Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the four members of the Wei family were having dinner.
Seeing her daughter wolfing down her food, Liu Lanniang asked helplessly, “Do you have to work the night shift again?”
They no longer followed the old rule of remaining silent during meals and at bedtime.
Wei Qingran was simply too busy. Aside from dinner, she was usually away from home.
Wei Qingran nodded. “Lord wants us to print an emergency edition of the paper. I’ll head back to the press office as soon as I finish eating.”
Jiang Li looked up at her curiously. “Mother, what’s so urgent?”
Wei Qingran sighed. “There’s been flooding in Sizhou. Lord is preparing to go there to oversee disaster relief and wants to call on the people to donate.”
The other three were startled. They had been living peacefully in Ge Feng and truly had no idea what the outside world was like these days.
Jiang Li quickly recovered. “I’ll donate too.”
Wei Qingran couldn’t help teasing her. “How much are you planning to donate, A Li?”
Jiang Li straightened her back. “Thirty taels.”
Wei Qingran was startled. “Where did you get that much money?”
As something occurred to her, she looked at Liu Lanniang and Wei Qinghuai.
The two of them lowered their heads, not daring to meet her eyes.
Wei Qingran said helplessly, “Didn’t I tell you? A Li is still young. Don’t give her so much pocket money.”
Wei Qinghuai gave an embarrassed laugh. “I didn’t give her much. Just a little money for sweets.”
After learning to read and write, he had begun studying all kinds of books from Ge Feng on his own. He already had a foundation, and he learned quickly and well. He now taught at Ge Feng Academy.
Although he was still young, he was extremely knowledgeable, and his teaching had produced impressive results. He was one of the academy’s ten most popular teachers.
Liu Lanniang chimed in, “That’s right. I didn’t give her much either—just enough to buy some drinks. Children always like those things.”
She truly felt sorry for Jiang Li. She had once been a princess of a nation and should have grown up surrounded by fine clothes and delicious food, yet now…
Although their current circumstances were already far better than those of most people in this chaotic era, Liu Lanniang still couldn’t help feeling sorry for her granddaughter.
Besides, back in Sizhou, even the tax for passing gas was five strings of copper coins. She only gave her granddaughter enough for two such incidents a month—three at most.
Jiang Li hurriedly spoke up for her grandmother and uncle. “Mother, don’t worry. I’ve been saving all the money Grandmother and Uncle give me.”
“They’re both terribly careless with money and can’t save any, so I decided to keep the money they give me myself. I’ll retain thirty percent, while the remaining seventy percent will still be theirs. I’ll keep it safe for them, and if they ever run out of money, I’ll give them a monthly allowance.”
Her face was perfectly well-behaved as she added, “The thirty taels are mine.”
Liu Lanniang: “…”
Why did that sound so strange?
Wei Qinghuai, however, was quite pleased. “A Li, you’re doing well. But I’ll never run out of money, since I receive a salary every month.”
Wei Qingran was speechless. How could her foolish younger brother have missed the point so completely?
She said helplessly, “Next time, remember not to give her any more pocket money. If you have spare cash, you can use it to start a small business.”
The next day’s Jinyang Times caused another sensation.
The largest section of the paper reported on the flooding in Sizhou and called on the people to donate to the relief effort.
Every line conveyed the suffering and despair of the flood victims, as well as the inaction of the Sizhou authorities.
It was an extremely rousing yet uplifting article. In the end, it emphasized the central message that though torrential rain showed no mercy, humanity did.
Dong Si nodded repeatedly as he read it. “Chief Editor Wei truly is impressive.”
After saying that, he led by example and donated fifty taels.
For a man who lived solely on his wages, fifty taels was already about one-fifth of his entire fortune.
Following his example, the government personnel were the first to donate. Some gave a few dozen copper coins, while others contributed one or two taels of silver.
The academy and the various departments also began organizing donation drives.
Yang Sanniang noticed that her husband was staring motionlessly at the newspaper and couldn’t help asking, “What’s wrong?”
Sun Yi pointed at the paper and sighed. “It says Sizhou has suffered a flood, with heavy casualties. They’re calling on us to donate to the relief effort.”
Yang Sanniang was startled. “A flood? Heavens! Thank goodness everything is safe here.”
Sun Yi nodded. “I’m planning to donate something.”
As he looked at the article, he recalled the hardships they had endured while fleeing for their lives. He could empathize with the victims.
If they had not encountered Lord back then, they might already have been nothing more than a pile of bones beneath the earth. Now that their circumstances had improved, he felt that, as fellow Han people, they ought to help if they could.
Yang Sanniang declared firmly, “We’re donating. We absolutely must.”
She immediately rummaged through the cabinets and trunks. Before long, she found two hundred copper coins.
“Would two hundred copper coins be enough?”
As some of the earliest followers of Jiang Jin, they were among the most devoted and grateful. Several members of their family now had jobs, and their combined monthly wages amounted to more than a tael of silver. Giving away two hundred copper coins did not pain her too much.
Sun Yi nodded. “That’ll do. The paper said to give according to one’s means.”
Although their family earned more than a tael of silver a month, which seemed like a great deal, their expenses were also considerable, and they were still repaying a loan from the bank.
Yang Sanniang nodded. “All right. Once we donate this money, we’ll have to withdraw some from the bank.”
The bank had been operating for quite some time, and they had come to trust it completely. Aside from the money set aside for repaying their mortgage, most of their funds were kept in the bank. They only kept enough cash at home for their daily expenses.
At the government office, Sun Bu’s mother trembled as she handed over three hundred copper coins.
The clerk hurriedly stopped her. “Madam, donations should be made according to your means. You need to keep some money for yourself.”
They would not normally say this to ordinary people, but the elderly woman before them was plainly dressed and relied on a crutch because of her disabled leg. At a glance, it was clear that she was not well-off.
Although they hoped the people would donate more, the paper had also emphasized that everyone should give only what they could afford. They could not allow their own citizens to suffer hardship for the sake of the flood victims in Sizhou.
But Sun Bu’s mother was adamant. “My leg may be crippled, but I run a small business and can earn money. My son is serving in the army and receives military pay. I can afford this.”
The clerks immediately regarded her with respect and became even more reluctant to accept such a large donation.
Before they could persuade her again, her eyes reddened.
“I had two daughters who were captured by the barbarians. I only hope that when others need help, someone will reach out and save them, just as I wish someone had done for my daughters. Consider this my way of holding on to that hope.”
Her words left the clerks heartsick. In such a chaotic era, broken families, death, and separation between spouses and children were commonplace.
“All right. I’ll record your name,” one of the clerks said, no longer trying to dissuade her.
The wealthier merchants, such as He Li, donated fifty or a hundred taels at a time.
Sun Zheng and Ji Wangfei hurriedly found Dong Si.
“Lord Dong, is the flooding in Sizhou really that serious?”
They had only learned that something had happened in Sizhou after hearing people mention the donations that day.
Dong Si nodded. “Lord Sun, are you feeling better?”
The incident in which Sun Zheng had nearly choked to death had dealt him quite a blow. After being put through the wringer by Luo A’man, he had spent the past few days hiding in an inn to recover and had not ventured outside.
But Sun Zheng had no time to worry about any of that. He asked only, “Is the flooding in Sizhou really true?”
Dong Si did not conceal anything. “Yes. We don’t know the exact situation either, but it seems to be quite serious—especially in Tao Commandery and Shankang Commandery.”
Sun Zheng’s face went deathly pale, and he turned to leave.
Ji Wangfei suddenly asked, “I heard that Fengzhou is raising a large amount of money and preparing to go to Sizhou to provide disaster relief?”
