughts. We don’t have time to stay for long. Village Chief, please inform the nearby villagers to come over to fetch water. We can get through this disaster together.”
The village chief immediately agreed. “Yes, yes, yes. I’ll do what you said.”
When the surrounding soldiers saw what Chu Qingzhi had done and heard her words, their eyes revealed admiration.
Leaving behind 200 catties of grains, Tang Jinghong continued to march with the soldiers.
Just as they were about to leave, the little girl who almost lost her grandfather ran over. “Sister, if you need a servant girl, send someone to tell me. I’ll definitely come and be your servant girl.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled at the little girl. “To be a servant girl, you have to grow up healthy first, understand?”
The little girl nodded heavily. “I will.”
The villagers sent them off a long way before going back.
As they marched, the places became more and more severely affected by droughts.
“Boohoo.”
“Don’t cry, don’t cry. If I sell you to the county, at least you won’t starve to death. If you stay with us, you’ll only die.”
“Ying, be a good child. I have no choice. I sell you to save your life.”
Three men in front were pushing a cart. On the cart sat a few young girls between the ages of three and seven. Their clothes were tattered, and all of them were crying. The men’s eyes were also red as they held back the urge to cry.
When they saw the soldiers in front of them, they stopped one after another. Stunned, they quickly walked over and knelt down. “Greetings, officers.”
Tang Jinghong’s hawk-like eyes swept across the children. “Are you planning to sell those children?”
A man wiped his tears. “Officer, we have no choice. They will die if they stay in the village. If we sell them to the county, at least they will have food to eat.”
Tang Jinghong said in a low voice, “Don’t sell your children. Take us to your village to take a look.”
When the man heard this, he understood that the soldiers were probably sent here to save them. He quickly replied, “Yes, yes, yes. Please, this way.”
Following the three men, the troops arrived at a village called Little Leaf Village..
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