Drunk Alone

Lin Wen carried the three children out of the cave and jumped onto the shore.

"They're safe."

He said briefly.

He handed the children over to Xiuyu, who pounced over. She hugged the three children tightly and sobbed uncontrollably. "Thank you, Great Immortal, thank you Great Immortal, my children, this is great, this is great. I will do anything to repay the Great Immortal, Great Immortal…"

The others were also overjoyed. They couldn't wait to pass on this information, and were desperately shouting on the levee.

"The children are found!"

"We've found hope."

"Everything is safe!"

"The Great Immortal has remarkable abilities and boundless powers!"

"Enough!"

Lin Wen stopped this opening in time. He did not want to become an arrogant fool.

He stood on the dike and began to speak to the tens of thousands of people below.

"I'm Lin Wen. I'm the governor of Changshan County. Now, I'm officially taking over the reconstruction work. I'll be bringing food, tents, hot water, and medicine for everyone. I'll be organizing everyone to build a home together."

This was a repetition of what he had said earlier. He was trying to set the tone for what the Heart of Seven Orifices was about to say in case it wandered off.

As the original spell time had been used up, Lin Wen had no choice but to use his Kindness to activate the Heart of Seven Orifices again.

The speech lasted for five minutes, and the situation started to get out of control. No matter how he tried to steer the conversation, the Heart of Seven Orifices would always automatically wander off to the topic of the immortal saving the people of the world.

In the end, Lin Wen had no choice but to end the speech.

"Alright, everyone, please return to the camp in an orderly manner and inform those who do not know about this. In the near future, we will stand on our new homes and work hard for a new life."

The crowd dispersed reluctantly.

Then, Lin Wen went down the dike, gathered all the imperial soldiers, and announced his decision.

"From today onwards, you will participate in the reconstruction work and build homes for the commoners."

Even the soldiers who had always obeyed orders were thrown into chaos. Fang Dashan could not believe it. "What? Are we participating in the reconstruction work? But we are the soldiers for battle, not engineer soldiers. Moreover, even the engineer soldiers do not do this. This is the work of the construction laborers!"

Lin Wen said sternly, "This is an order!"

"B-but…"

Seeing that they couldn't accept it, Lin Wen could only say, "Let me ask you, what are the duties of the Empire's soldiers?"

Fang Dashan straightened his back and said loudly, "Protect the country!"

Lin Wen asked again, "Why do you have to protect the country?"

Fang Dashan was stumped. He had never encountered such a strange question before. After stammering for quite a while, he said uncertainly, "Of course it's to protect the interests of the people of the Empire from being violated and make sure that they're safe from threats."

Lin Wen pointed at the refugees and asked, "Aren't they people of the Empire?"

"Of course."

Lin Wen said sternly, "That flood violated their interests and threatened their safety. Why are you not helping them?"

"This, this isn't, but this isn't, isn't…" Fang Dashan was stuck again. He felt like there was a string in his head that was tightening and twisting, ready to snap at any moment.

Lin Wen pointed at their clothes and equipment. "What you wear is funded by the people."

Then, he pointed at Fang Dashan. "What you do is not worthy of your name!"

Fang Dashan's face instantly turned red. He tried his best to explain, "No, it's not like that. Officer Lin, we, we don't know. There's no such precedent in the Empire."

Lin Wen sneered and said, "From now on, there is. You will be the precedent."

Fang Dashan's face turned pale again.

Lin Wen turned around, leaving only his back to them. "Do you all know that there is a type of army where every single one of the soldiers is comparable to an imperial hero?"

Lin Wen spent ten minutes teaching them the concept of the People's Army that didn't exist in this world. Then, he said, "Now, I hope that you can become such a troop."

"If you do, you'll all be heroes of the Empire."

"I will personally nominate you."

Fang Dashan's face turned red as he scratched his ears and cheeks in disbelief.

"Really? There are such troops in this world? From that country? Why haven't I heard of them before?"

"Can we really become such an army?"

"As long as we succeed, our combat ability will multiply?"

Lin Wen only smiled mysteriously at Fang Dashan's question.

"Don't worry."

Fang Dashan huffed and puffed for a long time before he suddenly patted his chest and said loudly, "From now on, everyone will join the reconstruction team. Whoever doesn't want to work, just say it. I'll get them to scram!"

…

…

At night, after eating a luxurious and sumptuous immortal cultivation feast—two green vegetables, three radishes, a cup of dew from the night sky, and a bowl of millet rice that matched the aura of an immortal, Huang Mingxiao came over again.

Unlike Lin Wen, who was in a better mood and even a little sunny, Huang Mingxiao looked miserable, sleepy and depressed.

He opened his mouth and said, "County Head Lin, the food and living supplies have been distributed. According to your arrangements, the amount is two days."

Lin Wen stood on a hill. The night wind blew gently against his face. As he took a sip of the dew in the night sky, a tipsy feeling welled up in his heart. He felt as if he were floating in the air, as if the gravitational force had disappeared. There was no longer any restraint in the world.

"Let me remind you again. There's only a little more than a day of supplies left in the inventory. Please urge the purchasing staff of the finance department to complete the procurement as soon as possible."

Lin Wen took another sip of the Dew of the Night, as if he was drinking fine wine. The pure water seemed to have an alcohol percentage, as if it was fermented by spiritual energy. It was rich and fragrant.

"In addition, as per your request, after the distribution work is completed, I have already gathered all the staff and security guards. They are now gathered outside the town, waiting to be screened and judged."

The third dew of the night sky caused the world to flip and dry up. Looking at the world again, it was as if three seasons had passed.

"This subordinate will remind you one last time that you must be quick to vet them. If they can't prove their innocence, we should keep them here and deal with them later. We need men for jobs here. Otherwise, even if you send the bad people to prison, the lives of the people will not improve and your prestige will also decline."

Lin Wen was in high spirits after drinking the last mouthful of dew, and he recited the poem on the spot.

"It's easy to get drunk when meeting old friends."

"On the journey of the immortals, their swords can illuminate nineteen continents!"

Huang Mingxiao listened quietly and then said, "County Head Lin, this subordinate is incompetent in handling matters and management, unable to rescue the people in time and resolve the chaos. I will resign and ask for your punishment."

As his thoughts returned to the secular world, Lin Wen finally spoke to him. "No, continue working."

What a joke. If such a good worker ran away, where would he find another one?

Today, he had spent a huge fortune of Kindness. Lin Wen didn't want to use even more.

Therefore, Huang Mingxiao was the only suitable candidate.

"But…"

Lin Wen interrupted him. "There's no but. Just take it as making up for your mistakes. If you do well in the future, you'll be spared."

He turned around and looked at him with a burning gaze. "Please display your talents in the future and make up for what you did. Do you understand?"

Huang Mingxiao looked both touched and impressed. "Mr. Lin Wen, I…"

Lin Wen had no intention of letting him speak. He asked, "Have you called the chief of the Criminal Court of Changshan County over?"

Huang Mingxiao nodded. "I've already informed him according to your request. He'll be here later."

"Alright, tell him to come and see me directly."

Lin Wen asked, "Have the imperial soldiers set up camp?"

Hearing this, Huang Mingxiao was a little embarrassed. "It should be soon. They will have a place to stay tonight."

Earlier in the day, he had boasted in front of County Head Lin that he would accommodate as many soldiers as possible. At night, 3,000 soldiers from the Empire had come.

This made Huang Mingxiao very worried. Because Changle Town was too poor, many people had escaped from the wastelands over the years, leaving behind many empty rooms. This was also the reason why he had initially chosen to place the temporary command post here.

Although these empty rooms were old and dilapidated, they could still accommodate people after being cleaned. There were many of them, so it wasn't difficult for him to accommodate the newcomers.

However, no matter how many rooms there were, they would definitely not be able to accommodate three thousand people.

Huang Mingxiao had never thought that so many people would come. Changle Town did not have so many empty houses, and he could not force others to move out.

In the end, it was County Head Lin who came up with the idea. He instructed the soldiers of the Empire to set up camp outside the town.

With just one sentence, he solved the problem that Huang Mingxiao could not solve even after scratching his head for a long time.

Therefore, Huang Mingxiao really had this kind of feeling—County Head Lin might really be an immortal sent by the heavens to save him. Without him, everything would be too horrible to imagine.