Beneath the towering Divine Tower Ship, various sailboats were crowded together. Sailors carried grain, emergency medicine, and other supplies into the ship's hold. One after another, old women with white hair and baggage on their backs, along with other women and children, boarded the deck amid low cries and comforting whispers.
At the front of the queue was an old man with a red turban, leaning on a crutch.
"Uncle Ba, be careful on the way."
Li Yan took out two silver ingots and a long string of Copper Coins from the box beside him and handed them to the old man.
With teary eyes, the old man quavered, "Dragon Head, take care."
"I know."
Li Yan patted Uncle Ba's shoulder, and the latter felt a warm flow from his lower abdomen spreading to his limbs, straightening his hunched back a bit as though he had grown several years younger.
Elder Ning was rubbing his brush on the ledger, making check marks before calling out loudly, "Next."
