Chapter 344: Caused a Flood Disaster (Part 2)

Han Lei took a sip of wine, the rich aroma blossoming on her tongue.

She nodded with satisfaction: “I trust you to handle things. Once the weather clears, select an auspicious day to open the tavern.”

She walked behind the counter and picked up a booklet: “This contains some of my recorded business strategies. The stock in the warehouse is enough to last the tavern for a few months. Once we build a reputation, we’ll hand over the agency for side dishes to Prince Jingzhou.”

Tao Qing’s eyes lit up: “Miss, that’s a brilliant idea! It’s just like our Drunken Immortal Brew; we only handle the goods, and leave the sales to Prince Jingzhou.”

He rubbed his hands, a red glow appearing on his tanned face, “Everyone says working with Miss is more exhilarating than being in the barracks!”

“You indeed have a quick understanding,” Han Lei laughed and shook her head, “Remember to bring out a few more shopkeepers. Once things settle in Canzhou, I plan to open a branch.”

“Leave it to me!” Tao Qing straightened his back, “But if Miss is going to Canzhou… there’s been heavy rain these days, the road might not be safe.”

Han Lei looked towards the brightening sky outside the window: “That’s why we need to leave early.”

That night, Han Lei and Tao Qing talked in detail until the third watch. The candlelight cast their shadows on the wall, and Tao Qing occasionally wrote down key points with a brush on paper.

The next day, before the hour of the Chen, as the first light appeared in the sky, Han Lei instructed Tao Qing to remember to thank and bid farewell at the Jingzhou Royal Mansion on their behalf. Then she set off with Da Yi and others, embarking on the road back to Canzhou.

The carriage rolled over the slippery cobblestone roads, producing a dull sound.

Han Lei lifted the curtain, frowning involuntarily.

After two or three consecutive days of heavy rain, although there was no standing water on the streets, the thick mud emitted an unpleasant rotten smell. A few shop owners were grumbling as they cleared the sludge in front of their doors.

Han Lei was not wrong, the patrolling government officials and soldiers had also been dispatched by Song Peilin, the Zhizhou of Jingzhou, to clean up the mud and maintain the city’s sanitation.

In such terrible weather and filthy conditions, patrols were impossible.

“We need to hurry up.”

Han Lei told Da Si, who was driving the carriage.

As the carriage accelerated, it splashed mud on the ragged clothes of beggars on the roadside. The beggars weren’t angry, they merely wiped their faces expressionlessly.

Many beggars, trapped in Jingzhou City due to the lockdown, were being driven out by the government officials and soldiers, who were eager to restore order quickly.

At the city gate, the soldier on duty was prodding a clogged drain with a long pole.

“What are you doing?” A pockmarked soldier lazily stopped the carriage.

Da Yi didn’t present any travel permit; he directly said, “My young lady is returning to Canzhou to visit family.”

The soldier was about to say something, but the squad leader nearby was busy working and impatiently waved, “Move along! Don’t delay my work of clearing silt!”

Han Lei’s carriage slowly exited the city; post-rain, the muddy roads were difficult to traverse. As Han Lei’s carriage passed by those beggars, seeing their tattered clothes as they huddled and leaned on each other, a nameless pain pricked her heart.

The people of this era truly live a wretched life. And she knew these beggars were heading to Canzhou to seek refuge with the King of Cangzhou.

Han Lei sighed, lowered the curtain, unable to bear watching any longer.

She decided to find a slightly drier place ten miles ahead to wait for these beggars. She planned to prepare some food to distribute to them so they could at least sustain themselves until they reached Canzhou.

The carriage laboriously moved along the official road for a stretch, and Han Lei heard crying from outside. She quickly lifted the curtain, gasping in shock at the scene before her.

Inside the city, there were cobblestone roads and a drainage system. So, after two days of heavy rain, the water in the city was only ankle-deep.

But in the countryside, it was a completely different scene.

The heavy rain had caused a flood here, turning the area into a vast expanse of water; large swaths of crops, almost mature, were submerged, mud houses and grass shacks collapsed, and countless people were crying with their faces in their hands.

The muddy water, littered with broken branches and leaves, slowly flowed. Some children sat on overturned basins like small, helpless boats.

“Stop.” Han Lei suddenly commanded.

She saw an old woman with white hair using a broken bowl to scoop grains of wheat from the muddy water, her withered fingers trembling severely.

Da Yi followed her gaze: “Miss, these…”

Before Da Yi could finish speaking, Han Lei had already jumped off the carriage, her embroidered shoes immediately sinking into the mud.

Disregarding everything else, she walked straight to the old woman, squatted down, and said, “Granny, this is no longer edible.”