"Yes, Your Excellency?"
The old man asked.
Hong Wen hurriedly said, "We are from the Imperial City Department and are here to deliver rice and oil. The government has instructed that rice and flour be distributed this year."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, signaling the clerk behind him to take the things.
The clerk dragged a sack of grain from the carriage, and another clerk took a small bag of oil and salt, and a large bag of firewood.
The old man's puzzled face showed joy when he saw this, and he expressed gratitude repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you."
"Ah Zhong, Ah Zhong."
He shouted a few words and a child hurried over.
The old man hurriedly said, "Hurry up and make tea for the guests."
"No, no."
Hong Wen signaled the clerk to leave the things at home, and then helped the old man open the sack and pour the rice into the rice jar. He waved his hand a little awkwardly and said, "We still have to deliver to the next house."
At the end, he said: "The end of the year has come, have a good year."
He did not ask where the old man's family had gone. The information showed that the old man was an old soldier during the Battle of Chanzhou and had broken a leg on the battlefield.
His wife died of illness in his early years, and his eldest son was a bad boy. He joined some gangs in Bianliang, was brave and aggressive all day long, and died in a gang conflict.
The second son also died four years ago in a battle with Western Xia. One daughter-in-law died of illness, and another remarried. Now there are only three grandchildren.
Hong Wen discovered that compared to the old man, he might be lucky.
At least he had lived a hard life before, but he had been educated and could still earn some money on the street to buy a warm glass of wine and a plate of broad beans at the hotel.
After delivering to this house, we went to the next one without stopping.
This family's situation is similar to that of the Zhang family. Their fates are naturally different, but they are equally poor and struggling on the brink of starvation.
The head of the household was a dying woman. Originally, her family had a few acres of land, but later the husband broke his leg, and they had to borrow money from others to pay for the medical expenses. This time, the borrowing was not nine out of thirteen, but nine out of twenty.
As a result, his leg was healed, but that year a disaster struck the county and the crops failed. The man was forced to sell his land to the landlord, but he was still insolvent, so he had to flee with his wife overnight to Bianliang to work.
Unexpectedly, he was discovered by his creditors in Bianliang a few years ago. They brought people and beat the man to death, leaving only his wife and children. For this reason, the woman had to work as a prostitute to support herself.
She managed to raise the child with difficulty, but eventually contracted some unspeakable terminal illness and lay dying in bed, on the verge of death.
This time, Hong Wen didn't even dare to say "The New Year is coming, have a good year", but just took out another string of money from his arms, about one string of coins, put it under the woman's pillow, and then quietly retreated.
When he came out, there was only a complex emotion on his face.
It is foreseeable that at the end of this year, the children of this family will have to spend the New Year in tears. The only lucky thing is that the eldest son is already fifteen years old and can barely support the family.
"The boss is kind-hearted. This woman has a terminal illness and I'm afraid she won't live much longer. Even if you give her money, she won't be able to survive."
An official who saw Hong Wen giving money sighed.
"Any help is always helpful. This is what the officials and the governor hope for."
Hong Wen also sighed.
There are endless poor people in this world.
But just like the boy at the seaside saving the fish, this fish cares, and that fish cares too.
If we don't save them, who will care about them?
He turned around, looked at the dilapidated wooden house, and whispered: "The end of the year is coming, have a good year."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
