Chapter 124: Second Brother Returns Early

Some of these families were easier to persuade than others, but all of them listened, to some extent, to Wei Ruo.

They knew it was Wei Ruo who had advocated for the land to be distributed to them, granting them new fields to till and daily relief rations provided by the government, which gave them hope for survival. Consequently, Wei Ruo’s words carried significant weight with them.

An hour later, most of the farmers had been successfully persuaded to leave, leaving only the most remote household remaining. Seeing the rain intensify, Wei Ruo instructed the clerk to lead the others away.

"Clerk Chen, please take the bailiffs and escort these people into the city. I will go to the last household. We have a carriage, and once we have picked them up, we will catch up with you."

"That will not do. The Magistrate ordered me to look after Miss Wei. I cannot just leave you behind!" Clerk Chen did not dare to abandon Wei Ruo.

"It is getting late, the rain is getting heavier, and the weather is turning colder. If we stay out here any longer, those who are frail will not be able to withstand it. You go back first. If you are truly worried, leave one bailiff with me," Wei Ruo insisted.

After a moment of hesitation, Clerk Chen agreed to her proposal. "Very well, I will leave one bailiff with you."

With that, Clerk Chen led the group toward the city. Wei Ruo, accompanied by Xiumei and one bailiff, headed toward the furthest point. The three of them, clad in rain capes, walked along the muddy ridges of the fields. The rice paddies were already filled with water, yet the rain continued to pour.

"Miss, let me carry you," Xiumei said, her voice filled with concern.

"It is alright. Although I do not know martial arts, my constitution is not that poor. A bit of walking will not defeat me," Wei Ruo refused. While she lacked martial prowess, she had lived in the countryside for years, working the fields and gathering herbs in the mountains; her physical stamina was far better than that of an average sheltered young lady.

The final household was located behind a small hill ahead. Behind it lay a flat, fertile piece of land that was better than the surrounding areas and easier to improve. However, it was surrounded by hills on three sides and was quite far away. Under normal circumstances, this posed no problem, as government officials delivered rice seeds and fertilizer. Today, however, it made things slightly more difficult.

When the three reached the last house, they found a dilapidated thatched hut teetering in the wind and rain. Inside, a woman held a child of three or four years in her arms. Seeing Wei Ruo enter, the woman seemed to see a glimmer of light and pleaded, "Please, save my child! Save my child!"

Wei Ruo stepped forward and touched the child's forehead; it was burning hot. She reached into the pouch she carried, withdrew a small white bottle, and poured out a pill. She searched for a bowl and some water, but found only a chipped bowl, and there was no hot water to be had. With no other choice, Wei Ruo handed the pill to the mother. "Chew this pill until it is soft, then feed it to the child."

The woman hurriedly obeyed.

Wei Ruo then said, "We must leave here. We will treat her properly once we reach a safe place." It was cold and damp here, offering no conditions for treatment or recovery; Wei Ruo could only provide the medication to alleviate the child's symptoms for the time being.

"Yes, yes!" The woman nodded repeatedly.

"Let me carry the child," Xiumei stepped forward to help. She loosened her own rain cape and tucked the child inside for warmth. Wei Ruo took off her own cape and wrapped it around the woman.

The bailiff nearby, seeing this, hurried to offer his own cape to Wei Ruo. "Miss Wei, you cannot do this."

"Stop talking and move quickly. If the water rises any further, we will not be able to leave," Wei Ruo cut him off and started walking back at a brisk pace. The bailiff, not daring to touch her, threw his cape toward her. Seeing his sincerity, Wei Ruo took the hood. "You wear the coat. I am small, and this hood will block most of the rain for me. No more nonsense; wasting time will cause trouble."

She did not give the bailiff a chance to argue further. She put on the hood and hurried away.

As soon as they stepped out of the hut, the path they had taken was completely submerged, resembling a swamp. The soil in the rice paddies was soft silt that would cause one to sink, and only the original ridges were somewhat stable. Wei Ruo warned the others to be extremely careful. They struggled forward, moving slowly, as they watched the water level rise steadily.

Just then, two figures appeared in the distance. Because they were wearing rain capes, it was unclear who they were. Wei Ruo found them vaguely familiar. As one of them walked directly up to her and lifted his hood, she recognized his face.

"Second Brother?"

The person who had arrived was none other than Wei Jinyi, whom she had not seen in a long time, accompanied by Xiaobei.

Wei Jinyi did not answer. He looked down at Wei Ruo’s feet, where the cold rainwater had already risen above her ankles. "I will carry you."

Before Wei Ruo could respond, Wei Jinyi scooped her up into his arms.

"Second Brother, there is no need. I can walk; I am not that weak."

Wei Jinyi did not reply to her, but instead told the others, "Hurry."

Xiaobei, who had come with him, immediately hoisted the woman onto his back without a word. At this critical moment, where lives were at stake, no one cared for the social boundaries between men and women.

Wei Jinyi’s pace was much faster than Wei Ruo’s, and he moved through the muddy rice fields as if they were level ground. Wei Ruo felt somewhat flustered; this was the first time she had ever been carried by someone. She looked up and saw Wei Jinyi’s chin and neck. Even from this angle, she thought he looked remarkably handsome, though his expression was cold, as if it bore the words: "Keep your distance."

Before long, Wei Jinyi carried Wei Ruo to the carriage they had left on the main road. Xiaobei, Xiumei, and the bailiff soon followed. Wei Ruo, Xiumei, the woman, and the little girl all climbed into the carriage, while Xiaobei and the bailiff took the reins, and Wei Jinyi rode on horseback.

In the carriage, while tending to the little girl, Wei Ruo learned about their situation from the mother. The woman’s husband had been a soldier who died fighting off pirates. With no men left in the family, their relatives had driven the mother and daughter out and seized their land. The woman had been forced to beg on the streets until Wei Ruo’s proposal allowed them to settle in the south of the city with other homeless people.

When the land was initially divided, the others had purposefully given them this plot—which was less saline and easier to improve—to spare the woman from the heaviest labor. Although they lived far away, kind-hearted neighbors would bring them supplies daily. No one had anticipated today's disaster, which resulted in the mother and daughter being the last to leave.

The carriage hurried back to the city, arriving at the magistrate’s office, where the woman and her daughter were settled into a warehouse that had been cleared out. The warehouse was not large; once through the main entrance, rows of bedding were laid out on both sides of the floor, where everyone brought in was arranged. Those with fewer people shared a bedding set, while larger families took two.