Chapter 418: A good cook cannot cook without rice
"Great, Master Chu is finally here!"
"Yeah, we have food to eat!"
Seeing Chu Wei coming back, the victims' eyes lit up with excitement and they quickly stood up.
Sure enough, when encountering problems, we still have to rely on our parents.
This little princess is good, but the problem is that she is new here and has no connections. Even if she wants to raise food, she has nowhere to go.
Shen Wan stretched her neck to take a look, but saw that there was nothing behind Chu Wei.
Not to mention the grain cart, there wasn't even half a bag of rice.
She was not surprised by this.
To put it bluntly, Lanyang City is the world of Chu Wei and Chen Jiu.
Among all the merchants, Chen Jiu is the absolute boss.
As long as he says a word, all the merchants will definitely follow his lead.
As for Chu Wei, he was just a small official, and they didn't take him seriously at all.
As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake.
What happened to the county magistrate?
The county magistrate can be transferred, but Chen Jiu will live here for a long time.
"Everyone, stop standing here like idiots and help carry the food!"
I have to say, Wang Qi is bad.
He also glanced behind Chu Wei, but shouted at the victims.
When the victims heard this, they rushed forward excitedly.
They didn't see the car either and mistakenly thought that the grain cart was following behind.
But their eyes were sore from staring, and there was still no sign of the mysterious grain cart.
"Where's the food?" Shen Wan asked deliberately.
Chu Wei's face turned pale.
"Those damn profiteers!" He gritted his teeth and cursed viciously, "They all cried poor, saying they had no food at all, and told me to find another way."
There are other ways, but he doesn't want to pay for these victims out of his own pocket.
He would never do something like this without any reward.
As soon as these words were spoken, all the victims fell silent.
Everyone knows clearly that Chen Jiu and his group of profiteers cannot be without food.
But the food was his, and he had the final say on whether to take it or not, so it was not easy for them to rob it openly.
"Then... what should we do now?" The old lady's eyes reddened and she asked with a sob, "Are we going to starve to death like this?"
Upon hearing this, several children started crying.
"Mom, I'm hungry!"
"I'm hungry too!"
Listening to the children's mournful cries, the victims' eyes became increasingly gloomy.
“Don’t worry, Lord Chu will definitely find a way.” Shen Wan’s eyes turned and she said quickly.
After hearing this, the victims looked at Chu Wei expectantly.
Chu Wei's idea was very simple, which was to push all these disaster victims onto Shen Wan, and then earn himself a good reputation as someone who loved the people like his own children.
Obviously, the girl didn't want to do what he wanted.
"Why don't we hold on a little longer?" He thought for a moment and said, "There will be news from the state capital soon."
"What are we going to eat during this period?" asked a disaster victim.
It is neither close nor far from Lanyang to the provincial capital.
It's freezing cold now, and it will take half a month to go back and forth.
Are we going to let these more than one hundred households starve for the next half month?
"Since we already have a place to stay, why don't we look for temporary workers during this period?" Chu Wei frowned slightly. "As you know, the county government office and the granary have all burned down. Now I am temporarily staying in an inn."
"As long as we work together, I believe we can overcome this difficult time."
Upon hearing these high-sounding words, the victims were so angry that they almost cursed.
"Sir, I'm almost seventy years old and can't even walk steadily. Who would be willing to hire me?" The old lady wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said with a sob.
A young man heard this and shook his head: "I am young, but the problem is that it is almost the New Year and there are not many shops in the city. Who would hire people?"
After hearing this, other victims followed suit.
It’s not that they are lazy, but that there is really nothing to do.
The more Chu Wei listened, the more annoyed he became.
Are you blaming him for not hiring anyone?
"Actually... the quarry is still short of workers." He thought for a moment and said, "Although there's no salary, they still provide food and lodging."
"As long as you can hold on for a few days, there will be news from the state government."
Going to the quarry?
After hearing this, the victims were so angry that they couldn't say a word for a long time.
Is the quarry still a place where people stay?
Apart from the exiles sent by the imperial court, there has never been a single local person!
They lived in a cowshed and ate steamed bread mixed with sand, but they did more work than anyone else.
It is impossible for the convicts working there to die of old age.
Within three to five months, everyone will be sick.
What’s even more terrifying is that wolves often appear there. Last month, someone had his heart and liver eaten out by a wolf there.
Except for the convicts, the locals would hardly set foot in the quarry.
"It's better to stay in the city and freeze to death than to be eaten by wolves there." A young man frowned and said angrily.
Chu Wei spread his hands, indicating that he was powerless.
"I can't help you with that." He shook his head. "Of course, if you have better suggestions, please feel free to share them."
"As long as it is feasible, I will definitely find a way to do it."
At this point, the victims had already lost their faith and would not believe a word he said.
What a crappy official! It turns out he is just a useless person.
"I'll have someone send you some firewood to keep you warm later. You can figure out the rest by yourselves." Chu Wei said coldly.
Before he finished speaking, he turned and left.
Chen Jiu didn't care, he decided to go all out.
That damn princess can interfere if she wants, but forget it if she doesn’t.
They are just a bunch of untouchables anyway, and even if they die, they won’t cause any waves.
Even if the case was reported to the old tutor, he could easily deal with it by saying "A good cook cannot cook without rice".
Without rice, how can you force him to produce it?
Looking at his gradually receding back, the victims spat viciously.
If even the county magistrate couldn't find a solution, what else could a group of ordinary people like us do?
Thinking of this, several timid women cried out while holding their children.
Shen Wan looked at it and exchanged a look with Xie Mubai.
She thought about it, and then comforted him: "Don't cry, everyone. Let's find a solution together."
"What else can we do?" The old woman beat her chest and stamped her feet, bursting into tears. "There is a food shortage now. Who has extra food for us?"
"By the time the food from the state arrives, the grass on our graves will probably be very tall."
Upon hearing this, everyone cried even harder.
"There will always be a way out when you reach the mountain." Shen Wan comforted him, "Since we already know everything, we might as well take it one day at a time."
"I still have some food. Although it's not much, it should be enough to give everyone some porridge."
"Black Hawk, go get the rice from the warehouse."
"Ranqiu, let's make porridge now."
When the old lady heard this, she quickly shook her head.
"No, that's absolutely not allowed!" She said with red eyes and sobs, "What will you do if you finish eating it all?"
She was afraid of starving to death, but she didn't want to implicate innocent people.
After hearing this, Shen Wan laughed heartily: "Let's talk after we finish eating."
"In fact, what Lord Chu said is right. As long as we work together, there is no difficulty that we cannot overcome."
After hearing this, everyone's eyes turned red.
They had no relationship with the little princess, but at the critical moment, she was much more righteous than Chu Wei, who had been in Lanyang for many years.
I have to say that Ranqiu and Li are becoming more and more efficient at their work.
Soon, the hot porridge was ready.
The victims were so hungry that they quickly drank up the food in their bowls.
Only after they had eaten and drunk their fill did Hu Dahai send them back to their residence.
"Young Madam, they have eaten all the rice. What should we do?" Ran Qiu asked in a low voice while stirring the fire in the stove.
If it were any other season, she could go out of town to dig some wild vegetables or something.
But it is so cold today that it is hard to find even a blade of grass, let alone wild vegetables.
Shen Wan smiled: “Don’t worry.”
"Although we have no food, we still have meat to eat."
Is there meat?
Are those few pieces of bacon in the kitchen enough to feed the twenty or so mouths in the post station?
Ran Qiu looked puzzled.
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