Evening fell as Ning Yi returned to the Su manor. He took out paper and brush, beginning to write down articles and regulations regarding disaster relief and epidemic prevention. He had been pondering these issues for days, so writing them down now wasn't too difficult.

Modern disaster relief strategies naturally differ from those of ancient times, and cannot be copied wholesale. However, modern methods undeniably possess more effective supervision and constraints, a more logical sequence of events, and greater foresight. These had to be adapted to the realities of the Wu Dynasty before they could be implemented. This included numerous methods for preventing epidemics, as well as a pyramid-like structure and system for directing, allocating, and managing the affected population. Such managerial philosophies were precisely what Ning Yi excelled at, so he wrote them all down.

One aspect of creating these articles stemmed from a certain compassion. As a modern person, even one accustomed to the darkness of the world, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the thought of so many people dying from disease or starvation in the coming months. He wasn't truly a cold-blooded person, but his powerful rationality often allowed him to see things clearly and suppress his emotions. Of course, compassion was only part of the motivation. The other part was his planning for other matters, which would be the second thing he'd present to Elder Qin tomorrow.

He busied himself writing late into the night. Xiao Chan entered, carrying chilled white fungus soup, urging him to drink it quickly. He paused, chatting with her for a moment. "If Master doesn't eat it, the ice will melt..."

Usually, Xiao Chan wouldn't interrupt him when he was concentrating, but the ice was so precious in the summer that she couldn't help but say a few words with a hint of grievance. After finishing the soup, he resumed writing with full concentration. Xiao Chan sat quietly in the corner of the room, sewing the sole of a shoe. Su Tan'er also came to check on him once, and seeing him writing so peacefully, she smiled at Xiao Chan and left.

The next morning, as he jogged to Nie Yunzhu's small building, Nie Yunzhu drank tea while discussing recent events concerning Yuan Jin'er.

"Jin'er has actually been mentioning you for a while. I never imagined your first meeting would be under those circumstances yesterday. Hehe, Jin'er is too mischievous; I hope Liheng doesn't blame her."

"Not at all, she's quite frank," Ning Yi said with a smile. "Has she been visiting the shop often lately?"

"Not really, she doesn't have that much free time. I occasionally visit her. Lately, she seems to be in low spirits."

"What's wrong? Is she unhappy that Qi Lan won the title of Flower Queen?"

Yuan Jin'er was actually a decent person. Ning Yi had a good impression of her because of the preserved egg incident, and he began to think of various poems to help promote her reputation. Nie Yunzhu shook her head.

"Not at all, Jin'er never wanted to win the Flower Queen title in the first place. She's depressed because of what happened to Feng Xiaojing not long ago."

"Oh?"

"Liheng was outside the city those days, so you might not know the details. After the Flower Queen competition, Chen Yong, the military commander of the Wu Lie Army, went to harass Feng Xiaojing again... Such things had happened before. Back then, when Feng Xiaojing was the Flower Queen, she was forced to the point of nearly jumping off a building. This time, it happened again. To make matters worse, Chen Yong's wife thought Feng Xiaojing was seducing her husband, so she led some guards to attack her, chasing Feng Xiaojing all over the place. In the end, I heard she was almost beaten to death on the street and is now bedridden, recovering. There are rumors that she's disfigured and crippled, but it's not clear yet. Yue Ran Lou, where Feng Xiaojing works, filed a lawsuit, but it was withdrawn a few days later, and the matter was dropped. The reasons are self-evident. Jin'er seemed to have passed by and witnessed it that day, and she's probably... feeling sorry for herself."

"Oh," Ning Yi nodded. "No wonder she wanted to work as a waiter at Bamboo Garden... If she really does, I think I can offer her double the salary, or even triple, to ensure she doesn't get beaten."

Nie Yunzhu laughed. "You come up with the strangest ideas."

"Haha, well, she should marry someone soon."

Nie Yunzhu smiled, her eyes lowered slightly.

Soon after, as the sky brightened, Ning Yi left the small building. Nie Yunzhu watched his figure disappear into the distance before sighing softly and taking the tea tray back. Hu Tao was in the room, looking at her with resentment. "Miss, do you know that if this continues, if Su Tan'er, his wife, comes looking for us, we'll be beaten to death too? Miss, you keep talking about a gentleman's friendship, but if she misunderstands, she won't care about that!"

Nie Yunzhu glanced at her, then smiled happily, even a little mischievously. "Good, let her beat me to death. If I'm really beaten to death, he'll definitely come..." She thought, then sighed again, putting down the tea tray. "But if that really happens... it'll make things difficult for him."

Hu Tao was heartbroken. "Miss, don't be crazy! Men are all the same. Don't think he's so eloquent now. If his real wife comes to the door, he won't come. Besides, he's an adopted son-in-law! That Miss Su is so powerful! Miss..."

"Don't you say that about him!" Nie Yunzhu looked back, but there was no anger in her voice. She imagined the scene of herself being beaten to death.

Hu Tao wore a mournful face, still worried. After a while, Nie Yunzhu took a deep breath, turned around, took the peasant-like headscarf from the side, wrapped it around her head, and pinched the maid's cheek as she walked past Hu Tao.

"Hu Tao, you're so cute, you're getting prettier and prettier... It's time to get married."

She said this happily, but as she walked out the door, she lowered her head and murmured something playfully and willfully in her heart regarding certain things.

I just won't get married...

*********************

After finishing his lessons in the morning and having lunch, he went to the Qinhuai River. Kang Xian was already waiting there. He was quite interested in the things Ning Yi brought out each time, but he hadn't expected this manuscript.

Poems, some novel and interesting but somewhat unconventional ideas, chalk, preserved eggs – these things, while interesting to both Qin Siyuan and Kang Xian, were ultimately minor matters. Most of the time, they might think Ning Yi was talented, and they would also feel that if he were to manage something, he would certainly not disappoint, but these were all assumptions that had not been truly confirmed. But after this document was presented, their view changed somewhat.

At this time, the Wu Dynasty also had similar articles on disaster relief and epidemic prevention, but there were many differences compared to what Ning Yi had written. Most of them focused on stability. Once something happened, the army would forcibly suppress it, or let the victims fend for themselves, etc., etc. In short, the main priority was not to damage the foundation of the dynasty. The others had been laughing and chatting, but after opening the booklet and seeing the title, they became serious. Then, their expressions became solemn. After reading it, they were silent for a long time. Kang Xian then asked Lu Agui to find the Wu Dynasty's disaster relief articles, compare them one by one, and then asked about the hygiene aspects of the text. Ning Yi explained them by the Go board.

"Epidemics often start and spread from unsanitary conditions, so the first thing to do is to try to solve the problems related to this... Given the resources at hand, there will often not be enough managers. A region is full of disaster victims, a complete mess. Order officials at all levels to delegate their power level by level, and select one or two levels of management personnel from among the disaster victims, and quickly tell them what to do..."

"Currently it's still summer, find open and ventilated places and quickly set up sheds that can provide shade and shelter from the rain. Try to maintain order. Choose suitable locations around the sheds to dig tunnels and build unified latrines and drainage ditches. Quickly transport any quicklime you can find to the disaster area, sprinkle it inside and outside the gathering points for disinfection, and arrange for people to do publicity. Rats, dead fish, and dead shrimp must not be eaten! Once you find dead rats, find a place to burn and bury them..."

"Open up another area and send anyone who is sick, has a headache, fever, coughs, has a lot of phlegm, or diarrhea into it immediately. Divide it into severe and mild disease areas, and be sure to isolate them well. I know that many places don't have enough supplies, so I've listed the order of priority to ensure at the end. As long as you can find cloth, doctors must wear masks. Clean water is very important. Dead fish, dead shrimp, and dead rats are absolutely not allowed..."

"As long as you can maintain order, then arrange for the selection of officials level by level. This is just a matter of manpower. You need someone to publicize the harm of rotten things, the harm of rats, and the harm of things that are too dirty—a little dirty can't be helped, but try not to get it in your mouth. As long as you can find a clean water source, it's always possible to wash your hands. Arrange for people to publicize the court's measures, how much disaster relief money is coming, etc., etc.... Of course, all of this must be based on them being able to get the minimum amount of food to survive. Most places in our dynasty should not have reached this level..."

Ning Yi said some things, and Kang Xian nodded there. "Most places have a certain reserve of disaster relief grain, and they can always squeeze some out."

"That's fine. If you ensure that they don't starve to death and can get one or two bowls of porridge a day, they won't riot, and they won't eat those rats or dead things. If the first link doesn't go wrong, the back can be controlled. If there is a major disaster and an epidemic, it can't be controlled, and basically they can only fend for themselves. There's no way to stop it..."

"So the personnel management and the means of arranging and distributing disaster relief funds in the back, the simple recording methods, find some people who can read and write, and strictly implement these procedures to make a level... The amount of labor should not be large. With these data, it will be easy to investigate afterwards. Of course, accounting for debts after the autumn is only part of it. The most important thing is to make the most efficient distribution at the first time."

"If the people above are all corrupt officials, and at the level of Shaohe, not a single grain of food can be obtained, then there's nothing to be done. No one can quench their thirst by looking at plums. But as long as there is a certain amount of grain, everything will be fine. You can't guarantee the people above, but you have to guarantee the people below. Catch a few typical examples and kill one as a warning to a hundred! It doesn't matter if you kill a few more. Use this recording method, and arrange for some trusted people to check the accounts every day or every few days. I've written down a few key points for checking the accounts in the back. If problems occur at these points, kill them depending on the severity of the situation! There shouldn't be many people who can exploit this method in the short term, and even if some do, it's not a big problem. We must ensure the highest utilization efficiency..."

In the afternoon, a gentle breeze blew along the Qinhuai River. Ning Yi spoke eloquently and calmly, using Go pieces to illustrate, demonstrating with a series of "pa pa pa pa" sounds. In front of him, Elder Qin, Elder Kang, and Lu Agui were all watching silently, comprehending and thinking. No one spoke, and the atmosphere seemed somewhat unusual. At the teahouse next door,

The owner of the teahouse and his daughter whispered a few words, occasionally poking their heads out to look, not understanding what these people were discussing...

Seeing that Young Master Ning was arranging them so smoothly, it was probably a new type of Go game, the teahouse owner thought.

A leisurely afternoon, the world as usual.

**********

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