Imperial Preceptor's Residence, Dining Hall.
Li Aniu grabbed a braised pork knuckle and stuffed it into his mouth, enjoying this gluttonous feast like a starving ghost reincarnated...
The table was laden with various foods, including braised pork hock, chicken, beef, rice, and fruit—enough for a normal person to eat for three or four days.
"Brother, eat slowly, no one will take it from you."
Li Qiuniang held the bowl, taking small bites of the rice and vegetables inside.
Her eating habits were much more refined than Li Aniu's.
"Hmm...I know, I know!"
Although Li Aniu said that, his hands didn't stop moving; he kept stuffing things into his mouth...
"Mmm...delicious...delicious!"
Mmm...it smells so good!
After devouring all the food on the table in a whirlwind, Li Aniu finally patted his bulging belly and let out a satisfied sigh: "Great! I haven't had a full meal in three months!"
Li Qiuniang touched her slightly protruding belly and said, "Brother, the Imperial Advisor is so good to us. From now on, we'll have to work harder!"
"Of course!" Li Aniu said, picking his teeth with a satisfied look on his face.
After a while, a man from the Imperial Preceptor's residence came to the dining hall and said, "Gentlemen, the Imperial Preceptor invites you."
The brother and sister followed the man into a room where they met Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan glanced at Li Aniu, noticing his arms were as thick as pillars, and recalling how he easily lifted a hundred-pound log while fighting, he said:
“Ah Niu, I think it’s a waste for you to be a farmhand. Would you like to be my bodyguard? I’ll give you ten taels of silver every month.”
"Huh? So many?"
The fact that they had previously offered two taels of silver was already surprising to Li Aniu, since a farmhand in the village only earned four or five taels of silver a year. Two taels a month was equivalent to half a year's income for a farmhand in the village.
Unexpectedly, the price suddenly jumped to ten taels of silver. The Imperial Advisor is truly generous...
But thinking about being a guard, Li Aniu scratched the back of his head again: "May I ask, Imperial Preceptor, what exactly does a guard do? I only studied for two years and can't read many characters. I really don't know what a guard does..."
"As for being a bodyguard, it's very simple. Apart from when I'm eating, sleeping, and attending court, you just need to stay by my side the rest of the time," Qin Chuan explained with a smile.
"Grand Preceptor, I understand now! I will protect you with my life!" Li Aniu patted his chest and promised.
Qin Chuan was satisfied with Li Aniu's loyalty, but he also had his own means of protecting himself. He only took Li Aniu as a bodyguard to avoid some unnecessary trouble.
After all, Li Aniu looked fierce and ruthless, and even just standing there scaring people would give him a sense of security.
"By the way, how did you siblings end up like this? Tell me about your situation..."
After hearing Qin Chuan's question, Li Aniu spoke a few words, but couldn't get the sentences out clearly. Li Qiuniang took over and clearly recounted their ordeal...
It turns out that the brother and sister came from the countryside of Jizhou, Shandong. Since Shandong suffered a disaster, grain production has decreased by at least two-thirds, and many places have no harvest at all, with people starving to death one after another.
Li Aniu's family were semi-tenant households, relying on half of their own farmland and half of their rented land for food. When locust plagues or droughts struck, their meager food supply was insufficient. Furthermore, the landlords refused to reduce the rent, so the grain from their own farmland had to be given to the landlords to pay the rent. This directly resulted in the family having no surplus grain.
In order to survive, Li Aniu had no choice but to sell his small plot of self-cultivated land to a landlord at a low price, and then follow the army of refugees toward the capital...
At first, the money from selling the land was enough to buy a little bit of grain. But later, the price of grain became increasingly outrageous, reaching thirty taels of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice. Before the famine, a shi of rice only cost about one tael of silver.
Both parents died on the way; the father died of illness, and the mother starved to death.
After hastily burying his parents, Li Aniu brought his sister to the capital, thinking that since it was under the emperor's nose, he could survive even if he had to beg for food...
Unexpectedly, all the refugees were turned away at the door.
None of the twelve gates of the capital city would allow refugees to enter.
They had been starving for several days, the bark of all kinds of trees had been stripped off, and the grass roots on the ground had been dug up. Some had even started eating clay before they heard the news that the imperial court was distributing porridge...
Li Aniu and his sister waited at Pingchang Gate for the porridge to be distributed, which led to the scene where they were bullied by Scarface and other hooligans...
After listening to Li Qiuniang's story, Qin Chuan felt a pang of sorrow. The plight of the displaced people was far more serious than he had imagined...
Previously, Li Yunrui said in court that farmers in Henan and Shandong provinces had earned less than half of their previous year's grain income. It seems that this was not an exaggeration; the reality was even more dire. Many areas had no harvest at all, and it appears that many people have already starved to death...
It seems we need to hurry up and investigate corrupt officials. If we don't deal with the issue of displaced people properly, the next episode of the story might be a displaced people rebellion.
Thinking of this, Qin Chuan asked Li Aniu if they had encountered any bandits along the way. Li Aniu said no, but he had heard that bandits were rampant in various prefectures and counties, and he was trying his best to avoid the areas where bandits were entrenched...
After learning about the situation, Qin Chuan said to the brother and sister, "You two should go and wash yourselves clean first. I've had someone prepare clean clothes. From now on, A Niu will come with me, and your sister will work as a laundry worker. I'll let you know if there are any better arrangements."
"Steward Zhou, take them away!" Qin Chuan said to the steward of the Imperial Preceptor's residence.
Steward Zhou was actually a eunuch, placed there by the Empress. Qin Chuan preferred to be a hands-off manager, leaving all the affairs of the mansion to Steward Zhou.
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