Everyone seemed to believe them, nodding in deep agreement, but each person ate their meal with their own thoughts on the matter.
Chen Yunyi picked up the wine glass in front of him and took a sip. He hesitated several times before trying to speak, then poured a few more mouthfuls of wine into his mouth.
He was unwilling to help Xiao reveal the truth in front of everyone.
Seeing that her maternal grandfather and the others were not saying anything, Jiang Wei used a voice that only Xiao Zhan could hear to tell him not to put any more food on her plate, as she could manage on her own.
…………
When Lian Sang and Qing Feng arrived at the East Gate of the city, there were still some people queuing in front of Hong Xinyue's porridge stall.
In order to gain a good reputation, Hong Xinyue has not gone back yet at this time, and is still serving porridge to the refugees.
A caring and polite smile graced her face, and she would occasionally say, "Eat slowly, there's more. Mother-in-law, take your time, no rush. I'm not tired..."
They put on quite a show.
There was no one there; the people tending the porridge were all sitting by the pot, dozing off.
Qingfeng stirred the porridge in the pot with a large ladle. 'Such good porridge, yet no one comes to eat it. Back when they were constantly at war, even drinking porridge like this was a luxury for them.'
Lian Sang and Qing Feng waited for a while longer, but still no one came.
Then they transported the porridge to Granny Hua's house on Anle Street.
Granny Hua knew Lian Sang and knew that she was the maid who worked for the owner of An Sheng Ji.
After Lian Sang explained her purpose, Granny Hua felt even more grateful to Jiang Wei.
There are truly kind-hearted people in this world, just like Guanyin Bodhisattva. Granny Hua hurriedly thanked them.
She excitedly called her grandson to come and ask Granny Yang and the others to come and serve the porridge.
"Grandma Hua, you had Hui'er call us to serve the porridge. What a wonderful thing this is!" Granny Yang asked with a smile on her face.
Granny Yang's house was close to Granny Hua's house, so she arrived quickly.
Soon, the women came in quick succession, and several children ran over carrying large bowls from their homes.
"By the way, your family isn't well-off either, so why are you giving us porridge? Are you struggling to make ends meet?" asked the woman following behind Granny Yang.
Zhao Hui only said one sentence, telling her to serve the porridge, and then ran off; she didn't even have time to ask any further questions.
Grandma Hua looked at the visitors and explained to them, "It's not that I have porridge to give you. You all know that it's not easy for an old woman like me to survive."
She pointed to the two large pots beside her, "They were given to everyone by the kind-hearted owner of An Sheng Ji."
Have you heard about the earthquake in Lanyu?
Grandma Hua asked them.
During the cold winter days, many of them stay indoors, partly because of the cold weather and partly because going out would consume food.
In the past, they would hide in their blankets when it got cold, which kept them warm and prevented them from getting hungry.
Therefore, many people do not know this.
Only a few people need to go out, so I've heard some things.
Those who knew replied, "Yes, we know. The owner of An Sheng Ji is truly kind-hearted. Immediately after the earthquake in Lanyu, he set up a porridge stall and a heated shed at the east gate of the city, so that the people of Lanyu would have a place to stay."
"Is that so?"
The person who didn't know asked.
"Yes, if it weren't for the fact that the landlord sold us grain at a very reasonable price and gave us cotton as a gift, we would be barely making ends meet. I would even be willing to go and ask for a bowl of porridge."
However, since he had already benefited from the deal, he felt embarrassed to go again.
"We're so lucky to have such a good employer," a woman remarked.
The winters of the past two years weren't as cold as this one, and their lives weren't as easy as they are this year.
“Who says otherwise!” Another woman stretched out her sleeves in front of the crowd. “Look, I’ve finally got to wear new cotton clothes. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare to go out!”
Everyone speaks of Jiang Wei with deep gratitude.
"Yes, don't underestimate our boss just because she's young; she understands the hardships we all face!"
Someone asked again, "What does this have to do with us being called here to serve porridge?" asked the woman carrying the large earthenware pot.
Grandma Hua walked to the big pot with a smile, "This porridge was sent to us by the female owner."
"So what does this have to do with the Lanyu earthquake?" The woman, with a somewhat harsh expression, wearing a gray cotton coat and carrying a large earthenware pot, spoke again.
"The kind-hearted landlady cooked two extra pots of porridge over there, worried that we wouldn't have enough to eat, so she had someone send some over to us." Granny Hua knew that this person was mean and picky.
She didn't want Qingfeng and the others to hear these negative things about their female employer, lest they think they were not only poor but also ungrateful.
"She only brought it after dinner time, it's probably leftovers, isn't it?" she said with a hint of disgust.
But of all the women here, she was the only one carrying a large earthenware pot; the others were carrying either a large bowl or a small earthenware pot.
"How could it be leftovers from the female owner? Who cooks porridge in two big pots?" one of the people who disliked her said, rolling his eyes at her.
She never misses out on any bargain, and every time she gets something for free, she criticizes and finds fault with it, as if the other person begged her for it.
It's as if you're telling others, "This is something you insisted on giving me, not something I wanted myself."
Nobody liked her much, but she thought they were being petty.
The woman, looking like she was so clever, said, "That's why this porridge is only being served now. It's either leftovers from the owner, Xin Kang, or leftovers from Lan Yu and the others."
She said confidently, "It must be something that others didn't want, so they gave it to us! If it was given to us specifically, it wouldn't be this late."
Granny Hua answered truthfully, "The landlady is kind-hearted. She was worried that Lan Yu's people would go hungry, so she cooked porridge for them. But today, another important person came to distribute porridge, so no one went to drink the freshly cooked porridge. That's why the landlady thought of us and brought it to us."
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