Offering Treasures

"The population of Linbei County really is growing."

Once word spread through the surrounding area that there was a bite to eat here, more and more people would come.

Still, An Weiyan could accept a few more people coming.

As long as he had enough money, the main world had enough food to feed these people.

But if they kept consuming his money, he would not be able to keep supporting them.

Fortunately, the seeds outside had already been sown, and the crops would be ready to harvest in a little over a month.

He also needed to think about how to let these refugees earn food with their own hands.

Holding a book, An Weiyan considered his plans for what came next.

The fields outside the county town still needed to be cleared. At the very least, these people needed a plot of land they could feed themselves from.

Then there were the incense offerings at the Daoist temple.

He had previously asked a reporter to help publicize it, and the results seemed all right.

But that level of publicity was still not enough. He needed to promote it more.

He had no idea when the peach tree demon would finish undergoing its tribulation, either.

Whether it succeeded or failed, Linbei County would face far greater difficulties when the time came.

With all those demons coming down from the mountains, the Earth God probably would not be able to hold them off.

"Things still haven't been fully resolved."

At that thought, An Weiyan could not help sighing.

An Weiyan had someone take a count, including the villagers who had arrived in the county today.

Linbei County now had a total of seven hundred and fifty-six people.

Of those, two hundred and thirteen were elderly people and children.

Of the other young, able-bodied people, An Weiyan sent some to clear land and others to repair houses.

The villagers who had just fled here also needed houses to live in.

These houses all needed repairs, or they would be uninhabitable.

Thinking of this, An Weiyan took out a notebook and began writing down everything he needed to do next, one item at a time, so he would not forget.

A tributary of the Wu River.

Several old fishermen sat nearby, holding their rods as they fished.

"Did you hear that more people from nearby villages fled to our Linbei County today?"

One of the fishermen nearby spoke up.

"Yes, quite a few more came, but His Honor said earlier that another shipment of relief grain had arrived, so we don't have to worry about there not being enough to eat."

Another man nodded lightly at those words.

He had come here a little later, so he knew more about the matter.

"His Honor truly is a good man, dipping into his own savings to provide disaster relief. If only His Honor could always remain in charge of Linbei County."

The old fisherman sighed at those words.

Then he said quietly, "In the past, when a famine like this struck, the relief grain allocated by the authorities was nothing but wheat bran. We could have put up with that, but even then, we never had enough to eat."

"I heard that over a thousand people in nearby Lin Household Village-the entire village-starved to death."

"I heard that Xiangning Town, the closest town to us, has been overrun with demons. Every day, people have their hearts and livers gouged out and eaten, and people often drown by the river, too."

"Living over there, you have no idea when you might die."

"And Pingshui City isn't far away. I heard it still has a City God guarding it, but the people inside have terribly hard lives, too. Who knows how many people starve to death in the streets every day? The high-and-mighty officials there probably won't pay any attention to those starving to death by the roadside."

The old fisherman spoke softly, his words filled with desolation by the end.

Living in such troubled times, they ate one meal without knowing where the next would come from.

Sometimes, after eating one meal, they went hungry for several days.

Those days had lasted far too long, and many people had already grown numb.

After the suffering they had endured, they thought of how, ever since His Honor arrived, every one of them here had been able to eat their fill.

Such a stark contrast left them deeply grateful to An Weiyan.

Naturally, they all hoped in their hearts that His Honor could stay in Linbei County from now on.

The others fell silent for a moment at his words. Whatever else might be said, they had all experienced those past days that were no life for a human being.

They all knew about the events in the nearby village and the other nearby counties that the old man had mentioned.

From what they knew, things were actually much the same everywhere else.

"Life was too bitter before. But now that His Honor has come, we must make sure he stays here. As long as His Honor can remain here, I imagine we, too, can enjoy a rare stretch of peaceful days."

None of them mentioned the current imperial court.

Who knew what had become of the imperial court by now?

They had not seen it provide disaster relief in a long time, either. Only back when the roads were still open had it taken away a good deal of grain in taxes.

As they spoke, the men fell silent again.

They thought of the things they had eaten before, mixed with leaves.

Now, however, whenever they went home each day, there was a large bowl of fragrant white rice, cooked from polished grain.

Polished rice!

Every day, gathering around the pot and watching that gleaming white polished rice pour into it was an immense pleasure for them.

The group savored the memory for a moment, as though they could already smell the fragrance of white rice wafting from the pot.

They swallowed.

"Let's all focus. We should catch some good fish, too, and take them back to offer to His Honor."

"That fellow offered His Honor some golden-thread nanmu before, and His Honor seemed very pleased with it. We can't fall behind."

The old fisherman roused himself and urged the men beside him.

They had fished for so many years, after all. Now that there were far fewer demons nearby, they ought to seize this chance to catch some good fish.

The other fishermen immediately nodded at his words, then sat nearby, immovable.

They were still confident in their fishing skills.

Not one of them thought he would fail to catch fish here.

Once the men stopped talking, the old fisherman's rod suddenly trembled slightly, and he hauled a fish straight out.

A closer look revealed a black crucian carp. It was not particularly large, but it had the distinction of being their first fish of the day.

The fisherman put the crucian carp into his creel, then cast his line out again.

With only the sound of the hook entering the water, the men sat steadily by the river once more.

Not far from them, the Koi King was roaming along the riverbank.

It wanted to make a round and see how the people in the surrounding area were doing, then calculate again where its children might face their tribulations.

If it could find out, there would still be a chance to save them.

After all, its kind had faced many human tribulations, and it had gained a little experience. For instance, when its children faced their tribulations, letting those fishermen catch more fish could improve its children's chances of survival.

The Koi King's enormous body glided gently along the riverbed, its form invisible from the surface.