CH 62

Chapter 62: Isn’t this still a fishpond?

In fact, Gu Yu Qi already had an idea in her heart, but what she was afraid of was not having enough money on her. Now Liang Huai Yu’s actions have helped her solve a major problem.

Liang Huai Yu got the house deed and in the afternoon, they left the inn and moved into the big house. The house had all kinds of furniture and it was very similar to a modern hotel-style apartment, so what Gu Yu Qi and the others needed to buy was just bedding.

Zhang Lan and the others were all farmers from the countryside. As soon as they entered such a big house, it was as though Granny Liu had entered the Grand View Garden. They felt everything was new. It turned out that rich people grew flowers instead of vegetables! The spring flowers were blooming and they were brilliant. Rich people even had fishponds in their garden!

The appearances of this group amused Bai Fu and the others greatly. Dai Mei was flexible and explained to them along the way. Those were not fishponds, but were lotus ponds. A man stared at her and said, “There’s no fish breeding in there?”

Dai Mei replied, “Naturally, there are fish breeding in there. They’re all koi fish.”

The man immediately said, “Then isn’t it still a fishpond?”

Being told off by him like this, Dai Mei also felt powerless… She could only burst out in laughter and the other maids also laughed until they were helpless.

The man was still scratching his head, not knowing what he had said wrong to make these beautiful girls look at him and laugh. His face reddened greatly.

However, their conversation reminded Gu Yu Qi. She was still worried about their provisions in the future since there would be a plague outside. Why have a lotus pond?! Breed fish! Koi was only good for looking at, it would be better to breed some fishes that were actually edible! And those flowers, the petals had fallen to the ground from the heavy rain. What good was it to grow them? Pull them up! Plant vegetables!

Zhang Lan took his brothers to buy everything Gu Yu Qi wanted. He was literate so when he handed the change to Gu Yu Qi, he also wrote down the accounts and handed them to Gu Yu Qi. This made Gu Yu Qi very happy. She originally wanted to test Zhang Lan and the others. Would they be greedy when they suddenly had so much money? So she told Xia He to follow them secretly. The numbers reported back by Xia He were exactly the same as the ones in Zhang Lan’s accounts. These people lived up to her expectations and were trustworthy.

Gu Yu Qi asked them to put the things aside. She called them all over and spoke sternly, “I have something I want to tell you.”

“Please say it, Young Miss.” Zhang Lan cupped his fists and said.

“This rain will cause a lot of suffering soon,” Gu Yu Qi thought about it and used very euphemistic language to simply explain what would happen in the future. Although she said it simply, Zhang Lan and the others stared wide-eyed. After Gu Yu Qi finished speaking, Zhang Lan and the others were already stunned.

It was Zhang Lan who first came back to his senses, “Young Miss, how did you find this out?” After all, he had read books and had some knowledge so would not be blindly obedient. However, they were all farmers so looking at the meteorology, they also thought that what Gu Yu Qi said may be true. At least, the rain would not stop for a while.

“I know from meteorology,” Gu Yu Qi rolled her eyes and decided to fool them. She could not possibly tell the truth to these people.

This… Gu Yu Qi’s words stunned these men. This Young Miss in front of them knew martial arts and could also observe meteorology, and predict the future!

“Then if everything Young Miss says happens, then our families…” One of the men was the first to react and spoke involuntarily.

“I called you here for this matter. Since you’ve followed me, I won’t just leave them be.” Gu Yu Qi pondered for a moment then said, “It’s impossible to live in the mountains. Such heavy rain is likely to cause mudslides and landslides. Tell me how many people you have in your family.”

Although these people did not understand what mudslides and landslides were, the names naturally sounded intimidating. Immediately, they rushed to report to Gu Yu Qi about their family situation.

Gu Yu Qi asked Run Ying to find a pen and paper quickly. Then she counted the number of people. Fortunately, these people’s families were simple. Some only had one old father, some only had one old mother. Like this, there were still more than 20 people.

Gu Yu Qi thought about it for a while. “You’ve seen this house. With three entrances and three exits, it’s enough for your families to live here temporarily. It’s getting late now. Tomorrow morning, I’ll ask Zhao Wu to take you back to bring all your families over. However, I’m not running a charity hall here and cannot support your families for free. So if they come, they must obey my orders. If they are violated, sorry, but don’t call me cruel for driving them out onto the streets. As long as they live in my house, I’ll promise to keep them safe. But outside, I can’t promise what will happen.”

Gu Yu Qi’s words were both kind and powerful, hitting the point. The ten men nodded in agreement.

The problem of food for 40 people… Gu Yu Qi felt a headache after she finished speaking. However, what she wanted was the absolute loyalty of these people to her in the future so it was unavoidable to put in some effort now. It had taken her several years to educate Dai Mei and the others.

Besides, after the plague, she had to leave here and go to Kuizhou. She would need someone to take care of this house. Those old people, women, and children could just stay here and take care of the house for her.

With these people in hand, would she be afraid that Zhang Lan and the others would not follow her wholeheartedly?

Gu Yu Qi instructed Zhang Lan and the others to tidy up the outermost courtyard and let them discuss how to divide and live in that courtyard. Zhang Lan was really good and he quickly settled the matter properly. The courtyard in the middle was assigned to the guards. She and Liang Huai Yu lived in the innermost courtyard with the maids.

Gu Yu Qi looked at the walls. She did not think they were high enough so she called Zhao Wu again. Using the iron wire and iron rods bought by Zhang Lan and the others, she taught them how to heighten the courtyard according to the appearance of modern barbed wire fences. She also hung bells on the barbed wire so it would make sounds whenever someone moved it.

After the plague, there would inevitably be riots in Jiangxia City and there were bound to be robberies. Gu Yu Qi had to think about this in advance.

The next day, Zhao Wu took Zhang Lan and the others to pick up their people. Gu Yu Qi instructed the remaining guards to pull out all the flowers and plants in the garden. Liang Huai Yu was very puzzled.

“Those flowers and plants are nice, why pull them out?” She was stunned to watch her daughter turn the garden into a bare open space and could not help asking.

“You can’t eat flowers, so of course it’s for growing vegetables.” Gu Yu Qi proudly shook the rapeseed in her hand and smiled. She had been worried that there would be no place to plant the rapeseed after buying it. However, Liang Huai Yu had bought a big mansion with two gardens. It was as though someone had handed her a pillow just as she was dozing off, what a great coincidence!

Uh… Even Liang Huai Yu was speechless now. A good young miss of the Marquis’ residence was now growing vegetables in the garden with a group of guards. If this kind of thing spread out to the capital, she was afraid people would only laugh.

Chun Xing followed Gu Yu Qi’s instructions and went to the pharmacy up the street to buy a lot of herbs. Among them, the key was to search for fadeleaf. Chun Xing felt as though she was about to bring home all the herbal medicine shops in Jiangxia City…

Run Ying went to the ferry with her master as instructed by Gu Yu Qi to find out what were in the goods that could not cross the river.

Bai Fu went to buy a large flock of chickens, ducks, and geese. They would be raised in the shed that Gu Yu Qi asked the guards to build. Xia He raided the dry goods stores in Jiangxia City and bought a lot of white rice, flour, oil, salt, sauces, and vinegar.

Liang Huai Yu also wanted to help but was pushed aside by Gu Yu Qi. Euphemistically, it was to let her be the supervisor but in fact, it was to let her rest. She could only watch helplessly as her daughter transformed this beautiful residence into a large farm within two days.

Gu Yu Qi’s worries were not a sham. In a few days, let alone rice and flour, even firewood could not be found for sale in Jiangxia City! So what she was doing now was just taking precautions. She needed to feed more than 40 people in this residence. Moreover, she had to carry them safely through the turbulent floods and the plague, the pressure of this was not light. If it were not for the limited space, Gu Yu Qi had also planned to buy some pigs to raise.

Zhang Lan took the elderly, women, and children from the mountain village to settle down in the outermost courtyard. Gu Yu Qi had set rules for them. If they lived there, they would have to work themselves. Fortunately, they were all villagers so they were very good at growing vegetables, breeding fish, and raising poultry. For Gu Yu Qi to willingly let them live in such a beautiful house, they all felt that this was karma they had cultivated from their previous lives. Every one of them showed 120% enthusiasm and energy in taking care of the vegetable plots in the two big gardens. The vegetable plots and poultry were being managed by so many people, so Gu Yu Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Those of them who came from the city were truly clueless when it came to farm work.

Gu Yu Qi also asked Zhao Wu to spare time every day to teach Zhang Lan and his gang how to practise martial arts.

This made Zhao Wu overjoyed. He had not trained soldiers in a long time and now that he could, Zhang Lan and the others were trained until they cried for the fathers and mothers on the first day. However, although Zhang Lan and the others were as tired as dogs, no one said they were tired. They all gritted their teeth and persisted, especially Zhang Lan. They had all seen the abilities of Zhao Wu and Gu Yu Qi. They felt that if they did not have any skills when following such a Young Miss, how could they repay her kindness? So they all worked hard and learned from Zhao Wu.

The rain was getting heavier and it seemed as though the gods had torn a hole in the sky. The rain poured mercilessly from the sky for ten days in the row. Gu Yu Qi received news from outside that the Heng River downstream of Jiangxia City had burst!

In the capital, urgent reports came in at faster and faster speeds like snowflakes into the palace. The heavy rains continued. Both the Heng River and Hun River, the two big rivers that had nurtured countless people along the river and had been gentle in the past, had become ferocious and terrifying.

Everywhere was flooding and all the dams were bursting. Countless fertile lands were engulfed by the flood and innumerable people died or were displaced.

People’s hearts were like the gloomy weather, heavy without a trace of light.

Yun Ke’s carriage left the capital quietly early in the morning, heading to Jiangxia.

He leaned against the cushions and tapped his thigh lightly with his fingers. The plague had come later in this life than the previous life. Still, he set out on that path in the name of disaster relief.