Chapter 104 Return to Sanquan Village

Xiao Liu, no matter how fierce, was still a young man, so changing his clothes and applying medicine had to be done without others watching.

Song Tingzhou gave him a warning look before sitting outside with Xue Sheng.

Meng Wan sat at the entrance of the carriage, watching as Xiao Liu roughly stripped off his clothes. His figure was gaunt, his skin deathly pale.

Meng Wan then noticed that his upper body was covered in wounds of various sizes—some were bruises from heavy blows, others were cuts from sharp weapons. The most serious was a sword wound on his abdomen, deep and penetrating, which Xiao Liu had bound with a cloth strip, and it was still seeping blood even now.

Meng Wan first removed the cloth strip, and blood immediately gushed from the wound. Xiao Liu’s face turned white, and the world started spinning.

“How come there’s a scratch on your neck?” Afraid he might faint, Meng Wan chattered on to keep him awake. This scratch was quite noticeable among the many life-threatening wounds.

Xiao Liu grunted, sweat forming on his skin from the pain. “That woman you know scratched me. That woman knows how to play dead.”

Meng Wan was surprised. “Who? Madam Wu?” At home, Meng Wan had distilled strong liquor and produced something similar to alcohol. He had brought a small jar this time, pouring some alcohol onto a cloth to disinfect the sword wound on Xiao Liu’s abdomen.

Xiao Liu’s voice trembled with pain. “If I had actually killed Madam Wu, I probably wouldn’t even have made it out of the Wu residence.”

He forced out through clenched teeth, “It was that concubine from the Jiang family.”

“How did she offend you?” After all, it was a human life. Even if the woman was disgusting, hearing that she had died so easily in Xiao Liu’s words still made Meng Wan uneasy.

Xiao Liu hissed in pain from the alcohol’s sting. “I'm just... ouch... repaying Madam Jiang’s kindness, you know~”

Meng Wan sprinkled hemostatic powder on his wound, wrapped the cloth strip around Xiao Liu’s waist a few times, and finally breathed a sigh of relief when no blood seeped through. He rolled his eyes. “Your way of repaying kindness is by killing a concubine? What kind of repayment is that? If one concubine dies, won’t Master Jiang just take another?”

Xiao Liu, pale from blood loss, gave a wicked grin. “So I cut off that dog’s thing below and fed it to the dogs—problem solved once and for all.”

He laughed arrogantly, but the movement tugged at his wound, making him wince in pain.

Meng Wan felt a chill in his crotch and twitched his mouth. “You really are...”

“Really what? If your husband takes on another woman behind your back, I’ll help you out then too, how about it?” Xiao Liu said maliciously.

Meng Wan cleaned his other wounds, expressionless. “No need for your trouble. I’ll handle it myself... By the way, did you kill the Wu family’s kept woman?”

Xiao Liu glanced at him sideways. “Do you think I have that much free time? Why would I kill her?”

Meng Wan understood—Madam Wu must have done it.

After applying medicine to all the wounds, Xiao Liu was sweating profusely. Meng Wan said to him, “You should see a doctor in town ASAP.” Otherwise, in the hot summer with poor road conditions, if the wounds got infected, it would be disastrous.

Xiao Liu wiped the sweat from his face. “No, there’s no time. I need to get back to Guqing as fast as possible.”

Meng Wan pointed out, “Are you stupid? Right now, every county town must have garrison soldiers stationed. The more you rush in, the easier it is to expose yourself. It’s better to recuperate slowly on the road. After a while, they might let their guard down.”

“I’m afraid Chang Sheng might be in danger.” Xiao Liu frowned and spoke the truth.

Meng Wan retorted, “Without you there, he's actually safer now.”

After convincing Xiao Liu, Meng Wan got his own clothes and helped him change. There was no other way—this warrior was truly badly injured, and the whole ordeal with the medicine had left him even weaker.

Meng Wan carefully tied Xiao Liu’s sash right over the sword wound, so he half-crouched in front of Xiao Liu, tilting his head slightly to do it.

Sweat dripped from Meng Wan’s bright, moist face. His black hair was damp at the temples, and his eyes, peach-blossom-shaped but resembling apricot kernels when unsmiling, were focused. The corners of his glistening eyes flushed faintly red. A bead of sweat at the tip of his nose finally fell, landing on his lip, making his perfectly shaped lips even more rosy.

Xiao Liu, pale, leaned weakly as Meng Wan worked on him, unconsciously touching his own plain features.

—Dammit, how did he end up looking like this?

Outside, it was hot, and Meng Wan couldn’t bear to let Song Tingzhou stay in the sun, so he called him into the carriage. But inside the carriage, it wasn’t comfortable either—stuffy and hot.

Song Tingzhou had already told Xue Sheng about Xiao Liu’s situation. When they passed a town, they drove directly into town to get a doctor for Xiao Liu's wounds.

Fortunately, Prefect Wu’s soldiers were mainly scattered in the county towns, and even if they conducted thorough checks along the way, they might not travel as fast as them.

In the end, Xiao Liu’s injuries healed slowly but at least didn’t get infected or worsen.

On the twelfth of the seventh lunar month, they bypassed Guyang county town and arrived at Quanshui town. Huang Zheng unloaded his belongings and went home, while Meng Wan and the others settled into an inn in town.

Xiao Liu, whose injuries had improved a lot, was again urging Meng Wan to return to Guqing. Meng Wan didn't want to keep arguing with him, but this warrior had truly seen blood and was far more ferocious than the equally capable Xue Sheng.

Meng Wan patiently explained again, “If we rush to see Magistrate Yan now, we won’t be able to do much. It’s better to see how things are in other counties and gather more information for him.”

Xiao Liu looked impatient but reluctantly agreed. “Fine, you’re smarter than me anyway. I’ll trust you this once.”

Xiao Liu stayed at the inn to recover, while Meng Wan and Song Tingzhou washed up, rested, and then prepared to head back to the village.

The hired escorts were only for protection; it wouldn't be fair to ask them to do chores, so they left them at the inn in town.

It had been raining intermittently for the past two days, but not as heavily as before. The village roads were muddy, and driving would easily get the wheels stuck. So Song Tingzhou, Meng Wan, and Xue Sheng decided to walk back to the village to check on things.

Stepping heavily through the mud, the half-hour journey took a full hour. Eventually, Song Tingzhou carried Meng Wan on his back.

The water in the fields by the road was at least knee-deep in the shallowest parts. In the village, the brick-and-tile houses were better off, only showing signs of rainwater damage, but the thatched houses were nothing but half-walls.

Few houses were brick-and-tile; most people had built simple straw sheds on the old sites and rigged up basic stoves.

The first house at the entrance of the village was Sixth Aunt Song’s. Her old house was built from rammed earth and wood, but the new house built for Dali and Man Geer after their wedding was brick-and-tile. Now, the old house had collapsed, but the brick house was still fine. Sixth Uncle Song and Sixth Aunt were both at home, cleaning the house and recompacting the muddy earth walls that had washed away.

The yard was full of mud, but stones were laid on the paths, making it a bit better than the village roads outside.

Meng Wan jumped off Song Tingzhou's back and stomped the thick mud off his feet—it was so heavy walking felt awkward.

“Sixth Uncle! Sixth Aunt!”

Hearing Meng Wan’s call, the two turned around. “Oh! Da Lang and Wan Geer are back!”

They happily welcomed them into the yard where Man Geer and Dali lived, bustling around to pour tea and fix some food.

Their family had been doing better in recent years. Dali had bought a house in town, and the whole family of five used to stay there. But this time, the floods had damaged both the village fields and houses. Worried something might go wrong, Sixth Uncle left Man Geer and the others in town while he and Sixth Aunt came back to fix up the house.

Their family was still relatively well-off—they had a place to live, savings, and a business in town. Other families in the village weren't that lucky. Their houses had collapsed, and the fields that were about to be harvested were flooded. For them, the fields were the only source of food and income for the whole year, and this disaster made everything even harder.

The Liu family, who used to rent land from the Song family, had just managed to buy two acres of their own, and now this happened.

It wasn't just them—few villagers had brick-and-tile houses. Song Tingzhou’s family lived in a rammed-earth house too.

After a short rest at Sixth Aunt’s, they hurried into the village. Song Tingzhou didn’t push open the gate, and saw half the courtyard wall had collapsed, exposing the half-collapsed house behind it.

Though they had expected it, both felt a twinge of sadness. For Song Tingzhou, this was the home he'd lived in since he was a kid. For Meng Wan, his emotions were even more complicated—the Song family was the first to truly accept him in this world.

Song Tingzhou pushed open the gate and stepped inside, looking a little gloomy.

Noticing this, Meng Wan took his hand from behind and looked up at him. “The house may have collapsed, but we can rebuild it. When Mother comes back next year, she'll be happy to see a new house.”

His voice was incredibly gentle, like a warm breeze soothing the tightness in Song Tingzhou's chest.

"Good, we'll hire people to build a new house."

Not just our own house—the clan needs help too, and the village also requires attention.

Time was tight, and the task was heavy. Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan first went to find the clan leader and village head to discuss matters, asking about the families affected by this disaster.

There were quite a few—almost eighty percent of the village's crops were submerged. Apart from a few families on higher ground and a handful with brick houses, nearly everything was wiped out. The worst tragedy was that two children playing near the dam were swept away by the flood and still hadn't been found.

Song Tingzhou and the Song clan leader privately discussed the situation. They still had the silver previously left with the clan leader, and Meng Wan added another two hundred taels to repair all the clan's houses.

They could help the clan, but they couldn't assist all the hundreds of families in the entire village.

Though the fields were flooded, they couldn't just leave them. Song Tingzhou and the village head organized the village's labor force to dig ditches and drain the water, doing as much as possible. The crops for the first half of the year were ruined. In the north, winter comes early, so even planting a second crop now wouldn't yield a harvest in time.

Meng Wan had brought back some potatoes and other vegetable seeds, which he handed over to the village head to distribute to the villagers. At least each family could get some to survive this winter; next year, with new seeds, life would be better.

Money was donated to the clan, but grain still needed to be given to the village for relief.

The next day, they distributed two carts of potatoes and vegetable seeds from the town and explained to the villagers how to plant them. These were seasoned farmers—they might shrug off reading and writing, but when it came to farming, they caught on instantly.

The fields were too waterlogged, so planting couldn't be rushed. Song Tingzhou led everyone in building houses. The Song clan had limited manpower, so they hired several groups from the village, which also helped ease the villagers' financial strain.

While Song Tingzhou worked with the villagers, Meng Wan went to Quanshui Town and nearby towns to purchase grain. Because of the flood, grain prices were high.

He couldn't give the grain away for free. That would cause a huge stir—people from miles around would flock to him demanding grain, and even if he bled himself dry buying more, he couldn't fill that bottomless pit.

"A peck of rice breeds a favor, a bushel breeds enmity." He sold the grain at 80% of the usual market price. The villagers smiled and flattered him, expressing sincere thanks, but there were certainly those who, ungrateful, cursed him behind his back.

Meng Wan could guess what they'd say: "His family is so wealthy now, yet he keeps his money tight and doesn't help even his relatives." He didn't care about such trivial matters, since most of the villagers were genuinely grateful.

Second Uncle Song's house had also collapsed, leaving them homeless. Meng Wan stayed at Sixth Aunt Song's house, while Sixth Uncle Song, Song Tingzhou, and Xue Sheng stayed at the clan leader's house. Conditions were tough, but once things were sorted out, it would be easier.

"Second Uncle's wife, you're heavily pregnant—don't move; I'll handle it." Meng Wan was busy at the stove, urging Zhang Xiaoyu aside.

Song Tingzhou had made something of himself, so the clan members held his family in awe. Hearing this, Zhang Xiaoyu hesitated, his belly showing a smooth, rounded curve—not exaggerated, but clearly about five or six months along.

Sixth Aunt Song, however, was as casual as ever with Meng Wan. "Don't bother with your second uncle's wife. Everyone in the fields is like that—can't sit still. Let him add some firewood; it's fine."

In the scorching heat, Meng Wan was tired from kneading dough. Without looking up, he said, "Alright, then. Second Uncle's wife, be careful." It wasn't easy to conceive a first child at over thirty, and now with the flood, Meng Wan felt pity for him.

Sixth Aunt Song's yard had six large stoves set up, with cutting boards and pastry boards moved outside. Many women were working, along with a few children, only six or seven years old, helping tend the fires.

Several families in the clan had lost adults crushed by collapsing beams during the flood, leaving these poor orphans without parents. The clan couldn't look after itself, and other families were also struggling. Some kind souls gave them meals now and then, but overall, they ate irregularly.

When Meng Wan saw them, he brought them all to Sixth Aunt Song's house to eat and drink with them temporarily. Afraid of being kicked out, the young children learned to read the room and helped the adults with chores.

In the evenings, those digging ditches and building houses ate in shifts: one batch at Sixth Aunt Song's, one at the clan leader's, and one at the village head's.

During these days, Meng Wan only saw Song Tingzhou at dinner. Seeing him in coarse clothes, with mud spots all over his face and body, made his heart ache. He scooped some water into a wooden basin and asked, "Going back this afternoon?"

"Tomorrow I need to check the fields at the village entrance again, but after that, I won't go." Song Tingzhou lowered his head to wash his face. When he looked up, a clean cloth was already handed to him.

His lips curled upward. "Thank you, husband."

Meng Wan smiled at him. "You're welcome."

"By the way, there's something I need to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Song Tingzhou asked.

He didn't change his clothes—they'd be dirty again tomorrow anyway, not worth washing. Luckily, he wasn't staying with Meng Wan, or he'd worry his husband might be disgusted.

Meng Wan pointed at the children helping serve meals by the stove. "These kids from the clan—orphans without parents. In normal years, they might survive, but with the flood, who will look after them? Why don't we have the clan leader first establish an orphanage? We'll contribute some silver to support them until they're fifteen. They can learn a trade or study reading and writing."

Song Tingzhou always supported his decisions. "Feasible." If he later passed the imperial exams, they could also set up a clan school. Going it alone in officialdom was hard; if clan members advanced together, that would be the best strategy.

The big pot meal smelled delicious. Meng Wan went to sit with the children to eat. At this point, getting enough food was already good. No men clamored for wine; everyone just ate in silence or discussed how to build the houses and whether it would rain again.

For the first time, the summer cicadas' noise didn't drown out human voices. Looking around, all he saw were honest, hardworking people. Song Tingzhou put down his chopsticks, having eaten only half his fill.

This land seemed both changed and unchanged—or perhaps it was his own original intention that had changed.