Chapter 175

"This is impossible. I’ve been standing in line here for so long, but they called the names of people behind me to get the medicine. Yet, for me, they said there isn’t any! Don’t they think we’re human beings too?"

"Governor of Red Earth City, please help us. No! You don’t even have to help me—just my son. Please, treat him."

"Don’t let it be like this. We came all this way for the medicine too. If you don’t treat us, we’ll all die. Are you going to let us perish like this?"

"If it weren’t for the people from Red Earth City fleeing to my town, do you think we’d be suffering like this? Because of their actions, shouldn’t you, as the governor, take responsibility?!!"

"Is the governor of Red Earth City going to kill people? He wants to let people die?"

"He has plenty of medicine. We villagers want to survive, but the governor of Red Earth City doesn’t even acknowledge our existence."

"Earlier, I saw with my own eyes that he allowed a rich man to receive treatment. This is how it is—the poor like us aren’t cared for. Being poor and unable to offer anything in return, it’s hard to get help."

"We villagers are doomed to die here. We left our homes to seek mercy, but in the end, it’s a journey to death."

Many people cried out in protest. Some lay on the ground in defiance, while others genuinely seemed close to death. Of course, many of them had worsened due to the illness ravaging their bodies, and the arduous journey to get here had only made their condition worse.

However, Red Earth City truly couldn’t do much. They didn’t have enough herbs to treat everyone, so they had to prioritize treating the sick people who were the original townspeople—the same group that paid taxes.

But the villagers from other cities didn’t care about these details. They only knew that they were dying. And, of course, they also paid protection fees and taxes to the Region. Why shouldn’t they receive care?

The situation gradually became more intense. As time passed, more groups of villagers who hadn’t received medicine banded together to fight, and eventually, some resorted to violence.

"Please, can I get the medicine for my child first? If I wait any longer, he might not survive. You only have minor symptoms. Please, I’ll even kneel and beg," a middle-aged man cried, clutching the arm of a man who had just received medicine because he was a citizen of Red Earth City.

The man who received the medicine was indeed healthier, but it was his rightful claim. The soldiers distributed medicine according to registration, conducting strict inspections. Even a child who was gravely ill and on the brink of death couldn’t receive medicine. All of this was the order from the governor of Red Earth City and their military leader. The soldiers strictly adhered to it, though some disagreed and felt sympathetic towards the children and severely ill.

However, Mu Heng and Yueqian didn’t share their sentiment.

Every year, the people of Red Earth City faced poverty and many died of starvation. The rights to use the resources of Red Earth City had been fully exhausted for these medicines. Consequently, in the future, the people of Red Earth City would lose their rights to food rations or assistance from the capital.

If Mu Heng distributed the medicine to all villagers, including those from other towns, wouldn’t that mean he was throwing away the rights that belonged to the people of Red Earth City to others?

In reality, if he did this, who would know? As the governor of Red Earth City, he could still be praised as kind-hearted, generous, and broad-minded, building a good reputation.

Regarding the well-being of Red Earth City’s citizens, he could simply say that the herbs used to treat the patients were all they had. How would they know the truth behind it? As ordinary villagers, unless desperate, how could they dare to confront the authorities?

Of course, Mu Heng could do it, but he chose not to. Both Mu Heng and Yueqian agreed on this point. To protect the rights of Red Earth City’s citizens, they would not give medicine to those from other towns who hadn’t contributed to Red Earth City’s development. There were also hidden reasons behind this decision.

Indeed, citizens from other towns might argue that they were also citizens of the Bai Region. But Mu Heng could counter that their current duty was to ensure the survival of Red Earth City’s citizens. He needed to show the townspeople he was responsible for realize how fortunate they were to be under his governance. They wouldn’t easily lose their rights and would receive the utmost benefits as Governor Mu subjects.

Nevertheless, the struggle for survival is always paramount. Even knowing they had no right, people still tried everything they could.

Take, for example, this villager from another town. His young child, sick for many days, was in a critical condition. He had brought his child to Red Earth City upon hearing about the medicine. Naturally, he faced disappointment. His hope shattered instantly when he learned that the medicine was reserved only for Red Earth City residents. Although the soldiers said there wasn’t enough medicine for everyone and that they had to wait for help from the capital, could his child wait?

Thus, this man began to beg the less seriously ill residents of Red Earth City for their medicine, only to be refused by all. Everyone was fearful of dying themselves. Additionally, they needed to recover their strength quickly; or else, they wouldn’t be able to farm in time for this year season. Some had to rush to forage in the forest immediately after receiving the medicine; otherwise, they wouldn’t die from illness but from starvation.

Because of these universal hardships, no one felt pity for others. They all had families and responsibilities. If they delayed, their children waiting for them to bring back money or forest goods might starve. Who would risk their family’s lives out of sympathy for someone else?

After being repeatedly rejected, the middle-aged man holding his son grew furious. He handed his child to his equally ill wife and lunged forward, grabbing a bottle of medicine from a Red Earth City villager who had received their treatment.

Yes! He was stealing it.

Unable to snatch it from the strong and numerous soldiers, he targeted a Red Earth City villager instead. The Red Earth City villager who had the medicine taken from him wasn’t going to accept it easily, resulting in a scuffle. Ultimately, this erupted into a dust-filled brawl, causing panic.

"Take the medicine and give it to our child!"

The middle-aged man cried out, his eyes bloodshot. Even as he was beaten by the family of the person he had stolen the medicine from, he endured. Ignoring his pain, he called out to his wife to come and take the medicine.

His face was covered in bruises, and blood was now seeping from his head. The Red Earth City’s villager was furious and didn’t stop hitting him. However, he endured, writhing on the ground and signaling to his wife to seize the opportunity to take the medicine from his hand and quickly give it to their child.

The wife, holding their child, cried out with tears streaming down her face. They both knew they were likely to die that day, but for the sake of their son, the middle-aged woman crouched down, shielding the child from the chaos. She reached for the bottle, opened it on the spot, and quickly administered the medicine to their child, protected by her husband, who was shielding her from the blows.

Seeing their child had taken the medicine, the middle-aged man seemed to lose all strength. He collapsed onto his back, his face painted with a satisfied smile. His eyes looked at his now-treated son, signaling his wife to leave.

However, the Red Earth City villager, who had the medicine stolen, felt no pity for the other party. His face was filled with rage as he continued to punch the man repeatedly. Soon, his anger turned to sorrow.

The person, straddling the man beneath him, finally pushed himself away, clutching his chest and gasping for breath, completely exhausted. Because he had used up so much energy, it seemed like his body had run out of energy. He coughed violently, the most breathless he had ever been, and collapsed onto the ground beside the man.

“Damn it!! Damn it!!” He spat out two harsh words, clearly disappointed in himself.

His initial intent to quickly take the medicine and heal was so he could forage in the forest, as his family had no money left. He had an elderly mother who could no longer walk to go to work, a wife who was nearly exhausted from sewing, and four children.

His eldest son was particularly unfortunate. Once the family’s pillar, he had gone hunting one day only to encounter a nomadic tribe and fought over some meat. Unable to defend himself, his son’s leg was shattered. Now, he couldn’t walk, becoming another useless person.

There was a second daughter who could help with cooking and household chores. She was also learning to sew like her mother. However, the income from the children was not as much as that of an adult. Such work required a lot more experience.

The second youngest son was a lovely child, but he was still very young, along with a baby who was only five months old. Nearly all the household responsibilities fell on the middle-aged man. Therefore, he had to work harder than others, climbing up and down mountains to find herbs or hunt for a few animals.

Of course, in the Red Earth City area where they lived, this required a very strong body.  The geography was not only complex and challenging, but they also had to be vigilant to avoid wild animals. On top of that, they had to constantly be on guard against nomadic tribes.

Without the medicine, he didn’t know when he would recover and be ready to fight again. He wasn’t foolish enough to risk his life if there was any hope left. He would try to wait until he was ready. However, now that readiness had been stolen from him. The medicine that could restore his strength was gone. From now on, he could only risk his life to find food.

Of course, the most terrifying thought was... if he died while foraging, it would be the same as killing his own family!

Life for the people of Red Earth City was brutal. They were unlike other townspeople who had arable land. Even if the yield was poor, at least they had food and didn’t starve like them.

In the past, while other townspeople lived comfortably, only Red Earth City was pitiful. Seeing themselves become the envy of other towns this time, having a good and capable governor, and even his furen who could make medicine to cure this terrible disease, as one of Red Earth City’s residents, he felt a glimmer of hope.But now, his hope had been shattered...