Smoke soon rose from every chimney in Mengjin County.
The townspeople—who had been starving for days—each received a portion of flour. Fires were hastily lit, pots were set on stoves, and thin gruel began to bubble everywhere. As they cooked, people murmured a single name over and over again, voices filled with gratitude.
"Master Bai… Master Bai…"
On the city wall, however, the Mengjin county magistrate was not nearly so carefree.
In times like these, he thought, one shi of grain fetches at least three or four taels of silver. Five hundred shi… that's close to two thousand taels.
No small sum at all.
For Master Bai to give such a massive donation with a wave of his hand… if he truly acts out of pure benevolence, then fine. But if there are conditions attached… those conditions will be no small matter.
With that in mind, the magistrate resolved to treat Bai Yuan with the utmost caution.
He looked out over the vast yellow sea of mud beyond the city walls, then finally lowered his voice.
"Master Bai," he said carefully, "as the saying goes, 'one accepts no reward without merit.' You have come and bestowed such an enormous gift upon Mengjin County. May I ask… what does Master Bai require of us?"
Bai Yuan smiled faintly.
"Your Excellency worries too much," he said. "I have no demands at all."
The magistrate blinked. "Eh?"
Bai Yuan continued calmly, "When I arrived earlier, I noticed the people of Mengjin County had opened the South Gate and were digging silt from the official road leading south."
The magistrate nodded. "Yes. Mengjin has become an isolated island. If the people are to survive, their only option is to clear the road southward to Luoyang. Otherwise, we'll remain trapped here, waiting for death."
Bai Yuan shook his head gently.
"Forgive my bluntness, Your Excellency—but clearing the road to Luoyang may not be as useful as you imagine."
The magistrate stiffened. "Eh?"
Bai Yuan explained, "Can Luoyang truly rescue Mengjin County? The Yellow River has changed its course and flooded nearly the entire Henan plain. It's not only Mengjin—countless counties have become isolated, and countless people have lost their livelihoods. How many counties can Luoyang possibly save?"
The magistrate froze.
Indeed.
How many could Luoyang save?
If every surrounding county cried for help, the most likely outcome was that Luoyang's officials would save none of them at all.
His hands trembled slightly. For the first time, he felt truly helpless.
Bai Yuan spoke again, his tone steady. "In my humble opinion, it would be better to clear the official road to the west."
"The west?" the magistrate asked. "Toward Hengshui Town?"
"Exactly," Bai Yuan replied. "Clear the silt westward first and open the road to Hengshui Town. That town escaped the flood and remains intact. Once the road is open, my caravan can continue supplying grain to all of you."
Only then did the magistrate fully understand.
This man had no intention of simply dumping five hundred shi of grain and leaving.
He planned to keep helping.
Such generosity left the magistrate both moved—and uneasy.
Then another concern struck him.
"Hengshui Town is only twenty li from Eagle Beak Mountain," he said in a low voice. "The Yellow Turban Fortress there is infested with river pirates. Master Bai… your caravan—"
Bai Yuan smiled. "No need to worry. The river pirates of Eagle Beak Mountain have already been dealt with by me."
The magistrate was stunned.
"Dealt with?"
"For now, my fleet can transport grain from Shaanxi and unload it at the base of Eagle Beak Mountain," Bai Yuan continued. "Your people can pass through Hengshui Town, collect the supplies at the riverbank, and transport them back to Mengjin. The round trip is about forty li—easily done in a single day. That way, everyone here can survive."
The magistrate was shaken.
For over a thousand years, no dynasty had ever truly resolved the pirate problem in Xiaolangdi. And yet this man casually claimed to have wiped them out?
Seeing his expression, Bai Yuan immediately laughed.
"I exaggerated a little just now," he said. "I only cleared the Yellow Turban Fortress on Eagle Beak Mountain. As for Shizu Mountain, Huanglu Mountain, Mopan Mountain, Basket Hollow, and the rest—those pirate dens still exist."
"Ah!" The magistrate finally exhaled in relief.
That made sense.
If all of Xiaolangdi's pirates had been eliminated, he would have suspected Bai Yuan was an immortal.
The magistrate cupped his hands. "Very well. This official will immediately organize laborers to clear the road westward toward Hengshui Town, and open the land route as soon as possible."
Bai Yuan nodded. "Good. Before the road is cleared, we can rely on mud sleds for transport and communication. Before I depart, I'll leave twenty mud sleds here. If Your Excellency needs to contact me, simply send someone by mud sled to Hengshui Town. I'll leave a contact point there."
The magistrate hesitated, then ventured, "When Master Bai departs later… might this official send some men to accompany you? Just to… observe matters firsthand."
"That would be excellent," Bai Yuan replied readily.
With the agreement settled, the magistrate went to make arrangements.
He dispatched his trusted aide, Liu Bawan, and selected around a dozen capable constables and attendants, forming a team of twenty men.
Bai Yuan had his subordinates set aside twenty mud sleds and handed them over.
The devices were easy to learn—anyone could figure them out after one try.
The problem was…
After a few pushes, every rider ended up covered head to toe in mud.
Only Bai Yuan remained spotless.
He never "drove" the sled himself—he was always the passenger. His white robes fluttered cleanly in the wind as he stood at the front, looking every bit the elegant gentleman, leading a grand convoy of five hundred mud sleds westward.
From Mengjin County to Hengshui Town was only twenty li in a straight line.
Mud sleds could reach forty li per hour, and even the untrained constables managed twenty to thirty. In less than half an hour, the group arrived.
Once they reached Hengshui Town, the mud sleds became useless.
The ground here was dry and solid—untouched by the flood.
Liu Bawan jumped down, his boots landing firmly on earth. Only then did his heart truly settle.
He looked up—and froze.
Hengshui Town was under massive construction.
Town walls were being built, houses rebuilt, roads leveled. It was clear this wasn't simple repair—it was the creation of an entirely new town. Large numbers of common folk worked tirelessly, carrying loads on their shoulders and in their hands.
Liu Bawan couldn't help asking, astonished, "Hengshui Town was small and rundown, close to Eagle Beak Mountain, and constantly looted by river pirates. Now, right after a disaster… they're already rebuilding?"
Bai Yuan smiled. "The pirates are gone, so the area is safe. And many disaster victims have nothing to do. If they eat their fill but don't use their strength, wouldn't that be wasteful? Better to let them expand the town—and earn wages while doing so."
Liu Bawan blinked. "Wages? Who's paying for all this?"
Bai Yuan pointed to himself.
"I am."
Liu Bawan was overwhelmed.
Not only does he distribute grain to save lives… he even pays the people to rebuild.
This isn't just benevolence.
This is power.