The refugees stared, stunned. After a long moment, someone retorted, "If we could live, who would want to die?"
"Good! None of you want to die!" Du Cheng rode his horse back and forth before the refugees, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Since you want to live, then act like it! What is this? This lifelessness? Forget the flood, you might as well kill yourselves!"
Anger flared in the eyes of many refugees, but constrained by the soldiers maintaining order, they dared not react.
"You think you're pitiful, don't you? Well, let me tell you!" Du Cheng gestured broadly towards the camp with his riding crop. "Nobody pities you! You brought this upon yourselves!"
Finally, a bolder refugee couldn't restrain himself and yelled angrily, "Nonsense! The flood was a natural disaster! What's that got to do with us?"
"Yes, the flood was a natural disaster, nothing to do with you. But what about man-made calamity!? Just look at yourselves!"
Du Cheng pointed his crop at a burly man nearby. "How strong are you?"
"I can lift a hundred-jin (a unit of weight, approx. 0.5 kg or 1.1 lbs) stone block with one hand!"
"Good. Then tell me, how long would it take you, with your strength, to build a simple wooden hut?"
"Three days!"
Du Cheng laughed. "Three days! Ha! But the flood happened two months ago! Have you built any wooden hut!?"
He didn't wait for an answer, shouting again, "Why haven't you used your own hands to rebuild your homes!? Look at yourself! You're strong enough! There's plenty of timber in the mountains to the east! Why are you still lying here like a dead dog, waiting to die!?"
Then, pointing to an elderly man, Du Cheng softened his tone. "Old father, you may not have the strength for heavy lifting, but you can still watch the children, mend clothes, cook, can't you? Why not help this strong fellow here with his daily chores, and ask him to help you build a house in return? If you two cooperate, in just six days, you could both have a home again!"
A flicker of life returned to the old man's eyes. He slowly nodded.
Du Cheng continued, "Everyone, perhaps my words were harsh, but I only wanted to make one point clear: natural disasters are unavoidable, but they are not insurmountable! As long as you work together, you can survive. Only by surviving first can you have a future, can you have anything at all!"
"There are a hundred thousand people here! Setting aside the elderly, the weak, women, and children, that leaves at least thirty thousand able-bodied men! Thirty thousand strong men! In one day, you could build a village! In a month, you could build a small town! Provided the rest of you—the elderly, the weak, the women, the children—give them enough support! Everyone! If you don't want to die, stand up! You can survive! You have the ability to survive! And what's more, if you work hard, you can live even better!"
The burly man who had been challenged earlier abruptly raised his head, staring at Du Cheng. "You're right, but rebuilding homes takes money!"
Du Cheng smiled faintly and signaled Steve to bring forward the large lotus banner of the charity fund. He planted the banner firmly in the ground and pointed to it. "Do you see this emblem? It represents an organization—the Lianhua Cishan Jijin (Lotus Charity Fund)! I am its master. And this time, my charity fund will provide ten thousand gold coins for all of you!"
A deafening cheer erupted from the refugees instantly, the sound shaking the heavens. Moments later, even those further away, who hadn't quite understood, joined in the cheering blindly.
"Quiet, please!" Du Cheng bellowed. "Ten thousand gold coins sounds like an unimaginable fortune to you. Forgive me, I mean no offense, but it's likely most of you have never even seen ten gold coins in your lives, which is why you cheered so wildly at the mention of ten thousand. But have you done the math? There are a hundred thousand of you! That amounts to only a few silver coins per person! Enough perhaps for one month's bare survival!"
The refugees' cheering died down instantly.
Du Cheng dismounted and walked into the crowd. He picked up a small child who was scavenging for breadcrumbs and gently wiped the dirt from his face. "I won't waste any more words. My Lotus Charity Fund will make a pact with you. For one month—for this next month—none of you will starve, and the able-bodied among you will receive tools! But, within this same month, you must build me a basic town! You must start living normal lives again!"
"Big brother, is it true what you said?" the child in his arms asked.
"Let big brother tell you this: Natural disasters can't be avoided, but people can save themselves!"
Du Cheng set the child down and strode to the front of the supply wagons. "The gold is here! But you won't receive cash. It will be converted into bread and tools, distributed directly to you. Now, I need you to select fifty people you trust to form a Zaimin Zijiu Hui (Refugee Self-Help Committee). They will oversee the use of these funds!"
While the refugees began the process of selecting their representatives, Du Cheng rejoined Steve. Before saying anything, he let out a sigh. "Refugees... hearing about them is completely different from seeing them."
Half an hour ago, Du Cheng's motivation for this relief effort might have simply been to make his 'buttock bloom' (Translator's Note: Referring back to the Lianhua Baojian's reaction mentioned previously, indicating a 'good deed'.) But now... now he wasn't so sure why he was doing it. Especially after holding that child. In the boy's near-hopeless eyes, Du Cheng thought he saw a reflection of his own past life—the orphan who had survived by begging on the streets, by pilfering small change.
Steve sighed as well. "Yes... Growing up, I always thought the commoners in the south district of Saint John's (Translator's Note: Context suggests this is a place known to the characters, likely representing urban poverty) were the most pitiful people imaginable. But today... Ai. Still, little brother, you've done very well."
Before long, the refugees had chosen fifty respected elders. The eldest among them approached Du Cheng. He had a kind face and gentle eyes, appearing to be in his seventies or eighties. He immediately reminded Du Cheng of Lao Foye (Old Fouquet) back home.
"Shaoye, we are grateful you came to save us. I praise your..." His gaze wandered, and he hesitantly offered several hollow words of praise.
Du Cheng sensed his unease and smiled. "Heh, old father, please speak plainly. Whatever is on your mind, just say it. I am a descendant of Xigelu (Sigr), and I wish to help you overcome any difficulties!"
"Heh!" The old man gave an embarrassed smile. "Shaoye, please don't take offense, we are simple folk who haven't seen much of the world. But... well, us old fellows talked it over, and... we feel most secure when the money is actually in our hands!"
Typical smallholder mentality! Du Cheng almost scoffed, but then realization dawned: These refugees have been terrified by corrupt officials in the past!
"Alright. We'll distribute one silver coin per person first. If you're frugal, that should be enough to support you for seven or eight days. But you must also accelerate the rebuilding process!"
"Shaoye, you are a good man!"
As he spoke, the old man started to kneel, but Du Cheng quickly stopped him. Are you kidding? Letting a man in his seventies or eighties kneel to me? Am I trying to shorten my own lifespan?
As the relief funds were distributed one by one, Du Cheng watched the refugees beaming with joy (lit: smiling so wide they couldn't close their mouths). He grinned himself, because his backside had begun to itch—and not just a little! It shouldn't be forgotten that the 'lotus' on Du Cheng's buttock was shaped like a bagua (the eight trigrams used in Taoist cosmology). Now, the three 'blossoms' on the Qian trigram (☰, representing Heaven or the Creative) were about to fully bloom.
The Lianhua Baojian had a total of eight layers and thirty-six stages. Now, he was on the verge of completing the first layer!
Feeling quite pleased with himself, Du Cheng began looking around for a latrine so he could check on the 'lotus' whenever needed.
But as his gaze swept across the area near the refugee camp, he suddenly erupted in fury.
"Do these bastards have any humanity left?!"
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