A ragged young man knelt down before Ma Fu, trembling as he clutched his robes and pleaded, "Sir, I really can't afford such expensive rice. Could you please let me buy one dou (a unit of dry measure) at the previous price? One dou of rice will do!"
"My mother is starving to death! Please, sir, have mercy and lower the price for me!"
He shouted and kowtowed repeatedly, and soon his forehead was covered in blood, making his thin face look even more pitiful.
The people in line behind fell silent, all looking at Ma Fu with the same pleading expression.
Ma Fu, however, looked disgusted and kicked the man away forcefully: "Get out of here! You can't afford to pay for my ruined clothes even if you sell them! Get lost!"
He was kicked in the chest, and due to his weak constitution, he collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.
His face grew increasingly pale, but thinking of his elderly mother at home, his eyes filled with tears, and he weakly lunged forward again.
"Please, sir, just sell me a peck of rice. I will never forget your kindness!"
"If a peck of rice won't do, then a mouthful at a time will do!"
Su An, who was not far away, watched all of this in shock, his mind buzzing.
Has the world really become this bad? Some families don't even have a single bite to eat!
On the other hand, Ma Fu, who was covered in grease and grime, couldn't shake off the people and angrily cursed: "What are you all good for? Hurry up and beat up this troublemaker and throw him away. He's getting in the way of my business!"
Upon hearing this, the two thugs guarding the door went over menacingly and punched **.
"Please, sir, have mercy!"
Clutching his head, he pleaded desperately for mercy, refusing to leave, which only emboldened the thugs to attack him even more brutally.
"What are you doing! Trying to kill someone in broad daylight!" Su An's chest heaved with anger as he quickly stepped forward to stop them.
But just as she passed by, Ma Fu, who was still furious, spat and grabbed her, slapping her hard across the face.
With a loud "smack," Su An, who had been ambushed, was completely stunned.
"You little wench, you think you're the only one standing up for others? Well, I'll take care of you too!"
Ma Fu cursed viciously, then threw Su An into the group of thugs, yelling, "Beat them! Beat them all! They're all blind!"
"Damn you bunch of crooks!" Su An erupted like a volcano, not caring about anything else, grabbing whatever was around him and smashing it all over the place.
They grabbed and scratched the two thugs, forcing them to retreat two steps.
Seeing this, Ma Fu almost vomited blood. He was about to call out a few more thugs when a group of men strode over.
"Boss, are you alright?"
Zhang San was leading the group, followed by Lin Yong. They were both shocked to see Su An lying on the ground in a sorry state.
She didn't linger to argue, and quickly went to the county government to file a complaint against Lin Yong.
"Such a thing is true!" Lin Yong exclaimed in shock, slamming his hand on the table.
He's been so busy resettling refugees lately that he's neglected this aspect.
"This is outrageous! I expected grain prices to fluctuate, but I never imagined that those merchants would be so audacious as to raise prices tenfold. This is leaving the people no way to survive!"
Su An said with even more distress, "Ordinary people can't afford it at this price now. Most of the grain has ended up in the hands of wealthy merchants and big households. If we delay any longer, the price of grain will definitely rise further. I urge the county magistrate to take action as soon as possible."
"Someone come here!"
Enraged, Lin Yong issued the order: "Immediately issue a grain decree, strictly prohibiting price gouging and hoarding! Anyone who disobeys will be arrested, fined, and caned!"
Seeing this, Su An couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the magistrate was a strict and upright official.
In this way, grain prices should recover quickly.
After a long and tiring day, Su An returned home exhausted.
Just as they arrived at their doorstep, they saw a person with their head down, standing steadily in front of the Su family's gate, seemingly waiting for someone.
Su An stared at it for a moment, then stepped forward in surprise, "**?"
Isn't this the young man who just went home after begging for grain? What brings you here?
Upon seeing that it was Su An, a flicker of emotion appeared in his despairing, numb eyes. He pursed his pale lips and suddenly knelt down before Su An.
“Miss Su, I left in a hurry earlier and didn’t have time to thank you properly. Thank you for the food. You are kind-hearted, and I will always remember this great kindness!”
Su An was startled and was about to call him to get up, but seeing the determination in his eyes, she sighed and remained silent, letting him kowtow three times heavily.
"Alright, please get up quickly. How is your mother?"
Su An asked with great concern, but her words made the man who was getting up freeze, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked.
“My mother… she didn’t make it. When I rushed back, she had already starved to death on her bed.”
Thinking of the scene he saw when he got home, his eyes filled with even more hatred, and he lowered his head, trembling.
Su An was speechless for a moment. He wanted to say a few words of comfort, but it was undoubtedly a futile effort, just rubbing salt into someone's wound.
After a moment of silence, she sighed sadly, "The dead are gone, the living must go on. If you have nowhere to stay, my shop is short of employees..."
Suddenly, he shook his head, his voice low and somewhat muffled, "Thank you for your kindness, young lady, but there's something I must do!"
"Your kindness is immense, young lady. I will repay you in my next life!"
Without waiting for a reply, he lowered his head and rushed out, disappearing into the street.
Su An stared blankly as he left, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
Then a deep male voice suddenly sounded beside him: "Why are you just standing here like an idiot?"
Fu Zhun appeared out of nowhere, his wheelchair swaying gently. His eyebrows were like distant peaks, his face like snow-capped mountains, and his dark eyes were looking at him with concern.
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