Natural disasters in books: I stockpiled goods to escape famine in ancient times

All the people from Dahe Village gathered at Huang's house to host a banquet for the guests. As there were not enough seats in the yard, they were placed outside along the corners of the wall.

Song Shiwei was arranged to sit at the head seat at the table, with Huang Changyuan and Wei Xiong sitting on her left and right. Unlike Wei Xiong who was trying to please her, Huang Changyuan and others truly respected and appreciated Song Shiwei. Considering the kindness Song Shiwei had brought to the villagers, she deserved to sit at the head seat.

The two sides got together, built a house, and drank wine, so naturally they couldn't help but talk about how they escaped the famine together.

It was only after listening that Wei Xiong learned about the relationship between Song Shiwei and Huang Changyuan and others, and also learned that Song Shiwei actually came from the capital. As for why Li An treated her with courtesy, Wei Xiong secretly guessed that Song Shiwei must have some assets in the capital, and Li An probably also followed the Zhou family's wishes.

What Wei Xiong is thinking about now is whether this Miss Song is just an acquaintance of Li An or has some connection with the Zhou family. If she is just being taken care of by Li An, then it would be fine to be more enthusiastic towards her in the future. But if she is related to the Zhou family, then he must be careful and cautious in future contacts with her.

Song Shiwei left after dinner, and Zhang Wu was left at Huang Changyuan's house to help. Wei Xiong and Huang Changyuan personally saw Song Shiwei off to the village entrance before going back to entertain other guests.

When he was almost home, he saw Zhou Huai and Li An standing at his door from afar, and Song Shiwei frowned slightly.

Hearing the noise, Zhou Huai turned around, and a smile blossomed in his eyes the moment he saw Song Shiwei: "I'm sorry to disturb Miss Song by coming here rashly."

"Just know that I am disturbing you. Mr. Zhou, what is the matter with you?"

The two haven't met since the last time he invited him to dinner in the provincial capital. Song Shiwei thought that what he said last time was very clear, but he didn't expect them to meet again today. These two brothers are really persistent.

Yes, Song Shiwei always felt that Zhou Huai and Zhou Yi had never given up on persuading her to join the Zhou family, so she didn't have a good face towards them.

Zhou Huai remained calm despite being treated coldly, with a faint smile on his face: "Don't worry, Miss Song. Last time, I said that I would not come back to disturb you unless it was something important. This time, I came here because I received some news and wanted to tell you. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

"what news?"

Zhou Huai glanced at Li An beside him and nodded.

Li An stepped forward with a serious expression: "There has been a rumor in the city for the past two days that a cold wave is about to hit Dali. This cold wave is very serious. It is the coldest weather in a hundred years. My subordinates have made inquiries in many places but have not found any results, and have not found who started the rumor."

After listening to Li Ang's words, the first person that Song Shiwei thought of was Shen Qianxue. In this world, besides himself, only the reborn Shen Qianxue knew about the natural disaster. However, in the eyes of others, such things were too unbelievable. Therefore, no matter how calm Song Shiwei was in his heart, he still had to pretend to be surprised on his face.

"Even if it's just a rumor, you still believe it?"

Zhou Huai believed it, but he didn't want to tell anyone the inside story. Li An completely believed in his own son.

"I was also surprised and unwilling to believe it when I first heard it. After all, the rumor was too horrifying. Even my father had never encountered the extreme cold that the rumor said in his life. But if such a big thing were to come true, how could the North be safe? Even if I sneer at it, I can't take that gamble."

Behind Zhou Huai is the entire Zhou family, and behind the Zhou family are millions of people in the northern border.

Song Shi was silent. He was still thinking about how to tactfully remind Huang Changyuan and others that the news brought by Zhou Huai solved the urgent problem. Since there were rumors spreading in the city, he would just go with the flow.

Facing Zhou Huai's firm and steady gaze, Song Shi nodded slightly: "Nothing happens without reason, there must be a reason. Although we don't know whether the rumors are true or not, it doesn't hurt to make some preparations in advance. Anyway, the winter in the northern border is particularly cold. It's just a matter of storing more firewood and food. They are all consumables, so we don't have to worry about getting a lot of them."

"I think the same as the girl. We all need to prepare, but we are just preparing more than before," Zhou Huai paused, "I plan to spread the rumor after returning to the city. I can't guarantee that everyone is willing to make adequate preparations, but at least there will still be some people who would rather believe it."

"If the extreme cold really comes, those who have made preparations will be able to survive safely. As for the others, we will talk about it then. If Miss Song believes in me, you should also make more preparations."

Song Shiwei looked at Zhou Huai deeply, then chuckled: "I will definitely stock up on grain and firewood, but I don't know if there is enough in the city? When rumors spread, the grain shops in the city will be crowded. Have you thought about this, Mr. Zhou?"

Don’t let the time come when everyone rushes to buy food and ends up not being able to find any.

"Don't worry, I already have a plan. I have also secretly sent people to Jiangnan to purchase food. The food stores in the city have enough food for now, so they will be able to hold out until the food arrives."

"That's good. Thank you Mr. Zhou for coming to tell me this news today."

The intention of seeing him off was too obvious in Song Shiwei's eyes. Zhou Huai guessed that she was going to inform those disaster victims who were important to her, so he took the opportunity to say goodbye and leave. There were still a lot of things waiting to be arranged and decided in the city.

Zhou Huai's guess was correct. As soon as Zhou Huai left, Song Shiwei went to Xiahuang Village and directly called Huang Changyuan, Wei Xiong, Zhang Wu, Liu Dong, Chen Qiang and others to the main hall.

Everyone was puzzled as to why Song Shiwei left and came back, and they couldn't figure out why she specifically called a few people over separately. But seeing that she looked serious, they didn't rush to ask and followed her into the main hall.

After everyone sat down, Song Shiwei spoke, "I just received news that there have been rumors in the city these past two days that Dali is about to usher in a cold wave that is rare in a century. The Northern Border families have suppressed the rumors for the time being, but they will probably spread the rumors in the next two days so that those who are willing to believe can prepare early. I came here, first, to tell you the news, and second, to ask you what your plans are."

As the words fell, everyone present looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock, fear, and uneasiness.

Wei Xiong stood up suddenly, his eyes anxious: "Miss Song, are you serious?"

Song Shiwei glanced at him calmly and said, "It's up to you to believe it or not. As for whether the rumor is true or not, I don't know."

After Wei Xiong finished speaking, he realized that he had said something wrong, and he quickly bowed and saluted: "Don't blame me, Miss Song. I just heard about this suddenly and was very frightened. I said something wrong, I hope you won't blame me."

Song Shiwei waved his hand.

Huang Changyuan, Chen Qiang and Liu Dong looked at each other, then Huang Changyuan turned to Song Shiwei and asked, "Xiao Song, what are your plans?"

"When I first heard about this, I thought it was ridiculous. Even if I don't believe it, I don't want to regret it when the extreme cold really comes. Tomorrow morning I will ask Zhang Wu to go to the city to buy food and firewood for the winter."

Huang Changyuan sighed, his already weathered face looking even older. "I also found it hard to believe what you said just now, but you are right. It is better to be prepared than to be unprepared. Winters in the north are colder than other places anyway. Food and firewood are needed every day. It is better to be prepared than to regret because of insufficient preparation."

Chen Qiang also nodded: "Then buy more food. There is no need to spend money to buy firewood. There are so many trees on the mountain. We can chop them down."

Seeing that Huang Changyuan and others were willing to make more preparations, Song Shiwei felt relieved. He stood up and prepared to leave. When he looked up, he saw Master Xu Shihe and his apprentice walking in.

"I just passed by the door and overheard what you said. Since everyone needs to prepare for the extreme cold, I have a suggestion."

Huang Changyuan quickly asked everyone to sit down: "Doctor Xu, if you have any suggestions, please speak up."

Xu Shihe glanced at Song Shiwei with a solemn expression: "In the past, when I was practicing medicine, I saw many people die from frostbite in the severe winter. I just heard Miss Song talk about the rumor. The next is a century-old extreme cold. I'm sure the temperature will be very low. By then, there will be countless people who will get frostbite. Should we buy more medicinal materials?"