Lock and secure

The Chinese New Year is coming in three days. It has been snowing in Khanzhou for several days, and everything is covered in white.

In order to prevent the people from catching cold and getting sick, the canal digging work in Khanzhou was suspended. Many people went to work in sweater factories, and some people in Khanzhou put on cotton clothes.

In the county town of Luo County, Khanzhou, Luo Yao's family lived in a street near the county governor's office.

They have traveled to three county towns to guide the work. Luo County is one of the worst-hit counties in Khanzhou.

The Chinese New Year is coming soon. We can’t leave, nor can we go to Zhejiang to visit our grandfather. The whole family is preparing to celebrate the New Year in this small courtyard where we have lived for half a month.

Early in the morning, the people in the yard divided the work in an orderly manner. The children cleaned, Li Xian and Lu Heng cut window flowers, A Shi chopped wood, Lu Hong carried water, and Luo Yao wrote couplets and the word "Fu".

The drought has passed, but the streets are still full of victims. The people have not received any real help from the court. The streets are deserted and there are no entertainment facilities. These red papers were brought across the river by the people from the Nanyan Escort Agency when they delivered food.

Not only Luo Yao's family was writing couplets, writing the word "Fu" and cutting window paper-cuts, but many scholars in the county and village were also helping to write couplets and write the word "Fu".

This year, the imperial court sent a young man to provide disaster relief. He brought them a lot of food, gave them jobs and helped them earn money. The village and the county now have canals and drinking water. Although many people died in the drought, they still have hope for the new year and believe that the new year will be better.

On New Year's Eve, many families put up the word "Fu" on their doors, and restaurants everywhere hung lanterns and posted couplets and window decorations with the word "Fu".

At night, laughter was heard from an ordinary courtyard near the county magistrate's office.

Red lanterns were hung in the courtyard and the word "Fu" was posted on every house, making the place look prosperous and festive.

The lobby door was open and the family sat around a low round table, not fearing the cold, to eat. What they were eating was not anything special, but hot pot.

There were dozens of plates of meat piled up as if it was free, and next to them were all kinds of unknown vegetables that were impossible to appear in this season.

These vegetables were obtained by Lu Hong, who had just returned two days ago, from several greenhouses on the banks of the Anxi River in Lianyu County. The greenhouses had been built a few months ago, and many of the vegetables were already edible.

There was no need to worry about the fruits going bad in winter. Lu Hong brought the strong men from Nanyan Escort Agency to pick several bags of them and took them directly across the river to Shangluo County.

So we have this hot pot, a double-flavored hot pot, one with spicy flavor and the other with clear soup. This time the spiciness is not mustard but real chili peppers, just green ones.

The green peppers were cut into the bottom of the pot. Although they were not red peppers, the spicy taste was the same. Lu Hong, Lu Heng and A Shi were sweating profusely while eating. Li Xian was gasping for breath with his mouth open because of the spiciness.

"Young Master, this is too spicy. I can't handle it... It feels so good..."

Lin Mo and Zhang Xiaoxiao didn't dare eat too much chili peppers, so they ate clear soup with dipping sauce, which moderated the spiciness of the sauce.

The clear soup pot with potatoes was soft and glutinous, very delicious. Luo Yao and Luo Xinchen also had the clear soup pot. Luo Yao couldn't eat spicy food very well, so the spiciness of the dipping sauce was just right.

Lin Xiaoxiao really can't eat spicy food. His little face turns red when he dips it in sauce. Lin Mo asks him not to dip it in hot sauce, but he becomes greedy again. He cries while eating. He is a playful person who loves both food and play.

Luo Yao is too Buddhist. He eats clear soup with chili sauce and rice to satisfy his craving for chili peppers, and then drinks another bowl of glutinous clear soup. In the middle of winter, after drinking a bowl of hot soup, he feels so warm that he cries.

Luo Xinchen likes the small potatoes in the clear soup pot the most. He finished a whole bowl of potatoes and kept crying for more with his bloated stomach.

After dinner, the family stood guard in front of the hall door. The stove was burning brightly in the house. Looking up at the door, they saw the clear sky, the full moon hanging high in the sky, the ground covered with white snow, and the whole night was illuminated, as if it was dawn.

Suddenly, a number of Kongming lanterns appeared in everyone's sight.

One by one, Kongming lanterns rose into the sky, more and more, flying from all over Luo County and gradually filling the night sky.

"Wow, it's so beautiful!" Zhang Xiaoxiao held her little face and exclaimed excitedly.

Luo Yao stared blankly at the night sky. There were no fireworks in Dacheng, but people would set off sky lanterns during the New Year and other festivals.

People write their wishes on Kongming lanterns, hoping that their wishes can reach the heavens as the lanterns rise into the sky and receive the protection and blessings of the gods in heaven.

Perhaps it is to express the longing for relatives. After all, so many people starved to death, the disaster this year was so serious, and civil unrest and war broke out. People all hope to have peace and security next year.

Hey! Luo Yao sighed. If he had known earlier, he should have gotten some Kongming lanterns so he could make a wish and write a letter to his parents and grandparents...

I hope that next year will be safe, smooth, happy and worry-free.

-

Some noises gradually emerged from the deserted capital city, which had just restored order.

Someone hadn't heard the story, but the people were praising the young man who had provided disaster relief. The people had spontaneously decided to build a temple and burn incense in his honor. The young man they were talking about was Princess Yong'an, who had escaped the fire, and the Crown Prince of the Duke's Mansion.

The storytellers in teahouses and inns everywhere told stories that were extremely bizarre.

In Fan Yun's teahouse, people crowded into the street.

"The princess foresaw this great chaos before it even began. She's so prescient, could she be an immortal descending to earth?"

"And I heard that the abbot of the All Living Beings Temple received instructions from the Buddha and foresaw that an immortal would pass by and come down the mountain to pick up the princess. If this isn't an immortal descending to earth, what is?!"

"Oh my! All the portraits of the princess on the street were torn up and put up for display at home before the Lunar New Year. I haven't even seen the princess yet!"

The rumor spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and a few days later it became a hot topic even in the capital.

People began to sell statues of the princess on the streets, and some shamans performed spells in the name of the princess.

The common people even spread rumors of an evil spirit from the East Heaven, saying that the chaos under heaven was all due to Your Majesty's lack of good fortune, which had offended the heavens. As a result, the great talents suffered many disasters, with droughts every year, chaos in the country, and victims everywhere...

Hundreds of officials in the hall argued about this matter for several hours.

"Your Majesty, what the people say is not without reason. Now the people all hope that Your Majesty will issue an edict of repentance under the National Sacrifice Platform to appease the heavens. Please make plans as soon as possible."

The ministers knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, please open the national altar and issue an edict of self-repentance to comfort the heavens!"

Bei Zhenming was so angry that he was shaking all over. A few days ago, he didn't want to bother with those rumors, but he never thought it would spread like this.

Although it was most likely Luo Yao, the people he sent had not yet discovered the true identity of this young man who provided disaster relief, but the news had already spread among the people.

Prime Minister Jia looked at the officials kneeling on the ground and stepped forward, his face full of anger. "This young man who is providing disaster relief was appointed by the court and recognized by the old Duke. Your Majesty knows how to appoint people well. The people don't thank Your Majesty because they don't understand the details. You, important officials of the court, don't understand Your Majesty's painstaking efforts, but instead blame Your Majesty here. How unreasonable!"

"This……"

"Prime Minister Jia is not without reason. This young master is carrying out disaster relief work under orders from the imperial court. If anyone is to be considered as having foresight, it must be Your Majesty."

Bei Zhenming narrowed his eyes. This young man who was helping with disaster relief had even claimed that he was doing so on orders from the imperial court. Although he didn't know who he was, as long as it was proven that he was doing so on orders from the imperial court, who would dare to question him?!