50 Chapter 50
◎The coldness of human nature is the most chilling◎
"Hey, have you heard that there are kind people giving out porridge outside the city now?"
"really?"
"Then go and have a look quickly, if it's too late it might be gone..."
"Wait, I'm going too..."
Outside the city, the muddy road surface became bumpy after drying, and the broken grass and trees were scattered all over the place. The only clean place had a wooden shed about two meters wide, which was the porridge distribution place that everyone mentioned.
At this time, many ragged people had gathered in front of the shed, holding wooden bowls and coming forward one by one to get porridge.
People in the city flocked to the porridge stall only to find that although the porridge was being provided, it was not free.
It requires people to go to the designated place to clean up three trucks of garbage, or bury five bodies, before they can get a wooden sign from the person in charge and come here to exchange for a bowl of porridge. The quantity is limited and can be exchanged at most twice a day.
Moreover, in order to prevent people from snatching it, a lot of rice bran is added to the porridge. Not only does it taste terrible, it also cuts the throat and can only barely fill the stomach. People who are not completely destitute will not be willing to eat it.
When everyone heard this, they were unwilling.
"Why do I have to work? Others just deliver it directly!"
"What's cooking in the pot? Is this something that people can eat?"
"I thought he was a kind-hearted person, but I didn't expect he was just seeking fame and reputation!"
"It's just a scam to get people to work for free. Let's go..."
"We made this trip in vain..."
Jiang Jinglin was wearing a cotton mask made by his elder brother and an apron on his body. He stood in front of the pot and listened to the group of people standing there talking to themselves. His brows were tense and he cursed in a low voice: "These people are so shameless. They didn't get any free food and drinks, but they are just talking nonsense and slandering us."
"Don't just talk and don't do anything," Jiang Jingfeng, who was standing aside, took the wooden sign handed over by the queue, and quickly filled a bowl of porridge for the person, and then continued, "Big brother said, don't have too high expectations of human nature, keep a normal mind, do your best, and have a clear conscience."
"You and my elder brother are just too bookish, and you believe that a gentleman should speak with words instead of with fists." Jiang Jinglin stirred the porridge in the pot unhappily, "But what's the point of just preaching? Those people won't listen. If it were me, I would beat them up to vent my anger!"
"Two fists can't beat four hands. How many people can you beat with your mediocre skills?" Jiang Jing didn't even raise his head and continued to scoop porridge for people.
"Of course, we'll beat as many as we can. If we beat one, we won't lose, but if we beat two, we'll make a profit!" Jiang Jinglin muttered in a low voice in dissatisfaction.
Jiang Jingfeng heard this, raised his head and squinted at him, warning in his eyes: "Don't mess around, or I'll tell my brother later."
"Got it, you snitch." Jiang Jinglin responded in a muffled voice. He was just talking. If he really wanted to do something, his third brother wouldn't have to go and complain. Big brother Xiao who was guarding nearby would just take him back. Then he would definitely get a good beating from big brother, he wasn't stupid.
Although the people in the city looked down on the two taels of porridge, the villagers in the surrounding area who were flooded had nothing and had to rely on eating wild grass and tree bark on the roadside to fill their stomachs for several days. This bowl of hard-to-swallow porridge was like a godsend to them at this time, and they were naturally grateful.
The porridge in the pot was soon gone. Just as I was wondering whether to stop cooking, I saw my second cousin driving a horse-drawn carriage and delivering a new load.
Looking at the three full buckets of porridge at the back, the two brothers' arms felt a little sore.
Jiang Jingyun jumped down from the back of the carriage with a smile on his face, looked at them and said, "You two have worked hard. Go back with your second brother and have a rest. Brother Xiao and I will stay here in the afternoon."
Before the three of them could respond, Jiang Erge, who had followed closely, interrupted them and said, "Xiao Muyan must be very tired after standing here for half a day. Why don't you let them go back first? I'll accompany you to serve porridge here."
Ever since he saw through their relationship, Second Brother Jiang has looked down upon Xiao Muyan and has spared no effort to try every possible means to prevent them from being alone together.
"I'm not tired." Xiao Muyan looked at Jiang Jingyun with a depressed look. They finally had a chance to be alone together, and he didn't want to go back.
His eyes were so pitiful that Jiang Jingyun was overwhelmed and looked at his second brother in embarrassment.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Erge refused to budge and was determined to be the stick that broke up the couple. He lectured Jiang Jingyun with a look of disapproval on his face: "Don't be silly. I've been standing here for the whole morning. How could I not be tired? I was just being polite to you. Why did you take it seriously? You are ignorant."
"......" Jiang Jingyun was speechless. How could he be the one who was ignorant? However, facing the pitiful Xiao Muyan, he struggled hard and said, "But second brother, we have to prepare dinner when we go back. Big brother Xiao doesn't know how to cook..."
Tsk, what a mistake, I forgot about this.
"You can't even cook, it's useless." The second brother Jiang looked disgusted, but he could only let him go temporarily and waved to his two younger brothers, "Jinglin Jingfeng, let's go home with your second brother."
"Oh." The two brothers followed obediently. They didn't know what had happened that they didn't know about. They always felt that the relationship between the adults was weird recently.
After the three of them left, Xiao Muyan immediately rubbed against Jiang Jingyun, resting his chin on his shoulder, looking aggrieved: "My dear, am I useless? Why does my second brother always target me?"
"Stop making trouble, I'm busy." Jiang Jingyun pushed away the handsome face that was close to him, his hands moving non-stop, "Second brother just can't accept it for the time being, he said it in anger, it will be fine after a while, don't bother with him."
"Oh, then you coax me." Xiao Muyan took the opportunity to make a request.
Jiang Jingyun glanced at him sideways, "How do you want to coax me?"
Xiao Muyan leaned close to his ear and whispered something.
Jiang Jingyun's ears turned red, and he spat in a low voice: "What are you talking about in broad daylight? Shame on you."
"Since you didn't say no, I'll take that as your agreement. Don't regret it later." The voice next to his ear was low and magnetic, with an upward tail tone, inexplicably tender, which made Jiang Jingyun's heart beat uncontrollably.
"I know, I know," he turned away sheepishly and pretended to urge, "Come and help me, can't you see that I have no hands free?"
"Well, let me do it." After getting a satisfactory answer, Xiao Muyan stood up with a smile and took the wooden spoon from Jiang Jingyun's hand. "You stand by and collect the signs."
The two of them divided the work and worked until dusk before returning home. After arriving home, Xiao Muyan was subjected to another round of cold sarcasm, but he didn't mind at all. Thinking of what Jiang Jingyun had promised, he felt so sweet in his heart that he couldn't help but grin out loud.
Seeing him like this, Second Brother Jiang thought that he had been scolding him too much recently and driving him crazy, so he secretly wondered whether he should be nicer to him next time.
Xiao Muyan was completely unaware of this.
The daily porridge distribution went on as planned. Just when Jiang Jingyun was worried about the subsequent food supply and wanted to find Su Yuheng to discuss it, something happened in the porridge shed.
A few thugs appeared out of nowhere, overturned the porridge stall, and kept shouting that the porridge was poisonous. Then one of them lay on the ground and refused to get up, insisting that they pay compensation or he would report them to the police and sue them for murdering people.
When Jiang Jingyun arrived, quite a few people had already gathered around.
He first checked on the situation of his family members. In the morning, the two brothers Jiang Erge and Jiang Jinglin were distributing porridge here. When the situation became chaotic, although the second brother was protecting them in front, the thinner Jiang Jingfeng was still pushed to the ground during the scuffle between the two sides, with his arm scratched and his body in a disheveled state.
Before Jiang Jingfeng could say anything, Jiang Jinglin, who was standing beside him, had red eyes and called him with a wronged look on his face: "Brother."
Jiang Jingyun signaled the two to calm down, then his face darkened, he looked at the rogues, and asked in a stern voice: "I wonder what you guys want to do?"
The leading thug was wearing a ragged short brown coat, looking sloppy and unkempt, with a crooked body and unsteady steps. He looked around with shifty eyes and spoke in a frivolous manner, "My brother ate something you poisoned and is now lying there unconscious. It's unreasonable for you not to pay him some money, isn't it?"
Jiang Jingyun glanced at the man lying on the ground pretending to be dead and sneered, "Unconscious? I don't think so. Could he be asleep? Brother Xiao, go and help wake him up."
Xiao Muyan stepped forward. The man on the other side wanted to reach out to stop him, but he dodged it by turning sideways. He took two steps to the man pretending to be dead and kicked him hard in the knee.
"Ouch... it hurts!" A shrill cry of pain resounded through the sky.
"Look, isn't he awake?" Jiang Jingyun's lips curved slightly, but his eyes were chilling. "He's full of energy and can still jump around."
The gang leader frowned, glanced at his companion who was hugging his legs and crying, and no longer mentioned the poisoning. Instead, he shouted, "Even if you take the compliments, not only is your porridge mixed with sand, but now you're hurting people. If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm going to set up this stall again! Every time you set up a stall, we'll smash it!" His men also followed suit, and some even took advantage of the chaos to deliberately push over the tables and chairs next to them. The noise was so loud that the onlookers retreated and dared not make a sound.
Jiang Jingyun looked around at the people who were watching coldly and shrinking back. Most of them were the common people who had received thin porridge from them in the past few days.
Although he had long ago warned himself not to have any expectations of human nature, and that he did these things out of his own will and without expecting any reward, when he really encountered them, the attitudes of these people still chilled him.
Jiang Jingyun and Xiao Muyan looked at each other, then said innocently, "We were just helping you wake him up. When did you hurt anyone? Do you have anyone to testify?"
No one responded, no one testified.
Jiang Jingyun sneered. This silence that lasted to the end actually helped him.
He looked at the leader of the gangsters and smiled harmlessly, "You are slandering me without any evidence! The laws of our dynasty stipulate that those who make false accusations will be punished with 80 strokes of the cane and exile for 3,000 miles at the least, and hanged at the worst. You have injured people today and falsely accused me of poisoning them, and then you pretended to be injured and blackmailed me. I don't know what the verdict will be if I report it to the government."
The gangsters were just following orders, but when they heard Jiang Jingyun was going to report to the police, they panicked. However, thinking of the scene where no one responded just now, they still stubbornly refuted: "You said it is, so you have someone to testify?"
Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, a clear young voice came from the crowd: "I can testify!"
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