Chapter 1196 Filial Piety and Protecting Each Other with Their Lives

At this point, the old man was already in tears.

The elderly couple embraced and wept bitterly, both longing for their dutiful children and grandchildren.

Qiao Ran and Mo Beihan were also deeply moved.

In the face of disaster, there are countless human tragedies of couples turning against each other and fathers and sons killing each other.

Yet there are also touching family relationships like this, where fathers are kind and sons are filial, protecting each other with their lives.

Judging from the appearance and demeanor of these two elderly people, they must come from a family with excellent upbringing to raise such filial children.

Qiao Ran has always respected people like this.

She turned back, took two paper packets from the cloth bag on the horse's back, and then took a water bag and went back to place the paper packets and water bag in the hands of the two elderly people:

"Old folks, please have something to eat first! We'll take you to the local government office later and let the officials take you in. Don't worry, good people are always protected by heaven. Your children and grandchildren are so filial, heaven will surely watch over them, and they will definitely come back alive to find you."

"Thank you! Thank you so much! You are truly upright and benevolent officials, our saviors!"

The two elderly people struggled to kneel down and kowtow to their benefactors, but Qiao Ran and Mo Beihan quickly pulled them up.

Mo Beihan blamed himself:

"Get up! It's our dereliction of duty that we failed to detect the disaster in Laishui County in time, causing so many innocent people to suffer."

The old man hurriedly said:

"My two benefactors need not blame themselves. It is only because the Prince of Laiyang was incompetent and tyrannical, and kept the news under tight control. Laishui County is also too remote, so it is understandable that the court did not notice it in time."

Upon seeing the food, the two elderly people's dim eyes immediately lit up.

Since both of them had some in their hands, they didn't offer to each other and started eating in small bites.

Qiao Ran gave them soft rice cakes. People who are very hungry cannot eat greasy food, nor can they eat too much.

The two elderly people understood this principle. Although their stomachs were growling loudly, they tried their best to control their urge to eat large amounts of food. They ate a bite of rice cake and drank some water, slowly swallowing half of the rice cakes in their respective paper bags. Once they had regained some strength, they didn't eat any more.

Both of them had the same thought: if the government didn't take them in, they would have to continue fleeing the famine, and they would save this half rice cake for their wives/old men.

Qiao Ran saw that they had only eaten half a rice cake, and although they were still very hungry, they carefully wrapped up the remaining half and stuffed it into their clothes. She could roughly guess what they were thinking.

However, she didn't say much more.

Anyway, she and Mo Beihan were going to the local government office later to order them to take in the refugees, and then the old couple would be able to eat hot rice porridge.

The two men helped the elderly couple onto their horses and headed towards the local government office. Along the way, they encountered a few scattered refugees and told them to go to the government office, where they would be taken in, given rice porridge, and found a place to stay.

The refugees' lifeless eyes lit up, and with a mixture of belief and doubt, they moved their almost stiff bodies toward the government office.

On horseback, Qiao Ran asked the old woman some questions and learned that they were the parents of the county magistrate of Laishui County, and that the county magistrate, Cheng Shujin, was their youngest son.

Her son was an honest and upright official who diligently managed the affairs of the government office. When the plague broke out, he actively organized doctors and physicians in the city to treat patients.

They even sold their house to buy medicine, and refused to leave until the plague could no longer be contained. They only allowed their brothers and sisters-in-law to take their parents and family members to escape the disaster.

He knelt down to express his gratitude to his parents for raising him, then turned back to organize the few remaining conscientious officers and soldiers in the yamen to continue helping the disaster victims.