Chapter 713 Ji Shan Tang
Zhou Yuchang still had tears on her face. She subconsciously raised her head and looked over there through the car window. She saw that everyone was standing in an orderly manner outside the porridge stall.
The weather was so cold that it made people shiver. Many of those people were wearing thin clothes and their faces were frozen blue, but they still stood in front of the porridge stall and dared not leave. Their eyes were full of hope as they looked at the people who were distributing porridge in front of them.
Men, women, young and old formed a long line, the end of which was almost invisible. They moved forward bit by bit like ants, holding worn-out bowls in their hands. Everyone who arrived at the porridge stall could get a bowl of hot rice porridge and a few steamed buns.
A child received an extra half piece of fat meat and chattered happily behind him, while the young woman standing behind him also had a smile on her face.
"Mother, mother, there's meat!"
A small piece of meat seems to fill the child's whole world.
Zhou Yuchang stared at the smiling child in a daze, and for a moment she even forgot to cry.
"Yuejian, go get a bowl of hot porridge."
This porridge stall was built by her and Rong Yue, and the Gu family sent someone to look after it. Yue Jian went over and spoke a few words to the person in charge, and she came back with a bowl of hot porridge in a few moments.
"Girl."
Tang Ning took the bowl of porridge and handed it directly to Zhou Yuchang.
Zhou Yuchang didn't reach out her hand, and Tang Ning didn't urge her. She just held it in front of her. After a long time, Zhou Yuchang slowly reached out to take it.
She lowered her head to look at the not-so-thick rice soup in the bowl, and hesitantly took a sip. The rice soup was a little hot, and when it rolled down her throat, it made her eyes red.
After Zhou Yuchang finished drinking the rice porridge without saying a word, Tang Ning gave a few instructions and asked Yuejian to return the bowl.
When Yue Jian came back, she was accompanied by the middle-aged manager standing in the porridge stall.
"I greet the princess."
Tang Ning half-turned his body to block Zhou Yuchang behind him, and then said to the outside: "Is everything going well here?"
"My Lord, everything went well."
"That's good. I'll have another batch of cotton clothes delivered later. You can distribute them to the elderly and children. Also, take some money to repair the charity shed that the government built earlier."
Tang Ning said gently, "The weather has been getting colder these days. Please be careful and don't let anything get out of hand. If there's anything missing, please report it immediately and someone will send us food. As for anyone else, if they dare to cause trouble, they will be arrested directly. No matter who they are, they won't be polite."
The steward heard this and said respectfully, "Don't worry, Princess. This porridge stall is registered under the name of the Gu family and the Rong residence. No one will mess with it. However, some dignitaries and officials wanted to set up a stall to distribute porridge together before, but I didn't dare to make the decision on my own."
Tang Ning frowned and thought for a moment: "Giving out porridge to charity is a good thing. If someone really wants to do it, we can just mark out a piece of open space next to you for them to build their own porridge shed. The only thing is that those who come to give out porridge must be sincere and not use the name of charity to do some cunning things."
Some powerful families in the capital have been asking for free porridge all year round. Tang Ning doesn't mind that they have been using this to gain fame over the years, but he will never allow anyone to gain fame without giving any benefit to the people affected by the disaster.
The steward nodded: "I understand."
After the steward left, Tang Ning turned around and saw Zhou Yuchang staring at her in a daze. She side-glanced and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Zhou Yuchang's voice was slightly hoarse: "Did you set up this porridge stall?"
"It's not just me. My aunt, the Gu family, the Qian family, the Cao family, and your Wenxin Marquis Mansion all contributed."
Tang Ning explained, "A month ago, heavy snow fell in the suburbs of Beijing. News of the disaster arrived before anything happened in the palace. However, at that time, the deposed emperor was busy fighting for power with others, and his mind was full of other calculations, so he had no time to care about these things."
"The court had just sent troops south to quell the rebellion, and all the money and grain from the Ministry of Revenue was used to support the army. Although the deposed emperor issued an order to provide disaster relief and comfort the victims, he refused to contribute a single cent. Naturally, the people below pretended to obey, but secretly disobeyed, and nothing was actually done. Later, my brother stepped forward and raised some money, and several of our families also contributed some money to build a place for the affected people to stay."
"This porridge stall was set up by several families together, but the Gu family is here to look after it."
Zhou Yuchang opened her mouth when she heard this. She had no idea that her mother and the others had done this, and her mother had never told her.
Tang Ning glanced outside and saw that everything was in perfect order. There was nothing to worry about, so she said to the outside:
"Yuejian, go to Jishantang."
After the carriage returned to the city, it took a detour to Jishan Hall in the north of the city.
The surrounding streets became narrower and narrower, and the carriage became uneven as it moved, bumping up and down from time to time, forcing Zhou Yuchang to reach out and grab the edge of the carriage, with almost no time to feel sad.
When the carriage stopped in front of a very dilapidated courtyard, Tang Ning had just taken Zhou Yuchang out of the carriage and was about to go forward and knock on the door when he heard a surprised voice behind him.
"A Ning?"
Tang Ning turned around and saw the young woman with a basket behind her, and immediately smiled: "Aunt Rui."
Zhou Yuchang couldn't help but look over and saw that the woman who spoke looked to be in her thirties, with phoenix eyes, red lips, delicate skin, and an exceptionally beautiful appearance.
She had her hair in a bun and her clothes were old, but her whole body was clean. Not only did she have a beautiful velvet flower in her hair, but even the tassel hanging around her waist was very delicate. She didn't look very slender, but her waist was well-defined.
As she walked, the tassels hanging around her waist swayed gently, highlighting her graceful figure.
Aunt Rui came over with a smile, carrying a basket with two wintersweets in it, and put her hand with red nail polish on it, directly holding Tang Ning's arm.
"Why are you here? You didn't tell me in advance. I was so scared when I saw you just now that I thought I recognized the wrong person."
Aunt Rui is beautiful, and her smile is particularly attractive. Her voice is even more captivating when she speaks, with a faint upturned ending tone. "When A-ru came over before, she said you had something to do recently and you might not be able to come for a long time. Why are you here again suddenly?"
"Why, Aunt Rui is not happy that I came?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm looking forward to you coming over more often." Aunt Rui glared at her.
Tang Ning smiled and said, "It's been snowing outside for a long time, and I was worried that you guys didn't have enough food and clothing, so I came to check on you."
Aunt Rui immediately said, "It's enough, it's enough, how can it not be enough? A'ru wishes people would move things here every day. The warehouse is full of rice and noodles, and the children inside are covered with thick quilts and thick cotton clothes, so they are warm."
She spoke for a while before she saw Zhou Yuchang, who was standing beside her and looking slender and pale.
"Who is this little sister?"
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