The Refugee Problem

The Disaster Victim Problem

Though it was called the post-disaster reconstruction command center, it was really just a few dilapidated houses with a large courtyard. The Civil Affairs Department held meetings and worked in the courtyard; the rooms were only used for sleeping.

When Lin Wen burst through the broken gate, the Civil Affairs Department was in the middle of a meeting. All the officials, including Department Director Huang Mingxiao, sat beneath an old pagoda tree around a large round table.

The table was piled high with documents and handwritten drafts, while discarded paper littered the ground. The entire courtyard looked like this.

A telephone line had been strung over from the pagoda tree, connected to a telephone and fax machine on a small table.

As the gate was pushed open, everyone looked over and saw Little Li standing there stupidly, along with a young man striding inside.

Director Huang Mingxiao stopped the other officials, who had been about to start berating them, and asked, "Are you District Chief Lin Wen?"

Lin Wen nodded. "That's me." He casually grabbed a chair and forcibly wedged himself into their circle. "Brief me on the current situation."

Huang Mingxiao hesitated. Catching sight of the district chief's personal driver standing in the distance from the corner of his eye, he hurriedly rose to his feet, only for Lin Wen to press him back down.

"Sit and talk. The disaster is severe—cut the empty formalities."

Huang Mingxiao quickly sat down and began introducing their current work.

"At present, there are 307,102 people left homeless. One hundred and ten thousand have been settled on the slopes of Ox Horn Mountain, forty thousand on Hook Mountain, thirty thousand on Changpai Mountain, twenty thousand near the Changpai Village embankment on Clear Breeze Mountain and Craggy Ridge, seventy thousand on the hills near East Passage, and another thirty thousand in Ox Horn Village, Changpai Village, and several nearby villages."

Huang Mingxiao spread out a map on the table. The enormous map immediately covered the entire tabletop. It was crammed with red, blue, and green markings, along with numbers and written notes everywhere; one glance was enough to make anyone dizzy, unable to make heads or tails of it.

Yet Huang Mingxiao knew it like the back of his hand. Every time he pointed somewhere, he could clearly and precisely explain that location's details, the strategies used before and after, its current condition, its material supplies and shortages, the problems it faced, and more.

Lin Wen listened in silence. The explanation went on for a full thirty minutes. When Huang Mingxiao paused to catch his breath, Lin Wen said, "So you're saying the top priority right now is a shortage of supplies?"

Only after swallowing his last breath did Huang Mingxiao feel his lungs come back to life. "Yes, District Chief, we..."

Lin Wen raised a hand to stop him. "Immediately make a list of the supplies you need and send it to the Finance Department. Tell them to arrange purchases at once."

Huang Mingxiao asked in surprise, "The district has money now?"

Lin Wen nodded.

Everyone present broke into smiles. Huang Mingxiao was especially excited. "This is the best news I've heard in days! The Empire's aid has finally arrived! District Chief, in that case, shouldn't we avoid purchasing supplies ourselves? We can just submit a report to the Empire. We should save the money for reconstruction and get the construction crews back to work as soon as possible—that's what can truly solve the problem!"

Lin Wen sneered. "You're wrong. There's no aid. I got the money myself. Go purchase the supplies first. I've already called the construction crews back; they'll arrive in a few days. For now, let's finalize the construction plan."

The moment those words fell, the atmosphere turned icy. Every smile vanished.

Huang Mingxiao could hardly believe it. "How can this be? The Empire isn't going to help us? There are three hundred thousand disaster victims. How—how can they do this?"

He clutched at his hair, his forehead creasing with wrinkles as strands of gray-white hair slipped between his fingers.

"This is impossible. There must be some mistake. I'm going to Divine Capital, to headquarters, to see His Majesty!"

Deputy Director Zhang Qiaohe grabbed him. "Stop struggling! You won't get to see him."

Huang Mingxiao suddenly lost control. He violently shook off Zhang Qiaohe's hand and shouted, "Let go! I have to see him! The Empire isn't like this. There must—there must be some other reason..."

Zhang Qiaohe shouted, "The Emperor of the Empire is Super-Sequence! You're separated by eleven levels! You can't even get through the gates—you're dreaming!"

Lin Wen could not understand their loss of composure and interjected, "Didn't I say we have money? What does it matter whether the Empire provides aid or not?"

Huang Mingxiao shouted, "There are three hundred thousand disaster victims! Do you know how much money that takes? Just keeping them alive costs four hundred thousand a day! Everyone can only eat rice bran and pig feed! Rebuilding their homes is an astronomical expense! Once the supplies run out, everyone will die! How many days can that little bit of money you got sustain us? One day? Half a day?"

Lin Wen counted on his fingers. "Forty-two days. Uh, that much money only lasts forty-two days?"

The crowd fell silent again. Everyone stared at the young district chief, speechless.

After a long while, Huang Mingxiao finally said in disbelief, "How much money did you get?"

Lin Wen scratched the back of his head. "Around seventeen million. Damn it, I was too hasty. If I'd known, I should've squeezed that dead fat man a little harder."

Huang Mingxiao's body trembled slightly, and he could not speak. Lin Wen noticed his chest heaving rapidly and his eyes reddening. Afraid the man might suffer a heart attack on the spot, he hurriedly pulled him over and made him sit down. "How many more days can the current supplies last?"

Back to practical matters, Huang Mingxiao finally returned to normal. "Less than five days."

Lin Wen said, "Then purchase enough supplies for one month first. I'll think of another solution afterward."

Huang Mingxiao thought more deeply about it. "District Chief Lin, if we do that, we can't merely maintain the bare minimum standard of living. We need to preserve people's health as well. Many disaster victims have fallen ill; we need medicine and medical aid. After a great flood comes a great epidemic—we also need epidemic-prevention supplies. Because the construction crews left too quickly, some settlement sites are still unfit for habitation. The disaster victims are living in extremely crowded conditions. More than fifty thousand people do not even have tents and are sleeping in the open. These issues must also be resolved."

Lin Wen felt his head splitting from listening and hurriedly cut him off. "Just tell me what you propose."

Huang Mingxiao said, "Make up for the missing supplies, then buy another twenty days' worth of living supplies."

Lin Wen was somewhat puzzled. "Wouldn't that be too little?"

With money, it was like a clever housewife finally having rice; Huang Mingxiao's thoughts immediately became far more flexible. "This is the only choice we have. Even if we spent all the money on daily supplies, it would eventually run out. We can only save as many disaster victims as possible while rebuilding their homes as quickly as we can. That is the fundamental solution."

"As long as there's something to strive toward, these hardships can be overcome."

"What we fear is having no hope—that no matter how long everyone struggles in the darkness, it will all be meaningless."

"That's right, that's right." Everyone immediately began to have ideas, and they started talking at once, their voices overlapping.

Lin Wen hesitated for a moment. He did not use [Immortal's Guide] to confirm their plan, only activating [Aura Reading].