"Heh, young man, our Young Master Gu found you clever and specifically asked me in his letter if you wanted to stay and help Phoenix Village."
Dai Fa spoke to Xie Ning in a very accommodating tone.
"Alright, then what benefits will I get if I stay?"
Xie Ning was truly clever, even in a weaker position, he dared to bargain for himself.
Generally, young people who were displaced, if they encountered someone willing to take them in, would be grateful. How could they dare to ask this question?
"Haha, there are plenty of benefits. You get meat to eat, meals are filling, lodging is free. In short, it won't be worse than your life before.
But of course, all gains require labor. You can't get something for nothing."
Dai Fa said with a chuckle, not getting angry because of Xie Ning's impudence.
Looking at this spirited young man before him, he felt a sense of déjà vu.
Oh, right, his eldest son was also this clever and outspoken.
He had originally been very optimistic about his eldest son, intending to pass on the family business to him. Unexpectedly, a sudden natural disaster struck, and both his sons were gone.
Thinking of this, a bitterness welled up in Dai Fa's heart.
If his son were alive now, living in Phoenix Village, he would surely have a great future, no less than the young man before him.
"Ah? There's such a good thing? Then I'll stay. I'm not afraid of working. Is there any job harder or scarier than salvaging bodies? They paid me 100 wen per body when I salvaged bodies by the water in Wangchun City!"
Xie Ning even boasted.
He didn't know that he had inadvertently revealed his youth and a weakness that made him easily tricked and used as cheap labor.
Hearing Xie Ning say this, Dai Fa smiled slightly. After all, he was just a young man with no experience of the world. He did such hard work for a mere 100 wen?
Dai Fa felt pity and then took him to find He Hua, asking He Hua to help arrange things.
He Hua had now seemingly become the intermediary for disaster refugees becoming Phoenix Village villagers.
Villagers who wished to stay on the mountain would first have a bowl of egg noodles here. Then, led by He Hua, they would undergo deworming and bathing, and then be directed to Qin Yue to arrange for lodging and to receive daily necessities like rice, flour, oil, and quilts.
Now, because too many people were flocking to Phoenix Village, the houses were clearly insufficient. Even if the craftsmen worked day and night without sleep, they couldn't keep up.
Therefore, new villagers could only be accommodated as guests, with 2-3 beds in each guest room.
Even so, it provided a relatively safe haven for the homeless new villagers. Knowing that rooms would be assigned later, they dared not complain.
After He Hua took Xie Ning through all the procedures, Xie Ning felt that Phoenix Village was indeed interesting. They were so good to strangers. He had never seen or heard of such a wealthy village.
After Dai Fa handed Xie Ning over to He Hua, he went to the village's pharmacy to find Zhu Liang.
"Doctor Zhu, Young Master Gu wrote back saying we should be cautious of people coming up the mountain recently. He suggested we shouldn't let them into the village immediately. Instead, we should set up an observation area for them to live in at the valley entrance by the pass. After staying there for 10 days and showing no serious symptoms, they can then come up the mountain."
"Oh? Why is that?" Zhu Liang was puzzled.
"Young Master Gu said that the floods below have caused a situation where no one has handled the aftermath, and there might be issues with epidemic diseases."
"Oh, that's possible," Zhu Liang said, nodding as he walked out. "The government has fled, and no one will handle the aftermath. The water below is very dirty. If people drink raw water, they will vomit and have diarrhea. If such people come to our village, bringing the illness in could cause it to spread."
Dai Fa frowned, "It seems the situation is a bit serious. I need to quickly arrange for an observation point at the pass. You can start by prescribing some preventive decoctions. I'll have He Hua boil them and send them to the observation point for those people to take."
"Alright," Zhu Liang nodded and said, "Village Chief, you go ahead and be busy. I'll write the prescription and send it to He Hua. I'll arrange it."
"Okay, we'll each do our part."
Seeing that Zhu Liang had taken charge of this matter, Dai Fa hurried to the communal area to find Yan Xin from the hunting team, and then had another hunter call Liu Bian, who was responsible for building houses.
Dai Fa instructed Yan Xin to tell all the guards at the pass that new people from outside the village could not be brought directly into the village. They had to be taken to the observation area outside the pass first. If they were fine after ten days, then they could be brought into the village.
During this period, the village would be responsible for their food and drink, and they would also be given brewed medicinal soup.
When Yan Xin heard it was Young Master Gu's assessment, he understood and said he would make sure it was implemented.
As for Liu Bian, he was ordered to allocate manpower to quickly build more shelters outside the pass, as fast as possible.
After instructing these two, Dai Fa went to ring the village bell to convene a meeting of the villagers.
The villagers had just finished dinner. For some reason, the village bell rang again, and they quickly gathered at the communal square.
Dai Fa explained the current situation below the mountain. The villagers actually knew what had happened, but because they were living peacefully on the mountain, no one had thought too much about it.
But now, after hearing Dai Fa speak, they truly felt the danger.
Dai Fa said:
"For everyone's safety, you are not allowed to go down the mountain recently. Anyone who needs to go down must have a valid reason, and only if it is absolutely necessary to go down.
Otherwise, stay on the mountain and behave yourselves.
Furthermore, if you go down the mountain, you cannot enter the village directly upon your return. Everyone must stay in the observation area outside the pass for ten days. This is an order and cannot be opposed."
Dai Fa said resolutely.
"Don't worry, Village Chief Dai, we only used to go down the mountain to buy things we didn't have on the mountain. Now that things are so chaotic down there, we certainly won't go."
"Yes, Village Chief. Our village suffered an epidemic before, and it was too tragic. I don't want to go through that again. What you are doing is right, and I hope everyone will abide by it and not violate the village's orders."
A villager shared their experience.
In fact, as soon as they heard the word "epidemic," everyone turned pale and was terrified.
At this point, even if Dai Fa didn't order them, if they knew for sure there was such a disease, they would be too scared to leave the village. Did Dai Fa even need to say it?
Seeing that everyone was cooperating, Dai Fa felt much relieved and said:
"Very good, everyone must take care of yourselves. We will get through this difficult time together."
The villagers did not object; instead, they felt a sense of security.
Even in their former villages, no one would have managed things so meticulously, worrying about them getting sick, and even proactively investing resources to control the situation.
Looking at the village flag overhead, the people of Phoenix Village felt their affection for the village deepen once more.
Thus, from this day on, Phoenix Village set up observation areas for refugees from outside who sought refuge. They were allowed to stay there first, and were provided with food and drink, as well as medication for prevention, but their health would be monitored.
With such strict vigilance, Phoenix Village miraculously experienced no abnormal occurrences.
On the other hand, among the displaced refugees living in the observation areas, several cases of illness did occur.