The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 36 The food was quite good.

Liu Cheng, the eldest son of the Liu family, put down his chopsticks, stood up, called four strong men, and went to investigate with torches.

"Sister, is Shitou back?" Xiao Huan leaned closer and whispered to Shang Wan.

Shang Wan nodded. "Besides him, there were two other people. Judging from their footsteps, they should both be men."

Lu Chengjing was surprised. How could she hear the noise at the village entrance from here? Did this woman have super hearing?

The torchlight gradually faded into the distance, lingering for a moment not far from the village entrance before beginning to move into the village, gradually approaching the location where the group was.

The men in the village mostly put down their chopsticks and watched the direction of the torches warily.

"Don't panic, everyone. It's two constables from the yamen and Brother Shitou." Liu Cheng's voice was loud, and everyone heard him clearly.

The tension eased slightly, and someone asked in confusion, "What are the officials doing in our village so late at night?"

Someone looked around and asked, "Has anyone in our village committed any crimes?"

"Don't just stand there," Old Man Luo stood up and called out, "Quickly, bring out two stools."

Luo Da and Luo Er immediately stood up and gave up the benches they were sitting on.

Li Dashan also lifted Xiaoshan up, making room for the bench.

Li Xiaoshan still had meat in his mouth, and his small body twisted in protest, glaring at his brother, demanding that he be put down.

Liu Cheng led his men over, and by the light of the surrounding torches, everyone could see the faces of the two officials.

Shang Wan glanced over and saw a familiar face.

The one on the left isn't Lord An's bodyguard, is his name Shen Liu or Shen Qi?

Old Man Luo stepped forward shakily, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked, "What brings you two officers here so late at night?"

After the daytime earthquake, Shen Qi thought that Elm Tree Village would be in the same state as Willow Tree Village, with chaos, many dead and injured, and everyone in fear and unease.

Unexpectedly, this group of people were having a meal together. Look at all those plates of meat on the table; they seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit.

Shen Qi said, "I am here on the orders of Lord An to inspect the villages, count the number of casualties, and bring this young man back along the way."

The "little brother" he was referring to was naturally Stone.

The county town was also affected by the earthquake. To prevent chaos, Lord An ordered the city gates to be temporarily closed and all the people in the town to be gathered in an open area. They would be checked and released one by one after the earthquake subsided to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.

Shen Qi was assigned a task by Lord An: to lead a group to Willow Village and Elm Village to assess the situation and count the number of casualties. On the way, they encountered Stone, who was panting heavily. Upon learning that he was from Elm Village, they gave him a ride.

Seeing that none of his family members were missing, Shi Tou finally felt relieved after being anxious all the way. He quickly ran to his family and asked about their situation.

Xiao Huan whispered to him.

When Shen Qi saw Shang Wan, he was surprised to find that Shi Tou was actually Shang Wan's younger brother. He nodded to Shang Wan as a greeting.

The villagers all looked at Shang Wan in surprise, thinking to themselves that people from the city were indeed different; Shang Wan's wife actually knew the constables from the yamen.

Seeing the expressions on Shen Qi and his companion's faces, Old Man Luo tactfully invited them to sit down for a meal. Worried that they might not want to sit with them, he even asked the villagers to help set up a small table for them.

"We'll just have some to eat," Shen Qi waved his hand to tell the villagers not to bother, and pulled his colleague Shan Dajun to sit down in an empty seat.

There were still many people in Willow Village who hadn't been rescued, and quite a few were missing. The constables all stayed behind to help, but the two of them came to Elm Village first.

On their way here, they were thinking of sending a signal to ask Lord An to send more men, but they never expected that the situation in Yushu Village would be several times better than they had anticipated.

Aunt Zhou quickly brought over two clean bowls and chopsticks, and filled the bowls with rice.

Shen Qi and Shan Dajun were truly hungry. After calling out to the villagers, they buried themselves in their food and began to eat voraciously. At first, the villagers were hesitant to pick up their chopsticks, but when they saw that Shen Qi and Shan Dajun's chopsticks seemed to have eyes, focusing on the meat in the dishes, they immediately stopped worrying about anything else. Those who hadn't eaten enough resumed their original eating speed, their chopstick skills becoming incredibly proficient.

A huge table of dishes, each one generously portioned, was left with only a few servings of sauce.

If the rice hadn't been all eaten, there wouldn't have been any left of this sauce; someone would have already used it to mix with the rice.

Aunt Zhou and Aunt Zhang served each person a bowl of fish soup, and everyone slurped it up with satisfied sighs.

Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, it's time to get down to business.

When Shen Qi and Shan Dajun inquired about the disaster situation in Yushu Village, the villagers, having already formed a bond from their earlier meal-grabbing, were no longer as reserved as before. Several elderly people answered clearly and concisely.

Shen Qi and his companion were genuinely surprised to hear that everyone in Elm Tree Village had been rescued.

Willow Village and Elm Village are not far apart. Judging from the damage to houses and ground, the two villages should be about the same. Why is there such a big difference in the number of casualties?

"Thanks to Madam Shang," Old Man Liu exclaimed. "If it weren't for Madam Shang's timely help, my little grandson would have been gone long ago."

The Liu family has only one grandchild, named Liu Yang.

When the earthquake struck, Liu Yang was feeding the pigs in the pigsty when a log fell and knocked him unconscious.

The pigsty collapsed, and the pile of firewood on top all fell down, burying the area.

The Liu family shouted themselves hoarse but received no response, and assumed that Liu Yang had gone to another house.

If Shang Wan hadn't smelled the blood and dug the person out, Liu Yang, a ten-year-old child, would probably have really died inside after losing so much blood.

After the villagers finished their work, they all gathered around, straining to listen to what the officials had to say. As soon as Old Man Liu finished speaking, the villagers couldn't wait to praise Shang Wan for his achievements.

"My father was also saved by Lady Shang."

“My daughter also has to thank Madam Shang. Without her, this girl would have lost her leg.”

"If Lady Shang hadn't passed by and pulled me out, I would have fallen into the crack in the ground."

……

The villagers chatted amongst themselves, and only after they finished speaking did they realize with astonishment that Shang Wan had actually saved so many people in the village, and it was no exaggeration to call him the village's greatest benefactor.

Shen Qi knew Shang Wan's abilities and was still able to remain calm, but Shan Dajun couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where is Madam Shang? Why don't we invite her over for a chat?"

Yuanyuan was asleep, and Shang Wan was idly teasing her own vase when she heard the villagers say that the police were looking for her, so she simply picked up Lu Chengjing and carried him over as well.

Lu Chengjing, who was being carried in a princess carry by his wife yet again: "..."

He'd already lost face during the day, so he had nothing left to lose at night and remained calm.

The villagers were forced to get used to the young couple's upside-down behavior, and knowing that Lu Chengjing's leg was injured and he couldn't stand, they even made room for him.

After thanking him generously, Shang Wan put Lu Chengjing down and tucked his hair behind his ear. Seeing his bright red earlobes, she quietly pulled it back and sat down next to him.

A faint, fresh scent of grass and trees wafted into his nostrils. As Lu Chengjing watched Shang Wan's smiling face as she spoke to someone, the embarrassment and annoyance he felt from being teased gradually dissipated, replaced by a sense of peace that was hard to describe.

As everyone was talking, a bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the dark night sky, followed by a muffled clap of thunder.

"boom--"

The torrential rain began to fall in an instant.

(End of this chapter)