Set up sheds to distribute porridge

Pei Qingwu's concerns were not unfounded.

Only three days later, news of the plight of the displaced people came from outside.

This time, the shop that suffered was a candied fruit shop.

The shop was run by a middle-aged couple who worked from dawn till dusk every day, buying fresh fruit and pickling it into various kinds of dried fruit for sale. They were quite well-known in Qinzhou.

This place suffered a similar fate to Caichun Pavilion, except this time the refugees acted in the middle of the night. When the patrolling constables arrived, the shop had already been smashed to pieces, and the shopkeeper and his wife were lying in the mess, barely breathing.

Even in Sushan Market, you can now hear people banging on doors at night.

Because of the successive accidents that happened to his colleagues, Pei Qingwu dared not sleep too soundly at night and would get up whenever he heard a noise.

Also awake, like her, was Jinniang, who had gotten up to feed Mingyi her nighttime milk.

Jinniang was timid by nature, and when she heard the frantic banging on the door outside, she trembled with fear. Mingyi was also frightened by the noise and burst into tears.

The child's loud crying woke everyone else up as well.

"Oh dear, why is Xiaomingyi crying?"

Shi Dayong quickly took the child from Jinniang's hands, held him in his arms, and began to comfort him, his movements practiced and familiar.

"Master, what should we do?"

Seeing the banging on the door getting louder and louder, Yu Yi asked timidly.

"What's there to be afraid of? At worst, we'll fight them to the death."

As she spoke, Fifth Sister went into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and came out with a fierce glint in her eyes: "They may be pitiful, but are our lives any different? If we say a few nice words, would we not give them food? If you insist on this, then let's see who has the toughest life!"

As she spoke, Fifth Sister brandished the kitchen knife a couple of times.

She had followed her parents to do business in the streets and alleys since she was a child, and had seen many rogues and troublemakers, so she naturally had a very shrewish personality.

"Put your knife down first, it's alright." Pei Qingwu gestured for her to calm down: "Our gate is secure, these people won't be able to get in for a while."

Sure enough, when they couldn't break down the door no matter what they did, the refugees outside cursed a couple of times.

Then, a loud commotion came from behind, sounding like something had hit the ground.

"They...they won't tear down our plaque, will they?" Qian Tao asked in alarm. "That was written by Magistrate Zhao, how could they dare..."

"What's there to be afraid of..."

Pei Qingwu was born in the prosperous 21st century. Even though life was a little difficult when her parents first divorced, it was never to the point of starvation or difficulty surviving.

When reading history, I don't feel a deep sense of understanding when I come across sentences like "a great famine occurred, and people ate each other."

But now that I've traveled through time and am truly in that situation, seeing those bloodshot eyes, I finally understand the tragedy behind that short sentence.

At this point, people are no different from animals.

If this continues, let alone the plaque written by Zhao Jue, Zhao Jue himself might be torn to pieces by the angry disaster victims.

That night passed in a heart-stopping way.

The next morning, Pei Qingwu went out to check and found the plaque lying on the ground, shattered into pieces.

She crouched down, picked up a small fragment, and pondered it for a long time before decisively standing up and saying, "Aheng, come with me to see Magistrate Zhao."

The government office of Qin Prefecture.

Zhao Jue was already extremely busy.

He has done everything a prefectural magistrate should do: resettle displaced people, fight floods and provide disaster relief...

However, the number of refugees was too large, and the remaining grain in the granary could not sustain them. Seeing that more and more people were causing trouble, he was so anxious that a blister appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Upon hearing that Pei Qingwu was requesting an audience, he straightened his clothes and went out to greet him.

Seeing that Pei Qingwu was about to bow, he quickly said, "No need for formalities, just speak, what is it?"

Pei Qingwu didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: "I know that Your Excellency is troubled by the matter of the displaced people, and I am willing to help Your Excellency solve this problem."

"oh?"

Zhao Jue wasn't surprised that she came to him about this matter. After all, it was Pei Qingwu who was the first to step forward and express his willingness to donate grain to the Longyou Army. Now that Qinzhou was flooded, she couldn't just sit idly by.

He was simply curious about what Pei Qingwu wanted to do.

“My shop still has a lot of surplus grain. If we cook it into rice porridge, it will last for at least seven days. I am willing to open a porridge kitchen to provide porridge for the refugees so that they can have enough to eat.”

"only……"

Zhao Jue hurriedly asked, "But what?"

"Most of the staff in my shop are women, and I'm afraid they won't be able to control the refugees. If Your Excellency is willing to send troops to assist us, that would be wonderful."

It's unlikely that refugees would obediently line up for porridge; when they're starving, the worst aspects of human nature will be unleashed.

Only when there are real soldiers with real weapons to keep them calm can they calm down.

"Master Pei's words make sense!"

Before Zhao Jue could speak, a clear female voice rang out. The two turned around and saw Princess Shouchun, dressed in a bright red brocade dress with colorful embroidered flowers, gracefully approaching the carriage, surrounded by a group of palace maids.

Although her pregnant belly was prominently displayed, she still walked with grace and elegance, the jade pendants tied to her silk sash remaining perfectly still, without a sound of jade clashing against each other.

"Greetings, Princess."

The princess waved her hand, signaling them to get up.

Then she looked at Pei Qingwu and said, "My princess's residence also has guards, which can be lent to Master Pei to maintain order."

This dynasty does allow princesses to maintain their own private armies, as long as the number isn't excessively large.

"This..." Pei Qingwu said in surprise, "These are turbulent times, and Princess, you are pregnant. We should leave the guards behind to protect you."

“Yes,” Zhao Jue said. “Although the Tubo people are hostile, Qin Prefecture can still mobilize troops. Why bother the princess’s troops?”

"I've already said it's a turbulent time." The princess didn't seem to care. "As a princess of the dynasty, I enjoy the privileges of the entire nation. How can I not contribute at this time?"

“In that case, Master Pei can distribute porridge in front of my princess’s residence. I will accompany you, and with the guards protecting you, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

The princess was even going to accompany her to distribute porridge?!

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingwu was shocked and filled with admiration: "But, Princess, your pregnancy..."

“It’s already this month, the pregnancy should have been stable by now. If I were to lose the baby with the slightest exertion, it would have been lost anyway, so why force it to stay?”

"Besides, this is a good deed,"

Pei Qingwu couldn't help but secretly give the princess a thumbs up.

Although she was an ancient princess, her thinking was more open-minded than many modern people.

And so, Pei Qingwu went back and had Shi Dayong and Gu Heng take out the remaining grain, set up the porridge shed, and start cooking porridge.

The firewood was burning very brightly, crackling loudly.

The firelight illuminated the princess's face, highlighting her already striking features.

As the aroma of rice gradually rose, Pei Qingwu looked around the two large pots, stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then asked Gu Heng, "Aheng, how much fine sand did we have left over from the other day?"

"There are still two bags left, what's wrong, boss?" Gu Heng asked, puzzled.

Is it clean?

"It's clean. It's been in the bag the whole time and hasn't been taken out." Gu Heng was even more confused.

"That's good. Now, take it out and sprinkle some into this pot."

These words left Gu Heng stunned on the spot.

Even the princess frowned slightly, looking at Pei Qingwu with a puzzled expression.

"Master Pei, what do you mean by this?"

Pei Qingwu said, "We don't know if the people coming to the porridge distribution stalls are refugees. We might also see some idle people who want to take advantage of the situation queuing up."

"I don't care if they eat it, but there's only so much rice. If they eat it, what will happen to the refugees who really need food?"

"So we put some sand in. The refugees are starving and won't complain about the porridge being unclean. This way, we can exclude those people and help those who are truly in need."

Actually, this method wasn't her idea; it's just that so many people throughout history have used it, and she was simply standing on the shoulders of giants.

Gu Heng suddenly realized, and when he looked at Pei Qingwu again, his eyes sparkled like stars: "Master is truly amazing!"

Pei Qingwu couldn't stand his gaze and turned her head away.

Under the intimidating presence of the princess's guards, their gleaming swords and spears and chilling aura, the refugees who had come upon hearing the news, though their eyes were filled with longing as they stared at the two steaming cauldrons, dared not act rashly.

Amid the pushing and shoving, a long, winding queue quickly formed in front of the porridge stall.

The group consisted mostly of people who were pale, thin, and dressed in rags.

There were elderly people walking with difficulty, women holding infants, and children who were only a little over ten years old, their empty eyes fixed on the porridge pot.

The only thing they had in common was that their limbs were terribly thin, but their bellies were bulging, and their internal organs were writhing weakly under their skin.

The porridge was ready, and the aroma of rice mixed with a hint of earthy sand filled the air.

Pei Qingwu personally took charge of cooking, while Yin Lan and Qian Tao assisted him.

The first spoonful of warm porridge was poured into an old man's chipped bowl.

The old man's hands trembled so much he could barely hold the bowl. Cloudy tears streamed down his deep wrinkles as he choked out, "Thank you... thank you so much for saving my life..."

Behind them were even more refugees.

Looking at the not-so-clean porridge in their bowls, they showed no disgust, but instead, they all appeared grateful.

Because they knew that this seemingly rough thing was their hope for survival.

"I'll live one day at a time..."

"Thank God, Her Highness the Princess and this female host are living bodhisattvas!"

Similar sighs were whispered among the people in the queue, accompanied by the sounds of slurping porridge.

The soldiers' tense expressions eased slightly as they maintained order and ensured that everyone received a portion.

As dusk fell, the rice and grains that had been brought were finally distributed, and the bottom of the pot was scraped clean.

The refugees gradually dispersed, searching for places to stay for the night. Many of them kept turning back before leaving, bowing in the direction of the princess's residence and the soup kitchen.

The servants began to clean up the pots, pans, and bowls. Pei Qingwu rubbed his slightly sore arms and quietly watched the scene before him.

Supported by her maids, Princess Shouchun slowly walked to her side, gazing wistfully in the direction the refugees had dispersed. She sighed softly, "Master Pei, look at this bowl of thin rice porridge. In the eyes of the nobles of the capital, it is something coarse and unbearable, yet it is precisely this that they..."

She paused, then continued, "But it was the lifeline they desperately wanted."

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingwu was also filled with emotion.

She recalled her own time of great material abundance, when rice porridge was sometimes given away for free by merchants; she never imagined it could be so precious.

“The princess is right. I only hope that this famine will end soon so that all the people in the world can have a bowl of rice to eat in peace.”

The princess turned to look at Pei Qingwu, her admiration growing even stronger: "Master Pei's magnanimity is a blessing to the people of Qinzhou. Your act of adding sand to the porridge today may seem heartless, but it was actually a great act of kindness. Otherwise, how could you have identified those who truly needed it? Your wisdom far surpasses that of many men."

"Your Highness is too kind," Pei Qingwu said with a slight bow. "It was merely a small contribution."

As dusk deepened, the lanterns of the princess's residence lit up one by one.

Gu Heng stood behind Pei Qingwu, gazing at her figure standing in the dim light, like an unreal flower shadow. His lips moved slightly, and the admiration in his eyes deepened.