Transmigrated To Another World: General, I'm Not Your White Moonlight - Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Bad Situation
Sun Chen saw Duan Yixin coming and smiled, “Xin Niang, good morning. Are you going to the town today?”

Duan Yixin nodded and asked, “Is the bullock cart full?”

Sun Chen shook his head, “Not yet. Come, I will help you carry the bamboo basket.”

After saying that, Sun Chen helped her load the bamboo basket onto the bullock cart. Sun Dagou was currently working on building greenhouses, so Sun Chen drove the bullock cart today. Most of the villagers in neighboring villages didn’t know about this and asked Sun Chen if his father was sick.

Sun Chen heard their questions and noticed their curiosity, and he calmly said, “My father has other things to do, so I will drive the bullock cart from now on.”

Hearing his answer, most of the villagers who used to ride for free could not help but complain in their hearts. If the driver of the bullock cart is Sun Dagou, they can ride for free just by asking him. But if it were Sun Chen, the situation would be different. No matter how pathetic they acted, he wasn’t going to give them a free ride.

After waiting for another ten minutes, the bullock cart was finally full. Sun Chen climbed into the driver’s seat, patted the cow’s body, and said, “Let’s go.”

The cow made a sound, shook its head, and pulled the cart. When they left the entrance of Yunshan Village, the sun had just risen from the eastern horizon. Sitting on the bullock cart, Duan Yixin looked at the surrounding scenery and frowned slightly.

When she went to the town three days ago, there were still many greeneries. But now, most trees and shrubs are showing signs of drying out. The green weeds also turned yellow and were crushed under the wheels of the bullock cart.

A thin middle-aged woman sitting opposite her saw her frowning and said, “The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and most of the plants have dried up.”

After hearing what she said, Duan Yixin turned to look at her and said, “Madam, you are not from Yunshan Village. Where are you coming from?”

The middle-aged woman said with a faint smile, “Young Lady, I am from the Chen family’s village.”

Duan Yixin was a little bit surprised when she heard her answer and thought, ‘Isn’t the Chen family’s village very rich? Why do the villagers there look worse than those villagers in Yunshan Village?’

Although Duan Yixin was surprised, her face did not show any emotion. She nodded and asked, “Madam, is this the case every summer?”

The middle-aged woman shook her head again and said, “This summer is worse than last year. Maybe Heaven is punishing people.”

Duan Yixin raised her eyebrows slightly and asked, “What do you mean by that, Madam?”

Without waiting for the middle-aged woman to answer, a woman in her twenties said, “Last year, even on summer solstice, there was still a lot of water in the well. This year, a lot of wells have dried up even when we are still in early summer. This must be a punishment from Heaven.”

After the young woman finished speaking, a thin old man who was sitting behind the driver’s seat looked at Duan Yixin and said, “Young Lady, you should be careful when going out these days.”

Duan Yixin turned to look at him and asked, “Why did you say that, Old Grandpa?”

The old man lowered his voice and said, “I heard that there are many criminals in Chun Shan Town and its surrounding areas. Since you are coming out alone, it will be more dangerous for you to go to the town by yourself.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers all gasped in surprise. The middle-aged woman looked at the old man with a hint of fear in her voice and asked, “Old man, is this true?”

The old man nodded and said, “Yes. My nephew works as a Yamen runner and told us to be careful when going out. He also said that these criminals were actually members of the bandit gang that attacked our villages.”

Recalling the night when the bandits attacked her village, the young woman clasped her trembling hands tightly and asked anxiously, “What did the government do? Don’t they care about these bandits and criminals?”

The old man sighed and said, “What can they do? My nephew said that the treasury was empty, and they had no money. Without money, there was no food. Now, most soldiers and officials are starving and have no energy to care about those petty criminals when they need to fight against the bandits.”

After a pause, the old man added, “I heard that the local magistrate also used his own money to help the victims of the bandit attack who became refugees. Just two days ago, my nephew said he saw the local magistrate selling off many of his wife’s jewelry and raising money to buy food for soldiers and workers in the local magistrate’s office and build a porridge stand to feed the refugees.”

Hearing this, the villagers sighed, and the atmosphere became gloomy. They are very lucky to have a good local magistrate who treats the people like his own children. But what can a local magistrate do when he cannot even fill his own stomach?

Duan Yixin listened to their conversation silently and thought, ‘No wonder the local magistrate’s assistant ate like a hungry ghost when he came to measure the land. It seems that even the officials and soldiers are also starving now.’

Just as she was thinking about it, a thin middle-aged man who was sitting next to the old man patted the old man’s hands and said, “Father, don’t worry too much. I heard from my cousin that the local magistrate had asked the central court for help. We just need to hold on and wait patiently for help. The emperor is a wise ruler, and he would do something to resolve this situation.”