Chapter 449: Soaring Prices
I learned from the guys that it hasn't rained in Los Angeles for more than three months, and even the water in the underground river has dried up.
The climate in Los Angeles was originally quite dry, so no one took it too seriously at first, but this time the drought lasted longer than usual.
When all the farmers in the fields died of drought, they realized that something was wrong. Many people went to the government, hoping that they would take people to find a water source and bring water here. However, the government never made a clear statement, and the matter was eventually left unresolved. Until now, the wells in the city are running dry, and everyone is becoming panicked.
Those with wealthy families ran away early to avoid the disaster, and the rest were unable to leave.
When the waiter brought the noodles, Su Ying discovered that the noodles were not made of pure white flour, and the large bowl was only half filled.
"Sir, your noodles are here. Please eat them while they are hot. If you need anything else, just let me know."
"Thank you very much."
Su Ying pushed the noodles in front of the old lady and asked her to eat it, but the old lady kept refusing. It was not until Su Ying said that if she didn't eat it, the noodles would be thrown away that the old lady sat down with an embarrassed look on her face.
While the old lady was eating noodles, Su Ying took the opportunity to go to the toilet and entered the space to take out the malaria test paper and the medicine for treating malaria. Although it was not completely confirmed that he had malaria, in her opinion, it was almost certain. Now the final step of confirmation was needed.
Su Ying returned to the room and tested the child with a test strip without telling her aunt. The result came out quickly, confirming that it was malaria.
Su Ying took out an injection and injected it into the child, and also fed him some nutrient solution. Malaria is easy to cure with medicine, but malnutrition requires a certain amount of time to adjust.
"Sir, how is my grandson?"
"I have malaria. I haven't eaten for a long time, and my physical condition is very poor. I need to cure the malaria first, and we can deal with other problems later."
The old lady was horrified. "Malaria! What should I do? My poor child, you are the only relative I have left. If you die, I will not live either."
Su Ying felt a headache when she heard the old lady crying.
"Auntie, please listen to what I say. I can cure this disease. Please stop crying."
The old lady stopped crying and looked at Su Ying in surprise and doubt. She was completely panicked when she heard the word "malaria" just now. In her understanding, malaria meant death. Now that she heard Su Ying say that it could be cured, she excitedly knelt down in front of her and kowtowed to her continuously.
"Thank you so much, sir. Thank you so much, sir. You are our savior. I will serve you like a slave."
"Get up first."
Su Ying pulled her to sit on the stool. Seeing that the noodles on the table were not touched much, the old lady was probably willing to eat some.
"Eat first, the noodles are all mushy."
Su Ying was right. The old lady was really willing to spend fifty copper coins for a bowl of fine white flour!
"You eat, sir, you eat. I, I'll eat the pancakes you just gave me."
Su Ying directly put the chopsticks in her hand and said, "Your health is not very good. If something happens to you, who will take care of your grandson?"
The old lady's cloudy eyes turned red again. She couldn't die, otherwise the child would be too pitiful.
The old lady ate the noodles with tears in her eyes. The noodles were watery and not tasty at all, but for the old lady who had been hungry for many days, it was the best delicacy.
Su Ying didn't waste any food and drank up all the soup at the bottom of the bowl.
"You stay at the inn and look after the child. I'm going to go out for a while."
"Hey, sir, go and do your work. Don't worry about us."
Su Yingen said and left the guest room. She wanted to go to the city to see what the current situation was in the city. If the city guard of Luocheng was really doing nothing, she would have to find a way to send the situation in Luocheng to the capital.
Su Ying arrived at the lobby and asked the waiter about the direction of the government office, then left through the backyard on horseback.
The streets were deserted, and only a few shops were open until we reached the busiest main street in Los Angeles.
Su Ying went forward to take a look and saw that the only shops open were the grocery store, the pharmacy, and the grain store; the other shops were basically all closed.
Su Ying walked to the two shops and saw that the rice and flour in the two shops were almost sold out, leaving only some stale rice that looked of very poor quality.
"How much is this rice per pound?"
The shopkeeper sat on the chair and held up five fingers.
Su Ying frowned, "Five copper coins?"
The shopkeeper laughed and said, "Young Master, these five copper coins can only buy one pound of rice bran. This old rice now costs fifty copper coins per pound."
Su Ying's eyebrows jumped. Fifty copper coins per pound, the price was several times higher than that of new rice.
"What about white rice and white flour? How much?"
"No, they were sold out earlier."
"It only takes a few days to go from Los Angeles to the nearest West City. Why don't you go there to buy some goods?"
"Hey, who said he didn't go? The rice shop in front ran away a few days ago."
The shopkeeper said that although the city had locked the doors and prevented the victims from entering, merchants who went out to purchase goods were allowed to go out as long as they had a pass. After all, bringing goods back could ease the supply and demand in the city.
"But who would have thought that he would never come back. Yesterday, his mother came to pack up the store crying, saying that she encountered disaster victims and bandits on her way back. Both her things and her life were gone. Who would dare to go there again? You have to risk your life to earn this kind of money."
Su Ying understood this situation too well. She had encountered this situation when she fled from famine. Not to mention the bandits, the starving victims were as brutal as the bandits when they saw the food.
Goods from outside cannot be brought in, and the things in the city are being consumed day by day. It won’t be long before the city becomes worse and worse.
"What do the authorities say about this?"
The shopkeeper looked disdainful, "What did you say? Nothing. Humph, he won't starve. The people will die. He doesn't care."
Su Ying did not buy rice, but rode her horse directly to the government office.
The street outside the government office was also deserted, with only two officers guarding the door.
As soon as Su Ying got off the horse, she saw a man in brocade walking out. He took out a purse from his pocket and stuffed it into the hands of the person behind him. "Please ask the housekeeper to say a few good words to the master. What I told the master is definitely beneficial to the entire Luo City."
The housekeeper took the purse and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Master He, I will give you a reply after I have considered this matter carefully."
"Oh, thank you very much."
After seeing Mr. He off, the butler put away the purse and returned to the mansion.
Su Ying went around the alley, put the horse into the space, and then climbed over the courtyard wall.
As soon as she entered, she saw the housekeeper walking through a bluestone path into a courtyard.
Su Ying looked at the eaves and climbed forward. She calculated the position and lifted the tiles on the eaves. She saw the food on the table at a glance. It could be said that the eight-immortal table was full, but the dishes had not been touched.
"Sir, Mr. He is gone." The housekeeper said to the person sitting at the table while standing in the room.
"Well, this He Zhixin has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He wants to make money from everything."
The housekeeper said: "My Lord, you should think about it. There is indeed a lot of money involved in this matter."
Lord Wei said, "It's not that this matter cannot be done, but it must not be contaminated by me. Do you understand?"
"Don't worry, sir. Mr. He is a smart man. He will definitely know what to do."
(End of this chapter)
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