"There's drought happening everywhere. Just handing out porridge and doing charity isn't going to work. We need to fix the problem from the root," said General Yves.
"I found some seeds that can grow even in dry conditions. I'll give them to each of you before we leave."
"Right now, you all have to pick where you're going for disaster relief, and also bring people who know about farming and water systems."
General Yves pointed and said, "Zixian had a good idea just now. He's worked in one of these places before, so he should know the area and what's needed. If anyone else has suggestions, say it now."
The officials started picking their areas one after another.
While General Yves was getting ready to go south for the relief work, Sophia drove quickly toward the town's warehouse with the pig trough.
The warehouse was empty now, but outside, many large and small machines were parked.
It was already dark. Sophia turned on her headlights. Using the light, she began sending each machine over to General Yves through the pig trough.
General Yves had also been busy all day. But when Sophia sent him the message, he rushed to a big open space the butler had cleared earlier.
These machines were heavy, some several tons. If you didn't know how to use them, you couldn't just move them.
One by one, the drilling machines, dump trucks, and excavators were sent over.
Besides the men General Yves brought, the butler and the workers at the royal house stood there, completely shocked. None of them could react at first.
"This... this..."
The butler stood behind General Yves, tongue-tied and unable to say a full sentence.
General Yves didn't pay attention to them. When Sophia finished sending the machines, he turned to the butler.
"Zhongbo, these are for drilling wells and farming. Get people to guard this place tonight."
"And tomorrow morning, tell the Ministry of Works and the ministers who are going south."
Zhongbo looked at General Yves, trying to take in what he just saw, and listened carefully to the instructions.
Sophia was tired from carrying the pig trough and sending the machines. She was completely worn out.
She put the trough back in the trunk, turned off the lights, and sat in the driver's seat. She didn't want to move at all.
She rested for about ten minutes. Then she heard a car coming closer. At first, she thought it was just passing by.
But then the car slowed down and stopped not far away, near the bushes.
Sophia felt nervous. She had already turned off her phone screen.
She heard four people whispering as they got out of the car.
"If Old Six and I hadn't gotten drunk and taken a wrong turn, we would've never found this place. It looks abandoned, far from everything, but it's actually full of goods. And no one guards it at night. Let's check it out tonight."
"Who would be crazy enough to store stuff here?"
"Tiger, you better not be lying. If we came here for nothing, you owe us drinks tomorrow."
"Drinks are on me. Stop wasting time."
They couldn't wait and started heading toward the wall.
Sophia was torn between driving away or hiding. She fought with herself in her mind for a moment, then calmed down. She quickly started the car, stepped on the gas, and rushed out through the small road.
"Hey!"
The men were shocked and jumped back.
They looked nervous at first and wanted to run after the car. But one of them pulled the others back.
"What are you chasing for? She probably heard us and already called the police."
They hesitated. One of them said, "We're already here. Didn't you say this place is full of stuff? Aren't you curious? Even if we don't take anything, can't we just look?"
The others were still unsure, so he added, "Just looking doesn't count as stealing."
Pushed by curiosity, the group still hurried to climb inside.
As soon as they entered, they saw all the doors and windows on the first floor were locked tight.
"Over there, on the second floor, a window is open."
The four of them, slightly drunk, climbed up the pipe to the second floor and got in.
Once inside, they turned on their phone lights. But there was nothing. The space was big, but completely empty. Not even a single thing was left.
A big hand smacked Tiger hard on the back of his head.
Tiger reacted slowly and said, "They must have moved everything already. Ask Ronin if you don't believe me."
"I'm serious."
"I don't want to talk to you anymore. You're full of nonsense."
The other two didn't bother arguing and started climbing down from the second floor. Suddenly, there was a loud crash.
Back at home, Sophia's heart was still beating fast.
"Looks like I can't go to that warehouse anymore. Nothing happened before because I was just lucky."
She placed her hand over her chest to calm down and got out of the car.
After taking a deep breath, she remembered to call Ronin.
After listening to her, Ronin said, "Boss, I'll drive over and take a look."
Sophia said, "It's late. Don't go. Nothing's missing anyway, and we don't need that warehouse anymore."
Ronin said, "I won't get close. I'll just watch from a distance. If someone really broke in, we should report it. We don't know who they are."
After hearing that, Sophia hesitated but finally agreed. "Alright, be careful. Don't get out of the car. Don't get into any fight."
Even though Ronin was young, from their time working together, she had seen that he was calm and smart.
The next morning, just as Sophia woke up, Ronin came over carrying a bowl.
"Boss, you won't believe it. When I got there last night, an ambulance had just arrived."
It turned out those people failed to steal anything and ended up falling from the second floor. They had to call for medical help.
When Ronin arrived with the police, they saw those men being carried into the ambulance.
"Good thing nothing happened. Luckily, we already moved everything out."
No matter what, Sophia decided not to go back there.
Losing a few thousand in rent wasn't a big deal.
"Ronin, I was thinking. How about we clear some space next to our warehouse and pour concrete there?"
"You mean in case we get some big equipment later?"
Ronin started thinking if that plan would work.
"The village roads are too narrow. Big trucks probably can't get through."
They just talked casually about it.
Ronin had also brought breakfast. Madam Xi made scallion pancakes. Simple but very delicious.
Sophia brought out a plate and told Ronin to take the empty one back.
After breakfast, she took Conan, who had been pacing in the yard wanting to go out, for a walk.