Traveling through the farm, I just want to earn money by farming

After resting for a night, the group continued on their way. In the villages they passed by, only two out of ten people were left, and most of the survivors were sick and were just waiting to die.

Old Man Yu and others were shocked by the tragic scene, which was even more cruel than a battlefield.

"Kind people, please save us, we don't want to die yet!" A weak cry for help came from the ruins.

Seeing someone entering the village was the only hope of survival for these villagers who were still breathing.

Old Master Yu had someone find a vacant land for them to camp, and arranged for the doctors accompanying the villagers to treat their injuries as soon as possible. He also sent people out into the mountains to look for usable water sources.

"Old man, what is the name of this village?" Tang Jue helped the doctor while asking the villagers about the situation.

"My dear sir, our village was originally called Zhaofu Village. With a total of more than a hundred households, it was considered a large village. Who would have thought that a disaster would kill seven or eight of our villagers, leaving only us here." When the villagers said this, they were all extremely sad.

Those who died were neighbors and relatives who had been with us for decades. They disappeared right before our eyes overnight.

Tang Jue and the others were also upset: "Did the county send anyone down from the town?"

"No," the old man shook his head. If they hadn't met Tang Jue and others, they would have been ready to wait for death.

Tang Jue didn't ask any more questions and just asked them to have a good rest.

Seeing Mr. Yu standing on a high place, he walked up to him and stood beside him, looking forward.

"Yu Gong, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking, it's been several days since the disaster. Wu Qingming keeps saying he's asked doctors, merchants, and martial artists to donate money and medicine, but how come there's not even a ghost in the village after such a severe disaster? I knew he was putting on a show, but I never imagined he'd be so careless about the lives of millions of people. What a horrible heart!"

He was used to seeing life and death in the army, but those were passionate men who sacrificed their lives for their families and their country. If they knew the consequences of sacrificing their lives for the country would be that even their parents, wives and children would not survive, how could they still serve the country sincerely?

Tang Jue didn't know how to offer his words of comfort, so he could only say, "Mr. Yu, the most important thing right now is to save lives and prevent disasters. I've already had my men place the bodies of the villagers in one place, and then cremate them all together."

Old Master Yu nodded slightly but did not respond.

Tang Jue said, "The troops sent by the Jiedushi will probably be arriving soon. It will be much easier when we have more manpower. I have already arranged for someone to go to the next village to investigate the situation. Once the road is cleared, this person will be assigned to look after it."

Old Master Yu said, "You can arrange these yourself. I trust you. The herbs and food should arrive the day after tomorrow. Luckily, Qing Ning reminded me before we came, so the herbs and food were specially delivered a day late."

They heard footsteps behind them and turned to see a servant rushing over. "Prefect, please go and take a look! The villagers are not allowing us to cremate our ancestors' bodies and are making a lot of noise and protesting."

Several people walked quickly, and when they got closer, they saw villagers dragging their sick bodies in front of the corpse and refusing to move away.

"You can't burn them. If you do, they will all turn to ashes."

“Yes, it can’t be burned.”

"Can't burn"

. . . . . . .

The attendants and guards did not dare to use force on them and tried to persuade them earnestly.

Seeing them approach, Tang Jue made way for them. He approached, bowed, and said, "Fellow villagers, I know you're reluctant to part with your loved ones, but the current situation is special. If cremation isn't performed, disease will spread. It's like why river and well water can't be drunk. I'm sure you all understand. Furthermore, they've already passed away. If they knew their bodies had become your death warrants, they would surely be uneasy. As the saying goes, if a person has a future, it depends solely on their past life's merits. And it's also said that the body they carry changes from one life to the next. So, as long as the soul is pure and untainted by karma, there is hope for a future life."

"But, there's never been a precedent for cremation. Wouldn't that really kill them?"

"Of course not. Even if their bodies aren't burned, they'll eventually become just bones buried underground. By then, they'll have already judged their deeds in this life before the King of Hell." Seeing that they were relenting, Tang Jue continued, "After cremating their bodies, choose a place with good feng shui for them to rest in. If they can't be reincarnated for a while, at least give them a comfortable place to settle down. Erect a monument with their names engraved on it, so that every year, no ancestor will be left out."

"I agree to cremation. What difference does it make after death? We managed to keep these children alive, and we can't let them die because of this. I don't think they will blame us." A young man spoke up, and others responded one after another.

The villagers bowed respectfully to the corpses and knelt in the distance to watch them disappear in the flames.

At the Ruyi County government office, Xue Jingtang and Xu Minglang summoned all the wealthy families in the county, directly stated their purpose and threw out bait. Those who originally only wanted to contribute a little now contributed their full efforts.

Xu Minglang selected ten companies to cooperate with the Xu family, and Xue Jingtang issued grants to each household.

"I never thought that we could raise so much money and grain this time. It can finally solve the urgent needs of our county." Xue Jingtang was really happy that the disaster-stricken village was saved.

"I heard that the prefect and his men went to Qingyun County, which was the worst hit by the disaster. I think money and food are in urgent need." Xu Minglang mentioned it unintentionally.

Xue Jingtang paused and said, "The Wuming Prefecture in Qingyun County is not an easy place to deal with. I'm afraid it will be difficult for the prefect to go there. We have raised a lot of money this time, so I will sort out half of it and send people over."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Xu Minglang stopped talking and then thought of something else and said, "Qing Ning's place already collected several trucks of supplies and sent them over two days ago. They asked me to borrow some people to escort them that day. From what Qing Ning said, these supplies will not be sent directly to the Qingyun County Government Office, but directly to the disaster-stricken villages. It is Yu Gong's intention."

How could Xue Jingtang not know the deeper meaning of this? This was Yu Gong's distrust of the Qingyun County officials! With this in mind, he dispatched people to Chenjia Village to inquire about Qing Ning's detailed address. He also arranged for people to divide the supplies, sending half to the disaster-stricken villages and half to Qingyun County. He also assigned more people to guard the supplies and hired several skilled martial artists from several martial arts troupes in the county to go with him.

The several villages affected by the disaster in Ruyi County are relatively stable, and the villagers are gradually recovering from their grief. The county has sent personnel to each village to comfort them and assist them in reconstruction.

For example, several villages in Wuyue Village were severely affected, but the epidemic was controlled in time and there was no shortage of food and medicine. The villagers were able to endure the gloom and hope coexisting. Mr. Ma and others were their backbone and they only followed their lead.