Chapter 41

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When Zhao Chen and his group of over two hundred people stepped into Yongping Fang, they saw the people standing in the snow with blank expressions, some even sitting on the ground, covered in thick layers of snow, looking like snowmen.

Suddenly seeing so many people appear, the crowd became restless. Some of the mentally unstable individuals, upon seeing the retainers of the Qin and Cheng families, seemed to be triggered by the shadows of the past war, and began to scream and shout frantically.

The rest of the people looked at Zhao Chen and his group with tense expressions. Those who had been sitting on the ground stood up nervously. Zhao Chen noticed that some had lost their legs from the hip, leaving only empty pant legs.

Some of the retainers from the Qin and Cheng families had participated in the Battle of Chang'an. Seeing the miserable state of those who had survived, their faces showed a deep sorrow.

"Doggy! You're my Doggy!" Suddenly, a disheveled old woman rushed out from the crowd. Before Zhao Chen could react, she grabbed his sleeve and began to cry hysterically.

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone. The retainers of the Qin and Cheng families looked at Zhao Chen with complex expressions. They knew his background clearly; it was said that his master had found him during the war, and they never expected him to find his family here.

However, after hearing Sun Simiao's explanation, they realized they had overthought it.

It turned out that the old woman's son had been about fifteen or sixteen years old when the family fled from the chaos. Except for the old woman herself, the rest of her family was killed by the marauding soldiers. Over the years, she had been mentally unstable, calling everyone she saw "Doggy," and sometimes even mistaking the old Taoist for her son.

Zhao Chen sighed after hearing Sun Simiao's words. He looked at the old woman, whose hair was white and face gaunt, and spoke as gently as possible, "Mother, I am your Doggy! Doggy is here to build a house for you. When the house is built, Mother can live in it, okay?"

"Good, good, Doggy will build a house for Mother!" The old woman, who had been crying uncontrollably, suddenly calmed down. She looked up at Zhao Chen and nodded vigorously.

Zhao Chen smiled at the old woman and turned to Su Fangzheng, "Please take the elderly lady to a proper place to rest."

"No, Mother won't go, Mother doesn't want to leave Doggy!" Unexpectedly, although the old woman was mentally unstable, she understood what Zhao Chen had said to Su Fangzheng. She clung to his sleeve, afraid he would leave, and began to cry again.

"Mother, you must be good. If Doggy doesn't build the house, where will Doggy sleep at night? Do you want your Doggy to sleep in the snow?" Zhao Chen, whose sleeve was tightly held by the old woman, couldn't bear to pull away. He patiently tried to comfort her.

"Mother will listen to Doggy. Go build the house, Doggy!" Perhaps subconsciously, the old woman let go of Zhao Chen's robe as soon as she heard his words, repeatedly saying so.

"Good, Doggy will build the house. Mother, please go back with Su Fangzheng and take good care of yourself." Zhao Chen felt a bit sad. Seeing the old woman wearing only a thin dress, he took off his cotton robe and put it on her, speaking to her as if she were a child.

"Let's start!" Watching the old woman follow Su Fangzheng, looking back every few steps, Zhao Chen took a deep breath and shouted to the people behind him.

Rebuilding houses on the spot was clearly impractical; there simply wasn't enough time. They had to build over two hundred houses before the snow melted, which meant they had only one or two days, depending on the weather.

They cleared out the collapsed roofs. If the walls were intact, they could just put on a new roof. If the walls were also damaged, they had to repair them first.

The over two hundred people were divided into groups of ten, each responsible for one house. They started by clearing out the collapsed parts inside. At this point, everyone, including Zhao Chen, had to pitch in.

The snow was still falling heavily, and the large snowflakes quickly turned the cleared debris into snow piles.

Zhao Chen was only wearing a thin shirt. Earlier, one of Old Qin's guards had offered him a cotton robe, but he refused. Now, everyone had taken off their cotton robes, as they were too hot.

Even Sun Simiao, who was in his sixties or seventies, was helping to move things. He picked up a bundle of straw with a determined look, his legs trembling, but no matter how Zhao Chen tried to persuade him, the old Taoist wouldn't listen. He stubbornly believed that Zhao Chen and the others were working for him, and he couldn't just stand by and watch.

Su Fangzheng also joined in, leading a few坊丁 (ward guards). It seemed he was trying to show something. In front of Zhao Chen, he picked up a large bundle of straw and carried it to the side, his face turning blue from the effort.

Cheng Chumo and others returned with several carts of materials. Zhao Chen noticed a few drops of blood on the hem of Cheng Chumo's robe. Upon asking, he learned that, as Zhao Chen had predicted, some unscrupulous merchants in the West Market had raised their prices. Despite Hu Lu's best efforts, the merchants refused to budge.

In a fit of anger, Cheng Chumo had attacked one of the leading merchants, breaking his leg, and the blood on his robe was from that incident.

"Don't worry, Xiao Chen!" Cheng Chumo, fearing Zhao Chen's concern, patted his shoulder and reassured him.

"Don't worry, even if you killed that scoundrel, no one would blame you. At this point, they're still thinking about making money. Such people deserve to be fed to the dogs!" Zhao Chen, covered in mud and water, spoke with a mouthful of white teeth, looking rather disheveled.

Hearing Cheng Chumo's words, he sneered and said nonchalantly.

Since the materials were brought back, they couldn't be left idle. Zhao Chen then assigned half of the clearing team to start repairing the houses that had been cleared.

Some of the residents joined in, first a few, then more. Although they were disabled, they could still do what they could.

While many wards in Wannian County were in chaos due to collapsed houses, Yongping Fang was bustling with activity. One by one, the collapsed houses were repaired, and the neglected residents began to move back in.

By late afternoon, nearly two hundred houses had been repaired, leaving only a few more. Zhao Chen estimated they could finish before dark.

So, he climbed onto a broken wall and shouted to everyone, "Everyone, let's work harder! When we finish these last few houses, I'll treat everyone to mutton soup!"

"Alright!" The retainers of the Qin and Cheng families burst into cheers. They had long been eager to taste Zhao Chen's cooking but had been restrained by their status. Now, hearing his promise, they were overjoyed.

"Su's family happens to have two sheep. I'll send someone to bring them back!" Hearing Zhao Chen's offer, Su Fangzheng immediately chimed in.

In the past, whenever something happened in Yongping Fang, they would rush to the county office to complain. This time, the heavy snow had collapsed not only the houses in Yongping Fang but also in other wards. However, with Zhao Chen's intervention, Yongping Fang, which had always lagged behind, was the first to solve the housing problem.

Su Fangzheng felt a sense of pride. This time, he wouldn't have to face the county magistrate's cold stare, and he was overjoyed, so he offered his two sheep without hesitation.

"We appreciate your offer, Su Fangzheng, but let's keep the sheep." Zhao Chen, smiling, said while working on the wall.

Su Fangzheng was just a small ward official, and his family was only slightly better off than the average. These two sheep were probably his only assets. If they were eaten, his family would have nothing left.

"That won't do, Young Master! You've brought so many brothers to solve Yongping Fang's housing problem. As the ward official, how can I not offer even one sheep?" Su Fangzheng, his face red, argued with Zhao Chen on the wall.

"Alright, Old Su!" Zhao Chen stood up from the wall and smiled at Su Fangzheng. "We've only worked for a day. You and Master Sun have been here for nearly eight years. Compared to that, what we've done is nothing."

However, Zhao Chen's simple words made Su Fangzheng's eyes well up. In front of everyone, he couldn't hold back his tears and burst into sobs.

Zhao Chen couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly. Wannian County had many wards, but Yongping Fang was the poorest. As the ward official, Su Fangzheng must have endured a lot of hardship over the years, with no extra income and having to frequently complain to the county magistrate. His colleagues probably avoided him.

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