More than half a month had passed since the Celestial Court last tried Hong Wei.
Conditions in Dengzhou City had improved considerably. Although porridge was still distributed every day, many residents had at least cleared out their homes, and the city had begun to look somewhat like a provincial capital again.
Deng Province was, after all, the center of the relief effort. Dengzhou City, whose damage had not been too severe, was also the public face of that effort. Even a capable official like Li Qian cared about saving face.
Still, Li Qian and the father and son of the Chu family remained exceedingly busy. The flooding itself had ended, but the waters receding did not mean the disaster was over. In truth, the challenges remained extremely grave.
Moreover, the great rebuilding after the great disaster required planning. Though the Imperial Court could not possibly shoulder all of it, plans for at least some of the cities had to be established.
Inside a Medical Clinic called the Benevolent Aid Hall in Dengzhou City, Yi Shuyuan sat alongside an elderly physician, treating the public.
Amid such a disaster, they naturally charged no consultation fees. As for medicinal ingredients-sorry, they were far too scarce and could only be given to those in the most urgent need.
There were not many people in the Medical Clinic at the moment. Most patients who had come that morning had received either acupuncture or massage after the elderly physician or Yi Shuyuan took their pulses. They truly had no medicine to spare.
An elderly woman approached the Medical Clinic entrance and saw an apprentice of fifteen or sixteen carefully cleaning the counter and medicine cabinets. Each waterlogged drawer was cleaned separately, then set out to dry in front of the Benevolent Aid Hall.
The apprentice worked