105 Takeaway
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Everyone's eyes turned to Gu Jinyan.
Gu Jinyan stared at the manager of Zhaixing Tower and said, "Pei Ze is indeed the Crown Princess's direct descendant and a member of the imperial family of Daxia. Now that he is involved in a corruption case, I should prioritize my country and the people and cooperate with the Dali Temple in a thorough investigation..."
The judicial officer had been waiting impatiently for a long time. As soon as Gu Jinyan finished speaking, he waved his hand and carried the man away.
No matter how loudly the manager begged for mercy and groaned, the person sitting above remained indifferent.
Judicial officers and foreign servants came and went like a tide.
The whole room was dead silent.
Gu Jinyan's act of sacrificing his own family for the sake of justice frightened everyone to the point of dread. Even the Zhaixing Tower, even though they were related to the Crown Prince, had met such a fate. They all looked at each other in astonishment, their eyes filled with uneasiness.
So what will happen to these people?
Song Jinyi estimated that the time was almost right and it was her turn as the "support" to appear. When she just stood up, she received a look from Gu Jinyan, which seemed to tell her not to act rashly.
Gu Jinyan sat upright, his eyes scanning the wealthy businessmen below inch by inch, taking in their expressions. After a moment of silence, he suddenly talked about the price of grain in the city.
His tone was flat, as if he was talking about something very ordinary, and he seemed to be asking not about the price of food, but what to eat for lunch today.
The rice shop owner sitting below looked even uglier. He trembled, plopped to his knees, and said, "I'm sorry. I was confused just now. I'd like to donate one hundred taels as a token of my gratitude."
Song Jinyi took a closer look and found that this was the person who had just said that he would donate twenty taels.
After hearing this, Gu Jinyan didn't say anything good or bad.
The rice shop owner could only kneel there anxiously.
Gu Jinyan talked about porcelain again. He said that the taxes collected from doing business with Western merchants in recent years were far less than before. Isn’t it really strange?
Three or four people knelt one after another.
Song Jinyi looked at this scene, her body inexplicably became stiff, and her hands hidden in her sleeves unconsciously broke out in a layer of cold sweat. She looked at the person sitting in the high seat.
As expected, anyone who can become a prince is no pushover!
Before holding this Hongmen Feast, he had already thoroughly investigated these merchants and had everything ready. He was like a clown who had read a few days of books and thought he had learned a lot, so he went out to show off.
Fortunately, she originally proposed three plans, and this second plan was something Gu Jinyan could never have imagined.
She took a deep breath and knelt on the ground. "I am the shopkeeper of Juxinglou. Since the winter, we have been harassed by refugees. Now that the prince has resolved this matter, our shop is willing to help us with all our strength and give us 200 taels of silver. We are in this together."
She was the first merchant to donate a large sum of money without being questioned. In this high-pressure environment, most people lose their ability to think when they become nervous.
Once the wind direction changed, the rest of the people did not dare to go against the wind and knelt down one after another along with Song Jinyi. The amount of money they received increased from twenty or thirty taels to two or three hundred taels.
Sun Guo took out the donation book he had prepared in advance, and quickly wrote down the numbers one by one, and asked everyone to sign the amount of silver and money donated.
Finally, Sun Zhanshi said to everyone with a smile: "My dear shopkeepers, this is a great honor. With this donation, the refugees will have a place to stay, the city will be much quieter, and you can all have a peaceful year."
Everyone had a stiff smile on their face, wanting to leave quickly, but then they heard Sun Guo say, "There is one more matter that I need to discuss with you—"
******
Three days later.
Dozens of porridge stalls were built outside the city, and they were crowded with people, surrounding the stalls like a swarm of locusts. The clerks all had gloomy faces and were trying to maintain order.
The victims who had been hungry for a long time were almost like mad dogs, ready to rush up and bite you at any moment. They kept an eye on the movements of the victims at all times to prevent any trouble.
Disaster relief is a good place to make money, for example, the rice porridge. Why do a group of untouchables need to eat such good rice? Half white rice and half bran will not starve them to death.
But it happened that the prince was in charge of disaster relief. Not only did he not make any money, but there was no one to monitor it. What a miserable life he was living.
Just when I was feeling depressed, a carriage slowly stopped not far away.
The first person to come down was the attendant of the Prince's Mansion, whom they all knew. Following behind came a woman wearing a veiled hat. Their appearance was unclear, but the attendant was very polite to her. "Whose family is she from? What are you doing here?"
Sun Guo greeted the clerks and walked into the porridge stall with Song Jinyi.
Since the banquet that day, Gu Jinyan has threatened several more families, and no one dared to disobey.
We came here today to implement the second solution proposed by Song Jinyi.
Song Jinyi did the math and found that the donations raised this time were approximately 20,000 taels, which seemed like a lot, but it was just a drop in the bucket to solve the refugee problem.
For example, temporary housing for refugees can take up two-thirds of the donations, including material costs, labor costs, thick blankets, and charcoal...
The price of brown rice in the city was 25 cents per pound. One pound could only make enough porridge for ten people. There were about a thousand victims, so one meal would require 100 pounds.
Song Jinyi stood on a high place, lowered her eyes and quickly scanned the crowd. Most of those who stayed were men in good health, most of them were around 34 years old, which was the age for eating.
How many strong men can eat this pound of rice?
In addition to the visible expenses, there are also invisible expenses, both large and small.
Therefore, Song Jinyi’s second suggestion was to use work instead of relief.
Merchants of a certain size had to accept migrant workers to do their work. For example, the three-story Zhaixinglou had to hire four to five migrant workers as waiters, while a carriage and horse business with only one floor only needed to hire two people. These merchants were then given certain tax reductions.
It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Instead of teaching them to do nothing and wait for food, it is better to provide them with work instead of relief, which can save a lot of trouble.
Song Jinyi came here today to select odd jobs.
Drying vermicelli and fermenting stinky tofu are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Hiring ordinary helpers would be absolutely uneconomical. However, if refugees were hired, providing them with food could offset their wages, which would make a huge difference.
A quarter of an hour later, Song Jinyi paced back and forth in front of the three young refugees with his hands behind his back, looking at them carefully. Although the three of them were as thin as monkeys, their eyes were bright and lively, which was much better than the other listless people.
I think as long as I have enough food, working should not be a problem.
"I'm the owner of a restaurant in the city and I need help. Would you like to come with me? There's no salary, but food and lodging are provided."
The three of them looked at each other, and one of the older men came out and asked, "We used to be tenant farmers and can't read. What do you want from us, the shopkeeper?"
"Takeout." Seeing the three of them were puzzled, Song Jinyi explained, "As long as you run fast, it's fine."
After Song Jinyi selected the delivery man, she picked five smart-looking women.
"Madam Song took away eight people at once, which really solved a big problem. I will inform His Highness and ask for credit for her..."
Song Jinyi and Sun Guo were walking back while exchanging pleasantries when suddenly an old man rushed out, hugged Song Jinyi's thigh, and said in a pitiful voice, "Kind Bodhisattva, please give me a ride so that I can have a meal..."
Upon seeing this, Sun Zhanshi immediately waved his hand and instructed the clerk, "Quickly pull this man away."
The old man had very little flesh on his body, so with just a slight push, he was thrown out like a piece of paper. But he still didn't give up, and crawled towards Song Jinyi, but was intercepted by a clerk halfway.
He kowtowed to Song Jinyi and said, "I am an old man with no future. It doesn't matter how I live! But I still have a granddaughter with a bun on her head. Her parents... passed away a few days ago. Please..."
Seeing Song Jinyi's expression of pity, he quickly waved to the crowd and called his little granddaughter over. The child was so thin that only a pointed chin remained, and her two big eyes were sunken in her bones. She could not even walk steadily.
Song Jinyi was stunned and remained silent for a long time. She glanced at the grandfather and grandson. Both of them had obvious frostbite on their hands and ankles, and the wounds were cracked and bleeding. It was indeed difficult for an old man to take care of a child among a group of refugees who were as fierce as wolves and tigers.
She turned away and said with some difficulty, "Old man, it's not that I don't want to, but we already have enough people. There will be other shopkeepers coming to select people later, and you can ask them then."
The old man couldn't see what was behind him. He could only see the life-saving straw in front of him.
Seeing that Song Jinyi was about to get on the carriage and leave, he lay down in front of the carriage like a madman, blocking the way with his body, and said: "My lady, listen to me and let me say one more thing——"
Song Jinyi lifted the car curtain and said, "Please stop messing around."
"Although I have difficulty walking, I have read books and know a few words. I'm sure my lady will find them useful..."
Song Jinyi lowered her eyes and thought, this grandfather and grandson were really pitiful. Besides, when the shop opened later, she would really need someone who could write to keep records. With this thought, Song Jinyi agreed.
******
With the help of fundraising and work-for-relief, the refugee problem was alleviated, the city returned to its previous tranquility, and the haze that had shrouded Shengjing for days gradually dissipated.
On the streets and alleys, those once desperate faces now work in rice shops, stores, and workshops, where they have work to do, food to eat, and a place to live.
The most special one among them is Suo Huan who wears a blue scarf. They carry a big bamboo basket on their backs with three big characters "Juxinglou" written on it. They walk briskly and familiarly through the streets to deliver the food as quickly as possible.
Chen Ming was the delivery man recruited by Song Jinyi from among the refugees that day. He was called a "idler" here. He tightened the bamboo basket on his back and headed east to Liu's Mansion.
He was originally a tenant farmer in Zhongzhou. Due to the drought in Zhongzhou, the land could not be cultivated, so the owner drove him and his two brothers out.
They had nowhere to go, so they flocked to Shengjing with the refugees. The temperature suddenly dropped a few days ago, and more than half of the people around them froze to death. Every night when they fell asleep, they didn't know whether they would be able to wake up the next day.
They thought they were going to freeze to death here, but the imperial court set up a porridge shed again and a bodhisattva-like woman came and took them away. As long as they worked, they would have food to eat and winter clothes to wear.
Chen Ming walked to the corner gate of Liu's mansion, took out the lunch box wrapped in tung oil paper, and carefully handed the snacks inside to the doorman.
As he took the bounty given by the doorman, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this lady is really amazing, she looks younger than him, but she has so many ideas, she taught them to get familiar with the routes of Shengjing City and recognize the names on the menu.
It cost ten cents for each delivery. For the sake of efficiency, everyone divided the area and delivered to one street at a time, saving time and effort. He was going to Wang's house next.
Today was a rare sunny day, and he was sweating from the heat while carrying the bamboo basket on his back.
He looked at the prosperous and bustling Shengjing and really wished he could stay here forever.
Shopkeeper Zhang was in high spirits because of the good news. Seeing that the business in the store was bustling again, he couldn't hide his happiness on his face. He would go to Juxing Tower whenever he had nothing to do in the day.
He watched Song Jinyi greet guests and help with the cooking. Thinking about the changes that had taken place at Zhaixinglou since she arrived, he couldn't help but sigh, "When Zhaixinglou didn't exist, this place wouldn't have looked like this."
【Author’s words】
Suohuan is the ancient name for takeout [吃瓜]
I'm promoting my pre-collection, which will be launched at the end of the year. I'm looking for a collection of "Has the Number One Scholar Got His Crematorium?"
Shen Wanqing was born in a humble family and has always been cautious and law-abiding. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was her love for Meng Jue, a new noble in the court and an important minister of the emperor.
Knowing the huge difference between them, she kept her love hidden deep in her heart. Until the day of the county lady's birthday banquet, she and Meng Jue had a love affair by chance, and Meng Jue was forced to marry her.
Everyone said that she was scheming and was willing to destroy her own innocence in order to get close to Meng Jue.
The mistress of the Meng family regarded her as a despicable person who would do anything to achieve her goals, and her sister-in-law regarded her as a bad woman who broke up her brother's good marriage, and made things difficult for her many times.
She had nothing to argue about, so she just behaved herself, abided by the code of conduct for women, was filial to her parents-in-law, managed the household business, and treated Meng Jue with respect, and their days passed in a dull and peaceful manner.
******
Meng Jue was a beautiful and elegant man with a jade-like complexion and golden appearance. Not only was he born into a noble family, he was also the new top scholar in the imperial examination. He had outstanding abilities and a bright future. Even the princess favored him. Everyone thought he would marry the princess, but unexpectedly he married a concubine's daughter of humble birth.
Meng Jue disliked his first wife because of the drugging incident at his birthday banquet, but as they got along, he found that she was gentle, diligent, docile, and committed to her duties. He gradually let go of their grudges and was willing to live a simple life with her.
Until one day, she realized the misunderstanding and handed in the divorce papers.
Later, he realized that the drugging incident was a misunderstanding.
Later, he discovered that his wife, whose eyes were once filled with admiration, now only had indifference and alienation in them.
Later, he realized that his wife was so capable that she could make his mother and sister dependent on her.
…
Meng Jue had a smooth life. He studied, took the imperial examinations, investigated cases... He never failed in his studies, but he suffered a crushing defeat in love.
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