Liang Shixian had officially begun his porridge-relief campaign!
And he started right under his own nose — in the county seat.
Outside the Chéngchéng County yamen, a relief platform had been set up. Using the flour provided by Lidaoxuan, they cooked huge vats of thick wheat-paste soup and ladled it into several large barrels.
Liang Shixian personally sat beside the platform, glaring so hard at the clerks distributing grain that even the flies didn't dare hover near them. His Shaoxing adviser ran frantically between the kitchen and the relief station like a hen guarding thirty eggs.
By now, Chéngchéng County was a sea of misery. The drought alone was deadly enough, but once the rebel armies started causing havoc, any commoner who refused to join the rebels had an even harder time staying alive. Countless families abandoned their homes and fields, fleeing to the county seat to beg for survival.
As a result, the entire town overflowed with beggars in every alley and corner.
The moment the yamen announced porridge distribution — shouted by patrol officers walking the town — every refugee who heard the news rushed toward the relief platform.
Within minutes, the disaster victims packed the area three layers deep.
Had this been some wealthy household distributing food, the refugees might have stampeded, overturned the entire platform, and fought over every ladle.
But with the county magistrate himself sitting there — plus an army of yamen officers and hired toughs maintaining order — no one dared cause trouble. They lined up obediently, holding chipped bowls, quietly waiting for a scoop of hot mush.
One man, after receiving his bowl, hurried to the corner of the street. There, he lifted the head of a skeletal, nearly unconscious relative and gently poured the porridge into his mouth.
"Little brother… you're saved… drink this and you won't starve… you'll live…"
"Big brother… you… drink too…"
"I'll drink, I'll drink!"
The two shared the single bowl, one sip for him, one sip for me.
Lying side-by-side on the ground, they rubbed their bellies, worrying about tomorrow — until the yamen officers shouted loudly:
"Don't take extra! Eat until you're full, that's enough! No need to save any for tomorrow — the County Magistrate will distribute porridge again tomorrow! Did you hear?! It will be here every day!"
"Brother… every day… our Chéngchéng County finally has a good official…"
"Big brother… we're going to live after all… wuuuu…"
The two clung to each other and cried.
Two faint points of light rose from their bodies, shot across the sky, flew more than thirty li, and sank into the wooden box in Gaojia Village.
…
Lidaoxuan watched the "Rescue Index" soar.
Just during breakfast time, it had jumped more than ten points.
That meant hundreds of people, who should have starved, had survived thanks to this single bowl of porridge.
With that, the war-fog inside the box must have cleared a large chunk more.
Lidaoxuan tapped rapidly on the "East, South, West, North" buttons.
Pa-pa-pa-pa!
Sure enough, the box's field of view expanded again.
Southward, he could now see beyond the bamboo forest to another barren slope.
Northward, he could see past the dead-tree hill to the withered forest and a chaotic field of stones.
Hmm?
On the far northeast edge of the newly opened vision, a tiny abandoned village appeared.
A second village.
Lidaoxuan instantly brightened — but the joy faded just as quickly.
The thatched huts were collapsed, broken, lifeless.
No people.
This village had long been abandoned.
He clicked the "Center" button, returning the view to Gaojia Village, and found Gao Yiye.
"Yiye, northeast of Gaojia Village, about five or six li away — there's a little ruined village. What village is that?"
"Ah? That's Zhengjia Village! Zheng Daniu's hometown."
The moment she said "Zhengjia Village," the box flared with golden light again — invisible to Yiye, but bright enough that Lidaoxuan had to blink.
When his eyes cleared, he saw two new translucent lines appear beside the directional buttons:
Gaojia Village
Zhengjia Village
Huh… Could it be…?
He tapped "Zhengjia Village."
The view jumped instantly over it.
Tapped "Gaojia Village."
Jumped right back.
"Heh! Just as I thought!"
Instant-switch village navigation — what a glorious upgrade.
Lidaoxuan said, "Yiye, gather the people from Zhengjia Village."
Soon, everyone from Zhengjia Village arrived — only about twenty people.
These were all honest peasants. Back when Zheng Yanfu joined Wang Er's rebellion, he had recruited a large part of the village to follow him.
But these twenty-odd refused to join the rebels.
They stayed behind… then later were tricked by Shansier's flour into moving to Gaojia Village.
They had lived here for over a month now.
Among them, Lidaoxuan was most familiar with Zheng Daniu — the walking megaphone of the village, the man who appeared everywhere.
Zheng Daniu lifted his chin proudly:
"Tianzun, what do you need? Daniu will definitely get it done! Then — hehe — I'll take the reward and go trade with the village chief for chocolate!"
"Shut your stupid mouth," the village chief scolded. "Show some respect."
Lidaoxuan said, "You saw the people of Gaojia Village plowing their fields and preparing to sow wheat, didn't you? You had some thoughts, right?"
Silence.
Then a muttering voice from Zheng Daniu:
"We're jealous enough to cry… but we don't have any land here…"
True.
The farmland around Gaojia Village was limited — and all owned.
They couldn't just grab someone else's land.
"So all your fields… are in Zhengjia Village?"
"Yes!" Zheng Daniu answered immediately. "My family has two mu!"
"Hmm. Have you thought about returning to Zhengjia Village?"
Silence again.
No one dared answer, afraid of displeasing Tianzun.
Except Zheng Daniu, whose courage exceeded his IQ.
"I don't wanna go back! I'm happy working for Tianzun! But my dad wants to. He's only good at farming. He can't help Tianzun with anything else."
"Only farming makes him happy, right?"
"Yes! He's happiest when farming! Happier than I am when drinking Happy Fat-House Water!"
"…Fine," Lidaoxuan said.
"Daniu, grab Gao Chuwu. Take Solar Car No. 2.
Bring your folks back to Zhengjia Village for a look."
"???"
Zheng Daniu stared blankly.
He had no idea what Tianzun meant.
"You'll understand when you get there," Lidaoxuan said.
Footnotes
① Fun Fact — "The Stare of Authority"
Liang Shixian's glare alone could have replaced half the security team. Ancient Chinese officials really did sit in person to prevent food theft.
② Fun Fact — "Portable Souls"
Those glowing dots flying to the box are basically "achievement points," but the novel treats them like spiritual XP.
③ Fun Fact — "Magic Google Earth"
The box upgrading to multi-village instant switching is basically Lidaoxuan unlocking the "Mini-Map Teleport" function.
④ Fun Fact — "Chocolate Economy"
Zheng Daniu treats chocolate like rare currency. In ancient times, kids traded dried persimmons the same way.
⑤ History Note — Famine Refugees
During real droughts, peasants often abandoned villages en masse and flooded toward walled towns, creating exactly the "beggars everywhere" scenes described.
⑥ History Note — Porridge Relief Stations
Local governments frequently operated porridge stations during natural disasters. Distribution was rationed daily to prevent hoarding and riots.
⑦ History Note — Empty Villages
It was common for small hamlets to be entirely abandoned after prolonged famine or rebel conflict — exactly like the ruined village Lidaoxuan sees.
⑧ History Note — Land Identity
For traditional farmers, land equals life. A man like Zheng Daniu's father — happiest only when farming — fits historical attitudes perfectly.