Chapter 129 Not Too Many People Will Starve to Death
Lifting the curtain on the carriage, several cardboard boxes were neatly stacked inside, filled with foundation, lipstick, and new-style soap prepared by Jiang Ling.
Zhao Yin also stepped forward to help, and the two of them carried the boxes down one by one and placed them on the open ground next to the side door.
Xiao Ran took out the delivery slip and, as Jiang Ling had instructed, checked each item on the slip one by one.
"Fifty lipsticks, forty boxes of foundation, sixty bottles of makeup remover... one hundred bars of rose-scented soap, one hundred bars of osmanthus-scented soap..."
For each item he reported, Hongxiu would mark it on the ledger, while Zhao Yin would help check the quantity. The three of them worked efficiently and finished counting in no time.
After confirming that everything was correct, Hongxiu signed her name on the document and pressed her fingerprint on it.
"The quantities are correct. Please thank my sister for me when you get back."
"I'll definitely bring it." Xiao Ran folded the list and put it in her bosom. Just as she was about to turn around, Hong Xiu called out to her.
"Sister Jiang... how has she been lately?" After the transaction was completed, Hongxiu couldn't help but ask, her eyes filled with concern.
They haven't seen each other since what happened on Mid-Autumn Festival.
Xiao Ran replied earnestly, "Sister is doing well, her complexion is rosy, please don't worry, Sister Hongxiu."
Hongxiu nodded, seemingly relieved. "That's good. Tell her for me that I'll visit her at the shop when I have time."
Okay.
After chatting for a couple more minutes, Xiao Ran and Zhao Yin got back into the car.
As soon as the car turned around, two young maids, about eleven or twelve years old, curiously peeked out from the side door.
They were wearing faded coarse cloth clothes and carrying buckets of water, clearly having just finished working.
One of the younger boys, his gaze fixed on Xiao Ran's delicate and pretty face, couldn't help but whisper to his companion:
"Sister, look, that young man is so handsome..."
Another, slightly older maid followed her gaze and saw a spacious carriage parked outside. She then looked at Xiao Ran's clothes, noting that the fabric was clearly not something an ordinary peasant family could afford.
She lowered her voice, her tone tinged with helplessness.
"Stop thinking nonsense. They're from a respectable family. Judging from their clothes and manners, they must have some status. Why would they look down on people like us of lowly birth?"
Upon hearing this, the maid's eyes dimmed instantly, and she silently shrank back, not daring to look any longer.
Once a prostitute, always a lowly person.
Even if you're just a handyman, you can't escape this identity.
Besides, once you're in this place, who will really be able to tell whether you've only done odd jobs or not?
Xiao Ran and Zhao Yin did not notice the brief whispers inside the door.
After finishing their business, both father and son felt much more relaxed.
As the carriage drove away from the quiet alley and back into the bustling market, the air felt much more vibrant.
Once outside the pedestrian street, Zhao Yin breathed a sigh of relief: "I feel relieved now that the goods have been delivered."
He leaned against the car floor, watching the bustling streets rush by, his tone relaxed.
Xiao Ran nodded with a smile. She had been worried about something going wrong on the way, but now that the mission was complete, even her movements while rushing to catch the train were much lighter.
The journey back wasn't rushed, so the carriage traveled at a leisurely pace.
As I passed a steamed bun shop on the street corner, the aroma of meat wafting from the steamer filled my nostrils.
Xiao Ran suddenly remembered the envious yet disappointed look in her younger brother Xiao Qi's eyes that morning, and her heart softened. She said to Zhao Yin:
"Dad, shall we bring two meat buns back for Xiaoqi?"
Looking at his son's sensible appearance, Zhao Yin felt gratified and nodded, saying, "Okay, buy a few more, and bring two for your mother to try too."
He knew that his family had just recovered from poverty, and meat buns were still a rarity; his wife and youngest son had been craving them for a long time.
Xiao Ran jumped off the carriage. Now that he was earning his own wages, he had some spare copper coins in his hand, which gave him more confidence.
He walked up to the shop and said to the owner, "Boss, I'd like eight meat buns."
"Alright! Fresh out of the oven, still hot!" The owner quickly wrapped two buns in oil paper and handed them over.
Just as Xiao Ran was about to reach out to take it, suddenly, a dark shadow darted out from the side, a dirty hand snatched the oil paper package, and the hand turned and ran towards the corner of the wall.
Xiao Ran was stunned by this sudden change.
The man who snatched the bun appeared to be a vagrant; his hair was disheveled, his clothes were tattered, and his exposed arms were so thin they were just bones.
He didn't care at all; as soon as he got the steamed buns, he couldn't wait to stuff them into his mouth and wolf them down, as if he were starving.
The steamed bun shop owner realized what was happening and flew into a rage, grabbing a broom from the side and trying to chase after the spittoon.
"Hey! You damned, starving bastard! How dare you steal my steamed bun! I'll beat you to death!"
The refugee ate frantically while desperately protecting the remaining buns, his eyes filled with terror and a primal will to survive.
Xiao Ran felt a pang of sadness as she watched the man swallow. "Never mind, boss. Consider this my payment. Give me eight more."
The shopkeeper stopped grumbling, took the money, glared at the homeless man, and then turned to get more steamed buns.
Xiao Ran returned to the car with the newly bought steamed buns, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted.
The carriage continued on its way, and before long, a group of officials came into view, driving away several refugees huddled in a corner. Their shouts were particularly jarring.
"Get up! Don't beg here! Get out of here!"
The carriage continued onward, and as it approached the city gate, the scene before it became even more terrifying.
A group of soldiers, armed with sticks, were seen roughly driving away dozens of refugees who were trying to sneak into the city.
Those people brought their families along; there were elderly people with white hair, emaciated women, and ignorant children.
Without exception, they were all dressed in tattered clothes, emaciated, their eyes filled with fear and despair, being pushed and shoved by soldiers, and making low pleas.
Zhao Yin sighed, his voice full of emotion, "Alas... this year's situation seems truly dire. The number of people fleeing famine and begging for food is more than double that of previous years."
Xiao Ran felt even worse when she saw an old woman holding a child who was so thin he was just skin and bones, with the child gnawing on a piece of hard tree bark until his mouth bled.
Watching the departing figures of those refugees, the steamed bun in my hand no longer seemed so delicious.
For the first time, I felt so clearly that the world is not always as warm and safe as a general store.
If they hadn't met Sister Jiang, their family's life wouldn't be much better than that of the refugees.
Just then, a commotion arose from the other side of the city gate.
Several well-dressed men pushed several carts loaded with grain, set up a few large pots at the city gate, and began to cook porridge.
Xiao Ran recognized him; he was a waiter from Muyunlou.
Just as Lao Qian had predicted, Fang Shijie distributed porridge at the city gate.
The refugees' eyes lit up when they saw the porridge pot, and they moved toward the porridge stall, but they didn't dare to get too close, and just watched from a distance.
When the officers and soldiers saw that it was porridge being distributed, they did not rush forward to drive them away, but simply maintained order on the side.
As Zhao Yin watched this scene, his eyes filled with emotion and admiration.
"I wonder where this kind-hearted person came from to be able to give away so much food for porridge. It's not easy."
Xiao Ran breathed a sigh of relief; with someone distributing porridge, not too many people would starve to death.
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