Ronin didn't have time to check Ling's message until six or seven in the evening, once all the goods for the day had been received. After reading it, his tired face immediately lit up with a genuine smile.
When he got home, he planned to share the good news with his mother, but Madam Xi was already smiling as she said, "She came by this afternoon just to tell me about it."
Then she reminded Ronin, "Next time, tell her not to bother making breakfast or lunch—just come eat with us."
Ronin nodded right away, "Sure!"
This way, Ling wouldn't need to run all the way back home for lunch. After all, the two villages were at least six or seven kilometers apart.
"I also cleaned out our spare room this afternoon. That way, if she needs a rest at noon or ends up working late, she can just stay over."
Ronin kept eating heartily, nodding as he listened.
The next day, Ling arrived at eight in the morning. Sophia and Ronin weren't there yet, so she waited outside.
When Ronin arrived and saw her, he asked, "What time did you get here? Why didn't you call me?"
Ling smiled, "I didn't want to wake you up too early."
As she spoke, she reached into her canvas bag and pulled out two still-warm eggs. "Ronin, my grandma's hens laid these. They're really tasty!"
Ronin glanced at her with a mix of amusement and affection. "How many hens does your grandma even have?"
Still, he took the eggs, grabbed his keys, and opened the door. As he walked in, he cracked the eggs and started peeling and eating them on the way.
"No joke, eggs from home-raised hens do taste better!"
Ronin was full of praise.
Ling followed him inside, watching as he rolled up all the shutters on the first floor.
When they passed by Sophia's desk, Ling placed the two eggs on her table.
Even though Ling had started working there, she wasn't quite ready to handle things on her own yet.
But she was already helping ease Ronin's workload.
There were many things she hadn't done before, but once Ronin explained them briefly, she quickly picked them up.
She didn't talk much, but she worked quickly and was eager to help.
Sophia was still staying at the warehouse that day. A new batch of medicine was expected to arrive.
While waiting for a call, she was also organizing a list of available medicines when she received a message from Haiwen's assistant.
"Sophia, regarding the housekeeper and maid, we still need to be cautious with the selection. We're already looking into candidates for you."
"But since your private exhibition schedule is tight, I've already contacted a few outsourcing companies. I'll also arrange for someone from our team to assist you during that time."
Sophia was satisfied with this arrangement and thanked the assistant sincerely.
Meanwhile, General Yves was pushing Local Official Cai and Official Yong to continue the food relief efforts. In just two days, they were already seeing results.
At least now, when people walked by, there was a bit more life in their faces.
In the past two days, Cai and Yong had rested for less than four hours in total.
They were completely exhausted, but their faces still showed contentment.
General Yves called the two over to ask about their progress.
"General, thanks to the joint efforts between me and Official Cai, we've already set up designated porridge distribution sites in fifty-six villages. Each site is staffed and operating daily."
"Those thirteen empty villages have already started gathering the people who escaped, and they are settling them properly."
General Yves nodded. "That is very good."
He looked at Official Yong. "Let's move forward with the plan we made on the way here."
After the disaster relief, it was time to help the people return to normal life and live in peace again.
On the way here, General Yves had already explained the whole relief plan to all the officials.
He would provide the food. They had managed to get some goods from the hands of the local nobles and officials.
General Yves could then use these goods to trade with Sophia for grain seeds and farming tools. These would be used to help the people rebuild their lives.
After Official Yong finished reporting about the disaster relief, he began talking about the goods they had collected from the rich families.
"This donation effort was mostly thanks to Local Official Cai."
Official Yong sighed and felt that keeping Cai was the right decision. Cai had been a local official here for many years. He knew very clearly which family had how much wealth.
Also, Cai was under General Yves' control. Since General Yves had something to hold over him, Cai had no choice but to try his best in hopes of getting a lighter punishment.
Official Yong gave credit to Cai. Cai quickly bowed and said humbly, "As an official and a protector of the people, I am just doing what I should do."
Then, Official Yong ordered the donated goods to be brought in. Soon, the hall was filled with different kinds of items. The boxes were all open.
All the donated goods were written down in a record book.
Official Yong handed the book to General Yves.
Some people donated silver. Others gave jewelry and decorations.
Some rich ladies, tired of wearing the same jewelry, gave them away without caring. They could also gain a good reputation for being kind.
General Yves looked at the names in the book. He called Local Official Cai and asked, "Local Official Cai, have you read this book? What do you think about the Cheng family's donation?"
The first name on the list was the Cheng family. They donated three thousand taels of silver, dozens of pieces of jewelry, one pair of jade ruyi, one gold Buddha, and many women's accessories like hairpins, bracelets, and other items.
They also gave two hundred shi of grain.
The amount was not small.
But for the richest family in Fucheng, this donation was not even one-tenth of their true wealth.
Local Official Cai gave a stiff smile. "Yes, I've read it. The silver, jewels, and grain they gave are a good amount. But this disaster is very serious. As loyal people of Zhaoguo, we should give as much as we can. Even giving half of their wealth would not be too much."
As he spoke, he secretly looked at General Yves' face to see his reaction.
After hearing that, General Yves raised his hand slightly. "Giving half is not necessary. But giving two or three tenths should be acceptable, right?"
Local Official Cai quickly agreed and nodded many times. "Yes, that's acceptable, of course. I will go talk to the Cheng family again. They should lead by example."
General Yves seemed to be thinking and stopped Cai before he left. "Also, I can connect with the gods. If the Cheng family gives so much for the people and the country, I will ask the gods to reward them with treasures."
General Yves gave them a big and beautiful promise. But no one could say no to it.
At least, Local Official Cai would now definitely work hard to fill in the missing part.
As he left General Yves' house, Local Official Cai quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked worried and stressed.
Even though local officials and rich merchants often worked together and helped each other, it was still very hard to take money from someone else's pocket.
But Cai had no choice. He had to do it.