...
Why do so many people starve to death in years of great disaster? Why are countless people displaced?
There are many reasons, but in the end it all boils down to one word.
There is no food.
Although the Immortal Martial Continent is a world of cultivation, that applies to cultivators with spiritual roots who can cultivate. Most of the people there are ordinary people who toil for their daily meals. In essence, it is no different from an elite-ruled society.
Having decided to help the disaster-stricken people overcome this crisis, Shen Zhao naturally had to solve the food problem first.
Because of his different status in his previous life, and with the support of the royal family led by Yu Xiyan, Shen Zhao was naturally able to resolve this crisis from the perspective of a superior and use the methods he had before his transmigration.
But now, he has no connection with the Yintian Dynasty. Even if he can still use the methods he used before he transmigrated, it will take a lot of time, and he doesn’t know how many people will die by the time he starts dealing with it.
In order to solve the food problem to the greatest extent possible, Shen Zhao decided to try his luck by targeting wealthy households with both money and grain.
Who in this world is rich?
A: Aristocratic families and sects.
They possess enough resources to feed tens of billions of people; if we simply exploit them, the problem will naturally be solved.
Therefore, Shen Zhao set his sights on the Shi family, the most powerful and influential family in Yunzhou, the southern part of the Great Yin Dynasty.
"Weren't we going to provide disaster relief? What are we doing at the Shi family's place?"
"What? You think all the things we have are enough to save a few people?"
"Master Chen, I think you're going a bit too far. Do you think the Shi family's money is so easy to take? Do they even know you?"
"Am I not qualified to be the dignified Elder of the Eighth District of the Court of Judgments?"
"Oh, you think anyone would give you face because of your position as a judge? Don't be ridiculous."
Sitting on the flying beast, Shen Zhao and Ding Bu'er began their usual banter and playful banter, seemingly not taking the matter of helping the disaster victims to heart.
Su Yunying was very puzzled: "Brother Shen, why did you choose to go to the Shi family?"
"The Shi family's wealth is greater than the national treasury of the Yintian Dynasty. Making them bleed a little is considered to accumulate good karma."
"Wouldn't it be better to approach the Qingyun Sect? They would definitely agree."
"Qingyun Sect? Forget it. Not only might they not care about the affairs of the mortal world, but even if they wanted to, it wouldn't be something they could do in a short time to produce enough food to solve the problem of tens of millions of starving people. In short, just watch my performance this time and don't say anything."
Seeing Shen Zhao's confident demeanor, Su Yunying said nothing more and quietly sat on the back of the flying beast, heading towards Yunzhou.
...
When the three arrived in Yunzhou City, the city was already overcrowded with refugees everywhere, crowding the sides of the road and begging numbly from passersby.
There are people selling their children here.
"Five liters of flour. Take this girl with you. Please, sir, do me a favor. Don't let her small size fool you; she's easy to feed. One meal a day is enough."
A woman "enthusiastically" grabbed a wealthy passing merchant and "promoted" her seven- or eight-year-old daughter.
On the other side, a group of starving people were fighting in front of a restaurant on the street.
The incident started when a young master from a wealthy family on the second floor threw down a few steamed buns to watch the others scramble for them for amusement.
Another place was where a group of sect cultivators came to select disciples. They were all from second-rate sects and gangs, and no one would even look at them if it weren't for a year of great disaster. But now, they only needed a few liters of rice to perhaps get a disciple with spiritual roots to train, which was definitely a worthwhile deal.
In addition, a family-owned rice shop was surrounded by people buying rice.
In front of the rice shop, a man surnamed Li shouted loudly, "From now on, the price of rice has increased to 79 taels of gold per liter!"
These words immediately drew a chorus of curses from the audience.
"Li Jiaqi, you son of a bitch, 79 taels of gold for a liter of rice, why don't you just rob it!"
"Damn you, Li! Don't you feel any remorse for making money off our hard-earned blood and sweat?"
"I want to buy your rice, and I'll take your surname!"
Despite the crowd's insults and accusations, Li Jiaqi remained unfazed and said, "You think rice priced at 79 taels of gold is expensive? It's not expensive at all. This is local Yunzhou rice, it's very rare."
I've been working for this local rice merchant for so many years; I know best how he rose to prominence. Besides, what time is it now? In years of great disaster, even if you have money, you can't buy grain.
Thinking about it this way, is 79 taels of gold expensive? If you still think it's expensive, then I can only say that you're not working hard enough! If you worked harder and planted more crops, you wouldn't be buying rice from here..."
However, no matter how much Li Jiaqi manipulated people, the insults never stopped.
"That unscrupulous businessman!"
Seeing this, Su Yunying's pretty face turned bright red with anger.
"Boss Shen, how about we start by taking care of this guy?"
Shen Zhao glanced at Li Jiaqi sideways, shook his head and said, "No rush, he'll have his time to cry. Right now, we need to get down to business and go visit the Shi family."
Yunzhou City is divided into an outer city and an inner city. The outer city is home to all sorts of people from all walks of life, but the inner city has a completely different landscape.
There are no homeless people here, the streets are clean and bright, and everyone you see is well-dressed, clearly wealthy and noble.
Su Yunying sighed, "Outside, there are starving people everywhere, but here it's like a paradise."
"This is what they call 'the rich feast while the poor freeze to death on the streets!'"
Shen Zhao added a sentence, and Su Yunying muttered a few times, thinking to herself, "What a great poem, now it's mine, hehe."
As they rounded a corner, Shen Zhao's eyes lit up, and he quickly reached out to stop the two.
Two men and a woman were standing not far away.
On the left, a man and a woman are dressed plainly. The man looks arrogant, while the woman is quite attractive, but her face is full of impatience.
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