Chapter 256: Fall

"After a few days of hard work, I finally gathered the coarse grains that Lord He wanted this time and shipped them here in batches. These are some of my family's stocks, and my father ordered me to escort them here personally."

Su Wenxuan said, "The refined grains that Lord He brought to exchange are of good quality, and they are also for disaster relief. After discussing with several uncles, my father decided to give up the profits they deserve and give some subsidies. We will exchange them in full at the price of one catty of refined grain for four catties of coarse grains."

"Considering that this is food for disaster relief, it must be used immediately to help the victims after being transported here, so the corn kernels are crushed into corn grits and the brown rice is husked, which makes it easier to steam and cook, thus eliminating a process."

"In addition, our Su family will donate an additional 5,000 kilograms of grain to help the disaster victims. The amount of grain is not much, but right now there is a food shortage everywhere, and it is quite difficult to allocate this much. Our Su family has done our best, and it can be considered as a small contribution to the disaster relief."

"The Su family is so righteous, and we admire them." The Third Prince bowed to Su Wenxuan, "Mr. Su, you have worked hard on this trip. When you return, please express my gratitude to your father and the elders in your family on my behalf."

"Your Highness, you are too kind. My Su family was originally a merchant family. Thanks to the successive emperors' good governance, my Su family has been able to survive for hundreds of years. Everyone in the Su family admires the emperor's grace and wants to find many opportunities to repay his kindness."

Su Wenxuan returned the greeting, "Besides, the reason why I was able to agree to this matter so straightforwardly and decisively is also because of Lord He. Lord He saved my life last time. Such a great favor, naturally I must repay it."

On the way to Hongzheng Mansion, the Third Prince had heard from He Yanxiu about the relationship between him and Su Wenxuan. Now, seeing that Su Wenxuan was about the same age as He Yanxiu, but was just as humble and polite, and did things properly, he had a better impression of him.

After a brief greeting, the Third Prince and He Yanxiu asked people to inspect and receive the batch of grain delivered by Su Wenxuan.

The portion is large and the texture is good. As Su Wenxuan said, it has been shelled and crushed, so it can be washed and put into the pot directly.

The quantity of food received is registered and distributed to various places.

After most of the day's work, in the evening, with Hongzheng City as the center, the aroma of brown rice porridge and cornmeal porridge filled the air and slowly spread to the surrounding areas.

Not only is the food delicious, but the porridge pot has also been expanded from one pot in each place to three or four pots in each place. The porridge in the bowls is also thicker and fuller, and the speed of queuing for meals has been significantly faster.

The refugees who had to wait two days to get food and were already so hungry that they could barely walk, finally got to eat the delicious, hot, thick porridge after waiting in line for half a day. They were so excited that they burst into tears and kowtowed to the yamen runners or soldiers who cooked and distributed the porridge, "Thank you, thank you."

"We should thank our current emperor, the Third Prince, Lord He and others who came to supervise this matter. Thanks to them, the people of Hongzheng Prefecture have something to eat and don't starve to death." The runner in charge of distributing porridge said with emotion.

Some people also echoed, "Yes, I see that the Third Prince and Lord He and others are in and out every day, very busy, and they don't eat well or sleep well, all for us people."

"I see they eat three meals a day in the porridge shed, with cornmeal porridge in coarse porcelain bowls. They are not arrogant at all. They are really good officials."

"It is our good fortune that the people of Hongzheng Prefecture can meet such an official. We must thank him very much!"

"When the floods have completely receded and we can live a normal life, I will erect a longevity monument for them and burn incense every day to bless the Third Prince and Lord He to live a hundred years in peace and safety!"

“…”

The people were grateful and kowtowed excitedly to the Third Prince and He Yanxiu who were helping to carry food and cook porridge.

The Third Prince and He Yanxiu were busy helping everyone up.

This scene was heartwarming and touching, but when it came into the eyes of some people, they snorted coldly and then hurried away.

It was late at night and the dew was heavy. A young strong man in coarse cloth sneaked into the corner gate of the courtyard with tall gates. After whispering something to the guard, he successfully entered the house and talked for a long time with a man who had a shrewd face, a big belly, and looked like a manager.

The steward frowned, gave the strong man a silver ingot, sent him away, then quickly walked through the corridor, passed through two courtyards, and finally arrived at the innermost courtyard.

The courtyard was brightly lit at this time, with string and bamboo orchestra music playing in the house and graceful dancers taking graceful steps, creating a prosperous scene of singing and dancing.

Xiang Xiujie and Wan Qirui were holding glasses of fine wine, enjoying the graceful dance and beautiful songs while toasting each other.

"I know that Lord Wan has been very tired these days, so I specially prepared a banquet for you so that you can relax and unwind. I will take this opportunity to take some time off and have a good rest."

After Xiang Xiujie drank a glass of wine, he saw that the dancer leading the group looked very charming, so he waved to her.

The dancer was tactful and filled the glass in front of Xiang Xiujie with wine. After toasting him, she skillfully poured wine for Wan Qirui and then massaged his shoulders and legs.

The fingers were delicate, white, and boneless. It would be better to describe them as teasing rather than kneading. Wan Qirui felt itchy and simply pulled the dancer over to feel the delicate and smoothness between his hands. He did not forget to rush to Xiujie and laughed, "You are still considerate to me, my brother."

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"The Third Prince and He Yanxiu have been busy these days, ordering things to be done one after another, as if they were afraid that others would have a moment of leisure. It's really annoying. Brother Xiang has also been very hard-working these days. As his elder brother, I would like to offer a toast to him!"

"Please." Xiang Xiujie drank the whole cup and laughed, "The Third Prince wants to gain a reputation as a virtuous man, so he works day and night, thinking that this will win the hearts of the people. However, he doesn't know that the ones who can really decide whether he can get to the top are not the peasants who can't even afford to eat, but us officials."

"After all, the Third Prince is young and inexperienced. He Yanxiu is just famous and has nothing to do with officialdom. He is so smart that he will definitely fall into trouble in the future!"

"Wouldn't it be better if they stumbled?" Wan Qirui said with a smile, "In this case, His Highness wouldn't be so nervous and could just sit back and enjoy the result."

"That's it." Xiang Xiujie chuckled again.

The steward entered the room at this time and whispered something in Xiang Xiujie's ear.

Xiang Xiujie frowned immediately.

"Why, what embarrassing idea did the Third Prince and He Yanxiu come up with for us to do?"

(End of this chapter)