Chapter 109: Chapter 106: The Fullest Moon of Shi Wu

“Which village are you from?”

“Qiao, Qiaoshui Cave.”

“Is there anyone from their village here?”

Everyone shook their heads, then an elderly man stepped out of the crowd: “I’m from the neighboring village, but I’ve seen Da Niu, so I know him.”

Jiang Mingyue smiled: “That’s good. You can help as a witness later, and others can help too. The abandonment of their child by Da Niu and his wife is a serious offense.”

Da Niu started shouting immediately: “How could it be? I’m not the only one who abandoned a girl. I was just following examples.”

“The commune wasn’t aware before; if they knew, people would have been tied up long ago. But you’re different. We are all witnesses, and we’ll write a report later so the village committee and commune can keep an eye on you two. If you abandon your child again, the responsibility will be pursued.”

Da Niu and his wife collapsed onto the ground in fear. Once they understood the implications, they felt as if they had just narrowly escaped death, with cold sweat on their backs.

“I- I won’t dare again. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely go back and take good care of my daughter.” He wiped away tears and angrily said to his wife, “Hurry up and bring the child over, why are you standing there?”

Da Niu’s wife finally snapped back to reality, her face full of joy, showing she truly couldn’t bear to part with the child.

That’s better!

Jiang Mingyue asked the two aunts who had been taking care of the child to return her. One of them had an injured hand and still gritted her teeth to help hold the child; the other had been bitten by a venomous insect on the leg but persisted without a word. There was no reason for Da Niu and his wife, who were physically able, to let others take care of the child.

Jiang Mingyue checked the child and found that the fever had subsided, the stomach was full, and there was no more milk in the bottle. She handed the bottle to Da Niu’s wife.

“I’ll give you this. Can you nurse her?”

Upon hearing this, Da Niu’s wife burst into tears. Jiang Mingyue felt a bit irritated but remained patient.

“Comrade, our life is difficult. When the child was born, I wanted to nurse her, but I couldn’t produce any milk for the child.”

Jiang Mingyue understood. “Then hold onto this bottle, and see if there’s anything for the child to drink when you get back.”

Da Niu’s wife thanked her repeatedly. “Thank you, comrade.”

Jiang Mingyue turned to ask others, “Have all the sweet potatoes been distributed?”

The man who had helped distribute the sweet potatoes nodded: “Not a single one missing, all distributed. There are two left for you and that comrade.”

He meant for Yan Jinzhi and her. Jiang Mingyue was very satisfied with this man’s thoroughness.

“Aren’t you a farmer?”

“I am a farmer, but I learned to read a few words from my grandfather as a child. A year ago, I became the scorekeeper for the village.”

“That’s great!”

Jiang Mingyue bandaged the hand of the injured aunt and gave a spray to the other, letting her deal with it herself.

Just now, she hadn’t thought of it, but with Yan Jinzhi’s reminder, she took out some medicine powder. Now, Yan Jinzhi was quickly sprinkling it around the hem of their pants. The medicine was precious and needed to be applied quickly to prevent more from getting bitten. Yan Jinzhi was quick, finishing in just two minutes.

“Everyone has rested enough. Line up and let’s go.”

This time, the team naturally made way for each other. Some helped, some led the way, and others took care of the injured and children. Those with strength didn’t just take care of themselves; they looked out for others, and those without strength gritted their teeth to persist, trying their best not to burden others.

After eating, the thorns in the dense forest no longer seemed terrifying, and they moved twice as fast as before.

Jiang Mingyue used her spiritual power to survey the path, continually updating Yan Jinzhi about the situation.

Approaching the dam, Jiang Mingyue saw the other two teams had already brought people out, but the situation was grim. Everyone lay or leaned against tree roots in a state of despair, with evident sadness in their eyes.

When they appeared, Qiao Mingtang’s side organized people to meet them. There were many bamboo rafts, clearly newly made.

“Boss, Uncle O wants you to come over.”

“Alright.”

Before leaving, Yan Jinzhi nodded at Ming Yue, and Jiang Mingyue immediately followed the plan they had agreed on. Taking advantage of nobody watching, she slipped behind the uninhabited stony hill.

Ten acres could yield six thousand pounds of sweet potatoes, and now she had more than ten thousand pounds. She pulled all of it out of her space; they were raw, as Yan Jinzhi suggested, to avoid suspicions. Raw goods wouldn’t be questioned, unlike cooked ones. The available items included three bags of rice, a can of milk powder, a hundred bowls, alcohol wipes, gauze, first aid medicine, and cold medicine.

Five minutes later, Jiang Mingyue heard the approaching truck as expected. At the same time, Qiao Mingtang brought Huo Ming over, just in time to see the truck unloading supplies.

“Wow! Yueyue, there really is food! This is great, really great! I knew my boss would never lie. Wait, I’ll call people over to set up more fires and roast it. Dear heavens, I’m starving!”

Huo Ming, a man of few words, approached Jiang Mingyue to ask if she needed him to do anything.

Jiang Mingyue thought he was quite competent.

“Could you take down that big pot from the truck, dig out a wind-shielded pit, and cook porridge? Later, everyone can have a bowl of hot porridge to warm up.”

Feeling motivated, Huo Ming swiftly carried out the task.

Qiao Mingtang quickly brought over a group of young adults. With their own people, the firewood was prepared quickly, and smoke was soon rising. A shelter from the wind and rain was set up, where everyone could rest after eating and drinking their fill.

Yan Jinzhi and Uncle O remained busy, occasionally pulling Jiang Mingyue from her space to use her spiritual power to find people. By dawn, they had searched every area, cross-checking with the names provided by the eight village leaders, confirming everyone was accounted for. Except for three who unfortunately passed away, everyone else was rescued safely. Soup and medicine were given to prevent the outbreak of disease.

The three who passed away were due to their physical condition: one was bedridden for too long and couldn’t move when the flood came, and the other two were elderly and already frail. The three were found as floating corpses.

Now, the village was tasked with taking the bodies away, to be buried once the water subsided.

By noon, manpower had managed to divert the water, causing eight villages to gradually emerge and finally restore to their former appearances.

Qiao Mingtang’s team accompanied the village leaders to check on the damage, going door-to-door on patrol. Apart from a few houses that collapsed and were uninhabitable, others were repaired. Once the sun dried them, they could be lived in again that night.

Another supply shipment arrived, this time with blankets and clothing.

Uncle O was worrying about this when Yan Jinzhi came to help him solve the problem.

Uncle O, who had always held this younger person in high regard, asked for information: “Tell me, who is this Shi Wu? You say they donated food and supplies; surely we should meet them to express our gratitude.”

Yan Jinzhi remained tight-lipped, and when pressed, he seriously thought about it: “No time! She’s doing good deeds for no fame or fortune. If you must thank her, just make a banner for her.”

Uncle O was left speechless: “…”

On Qiao Mingtang’s side, Xiao An, whom he was worried about, and his group, were rescued along with the villagers in the earlier operation. However, due to injuries from previous tasks and further exertion while saving villagers, they exhausted themselves into unconsciousness. After being brought back and treated with the medicine provided by Jiang Mingyue, they gradually regained consciousness and, combined with medication, recovered significantly within three days.

The group stayed in Cang County for five full days. During this time, Jiang Mingyue collected ten harvests of sweet potatoes and one of rice. Before leaving, she donated all remaining food.

After getting in the car, Yan Jinzhi handed her a banner and a joint thank-you letter.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep